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Indy Autonomous Challenge racecar sets new speed record for driverless vehicle

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The Indy Autonomous Challenge racecar, a Dallara AV-21 programmed by team PoliMOVE from Politecnico di Milano, Italy, and the University of Alabama, USA, has set a new land speed world record of 192.2 mph / 309.3 kph at the historic Kennedy Space Center.

Operating the Dallara AV-21, PoliMOVE set out to push the limits of a boosted engine package during test runs yesterday at Space Florida’s Launch & Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center.

The upgraded engine package, capable of delivering 30 percent more horsepower than previous models, will be on all IAC racecars moving forward. Future competitions will be announced in the coming months. [Read more…] about Indy Autonomous Challenge racecar sets new speed record for driverless vehicle

Starship’s robot food delivery service launches Tennessee university

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Starship Technologies has partnered with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville to roll out a robot food delivery service in a local area called Rocky Top.

A fleet of 40 autonomous on-demand robots will deliver from 16 campus eateries including Einstein Bros. Bagels, Steak ’n Shake, Starbucks, and Subway, among others.

Students, faculty, and staff can use the Starship app (iOS and Android) to order food and drinks from select dining partners to be delivered anywhere on campus. [Read more…] about Starship’s robot food delivery service launches Tennessee university

Delivery robots ‘help students feel safer, skip fewer meals and improve mental health’

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Delivery robots are becoming a popular feature on college campuses across the US and are one of the best and sometimes only options for contactless delivery. It turns out the delivery robots have had other positive impacts on campus.

Starship Technologies, a provider of autonomous delivery services, recently conducted an online survey of 7,063 college students on more than 20 campuses across the US where it provides delivery services. [Read more…] about Delivery robots ‘help students feel safer, skip fewer meals and improve mental health’

Starship rolls out its food delivery robots at University of Idaho

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Vandals on the University of Idaho Moscow campus can have robots deliver food from several Idaho Eats locations, including Qdoba, True Burger, Einstein Bros Bagels and Cravings by Joe via Starship Technologies’ fleet of 15 autonomous food delivery robots.

Cami McClure, assistant vice president for auxiliary services at U of I, says: “We’re excited to bring this service to a wide array of our dining options.

“The university community is eager for on-campus dining delivery and now, with Starship Technologies, we are able to offer a fun, fast and friendly way to deliver.” [Read more…] about Starship rolls out its food delivery robots at University of Idaho

Purdue scientists build a chip that makes connections like a human brain

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An electronic chip that can be reprogrammed on demand may enable artificial intelligence to learn more continuously like the human brain does, researchers have discovered.

When the human brain learns something new, it adapts. But when artificial intelligence learns something new, it tends to forget information it already learned.

As companies use more and more data to improve how AI recognizes images, learns languages and carries out other complex tasks, a paper published in Science this week shows a way that computer chips could dynamically rewire themselves to take in new data like the brain does, helping AI to keep learning over time. [Read more…] about Purdue scientists build a chip that makes connections like a human brain

Kiwibot completes new funding and closes ‘biggest expansion deal’ with Sodexo

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Kiwibot, the Colombian robotic sidewalk delivery startup with a new headquarters in Miami, has agreed a “multimillion-dollar contract expansion” with Sodexo, a food services and facilities management company.

This contract will enable Kiwibot to expand its robotic fleet, delivering more than 1,200 robots across 50 US college campuses, with Sodexo, by the end of 2022.

Sarosh Mistry, chair, Sodexo North America, says: “The early success of our Kiwibot partnership has shown that automated delivery is not only possible and reliable, it’s desirable. [Read more…] about Kiwibot completes new funding and closes ‘biggest expansion deal’ with Sodexo

Startup awarded $5 million to build autonomous car that ‘runs on light’

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Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), an agency of the US military akin to Darpa, is funding a $4.8 million project spearheaded by Boston University College of Engineering, the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Lightmatter, a startup developing “photonic supercomputing” chips.

Electro-photonic computing, or optical computing, is thought to hold the promise of solving one of the biggest technical hurdles that self-driving cars face today – delivering high performance, low latency computing power that is also energy efficient.

At the end of the IARPA-funded experiment, the scientists hope to have “a fully functioning prototype of a self-driving car that runs on light”. [Read more…] about Startup awarded $5 million to build autonomous car that ‘runs on light’

Robot designed by WHOI to explore underwater glacial walls to monitor climate change

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It’s the front line of climate change and could hold the key to predicting global sea level rise, but what goes on at the underwater face of Greenland’s glaciers is a mystery to science.

That could change in 2023 with a bold new mission led by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin that will explore three of Greenland’s glaciers with a submersible robot.

The voyage will be the first time Greenland’s glaciers – which make up the world’s second-largest ice sheet – will be seen up close underwater. [Read more…] about Robot designed by WHOI to explore underwater glacial walls to monitor climate change

Starship Technologies launches robot delivery service at Dallas university

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Starship Technologies has rolled out its robot food delivery service at SMU, a Dallas-based private university.

Starship’s fleet of 16 autonomous, on-demand robots will deliver from 10 campus eateries.

The University’s students, faculty and staff can now use the Starship Food Delivery app (iOS and Android) to order food and drinks from Cinco Taco, Einstein Bros Bagels, Lawyers Inn, Mac’s Place, Panera Bread, Rollin’ & Bowlin’ Acai Bowls, Starbucks, Sushic, and The Market to be delivered anywhere on campus, within minutes. [Read more…] about Starship Technologies launches robot delivery service at Dallas university

Polimove wins autonomous car race at CES

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The Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) team PoliMOVE has won the Autonomous Challenge @ CES, making history as the first head-to-head autonomous racecar competition champion.

PoliMOVE comprises team members from Politecnico di Milano, Italy, and the University of Alabama, in the US.

PoliMOVE competed at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in a field of five teams from five countries representing seven universities to win the $150,000 grand prize. TUM Autonomous Motorsport from the Technische Universität München (Germany) took home second place with $50,000. [Read more…] about Polimove wins autonomous car race at CES