Robotics Education Journal
12/18/2016 With millions of drones coming to market over the next few years, there is growing demand for professional repair services. Unmanned Systems and Solutions (USAS) announced the opening of a 120,000 square foot facility that will be able to quickly repair drones sold by all major manufacturers. USAS's team of American-based technicians will quickly repair and trouble-shoot your drone to maximize your service availability.
12/09/2016 Jose Antunes reported in Commercial UAV NEWS that by manipulating aerial observations recorded by Insitu ScanEagle drones with Inexa Control Software, 3D images of forest fires can be displayed in miniature electronic dioramas that, in turn, can be viewed using the Microsoft Hololens. This technology permits the remote direction of firefighting operations and the control of wildfires in new ways.
12/05/2016 AS reported by Sandra Helsel of the UK’s Mirror, the Russians are developing a life-size humanoid robot, named Fedor, for use on the International Space Station (ISS) and for exploring the moon. Russia has also announced ambitions to send humans to the moon by 2031, and plans to have Fedor’s successor, there, helping establish a moon colony.
12/04/2016 The Link Foundation is accepting research proposals from doctoral candidates in ocean engineering and instrumentation research (e.g., robotics and sensor systems, and related areas), and will award selected candidates grants of $28,500. There are no citizenship restrictions. This is an exciting opportunity for qualified candidates! Applications are available online. Proposals must be received on or before February 15, 2017.
12/03/2016 Follow this thread to see links to all 11 exclusive video interviews filmed by The National Robotics Education Foundation at RoboBusiness 2016 in Silicon Valley.
12/01/2016 November 23, 2016
UK Officials Embark on West Coast Tour to Highlight Advanced Drone Regulations
Last week a delegation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle experts from the United Kingdom met with industry leaders in California to highlight the United Kingdom’s regulatory leadership.
The United Kingdom has sophisticated regulations governing the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones) for commercial use. Currently many leading companies use the UK for their drones testing, such as Amazon.
Mr. Tim Johnson (Policy Director, UK Civil Aviation Authority) and Dr. Michael Clark (Deputy Director, International Aviation, Safety and Environment, UK Department for Transport) spoke with companies, policy makers, and media to highlight the UK’s global leadership in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (drones) testing and regulations.
Dr. Clark remarked: “This was a fantastic visit to see where the US and UK can further collaborate and learn from one another about UAV testing and delivery. I’m returning to London and already have ideas for a few policy changes to ensure we get the most of the drone economy.”
Mr. Johnson agreed. “It was also good to discuss with our American counterparts how we can jointly tackle issues such as safety, security and privacy, or using drones for public projects like inspecting power lines or helping with search-and-rescue missions.”
The UK partnered with Ms. Monica England, Marketing Director, 5D Robotics, Inc. to host a private reception in San Jose the first night of Drone World Expo. Other events that took place included a panel discussion at the Drone World Expo in San Jose, speaking at Los Angeles Economic Development
11/28/2016 In the Government Defense department at Designnews.com, Charles Murray reports that it's still possible to earn an engineering degree for an annual tuition of less than $20,000! He reviews some of the best schools for those seeking an engineering degree.
11/15/2016 Under a NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award granted to Near Earth Autonomy (NEA), NEA will develop systems enabling safe unmanned operation during unexpected contingencies such as GPS-denied conditions. The SBIR award is granted in partnership with the NASA Langley Research Center.
11/09/2016 This is our latest interview from RoboBusiness 2016 held in Silicon Valley in late September; be sure to scroll down for many more NREF-produced videos from this exciting conference (click on the link at bottom).
SRI International is a pioneering robotics company that you want to watch! Robotics division mechanical engineer Mike Stevens addresses the amazing tech in development at SRI. A current SRI focus is a life-size humanoid robot that rides a motorcycle, called MotoBot. It is a collaborative effort between Yamaha and SRI, and is a fully integrated technology system that drives a YXF-R1M motorcycle. It includes robotic transmissions and high efficiency motor controllers as well as standard bike handlebar and foot controls. But that's just one of several robotics arenas addressed by Stevens in this must-see exclusive interview.
11/08/2016 HP Fellow, VP, and innovative inventor Will Allen holds 70 U.S. patents. He is experienced in the founding of new technologies and in their commercialization. In this lively talk at RoboBusiness 2016, he brings a fresh perspective to predicting the robots in our future and the timing of their deployment.
11/07/2016 RoboBusiness 2016 was brimming with technological advances and entrepreneurial spirit, and the Pitchfire program was one more exciting element in the mix. In this competition, judges vote for the most promising entrepreneurial launch based on 2-minute presentations delivered in a fast-paced competition open to the public. At the end of the first day, The Kobi Company won the competition based on its autonomous robot that can maintain your lawn, clean up leaves and remove snow from your grounds.
11/07/2016 Jim Lawton, Chief Product and Marketing Officer, Rethink Robotics, Boston, explains that their new generation of collaborative robots are safe, inexpensive, and designed to work side-by-side with humans. In a vast improvement over past practice with respect to safety and productivity, the robot “Sawyer” can pick-and-place products working alongside people.
11/07/2016 CEO John S. Ostrem, Ph.D, notes that AvatarMIND robots have been used in China for some years, particularly as companion robots in one-child families, and in healthcare. Next year, the company will be moving from Nanjing, China to the U.S. where these remarkable humanoids will be used in healthcare, to develop therapies for autistic children, and other markets.
11/06/2016 As explained by CEO Tracy McSheery, PhaseSpace, founded in 1994, specializes in motion capture and motion control. Based in San Leandro, CA, PhaseSpace develops new products and technologies for emerging motion tracking markets, and offers solutions for research, industrial arts and graphics arts communities. Anything “motion” so consider this a must view for both real world and animated robots of any type that crawl, burrow, slither, walk, swim or fly!
11/06/2016 Carolin Funk, Venture Director of Technology, Siemens, works out of the Siemens’ Berkley, CA, office. On the leading edge in the Next 47 project, Carolin helps companies like Modbot (please see our earlier news release) get established. Don't miss our interview with Carolin!
11/06/2016 Modbot was founded by Daniel Pizzata and is one of the start-ups offered business support by Siemens. Modbots are modular robots and robotic components that can be used to augment mechanical processes on a production line and in other automation contexts. Modbot was founded to make these modular systems widely available to industry.
11/05/2016 At RoboBusiness 2016, Moshe Schwimmer, Innovation Catalyst at Siemens, describes software Siemens has created for the Hololens (a Microsoft product that enables visualization of virtual robots and robot parts). Using a pair of Hololens goggles, one can see virtual parts superimposed on your office table, or suspended in the air, in what is described as “augmented reality.”
11/04/2016 SIEMENS is a global organization that focuses on power management, automation, digitalization, medical technologies, robotics, and far more. Several of SIEMENS robotics divisions exhibited at RoboBusiness. These included a new initiative, “Next 47,” that fosters the development of entrepreneurial start-ups, worldwide. Dr. Rudolf Freytag, CEO of Innovative Ventures at Siemens, described Next 47’s global reach and how it assists robotics business start-ups in meeting regulatory, financial and marketing challenges.
11/02/2016 The 12th Annual RoboBusiness conference and trade show – a highly anticipated exhibition of state-of-the-art robotics – was held in Silicon Valley at the San Jose Convention Center on September 28 – 29, 2016. One of the largest robotics conferences in the nation, this prestigious gathering featured the latest in bleeding edge automation. A goldmine for technologists, business people and journalists, alike, it has become a key annual venue for finding business partners and insights into the rapidly evolving robotics industry.
The National Robotics Education Foundation (NREF) conducted interviews with leading robotics companies on the show floor to provide you with a taste of latest robotics technology and an update on where we are in this era of unprecedented robotics growth. Executive Director Tom Atwood interviewed company founders, entrepreneurs and product managers while partner Gene Beley video recorded the interviews. To provide the broadest coverage in the most accessible format, we focused on specific technology highlights. We hope you enjoy this unique collection of interviews and presentations. We begin with a must-see 17-minute presentation by Robotics Business Review Editor-in-Chief, Tom Green, on the robotics-based "4th industrial revolution." Click here for more on RoboBusiness 2016!
10/30/2016 Challenge.gov is a listing of challenge and prize competitions, all of which are run by more than 80 agencies across federal government. These include technical, scientific, ideation, and creative competitions where the U.S. government seeks innovative solutions from the public, bringing the best ideas and talent together to solve mission-centric problems. More than $220 million in prize money has been offered since 2010, along with valuable and unique incentive prizes.
10/16/2016 Intel has aggressively entered the commercial drone market in recent months with a few products that suggest growing momentum. The latest is the Falcon 8+, a company-branded product to be introduced in North America. Previously Intel had announced its consumer drone, the Yuneec Typhoon H with Intel RealSense technology for intelligent obstacle navigation, as well as the Intel Aero Platform for developers. The Falcon 8+ adds to its offerings and represents its commitment to innovative technologies in the commercial space. Intel states that the Falcon 8 offers the best weight to payload ratio and best in class stability in harsh conditions, including “magnetic disturbances.” The Falcon 8+ includes a high precision GPS and is supported by a large reseller and support network.
10/11/2016 Aaron Mehta of Defensenews.com reported that the Obama administration has coordinated an agreement by 40+ countries that will help manage the import and export of armed unmanned systems in a bid to facilitate creating global norms for trade in unmanned, robotic weapons systems. Absent from the list are China, Russia, India and Israel. Photo: John Moore/Getty Images
10/10/2016 Techcrunch.com reported that Clearpath Robotics has raised $30million in funding to further build its business carrying payloads and lifting and placing palettes in warehouses and factories. With clients like John Deere and GE, and an exceptional safety record, Clearpath Robotics has seen growing equity funding now approaching about $41.5 million. Warehouse and factory floor markets are ideal for robotic automation and represent a quickly expanding industry.
10/05/2016 C41SRNET reported that Norway’s Maritime Robotics is partnering with Liquid Robotics, the American manufacturer of the Wave Glider underwater drone, to sell products and integration services to Nordic countries. Relevant markets include maritime security, meteorology and oceanography, flight tracking, wind farming and more. Photo courtesy of Liquid Robotics. Thanks to CDR David Place (USN/Ret), via David’s Unmanned PLACE, and Robin E. Alexander, President ATC, for their assistance with this report.
10/04/2016 Aviation Week reports that Japan’s defense planners foresee automated, robotic wingmen in the 2030s that will not only carry sensors as forward scouts, but which will eventually be robotic weapons systems that will fire on command when ordered to do so by human pilots. This was reported in a technology roadmap published by the Japan’s Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA). The AvWeek summary did not suggest any autonomous decision making by wingmen scout robots.