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NASA boosts GoAERO’s mission with Space Act Agreement and university innovation project funding

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GoAERO says its Space Act Agreement with NASA codifies and expands its partnership and marks a “significant leap forward” in its mission to revolutionize emergency response aviation.

In addition, NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) has committed additional funding through its University Innovation Project, specifically targeting US-based university teams participating in the GoAERO Prize competition.

This collaboration, announced at the recent International Council of Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS) conference, underscores NASA’s dedication to fostering innovation in aviation and emergency response technologies. [Read more…] about NASA boosts GoAERO’s mission with Space Act Agreement and university innovation project funding

Kongsberg’s robotic underwater vessel completes multi-week fully autonomous mission

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Kongsberg Discovery says it has reached “another successful milestone” in the development of its HUGIN Endurance in completing a “record setting multi-week fully autonomous mission”.

After receiving a final navigation update from a pre-deployed transponder 10 hours into the dive, the 8-ton, 40 ft, Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) operated completely independent of all human interaction and with no external navigation aiding for the duration of the sortie.

This mission was conducted at depths ranging from 50 metres to 3,400 metres and met the advertised 1,200 nautical mile range. Most impressive of all, was that HUGIN Endurance returned with a position error of approximately 0.02 percent of total distance traveled. [Read more…] about Kongsberg’s robotic underwater vessel completes multi-week fully autonomous mission

Osaro and Mission Design partner to build specialized robotics solutions

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San Francisco-based OSARO, a provider of machine-learning-enabled robotics for e-commerce, has agreed a partnership with Mission Design & Automation.

Founded in 2004, Mission designs, builds, and integrates custom intelligent automation solutions for a variety of industries, including food and beverage, medical device, transportation and automotive, consumer goods, and more.

The partnership blends OSARO’s AI-powered SightWorks vision software and control technologies for robotics with Mission’s expertise in designing and deploying specialized robotics solutions across a broad array of applications in warehouses and fulfillment centers, such as depalletizing, kitting, and bagging. [Read more…] about Osaro and Mission Design partner to build specialized robotics solutions

Saudi Arabia’s first astronauts return home after historic scientific mission to space

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Astronauts Rayyanah Barnawi and Ali AlQarni arrived in Saudi Arabia amidst celebrations and an official welcome home.

They have accomplished the country’s successful and historic scientific mission to space aboard the ISS.

They have finished their quarantine and conducted all the medical tests required to evaluate the effects of microgravity on the human body. [Read more…] about Saudi Arabia’s first astronauts return home after historic scientific mission to space

Nasa awards AeroVironment $10 million contract to design helicopters for Mars mission

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The success of Ingenuity Mars helicopter, co-designed and co-developed by AeroVironment and NASA/JPL, lays the foundation for the development of the Sample Recovery Helicopters

AeroVironment has been awarded a $10 million contract by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to co-design and co-develop conceptual designs and engineering development units of Mars Sample Recovery Helicopter flight systems.

Future efforts could include detailed design, build, and test of qualification and flight hardware. The helicopters build upon the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter design heritage and feature upgraded robotics to supplement aerial mobility.

AeroVironment engineers from the MacCready Works team previously worked with NASA JPL to co-design and develop the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which has completed 52 successful flights to date on Mars and survived 781 sols on the surface, far outperforming its design objectives. [Read more…] about Nasa awards AeroVironment $10 million contract to design helicopters for Mars mission

4Ocean robot cleans up Florida beach as part of startup’s mission to clean up the world’s oceans

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A robot built by 4Ocean is cleaning up Florida beach as part of the startup company’s mission to clean up the entire world’s oceans.

An ambitious mission for sure, and one for which the company admits “there is no playbook”, but 4Ocean has already collected 28 million pounds of trash from the plastic-polluted salty waters of the world and its program is just getting started.

The robot 4Ocean has supplied to Florida beach is called the BeBot, which collects things like cigarette butts, pieces of plastic and other trash, according to a report on the Fox Weather website. [Read more…] about 4Ocean robot cleans up Florida beach as part of startup’s mission to clean up the world’s oceans

Digital manufacturing startup Bright Machines raises $132 million in new funding

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Bright Machines, a startup which describes itself as “an innovator in software-defined manufacturing”, has raised $132 million in debt and Series B equity funding.

The equity portion of the funding, worth $100 million, was led by Eclipse Ventures. The debt portion of the funding, worth $32 million, was led by Silicon Valley Bank, and Hercules Capital.

Bright Machines intends to use the funds to accelerate the company’s growth, which includes continued expansion into high-demand industry verticals, and the development of new software and service offerings to complement its existing portfolio of products. [Read more…] about Digital manufacturing startup Bright Machines raises $132 million in new funding

MIT device is converting carbon dioxide to oxygen – on Mars

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On the red and dusty surface of Mars, nearly 100 million miles from Earth, an instrument the size of a lunchbox is proving it can reliably do the work of a small tree.

The MIT-led Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment, or MOXIE, has been successfully making oxygen from the Red Planet’s carbon-dioxide-rich atmosphere since April 2021, about two months after it touched down on the Martian surface as part of NASA’s Perseverance rover and Mars 2020 mission.

In a study published today in the journal Science Advances, researchers report that, by the end of 2021, MOXIE was able to produce oxygen on seven experimental runs, in a variety of atmospheric conditions, including during the day and night, and through different Martian seasons. In each run, the instrument reached its target of producing six grams of oxygen per hour – about the rate of a modest tree on Earth. [Read more…] about MIT device is converting carbon dioxide to oxygen – on Mars

Apptronik raises $15 million for its humanoid robots

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Apptronik, an Austin-based robotics company specializing in the development of exoskeletons and collaborative robotics systems, says it raised $14.6 million in a Seed Round, including Capital Factory, Grit Ventures, Perot Jain and other strategic investors.

This funding will go toward fulfilling the company’s current customer orders while accelerating the commercialization of one of the industry’s first mass-produced humanoid robots capable of working alongside humans.

Apptronik is positioned to scale its deep portfolio of safe, intelligent, versatile, and adaptable robotic technology for unstructured environments across enterprises. [Read more…] about Apptronik raises $15 million for its humanoid robots

Geek+ implements first moving solutions project in Italy with Life365

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Geek+, a manufacturer of autonomous mobile robots, and an Italian third-party logistics provider, Life365, have implemented mobile robots to speed up operations.

Based in Forlì, an important logistics hub in the heart of Romagna, Life365 has more than 20 years’ experience in the field of. The company has chosen Geek+’s automation to advance their business and take on larger competitors.

The solution Geek+ developed to handle operations in Life365’s warehouse revolves around a fleet of M200C moving robots that transfer office supplies smartphones, and other high-tech products through the facility and on their way to customers around Italy. [Read more…] about Geek+ implements first moving solutions project in Italy with Life365