Robotics
Intellibot IV800 Robotic Vacuum for industrial cleaning
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February 22, 2007 Robots have begun their inevitable march into our environment and a noteworthy incursion of recent times is the IV800 developed by floor care innovator Intellibot Robotics. Introduced last March, Intellibot’s IV800 is designed for large carpeted or hard surface hallways in convention centers, hotels, hospitals, office buildings and other facilities that get heavy traffic and must frequently be cleaned to a high standard. Using onboard computers and ultrasonic sonar sensors, the robotic vacuum requires only about 25 minutes of operator attention per eight-hour shift, reducing labor costs by up to 85 percent while increasing cleaning quality and consistency. This frees the operator to do other, higher value cleaning tasks. Read More
Junior – Son of Stanley set for DARPA Urban Challenge
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February 19, 2007 The 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge marked a milestone in artificial intelligence when five autonomous vehicles finished the course and Stanford Racing Team’s Stanley went down in history as the winner of the first race for autonomous vehicles. Centuries from now, the win will be equally significant as winning the first auto race from Paris to Rouen in 1894. Indeed, a century from now, there’s every chance that cars will all be autonomous, as computers make less mistakes than human beings. The robots in the 2007 Urban Challenge, however, will need all of Stanley’s capabilities plus a whole lot more as this time they need to handle real traffic. “In the last Grand Challenge, it didn’t really matter whether an obstacle was a rock or a bush because either way you’d just drive around it,” says Stanford Team Leader Sebastian Thrun. “The current challenge is to move from just sensing the environment to understanding the environment.” Thrun is the Director of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab and Associate Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University. When the bookmakers frame the odds for the Urban Challenge, Thrun’s charge will be favourite. On Saturday, Thrun introduced Stanford Racing Team’s new challenger to the world. Junior is a new generation of autonomous vehicle built to accomplish missions in a simulated city environment, which includes the traffic of the other robots and traffic laws. This means that on race day, November 3, Junior not only will have to avoid collisions, but he will have to master concepts that befuddle many humans, such as right of way. Junior began life as a 2006 Volkswagen Passat wagon. Read More
iRobot introduces NexGen Explosive Ordnance Disposal Robot
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February 8, 2007 That good-for-nothing son of yours who wasted all those hours playing mindless video games might have been building some valuable skill sets after all. IRobot’s newly announced iRobot PackBot 510 with EOD Kit is a second-generation explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) robot that will begin shipping in April and it uses a game-style hand controller. The PackBot 510 is 30 percent faster than its predecessor, drags larger objects, lifts twice the weight and has a grip that is three times stronger. To date, iRobot has delivered more than 800 PackBot robots which are mainly used in Iraq and Afghanistan. The robot’s new hand controller is modeled after video game controllers, making PackBot 510 easier to use, and resulting in less training time and more rapid operations in the field. In addition, the advanced track technology significantly increases the robot’s performance on rough terrain. Read More
Wii Wireless Controlled Robot Concept
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January 30, 2007 Robotics in general and consumer robotics in particular seem to be making massive headway, and a development certain to draw a lot of attention in the next month is a wireless concept robot created by industrial robotics manufacturer KUKA Robotics Corporation. The new robot will be shown for the first time at ATX West Expo in Anaheim, February 13-15, 2007. The company will be showcasing an application using a KR16 robot and KRC 2 Controller being controlled by individuals utilizing a Wii controller & Bluetooth technology (video here). This concept cell was designed to show the next step in the trickle down of robotic technology to consumers from the industrial robot market. Read More
iRobot unveils US$130 programmable robot for developers and students
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January 10, 2007 iRobot has unveiled iRobot Create, an affordable, programmable robot designed for aspiring roboticists. Create is based on the core technology of iRobot Roomba, the vacuuming robot that is cleaning millions of homes worldwide, and is compatible with Roomba’s rechargeable batteries, remote control and other accessories. Create comes pre-assembled, so developers can design new robots without having to build a mobile robot from scratch. Pricing starts at US$130, enabling developers to begin designing new robot applications out of the box. This new platform provides access to robot sensors and actuators via an open interface. Create also features standard connections for electronics and threaded mounting holes that allow users to secure their inventions to the robot, streamlining the integration of third-party electronics such as sensors, cameras, arms and wireless connections. Read More
The thought-controlled humanoid robot – puppet without strings
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January 4, 2007 The personal robotics industry may still be in its infancy, but it is being predicted that it will rival the automotive industry in size two decades from now – by that time, robots will be far more advanced than those we know today and an inkling of just what might be in store comes from the University of Washington where researchers have demonstrated that it is possible to control the movement of a humanoid robot with signals from a human brain (see videos - AVI- QT - WMV ). Being able to command a robot via thought alone obviously has massive ramifications for the development of robotic servants, labourers and mobility devices for the handicapped and aged population. With a few decades of intense research, we may well have robotic servants that cater to our every wish – quite literally! Read More
Asimo - the perfect brand spokesperson
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December 15, 2006 The world of personal robotics is drawing closer, with some estimates of the personal robotics industry putting it abreast with the world automotive industry two decades from now. Honda has already established itself as the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer and has branched into a dozen different recreational and business markets as diverse as jet aeroplanes, jet skis, and industrial engines. Its biggest market may be yet to come, because it has been working diligently for 20 years in the development of a bipedal humanoid service robot named Asimo and if it works half as well as the rest of the company's products, it'll be one of the pioneers into the home when robotic servants reach mass commercialisation. Asimo is already a well known brand but when Honda begins airing 90 second commercials in the UK later this week, where Asimo becomes the ideal fully-owned, never-makes-a-mistake brand spokesperson, we figure history is being made. Asimo embodies the Honda attitude towards technology – warm, approachable, human, optimistic and always moving forward – as the Honda spokesperson, he will become the first publicly known robot on a global scale, and he’ll evolve publicly across all languages. Honda's new warmtechnology web site goes live today, and there are also five short films available at www.honda.co.uk. The series of webcasts introduce Asimo, and show how its warm approach has brought science and technology to a broad audience across the world. Read More
The most prolific 3D figure on the planet
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December 15, 2006 Victoria is the most widely supported 3D figure on the planet, which kinda makes her a beauty queen. So it’s big news in the women’s magazines when a big star gets a makeover, and that’s just what has happened to via her latest release, Victoria 4.0. This new release of Victoria, based on live human models, is closing the gap between real life and models typically seen in 3D environments like Second Life, The Sims, and Halo. Since her first release in 1999, hundreds of thousands of unique users worldwide have downloaded a copy of Victoria making her the most heavily downloaded 3D figure ever. Victoria has been widely used by digital artists worldwide and has graced the covers of magazines, newspapers, and television across the globe. Read More
Top Three Urban Challenge Finishers to receive US$2 Million, US$1 Million and US$500,000
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December 11, 2006 One of the most intriguing contests ever conceived , the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge for autonomous robotic ground vehicles will take place on November 3, 2007, at an undisclosed location in the western United States. First prize will be US$2 million, second gets US$1,000,000 and third takes home US$500,000, awards that will go to the top three finishers to complete the 60-mile course through traffic within the six hour time limit. The fully autonomous ground vehicles will be tested to the full, conducting simulated military supply missions safely and effectively in a mock urban area. To succeed, vehicles must obey traffic laws while merging into moving traffic, navigating traffic circles, negotiating busy intersections, and avoiding obstacles. Human understanding of the technology required to make vehicles smarter and safer will grow rapidly in the preparation for the contest and expedite the time when we’ll be switching to autopilot for long journeys on intelligent roads in our intelligent cars. Read More
GoldenEye 80 ducted fan UAV makes successful first flight
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December 7, 2006 Flying saucer sightings are certain to be on the increase from this point forth as a new type of aerial vehicle comes into existence. The Aurora Flight Sciences GoldenEye 80 unmanned air vehicle made a successful first flight last month, becoming the first ducted fan UAV to fly under the power of a heavy fuel engine. The fully autonomous GoldenEye 80 UAV is being developed under contract to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) through its Organic Air Vehicle (OAV-II) program. The GoldenEye 80 is designed to give company commanders the ability to spot, identify, designate, and destroy targets. With its powerful sensors and quiet operation, the aircraft can dash to a target area, hover motionless in the sky, and observe and designate a target – all without being heard by people on the ground. The unique design and embedded capabilities of the GoldenEye 80 enable the UAV to be used for a variety of military missions, from conducting surveillance beyond hills in rural areas to gathering intelligence while flying between buildings in urban warfare operations. Read More
First UAV to use High-Resolution Synthetic Aperture Surveillance Radar
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December 7, 2006 Lockheed Martin recently accomplished a first for unmanned aerial systems (UAS), demonstrating that high-resolution, broad-area imaging from a Miniaturized Synthetic Aperture Radar (MiniSAR) could effectively be delivered by a UAS into the hands of tactical unit commanders, regardless of smoke, dust, heavy rain or night-time conditions. During a successful field exercise at the Minnesota National Guard test facility on October 19, a small SkySpirit UAS carrying a Sandia-developed MiniSAR sensor soared to nearly 3,000 feet and, in near real-time, became the first UAS to successfully transmit four-inch resolution SAR imagery. During four different mission demonstrations, the SkySpirit transmitted MiniSAR images capturing actionable data in two operational modes: focused area circle-mapping and broad area strip-mapping. Multiple imaging passes were post-processed to demonstrate coherent change detection used to identify changes over time. Read More
New technology for simultaneous control of multiple robots
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November 1, 2006 iRobot has released the first information on a new project in development, will allow a single operator to simultaneously control and coordinate multiple semi-autonomous robots via a touch-screen computer. Code named Sentinel, the new networked technology, includes intelligent navigation capabilities that enable the robots to reach a preset destination independently, overcoming obstacles and other challenges along the way without intervention from an operator. Sentinel’s capability will allow warfighters and first responders to use teams of iRobot PackBot robots to conduct surveillance and mapping, therefore rendering dangerous areas safe without ever setting foot in a hostile environment. Read More
Track A Participants announced for 2007 DARPA Urban Grand Challenge
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October 5, 2006 Please excuse us for being so excited, but the third Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Grand Challenge autonomous vehicle competition is scheduled for November 3, 2007 and this time instead of tackling the desert, the vehicles will be required to negotiate an urban environment. DARPA has established a two-track (track A and track B) system for teams to qualify and compete in the Urban Challenge in order to help accelerate autonomous development and this week it announced the track A teams which will each receive US $1 million in technology development funds.
The Asahi Refrigerator Robot holds and pours six cans
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September 12, 2006 It might seem a trivial and highly specialised application for a robot, but the task of getting another beer that seems to be one that is ideally suited to a robotic servant and that’s exactly what the Asahi Refrigerator Robot does. The little fellow holds and chills six 350 ml cans and at the touch of a button will dispense a can, rip the top off and pour a perfect beer every time. Japan’s Asahi Breweries held a special promotion earlier this year and gave away 5,000 robots via a lottery for participants who had collected 36 seals from special Asahi beer cans. There’s no sign of the robot hitting the market just yet, but there is a video which shows the little tyke doing its stuff. We suspect a 12 can version will be required for foreign markets. Via Gizmodo Read More
The wine-tasting robot
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September 8, 2006 The evolution of information technology that imitates the five human senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste is important in the advancement of a ubiquitous society. Undoubtedly one of the leaders in this area is NEC System Technologies which continues to push robotic development as can be seen from these stories (here, here and here) on its technologies, all of which seem to be able to be shoehorned into the tiny PaPeRo form factor. More recently, the research has moved from areas such as personality, social skills, companionship and English-Japanese language translation to technologies that support the prevention of lifestyle-related diseases through dietary therapy. Last year we saw Papero transformed into a “health food adviser robot” which analysed food using infrared spectrum analysis and did so WITHOUT opening the packet. Not only did it report on the fat and sugar content, the robot actually identifies several types of cheese (Edam, Gouda, Camembert, etc.), meat products (ham, bacon), and bread (pain de mie, baguette, croissant,). This year they set out to build a robot that could differentiate between different types of wine, a far more exacting task using the same technology. The new wine-tasting robot can now discriminate between wine types but the sensor is much larger, needs to touch the surface of the wine and must be cleaned for each tasting. Read More
Skylynx II Unmanned Aircraft System in testing
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September 1, 2006 BAE Systems successfully completed tests on its Skylynx II unmanned aircraft system at Yuma Proving Grounds last month, meeting key requirements for acoustic performance, endurance, and payload capability for reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition missions. The aircraft was developed to support missions such as those critical to the U.S. Marine Corps Tier II (regiment-level) unmanned aircraft program. The Skylynx II flew in a series of flight patterns to demonstrate agility. Using an integrated electro-optical/infrared imaging payload, the aircraft automatically located and tracked vehicle and human targets, transmitting coordinates to a ground station. Read More
Supervised autonomy for unmanned ground vehicles
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September 1, 2006 Lockheed Martin yesterday pulled the wraps off its new Squad Mission Support System (SMSS), leveraging robotic technologies for future robotic weapons systems. The SMSS will decrease the amount of time a warfighter has to spend in controlling robotic systems by providing vehicles with a greater perception of their surroundings on the battlefield. Combining perception with extraordinary mobility will allow vehicles to follow a soldier across any terrain, guaranteeing the payload the robotic system is carrying will be available whenever and wherever it is required. It is envisaged the SMSS will provide manned and unmanned transport and logistical support to Light and Early Entry Forces.
New SCARA robots and PC-based control platform enable easy automation solutions
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August 25, 2006 The prospect of a robotic production line might seem well beyond the financial constraints of most small businesses but industrial robots are improving productivity in smaller companies every day. KUKA Robotics new high speed KR10 SCARA robot is designed for customers needing highly reliable and precise automation solutions of long reach tasks. The new 4-axis robots when combined with KUKA Robotics' user friendly PC-based control platform gives customers an extremely easy to learn and use, pick-and-place automation solution. The new SCARA family of robots is expected to find application in a diverse range of industries including the appliance, automotive, aerospace, consumer goods, logistics, food, pharmaceutical, medical, foundry and plastics industries and in multiple applications including material handling, machine loading, assembly, packaging, palletizing, welding, bending, joining, and surface finishing. Read More
The Civilian-ELROB (C-ELROB) - European Land-Robot Trial
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August 24, 2006 With the discipline of robotics still in its infancy, the first European Land-Robot Trial offered an opportunity for Unmanned Ground Vehicles to show their capabilities in organised testing procedures to military personnel from across not just Europe but the entire world. In the end, 20 different UGVs from five countries were on display and the event was an unqualified success. Now the European Robotics Group is planning a Civilian European Land-Robot Trial 2007 (C-ELROB 2007) in Monte Ceneri, Ticino, Switzerland in August 2007 featuring both UGVs and UAVs! C-ELROB is being conducted in order to provide an overview of the European state-of-the-art in the field of unmanned vehicles with focus on short-term realizable robot systems. It is envisaged that the audience will be made up primarily of representatives of security companies, fire brigades, civil protection, police, and disaster control agencies. As with the military version, C-ELROB will be accompanied by a comprehensive robotics exhibition. Read More
Lockheed Martin showcases air, water and underwater unmanned vehicles
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August 21, 2006 Lockheed Martin telegraphed its intention to become a significant supplier of unmanned systems technology during a press briefing at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. this week. In showcasing its latest developments in unmanned systems technology and its progress into the future net-enabled environment, it discussed a broad range of unmanned and autonomous technologies, from the recently introduced Polecat and other unmanned aerial systems, to surface vessels such as the Protector (covered earlier this week here) and subsurface prowlers, such as the Sea Talon. During the conference Lockheed VP Frank Murno acknowledged that the company was considering a hybrid version of its F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter – where it could be operated with or without a human pilot as required. Read More
The next Robosapien – fully programmable RS Media
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August 16, 2006 We loved Robosapien V1 and V2 but longed to be able to do just that much more. Now it’s all possible and more asRobosapien has had a serious hardware upgrade! The new RS Media provides the user with a complete multimedia experience: music, photos, films, games and much more! He even includes software to add your own applications and create a unique RS Media personality – he’s completely customisable! RS Media is the first WowWee robot to combine the revolutionary technology used in Robosapien V2 with advanced multimedia features that further enhance both direct and autonomous interaction with his owner and environment. RS Media comes with PC software that allows you to edit his system so you can easily switch between one of the four existing personalities including Service Bot 3000 and Billy Joe Sapien, or create a unique one of your own using the USB port interface and SD card slot! Each one of RS Media’s personalities is characterised by a diverse set of unique animations and expressions. The personality editor software allows you to edit his movements, sound files and video files, and even some of his programming, so you can assign specific voice files or choreograph a routine to a favourite dance track. Read More
New robot balances and moves on a ball instead of legs or wheels
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August 13, 2006 Contrasting with the bipedal humanoid robot portrayed in science fiction, Carnegie Mellon University researchers have developed a new type of mobile robot that balances on a ball. “Ballbot” is a self-contained, battery-operated, omnidirectional robot that balances dynamically on a single urethane-coated metal sphere. It weighs 95 pounds and is the approximate height and width of a person. Because of its long, thin shape and ability to maneuver in tight spaces, it has the potential to function better than current robots can in environments with people. Papers can be downloaded here and here. Read More
The extremely robust 4WD Spybot with flapper wheels
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July 14, 2006 The recent biannual European Land Robot Trials (ELROB) at the Hammelburg Army Base in Germany saw some pretty remarkable ground robots unveiled to the assembled, military, and none was more impressive than the new Spybot 4WD from MacroSwiss. The new Spyrobot is an evolution of the Spybot Mk II, with higher payload and 4WD terrain handling capabilities. Though the unit is quite small and weighs just 6 kg, its cross-country mobility is extraordinary due to its patent-pending flexible Flapper Wheels. The wheels, which function somewhere between riverboat paddle wheels and motocross knobby tyres combine with a robust, fully-sealed construction to enable it to navigate waterways, descend stairs, climb slippery 45 degree slopes, or survive being tossed up to 10 metres. The ingenious wheel design enables them to act as shock absorber, suspension, stabilizer and get enough traction to handle extreme obstacles, such as the “potato field” obstacle course at ELROB where the little feller severely embarassed robots several factors more expensive. Read More
Motorsport without the driver
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July 12, 2006 DARPA might have started something huge when it held the first Grand Challenge as a fledgling new sport has taken root - motorsport without the driver. That first race where the best vehicle only managed a few miles has now spawned the first race for robots, appropriately to be held at one of the birthplaces of American motorsport and the mountain that inspired Katharine Lee Bates famous poem, “America the Beautiful” – Pikes Peak. Pikes Peak has a 14,700 ft high summit with a 12.4 mile long access road rising 4710 feet through 156 corners, and annual races have been held there since 1916. Now the first Annual Autonomous Robot Race to the top of Pikes Peak will be held September 23, 2006. So far ten competitors have entered, most of whom will be recognised from their previous outings at DARPA GC I & II, though all comers are welcome. Team Axion made the trip to the 2006 Pikes Peak International Hillclimb (with drivers) last week and on the day after the race Spirit, Axion Racing’s autonomous Jeep Grand Cherokee, became the first unmanned vehicle to drive itself to the summit of Pikes Peak without human interaction or remote control. Spirit’s time of 47 minutes and 10.3 seconds was almost five times that of Kiwi Rod Millen’s record but as Axion Racing’s Team Leader Bill Kehaly explained, “we would have reached the top quicker, but Spirit kept having to apply brakes to stay back from slower human controlled vehicles.” “Our top speed is presently 25 miles per hour and we think we can break 30 minutes at this September’s inaugural Pikes Peak Robot Hill Climb.” Read More
Spaceward Foundation and NASA create US$250,000 Telerobotic Challenge
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June 16, 2006 Following the success of the 2005 Space Elevator competition held at NASA’s Ames Research Center, the Spaceward Foundation today announced the Telerobotic Construction Challenge, a new competition with $250,000 in prize purses that has the potential to significantly impact the nation’s space exploration program by developing technologies enabling semiautonomous robots to perform complex construction tasks with minimal human intervention. Read More
Vector P UAV demonstrates live fire monitoring
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June 13, 2006 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) will find their way into many peacetime roles over the coming decade, and the role of monitoring forest fires is almost certain to be one of them. Last week a group of 70 government observers gathered to observe and assess the capabilities of UAVs in a live fire monitoring application at the USDA Forest Service/NASA UAV Demo at Fort Hunter Liggett Army Garrison in California. The UAV designated to strut its stuff was an IntelliTech Vector P and the results were excellent. Carrying both standard and thermal infrared video cameras, the Vector P autonomously sought out fires set at locations five miles from the airport and transmitted the video back to the crowd of observers. In all, the Vector P successfully completed four day and night missions over controlled fires set at distant locations on the grounds of the 165,000 acre garrison. Read More
High-resolution touch sensor for robots
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June 12, 2006 One of the trickiest decisions facing a cancer surgeon today is where to stop cutting. The surgeon doesn't want to stop too soon and leave cancer cells in the patient's body, but he or she also doesn't want to take too many cells and do unnecessary damage to organs. That decision could soon be made much easier, though, thanks to a high-resolution touch sensor developed by chemical engineers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln that may allow surgeons to tell at the level of a single layer of cells whether or not they have excised a tumor in its entirety. Ravi F. Saraf, and his doctoral student, Vivek Maheshwari, report in the June 9 issue of Science, the international weekly journal of science, that they have developed a self-assembling nanoparticle device that has touch sensitivity comparable to that of the human finger, a capability far beyond any mechanical devices now available. Read More
The Protector unmanned integrated naval combat system
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May 25, 2006 The world of robotics is developing remarkably quickly, mainly due to the keen interest of the United States Government in wishing to ensure its military personnel are shielded from harm’s way. Robots can't get killed. Any damage sustained can be repaired. The seeming necessity to fight a war on terror has accelerated development to dizzying urgency and has precipitated the twice run DARPA Grand Challenge and an Urban Grand Challenge planned for next year. The knowledge gained in conducting these machine olympiads has been fast-tracked into prototypes, the first of which we have just seen, the awesomely powerful Crusher UGV. Other species of UGV have developed ranging from SWORDS, the the world’s first robotic combat soldier, through the six-wheeled R-GATOR to the quadruped robotic mule. Funding is flowing for the development of dozens of military-application UAV systems from man-packable size to massive intelligent jet-powered uber-birds that can identify a human target and take it out in one quite literal fell swoop. We’re also seeing unmanned underwater vehicles developed for exploration, mine-clearance, underwater patrol, inspection, maintenance ad infinitum. And as imagination runs rife in the area, new categories of UAV are emerging such as the omnipotent Cormorant MPUAV and the carbon fibre and Kevlar Snark, the meanest and leanest VTOL UAV on the planet. One area that has been notably lean in unmanned vehicle development is surface craft, so a new vehicle, jointly developed by BAE Systems, RAFAEL and Lockheed Martin is worthy of some attention. The Protector is an unmanned integrated naval combat system with a stabilized gun and the ability to conduct a wide spectrum of critical missions while eliminating unnecessary risk to personnel and capital assets. It’s stealthy, fast and highly manoeuvrable, identifies its targets through an electro-optical system and has day and night strike capabilities. Highly autonomous and remotely controlled, the Protector can successfully operate with general guidance from a commander and operator. Read More
ScanEagle UAV demonstrates maritime capabilities
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May 18, 2006 Last year we wrote about the ScanEagle UAV and its success in supplying U.S. Marines in Iraq with critical real-time tactical battlefield imagery. This time, we’re writing about the adaptation of the ScanEagle as a low-cost intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platform for amphibious operations. Currently being trialled for its maritime capabilities by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) in "Trial Vigilant Viper" off the coast of Scotland, the ScanEagle completed ten autonomous flights with full launch and recovery from a Type 23 Frigate in rough sea conditions. A small UAV such as the ScanEagle can significantly increase the capability of a boat, and the missions conducted during the trial illustrate this enormous potential for land and sea surveillance, beach reconnaissance, force protection, maritime interdiction and naval gunfire support. Read More
Lego announces Open Source firmware, Developer Kits for Mindstorms NXT
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May 3, 2006 We suspect the announcement by LEGO that it will release as open source the firmware of the LEGO MINDSTORMS microprocessor (the new NXT brick – the core component of its next generation robotics toolset) will have a considerable impact on the fledgling robotics home hobby marketplace and potentially on general robotic knowledge. LEGO will also release Software, Hardware and Bluetooth Developer Kits to its growing global audience of robotics enthusiasts. The firmware code and three developer kits will be available in August 2006 to conincide with retail availability of LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT. Read More
DARPA Grand Challenge III – the urban UGV
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May 3, 2006 We’re very excited this week about the prospects for Unmanned Ground Vehicles given the unveiling of Crusher and the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announcing plans to hold its third Grand Challenge competition on November 3, 2007. The DARPA Urban Challenge will feature autonomous ground vehicles executing simulated military supply missions safely and effectively in a mock urban area. Safe operation in traffic is essential to U.S. military plans to use autonomous ground vehicles to conduct important missions. So rapidly have UGVs developed in the last few years thanks to Grand Challenges I & II, we suddenly see the prospect of unmanned vehicles being used in civilian occupations – a driver that never sleeps, obeys all the laws, costs a fraction of a human being’s time. Delivery robots make sense and within a few years our bet is that the technology will be in place. The winner gets far more than just US$2 million, as the leading contenders have found in previous events – the world will beat a path to your door if you can win Grand Challenge III. To win, you’ll need to have your UGV complete a 60-mile course through urban traffic under six hours. The UGV will need to be able to merge with traffic, read traffic signs, navigate roundabouts, busy intersections, avoid running over errant pedestrians, avoid obstacles – just like a normal automobile driver. Read More
Crusher - futuristic Unmanned Ground Combat Vehicle
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May 2, 2006 Safeguarding the soldier is the key aim of the Unmanned Ground Combat Vehicle – giving soldiers enhanced stand-off capability was the reason DARPA funded the Grand Challenge and backed up again two years later with the second challenge and is now holding the challenge in an urban area – such contests dramatically accelerated research into autonomous navigation and identified the most capable people to for the military to work with. The National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) is part of the Robotics Institute in Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science, unveiled Crusher last week. Carnegie Mellon vehicles finished a close second and third in the Grand Challenge though everyone knew they were at the bleeding edge of robotics knowledge, the Challenge just confirming it. Crusher demonstrates just what we can expect to see on the battlefield a decade from now. In what might well be seen as an offspring of the Grand Challenge, “Crusher” is a new breed of UGV – an NREC-designed, six-wheeled, all-wheel drive, hybrid electric, skid-steered, unmanned ground vehicle. The bohemoth weighs 14,000 pounds fully fueled, and is designed to carry a 3,000-pound payload – at this 17,000 pound total weight, two Crusher vehicles can be carried by a single C-130H aircraft and dropped into any region in the world. Once on the ground, Crusher can carry up to 8,000 pounds of payload without compromising its mobility – read that as 8000 pounds of smart stuff – any combination of cargo, armour, armaments, or surveillance equipment. Crusher is also designed to withstand extreme terrain, with the ability to take in its stride regular impacts with trees, boulders, fences, tree stumps and ditches at high speed. With six wheel independent drive, Crusher can go up and over almost anything, and if in the process it should get upside down, it moves its wheels to the other side of the vehicle and starts all over again. Crusher's hybrid electric system is silent, using a high-performance SAFT-built lithium ion battery module which delivers power to the six, in-wheel UQM traction motors located in the hub drive system of each wheel. Much, much, more … interesting stuff! Read More
Unmanned Underwater Vehicle to operate from the torpedo tubes of U.S. Navy Submarines
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April 6, 2006 We’ve all held our breath in the movies as the submarine with the good guys in it slides between the mines, touching a chain here and there to heighten the drama. In the future, that scenario will need to be rewritten as it’s likely that an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) will be fired from the torpedo tubes well in advance of a minefield and scope out exactly where the mines are. Make that the not-too-distant future because Boeing is already into a second round of at-sea tests of its Long-term Mine Reconnaissance System (LMRS). The LMRS is a 20-foot UUV designed to be launched, torpedo-style, from Los Angeles- and Virginia-class submarines and can survey the murky waters ahead for up to 60 hours. Originally planned for use in detecting tethered and bottom mines, the vehicle is designed to gather data and, upon completion, to home and dock to the submarine's 60-foot robotic arm for recovery back through the torpedo launch tube, enabling operators to retrieve data collected and prepare the vehicle for another launch. The vehicle's intelligence gathering capabilities have been sequentially tested and validated. Read More
Robosapien to get much smarter very soon
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March 23, 2006 To say we think WowWee Robotics has played a pioneering role in the first wave of the consumer robotics revolution is an understatement. Twenty five years from now when the consumer robotics industry is expected to rival the automotive industry in size, Wowwee’s diminutive Robosapien will be seen in the same light as the Model T Ford and the company’s high tech Geppetto, Mark Tilden (pictured with two roboraptors), could well be held in even higher esteem. The price of the company’s “toy” robots belie their capabilities and Robosapien V1 and V2, Roboraptor et al have functionality for which the company could legitimately ask ten times the price – the bargain pricing though has resulted in millions of Wowwee robots being the first to invade the home. The big news is that overnight Evolution Robotics and WowWee announced a strategic alliance to integrate Evolution's ViPR and Northstar technologies into WowWee products. ViPR (Visual Pattern Recognition) provides reliable and fast recognition of patterns, objects, and locations in realistic environments. Northstar, known as "Indoor GPS," is the world's lowest-cost solution for position-awareness for consumer robots, and enables robots to navigate autonomously and intelligently.
Raven UAV achieves milestones and wins the Commando Olympics
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March 15, 2006 After the incredible response to yesterday’s story on weaponised micro unmanned aerial vehicles, it is interesting to note AeroVironment’s significant production milestone of Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (SUAV) systems that was announced today. The Raven (RQ-11A), a manpackable SUAV used by the U.S. Army and Special Forces since 2002, has surpassed the 3,000th air vehicle mark for production. The Raven is a 4.2 pound, hand-launched sensor platform that provides day and night, near-real-time video imagery for "over the hill" intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in support of a ground commander. Made of Kevlar and costing US$25,000, it has a range of 80 minutes at up to 90 km/h and can venture up to 15 kilometres from its controller. No greater praise can be given than by those who use the Raven and this can be evidenced at the always excellent military website StrategyPage which reports that the Raven is winning what it terms the unofficial “Commando Olympics.” StrategyPage reports that in addition to the cooperation between the commando units of over a dozen countries assembled to pursue Islamic terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq, there’s a lot of comparing notes – and the most envied high tech gadget of them all is the Raven. Read More
