Motlow State Community College (MSCC.edu) in McMinnville, Tenn. is a new member of the ABB Robotics Affiliate Education Program. In May 2019, ABB instructors began teaching certificate training classes at the recently built Automation & Robotic Training Center (ARTC) adjacent to the Motlow campus. The 12,500 sq-ft ARTC has a dedicated ABB Robotics lab equipped…
PTDA 2019 Industry Summit amplifies industry connections in Austin
The Power Transmission Distributors Association (PTDA) is expecting 550 delegates in the power transmission/motion control (PT/MC) industry at the PTDA 2019 Industry Summit in Austin, Texas. Representing over 200 PTDA distributor and manufacturer companies, delegates will attend for cross-channel networking, shared learning and collaborative experiences at this year’s Industry Summit, themed Amplify. Those registering before […]
LUKE prosthetic arm has sense of touch, can move in response to thoughts
Biomedical engineers are helping develop a prosthetic arm for amputees that can move with the person’s thoughts and feel the sensation of touch via an array of electrodes implanted in the muscles of the patient.
Robo Firefly drone goes small for efficiency, waits on crowdfunding
Robo Firefly ultralight drone faces headwinds in crowdfunding campaign.
Reader survey seeks input for The Robot Report
The Robot Report is asking you, our readers, to respond to a quick survey about your interests. This will guide our online and print coverage, as well as our growing events.
Filter gives robots greater spatial perception for 6D object pose estimation
Robots are good at making identical repetitive movements, such as a simple task on an assembly line. Pick up a cup. Turn it over. Put it down. But they lack the ability to perceive objects as they move through an environment. A human picks up a cup, puts it down in a random location, and…
Automated system from MIT generates robotic actuators for novel tasks
When designing actuators involves too many variables for humans to test by hand, this system can step in.
Universal Robots launching 50 authorized training centers
Universal Robots (UR) is launching Authorized Training Centers (ATCs) that offer classes spanning basic to advanced programming of UR cobots. UR is planning 50 fully authorized ATCs worldwide, 13 of which will be in North America. The first few ATCs in the U.S. have already been authorized and are now offered by the following UR…
Artificial muscles based on MIT fibers could make robots more responsive
New MIT system of contracting fibers could be a boon for biomedical devices and robotics.
COMSOL News 2019 success stories: Simulation applications enable collaboration in developing new products
COMSOL Inc. published its annual compilation of customer success stories featured in the latest edition of COMSOL News. This year’s issue features a variety of academic and commercial examples from engineers who push the limits of technology using COMSOL Multiphysics® for innovative modeling, simulation, and application design. Collaboration is key when designing products that will […]
Automation & IIoT Learning Center includes free Premium Factory Training
Two complimentary seats (a $1990 value!) with your purchase of the groov EPIC Learning Center! Start your control or industrial internet of things (IIoT) project today with the groov EPIC Learning Center (GRV-EPIC-LC). Packed with fully-functioning EPIC hardware and software, the Learning Center gives you a compact and complete system to prototype your projects. AND…
Top 10 robotics stories during first half of 2019
We’re more than halfway through 2019, and there’s been a lot to talk about. Here are The Robot Report‘s picks for the top 10 robotics stories during the first half of 2019. Please share your thoughts below via the survey or the comments section. 1. Consumer robotics company Anki shuts down The struggles of consumer…
Vegebot robot applies machine learning to harvest lettuce
Engineers at the University of Cambridge have developed Vegebot, which is designed to use machine learning to pick a common but challenging agricultural crop.
MIT ‘walking motor’ could help robots assemble complex structures
Years ago, MIT Professor Neil Gershenfeld had an audacious thought. Struck by the fact that all the world’s living things are built out of combinations of just 20 amino acids, he wondered: Might it be possible to create a kit of just 20 fundamental parts that could be used to assemble all of the different…
Cassie bipedal robot a platform for tackling locomotion challenges
What has two legs, no torso, and hangs out in the basement of the University of Pennsylvania’s Towne Building? It’s Cassie, a dynamic bipedal robot, a recent addition to Michael Posa’s Dynamic Autonomy and Intelligent Robotics (DAIR) Lab. Built by Agility Robotics, a company in Albany, Oregon, Cassie offers Posa and his students the chance…
DENSO Foundation awards more than $1 Million in STEM education grants
DENSO announced that it has awarded more than $1 million in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education grants to 26 colleges and universities across North America. The grants are made possible by DENSO’s philanthropic division, DENSO North America Foundation (DNAF), and support the company’s mission to help cultivate tomorrow’s workforce. These donations deliver critical…
Waymo hires former Anki employees, including co-founder Sofman
In what is likely the final nail in the coffin, Waymo has hired 13 former Anki employees, including Co-Founder and CEO Boris Sofman. According to Sofman’s LinkedIn profile, he is now Director of Engineering, Head of Trucking, Waymo. Sofman wrote about the news in a LinkedIn post called “A New Adventure with Waymo.” Here’s part…
Researchers explore how EBM can benefit manufacturing
With major investment from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Holistic Innovation in Additive Manufacturing Network (HI-AM) brings leading metal additive manufacturing experts from seven Canadian universities together to investigate the fundamental scientific issues associated with pre-fabrication, fabrication and post-fabrication of components manufacturing by a range of additive manufacturing technologies […]
Reward learning framework combines demos, preferences to train robots
Told to optimize for speed while racing down a track in a computer game, a car pushes the pedal to the metal … and proceeds to spin in a tight little circle. Nothing in the instructions told the car to drive straight, and so it improvised. This example – funny in a computer game but…
GE Additive Education Program reaches over one million students
The GE Additive Education Program’s (AEP) third cycle – 2019/2020 – will grant polymer 3D printing packages to 982 primary and secondary schools and reach 793,000 primary and secondary school students in 23 countries. Since its foundation in 2017, over 1,296,000 students and 2,000 schools in 36 countries have benefitted from the AEP. The top […]
Computer vision researchers use special light sources to see around corners
Computer vision researchers have demonstrated they can use special light sources and sensors to see around corners or through gauzy filters, enabling them to reconstruct the shapes of unseen objects. The researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Toronto and University College London said this technique enables them to reconstruct images in great detail,…
MIT algorithm helps robots quickly find objects hidden in dense point clouds
A new MIT-developed technique enables robots to quickly identify objects hidden in a 3D cloud of data, reminiscent of how some people can make sense of a densely patterned “Magic Eye” image if they observe it in just the right way. Robots typically “see” their environment through sensors that collect and translate a visual scene…
Facebook PyRobot goes open source to speed robotics, AI research
PyRobot, which abstracts robotics controls, was developed by Facebook with Carnegie Mellon University. Facebook among the companies making code open source to accelerate robotics development.
iRobot acquires Root Robotics to boost STEM offerings
iRobot, best known for its robotic vacuum cleaners, has added to its educational product line with its acquisition of Root Robotics.
Meteors Help Martian Clouds Form
How did the Red Planet get all of its clouds? CU Boulder researchers may have discovered the secret: just add meteors. Astronomers have long observed clouds in Mars’ middle atmosphere, which begins about 18 miles (30 kilometers) above the surface, but have struggled to explain how they formed. Now, a new study, which will be published on…