UPDATE 12/30/10: The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale has confirmed that QinetiQ’s solar-powered Zephyr UAV, which charges during the day and operates from batteries, has been ratified as staying in the air longer and achieving the highest altitude of any surveillance craft in its class, and setting the absolute duration record of 14 days and 21 minutes.…
Change the World
As we approach the end of the year and contemplate the coming year, it is a natural point in time to reflect on our accomplishments and consider our goals for the future. So forgive me if I wax philosophical. But I would like to offer the opinion that engineering is about changing the world. If […]
Lithium – The Next Big Thing
Modern lithium battery technology got started in then US in the 1970’s. As with all emerging technology, cost was a secondary consideration to the opportunity to create improved energy density batteries. The potential, of course, was huge. Everything from power tools to electric cars would be impacted by a new battery chemistry with less weight. […]
Robot News Bites:
Teledyne Technologies acquires Canadian vision systems provider DALSA for $335 million. First four commercially sold Willow Garage PR2 robots were delivered (after previously giving away 11). Will sales of Texai telepresence robots be next? February 14-16 are the dates to watch IBM’s ‘Watson’ battle Jeopardy. Anybots has chosen an American manufacturing partner (E-Systems Technology) instead…
Workerbots Begin Production in Europe
The workerbot is a flexible inspection and assembly robot system from pi4_robotics, a German optical inspection and image processing industrial robot manufacturer. Funded by the EU and developed jointly with the Fraunhofer Institute of Production Systems, workerbot, a direct competitor to America’s as-yet unreleased Heartland Robotics worker robots, sports two arms, three cameras (a 3D…
The Language of Control – Part 2
All control is based on binary code. Representations of reality based on binary code are pretty simple when the task is sensing input switches and turning on contactors, programming is relatively straight forward. Sensing analog signals and representing them as zero’s and one’s isn’t too bad either. With some simple rules, we have created great […]
ReWalk exoskeleton in FDA Trials and on ‘Glee’
Artie (a wheel-chair bound character on Glee, the TV musical) walked using Argo Medical Technologies’ ReWalk exoskeleton on the Christmas episode of Glee. FDA trials are underway for the ReWalk which received EU CE Mark certification earlier this year.
Funding for Robotic Businesses
Heartland Robotics gets $20 million additional funding ($32 million total thus far). Brooks said the company’s new manufacturing robots “will be intuitive to use, intelligent and highly flexible. They’ll be easy to buy, train and deploy and will be unbelievably inexpensive.” UPDATE 12-9: New reports from the Boston Globe indicate the Heartland robot will sell…
ABB adds midrange robot for the 12 to 20 kg payload class
ABB Robotics introduced the IRB 2600, the latest model in its medium capacity range of multipurpose robots. This robot is compact but with an ultra-wide working range and a payload capacity up to 20 kg. It also offers the best accuracy and speed in its class, improving productivity through increased output, faster cycle times and […]
The Language of Control
Language is what we use to describe reality. When we design machinery and write control programs, we use specialized languages to describe the desired behavior we are trying to achieve. And this is the beginning of problems. There is no single solution that describes everything in the control domain. And this condition is aggravated by […]
March, 2011: Two Intl. Robot Shows on Same Days
Hard choice: Expo and conference on vision, motion and automation with an expected crowd of 35,000 or Lyon, France (!), half the size expo and conference, but a focus on service and future robotics for domestic, educational, leisure, safety and personal assistance. Tough call Automate 2011 (formerly the Intl Robots, Vision & Motion Control Show,…
Army’s Robotics Rodeo Tests Newest Gear
The machines, viewed at a recent ‘Robotics Rodeo’ at an Army training school, protect soldiers, don’t panic under fire, are never distracted, and use an unblinking digital eye that automatically detects even the smallest motion. Great NY Times graphics and story. A 2004 Congressional directive requiring the military to replace a third of its fleet…
Festo’s Robotic Elephant Arm Wins German Future Prize
It is described as a bionic handing assistant which allows humans and machines to work together safely and efficiently as a team. Possible areas of use include industry, agriculture, care facilities and even at home. The 250,000 Euro prize is shared with the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA).
Landcrawler Robot Wobbles But Doesn’t Fall
This funny lookin’ fella weighs just 27 pounds, has 12 legs, and can carry you around on its back if you let it. The Land Crawler xTreme robot offers its master a ride on top of its square platform top, provided you don’t weigh more than 175 pounds. As it ambles around, it definitely doesn’t […]
3D for Better Control
If you can’t describe it you can’t control it. And control is what its all about. So we need to get better at describing what it is that our control system projects are going to do. This has some serious implications. First, if the programming language is not well suited to the task this will […]
Time Magazine’s 50 Best Inventions of 2010
Seven are robotic: Google’s driverless car, eLegs’ Exoskeleton for paraplegics, Georgia Tech’s Deceitful Robot, Korea’s English-teaching robot, EMILY, the life-saving robot, Raytheon’s Iron-man Suit, and Israel’s AI Sarcasm Detection algorithm. Gizmag would add to that list Festo’s Bionic Handling Assistant and the spider-like nanobot created by a team of US scientists.
Motion Control or Mechatronics, What’s in a Name?
Are we talking about Motion Control? or are we talking about Mechatronics? Words are important in describing reality and communicating with others. The term Mechatronics was coined a few years ago, possibly from the frustration that the term Motion Control does not adequately cover the subject. It is, however, a made up word. And as […]
Pres. Obama Experiences Japanese Robots
On his recent Asian trip, at APEC in Yokohama, President Obama petted a Paro robot, met HRP-4C, the fashion/space/talking fembot, and tried out Japan’s new 30 km/hr personal mobility device. Click to enlarge photos.
More Manufacturing Breakthroughs
The idea of a 3D printing is pretty cool all on it’s own. But when you can make high strength parts, well, now you’ve really got something. One variation on 3D printing uses chopped glass fiber and ABS plastic that can be melted and flow the way conventional 3D printing materials behave. The combination of […]
The Future of Manufacturing
The Linux OS was an unparalleled event in technology. A computer operating system that didn’t crash, was virus proof and could run anything. Started by Linus Torvalds as a student and following the freeware approach of GNU development tools for processors, Linux was an idealistic approach to solving industry wide problems that individual companies were […]
Rapid Prototype Trends
3D solid model software has come a long way. It makes complex finite element analysis an integrated feature so that new designs can be explored in hours, rather than days or weeks of building prototype parts and making changes. New product development costs have been falling consistently since the advent of this technology. The logical […]
Three Major Robotic Events End — All Were In Asia
The World Expo 2010 held in Shanghai May 1 to October 31 and seen by 60 million visitors, showcased robots in many forms: guides to factory assistants, rescue bots to underwater research. Themed to focus on the cities of the future, the biggest draws were the Oil Industry Pavilion and their 4D “Oil Dream” movie;…