There really are no limits in the modern world when it comes to the number of potential applications for robotics. Here, we look at the ten most exciting and intriguing robotics stories over the past month. Click on the company name to read the full story.
Kontron
Called ‘RoboKeeper’, a computer-controlled football machine has been a development of the Fraunhofer-Institut für Materialfluss und Logistik (IML). Much like a tabletop football game figurine, it consists of a goalie mannequin, rotatable to the left or right by an axle attached to its feet, in effect leaping for the left or right goalpost. Two cameras mounted above the goal, each affixed slightly above the upper end of either goalpost, supply the pictures from which in the updated version a specialised EMCOMO industrial PC based on a Kontron KBox A-103 generates a three-dimensional image of the goal area.
MIT
Getting robots to do things isn’t easy. Usually, scientists have to either explicitly program them or get them to understand how humans communicate via language. But what if we could control robots more intuitively, using just hand gestures and brainwaves? A system spearheaded by researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) aims to do exactly that, allowing users to instantly correct robot mistakes with nothing more than brain signals and the flick of a finger.
VTT Technical Research Centre
The robot car Marilyn from VTT is currently undergoing tests on fully autonomous parking in the area furthest from its driver, at a distance of up to 100m. The Internet of Things (IoT) assists the car in finding and driving into a free space. The robot car Marilyn tests automated valet parking as part of the AUTOPILOT project, which is funded by the European Commission to investigate the potential of IoT in automated driving.
NASA
NASA is keeping a vigil over its Opportunity rover as the tenacious robot has been forced to shut down its systems and enter sleep mode as a massive storm has encompassed her; the storm is even bigger than the ones expected to decommission the rover over 14 years ago. On 12 June the Opportunity had to enter hibernation as a huge dust storm is currently sweeping across Mars and directly over the rover. The storm is stretching an unprecedented 15.8 million square miles across Mars, with winds reaching up to 70mph and Opportunity trapped inside it.
Delft Dynamics
Today it is easy and cheap to buy a drone. Drones have created new ways for smugglers and can be easily used to disturb public order and security. With DroneCatcher this can now be countered in a fully controlled manner. The DroneCatcher system is one of the very few counter-drone systems, which is capable of eliminating rogue drones by catching and removing the threat in the air and by bringing it to a harmless place.
automatica
Visitors to automatica 2018 were able to Interact with robots and see them in action at the dedicated Service Robotics Demo Park at. From 19-22 June, in Hall B4, over a dozen exhibitors showcased a wide range of professional service robots, in applications from detection and individual picking of objects, cleaning and transport to rehabilitation, personal assistance and public relations.
Trelleborg
To illustrate its capabilities within robotic equipment manufacture, Trelleborg Sealing Solutions has launched a video and augmented reality brochure. These systems, with complex configurations of seals, are fundamental to the function of robotic equipment. Solutions are required to operate 24-7 with the minimum of down-time, either planned or unplanned. Specific sealing solutions are required that demonstrate outstanding friction capabilities to extend seal life, minimise wear and facilitate smooth and constant movement.
Drone Major Group
For millennia human interaction with the world’s oceans has been one of great contrast. You have on one hand, the relationship has been built on reliance, with great dependence placed on these waters for food and commerce. However, on the other, interaction has been defined by mystery and intrigue, with as much as 95% of the world’s oceans and 99% of the ocean floor remaining unexplored according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Drone technology now has the power to change human interaction with the oceans forever, revolutionising exploration, conservation, fishing and security to secure the fruits of the oceans for generations to come.
John Hopkins University
Amputees often experience the sensation of a ‘phantom limb’ – a feeling that a missing body part is still there. That sensory illusion is closer to becoming a reality thanks to a team of engineers at the Johns Hopkins University that has created an electronic skin. When layered on top of prosthetic hands, this e-dermis brings back a real sense of touch through the fingertips.
NHS
A new report looking into improving the sustainability of the NHS, published by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and Lord Darzi, former health minister, predicts an AI revolution within the NHS is nigh and claims AI robots could save the NHS £12.5bn a year.
