Category Archives: Robotics

Following this mornings announcement that Hyundai has closed its acquisition of Boston Dynamics, another automotive company has posted some robotics news. The Toyota Research Institute announcement is decidedly less earthshaking than that big deal if anything, its more of a progress check on what the division has been working on.

Of course, incremental updates tend to be the name of the game when it comes to robotics of all sorts. This does, however, shed some interesting light on the work TRI has been doing in the home. Today the company announced some key advances to robotics it has designed to perform domestic tasks.

TRI roboticists were able to train robots to understand and operate in complicated situations that confuse most other robots, including recognizing and responding to transparent and reflective surfaces in a variety of circumstances, the Institute writes in a blog post.

Image Credits: Toyota Research Institute

With settings like kitchens, the robots come in contact with a variety of transparent and reflective surfaces a hurdle for traditional vision systems. Specifically in the kitchen, things like a transparent glass or reflective appliance can create an issue.

To overcome this, TRI roboticists developed a novel training method to perceive the 3D geometry of the scene while also detecting objects and surfaces, TRI Robotics VP Max Bajracharya said in a post describing the research. This combination enables researchers to use large amounts of synthetic data to train the system. Using synthetic data also alleviates the need for time-consuming, expensive or impractical data collection and labeling.

With an aging population in its native Japan, Toyota has made eldercare a key focus in its ongoing robotics research. So it makes a lot of sense that sort of robotics tasks form a core of much of its research in the category, as well as those elements that bleed into the work its doing on Woven City. And certainly the company gets credit for putting in some work here, before the orchestrated appearances weve seen of robotics offerings from companies like Samsung.

Image Credits: Toyota Research Institute

Its not only about keeping people in their homes longer and living independently, Bajracharya recently told me in an interview. Thats one aspect of it but in Japan, in 20-30 years, the number of people who are over 65 will roughly be the same as the number of people who are under 65. Thats going to have a really interesting socioeconomic impact, in terms of the workforce. Its probably going to be much older and we at Toyota are looking at how these people can keep doing their jobs, so they can get the fulfillment from doing their jobs or staying at home longer. We dont want to just replace the people. We really think about how we stay human-centered and amplify people.

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Toyota Research Institute shows how its robotics work with difficult surfaces in the home - TechCrunch

They are known as the J Birds, and they are flying high after winning first place in a prestigious national robotics competition. Ten members of the Hicksville High School Robotics team, earned top billing in the Business Model portion of the Altice USAs Future Innovator awards, and first runner up in the Community Impact portion. As a result of their placing, the team received a $2,500 grant from Altice USA Inc that will be used in next years competition fees.

Hicksville juniors, Jesse Kohli, Ekam Singh and Jason Jiang, were the main creators of an idea to invent a device similar to a VR (virtual reality)headset to monitor the physical activity levels of senior citizens.

Instead of an in-person competition this year, our team was presented with an innovation challenge that would benefit the community, said Kohli. We came up with this idea to create a VR communication platform, which we named Aureum, that would allow teenagers and senior citizens to stay fit.

He said the idea was that teenagers who were looking to get fit, would engage in activities such as hiking, running and biking. While they were doing this, they would be fitted with 360 high-res cameras, so senior citizens could participate with them in the activity. The seniors could follow along with teens during their exercise routines virtually, by wearing a specialized VR headset.

Its similar to FaceTime or Google Zoom, but with this specialized VR headset, said Kohli. Seniors who are still able to move could sit on an elliptical machine for example and feel like they were partaking with the teen in the activity and people who are immobile would still be able to talk with them through the audio device.

Kohli said that throughout the pandemic, team members spent time at senior centers on Long Island, to help the residents stave off feelings of isolation and loneliness.

Before this competition began, from February to April, we had sent out surveys to senior centers to find out ideas theyd be interested in and they were really intrigued with the VR headset. That kind of prompted us to work on this idea.

As part of the competition, they showed concepts of their model to the panel of judges, and created videos of how the idea would work. They also created a mock-up website online, called Aureum, as a way for the teenagers and seniors to connect with one another.

Through this mock-up website, teens who were looking to get fit would choose an activity and theyd be able link up with a senior through a list of senior centers who had listed their preferences, said Kohli.

Catherine Temps, coach of the J Birds Robotics team, said she was very proud of her teams accomplishments in a tumultuous year.

For us it was really about just helping others, that was our number one priority since we first started, said Temps.

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Hicksville High School Robotics team places first in national competition - The Mid Island Times

LOS ANGELES, June 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- inVia Robotics, the provider of the next generation of warehouse automation solutions for e-commerce, and Rufus Labs, makers of intelligent wearable warehouse technology and workforce analytics software,today announced a strategic partnership to increase intelligence and productivity in warehouses through their subscription offerings. The collaboration is directly aimed at addressing warehouse labor shortages that the industry currently faces, allowing warehouse employees to work more efficiently and supercharging workforce productivity.

The combination of these two technologies ensures a continuous flow of orders through the warehouse that increases picking rates with existing labor. inVia Picker robots autonomously retrieve ordered items and bring them to a stationary picker. That worker is directed by inVia PickMate software running on Rufus' android wearables & tablets to scan the items, place them in an order bin, and then scan the bin. This cycle repeats and is continuously improved with intelligence from inVia Logic and Rufus Labs WorkHero software to create the most efficient movement of goods and people throughout the warehouse to increase productivity.

As e-commerce demand grows, inVia and Rufus Labs help warehouses accelerate digitization without requiring large capital expenditures.The two companies together offer an approach that includes software to optimize the relationship between inventory, people, and robots in the warehouse, as well as autonomous mobile robots, and wearable devices. Both inVia and Rufus systems integrate with most l warehouse management and enterprise resource planning systems. Additionally, the inVia Connect translation tool is built into inVia's AI software and seamlessly matches data fields across systems, simplifying a costly and complicated systems integration process that traditionally took months to complete.

inVia's unique Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) model allows customers to pay only for the services they use, keeping investment targeted and delivering faster ROI. The system includes inVia Logic AI-driven software and inVia Picker robots. The system optimizes inventory placement, directs people or robots on the most efficient paths, and orchestrates workflows to ensure idle time is minimized.

"inVia Logic alone doubles worker's productivity and paves the way to later quadruple productivity once inVia Picker robots are deployed. With the added efficiencies introduced with Rufus Labs' wearable technology, we expect productivity to reach new highs in our shared customers' facilities," said Lior Elazary, chief executive officer and co-founder of inVia Robotics.

Rufus Labs' WorkHero is a complete Productivity-as-a-Service (PaaS) solution that includes workforce analytics software, rugged wearable technology, and superhuman support. Wearable computers and barcode scanners offer real-time scanning metrics, scan and non-scan labor task management, and workforce data to continually improve warehouse operations. The wearable barcode scanner is modular, allowing warehouse workers to choose their ergonomic preference by sliding the scanning module into a ring, glove, or palm scanner attachment. Additionally, the Rufus RADD Tab (Android tablet) provides operators in material handling vehicles, or warehouse carts with hands-free access to supply chain applications they need to complete tasks faster and more accurately.

"Optimizing humans and robots in the warehouse is key to future sustainability, increased productivity, and ensuring a safe environment for workers. Rufus WorkHero already cuts pick time in half and provides added safety features to pickers. Our partnership with inVia will continue to improve throughput for our mutual customers, and allow for future innovations between humans and machines," said chief executive officer and founder of Rufus Labs, Gabe Grifoni.

With the first joint deployment of inVia Logic AI-driven software, and Rufus WorkHero connected operator technology , Cargo Cove 3PL will see immediate benefit across warehouse configuration optimization, worker productivity, and visibility analytics. Cargo Cove expects to double productivity as a result of the joint integration. With options to scale and add services as needed through the subscription model, 3PLs can benefit from the consistent ability to quickly and efficiently automate in line with business growth.

About inVia RoboticsinVia Robotics is a Southern California robotics company founded in 2015 that provides the next generation of warehouse automation solutions. inVia is the developer of the first economical goods-to-person solution offered as "Robotics-as-a-Service". inVia is powering the future of warehouse productivity without disrupting the ecosystem of a business's operations. To learn more visit inviarobotics.com.

About Rufus LabsRufus Labsproduces intelligent wearable warehouse technology and workforce analytics software. The company's flagship productivity-as-a-service platform, Rufus WorkHero, combines Rufus Labs industrial wearables and cloud enterprise software to bring the most advanced productivity suite to the supply chain workforce. Rufus Labs is the only company to offer wearable tech and workforce analytics software on a subscription basis, ensuring that Rufus customers are equipped with the latest technology that increases warehouse productivity, safety, and accuracy, at no additional cost. Rufus Labs was founded in 2013 and is based in Los Angeles, CA. To learn more visitgetrufus.com.

SOURCE inVia Robotics and Rufus Labs

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inVia Robotics and Rufus Labs Partner to Drive Warehouse Automation via Wearables and Robots - PRNewswire

Get up close and personal with science by getting hands-on! From ant farms to robotics to CO2-powered rockets, here are five kits with dozens of experiments and activities that will spark your child's curiosity about science. And they are on sale for Amazon's Prime day.

Bill Nye's VR Science Kit | $69.99 $47.99 at Amazon

How do crystals form, and what makes slime so gooey? Find out by joining science superstar Bill Nye in his virtual laboratory and explore dozens of experiments that use virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and hands-on activities to investigate science.

The kit includes VR goggles (compatible with all smartphones with access to the Google Play store and the Apple iOS app store), a 50-piece lab kit and an 80-page booklet for projects that will teach basic concepts in physics and chemistry. Suitable for ages 8 to 12 years. For Prime Day, the Bill Nye kit is 31% off.View Deal

National Geographic Mega Science Series Stunning Science Chemistry Set | $34.99 $24.49 at Amazon

Watch your child's fascination with chemistry erupt, as they delve into this kit's fizzy, frothy, bubbly experiments. With 45 different experiments to explore, children and older fans of hands-on science can use chemical reactions to launch a rocket, craft an underwater volcano, and start a geyser's eruption, all while learning about the chemistry that makes those activities possible and how they relate to scientific processes in the real world.

Easy-to-follow instructions make this kit suitable for ages 8 years and up. For Prime Day, this chemistry set is 30% off.View Deal

Be Amazing! Toys Big Bag of Backyard Science | $29.99 $17.99 at Amazon

Science is all around us, and this kit will give young explorers tools for discovering the amazing science of the natural world in their own backyards or in nearby parks. Easy-to-perform experiments provide an introduction to plants, insects and other animals that we see every day, and the kit provides curious minds with tools to learn how seeds grow, build a terrarium, start an ant farm and more!

Suitable for kids age 8 years and up. For Prime Day, this backyard exploration kit is 40% off.View Deal

13-in-1 Solar Power Robots Creation Toy | $23.73 $18.98 at Amazon

Learn how solar energy powers robots with a kit for building 13 different robotic constructions. By combining and reassembling gears, plates, tires and shafts, youthful robotics enthusiasts can construct walking, rolling or swimming creations capable of moving on land or in water ... all powered by the energy of the sun.

Suitable for kids age 8 years and up. For Prime Day, this robot-building kit is 20% off.View Deal

Thames & Kosmos Optical Science| $34.95 $15.99 at Amazon

How do color, light and motion affect our sight and perception? View amazing optical illusions, learn about the physics of light and color, and explore the ways that our eyes and brains collaborate to help us perceive the world, in this kit with over 35 astonishing experiments accompanied by a 48-page manual.

Suitable for kids age 8 years and up. For Prime Day, this optical science kit kit is 54% off.View Deal

More Prime Day deals on science-y products:

Find dinosaurs around the world and get 18% Prime Day savings on an AR globe

Star Wars Baby Yoda Echo Dot is 35% off for Prime Day

Best Prime Day board game deals: great savings on strategy games

Originally published on Live Science.

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Robots, slime and rockets: 5 science kits on sale for Prime Day - Livescience.com

Students can join the robotics club in the fall and work on projects that can go on to competitions in spring

DUBLIN, Ga. Dublin City Schools students are keeping their science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills sharp this summer to prepare them for competitions this fall.

Irish Gifted Academy middle schoolers are learning all about robotics, which is something 7th grader Ryleigh Byxbe never thought she'd do.

"At first I did not like it because I was sleepy and moody, but after I built the robot it turned out to be a fun camp," said Byxbe.

6th grader Rashun Waters and his partner built their robot without any instruction.

"The thing that inspired me was actually being deprived of stuff. Basically our box had nothing useful, so I basically just had to scrap and find whatever and just make this. It wasn't even on the instructions," he said.

After they build the robots, they learn how to code them. Engineering teacher Andrew Harvey also teaches them about STEM careers.

"A basic level coder can start off straight out of school at $80,000, and it's one of the fastest growing industries and job mobility. They can move anywhere and have a job. That's the beauty of this, they're not restricted," Harvey said.

Waters and Byxbe are already thinking of ways they can put their skills to good use in real life.

"Some of it might be able to help blind people or deaf people. Basically, they might not even need service dogs and the service dogs could basically just become companion dogs and they could live a normal and happy life," said Waters.

"If we go on quarantine again, we could make bigger robots, like circle robots like the one we saw and we could like put stuff stuff inside of it like a carry out. Somebody could order food and we could put it inside of it and it could deliver it to the person," said Byxbe.

Harvey says students can join the robotics club in the fall and work on projects that can go on to competitions in spring.

This camp is only available for Irish Gifted Academy students this summer, but the instructor hopes to open it up to more schools throughout the region in the future.

The rest is here:

Dublin Irish Gifted Academy students learn to build and code robots - 13WMAZ.com

Exchange Traded Concepts Trust - ETCT ROBO Global Robotics and Automation Index ETF (NYSE: ROBO) shares gained 1.2290% to end trading Thursday at $65.07 per share - a net change of $0.79. Shares traded between $65.18 and $64.60 throughout the day.

Visit Exchange Traded Concepts Trust - ETCT ROBO Global Robotics and Automation Index ETFs profile for more information.

The New York Stock Exchange is the worlds largest stock exchange by market value at over $26 trillion. It is also the leader for initial public offerings, with $82 billion raised in 2020, including six of the seven largest technology deals. 63% of SPAC proceeds in 2020 were raised on the NYSE, including the six largest transactions.

To get more information on Exchange Traded Concepts Trust - ETCT ROBO Global Robotics and Automation Index ETF and to follow the companys latest updates, you can visit the companys profile page here: Exchange Traded Concepts Trust - ETCT ROBO Global Robotics and Automation Index ETFs Profile. For more news on the financial markets be sure to visit Equities News. Also, dont forget to sign-up for the Daily Fix to receive the best stories to your inbox 5 days a week.

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Exchange Traded Concepts Trust - ETCT ROBO Global Robotics and Automation Index ETF (ROBO) gains 1.2290% for June 24 - Equities.com

Robotics is a big part of the Raspberry Pi and microcontroller communities. The merging of code and electronics to make an object move is a great motivator for STEM education. Because motors draw far too much current for a typical GPIO pin to handle, we need to use a motor controller or driver board to protect the GPIO by enabling the Pico to control a chip on the board.

Kitronik has released two motor control boards for the Raspberry Pi Pico. The $13 (9) Pico Motor Driver is the smallest board, aimed at basic Pico robotics projects and ideal for learners who want to make a quick robot with DC motors and simple sensors. The $18 (13.20) Pico Robotics Board is larger and comes with many more motor options. With this board we can control up to eight servo motors, two stepper motors and four DC motors, but we lack ready access tothe GPIO inputs found on the Pico Motor Driver, but for those of us skilled with a soldering iron these can be easily added using the solder pads underneath where our Pico resides. Both of the boards come with power input terminals for use with batteries / power supplies up to 10.8V. The single power source provides power to the robot and the Raspberry Pi Pico which simplifies the design of a project.

We put both of these boards on the bench and built a few test projects to take advantage of the features found on both boards.

The larger of the two boards is the Kitronik Pico Robotics board and with the larger size we get more features. Packed into the 2.6 x 2.2 inch (68 x 56 mm board is a space for the Raspberry Pi Pico, or Pimoronis Pico Lipo along with four motor outputs driven by dual DRV8833 motor drivers. We can use these terminals to power four DC motors or two stepper motors. Moving to the right side of the board, we see eight headers for use with hobby servos such as the SG90 or MG90S. The headers interface directly with the servo using the Signal, Voltage, Ground (SVG) common pinout. On the far left of the board is a power input terminal where we can connect a battery pack and provide upto 10.8V for powering the many motors and to power the Raspberry Pi Pico via a built-in regulator. We can connect the Pico to the computer and to the external power source at the same time as there is a diode between the regulator and the 5V pin of the Pico which will prevent accidental damage.

The smaller of the two boards is the Pico Motor Driver board, measuring just 2.44 x 1.33 inches (62 x 34 mm) ; this board is solely designed for use with two DC motors via a DRV8833 motor controller. Power input remains the same with a 10.8V max input and a diode in place to prevent over voltage of the back powered Raspberry Pi Pico. What is unique to this board in Kitroniks range is that we have screw terminal breakouts for four GPIO pins and 3V , GND which are useful for sensors and inputs to give our robot vision. In front of the screw terminals, and printed on the underside, are the GPIO pins used for the terminals, with the exception of the motors which are abstracted in the Python libraries. The Pico Robotics board does not have any GPIO broken out in this manner so there are only labels for the motors. But remember that we do have access to the GPIO using the solder pads, located underneath the Pico.

Integrating either of the boards into a chassis is made easier thanks to mounting holes on the boards. These are used to secure the board to the chassis. If you are 3D printing or laser cutting your own chassis then the position of the mounting holes can be added to the project for a bespoke fit. If you are using a generic robot chassis, then there should be a suitable position.

The Pico Robotics Board is clearly designed for larger, more complex robotics projects, evident by the sheer number of motors and servos that can be driven from it. It also hides a PCA9685PW IC which is used to communicate with the board over I2C. The Pico Motor Driver is a simpler board and uses PWM to control the speed of motors.

This means that the MicroPython and CircuitPython libraries for both boards are incompatible, but the syntax of the libraries means we can port code from one board to another by simply switching between the libraries. Just remember that the Pico Motor Driver is not compatible with servos and stepper motors.

We tested DC motors, servos and a large stepper motor on the Pico Robotics Board and the only issue we found was determining the pinout of our stepper motor, everything else just worked with the minimum of effort. Keep in mind that a stepper motor can pull around 1.2 Amps at 4V so your external power source may get a little warm.

The frictionless onboarding process afforded by the great hardware is what helps makers to concentrate on building their project. The Pico Motor Driver, while only capable of DC motor control, is also a frictionless experience, we even created a tutorial on how to build a simple Pico-powered robot by using this board and how to use it with a simple switch input.

Our tests centered around the provided MicroPython libraries, but just as we were coming to the end of the tests we were alerted to official CircuitPython libraries for the boards, so we flashed the latest version of CircuitPython to our test board and then copied the appropriate libraries to the board. The CircuitPython library is almost identical to that of MicroPython, with only the use of utime versus time being a difference. This means that we can port our projects from one version of Python to another.

Both of these boards are geared towards robotics. The Pico Motor Driver is the best option for those looking to quickly build their first robot. The screw terminals for basic GPIO access are most welcome, more wouldve been nice but we have enough for basic projects. The Pico Robotics Board is a much more powerful beast and the plethora of motor options provided is impressive. If your robot relies on stepper or servo motors then this is the board that you will naturally gravitate towards.

Another option for GPIO access, which Toms Hardware Editor-in-Chief Avram Piltch tried successfully, is to attach Pimoroni stackable headers to the Pico so it has female pins on its top surface which you can connect to jumper wires.

Whether your robot is large or small, these two boards are just the thing no matter your ambitions or skill set. The MicroPython and CircuitPython libraries are simple to use and provide an abstracted means to control your robots. From simple DC motor speed controls to high precision stepper motors, the libraries abstract the complexities away and provide a means for makers to create.

The lack of GPIO access on the Pico Robotics board is a shame, as we are using I2C there are plenty of GPIO pins that couldve been broken out for use. The GPIO access on the Pico Motor Driver is great for basic inputs such as obstacle sensors, ultrasonic sensors and bump switches, but if you need more, consider getting a stackable header for your Pico. The single power source is fantastic and removes the need for two power sources which can be tricky to neatly enclose in a project.

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Kitronik Pico Motor Driver and Pico Robotics Board Review: R2-P1C0 - Tom's Hardware

Imagine flexible surgical instruments that can twist and turn in all directions like miniature octopus arms, or how about large and powerful robot tentacles that can work closely and safely with human workers on production lines.

A new generation of robotic tools is beginning to be realized thanks to a combination of strong "muscles" and sensitive "nerves" created from smart polymeric materials. A research team led by the smart materials experts Professor Stefan Seelecke and Junior Professor Gianluca Rizzello at Saarland University is exploring fundamental aspects of this exciting field of soft robotics.

In the factory of the future, man and machine will work side-by-side -- in harmony, as a team, joining forces whenever necessary -- just as if the robot co-worker was made from flesh and blood. While collaborative robots (cobots) are already being deployed in industrial production lines, real hand-in-hand teamwork involving robots and their human counterparts is still some way off. The problem lies in the physical proximity of human co-workers, whose actions -- unlike those of a robot -- do not follow predictable algorithms. A human worker can become tired or distracted and may act suddenly or even illogically as a result. This has clear implications for safety and explains why the robot arms currently used on production lines are often housed in cages. For anyone who gets too close, things can get dangerous. Typically, industrial robots are large, heavy machines. But they are also powerful, fast and agile and are used for a wide range of operations, like welding, assembling, painting, stacking and lifting. However, the motions that they execute are dictated wholly by the programs that control them. And if someone gets in their way or too close, the consequences can be serious.

The team led by Professor Stefan Seelecke and Junior Professor Gianluca Rizzello of Saarland University and the Center for Mechatronics and Automation Technology (ZeMA) in Saarbrcken are working on new, smart types of robot arms. 'Our technology is based on smart polymer systems and enables us to create novel soft robotic tools that are lighter, more maneuverable and more flexible than the rigid components in use today,' explains Stefan Seelecke. An accidental shove from one of these robotic arms of the future would be more like being pushed by a human co-worker (and less likely to land you in hospital).

The material used for these new soft robot arms is a special kind of polymer known as a 'dielectric elastomer'. The Saarbrcken researchers are using this composite material to create artificial muscles and nerves. The special properties of dielectric elastomers make it possible to develop systems inspired by the ingenious designs found in nature. These elastomers can be compressed, but can then be stretched to regain their original shape.

"We print electrodes onto both sides of the elastomer material. When we apply a voltage, the two electrodes attract each other, compressing the polymer and causing it to expand out sideways," says Dr. Gianluca Rizzello, Junior Professor for Adaptive Polymer-Based Systems. The Italian research scientist has been working in Seelecke's team since 2016. The elastomer can thus be made to contract and relax, just like muscle tissue.

"We exploit this property when designing our actuators," explains Rizzello. By precisely varying the electric field, the engineers can make the elastomer execute high-frequency vibrations or continuously variable flexing motions or even remain still in a particular desired intermediate position.

The researchers then combine a large number of these small "muscles" to create a flexible robot arm. When combined in this way to form a robot tentacle, the interplay between the muscles produces motions that mimic those of an octopus arm that can twist and turn in all directions. Unlike the heavy, rigid robotic limbs currently in use, which, like humans, can only execute motions in certain directions, these new robot tentacles are free to move in almost any direction. Gianluca Rizzello together with his doctoral student Johannes Prechtl recently won the Best Paper Award at the RoboSoft 2021 conference for their work on developing a prototype dielectric-elastomer-based tentacle - just one of the numerous accolades earned by Professor Seelecke's research team. The team hopes to have the tentacle prototype fully developed in about a year's time.

When it comes to imparting intelligence into polymeric materials, Gianluca Rizzello is something of an expert. He provides the control unit (i.e. the robot's 'brain') with the input needed to move the arm in an intelligent manner -- a highly complex and ambitious task.

"These systems are significantly more complex than the robot arms in use today. Using artificial intelligence to control polymer-based components is substantially more challenging than controlling conventional mechatronic systems," says Rizzello. As the elastomer muscles also have sensor properties, they can act as the system's nerves, which means that the robot arm does not need to be equipped with additional sensors.

"Every distortion of the elastomer, every change in its geometry causes a change in the material's capacitance, which enables the team to assign a precise electrical capacitance value to any specific deformation of the elastomer. By measuring the capacitance, we know exactly what shape the elastomer has adopted, which allows us to extract sensor data," explains Rizzello.

This quantitative data can then be used to precisely model and program the motion of the elastomer arm. The focus of Rizzello's research work is on developing intelligent algorithms that can train these novel robot tentacles to move and respond in the required manner.

"We are attempting to uncover which physical properties are responsible for the behavior of these polymers. The more we know, the more precisely we can design the algorithms to control the elastomer muscles," says Dr. Rizzello.

The technology being developed in Saarland will be scalable. It can be used to create miniature tentacles for medical instruments or to make large robot arms for industrial applications. But unlike the heavy robot arms in use today, the robot limbs built from smart elastomers will be far lighter.

"Our robot arms don't need to be driven by motors or by hydraulic or pneumatic systems - they can be powered simply by the application of an electric current. The elastomer muscles can also be produced in shapes that meet the requirements of a particular application. And they consume very little electric power. Depending on the capacitance, the electric currents that flow are in the microampere range. This type of soft robot technology has huge promise for the future as it is both energy efficient and cost-effective to manufacture," says Stefan Seelecke in summary.

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Soft robots -- smart elastomers are making the robots of the future more touchy-feely - Manufacturing.net

Most people know him as a successful musician, but will.I.am is also a philanthropist with deep roots in Boyle Heights and a love of robotics.

On Wednesday he talked about how he's combining the two.

It has the competition of a sporting event and the joy of entertainment, which is why will.i.am sees robotics as the perfect way to get kids engaged in STEM subjects, science, technology, engineering and math.

"If I was 15 right now I'd be in robotics because that is the ultimate level of creativity," he said.

The lead member of the Black Eyed Peas, the 46 year old started the i.am Angel foundation in 2009. It provides a college track program, scholarships, and FIRST robotics clubs for kids in East LA.

"I was born and raised in Boyle Heights, in the projects Estrada Courts and it was beautiful and the struggle was hard."

With the goal of easing the struggle for the next generation by providing STEM knowledge and skills, he's partnering with LA Unified to expand the robotics program from 1,200 kids to 12,000 throughout the entire district.

"Having people like Will that students can see in themselves, someone who grew up in their neighborhood is absolutely critical," said Austin Beutner, the LAUSD superintendent.

At Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights, the superintendent and the super star held a mini competition in a sport will.I.am says is the only one where everyone who competes can turn pro.

"Pro means you're filling jobs that are infilled at the moment and pro also means you're creating jobs we can't even imagine right now."

The district will provide the funding to get the program going with the i.am.angel foundation providing teacher training, guidance for the teams, and sponsorships for competitions.

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will.I.am of Black Eyed Peas is Teaming Up With LAUSD for Expanded Robotics Program - NBC Southern California

Results from the DOTS competition were released yesterday, after an intense month with teams from around the world designing new algorithms for robot swarms tasked with delivering emergency food parcels.

The ScenarioIncreases in the number of emergency food parcels distributed by food banks have accelerated over the course of the coronavirus pandemic, particularly in those going to children. Robot swarms could help streamline the distribution of these emergency food parcels, while freeing up time for volunteers and workers to interface with the users and provide human contact.

What if you could unbox a swarm of robots and immediately use them to power your organisation and transport needs? You could use them to organise the stock room of a small retail shop, or retrieve boxes in a pop-up distribution centre for school lunches.

In the DOTS competition run jointly by the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, Toshiba Bristol Research and Innovation Laboratory and the South Gloucestershire Councils UMBRELLA project, the robots used are called DOTS (Distributed Organisation and Transport Systems) and they fit the problem at hand: they dont rely on maps or any complex infrastructure, making them both versatile and adaptable.

After years of research in swarm algorithms and hardware, were now at stage where we can think of real-world applications. Robot swarms make so much sense as out-of-the-box solutions that can scale and adapt to a variety of messy real-world environments.

Sabine Hauert, Associate Professor of Swarm Engineering and lead of the DOTS competition.

The RobotsThe DOTS are custom-built 25cm robots, that move fast, have long battery life (8 hours), can communicate through 5G, WiFI, and bluetooth, house a GPU, and can sense the environment locally, as well as lift and transport payloads (2kg per robot). They are housed in the new Industrial Swarm Arena at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, which is accessible remotely and 5G enabled.

Its taken three years to design and build the DOTS robots and simulator. I wanted the DOTS to individually be quite capable, with the latest sensing and computational capabilities so they could make sense of the world around them using distributed situational awareness. Its been really rewarding to see them in action, and to see that others can use them too. Many of these robots were built at my house during lockdown where I have a dedicated workshop. said Simon Jones, Research Fellow and designer of the DOTS at University of Bristol.

The ChallengeOver the past few weeks, participants in the competition have brainstormed and engineered solutions to tackle the challenge. The warehouse is a simulated 4m x 4m x 4m room in Gazebo with a 0.5m-wide strip along the right wall, acting as the dropoff zone. The 10 carriers that the robots must retrieve are scattered at random. Following the swarm robotics paradigm, each robot runs the same codebase: the challenge is therefore to engineer a solution where the emergent behaviour of the collective swarm results in fast retrieval.

One of the simplest solutions is for a robot to perform a random walk. As soon as a sensor detects a carrier, it can home in on the carrier and pick it up. Given enough time the robots will, collectively, retrieve all the carriers. From this basic implementation, more complex behaviours can be layered such as adding a bias for movement in a particular direction or having the robots interact to repulse or attract.

Of course, in the real world, the robots would have to contend with obstacles as well as faults in their hardware and software. The submitted solutions are also tested for their robustness and ability to overcome these hurdles. An extra level of complexity is added with the task of retrieving carriers in a given order.

Its been a great learning experience to see the whole pipeline from code to simulation to running with the real robots in the arena feels like this is where progress is made towards that vision of robots integrated into our everyday lives, said Suet Lee, PhD Student at University of Bristol who helped support the teams.

The Results

With 7 team submissions from around the world, it was exciting to see what solutions would emerge. In the end, scores were quite tight. For teams that needed extra time, well be hosting a demo round later this summer.

The winners were Swarmanauts. The team included David Garzon Ramos, Jonas Kuckling, and Miquel Kegeleirs, PhD students at IRIDIA, the artificial intelligence lab of the Universit libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium. They are all part of the ERC DEMIURGE project team (PI Mauro Birattari) where they investigate the automatic design of collective behaviours for robot swarms.

You can see their controller in action over the 6 tested scenarios here (unordered retrieval, unordered with lost robots, unordered with obstacles, ordered retrieval, ordered with lost robots, ordered with obstacles)

It was exciting to participate in the DOTS competition. We enjoyed the challenge of devising and testing coordination strategies for an industry-oriented robot swarm. Next time we would like to also try automatic methods for designing the collective behavior of the robots, said David.

In second came BusyB with team members Simon Obute and Rey Lei.

Rey and Simon had the following to say about their experience, through this competition, our knowledge of controlling and sensing for robots has been enhanced. It was exciting that our simple algorithm inspired from chemotaxis search behaviour performed well in comparison to other competing strategies. The introduction session was also helpful, because it gave us the opportunity to meet and form the BusyB team. As a team, we now look forward to the next DOTS competition! Hope we can achieve more next year!

And finally, in third we had Simple Solution by Hany Hamed and their feisty controller.

Winners will be receiving this fancy award at home soom.

There were plenty of bloopers along the way with all teams, heres one sample of how things can go wrong in slow motion:

Finally, well done to all the other teams, UGA Hero Lab, Missing in Action, Str. Robot, and C5PO for their great submissions.

Translation to reality

In the end, a simulation is no substitute for a real world environment, as useful as it is for testing. What occurs is the reality-gap, the error that arises from the difference between the noisy real-world environment and the simplified simulation environment. Simon was able to demonstrate a baseline controller in reality in the video below. To help transfer, the same code designed in ROS2, is built to run both in simulation and reality. Some changes were needed, such as slowing down the robots to avoid motion blur on the cameras, but many of the behaviours translated well like the obstacle avoidance, and overall swarm strategy.

It was an amazing experience to work with our cool lab-built robots! I enjoyed designing Hardware kits and it was rewarding to see it all working in real-life.

Aswath G Indra, MSc Robotics Student at University of Bristol.

Next stepsFor a first DOTS Competition, it was great fun and were really happy with what was achieved by all involved. We have many of ideas for next year, like how to speed up computation, adding new tasks (like organising the warehouse), and will be looking to give more time to the teams to use the real-hardware remotely.

Mahesh Sooriyabandara, Managing Director at the Toshiba Bristol Research and Innovation Laboratory, said This is a great first step towards making an internet of robots and robot swarms that are useable out of the box. Weve been working with the Bristol Robotics Laboratory for the past 3 years to build first the robots and then the new Industrial Swarm Arena. Were hoping many can use this infrastructure in the future, running their code in a digital twin before transferring to the new swarm testbed.

The DOTS Competition was supported by Simon Jones, Emma Milner, Suet Lee, James Wilson, Aswath Ganesan Indra, Sabine Hauert, and the Toshiba BRIL team.

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Simulations, real robots, and bloopers from the DOTS competition: Powering emergency food distribution using swarms - Robohub