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Beep to provide autonomous shuttle for Florida State College in Jacksonville

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The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) and Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) have introduced autonomous vehicles on FSCJ’s downtown campus, making it the first college campus in the state of Florida to receive autonomous shuttles for students and visitors.

The initiative is in collaboration with Beep and Oxa.

Nat Ford, JTA CEO, says: “Our partnership with FSCJ and our industry partners Beep and Oxa, goes beyond merely deploying autonomous vehicles on campus – it marks a significant stride towards enhancing mobility in Jacksonville, making it more efficient and safer.

“This initiative is a testament to years of hard work and collaboration between the private and public sector, including the US Department of Transportation. [Read more…] about Beep to provide autonomous shuttle for Florida State College in Jacksonville

Plymouth university students design and build ‘scarecrow’ robots to protect wildlife

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Plymouth State University (PSU) students in their “Spring 2023 Industrial Robotics” course began work on a multi-semester project to bring new life to a pair of robots belonging to Casella Waste Systems, which has used six of these robots to ward off wildlife at their Bethlehem, New Hampshire landfill for roughly the past four years.

The project will continue during the next school year, providing a hands-on learning experience in a partnership that will benefit students, Casella, and ultimately regional wildlife.

The partnership between Plymouth State University’s first-in-the-state Robotics bachelor’s degree program and Casella was created in the hopes of bringing many of these robots, which use obsolete systems and have fallen into general disrepair, back into peak working order. [Read more…] about Plymouth university students design and build ‘scarecrow’ robots to protect wildlife

California certifies Mercedes semi-autonomous drive system

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Mercedes‑Benz says its Drive Pilot system for SAE Level 3 conditionally automated driving received certification from California state authorities.

With this significant milestone Mercedes-Benz is the first car manufacturer with authorization to introduce such a SAE Level 3 system in a standard-production vehicle for use on public freeways in the most populous state in the United States.

Drive Pilot will be available in the US market as an option for model year 2024 Mercedes‑Benz S-Class and EQS Sedan models, with the first cars delivered to customers in late 2023. [Read more…] about California certifies Mercedes semi-autonomous drive system

Nvidia CEO donates $50 million to Oregon State University, which promptly builds a $200 million supercomputing center

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Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang and his wife, Lori, have donated $50 million to their alma mater, Oregon State University, to advance research in AI, climate science and robotics. The university will use the donation to build an engineering complex with an AI supercomputer to help students and faculty address some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

As a civil engineer, Scott Ashford used explosives to make the ground under Japan’s Sendai airport safer in an earthquake.

Now, as the dean of the engineering college at Oregon State University, he’s at ground zero of another seismic event.

In its biggest fundraising celebration in nearly a decade, Oregon State announced plans today for a $200 million center where faculty and students can plug into resources that will include one of the world’s fastest university supercomputers.

The 150,000-square-foot center, due to open in 2025, will accelerate work at Oregon State’s top-ranked programs in agriculture, computer sciences, climate science, forestry, oceanography, robotics, water resources, materials sciences and more with the help of AI. [Read more…] about Nvidia CEO donates $50 million to Oregon State University, which promptly builds a $200 million supercomputing center

Mouser Electronics sponsors FIRST Robotics Competition

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Mouser Electronics has confirmed its continued sponsorship of the FIRST Robotics Competition, which inspires innovation and fosters well-rounded life capabilities in tens of thousands of young people every year.

During the 2022-23 FIRST Robotics Competition season, nearly 100,000 high-school students on more than 3,400 teams from across the world are learning, discovering, and solving engineering challenges through a series of robotics events.

Kevin Hess, Mouser’s senior vice president of marketing, says: “Since our founding, education has been a main facet of Mouser’s mission. [Read more…] about Mouser Electronics sponsors FIRST Robotics Competition

Starship Technologies launches robot delivery service at North Carolina university

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Starship Technologies, the world’s leading provider of autonomous delivery services, announced today that its robots have started on-demand food deliveries at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte).

Starship’s fleet of 30 autonomous, on-demand robots are now delivering from Wendy’s, Bojangles and Shake Smart and will add more campus eateries throughout March, with 10 onboard by the end of the month.

The school’s nearly 30,000 students and faculty can now use the Starship Food Delivery app (iOS and Android) to order food and drinks from campus retailers to be delivered anywhere on campus, within minutes. [Read more…] about Starship Technologies launches robot delivery service at North Carolina university

Michigan awards $260,000 in grants to mobility technology companies

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The state of Michigan has announced that three companies will receive $260,000 in total funding through the Michigan Mobility Funding Platform (MMFP) to test and deploy mobility projects across the state.

With these grants, Michigan will enable new mobility solutions that help address challenges related to school bus emissions, decaying mobility infrastructure and last-mile deliveries, all while reducing on-road miles, emissions, traffic, accidents and noise.

Lt Governor Garlin Gilchrist II says: “Shaping the next generation of mobility solutions means developing more than just automobiles. It means future-proofing our roads and bridges, as well as ensuring that our alternate and last-mile mobility solutions can support the areas where we live, work, visit and play. [Read more…] about Michigan awards $260,000 in grants to mobility technology companies

Plymouth State University receives $1 million funding for new robotics lab

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The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is sending $1 million in federal funding to Plymouth State University (PSU) to aid in the construction of a new robotics laboratory to be located on the fourth floor of the Draper & Maynard Building at the Plymouth campus.

In fall 2021, PSU became the first New Hampshire institution to offer a Bachelor of Science in Robotics degree program.

PSU President Donald L. Birx, PhD says the university plans to use the funds to develop the next generation robotics workforce and machine-learning manufacturers with a new, state-of-the-art robotics lab. [Read more…] about Plymouth State University receives $1 million funding for new robotics lab

Wolfspeed to build ‘world’s largest’ silicon carbide materials facility in North Carolina

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Wolfspeed, a developer of silicon carbide technology, says it will build a new, state-of-the-art, multi-billion-dollar materials manufacturing facility in Chatham County, North Carolina.

The investment is targeted to generate a more than 10 fold increase from Wolfspeed’s current Silicon Carbide production capacity on its Durham campus, supporting the company’s long-term growth strategy, accelerating the adoption of Silicon Carbide semiconductors across a wide array of end-markets and unlocking a new era of energy efficiency.

Gregg Lowe, president and CEO of Wolfspeed, says: “Wolfspeed is the industry leader in supplying the materials required to meet the accelerating demand for next generation semiconductors and creating a more sustainable future for all. [Read more…] about Wolfspeed to build ‘world’s largest’ silicon carbide materials facility in North Carolina