Tag: robotics
-
Psychologist Developing Robotic Perception Technology
A Purdue University psychologist in West Lafayette, Indiana is developing a form of machine vision that provides a field of view with more ability to perceive objects in the context of their environment. This more human-like form of robotic vision has patents filed and is available for licensing from Purdue’s technology transfer office. According to…
-
NSF Computer Science Funding Addresses Robots, Big Data
National Science Foundation today unveiled $40 million in funding for this year’s Expeditions in Computing awards. The four sets of five-year grants, each set totaling $10 million, go one or more universities studying robotics, exploding volumes of data, and computer-assisted programming. Two sets of awards deal with robotics. One team from Massachusetts Institute of Technology,…
-
Process Developed to Self-Assemble Materials into Objects
Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have devised a process to enable the self-assembly of smart materials into predetermined shapes. Computer science professor Daniela Rus and grad student Kyle Gilpin from MIT’s Distributed Robotics Laboratory will discuss their findings at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation in May 2012. The research by Rus…
-
Robotic Hand Demonstrates Firm Grip and Gentle Touch
An engineering team at Saarland University in Saarbrücken, Germany has built a robotic hand with the ability to firmly grasp sturdy objects like bottles, yet with enough sensitivity to hold an egg (pictured right). The Saarland researchers collaborated with colleagues in Bologna and Naples, Italy as part of the EU-funded DEXMART project, an acronym for…
-
Robot Jellyfish Runs on Hydrogen, Oxygen in Water
Researchers at University of Texas at Dallas and Virginia Tech in Blacksburg have developed an autonomous undersea vehicle inspired by the common jellyfish that runs on hydrogen and oxygen in the water. The team, led by Dallas engineering professor and first author Yonas Tadesse (pictured left), published its findings this week in the journal Smart Materials…
-
Algorithms Plot Optimal Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Routes
Engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have devised mathematical methods to plot the optimal routes for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), increasingly used for industrial, research, and security applications. The team led by mechanical engineering professor Pierre Lermusiaux will discuss its work in May 2012 at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. Setting an…
-
Naval Lab, Universities Design Firefighting Robot
The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., with researchers from Virginia Tech and University of Pennsylvania, are building a humanoid-type robot to fight shipboard fires on new combat vessels. The device is based on the Cognitive Humanoid Autonomous Robot with Learning Intelligence (CHARLI, pictured left) prototype developed at Virginia Tech. The Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting…
-
Mass Production Process Devised for Micro Robots, Devices
Engineers at Harvard University have developed a technology that makes possible the mass production of miniature electronic and robotic devices, using layering and folding processes similar to the Japanese paper-folding art of origami. Doctoral candidates Pratheev Sreetharan and Peter Whitney say their discovery is scheduled for publication in the March 2012 issue of the Journal…
-
Industrial Robotics Software Repository Established
Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in San Antonio has set up a repository of software routines for industrial automation that work under the Robot Operating System. The software collection of tools, libraries, and drivers is publicly accessible and licensed under the open-source Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) license. The Robot Operating System (ROS) provides functions and routines…
-
Electronics Show to Feature Science Start-Up Exhibits
The 2012 CES in Las Vegas, the world’s largest consumer electronics trade show, will feature an exhibit of start-up companies and technologies emerging from research and development, including small businesses funded by National Science Foundation. The exhibit, called Eureka Park, is a collaboration of the National Science Foundation (NSF), Startup America Partnership, CNET, and UK…