Latest in Robotics news thread

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ATRIAS bipedal robot can take a beating and keep walking
By Eric Mack
March 18, 2015
8 Pictures

The great tradition of designing robots inspired by the many beautiful forms of locomotion seen in the animal kingdom likely predates robotics itself, arguably stretching all the way back to Michelangelo's time. Standing on the shoulders of such giants is ATRIAS, a series of human-sized bipedal robots that remind us of other two-legged creatures like the ostrich or emu.

no make it feed itself with solar or wind and change it's own batteries and we can leave it in charge of earth

 

[ScienceRocks]

Google Exec Outlines Advances in Deep Learning

SAN JOSE, Calif.—Nvidia's overarching theme throughout the GPU Technology Conference here this week has been deep learning, the idea that with the right technology and right algorithms, machines can learn from their experience, and adapt their behavior.

During his keynote address March 17, Nvidia co-founder and CEO Jen-Hsun Huang folded everything he announced—from a new high-powered GPU to software and hardware tools for researchers and scientists to the detail he gave about the upcoming new Pascal architecture—into the message that they will be leveraged to advance the research and development of deep-learning neural networks.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Artificial Intelligence Is Almost Ready for Business

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an idea that has oscillated through many hype cycles over many years, as scientists and sci-fi visionaries have declared the imminent arrival of thinking machines. But it seems we’re now at an actual tipping point. AI, expert systems, and business intelligence have been with us for decades, but this time the reality almost matches the rhetoric, driven by the exponential growth in technology capabilities (e.g., Moore’s Law), smarter analytics engines, and the surge in data.

Most people know the Big Data story by now: the proliferation of sensors (the “Internet of Things”) is accelerating exponential growth in “structured” data. And now on top of that explosion, we can also analyze “unstructured” data, such as text and video, to pick up information on customer sentiment. Companies have been using analytics to mine insights within this newly available data to drive efficiency and effectiveness. For example, companies can now use analytics to decide which sales representatives should get which leads, what time of day to contact a customer, and whether they should e-mail them, text them, or call them.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Artificial hand able to respond sensitively using smart metal wires

30 March 2015

Engineers at Saarland University have taken a leaf out of nature's book by equipping an artificial hand with muscles made from shape-memory wire. The new technology enables the fabrication of flexible and lightweight robot hands for industrial applications and novel prosthetic devices.

The muscle fibres are composed of bundles of ultrafine nickel-titanium alloy wires that are able to tense and flex. The material itself has sensory properties allowing the artificial hand to perform extremely precise movements.
The research group led by Professor Stefan Seelecke will be showcasing their prototype artificial hand and how it makes use of shape-memory 'metal muscles' at HANNOVER MESSE - the world's largest industrial fair - from April 13th to April 17th. The team are looking for development partners.
The hand is the perfect tool. Developed over millions of years, its 'design' can certainly be said to be mature. The hand is extraordinarily mobile and adaptable, and the consummate interaction between the muscles, ligaments, tendons, bones and nerves has long driven a desire to create a flexible tool based upon it.
The research team led by Professor Stefan Seelecke from Saarland University and the Center for Mechatronics and Automation Technology (ZeMA) is using a new technology based on the shape memory properties of nickel-titanium alloy. The engineers have provided the artificial hand with muscles that are made up from very fine wires whose diameter is similar to that of a human hair and that can contract and relax.

http://www.spacedail..._wires_999.html

 

[ScienceRocks]

McDonald's is testing digital self-serve kiosk: Just a beginning, tellers will be first to go, then cooks.

A McDonald’s Corp. restaurant in Wesley Chapel is among a select few nationwide to test a distinctly new way for McDonald’s customers to order food: Via a digital kiosk.

The touchscreen system stands in the main lobby of the restaurant and allows customers to customize nearly every item on the menu, from burgers to milkshakes, which is part of a major drive at the fast-food giant to better compete with upcoming rivals like Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., Dunkin Donuts and Five Guys Enterprises LLC.

“This is the first step toward teaching our customers that we are able to create a truly customizable McDonald’s,” said John Frost, the owner/operator of a test site McDonald’s restaurant at 27643 S.R. 54 that unveiled the kiosks to customers quietly last week. “From here, we can go so many places, like different forms of payment and mobile apps.”

(Page 2) Using self-serve kiosks also puts McDonald’s more squarely in competition with some of its fiercest rivals, including more upscale convenience stores like Wawa Inc. which uses self-serve digital kiosks.

For McDonald’s, Thomas had better news, saying “I’m sure I’ll end up spending more here than I usually do.”

 

[ScienceRocks]

System allows hampered drones to regain control and land safely
By Ben Coxworth
April 7, 2015

When it comes to concerns about the widespread use of drones, one of the big ones is the worry that the things will crash on peoples' heads. That's why researchers at the University of Zurich have created a system to keep that from happening. Their technology allows a drone to regain stable flight after losing control, and to autonomously land in a "safe" area in the event of mechanical or battery failure

 

[ScienceRocks]

The future will be drone deliveries.


US approves drone flights for insurer AIG
5 hours ago

Insurance giant American International Group Wednesday announced that it had won US government approval to use drones to survey disaster areas, including territory that may be otherwise inaccessible.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-04-drone-flights-aig.html#jCp

 

[ScienceRocks]

Liquid metal discovery paves way for shape-shifting robots

It may look like nothing more than a small ball of metal, but the shape-shifting and self-propulsion abilities of a liquid metal alloy discovered by scientists at China's Tsinghua University has captured the imaginations of scientists and science-fiction fans across the world.

 

[ScienceRocks]

High-end Freefly Alta drone flips aerial photography on its head
By Nick Lavars
April 15, 2015
8 Pictures

If you're in the business of making drones for photography, it takes a bit to stand out from the crowd these days. Drone-mounted cameras are only getting better, and the vehicles themselves are only becoming more capable of accommodating higher quality lenses and equipment. Freefly Systems is looking to add another element to the airborne filmmaking mix with a professional-grade UAV that can fly with a camera above its body.

 

[ScienceRocks]

ROBOT CHEF THAT CAN COOK ANY OF 2,000 MEALS AT TAP OF A BUTTON TO GO ON SALE IN 2017

Quote

Stirring, adjusting the temperature, pouring and adding ingredients are all basic skills for a chef but they’re slightly harder to achieve for a robot.

However, that’s not the case for this pair of robotic hands, which could be set to revolutionise cooking and kitchen operations.

At present it’s able to knock up a crab bisque, which it creates by replicating the exact movements of a professional chef.

Creator Moley Robotics says that when the commercial version launches in 2017 users will be able to select one of 2,000 dishes from their phone and the robotic hands in the automated kitchen will make it.

If the robot is successful, it could mean we can simply tap a button on our phone to have a meal prepared in time for us coming home from work.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Probabilistic programming does in 50 lines of code what used to take thousands

Most recent advances in artificial intelligence—such as mobile apps that convert speech to text—are the result of machine learning, in which computers are turned loose on huge data sets to look for patterns.


To make machine-learning applications easier to build, computer scientists have begun developing so-called probabilistic programming languages, which let researchers mix and match machine-learning techniques that have worked well in other contexts. In 2013, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, an incubator of cutting-edge technology, launched a four-year program to fund probabilistic-programming research.

At the Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition conference in June, MIT researchers will demonstrate that on some standard computer-vision tasks, short programs—less than 50 lines long—written in a probabilistic programming language are competitive with conventional systems with thousands of lines of code.

Another take— http://www.kurzweila...er-vision-tasks

 

[ScienceRocks]

http://www.bizjourna...be-used-on.html

The UB team has prototyped a series of robots called Onsite Construction Robots, or OSCR for short. The latest stands 18 inches tall and weighs a little less than six lbs. It was designed to climb a ladder and carry three bricks — skills researchers hope to demonstrate once programming is complete. The final prototype, with advanced grippers and powerful motors, will be able to stack five bricks, walk or crawl, and scan the site to track materials.

The four-legged robot would be able to grab a stack of bricks, carry them across a construction site, climb a ladder and deliver materials to the mason, who tells the robot what's needed and where through a pair of smart glasses that scan the site in 3-D. Information is then transmitted to a developer or architect offsite who monitors the project.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Pilots Need Not Apply: Matternet Launches Autonomous Drone Delivery System

But here’s where Matternet ONE is different from most other drones—no pilots are required. The drone flies itself to and from destinations. Also, because it's a delivery system, the drone may need to fly further than limited battery life allows. The solutions to these problems are on the ground and in the cloud.

Matternet ONE makes use of fixed landing stations. These stations perform two critical functions. First, if the destination is beyond a single charge, they extend the drone’s range by swapping out a dead battery for a fresh one. Second, they allow the drone to plan its flight path in advance and map out obstacles in detail.

Because drones can't yet sense and avoid obstacles—trees, power lines, people—guidance from ground stations and fixed flight paths make for safer autonomous flights. Also, the drones remain connected to central guidance software in the cloud, maintaining (or altering) their trajectory throughout a flight.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Japan robot receptionist welcomes shoppers
3 hours ago

Humanoid ChihiraAico, clad in a Japanese kimono, greets a customer at an entrance of a department store in Tokyo, on April 20, 2015

She can smile, she can sing and this robot receptionist who started work in Tokyo on Monday never gets bored of welcoming customers to her upmarket shop.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-04-japan-robot-receptionist-shoppers.html#jCp

 

[ScienceRocks]

Cornell's robot barista learns as it brews
By David Szondy
April 22, 2015
3 Pictures

If robots are going to become part of our everyday lives, they'll need to learn to work with everyday things. That means being able to read instruction manuals and figuring out how to use new machines. That's the plan of researchers at Cornell University, who have programmed a robot barista that can not only make a latte, but figure out how to use an unfamiliar espresso maker.

 

[ScienceRocks]

VerTex hybrid drone combines hovering and fixed-wing flight
By Ben Coxworth
April 23, 2015
3 Pictures

As consumer drones are becoming increasingly common, we seem to be seeing more of a certain "value-added" feature – quadcopters that are able to hover as needed, but which can also transition to faster and more efficient fixed-wing flight. Recent examples have included the Skyprowler and the X PlusOne. Now, there's also the Vertex.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Tiny robots climb walls carrying more than 100 times their weight

Mighty things come in small packages. The little robots in this video can haul things that weigh over 100 times more than themselves.

The super-strong bots – built by mechanical engineers at Stanford University in California – will be presented next month at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Seattle, Washington.

The secret is in the adhesives on the robots' feet. Their design is inspired by geckos, which have climbing skills that are legendary in the animal kingdom. The adhesives are covered in minute rubber spikes that grip firmly onto the wall as the robot climbs. When pressure is applied, the spikes bend, increasing their surface area and thus their stickiness. When the robot picks its foot back up, the spikes straighten out again and detach easily.

The bots also move in a style that is borrowed from biology. Like an inchworm, one pad scooches the robot forward while the other stays in place to support the heavy load. This helps the robot avoid falls from missing its step and park without using up precious power.

Tiny robots climb walls carrying more than 100 times their weight - tech - 24 April 2015 - New Scientist

 

[ScienceRocks]

Lockheed Martin's drones widen the net for search and rescue missions
By Nick Lavars
April 27, 2015

Spreading eyeballs as widely as possible can make all the difference in the early stages of search and rescue operations. With the recent rise of drones, this has come to include getting eyes up into the sky to give some first responders an aerial perspective. The latest move to enhance search and rescue efforts comes from Lockheed Martin, which will team up with non-profit Project Lifesaver to help locate people with cognitive disorders that wander away from their home.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Fetch Robotics tag teams to speed up warehouse work
By David Szondy
May 1, 2015
5 Pictures

As internet commerce matures, consumers are expecting more immediate delivery of goods, but a fleet of drones won't do any good unless the packing warehouses can keep up. The latest effort to help speed up this process comes from Fetch Robotics, which has unveiled Fetch and Freight – a robotic tag team that takes over the boring task of collecting and delivering stock.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Toward a squishier robot: Engineers design synthetic gel that changes shape and moves via its own internal energy

For decades, robots have advanced the efficiency of human activity. Typically, however, robots are formed from bulky, stiff materials and require connections to external power sources; these features limit their dexterity and mobility. But what if a new material would allow for development of a "soft robot" that could reconfigure its own shape and move using its own internally generated power?

By developing a new computational model, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh's Swanson School of Engineering have designed a synthetic polymer gel that can utilize internally generated chemical energy to undergo shape-shifting and self-sustained propulsion. Their research, " Designing Dual-functionalized Gels for Self-reconfiguration and Autonomous Motion ", was published April 30th in the journal Scientific Reports, published by Nature.