Category: Research

Robotics Alley conference reveals keynote speakers

Robotics Alley, a Minnesota-based conference and expo for the robotics industry, yesterday announced keynote speakers for the November event. The list includes Rodney Brooks of Rethink Robotics, Michael Toscano of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International and Robot Film Festival founder Heather Knight, among others. Robotics Alley was founded in 2011 by ReconRobotics and

5D Robotics receives contract to develop interactive robot

Robotics software company 5D Robotics, working in collaboration with intelligent systems designer Charles River Analytics, has been awarded $100,000 by the U.S. government’s Small Business Innovation Research program to create a new autonomous robot. The robot will be designed to interact with human team members by “physically following its teammates and reacting to visual and gestured

Solar-panel wings help solve power problems for bird bots

Although headline writers like to invoke “The Terminator” whenever a promising new robot comes along, there are many challenges to overcome in robotics before anything remotely like it is possible. For one, artificial intelligence will have to advance to a point where it can regularly churn out memorable Schwarzenegger-worthy catch phrases like “Hasta la vista,

Boston Dynamics posts video of cheetah-like WildCat robot

Whenever Boston Dynamics releases a video of one of its new robots, it’s an event. The company’s introduction to its latest creation, WildCat, was no exception — a clip posted yesterday on YouTube has already racked up more than a half-million views. WildCat is seen bounding through a parking lot in the video, and unlike

Shutdown will delay NHTSA’s vehicle-to-vehicle research

Among the “most surprising consequences of a government shutdown” noted by ABC News yesterday was one that potentially affects the unmanned systems industry — namely, the suspension of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s vehicle-to-vehicle communications safety research. The project looks at ways connected vehicles — including cars, trucks, buses and trains — can communicate wirelessly to reduce

Ohio/Indiana UAS test center to host NASA-backed contest

The Ohio/Indiana Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center & Test Complex reported yesterday that it will host the NASA Unmanned Aircraft Systems Airspace Operations Challenge in April. The goal of the competition is to help pave the way for UAS in the national airspace by developing appropriate sense and avoid technology. It will take place April 28

Three states to work together on FAA UAS integration efforts

Three Mid-Atlantic states — Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia — recently signed an agreement to work collaboratively to support the Federal Aviation Administration’s integration of unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace. The FAA is currently in the process of selecting six UAS test sites, which will be used to conduct research into how to

New system lets mobile robot “followers” become “leaders”

In the world of mobile robots, there are leaders and there are followers. Well, not exactly, but leader-follower formations are a common way of organizing the movement of mobile robot groups. And it’s a system that works well — unless something happens to the leader. Recent research from Missouri University of Science and Technology aims

Honeybee Robotics celebrates 300 total excavations on Mars

Honeybee Robotics Spacecraft Mechanisms Corporation reported this week that its tools on the last three generations of NASA’s Mars landers have reached a milestone, collectively completing 300 excavations of Martian dirt and rocks. In total, Honeybee’s four contact science tools have moved approximately 450 cc’s of material. According to the company: Over the last decade,

Georgia Tech robotics program secures $2.3M in NSF awards

Georgia Tech, already among the leaders in robotics research, has some new projects to be excited about thanks to the National Science Foundation. According to the school’s Center for Robotics and Intelligent Machines, NSF recently awarded nearly $2.3 million to fund four Georgia Tech robotics projects. Three of the projects received funding through the National