RoboGames 2012: Mech Warfare
Last weekend was RoboGames 2012. IEEE Spectrum has posted a few videos from the Mech Warfare competition where robots battle inside a miniature model city. The videos contain several Each robot is controlled remotely, and the human pilot sees only a first-person view from the perspective of a wireless camera mounted on the front of the robot. Each robot is equipped with pressure sensitive plates that register hits from airsoft pellets.
New Release Of ROS Officially Available
ROS Fuerte Turtle the fifth ROS ROS distribution release is now officially available. ROS Fuerte has major improvements that make it easier to integrate with other software frameworks and tools. This includes a rewrite of the build system, migration to the Qt framework, and continued transition to standalone libraries. A detailed change log as well as installation instructions are available here .
Ensuring Labeling Accuracy in the Packaging Process with Barcode and Machine Vision Systems
While every operation brings a unique set of requirements and challenges, three sample applications that utilize barcode and machine vision technology to ensure labeling accuracy are outlined in this paper.
Piccolo: Arduino Based Drawing Bot
Diatom design studio are developing an open source drawing robot kit that they hope to sell for just $70 dollars. The kit: "Piccolo", will be powered by an Arduino board, and supports movement along X, Y or Z axes. You can attach a pen, pencil, brush or possibly even an X-Acto knife and it will draw out any sketch you upload to it. They plan on including Arduino and Processing libraries that will allow you to develop dynamic drawings using sensor data. In the video below the prototype draws procedural tree sketches that vary according to the bots proximity to a light source. The kit isn't available yet but on Diatom's website you can sign up now to their mailing list.
DARPA Robotics Contest Update
Just days after announcing the DARPA Robotics Contest the DARPA website is reporting that Boston Dynamics has been selected as a "sole source" to develop and build the humanoid robots for the contest. Boston Dynamics will build 8 identical humanoids, which will be based on PETMAN. IEEE Spectrum has the full story here .
DARPA Robotics Contest Announced
The Pentagon’s research and development agency has announced a contest to develop ground robotic capabilities to execute complex tasks in dangerous, degraded, human-engineered environments. The program will focus on robots that can utilize available human tools, ranging from hand tools to vehicles.The DARPA Robotics Challenge will consist of three key events – a Virtual Disaster Challenge, and two (2) Disaster Response Challenges. Participation in the Virtual Disaster Challenge is required only for teams working exclusively on control software development. The agency has not yet announced how much it intends to spend on the program or the size of the prize but previous contest awarded two million dollars for the top prize with one million dollars for the runner up. The full contest details and registration can be found here .
Why are there more unmanned platforms than customers?
Why are unmanned systems developers offering so many different kinds of platforms and ideas, when there is comparatively little demand by the civilian market? Why are there more offerings than customers?
Interview with Dr. Tom Van Doren, COO of HDT Robotics
Headquartered in Solon, Ohio, HDT Global is widely recognized as the world leader in the design and manufacture of many products in use by U.S. and allied military units, civilian governments, and commercial customers today.
Is Your Business Employing Automation?
It will be worth your time to analyze each segment of your business and decide if automation is right for your business and if automation can produce more efficiency or profit.
Printable Robots From MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is leading an ambitious new project to reinvent how robots are designed and produced. Funded by a $10 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the project will aim to develop a desktop technology that would make it possible for the average person to design, customize and print a specialized robot in a matter of hours.
The project envisions a future desktop technology that prints actual programmable hybrid electro-mechanical devices from simple descriptions on-demand, anywhere, and with performance one would expect from a team of professional engineers, using advanced materials. The project aims to transform manufacturing as dramatically as the personal computer democratized information technology and transformed how we communicate.
Boston Dynamics Sand Flea Jumping Robot
Sand Flea is an 11 pound robot that drives like an RC car on flat terrain, but can jump 30 ft into the air to overcome obstacles. That is high enough to jump over a compound wall, onto the roof of a house, up a set of stairs or into a second story window. The robot uses gyro stabilization to stay level during flight, to provide a clear view from the onboard camera, and to ensure a smooth landing. Sand Flea can jump about 25 times on one charge.
Robotic Industries Association Launches New Certified Robot Integrator Program
Robotic Industries Association (RIA), the industry’s largest trade group representing over 265 companies, has announced the launch of their Certified Robot Integrator Program.
“The new RIA Certified Robot Integrator program began from a simple question: What can the RIA do to help the industry develop more successful robot applications?” said RIA President, Jeff Burnstein. Focus groups were held with leading system integrators and collaborative end users. Users told the RIA that a robot certification program would be useful as a way to help them develop a baseline for the evaluation of robot integrators. System integrators told the RIA this would be a great way for them to benchmark themselves against best industry practices. After more than two years of touring the country to get input from integrators, users, robot suppliers and other interested parties, the program was officially launched in January 2012. “I think there is great excitement about it throughout the industry,” Burnstein explained.
EXAM CRITERIA:
There are three basic parts to the on-site exam and audit:
Hands-On section
Expert Response Section: (Participant industry tenure & biography)
On-site audit of business infrastructure per completed “Self Score Card”. Supporting evidence will be gathered before any certification date is scheduled.
RIA's full press release can be read here . They have also set up a landing page for the Certified Robot Integrator program here .
Doctor Robot at Your Service
Future robots might incorporate the ability for a surgeon to program the surgery and just supervise the procedure, as the robot performs most of the tasks. The possibilities for improvement and advancement are only limited by imagination and cost.
Robotics going Mainstream: Improve Warehouse Productivity and Safety
This document explains how companies can utilize advanced and emerging technologies to help deliver superior results. Prepare for the unexpected, understand your process, look at all the options, go back to the fundamentals, reengineer, gain stakeholder acceptance through a pilot program, and finally deliver. The savings are there for the taking.
Extra! Extra! Nanobots Kill Cancer!
The small nanobots that are being deployed to fight cancer are nothing like what we imagine. Instead of being made of metal, plastic, and circuitry, cancer nanobots are created using "DNA origami," or "folding" DNA chains to form a barrel-shaped container for a payload of cancer antibodies.
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Industrial Robotics - Featured Product
Schmalz Technology Development - Vacuum Generation without Compressed Air - Flexible and Intelligent
• Vacuum generation that's 100% electrical;
• Integrated intelligence for energy and process control;
• Extensive communication options through IO-Link interface;
Schmalz already offers a large range of solutions that can optimize handling process from single components such as vacuum generators to complete gripping systems. Particularly when used in autonomous warehouse, conventional vacuum generation with compressed air reaches its limits. Compressed air often is unavailable in warehouses. Schmalz therefore is introducing a new technology development: a gripper with vacuum generation that does not use compressed air. The vacuum is generated 100% electrically. This makes the gripper both energy efficient and mobile. At the same time, warehouses need systems with integrated intelligence to deliver information and learn. This enables the use of mobile and self-sufficient robots, which pick production order at various locations in the warehouse. Furthermore, Schmalz provides various modular connection options from its wide range of end effectors in order to handle different products reliably and safely.
