A New Programming Language For Image-processing Algorithms
Halide is a new programming language designed to make it easier to write high-performance image processing code on modern machines. Its current front end is an embedding in C++. Hardware targets include x86-64/SSE, ARM v7/NEON, and CUDA. Created by researchers at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) Halide was used to rewrite several common image-processing algorithms whose performance had already been optimized by seasoned programmers. The Halide versions were typically about one-third as long but offered significant performance gains — two-, three-, or even six-fold speedups. In one instance, the Halide program was actually longer than the original — but the speedup was 70-fold. The paper is available here and the source will be posted within the next couple of days on github and the projects home here .
North American Robotics Industry Posts Best Quarter Ever
From Robotic Industries Association:
North American robotics companies sold more industrial robots in the second quarter of 2012 than any previous quarter in history, according to new statistics released by Robotic Industries Association (RIA), the industry's trade group.
A total of 5,556 robots valued at $403.1 million were sold to North American companies, a jump of 14% in units and 28% in dollars over the same quarter in 2011. Orders in the first half of 2012 totaled 10,652 robots valued at $747 million, increases of 20% in units and 29% in dollars over the same period last year.
"Obviously, we're thrilled about the great results so far this year," said Jeff Burnstein, President of RIA. The strong sales reflect increased demand for robotics in industries such as automotive, plastics & rubber, and metals. However, as the economy slows, it's not clear that these numbers will remain as strong heading forward."
Orders for spot welding robots, used primarily in automotive solutions, jumped 68% in the first half of 2012. Other big jumps were seen in coating & dispensing (+42%), arc welding (+20%), and assembly (+19%). Material removal orders, a smaller application area, rose 364 percent.
Automotive related orders accounted for 65% of units and 64% of dollars in the first half of 2012. This represents sharp gains of 44% in units and 56% in dollars over the opening half of 2011.
"It's great that the auto related numbers continue to post huge gains, but as we know, automotive industry purchases are cyclical," Burnstein explained. "However, we were disappointed to see non-automotive related orders fall eight percent in units and one percent in dollars in the first half of the year, with even sharper declines in the second quarter alone."
RIA estimates that some 220,000 robots are now used in the United States, placing the US second only to Japan in robot use.
Challenges In Moving Goods
We might never see warehouses that employ robots exclusively, but the ratio of robots to humans will continue to grow, as more jobs are automated. Robots are safer and they dont call in on Monday with a hangover.
Silvus Demonstrates Robot Repeater Capability on TALON & FasTac
Silvus Technologies demonstrated its MIMO radio repeater capability integrated into QinetiQs TALON and iRobots FasTac robots at the Army Expeditionary Warfighters Experiment (AEWE) Spiral G. TARDECs Ground Vehicle Robotics group requested Silvus to integrate its SC3500 MIMO radio into both robotic platforms as part of TARDECs ISR Mission Concepts platform.
QinetiQ Explosive Ordnance Disposal Robots
QinetiQ is primarily focused on the defense and security markets today; however, we are seeing growing interest in robotics for the agricultural and mining industries where robotics can provide more efficient operations in harsh environments.
Adept Robotics for the Solar Industry
Todays ultra-thin solar cells require precise and gentle handling. And with the increasing demand on solar manufacturers for product, automation must deliver the highest throughput possible.
Silvus SC3500 MIMO Radio Delivers 16 Mbps Bidirectional Link to Bomb Squad Taurus Robot
Advanced wireless capabilities have not been available to bomb squads, who have had to rely on a tethered approach, until now. With Silvus cutting edge MIMO radios, EOD UGV operators can now wirelessly examine suspicious objects with 3D HD video and haptic feedback precision from safe NLOS distances of a few hundred meters.
Forbes: The End of Chinese Manufacturing and Rebirth of U.S. Industry
Forbes article on China's manufacturing bubble, the impact of robotics and 3d printing, and the possibility of a resurgence in US manufacturing.
IEEE Spectrum Tours iRobot's Museum Of Robots
Nancy Dussault Smith, vice president of marketing communications at iRobot, gave IEEE Spectrum a 25 minute tour of the iRobot museum and all the robots and prototypes from the companies past.
Auto Pan-Tilt Camera System For Tracking Fast Moving Objects
A team at the University of Japan have developed a camera system for tracking fast moving objects automatically and accurately without motion prediction. The example video shown on their website demonstrates the camera tracking a ping pong game. Even a high-speed object like a bouncing pingpong ball in play can be tracked at the center due to a high-speed optical gaze controller Saccade Mirror and a 1000-fps high-speed vision. The Saccade Mirror controls a camera's gazing direction not by moving the camera itself but by rotating two-axis small galvanometer mirrors. It takes no more than 3.5 ms even if it controls the gaze by 60 deg, the widest angle, for both pan and tilt. The newest prototype system accesses a Full HD image quality for an actual broadcasting service.
XBee Customizable Handheld Controller
Quantum Robotics is looking for funding on Kickstarter for two XBee based controller. They already reached their goal of $7,000 but you can still contribute and get a first run controller.
Q4 Controller
32 Channels
4 Gimbals Joysticks (Horizontal, Vertical, & Push-button control)
4 (10K Ohm Linear) Potentiometer Dial Controls
10 Push-buttons
6 Toggle Switch Controls
1 Power On/Off Toggle
Micro SD Card Slot
2x20 Serial LCD
Power requirements: 6-9 VDC (2S 500mAh Lipo or 9V battery
Q2 Controller
24 Channels
2 RC Gimbals (Horizontal & Vertical control)
4 (10K Ohm Linear) Potentiometer Dial Controls
10 Push-buttons
6 Toggle Switch Controls
1 Power On/Off Toggle
Micro SD Card Slot
2x20 Serial LCD
Power requirements: 6-9 VDC (2S 500mAh Lipo or 9V battery)
KUKAprc: Parametric Robot Control for Visual Programming Language Grasshopper
The International Association for Robots in Architecture has released an update to it's Grasshopper plugin: KUKA:prc.
Grasshopper is visual programming language built on top of the Rhino3D modeler. Grasshopper can be used to generate complex 3d structures procedurally by chaining together operations using its node-based IDE.
KUKA:prc enables you to program industrial robots directly out of the parametric modeling environment, including a full kinematic simulation of the robot. The generated files can be executed at the KUKA robot, without requiring any additional software. The new release includes several preset profiles existing KUKA robots and is free (at least for the time being) to download and test here .
Automated Pallet Tracking in Food & Beverage Logistics
Without proper pallet tracking, manufacturers run the risk of costly product recalls, as well as negative impact on brand image. Often entire batches of affected product must be recalled due to insufficient pallet identification, even when errors exist for only a portion of a given shipment.
Robots in the Deep
The oceans are unfathomable, dark and dangerous; yet researchers are building undersea robots that can find their way in the mysterious deep. Scientists now have a variety of research and work vehicles to explore where no man has gone before.
Robotmaster software and Kuka Robots make a significant impact at Automatica 2012
Concerns of robots maintaining tolerances and producing finish quality parts were put to rest by the live machining done at both booths.
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