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Move fast and build robots: How a Virginia Tech student overcame setbacks to create a growing organization

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After his start-up collapsed his first year at Virginia Tech, Marco Gonzalez Hauger didn’t slow down – he scaled up.

The senior in the College of Engineering, who will earn degrees in both computer science and industrial and systems engineering, founded Virginia Tech Competitive Robotics Organization (CRO), the university’s largest competitive robotics team.

What started in the corner of a lab turned into a multiteam operation with students from across disciplines. [Read more…] about Move fast and build robots: How a Virginia Tech student overcame setbacks to create a growing organization

Starship Technologies and Topanga partner to offer reusable packaging with campus food orders

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Starship Technologies, a builder and provider of autonomous delivery robots, and Topanga.io, a reusable packaging management platform, are partnering to offer reusable packaging for food orders at US campuses.

George Mason University will be the first Starship campus to introduce the ReusePass integration and the first university to offer a fully integrated reusables experience for kiosks.

There are plans to expand the service to additional Starship campuses. Initially available for mobile pickup and kiosk orders, it will be available for robot deliveries after the launch. [Read more…] about Starship Technologies and Topanga partner to offer reusable packaging with campus food orders

Japanese scientists develop ‘98 percent accurate’ robotic grasping system

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Researchers from Shibaura Institute of Technology, Japan, have developed a novel 6D (six degrees-of-freedom) pose dataset designed to improve robotic grasping accuracy and adaptability in industrial settings. They used an Intel RealSense depth D435 camera in their experiments. 

The dataset, which integrates RGB and depth images, demonstrates significant potential to enhance the precision of robots performing pick-and-place tasks in dynamic environments.

Accurate object pose estimation refers to the ability of a robot to determine both the position and orientation of an object. It is essential for robotics, especially in pick-and-place tasks, which are crucial in industries such as manufacturing and logistics. [Read more…] about Japanese scientists develop ‘98 percent accurate’ robotic grasping system

Scientists develop ‘self-powered tactile sensors for robotics and wearables’

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Scientists at the Chung-Ang University in South Korea say they have developed “self-powered tactile sensors” for robotics and wearables, adding that they have also uncovered “advanced manufacturing strategies” for piezoelectric and triboelectric tactile sensors.

Piezoelectric and triboelectric tactile sensors, crucial for applications in robotics and wearable devices, face challenges in flexibility and environmental resilience.

In a new study, researchers have developed innovative manufacturing strategies to enhance sensor performance by optimizing material properties and fabrication techniques. [Read more…] about Scientists develop ‘self-powered tactile sensors for robotics and wearables’

Scientists build drone to follow and film bees

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A team at the University of Freiburg has built a drone capable of following and filming bees over a distance of more than 100 metres.

The data is intended to provide information about the behaviour of insects in their national surroundings. The researchers developed a new tracking technology for this purpose.

Scientists’ understanding of how insects behave in their natural surroundings is very limited. This is due, among other things, to technological difficulties attempting to follow and record the movements of bees, for example. [Read more…] about Scientists build drone to follow and film bees

Khalifa University showcases 23 robotics solutions at IROS

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Khalifa University of Science and Technology showcased 23 innovative robotics and AI solutions as well as drone technology during the 36th edition of the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2024).

The university says the significantly number of solutions on show validate its status as an academic institution that “remains proactive in advancing automation and technology”.

With its theme “Robotics for Sustainable Development”, the event marks the Middle East and Africa (MENA) region’s first-ever IROS 2024 to be held in Abu Dhabi.

The Khalifa University stand at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC) is displaying projects encompassing all areas of robotics and AI solutions for sustainable development in the marine sector, as well as industries such as Space, Telecom, Computing, Transportation, Agriculture and wildlife conservation.

The projects include “TomFormer” for real-time disease detection in tomato leaves, “UTM: Unmanned Traffic Management”, “Lunar Rover” for lunar exploration, Exoskeleton wearable robot for enhancing human capabilities, “Smart Trash Bin” using computer vision for efficient waste separation, “Ocean Monitoring and Cleaning” for sustainable marine ecosystems, “Autonomous Port Inspection” for maritime security, “Houbara Robot” for behavioral studies of the Houbara bird in its natural habitat, “Coral Reef Inspection”, “Autonomous Driving Platform”, and various drone projects including firefighting drones and UAV swarms for inspection and tracking.

Also featured at the Khalifa University stand are the Droneleaf project which focuses on monitoring and analyzing agricultural field, ‘Spider Robot’ for various applications in climbing different terrains, “Soft Robotics at KU” feature flexible and adaptable applications of technology, a “Heterogeneous Swarm of Underwater Autonomous Vehicles” for underwater tasks, “Quadrotor Control Projects” enhancing quadrotor flight control, “Satellite Control Levitation Setup” demonstrates satellite control mechanisms, as well as the project on “Design and Performance Evaluation of a Marine-Compliant Gripper” for handling uneven large objects in marine environments.

“Autonomous Underwater Robotic System for Aquaculture”, “Autonomous Driving Platform” for developing and testing autonomous technologies, “Robotic Manipulator” for precise manipulation tasks and projects focused on innovative maritime solutions are part of the Maritime Grand Challenge.

Starship Technologies’ autonomous robots deliver from three University of Minnesota eateries

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University of Minnesota Twin Cities community members will see food delivery robots — powered by Starship Technologies — rolling around campus.

They are part of the first University-run food delivery service on the Twin Cities campus and are the first technology of this kind approved in Minneapolis.

Via the Starship app, students, faculty, staff and visitors can order delivery to almost anywhere on the East Bank from Panda Express, Starbucks and Erbert & Gerbert’s in Coffman Memorial Union. [Read more…] about Starship Technologies’ autonomous robots deliver from three University of Minnesota eateries

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

5G technology ‘can contribute to the integration of drones in airspace’, says Genius

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If drone technology is to really take off, it requires that drones are integrated into the airspace and can fly alongside manned aviation. In the research project GENIUS, researchers from SDU (University of Southern Denmark), along with DTU (Denmark Technical University), companies and organisations have shown how 5G technology could be part of the solution.

There are high expectations for the future uses of drones. From flying taxis and healthcare drones to infrastructure monitoring, rescue operations, and the transportation of spare parts to offshore wind farms.

There’s just one problem. [Read more…] about 5G technology ‘can contribute to the integration of drones in airspace’, says Genius

Carnegie Mellon developing drones to fight wildfires

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The brown haze that settled over Pittsburgh and other US cities last summer was merely an irritant to most residents, but for researchers at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute (RI), it was a reminder of why they are developing drones to help fight wildfires.

The smoke was generated by record-breaking wildfires in Canada. Over the course of the summer, the fires burned an area roughly the size of North Dakota and caused at least six deaths, including those of four firefighters.

Andrew Jong, who recently completed his master’s degree in robotics in the School of Computer Science and is now pursuing his PhD, says autonomous drones promise to provide firefighters with situational awareness of these fires, which can range over thousands of acres and are subject to rapid, weather-related changes in direction and intensity.

Seeing through dense smoke is one of many challenges firefighters face and poses a hurdle to using drones. [Read more…] about Carnegie Mellon developing drones to fight wildfires