Weekly Robotics #106
Image Credit: OpenBot
Weekly Robotics Slack is slowly getting off the ground. To boost the conversations I’ve decided to invite the first 15 newsletter patrons regardless of their tier. Huge thanks to everyone supporting this newsletter - thanks to you I can put more and more time to work on this project! In other news the second robot teaser is out, this time featuring Webots, an open source robot simulator. The most clicked last week was the blog post on open problems in robotics with 14.1% opens.
Publication of the Week - OpenBot: Turning Smartphones into Robots (2020)
Researchers at Intel had created an open source 3D printed robot car frame that you can build yourself for around $50. The base platform uses 4 TT DC motors driven by L298N driver, 3x 18650 Li-ion cells, 2 speed sensors and an Arduino Nano. The maximum speed of the robot is 1.5 m/s. The robot’s low level control code runs on the Arduino and the high level control (teleoperation using a joystick or person following) happens onboard an Android smartphone that is connected through a serial interface. For more information about the project check out OpenRobot.org.
Prosthesis: Mech Racing | Alpha Mech Pilot Program
You might remember these robots from this video that appeared in the issue #93. It looks like the company behind it is ready to take the idea to the new level and start a pilot program. Project’s kickstarter page had reached more than double of the required funding goal and there are still 31 days of the campaign left. Huge thanks to Julius and Charles for suggesting this video on the Slack channel.
NASA Workmanship Standards
“NASA’s pictorial reference contains full color visual examples of acceptance / rejection criteria which may be used for the design, manufacture and inspection of electrical / electronic equipment for high-reliability and space flight applications, and is a reference-only companion to the NASA Technical Standard, NASA-STD-8739 series of workmanship requirements documents”. Warning: the full PDF is around 380 Mb.
BeetleCam of the Future
BeetleCam has got new looks as you can see in the teaser above. If you’ve been following this newsletter for quite a while you might remember BeetleCam from the issue #49 that featured this video showing how the little robot was abused by animals and some of the stunning pictures the robot has taken.
Waymo Just Started Testing Its Driverless Trucks in Texas
Waymo is joining TuSimple in testing autonomous trucks on US roads.
The Robot Revolution Has Arrived
I really enjoyed this article by David Berreby, who describes some current state of the art in robotics all around the world, mentioning robotics applications in construction, agriculture, commerce and more! Given the length of this article, it’s perfect for your afternoon cup of hot chocolate.
Outdoor Experiments of the GITAI’s G1 Robot（2020.8）
GITAI seems to have made quite an update since the last article I have covered over a year ago. The robot operator seems to be using some proper haptic interfaces and a VR headset to operate heavy tools with the robot. I like how this robot can operate a shovel!
Sponsored
Huge thanks to all of the Weekly Robotics supporters helping this project through Patreon and the following business partners:
Thoughts on 2 Years as a Remote Robotics Consultant
msadowski.github.ioI've recently published a blog post on 2 years of my experience working as a Robotics Consultant. In the blog post I describe my attitude to projects, the work I won and didn't win and how working remotely has been working out for me. If you have any questions on robotics self-employment feel free to send me an e-mail.
Careers
Parkopedia (London, UK)
In the HD Maps team we’re developing Highly Autonomous Driving (HAD) maps of car parks that are suitable for navigation and localisation both for indoor navigation and also with an Automated Valet Parking System. We are looking for a Robotics Software Engineer who is interested in SLAM and 3D reconstruction to join the HD Maps team.
Announcements
Deep Drone Challenge
The Startup incubator brigkAIR and Europe’s largest aerospace company Airbus are looking for participants aged 18 and older for a highly remunerated competition in the field of drone technology. Participants can win up to €50,000 in prize money. You can apply to take part in this challenge until 11th of October 2020.