Robotics Introduction: May 2015

Free-running cheetah robot clears hurdles in a single bound

A four-legged robot with laser vision can easily detect and leap over objects in its path

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Video Friday: Aerial Manipulator, Car-Removal Robot, Robotic Limbs, and More From ICRA 2015

Video highlights from the world's biggest robotics conference
via Video Friday: Aerial Manipulator, Car-Removal Robot, Robotic Limbs, and More From ICRA 2015

Self-Healing Actuators Make Breaking Your Robot No Big Deal

Structural “fuses” that heal themselves could protect expensive robots from permanent damage
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Origami Robot Folds Itself Up, Does Cool Stuff, Dissolves Into Nothing

Tiny self-folding magnetically actuated robot creates itself when you want it, disappears when you don't
via Origami Robot Folds Itself Up, Does Cool Stuff, Dissolves Into Nothing

New Pedestrian Detector from Google Could Make Self-Driving Cars Cheaper

A deep learning system works 60 times faster than previous methods
via New Pedestrian Detector from Google Could Make Self-Driving Cars Cheaper

Robots won't smash our creativity, they'll enhance it

Automation reduces the time we spend on repetitive, labour-intensive tasks, freeing creatives to create more

When I was a teenager, I had a brief stint in a factory on a summer trip abroad. It was boring, repetitive work. The workers sat on a long bench each performing a small role in assembling some intricate electrical parts. Recently I visited a factory that makes a well-known household brand. There weren’t many people to be seen. The repetitive tasks were performed by robots. Most of the quality control was performed by robots. The brand in question now has as many people involved in marketing the brand as making it.

Automation has changed the role that people play in making and selling the product. Less repetitive work. More time to create differentiating, effective and compelling marketing communications.

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Beware the wounded robot: scientists develop machines that adapt to injury

Researchers reproduce ‘animal-like’ ability to adopt new movements in response to damage, seen as crucial step towards widespread use of smart machines

Intelligent robots that can adapt to injury, or even become more powerful under attack, are a mainstay of science fiction. Now scientists have developed the real-life version: robots that can “adapt like animals” to injuries and recover within minutes.

The ability for robots to cope with unforeseen challenges is seen as a crucial step towards the widespread use of smart machines everywhere from the home to the battlefield, but until now scientists have struggled to develop machines that work alone without human intervention.

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Damage Recovery Algorithm Could Make All Robots Unstoppable

Robots break all the time, and if they could just deal with it themselves, we'd all be a lot happier
via Damage Recovery Algorithm Could Make All Robots Unstoppable

Will automation and the internet of things lead to mass unemployment?

New technologies provide unparalleled benefits for businesses but they also pose a threat to their employees. Marc Ambasna-Jones asks how automation can be managed so the benefits can be felt by all

“If we do this wrong, the technology providers could end up destroying hundreds of millions of jobs with products and services in the cloud, which makes these businesses indispensable and very rich,” says Gerd Leonhard, futurist, author and CEO of The Futures Agency.

Leonhard is referring to the threat of automation, of robots coming over here and taking our jobs. It’s almost unthinkable. Only a few weeks ago the UK unemployment rate fell to 5.5% and wage growth rose above 2%. Let the good times roll, some may say, latching onto a new optimism that even pollsters Gallop identified recently.

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This week: Drones, A.I. and Ex Machina; drones help save lives in Texas floods; 4-hour hydrogen-powered quadcopter flight; why the mega-rich love and hate drones

Question of the Week

This weekend I saw Ex Machina, an excellent, dark and provocative new sci-fi thriller that I recommend to you all. The movie adheres to some of the familiar dystopian themes we’ve seen in recent science fiction, chief among them the fears raised by the prospect of the arrival of truly intelligent machines.

But we make intelligent machines. Solo is the world’s first smart drone, and its intelligence makes it more advanced, more reliable, more safe and just a better overall experience. Solo does more so that you have to do less. Almost paradoxically, the fact that Solo is more automated allows you to get shots that are more human—Solo’s fine-tuned mechanical dexterity translates into your freedom to be a creative and nuanced aerial filmmaker. And its intelligence is democratic, rather than autocratic: Solo allows anyone to get great shots and fly with confidence. You could argue that the advancement of smart technology in Solo—and in many high-tech products and robots—is necessary to make our interactions more natural and more human.

So there’s the case for intelligence. Yet in the tech field, as this piece from the NY Times points out, it’s hard to ignore the doubts—especially when Elon Musk, the celebrated tech entrepreneur and founder of SpaceX, gives $10 million to the Future of Life Institute, an organization that seeks to “mitigate existential risks facing humanity” from AI. In the news you see echoes of this same fear—especially the news about drones. More and more articles—including some in this week’s Download—point out how we’re responding to intelligent machines with critical art, including films like Ex Machina.

But this week drones saved people from drowning in Texas. They’re sampling volcanic ash and using air for fuel and helping kids learn STEM subjects.

So my question to you is an abstract one: How smart do you want your drone to be? How smart is too smart—if there is such a thing? What do you want your drone to do? What don’t you want it to do? Do you worry about intelligence in your skies, or do you welcome it? Why?

Leave your comments below—last week’s discussion was pretty phenomenal. Excited for this next one.

And now, the links that matter:

Headlines

Last week the Justice Department published guidelines that would bar them (including agencies like the DEA and the FBI) from using drones to monitor activity protected under the First Amendment—things like speeches and nonviolent demonstrations. The DOJ also said it would follow the same constitutional principles that require law enforcement to get warrants when conducting surveillance or other activities in which people have a “reasonable expectation of privacy.” At the bottom, however, it acknowledged that these guidelines aren’t exactly legally binding yet. (The Hill)

It’s flooding down in Texas—but a drone helped rescue workers save lives. Outfitted with a spotlight, the drone enabled responders to identify a pickup truck at night, caught in a rushing river and otherwise invisible. The same drone also delivered a rope to a stranded family. (Motherboard)

Commentary

The Atlantic on why we’re growing culturally and artistically obsessed with drones.

Interesting interview with Chuck Tobin on why he thinks Florida’s new drone privacy law is unconstitutional. “Florida law, as with other states, already protects people’s privacy. The problem with this particular law is that it restricts from a journalist’s standpoint the First Amendment rights to gather news, and the public’s First Amendment rights to receive news. You can take the same picture on your own property standing on a ladder, you can take the same picture by helicopter. It’s just that with the use of this particular technology in all situations that makes it unlawful, and that’s a problem.” (Saint PetersBlog)

“The very rich are different from you and me,” F. Scott Fitzgerald is reported to have remarked to Ernest Hemingway. “Yes,” replied Papa. “They have more money.” With which to buy more drones, I’m sure he added. But the mega-rich are now worried about those cameras turning around on them. (Motherboard)

Air Force Academy cadets win DARPA’s annual research contest with a design for miniature drones, deployable in swarms. The miniature aircraft could help first responders quickly map wildfires, radiation leaks or chemical attacks. (The Gazette)

High Tech

A folding drone that fits in your pocket and unfolds itself automatically for flight. “The arms are made of fiberglass and inelastic polyester, and when the propellers at the end of each arm turn on, the force of the rotors pulls each foldable arm out into its extended position where it’s held in place by magnets.” In order for the arms to unfold correctly, however, two of the mini-quad’s blades need to be spinning the wrong way—but they reverse in milliseconds and you’re in business. Viable applications for first responders. (Popular Mechanics)

This drone runs on air. Battery life has long been the bane of drone users (though to me 25 minutes of flight time is actually a little too much). Batteries can only provide so much power, and adding more and bigger batteries increases the weight and gives you diminishing returns on flight time. But a company called Horizon Unmanned Systems seeks to solve this problem with hydrogen fuel cells. The “Hycopter” promises four hours of flight time without a payload, and 2.5 hours of flight time with a 2-pound payload. Hydrogen obviously doesn’t add a lot of weight—the total weight of the gas used is just 4 ounces—but Horizon claims their fuel cells provide as much power as 105 ounces of lithium ion battery. (Popular Science)

An interesting and worthy Kickstarter project: SkyBot, a DIY drone kit for K-12 STEM (Science, technology, engineering and math) students. SkyBot is a small and simple build, plus it’s inexpensive and 3D printed—meaning kids can customize the CADs and design and build their own drones anywhere there’s a 3D printer.

Want to protect your SkyBot from your kid? Here’s another Kickstarter for a drone parachute system. Hurry, though—time’s running out on this one and they’re still a little short.

But how do we know it’s safe to fly the drone? The NavSonde drone samples particles in the air to test when it’s safe to fly a manned plane by a volcano. In the future the technology will also likely also be applied to help plan manned flights around dust storms, pollution and forest fires. (Wired)

Video

From Nat Geo, these Sudanese pyramids have stood in the desert for 3,000 years. (Gizmodo)

3DR Aviator Dieter Humpsch landed himself on the cover of Wakeboarding Magazine—check out the great aerial video he shot while wakeboarding in the fog.

Drone video of a bridge washed out in this weekend’s devastating Texas floods. The jello is completely forgivable if you want to have an appreciation for what water can do. (Mashable)

The post This week: Drones, A.I. and Ex Machina; drones help save lives in Texas floods; 4-hour hydrogen-powered quadcopter flight; why the mega-rich love and hate drones appeared first on 3DR | Drone & UAV Technology.

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Clearpath Puts Baxter on Wheels, Announces Ridgeback Mobile Base

Need some robot wheels for your robot arms? It doesn't get much easier than this
via Clearpath Puts Baxter on Wheels, Announces Ridgeback Mobile Base

Dawn of the cyborgs: how humans will turn themselves into gods

Historian Yuval Harari says humanity is heading for an upgrade – via biological manipulation or the creation of a race of cyborgs

Name: Cyborg.

Age: Infinite.

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via Dawn of the cyborgs: how humans will turn themselves into gods

Robotic Cockroach Launches Robotic Bird Off of Its Back

UC Berkeley's VelociRoACH can carry, and launch, an ornithopter
via Robotic Cockroach Launches Robotic Bird Off of Its Back

X2-VelociRoACH Smashes Speed Record for Tiny Legged Robots

For its size, this is by far the fastest legged robot in existence
via X2-VelociRoACH Smashes Speed Record for Tiny Legged Robots

Graphene Overcomes Achilles' Heel of Artificial Muscles

Researchers aim to create a biomimetic robot
via Graphene Overcomes Achilles' Heel of Artificial Muscles

Video Friday: Deep-Learning Robots, DRC Practice, and Drone Pilot Competition

This week's coolest robot videos are here
via Video Friday: Deep-Learning Robots, DRC Practice, and Drone Pilot Competition

Uber’s first self-driving car spotted in Pittsburgh

A car fitted with cameras and laser scanners has been seen driving on public roads in the US, as Uber’s research centre starts testing technology

The first test vehicle for Uber’s self-driving car programme has been spotted driving around the streets of Pittsburgh covered in cameras and sensors.

The modified Ford branded with “Uber’s Advanced Technologies Center”, was spotted on residential streets by the Pittsburgh Business Times. Uber announced in February that it would open a research centre in Pittsburgh to develop self-driving technology to replace drivers in its taxis.

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via Uber’s first self-driving car spotted in Pittsburgh

Brain implant allows paralysed man to sip a beer at his own pace

A brain implant that decodes intention to move has allowed a man paralysed from the neck down to control a robotic arm with unprecedented fluidity - and enjoy a beer

via Brain implant allows paralysed man to sip a beer at his own pace

The iCubs are coming! How robots could teach our kids and do our dirty work

They dance, play, swear and beg you to touch them. They may even let you snog someone on the other side of the planet. Meet the robots of tomorrow

A bedside table on wheels is practising three-point turns around the room, rising up and down and cheekily cocking its head as it glides, while a furry white creature emits plaintive mews from the room next door, flapping its flippers for attention. Nearby, hundreds of wiry insects buzz about on a glass tray like angry cockroaches awaiting their lunch, while a team of drones whirs to life in the corner. You have to watch your step in the basement lab of Sheffield Robotics, where even the furniture has a mind of its own.

“We were wondering what would be an appropriate way for a table to talk to you,” says Tony Prescott, the centre’s director and a professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University of Sheffield, as the balletic bedside table comes to a halt, like an obedient dog called to heel. “But it might actually be better if it didn’t talk and just got on with its job. Maybe your table doesn’t need to have a personality.”

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via The iCubs are coming! How robots could teach our kids and do our dirty work

Meet Zeno, the robot that could replace teachers – video

Oliver Wainwright plays Simon Says with Zeno, a humanoid robot with a motorised face, a personality of its own, and a $10,000 price tag. Its inventors at Sheffield Robotics explain why Zeno could fill classrooms in the not-too-distant future – and why kids listen to robots more readily than their parents Continue reading...
via Meet Zeno, the robot that could replace teachers – video

Drone Download 16: Another White House drone incident; James Cameron’s drone contest; drones on the campaign trail; breakthroughs in sense and avoid

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Question of the week

Last week the Secret Service arrested a man for flying a personal drone over the White House. Again. I covered it on our blog, and pointed out some tough questions the incident raised—technologically, legally, ethically. All three at once, really.

The gist of the story is that a tourist from California flew his Parrot Bebop near the White House. The Secret Service responded quickly and the man landed the drone and was arrested on the spot, charged with violating a federal (FAA) order that prohibits flying drones in the District.

Ironically, the day before the incident the FAA launched a public outreach campaign called “No Drone Zone” to make sure everyone is aware that the FAA has declared Washington DC (“all airspace within 15 miles of Reagan National Airport”) off-limits for all drone flights, commercial or recreational. It might seem as if this attempt at education and advocacy was comically ineffectual (the FAA hasn’t had a hit on the Billboard charts in who knows how long). And yes, the timing of the FAA’s PSA was unfortunate—more situational irony than anything else, I think—but it does raise the question of their efficacy at raising awareness. But someone needs to do that job. Can the FAA hack it?

Now my question to you is: How would you like to see drone companies react?

What do you expect of 3DR’s messaging and technology when it comes to scenarios like this one? Where do you think our responsibility lies (if you think it lies anywhere), and what would you like to see from us? Or, do we—like so much of the new technology in this week’s Download—just practice sense and avoid?

Let’s have that thoughtful discussion here—leave your comments below!

And now, the links that matter.

Headlines

Man arrested and charged for flying his personal drone by the White House. It’s the second such incident this year. (Washington Post)

The day before that man was arrested for flying a personal drone by the White House, the FAA launched a PSA campaign called “No Drone Zone” to let people know that they’d get arrested for flying a personal drone by the White House.

An NBC News crew was briefly detained for using a drone to cover the earthquake in Nepal. They were eventually released, their drone returned, and reported live on the Today show—without drone footage. (AdWeek)

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson admits he’s a little worried about drones on the 2016 campaign trail. No refuge for bald spots. (The Hill)

A new Florida law signed last week by governor Rick Scott prohibits drone photos and videos on private property. No criminal penalties are attached to the law, but violators can be sued. (Don’t we already have privacy laws that cover this?) (ClickOrlando.com)

But the Wall Street Journal asks if anyone owns your airspace: “17 states have passed laws to restrict use of craft, but where does private property begin?”

A US district court judge orders Greenpeace protesters to keep drones away from two Shell Arctic drilling ships, bound for a Seattle port. But: Isn’t this the FAA’s call? (Christian Science Monitor)

Drones for good

Drone captures dramatic footage of the California drought at Lake Oroville, with a water level currently 147 feet below normal. (NBC)

Together at last: Dogs and drones team up to stop an avocado fungus that threatens Florida’s multimillion-dollar avocado industry. Makes me think of South Park’s take on Family Guy’s writing process. (MSN)

“Dances with Drones.” A European artist-scientist team called CollMot Robotics has developed a system that links human movements with a flock of flying drones. “The dancer is basically one of the drones,” they said. The dancers sport a wearable device on their hand, which lets them lead the flock. As the dancer moves their arm, the beacon generates commands that instruct the flock to self-organize and move accordingly. Check out the article—the visuals are striking. (Motherboard)

As drones become commoditized, the real money will be in services and applications. “So really what it is is not a drone delivery platform, it’s actually an information services architecture.” (CNBC)

It’s no breaking news that drones will one day be big for agriculture. But the promise is so big that many farmers are willing to break the law today. Here’s why. (NY Times)

Drones used in tornado research at the University of Oklahoma. “Some experts predict drone technology could increase tornado warnings from 20 to 60 minutes.” (News9)

Drone tech

What creature flies like a bird, but walks like a gecko? Researchers at UPenn have developed a quadcopter that can stick a landing at any angle, even on a slippery surface, without any kind of suction or sticky force. (And bring pizza to your high-rise, this article speculates.) The technology is modeled after gecko feet: “The reason a gecko does not fall off a wall is because each climbing pad contains hundreds of ridges that have millions of thin hairs. Each of these hairs has bundles of split ends, which create molecular attraction, sticking when pulled in one direction and releasing in the opposite.” You can watch how this works in an included video. (NY Times)

Director James Cameron (Avatar, Titanic, Terminator) is backing a cinema drone competition. He wants drones that are quieter, more stable and better at tracking. Can we get this man a Solo?! Note: He’s not worried about drones, and he knows more about Skynet than anyone. (Engadget)

At the Intel Future Showcase, Intel and Ascending Technologies showed off a drone that uses six Intel RealSense cameras that allow it to fly by itself. The onboard cameras create a real-time 360-degree map, supporting depth and distance analysis and self-navigation (sense and avoid). (TweakTown)

XactSense is also developing drones that will one day require no pilots at all, using LiDAR technology. (Quartz)

Meet Lily—a self-proclaimed selfie drone. (Quartz)

Then again, purely in the interest of objective reporting… (The Guardian)

Video

Watch these drones totally eating it! ROFLOL! Oh, Yahoo. You yahoos. Seriously, though: Can you spy any 3DR models? I couldn’t. Maybe quickly at the end there.

The post Drone Download 16: Another White House drone incident; James Cameron’s drone contest; drones on the campaign trail; breakthroughs in sense and avoid appeared first on 3DR | Drone & UAV Technology.

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