Robotics & Automation News

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Texas university wins Sick robotics challenge

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A team from Texas A&M University has won this year’s robotics challenge organized by Sick.

For the 2018-2019 school year, Sick invited students from universities around the country to participate in the first ever TiM$10K Challenge, created to support innovation and student achievement in automation and technology.

Teams were supplied with a 270° Sick LiDAR sensor (TiM) and accessories and challenged to solve a problem, create a solution, or bring a new application to any industry that utilizes the Sick LiDAR.

[Read more…] about Texas university wins Sick robotics challenge

Harvard unveils robot that builds walls

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Harvard’s Wyss Institute has unveiled a robot that can build walls. The university says the idea is to have the robot build barriers against floods, among other things. (See video below.)

In a blog post, the Wyss Institute says the robot that can “autonomously drive interlocking steel sheet piles into soil”.

The structures that the robots builds “could function as retaining walls or check dams for erosion control”, it adds.  [Read more…] about Harvard unveils robot that builds walls

JAXA and Toyota consider collaboration on international space exploration

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The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Toyota Motor Corporation have announced their agreement to consider the possibility of collaborating on international space exploration.

As a first step, JAXA and Toyota have reached agreement to further cooperate on and accelerate their ongoing joint study of a manned, pressurized rover that employs fuel cell electric vehicle technologies.

Such a form of mobility is deemed necessary for human exploration activities on the lunar surface.

[Read more…] about JAXA and Toyota consider collaboration on international space exploration

Scientists take first step towards creating terrifying liquid metal robot last seen in Terminator 2

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Researchers create new kind of robot composed of many simple particles with no centralized control or single point of failure

The concept of “gray goo”, a robot comprised of billions of nanoparticles, has fascinated science fiction fans for decades. But most researchers have dismissed it as just a wild theory.

Current robots are usually self-contained entities made of interdependent subcomponents, each with a specific function. If one part fails, the robot stops working. In robotic swarms, each robot is an independently functioning machine.

In a new study published today in Nature, researchers at Columbia Engineering and MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab demonstrate for the first time a way to make a robot composed of many loosely coupled components, or “particles”. (See video below.) [Read more…] about Scientists take first step towards creating terrifying liquid metal robot last seen in Terminator 2

Integra Biosciences launches new pipetting robot for labs

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Integra Biosciences has launched a new pipetting robot – called Assist Plus – for application in laboratories.

The company says that today’s scientists “want to do more than just straightforward pipetting tasks in microplates”, so it has taken a fresh approach.

In order to innovate, the company asked laboratories about the specific challenges they face, and how these could be overcome by enhanced liquid handling products.  [Read more…] about Integra Biosciences launches new pipetting robot for labs

Netherlands establishes ‘first Smart Park in Europe’

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The Dutch national park Zuid-Kennemerland is claiming to be the first nature reserve in Europe that is equipped with a Smart Parks network.

By using smart sensor technology, parks administrator PWN can now gather more information about the behavior of the large grazing animals in the park.

This knowledge helps with complicated management issues and contributes to a sustainable balance between nature, grazer, and recreation.  [Read more…] about Netherlands establishes ‘first Smart Park in Europe’

Senecio Robotics ships AI robotic machine to help combat mosquito-borne diseases

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Senecio Robotics has received a positive patent examination for its mosquito robotic solution, making it the sole company with a positive examination for mosquito robotic sex sorting.

Senecio’s robotic sex sorting module is based on deep-learning technology, with mosquitoes being entered on the right side, with automated loading of male-only (none biting) mosquitoes on the left side into release boxes, after classification and sorting.

The female mosquito is the deadliest animal on the planet and transmits diseases such as Malaria, Dengue, Yellow fever, West Nile, Zika, etc. killing hundreds of thousands of people per year and hospitalising millions.

[Read more…] about Senecio Robotics ships AI robotic machine to help combat mosquito-borne diseases

Surgical robotics market forecast to reach almost $100 billion by 2024

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The global market for surgical robotics is set to reach almost $100 billion by 2024, according to KBV Research.

According to a new report, Surgical Robotics Market, published by KBV Research, the Surgical Robotics market is expected to attain a market size of $98 billion by 2024, growing at an annual growth rate of 8.4 percent during the forecast period.

Robotics based surgery is at the cutting edge of precision in the realm of surgery. This is attributed to the phenomenal advancement in the medical devices made since few decades.  [Read more…] about Surgical robotics market forecast to reach almost $100 billion by 2024

Remote-controlled boat to remove oil spills

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The world’s first unmanned oil spill boat has been shown to the environmental authorities and future customers in California.

The technology was developed at Norwegian research institute SINTEF and commercialised through the spinoff company Blue Impact AS.

The six-meter boat looks like a racer boat, but is something completely different: It’s the world’s first unmanned oilseed ship.

[Read more…] about Remote-controlled boat to remove oil spills

Machine learning: Bosch sends sensor system to space station

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Bosch in North America and Astrobotic Technology Inc. have announced a research partnership to send experimental sensor technology to the International Space Station (ISS) as early as May 2019.

Bosch’s SoundSee technology is a deep audio analytics capability that uses a custom array of microphones and machine learning to analyse information contained in emitted noises.

SoundSee’s analytics will investigate whether audio data from equipment could be learned and understood using advanced software, such that it could be used to improve the operations of the ISS.

[Read more…] about Machine learning: Bosch sends sensor system to space station