Robohub.org
c-Research-Innovation
Towards building brain-like cognition and control for robots
Florian Röhrbein and Florian Walter
27 Jan 2016
The idea of connecting brain-inspired models of computation to robots is probably as old as the discipline of robotics itself; as far back as 1950, neurophysiologist William Grey Walter had already co...
Motion-planning algorithms allow drones to make hairpin turns in a simulated “forest”
CSAIL MIT
19 Jan 2016
Adam Conner-Simons | CSAIL
Getting drones to fly around without hitting things is no small task. Obstacle-detection and motion-planning are two of computer science’s trickiest challenges, because...
Horizon 2020 earmarks € 98M for new wave of european robotics
Sabine Hauert
19 Jan 2016
The EU is co-funding 21 new projects in robotics totalling € 98.7 million spread over 2-5 years....
Watch this service robot predict your organizing preferences
Nichola Abdo
18 Jan 2016
How many of us have envisioned intelligent robots operating and assisting us in our homes with everyday tasks? Different users typically have varying preferences and expectations when it comes to tas...
Flying robots, with Dario Floreano (Part two)
Last month we caught up with Dario Floreano, the head of the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland. Here we continue our discussion,...
Survey on your experience with robotics competitions
Mahmoud AbdelAziz
14 Jan 2016
From Grand Challenges such as the recent DRC, to STEM events such as FIRST, to startup pitches such as Robot Launch, competitions have been used to push the state of the art in the field, inspire the ...
ep.
199
podcast
Microrobots for Harvesting Crystals, with Simone Schürle
Audrow Nash
09 Jan 2016
Transcript below.
In this episode, Audrow Nash interviews Simone Schürle, advisor and co-founder of MagnebotiX, about using small robots to harvest crystals. These crystals can be used to infer at...
How friendly is your AI? It depends on the rewards
Two years after the small London-based startup DeepMind published their pioneering work on “Playing Atari with Deep Reinforcement Learning”, they have become one of the leaders in the chase for Ar...
New insect-inspired vision strategy could hasten development of mini-drones
Guido de Croon
07 Jan 2016
New research published today in the Journal of Bioinspiration and Biomimetics by the Micro Air Vehicle laboratory of TU Delft shows that an insect-inspired vision strategy can help indoor flying drone...
Computer model matches humans at predicting how objects move
CSAIL MIT
06 Jan 2016
By Adam Conner-Simons
We humans take for granted our remarkable ability to predict things that happen around us. For example, consider Rube Goldberg machines: One of the reasons we enjoy them is b...
The Year of CoCoRo Video #52/52: Final Demonstration
Thomas Schmickl
05 Jan 2016
In our final video we demonstrate the entire CoCoRo system communicating and interacting together, including: the base station, a "relay-chain" swarm, and a search swarm on the ground....
This flying machine uses ducted fans for propulsion and control
Michael Muehlebach
05 Jan 2016
The Flying Platform is a new flying machine developed at the Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control at ETH Zurich. Its purpose is to study the use of electric ducted fans as control and propulsion ...
Telepresence, or tele-existence? 4 devices seeking to break down barriers to remote presence
Michael Savoie
29 Dec 2015
This telepresence series wouldn't be complete without covering the fringe territory of the unique and unusual. These robots push the boundaries of telepresence to push social engagement and cross i...
7 reasons why robotics companies should be using simulators
Ricardo Téllez
28 Dec 2015
During my long experience at Pal Robotics developing humanoid robots, I learned just how much a good simulator can help speed up the development and maintenance processes of robot building. To my su...
Flying robots, with Dario Floreano (Part 1)
As head of the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, Dario Floreano knows a thing or two about flying robots. In the first segment...
The Year of CoCoRo Video #51/52: Big Vision
Thomas Schmickl
22 Dec 2015
Our penultimate video features the initial "Big Vision" trailer we produced at the beginning of this project. The video showcases the basic components of the robotic system we targeted (surface st...
NSF and partners award $37M to advance nation’s co-robots
the National Science Foundation (NSF)
18 Dec 2015
Yesterday, the National Science Foundation (NSF) -- in partnership with the Department of Defense (DOD), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the National Aeronautics and Space Admi...
Autonomous mobile additive manufacturing robot runs circles around traditional 3D printers
Harvard SEAS
18 Dec 2015
By Adam Zewe | SEAS
3D printing is revolutionizing the way objects are created, from plastic toys to ceramic dental crowns. But the seemingly boundless possibilities of 3D printing technology have ...
Scaling up underwater swarmbot research from tabletop ‘aquarium’ to the Venice Lagoon (CoCoRo Video #50/52)
Thomas Schmickl
15 Dec 2015
Our underwater swarm research started in a few cubic centimeters of water with some naked electronics on a table. Over the next three and a half years, our swarm increased by a factor of 40, and ...
$150M in VC funding (2015) for businesses that use ROS
Brian Gerkey and Open Source Robotics Foundation
08 Dec 2015
Eight years ago, Morgan Quigley, Eric Berger and Andrew Ng published a paper that was not about ROS. It was about STAIR, the STanford Artificial Intelligence Robot, which used a library called Switchy...
The Year of CoCoRo Video #49/52: Base stations
Thomas Schmickl
08 Dec 2015
During the past year we have shown many swarm algorithms in various experiments. The spotlight was always on the Lily and the Jeff robots. However, there is now another star in the team and this tr...
Simple robots, complex behaviors: A control systems perspective on Braitenberg Vehicles
Brian Douglas
03 Dec 2015
In this lecture series, controls expert Brian Douglas walks you through key concepts in control system theory. Focused on making control theory accessible and intuitive, this series is for anyone who ...
Bioinspired robotics #3: Wearables, with Conor Walsh
Wyss Institute
01 Dec 2015
In the Disruptive Podcast series, Terrence McNally speaks directly with Wyss Institute researchers, exploring what motivates them and how they envision our future as might be impacted by their disrup...
Body-enhancing exoskeletons could be stepping into industrial trials next year
Horizon Magazine
01 Dec 2015
by Jon Cartwright
Wearable technology uses electric motors and springs to augment the strength and balance of the human body. It has long been the subject of military research, but now engineers be...
The Year of CoCoRo Video #48/52: Workshops
Thomas Schmickl
01 Dec 2015
Most of the videos from The Year of CoCoRo were shot during workshops we held throughout the project. These workshops, which were usually focussed on one or several specific demonstrators, were wha...
ep.
196
podcast
Marine Robotics Systems, with Stefan Williams
Ron Vanderkley
30 Nov 2015
Transcript below.
In this episode, Ron Vanderkley speaks with Stefan Williams of the University of Sydney’s Australian Centre for Field Robotics, Marine Systems Group. They discuss the future of...
Talking Machines: Probabilistic programming, with Ben Vigoda
Talking Machines
26 Nov 2015
In episode twenty four we talk with Ben Vigoda about his work in probabilistic programming (everything from his thesis, to his new company)....
How to calculate a robot’s forward kinematics in 5 easy steps
Alex Owen-Hill and Robotiq Inc.
25 Nov 2015
Calculating the forward kinematics is often a vital first step to using a new robot in research. While there are some good tutorials available online, up until now there hasn't been a simple step-by-s...
NASA gives MIT a humanoid robot to develop software for future space missions
MIT News
18 Nov 2015
By Adam Conner-Simons, MIT CSAIL
NASA announced yesterday that MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) is one of two university research groups nationwide that will...
The Year of CoCoRo Video #46/52: JeffShoaling
Thomas Schmickl
17 Nov 2015
The EU-funded Collective Cognitive Robotics (CoCoRo) project has built a swarm of 41 autonomous underwater vehicles (AVs) that show collective cognition. Throughout 2015 – The Year of CoCoRo – w...
“Shrinking bull’s-eye” algorithm speeds up complex modeling from days to hours
MIT News
17 Nov 2015
[clear]
Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office
To work with computational models is to work in a world of unknowns: Models that simulate complex physical processes — from Earth’s changing climate ...
A new versatile gripper with electroadhesion
NCCR Robotics
11 Nov 2015
From early childhood, when a person picks up an object using their hands they use haptic feedback to automatically adjust the force of their grip according to the object they are lifting. A completely...
Robots in Depth: Andra Keay on opportunities and challenges for startups
Per Sjöborg and Robots in Depth
10 Nov 2015
Robots in Depth is a new video series featuring interviews with researchers, entrepreneurs, VC investors, and policy makers in robotics, hosted by Per Sjöborg. In this interview, Andra Keay, directo...
The Year of CoCoRo Video #45/52: Swarm control
Thomas Schmickl
10 Nov 2015
The EU-funded Collective Cognitive Robotics (CoCoRo) project has built a swarm of 41 autonomous underwater vehicles (AVs) that show collective cognition. Throughout 2015 – The Year of CoCoRo – w...
Bioinspired robotics #2: Materials, manufacturing & design, with Robert Wood
Wyss Institute
09 Nov 2015
In the Disruptive Podcast series, Terrence McNally speaks directly with Wyss Institute researchers, exploring what motivates them and how they envision our future as might be impacted by their disrup...
Emotionally literate tech to help treat autism
Horizon Magazine and Sophie Hebden
06 Nov 2015
Few could deny the power of computer games and avatars to entertain us and perhaps even educate us. But now researchers are turning to internet and robotic technologies to develop new ways of helping ...
