It looks like more and more roboticists are looking to learn Rust. I spent a month heavily looking into it last year, and even though I’m far from using it properly, I see how it can be an attractive choice for robotics. As usual, the publication of the week section is manned by Rodrigo. Last week’s most clicked link was the termviz package, with 14.9% opens.
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The robotics software struggle is real—Viam is the solution
Remotely control a rover in Viam's robotics lab to try it out
We got tired of software slowing down the robot building process, so we created a modern robotics platform that just works. Configure hardware for rapid prototyping? Done. Program in any language with easy APIs? You got it. Securely manage data and fleets from anywhere? Easy. Try Viam for yourself—remotely control a rover or see the documentation.
So You Want To Do Robots
Benjie Holson created a series (pt1, pt2, pt3) of interesting articles summing up his eight years of experience working with Everyday Robots. Benjie’s writings are a great mix covering the business and technical sides of working for a robotics startup.
テンセント、犬型ロボット「Ｍａｘ」最新型を公開
Tencent recently unveiled a new version of their quadruped, showing impressive gait on tricky terrain. Thanks for the tip, @OrganicKoriel.
DroneCase: The DIY Phone Case That FLIES (Not a Scam)
Do you remember the scam video of two tiny motors holding onto a phone case by chewing gum and providing enough lift to keep a phone in the air? Nicholas Rehm actually did it! His bicopter design uses a bit more beefy motors that are tilted using servos. A downward-facing LiDAR is used for altitude control, and an optical-flow camera is used for position hold.
Tiny wheeled robot
A Reddit user, Guybrushhh, recently shared his tiny balancing robot with an expressive face. Really nice!
Cool 3D Printing Process: Cold Spray Additive Manufacturing
“Here’s a 3D printing process I haven’t read much about. It’s called cold spray additive manufacturing (CSAM) and involves blasting a substrate with metal powder particles, creating a coating of layers that can be built upon. As the name suggests, there’s no heat involved, but a downside is its fairly low resolution”. You can find the full video of the process on YouTube.
Some ROS News
Two interesting news from the ROS world came out last week. A project committee for Space ROS that will provide oversight over the Space ROS project. ROS Metrics Report will give insights into the project’s growth.
Publication of the Week - RI Seminar: Jorgen Pedersen: RE2 Robotics: from RI spinout to Acquisition (2023)
Most of the papers seen in the publication of the week are part of researchers and R&D teams, but this CMU robotics institute seminar will show another side of this. Jorgen Pedersen, COO of Sarcos Technology and Robotics Corporation, presents his and the company’s trajectory. Even though the presentation is more towards the business side, it is interesting to see a company that developed many robotic real-world products for many areas. Their team is packed with researchers that are constantly reinventing and adapting solutions. This is key to maintaining success in the challenging world of robotics.
Business
Amazon’s Delivery Drones Served Less than 10 Houses in their First Month
Due to FAA regulations, Prime Delivery drones in Texas and California required Amazon employees to act as spotters and manually control the drones when flying over the roads. With all the red tape (justified or not), I’m not surprised the company made so few deliveries.