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The mundane revolution: Unexpected innovations in robotics

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By Rhys Davies, product manager at Canonical, publishers of Ubuntu

Today’s headlines tend to focus on the weird and wonderful robots of this world: the Hollywood Terminators or mechanical dogs developed by Boston Dynamics and other Silicon Valley start-ups.

The greatest innovations, however, can often be found in the more mundane corners of our society, within the industries and environments people least expect.

It’s happened with medicine and the discovery of penicillin, for example, while Archimedes had his eureka moment in the bath. [Read more…] about The mundane revolution: Unexpected innovations in robotics

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

Canonical releases new version of Ubuntu operating system

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Canonical has launched a new version of the Ubuntu computer operating system, which is increasingly popular in industrial devices and networks.

The company says the updated version, Ubuntu 19.04, provides the necessary tools for open infrastructure applications, includes a developer desktop, internet of things functionality, and cloud to edge software distribution.

Mark Shuttleworth, CEO of Canonical, says: “The open-source-first on Ubuntu movement in telco, finance, and media has spread to other sectors.

“From the public cloud to the private data center to the edge appliance or cluster, open source has become the reference for efficiency and innovation.

“Ubuntu 19.04 includes the leading projects to underpin that transition, and the developer tooling to accelerate the applications for those domains.”

Could an IoT security domino effect derail robotics before it ever goes mainstream?

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By Eric Jensen, head of IoT product management at Canonical

2019 will be a big year for robotics, as we begin to see the expansion of automation technologies into new markets.

But with IoT security still a weak spot, one major attack within robotics could have a domino effect on the entire industry.

Add to this the verticals that robots are beginning to infiltrate – healthcare and agriculture for example – and the threat becomes immediate and very real.  [Read more…] about Could an IoT security domino effect derail robotics before it ever goes mainstream?

Insight: Building the future-proofed robot

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By Kyle Fazzari, software engineer and roboticist at Canonical, the company behind the Ubuntu operating system

There’s no such thing as an overnight success. Time and again, it’s the desire to tweak, modify and update which separates a great idea from real-world achievements.

With Apple as the first business to cross the $1 trillion threshold, there’s no better example of this than the iPhone. As a singular product it still doesn’t boast the best camera, the most storage, or fastest processor on the market. So where does the secret to longevity lie? And what can robotics learn from Apple’s flagship product?  [Read more…] about Insight: Building the future-proofed robot

Interview with Ubuntu boss: A rich ecosystem for robotics and automation systems

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Exclusive interview with Mike Bell from Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu

There’s a lot of talk about the Robot Operating System. Understandably so. But the most widely used operating system in robotics and automation systems development is actually Ubuntu. 

In fact, ROS is not actually an operating system at all – it’s a set of software frameworks, or a software development kit, to be installed into an operating system like Ubuntu.

As Mike Bell, executive vice president of internet of things and devices at Canonical, explains in an exclusive interview: “It’s a bit confusing because it’s called Robot Operating System, but the reason is because if you’re developing robot applications, you don’t need to worry about the fact that it’s running on Ubuntu.

“You just write your application to interface into a ROS SDK and then deploy on Ubuntu.”  [Read more…] about Interview with Ubuntu boss: A rich ecosystem for robotics and automation systems

Clearpath Robotics partners with iRobot for next generation Turtlebot based on Intel Euclid Development Kit

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Clearpath Robotics, a provider of mobile robots for research and development, in partnership with iRobot, has launched the TurtleBot Euclid – the next generation all-in-one mobile robotics platform for learning the Robot Operating System.

TurtleBot Euclid is designed to be an easy-to-use and cost-effective solution for enabling students and educators to accelerate robotics learning.

Clearpath’s TurtleBot is based on the Intel Euclid platform which itself is based on the Ubuntu open-source operating system.  [Read more…] about Clearpath Robotics partners with iRobot for next generation Turtlebot based on Intel Euclid Development Kit