AutonomouStuff and NEXCOM Pave the "Road to Autonomy"
CES 2017 in Las Vegas Brings AutonmouStuff and NEXCOM Together to Innovate Automated Driving Solutions
Future Drones Will Fly as Silent as Owls, as Steady as Bees
Glenn McDonald for Seeker: Want to know what drones of the future will look like?
So does David Lentink, editor of Interface Focus, a journal that, as its title suggests, looks at the interface of different scientific disciplines. Each issue zeroes in on a particular intersection of physical sciences and life sciences and invites the world's top scholars to publish their latest work.
The latest issue of Interface Focus brings together biologists and engineers to discuss a topic that's relatively straightforward and, well, pretty empirically cool:
"It's completely focused on how animals fly and how that can help us build flying robots," said Lentink, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Stanford. Can't argue with that.
The new issue features 18 newly published papers on various ways that engineers are borrowing ideas from nature to make the next generation of drones and aerial robots. Several of the papers detail prototype drones that have already been built and tested. Cont'd...
DIY Position Tracking Using HTC Vive's Lighthouse
From Alexander Shtuchkin:
Code & schematics for position tracking sensor using HTC Vive's Lighthouse system and a Teensy board.
General purpose indoor positioning sensor, good for robots, drones, etc.
3d position accuracy: currently ~10mm; less than 2mm possible with additional work.
Update frequency: 30 Hz
Output formats: Text; Mavlink ATT_POS_MOCAP via serial; Ublox GPS emulation (in works)
HTC Vive Station visibility requirements: full top hemisphere from sensor. Both stations need to be visible.
Positioning volume: same as HTC Vive, approx up to 4x4x3 meters.
Cost: ~$10 + Teensy 3.2 ($20) (+ Lighthouse stations (2x $135))
Skills to build: Low complexity soldering; Embedded C++ recommended for integration to your project.
(Github page)
Was That an Insect or a Drone?
The insect drone takes on the functions of larger UAVs, but reduces the larger drones down into a miniature undetectable device.
PrecisionHawk Research Outlines Operations Risk for Drones Flying Beyond Line of Sight
Under the FAA Pathfinder Program, PrecisionHawk's Phase 2 research indicates technology assist is critical for BVLOS operations.
Sentera Partners With RDO Equipment Co. to Offer New UAV Solutions
Agreement brings additional, complete UAV solution packages to RDO Equipment Co. Customers
Engineers Devise New Method to Heighten Senses of Soft Robot
Written by AZoRobotics: Most robots achieve grasping and tactile sensing through motorized means, which can be excessively bulky and rigid. A Cornell group has devised a way for a soft robot to feel its surroundings internally, in much the same way humans do.
A group led by Robert Shepherd, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and principal investigator of Organic Robotics Lab, has published a paper describing how stretchable optical waveguides act as curvature, elongation and force sensors in a soft robotic hand.
Doctoral student Huichan Zhao is lead author of “Optoelectronically Innervated Soft Prosthetic Hand via Stretchable Optical Waveguides,” which is featured in the debut edition of Science Robotics. The paper published Dec. 6; also contributing were doctoral students Kevin O’Brien and Shuo Li, both of Shepherd’s lab. Cont'd...
Autopilot vs. Autonomous
A fully autonomous automobile is able to decide whether it can safely enter an intersection. It is able to decide how to maneuver around other vehicles, people, and other moving objects.
Visteon's Silicon Valley Technical Center to Lead Development of Artificial Intelligence for Autonomous Vehicles
The recently opened facility in Santa Clara, California, will work closely with global Visteon tech centers to develop excellence in artificial intelligence software, advanced driver awareness systems (ADAS) and deep machine learning.
Velodyne LiDAR Announces Breakthrough Design for Miniaturized, Low-Cost Solid-State LiDAR Sensors
Application of integrated circuitry leads to a new approach to LiDAR sensors for the autonomous vehicle, 3D mapping, and drone industries
AutonomouStuff Changes the Game of Self-Driving Research with Fleet of Automated R&D Platforms
AutonomouStuff, the leader in enabling the future of transportation, will proudly unveil additions to their R&D Platform fleet and modular-based software applications at CES 2017. The fleet, which expands on their original Lincoln MKZ-based platform, now includes the Ford Fusion, Polaris Ranger and Polaris GEM.
Robotics Trends To Produce Robotics Conference & Marketplace At CES® 2017
Get a first look at the robots responsible for changing the way we live during the CES Robotics conference track and within the Robotics Marketplace, both presented by Robotics Trends.
MIT's Modular Robotic Chain Is Whatever You Want It to Be
Evan Ackerman for IEEE Spectrum: As sensors, computers, actuators, and batteries decrease in size and increase in efficiency, it becomes possible to make robots much smaller without sacrificing a whole lot of capability. There’s a lower limit on usefulness, however, if you’re making a robot that needs to interact with humans or human-scale objects. You can continue to leverage shrinking components if you make robots that are modular: in other words, big robots that are made up of lots of little robots.
In some ways, it’s more complicated to do this, because if one robot is complicated, robots tend to be complicated. If you can get all of the communication and coordination figured out, though, a modular system offers tons of advantages: robots that come in any size you want, any configuration you want, and that are exceptionally easy to repair and reconfigure on the fly.
MIT’s ChainFORM is an interesting take on this idea: it’s an evolution of last year’s LineFORM multifunctional snake robot that introduces modularity to the system, letting you tear of a strip of exactly how much robot you need, and then reconfigure it to do all kinds of things. Cont'd...
DRONE VOLT Expanding the range of drones with the "DV WING" for agriculture and mapping
DRONE VOLT, the French professional drone manufacturer is launching the "DV WING". This flying wing drone is dedicated to precision agriculture and construction work and will enrich the companys range of professional drones.
Unmanned Systems and Solutions Launches Professional Drone Repair Facility
Combat UAS veteran owned, Unmanned Systems and Solutions can repair consumer and commercial drones in our 120,000 square foot US facility. Most repairs take less than a week.
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