Weekly Robotics #112
Image Credit: TRI
The other day I bought my first consumer robot - Roomba i7 and I’m amazed how well this thing works. The visual slam it uses seems to be quite robust, as long as it has a map of the environment it can localize quite well. I even tried a kidnapped robot test, and as soon as it was able to localize in a feature-rich room it was OK. Here it is getting to know Ross Robotics dev platform. The other day I published the second issue of monthly robotics for the readers supporting me on Patreon (THANKS!!!) - you can check it out here. The most clicked last week was Michael Ossmann’s wheel robot with 22.4% opens.
Toyota Research Institute Showcases Latest Robotics Research Aimed at Amplifying Human Ability in the Home
Toyota Research Institute unveiled what its Researchers had been up to recently with lots of developments in the space of home robotics. In the article/video you can learn about the home gantry robot, robotics gripper, software and simulation.
Robots Save Us Time — But Do They Make Us Happier?
Since we are focusing on home robots quite a bit in this feature here is a feature that argues that home robots are a double-edged sword. On one hand, it can make you happy by saving you time but on the other hand, if you humanize the robot too much, you might be guilt-tripped every time the robot does your chores.
Autoware Does Autonomous Valet Parking!
For a week, a number of people all around the world had worked on Autoware Autonomous Parking. The results are excellent - you can find them in the above article. I love the idea of open-source self-driving cars as long as they are safely used.
Open-Source Leg
Every now and then I feature robotics prosthetics in the newsletter (#102, #104, #84, #78). But this one is another level - an open-source actuated leg prosthesis aimed at researchers. The part cost of a single unit is around $28.5k, over half of it in machined parts. With this feature, I’ve added a Bionics section to the Awesome Weekly Robotics - if you know any other open source bionics related projects I should put there don’t hesitate to let me know!
3D Printed SCARA Arm With 3D Printer Components
This article features a neat build-log video showing how to assemble a scara arm made of 3D printed components and some 3D printer parts. For more information about this project see this How To Mechatronics article.
HeliOS
HeliOS is a small operating system (the docs say it’s something in between RTOS and a task scheduler) that is so tiny that you can even run it on an Arduino Uno directly from the library manager. You can find a work in progress programmer’s guide for this OS here.
Publication of the Week - RI Seminar: Zachary Manchester : The World’s Tiniest Space Program (2020)
How about a satellite that costs less than your mobile phone (yes, the price includes the cost of launch!). I think the abstract sums up this seminar very well:
The aerospace industry has experienced a dramatic shift over the last decade: Flying a spacecraft has gone from something only national governments and large defense contractors could afford to something a small startup can accomplish on a shoestring budget. A virtuous cycle has developed where lower costs have led to more launches and the growth of new markets for space-based data. However, many barriers remain. This talk will focus on driving these trends to their ultimate limit by harnessing advances in electronics, planning, and control to build spacecraft that cost less than a new smartphone and can be deployed in large numbers.
Sponsored
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Announcements
DIGICROP 2020
The International Conference on Digital Technologies for Sustainable Crop Production will take place on November 1-10, 2020. DIGICROP 2020 is a scientific event addressing an international and interdisciplinary audience working at the intersection of engineering, robotics, computer science, crop sciences, agricultural sciences, phenotyping, and economics. It brings together researchers across disciplines that develop, propose, use, or evaluate new digital technologies with the goal of making central contributions to sustainability in the context of crop production, crop breeding, biodiversity, or our ecosystems.
Ada Lovelace Day 2020 Celebration of Women in Robotics
Every year on Ada Lovelace Day we celebrate amazing robotics innovations powered by women, and meet some of the amazing women themselves! The evening will start with a short slide show of the 2020 “30 women in robotics you need to know about” list from Women in Robotics Organization, which will be published at 7am PDT on Oct 13. The event linked in the description will take place on October 14th.