Daily Archives: May 16, 2021

KINGSPORT The Dobyns-Bennett High School robotics team, Cyber Tribe 4020, recently finished second in its 29-team division in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition (FRC) Skills Challenge.

The challenge was called Infinite Recharge at Home.

However, it did not move on to the international round for the Game Design or Innovation competitions.

The Skills Challenge division was composed of teams from 17 states, as well as Mexico, Turkey and Vietnam. Including all competition groups, Cyber Tribe was ranked 10th in the world out of the 1,412 teams that participated in the coronavirus-modified robotics skills competition this year.

Rather than traveling to a regional, in-person, competition or attending the world championships in Houston with hundreds of teams, FIRST developed a remote model for 2021, according to Cyber Tribe coach and D-B engineering teacher Angela Conrad.

Team members are

William Armentrout

Ruth Brent

Lorelai Buckley

Pierce Byers

Emily Cai

Isaac Call

Abigail Caveness

Mason Craft

Brianna Earls

Marcus Espeland

David Floyd

Lydia Garrett

Paul Garrett

Tyler Golden

Athrv Grewal

Ozzy Hale

Levi Hochstetler

Jackie Liu

LeBette Long

Samuel Loparo

Jacob Mai

Nathan Mai

Robert Morriss

Anthony Nakhoul

Neekon Nejad

Grace Nelson

Zackary Newman

Graham Owens

Jakob Price

Stefan Radojcic

Casey Roberts

Kousha Sadeghi

Caleb Salyer

Alexis Schubert

Fathima Shaikh

Bindiya Srinath

Ivy Sullivan

Jesse Vaughn

Jackson Woodward

Conrad said the Skills Challenge required teams to develop and operate their robot at home, completing challenges involving student- controlled precision driving, autonomous precision driving, autonomous collection of game pieces and student-controlled game piece shooting. Scores were based on speed and accuracy in all these challenges.

Videos were submitted by teams and reviewed by FIRST officials to document challenge scores.

While creating an at-home experience with similarities to an in-person robotics competition, FIRST also developed a Game Design Challenge and an Innovation Challenge.

For teams that were prohibited from meeting or working in-person to complete robot Skills Challenges or did not choose to work in-person, these two additional activities gave teams options to compete which could be completed entirely online.

The Cyber Tribe was one of 502 teams from the approximately 3,700 FRC teams active in 2020 that completed both of these challenges, plus the robot Skills Challenge for 2021. Only three teams from Tennessee competed in all three challenges.

Conrad said this all-in mentality shows the determination of Cyber Tribe to make the best of a coronavirus-modified season and to try to keep the team as cohesive and experienced as possible for hopefully normal competitions in 2022 and beyond.

For the Game Design Challenge, Cyber Tribe created a pirate-themed robotic competition game called Blockade Busters, featuring game pieces representing cannonballs and doubloons (gold) as well as a playing field including a ship mast with deployable sails, a brig, treasure chests and lighthouses.

Robots were required to collect and shoot cannonballs, acquire and place doubloons, climb a ladder, and pull a chain to unroll a sail.

For the Innovation Challenge, Cyber Tribe created a concept called Kingsport Recharge, composed of a subscription-based box of items. Boxes would be assembled and delivered monthly to help people heal the mind, body, and community from the impact of the coronavirus, as well as the other stressors remaining from the pandemic. Boxes would include things like healthy recipes, hiking/biking routes, arts and crafts, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) projects and stress relief ideas.

The Innovation Challenge group worked with the Kingsport Chamber of Commerce and Healthy Kingsport and reached out to local businesses to develop the healing ideas.

The Cyber Tribe members participating in Game Design and Innovation faced competition from other FIRST teams from around the world. A very small portion of teams were selected to advance from their competition groups into a playoff system to determine global champions.

Although Cyber Tribe did not make it to the playoffs in either of these challenges, the team members gained skills in creating their concepts, developing and capturing details in presentations, documents, images and videos, as well as clearly and concisely conveying team ideas in live interviews with judging panels.

Conrad said gifts of money, materials and mentor time from the teams sponsors, mentors and teachers are essential to meet the needs of the financially and technically demanding robotics competitions. Sponsors included Kingsport City Schools, Eastman Chemical Co., Kiwanis Club of Kingsport, Bank of Tennessee, Citizens Bank, BAE Systems, Milligan College, Tri-City Extrusion, Fastenal, Ballad Health, Lowes, Edward Jones Inc., AEP, Rockwell Automation and various individuals.

If you are interested in becoming a sponsor or mentor for Cyber Tribe, contact Conrad at aconrad@k12k.com.

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Cyber Tribe robotics team makes some noise in FIRST competition - Kingsport Times News

The hydrogel material comes from different-sized seaweed particles. Credit: Orlin Velev, NC State University

Hydrogels merge two physical forms of the same seaweed material for strength, flexibility.

3D-printable gels with improved and highly controlled properties can be created by merging micro- and nano-sized networks of the same materials harnessed from seaweed, according to new research from North Carolina State University. The findings could have applications in biomedical materials think of biological scaffolds for growing cells and soft robotics.

Described in the journalNature Communications, the findings show that these water-based gels called homocomposite hydrogels are both strong and flexible. They are composed of alginates chemical compounds found in seaweed and algae that are commonly used as thickening agents and in wound dressings.

Merging different-size scale networks of the same alginate together eliminates the fragility that can sometimes occur when differing materials are merged together in a hydrogel, says Orlin Velev, S. Frank and Doris Culberson Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at NC State and corresponding author of the paper.

Water-based materials can be soft and brittle, he said. But these homocomposite materials soft fibrillar alginate particles inside a medium of alginate are really two hydrogels in one: one is a particle hydrogel and one is a molecular hydrogel. Merged together they produce a jelly-like material that is better than the sum of its parts, and whose properties can be tuned precisely for shaping through a 3D printer for on-demand manufacturing.

We are reinforcing a hydrogel material with the same material, which is remarkable because it uses just one material to improve the overall mechanical properties, said Lilian Hsiao, an assistant professor of chemical and molecular engineering at NC State and a co-author of the paper. Alginates are used in wound dressings, so this material potentially could be used as a strengthened 3D-printed bandage or as a patch for wound healing or drug delivery.

These types of materials have the potential to be most useful in medical products, in food products as a thickening agent, or in soft robotics, said Austin Williams, one of the papers first coauthors and a graduate student in Velevs lab.

Future work will attempt to fine-tune this method of merging of homocomposite materials to advance 3D printing for biomedical applications or biomedical injection materials, Velev said.

This technique may have uses with other types of gels, like those used in coatings or in consumer products, Hsiao said.

Reference: Printable homocomposite hydrogels with synergistically reinforced molecular-colloidal networks by Austin Williams, Sangchul Roh, Alan Jacob, Lilian Hsiao, Orlin D. Velev and Simeon Stoyanov, 14 May 2021, Nature Communications.DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23098-9

Former NC State Ph.D. student Sangchul Roh is the papers other first coauthor. Coauthor Simeon Stoyanov from Wageningen University participated in the conception of the new material.

The research is funded by the National Science Foundation under grants CMMI-1825476, CBET-1804462 and ECCS-2025064.

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Researchers Develop 3D-Printed Jelly for Biomedical Materials and Soft Robotics - SciTechDaily

Based in Greenville Texas, the Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit and VEX Robotics-centered organization, is back to showcase the incredible talent and skill of a range of student competitors by hosting the first-ever Live Remote VEX Robotics World Championship, which will begin Monday and continue until Friday, May 29.

Leveraging the REC Foundation's Live Remote Tournament interface, teams from around the world will be able to compete in real-time tournaments or live skills matches to be crowned champions.

Greenvilles teams will physically be competing at REC's Central Command at Innovation First, at 1519 I-30, and the event will begin streaming live at 12:30 p.m. Monday, on REOs YouTube channel (just search on YouTube for REDFoundation).

During the live remote event, students from the third grade through college will compete in timed robotics competition matches with their custom-built robots. Like at past world championships, competitors will have the opportunity to see familiar faces, activities, and share the excitement of the event.

To ensure the safety of its robotics community due to the pandemic, this unique event will adapt to a virtual format. Typically, the annual VEX Robotics World Championship attracts more than 30,000 attendees from all 50 states and more than 70 nations.

"We have been inspired by our robotics community that has constantly innovated and problem-solved during this most challenging season. We are excited to host the first-ever remote robotics championship to recognize their resilience," said Dan Mantz, CEO of the REC Foundation. "While it's not possible to hold a large event because of the COVID-19 outbreak, teams will be able to safely compete remotely with other competitors from all over the world. Through the creative process of designing, building, and programming robots, students gain a wealth of technical knowledge and communication skills that will serve them well throughout their lives."

VEX Robotics Competition and VEX IQ Challenge teams have untilApril 18, 2021to qualify for the World Championship. Working with their peers to build a robot to compete in this season's engineering game challenges at the regional, state, and national levels, teams have also adhered to safety guidelines at each of those levels, and as recommended by the REC Foundation. Competitors, teams, coaches, and parents have trained and competed to prepare for this world event.

"We are proud of all VEX Robotics competitors who through the ups and downs of the year still took on the challenge of participating in VEX Competitions. Your determination and perseverance show us that the leaders of tomorrow are truly remarkable. To the parents, mentors, and coaches, thank you," said Tony Norman, Co-Founder and Co-Inventor of VEX Robotics.

The REC Foundation's Live Remote VEX Robotics World Championship 2021 is presented by the Northrop Grumman Foundation. Other global sponsors that support the program year-round and this event include: Autodesk, Dell, Google, MathWorks, Microchip, NASA, Tesla, Texas Instruments, and VEX Robotics.

More information about the event can be found at vexworlds.com.

We are making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free. Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the latest news and information on this developing story.

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International remote robotics tournament to begin Monday - Herald-Banner

A researcher at Milrem Robotics, an Estonian robotic vehicle manufacturer, comes to tell us something we already suspected. Turns out that using robots for farming purposes is better than using actual humans.

Tests concluded that depending on the harvesting method and number of machines used, farmers can reduce labor requirements by 34 to 43 percent and fuel consumption by 21 to 26 percent, according to the article published by researcher Riho Kgo. Moreover, by switching to robotic systems for peat harvesting and other industry-related activities, we can also significantly reduce CO2 emissions by up to 48 percent.

As its name suggests, Milrem Roboticss Multiscope is a highly versatile unmanned vehicle suitable for military purposes as well as rescue missions, and the commercial sector.

The Multiscope is completely automated and comes in several available versions, depending on the tasks it can perform. In the study conducted by Milrem Robotics, in cooperation with scientists from the University of Tartu and the Estonian University of Life Sciences, researchers used a Multiscope UGV that can turn on the spot (it has a turn radius of 0 meters/feet), has a net weight of 1,630 kg (3,593 pounds) and a 1,200 kg (2,645 pounds) payload capacity.The Multiscope UGV is powered by two 19kW electric motors and has a low noise signature.

This is not the first time were hearing about robots trying to take over the agriculture sector. The Autonomous Weeder from Carbon Robotics is another great example of high-efficiency bots, as it can destroy over 100,000 undesirable weeds per hour. And then theres also the apple-picking robot developed by some Australian researchers. The apple harvesting machine can pluck apples at a speed of only 7 seconds per piece of fruit.

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Robots Will Take Over the Fields for Reduced Costs in Fuel and Labor - autoevolution

Two LSU professors hope their current research could one day turn robotic exoskeletons into reality in the construction space. In the process, theyll improve worker safety and efficiency, and perhaps even create more opportunities for older workers and women.

Chao Wang, a construction management professor, and Fereydoun Aghazadeh, professor of industrial engineering, are working with Rutgers University as part of an integrated, multidisciplinary effort to bring emerging robotic technologies such as a wearable exoskeleton to the industrial construction industry, 10/12 Industry Report details in a new feature.

As a preliminary step, the group is using a $150,000 National Science Foundation planning grant to perform a yearlong pilot study and conduct virtual workshops to gather information from potential users.

It is all made possible by NSFs 10 Big IdeasFuture of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier program and gives LSU and Rutgers one year to create a team of researchers to compete for a $3 million research grant this spring.

For now, the team is looking into how variable sensors and robotics technology can keep construction workers safe and increase their productivity. During the workshops, theyre also discussing the potential benefits of an exoskeleton device on health insurance costs and worker longevity.

We want to listen to them and learn about their requirements on these projects, Wang says, as well as get their input and feedback.

About 40 participated in the first workshop in December, a group comprising mostly project managers from the construction industry in Louisiana and other states, as well as organizations such as Associated Builders and Contractors Pelican Chapter in Baton Rouge, Associated General Contractors of America and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Read the full story.

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LSU researchers studying benefits of robotics technology in construction industry - Greater Baton Rouge Business Report

Robots are rising in San Antonio.

That may sound like a cheerleaders refrain from economic development talking points, but when it comes to robots, San Antonio keeps winning.

With the late April news of Plus One Robotics $33 million funding round and expansion, germ-zapping robot maker Xenexs explosive growth and several other companies like Reckon Point, Xyrec and Renu Robotics gaining momentum, the South Texas robot business is booming.

And dont forget Southwest Research Institute and Toyota, San Antonios heavyweights in the robot game.

Then theres the SATX Robotix Meetup, a group of more than 430 people whore either in the business or interested in the industry. Erik Nieves, chief executive and co-founder of Plus One Robotics at Port San Antonio, said the group is better attended than Austins version.

San Antonios special strain of robots are for business or industrial use. These are business-to-business robots, not humanoids like C-3PO or the Terminator. Nor are these machines with household applications like a Roomba or automatic pool cleaner.

On ExpressNews.com: With brain implants, the futures gonna be weird

Think robots at work on large-scale disinfecting, building trucks, unpacking pallets, sorting packages, lasering paint off aircraft, mapping building interiors or industrial-sized lawn mowers for solar panel farms.

Consumer robots might come from Asia, or at least Boston, but the application of robot tech to industrial problems is what SA does best, Nieves said.

Before we can riff on the areas robobiz, its worth thinking about what exactly a robot is. The best definition my brain concocted was a machine that performs a task autonomously.

Im no expert, so I turned to some San Antonio robot gurus for their perspective. As it turns out, the answer is, well, complicated.

The definition of robot is not a settled question, said Nieves, whose company specializes in helping robots hand-eye coordination. Many different morphologies, many different applications, but one thing they all have in common is that they have a semblance of programming and move through physical space.

The latter distinction, moving through space, is why appliances like dishwashers and refrigerators arent considered robots, he said.

Perhaps defining robots is akin to (Supreme Court) Justice Potter dealing with obscenity, he said. I cant give you all the rules, but I know it when I see it, and I know what it isnt.

Kris Kozak, principal at Hatchbed, a robotics consulting firm at Port San Antonio, said its a tough question and the lines quickly get blurry.

On ExpressNews.com: SpaceXs Boca Chica venture has all the versus categories covered

Besides humanoid and industrial robots, he cited other categories that could be included. Kozak has worked in robot research and development for more than 20 years, so hes self-admittedly pretty inclusive in his definition.

His list includes self-driving or autonomous vehicles, aircraft and boats, as well as robotic mechanisms like the cable-driven receiver that hangs over a 500-meter telescope in China.

The one bright line that Id draw is that a fundamental attribute of a robot is that it must be able to physically interact with its environment, he said. I guess you could say that a robot has to have a body of some sort, so Alexa and Siri are not robots ... yet.

Peter Boeijink, Xyrecs chief executive, checked in from the Netherlands. His company has a division at Port San Antonio thats pioneering automated painting and paint removal for aircraft and other large equipment.

I like to define a robot as a programmable machine to automate the use or application of a physical process with a high degree of flexibility in movements, he said. By this, a robot can be used in many situations.

All efforts in robot development are to use robots for more applications and make it easier to program the robot for its movements.

Near the airport, Xenex manufactures robots that blast germs including the coronavirus with ultraviolet light. Its seen exponential growth during the pandemic.

Morris Miller, Xenexs chief executive, said his firm defines a robot as a machine programmed by a computer that is capable of carrying out actions automatically.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonios cybersecurity industry 30 years after Michelangelo

And he introduced a new term to our conversation: cobot.

Our LightStrike robot is moved from one location to the next for example, from a patient room to an operating room by a trained technician, so we also like the term cobot to describe the relationship between the robot and its human operator.

So, like so many questions that seem simple at first, the answer to the robot question is nuanced and, apparently, still in debate.

But, whats not in debate is that robots are a growth industry on the rise in San Antonio. Is there a Robocity, USA, yet? Were working on it.

Brandon Lingle writes for the Express-News through Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. ReportforAmerica.org. brandon.lingle@express-news.net

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Robocity, USA? With the rise of robots in San Antonio, were heading that way - mySA

Hospital spending on capital equipment is on an upswing, signaling a stronger outlook for surgical procedures guided by robotic systems in the year ahead, medtech executives said on their first-quarter earnings calls.

The activity mirrors a boom in the broader economy to start 2021 that points to a recovery from the pandemic-driven recession, but the strength of demand from the hard-hit hospital sector surpassed expectations.

"As procedures are coming back, we're seeing through our order book that hospitals are in actually very good financial position. And better than, frankly, I would have expected when the pandemic first hit," said Stryker CEO Kevin Lobo.

Hospital finances are significantly healthier than they were following past economic downturns, he said. That solid footing bodes well for sales of Stryker's Mako robotic platform for knee and hip surgery as procedure volumes return to more normal levels. The CEO cited the order book for capital equipment as a key factor in Stryker's forecast for company-wide organic sales to accelerate 12% to 14% this year over 2020.

Mako followed a strong fourth quarter with a "banner" first-quarter performance, fueled by an upturn in international installations, according to the CEO. System placements, Lobo said, are an early indicator of future implant growth.

Similarly,Intuitive Surgical executives said robust capital placements in the first quarter, coupled with a rebound in the use of its installed systems, indicates a need by customers to return to surgery and shows that hospitals are preparing for a post-pandemic environment.

"On the capital side, new system placements continue to exceed our expectations," said CEO Gary Guthart. "We know that new system placements are closely tied to anticipated procedure volumes and system utilization in mature markets."

Intuitive shipped 298 da Vinci robots in the first quarter, up 26% from a year ago, boosting its installed base to 6,142 systems as of March 31, up 8% from a year earlier. The company said it saw particularly strong placements of its robots in the U.S., China, France and the U.K. during the quarter.

The better-than-expected demand suggests "hospital capital budgets were less impacted by COVID than originally anticipated," analysts at Stifel wrote in a note to clients. Intuitive's first-quarter results topped expectations across all key metrics: revenue, earnings per share, procedure growth and system placements, according to the note.

Procedures performed with installed Intuitive systems climbed 16% in the quarter, recovering in February and March after a sluggish start in January. The rebound tracked with a slowing pace of new COVID-19 cases. First-quarter revenue jumped 18% from last year to $1.29 billion.

Intuitive predicted procedure growth would expand in the range of 22% to 26% in 2021, compared to a rise of just 1% in total da Vinci procedures last year. The forecast is based on the assumption that new COVID-19 cases remain on a downward path.

Tempering its rosy outlook, Intuitive executives said leasing is expected to increase as a percentage of sales over time as customers access capital through alternative financing arrangements, causing revenue to be deferred to future periods. Leasing represented 43% of its system placements in the first quarter, compared with 32% last year and 37% in the fourth quarter, the company said.

Further, management cautioned that the company will face competition in various markets, which could bring with it price pressures and longer selling cycles.

Medtronic's Hugo soft-tissue robotic system could launch as soon as the fourth quarter to take on the robotic surgery leader, while Johnson & Johnson is due to begin first-in-human clinical trials for its Ottava system in the second half of 2022.

Stryker rival Zimmer Biomet reported strong momentum for its Rosa knee robotic surgery platform in the first quarter. Zimmer Biomet CEO Bryan Hanson called the system's fourth-quarter performance "fantastic" and said the momentum continued into the first quarter, both in the U.S. and internationally.

The company said it plans to launch its Rosa hip application in the second half of this year. A partial knee application recently received FDA approval, and the first procedure with that product was successfully performed.

Analysts at Truist said Rosa continues to gain traction in the market, noting "2021 is looking to be a year that sees Zimmer Biomet's pivot to a more tech-enabled company start to come to fruition."

J.P. Morgan analysts said that although management did not quantify system placements in the quarter, they expect Rosa placements in 2021 should match 2020's level of about 250 systems.

In the spine market, Globus Medical reported strong U.S. growth for its robotic technology in the first and fourth quarters and positive early feedback.

"We're highly focused on driving adoption and utilization in this installed base because, ultimately, that's why it's going to continue to grow," CEO David Demski said. He declined to specify the percentage of the company's spine procedures that are performed using its Excelsius GPS robot.

Medtronic leads the spine robotics market after acquiring Mazor Robotics in a $1.6 billion acquisition in 2018.

NuVasiveis gearing up to compete and remains committed to launching its Pulse spine technology platform this summer,CEO Chris Barry said on the company's earnings call. A 510(k) application for the system has been submitted to FDA, and the company anticipates CE mark approval in Europe in the first half of the year.

Future applications will include robotics, with first-in-human use expected in 2022, according to the CEO.

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Robotic surgery outlook boosted by hospital spending pickup in Q1 - MedTech Dive

Reliable Roboticsannounced today it was awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to determine how the companys remotely operated aircraft system can support the United States Air Force (USAF). The company was chosen to participate in the program based on the technical merit and innovation of their approach to autonomous flight, as well as the qualifications of their team. Their automation technology is aircraft agnostic, allowing dual application on civil and USAF platforms, increasing mission readiness use and reducing potential loss of life in harsh environments.

Reliable Robotics currently operates a large Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) that has flown over populated regions in the U.S. with experimental airworthiness approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. During this Phase 1 contract, Reliable Robotics will further examine with the USAF, key areas of impact and opportunity for its dual-use flight technology, including:

The USAF can realize the benefits of this technology at reduced acquisition costs and commercially competitive operating costs due to the level of maturity and flexibility of the Reliable Robotics system.

Our remotely operated aircraft system has application beyond civilian logistics; participating in the SBIR program validates the natural transition of our technology for defense applications, said Robert Rose, Co-Founder and CEO of Reliable Robotics. We are looking forward to working with the Air Force and the rest of the Department of Defense.

Reliable Robotics is already gaining traction with automation of the worlds most popular cargo feeder aircraft, the Cessna 208 Caravan, and is taking active steps toward certification of its system. The company has proven to be a leader in designing, building and operating autonomous aircraft technology with successful landmark flights in the commercial aviation sector demonstratingunmanned flight of a Cessna 172 in 2019, andremote piloting of the Cessna Caravan from inside their control center over 50 miles away earlier this year.

About Reliable Robotics Corporation

Launched by SpaceX and Tesla veterans,Reliable Roboticsis revolutionizing commercial aviation with its autonomous flight technology. Their accomplishments were recently selected as a Collier Trophy finalist for 2020s greatest achievements in aeronautics or astronautics in the United States. The companys systems will enable a future where air transportation is safer, more convenient, more affordable, and transformative to the way goods, and eventually people, travel around the planet.

Please visithttps://reliable.cofor more information.

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Reliable Robotics Selected by the Air Force Research Laboratory to Evaluate Autonomous Aircraft Capabilities for Government Missions - UASweekly.com

The Orpheus submersible robot is being developed by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and JPL to explore the deep ocean autonomously. Orpheus uses vision-based navigation that works in a similar way to how the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter navigates during flight. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Terrain-relative navigation helped Perseverance land and Ingenuity fly autonomously on Mars. Now its time to test a similar system while exploring another frontier.

On May 14, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ship Okeanos Explorer departed from Port Canaveral in Florida on a two-week expedition led by NOAA Ocean Exploration, featuring the technology demonstration of an autonomous underwater vehicle. Called Orpheus, this new class of submersible robot will showcase a system that will help it find its way and identify interesting scientific features on the seafloor.

Terrain-relative navigation was instrumental in helping NASAs Mars 2020 Perseverance Mars rover make its precision touch down on the Red Planet on February 18. The system allowed the descending robot to visually map the Martian landscape, identify hazards, and then choose a safe place to land without human assistance. In a similar way, the agencys Ingenuity Mars Helicopter uses a vision-based navigation system to track surface features on the ground during flight in order to estimate its movements across the Martian surface.

Developed by engineers at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, an evolution of the vision-based navigation that has been used on Mars will now undergo a trial run a little closer to home: off the U.S. East Coast in the Atlantic Ocean.

The submersible can explore the most extreme depths of the ocean, creating 3D maps of the seafloor. Shown in this photo during a previous expedition, Orpheus is much smaller than other submersibles, making it easier to transport and operate. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Large, high-power location-finding equipment like sonar would normally be required to navigate the dark and often murky waters near the seabed. By utilizing a low-power system of cameras and lights, along with advanced software, Orpheus is an order of magnitude lighter than most deep-sea submersibles. Smaller than a quad bike and weighing about 550 pounds (250 kilograms), Orpheus is designed to be nimble, easy to operate, and rugged while exploring depths inaccessible to most vehicles.

Designed by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in collaboration with JPL, Orpheus can work untethered almost anywhere in the ocean, including the most extreme depths. Ultimately, the project team hopes to see a swarm of these underwater robots work as a team to build 3D maps of the vast regions of unexplored ocean floor in the hadal zone regions deeper than 20,000 feet (6,000 meters). But before the robot can explore these depths, it must first be put through its paces in shallower waters.

This tech demo will be used to gather data to demonstrate the viability of terrain-relative navigation in the ocean while also showing how multiple robots will operate together in extreme environments, said Russell Smith, robotics mechanical engineer at JPL. These tests will put us on track to start future dives into the hadal zone and intelligently seek out exciting regions of high biological activity.

Orpheus version of vision-based navigation is called visual-inertial odometry, or xVIO, and it works by using a system of advanced cameras and pattern-matching software along with instruments that can precisely measure its orientation and motion. As Orpheus travels over the seafloor, xVIO identifies features such as rocks, shells, and coral below the vehicle. Like remembering landmarks during a road trip, xVIO will construct 3D maps using these features as waypoints to help it navigate. But this system is more than simply a means to prevent the submersible robot from getting lost.

The Orpheus technology demonstration will be carried out aboard the NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer. After departing from Floridas Port Canaveral on May 14, the two-week expedition explores the waters off the U.S. East Coast. Credit: Art Howard/NOAA Ocean Exploration

The high-resolution maps xVIO creates are stored to memory so that when Orpheus returns to the area, it will recognize the unique distribution of the features and use them as a starting point to expand its exploration. And when working with robot buddies, maps can be shared, cross-referenced, and developed to quickly identify areas of scientific interest.

In the future, some of the most extreme ocean environments will be within our reach. From deep ocean trenches to hydrothermal vents, there are many new destinations we will explore, said Andy Klesh, a systems engineer also at JPL. By staying small, weve created a new, simplified tool for ocean scientists one that directly benefits NASA as an analogue system for autonomous space exploration.

But Klesh noted another virtue of the collaboration between NASA and organizations like WHOI and NOAA, with their extensive oceanographic expertise: The technologies being developed to explore Earths oceans with smart, small, and rugged autonomous underwater vehicles could ultimately be harnessed to explore the oceans on other worlds.

Earth analogues are often used as environmental stand-ins for other locations in the solar system. For example, Jupiters moon Europa possesses a subsurface ocean that could host conditions favorable to life.

At hadal depths on Earth, the pressures are roughly equivalent to the bottom of Europas subsurface ocean, thought to be maybe 80 kilometers [50 miles] deep, said Tim Shank, the biologist leading WHOIs HADEX (Hadal Exploration) program. It is a profound thing to think that this expedition could be the stepping stone to new discoveries about our own planet, including answering that most fundamental question: Is life unique to Earth, or are there other places beyond this pale blue dot where life could have arisen? But before we can explore Europa or any other ocean world, we have to better understand our own home first.

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Robotic Navigation Tech That Helped NASA's Perseverance Rover Land on Mars Will Explore the Deep Ocean - SciTechDaily

Everton Football Clubs official charity has launched a new e-learning programme to transform the way disadvantaged young people in Merseyside learn about technology.

Created by Everton in the Community, the initiative combines football with robotics to engage students aged five to 16 years in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) education, hoping to encourage them into further studies or careers in the fields.

The programme will be delivered to approximately 2,000 children across 63 schools in the Liverpool City region. Using Spheros new sports-themed coding solution, Sphero Sports which enables users to program robots and football pitch-themed mats tutors from the charity will help children learn, create and invent through coding, science, music and the arts.

In other news: Study reveals regions with most offline residents, evidencing UKs enduring digital divide

With the pandemic-driven school closures exacerbating education inequality, its hoped that the programme will help to address the STEAM learning gap among disadvantaged youth.

STEAM learning has been shown to help young people develop crucial social and personal skills, including problem-solving, critical thinking, communication and teamwork skills that are forecasted to be most in-demand in 2025, according to the World Economic Forums (WEF) Future of Jobs report.

The project is supported by STEAM education resource provider CreativeHUT and funded by a range of partners, such as Liverpool-based Appreciate Group. Sphero has also offered training support to the charity to ensure that the robots are used to their full capacity to maximise positive results among students.

Ian ODoherty, CEO of Appreciate Group, commented: Like many businesses, technology is at the heart of our current and future strategy so its vital the workers of tomorrow have the digital and STEAM skills we will need to remain successful. We are delighted to be supporting this programme and to help boost the learning prospects for children in the region when it comes to these important subjects.

The programme will initially be rolled out to 20 of the charitys partner schools this month (May 2021), before being extended across all 63 schools. Everton in the Community will also establish measures to monitor progress and impact.

In the future, the charity hopes to see e-STEAM integrated into all of its programmes, including disability, health and wellbeing, as well as its Impact Model through community centres, after school clubs and community projects.

We are incredibly proud of our new e-STEAM programme and are excited to start rolling it out to schools across Merseyside and work to increase the interest in STEAM by making it fun, engaging and relevant for young people, said Sue Gregory, Everton in the Community Director of Youth Engagement and Employability.

This programme has been made possible thanks to the support of some incredibly socially-conscious organisations and we look forward to working alongside them to create joy in education whilst enabling young people to have a brighter future and bridge the skills gap, she added.

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Charity combines football with robotics to engage students in STEAM - Education Technology