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Giving airplanes new life with new cockpits

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Technology moves at a blistering pace, and what was modern and cool yesterday is outdated today.

That’s where UPS Airlines was with its Airbus A300 freighter aircraft fleet several years ago. The 52 wide-body “browntails,” with an average age of 18 years, have plenty of life left in them.

But the avionics in the cockpit needed a serious upgrade. The current flight management computers (FMC) used for navigation have just 200 kilobytes of storage. That was fine in 1983, when the A300-600 first flew, but nowhere near enough storage now. [Read more…] about Giving airplanes new life with new cockpits

Bosch says its new chip is ‘revolutionizing navigation’

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Bosch, one of the world’s largest suppliers of automotive components, says a new chip has invented is “revolutionizing navigation”.

The company says its new MEMS sensor – the SMI230 – is a highly precise sensor which constantly registers changes in the vehicle’s direction and speed, evaluates the information, and transmits it to the navigation system.

There, the information is combined with the positional data from the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and used for navigation. [Read more…] about Bosch says its new chip is ‘revolutionizing navigation’

Mitsubishi and Shin Nihonkai Ferry to develop unmanned ship navigation system

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Mitsubishi Shipbuilding, part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group, is collaborating with Shin Nihonkai Ferry to jointly develop autonomous ships.

The two companies have successfully applied for grant aid under the Joint Technological Development Programme for the Demonstration of Unmanned Ships, sponsored by The Nippon Foundation.

With this support, the two companies say they will commence co-development of underlying technologies and systems to enable unmanned ship navigation in the future. [Read more…] about Mitsubishi and Shin Nihonkai Ferry to develop unmanned ship navigation system

Aceinna claims its new $150 navigation chip rivals $10,000 alternatives

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Aceinna has launched a $150 high precision navigation chip for autonomous vehicles that it claims rivals the performance of $10,000 systems.

The new Aceinna OpenRTK module is said to be “highly accurate, extremely reliable, smaller, easier to integrate, and far less expensive”.

Aceinna says its OpenRTK330L is the only solution on the market to integrate a triple-band RTK/GNSS receiver and a triple-redundant inertial sensor enhancing the safety of autonomous systems. [Read more…] about Aceinna claims its new $150 navigation chip rivals $10,000 alternatives

Omron developing robotic suitcase with AI to assist visually impaired people

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Omron has joined a consortium which is developing a robotic suitcase with artificial intelligence to assist visually impaired people.

As well as Omron, the consortium includes companies such as IBM Japan, Mitsubishi Motors, and Shimizu Corporation.

The AI suitcase is described as an integrated solution that will help the visually impaired to get around town independently, by supplementing visual information by combining the latest AI with robotics. [Read more…] about Omron developing robotic suitcase with AI to assist visually impaired people

5 Examples How to Improve the Usability of an E-Commerce Store

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Beautiful design of the online store does not guarantee its high conversion rates. Your visitors may like beautiful pictures. But they came to buy something.

And if the process of selecting, comparing and ordering products will be inconvenient, none of designer tricks will hold them.

Moreover, visitors make up their opinion instantly. According to Microsoft research, on average, it takes 10.5 seconds. [Read more…] about 5 Examples How to Improve the Usability of an E-Commerce Store

Scania tests autonomous truck in complex manoeuvre in traffic

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Scania has conducted a test in which an autonomous made a complex manoeuvre on a relatively busy road.

Autonomous vehicles and advanced driver assistance systems need robust and precise positioning to enable reliable operations.

This is especially important in the early transitional phase of the technology, when other vehicles around it will not be automated. [Read more…] about Scania tests autonomous truck in complex manoeuvre in traffic

Naïo Technologies raises €14 million for farm robot business

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Startup company Naïo Technologies has raised €14 million in a new funding round to develop and expand its farming robots business.

After a first round of €3 million in 2015, the French start-up Naïo Technologies specialized in agricultural robots, announces the closing of a €14 million funding round led by Bpifrance.

Impact investor Pymwymic and Codema and its historical shareholders, Demeter and Capagro, flanked Bpifrance in this investment round. [Read more…] about Naïo Technologies raises €14 million for farm robot business

Silicon Sensing to provide navigation technology for Mayflower autonomous ship

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Two Silicon Sensing Systems ultra-precise AMU30 inertial measurement units (IMUs) will provide critical navigation data to the autopilot capability for the Mayflower Autonomous Ship (MAS) throughout her milestone trans-Atlantic voyage this autumn.

Setting sail this September, the 15 meter-long, 5-ton MAS400 will repeat the Mayflower’s original epic voyage 400 years ago. Led by marine research organization ProMare and powered by IBM, she will sail from Plymouth, England to Plymouth Massachusetts, USA.

Instead of a captain and crew, she will use computer vision, machine learning, edge technologies and sensors to navigate and detect hazards.  [Read more…] about Silicon Sensing to provide navigation technology for Mayflower autonomous ship

BlueBotics signs up South Korean distributor

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BlueBotics, the global reference in natural feature navigation for automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), has further strengthened its footprint in Asia by announcing a new distribution agreement with South Korean motion and control pioneer MacPion.

BlueBotics’ Autonomous Navigation Technology (ANT) is being integrated by an ever-growing number of industrial vehicle original equipment manufacturers and system integrators across the globe, having been applied across a wide range of applications – from shop floors to warehouses, clean rooms, hospitals and more – over the past decade.

Nicola Tomatis, the CEO of BlueBotics, says: “Our ANT technology is fast becoming the localization and navigation solution of choice for Asia’s autonomous vehicle producers. [Read more…] about BlueBotics signs up South Korean distributor