Robotics & Automation News

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DJI uses Ubuntu in drone computer

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Ubuntu, the most popular Linux operating system for the Internet of Things, is now available on the Manifold 2, a high-performance embedded computer offered by drone manufacturer, DJI.

The Manifold 2 is designed to fit onto DJI’s drone platforms via the onboard SDK and enables developers to transform aerial platforms into truly smarter drones, performing complex computing tasks and advanced image processing, which in-turn creates rapid flexibility for enterprise usage.

As part of the offering, the Manifold 2 is planning to feature snaps. Snaps are containerised software packages, designed to work perfectly across cloud, desktop, and IoT devices – with this the first instance of the technology’s availability on drones.

[Read more…] about DJI uses Ubuntu in drone computer

The Future of Automation in the Aviation Industry

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Recent years have seen a considerable buzz build up around the prospect of automated transport. But in the aviation industry at least, this revolution has been going on for a while.

Every commercial flight, including those undertaken by private jets, takes place with some aspects being handled entirely by a computer.

As artificial intelligence becomes more sophisticated, it’s a near-certainty that a greater portion of piloting duties will be handed over to automated systems. [Read more…] about The Future of Automation in the Aviation Industry

DHL launches last-mile drone delivery service in China

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DHL Express has partnered with autonomous aerial vehicle company EHang to jointly launch a fully automated and intelligent smart drone delivery solution to tackle the last-mile delivery challenges in the urban areas of China.

The launch ceremony was held today at the EHang Command and Control Center in Guangzhou, with the attendance of senior executives from both companies.

This cutting-edge solution takes its inaugural flight for a DHL customer, making DHL the first international express company to provide such a service in China.

[Read more…] about DHL launches last-mile drone delivery service in China

Lilium launches air taxi. Flying cars could take to the skies next

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Flying cars have been around a long time, but only as test vehicles, often engineered and built by tinkerers who may have been seen as somewhat eccentric for even dreaming up such a machine.

But in the past couple of years, these “eccentric tinkerers” have been usurped by corporate bigwigs who maybe see a big market for the technology.

In the most recent development, a German company called Lilium has completed a successful test flight with its all-electric flying car.

[Read more…] about Lilium launches air taxi. Flying cars could take to the skies next

UTC begins work on hybrid electric aeroplane

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United Technologies (UTC) has recently launched the advanced projects group within the company, which moves at speed to build and pilot ambitious product and service demonstrators.

The group’s first product demonstrator is a hybrid-electric X-plane under the project name, Project 804.

The number “804” represents the straight-line mileage between the Pratt & Whitney facility in Longueuil, Québec, and the Collins Aerospace facility in Rockford, Illinois.

[Read more…] about UTC begins work on hybrid electric aeroplane

Boeing 737 crash could lead to planes being fitted with thousands of additional sensors

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On the 10th of March this year, a Boeing 737 plane crashed in Ethiopia, killing all 157 on board. 

Investigators have released their early findings into another accident involving a 737 operated by Indonesia’s Lion Air, in October last year, and they suggest the cause was “an erroneous angle-of-attack sensor”.

An angle-of-attack sensor is usually positioned to the side of the plane’s nose and detects oncoming air flow, to which it adjusts and sends back data to the plane’s computer system.  [Read more…] about Boeing 737 crash could lead to planes being fitted with thousands of additional sensors

Robotic co-pilot autonomously flies and lands a simulated Boeing 737

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Aurora Flight Sciences
Aurora’s Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (Alias) program (Picture: Aurora Flight Sciences)

Aurora’s Alias system performs various flight scenarios, further demonstrates capabilities

Aurora Flight Sciences’ work on the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (Alias) program has further demonstrated its automated flight capabilities with various successful flight scenarios in a Boeing 737 simulator.

These accomplishments build on Aurora’s successful installation and testing of Alias components on a Diamond DA42, Cessna 208 Caravan, UH-1 Iroquois, and DHC-2 Beaver aircraft.

Aurora’s Alias technology demonstration system is designed to function as a second pilot in a two-crew aircraft, enabling reduced crew operations while ensuring that aircraft performance and mission success are maintained or improved.  [Read more…] about Robotic co-pilot autonomously flies and lands a simulated Boeing 737

Computer model of how bees view the world could be a breakthrough for robotics

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sheffield uni Bee vision

Scientists at the University of Sheffield have created a computer model of how bees avoid hitting walls – which could lead to a breakthrough in the development of autonomous robots. 

Researchers from the Department of Computer Science built their computer model to look at how bees use vision to detect the movement of the world around them and avoid crashes.

Bees control their flight using the speed of motion – or optic flow – of the visual world around them, but it is not known how they do this. The only neural circuits so far found in the insect brain can tell the direction of motion, not the speed.

This study suggests how motion-direction detecting circuits could be wired together to also detect motion-speed, which is crucial for controlling bees’ flight.

“Honeybees are excellent navigators and explorers, using vision extensively in these tasks, despite having a brain of only one million neurons,” says Dr Alex Cope, lead researcher on the paper.  [Read more…] about Computer model of how bees view the world could be a breakthrough for robotics

Spaceflight will be as common in the future as air travel is today

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Buying a ticket to outer space will be an everyday activity for millions of people in the future, as common as buying an airline ticket is today, according to an expert.

Paul Kostek, former president of the IEEE Aerospace and Electronics Systems Society, says the commercialisation of space is following the same trajectory as the air travel industry.

Virgin Galactic sub-orbital spaceship
Virgin Galactic sub-orbital spaceship

In an exclusive interview with Robotics and Automation News, Kostek says: “Just looking at the normal evolution of flight, it wasn’t until the 1930s that Boeing introduced the first pressurised planes that allowed them to fly higher… flying became safer.”

Kostek, who is the current principal of Air Direct Solutions, adds that it was approximately 40 or 50 years after the Wright Brothers’ first flight that commercial aircraft came along, with early air travellers being the equivalent of present-day adventurers who buy tickets for trips on Virgin Galactic’s sub-orbital flights.

DJI launches new Matrice 600 aerial software platform

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dji new platform

DJI on Sunday introduced the Matrice 600, its next-generation aerial platform, marking a new era for professional aerial photography, filmmaking and industrial applications. 

The M600 integrates DJI’s brand-new A3 flight controller onboard and features advanced Lightbridge 2 video-transmission technology that offers high frame rates and HD live-streaming capability at distances up to five kilometers.

“The M600 is the most-powerful and easiest-to-use professional platform DJI has ever produced,” said senior product manager Paul Pan. “We’ve pre-programmed all M600 platform data and information into the A3 flight controller, remote and transmission system to minimize setup and get you flying as quickly as possible.”

Details on DJI’s website.