Roborace gives a fleeting glimpse of working DevBot prototype

When Roborace kicks off, it will be the world's first racing series for driverless cars. So far, it's promised plenty, but is yet to deliver any wheel-to-wheel driverless action. Details about the car's design have been released, but there's been no video of a driverless racer actually on the track. Until now, that is, because the Roborace team has released the first fleeting glimpses of a development mule labelled DevBot.

The Roborace series is set to run in conjunction with the 2016/2017 Formula E season. Cars will be controlled by a central Nvidia AI brain, using cameras and radar sensors to navigate the pack of all-electric racers around tight city streets.

Designed to serve as a base for teams to hone their software for the real Roborace cars, DevBot looks nothing like the futuristic Daniel Simon creation we saw earlier this year. There's a cabin to hold a driver or engineer, and none of the sensors and cameras have been covered up.

It's not designed to look pretty though, it's purpose is to give engineers invaluable information about how the car "thinks" when it's out on the track. So the DevBot is fitted with the same drivetrain, sensors, computers and communication systems as the final racer.

A fully-finished Roborace car will be make its public debut at the Formula E open practice sessions in Donington, UK, on August 24. In the meantime, check out the DevBot in action in the video below.

Source: Roborace, New Atlas

Read More

Roborace reveals what's under the skin of its enigmatic self-driving race car

Anyone who thinks car racing is all about the drivers is about to come in for a rude shock –self-driving race cars are set to hit the track soon. Roborace is planning to run alongside Formula E in the 2016/17 season with a futuristic car designed by Daniel Simon, but details about how the car would actually work have been hard to come by. Thanks to a new image from Roborace, we finally have a bit more info about what will make it tick.

Even though it's been doing the rounds since April, Daniel Simon's design is still properly arresting. Because there's no need to protect a driver, no need to leave space for the legs and head, the shape is unlike anything we've seen from Formula 1 or Le Mans racers.

Without a driver behind the wheel, Roboracers are reliant on data from a huge array of sensors and cameras. Lidar sensors are fitted to the front bumper, front flanks and rear bumper, and there are radar units at the front and rear as well. Cameras mounted to the front bumper and central "tower" also feed information back to the central brain.

That brain is a Nvidia Drive PX 2 , which is tasked with processing the torrent of raw data from the sensors at lightning speed. It's cooled by a dedicated scoop at the nose of the car, and mounted in the center of the fuselage to keep it as far from any potential crash damage as possible.

The battery pack is the other area paid special cooling attention, with outlets tucked away behind the rear wheelarches. The only element of this design not blended seamlessly into the body is the "tower" at the back, but it makes sense to have the 360-degree TV camera, status lights and pitot tube elevated and easy to see, so I guess we'll have to forgive Simon for that little aberration.

To begin with, Roborace competitors will compete in identical cars. There is expected to be 10 teams, each with two cars, running hour-long support races across the globe during the course of the Formula E championship season.

Source: Roborace, New Atlas

Read More

Kidobotikz's Robopalooza: KRG Day 2

When can an event be called an extravaganza? Could it be when organizers spend months of planning, weeks of preparations and a fat wad of money to organize an event? Could it be on the basis of footfalls at an event? Not quite. An event can unequivocally declared an extravaganza when the crowd turns up in hordes and then refuses to leave. The crowd which falls in love with the atmosphere of the event is left wanting for more. This is the defining moment for any event when it no longer is an event but becomes a tradition, one that cannot afford to not happen regularly. At the end of the proceedings of the August Edition of KRG, it can be safely said that KRG is no longer just an event but a tradition.

The second and final day of KRG commenced with an intense state of euphoria with a swelling in participation since yesterday’s events. With the energy and excitement pouring in over from yesterday, the action commenced from where we left yesterday. The first event for today, which took place at arena 3, was Temple Run (Seniors) wherein the senior students of Kidobotikz took part in the android game-inspired event. The main focus of this event was on building and designing robots which were capable of pushing themselves through a path that was ridden with obstacles. The obstacles which ranged from an elevated ramp to a teeterboard was one of the tougher events that students take part in. Robots of various dimensions, which were custom designed to be able to tackle the unexpected obstacles on the pathway, elicited quite a loud cheer from the audience with both parents and students going gaga over the suspense built into the event. Not many robots were able to successfully complete the entire lap, thereby assuring that victory was hard-earned. 

Back in Arena 2, another interesting event was happening which was a crowd favourite. The junior and senior versions of the Balloon Burster was in the happening today and it turned out to be quite a fun event. “A last man standing”-kinda event, it involved robots which had balloons tethered to their rears while long pointed nails fixed to the front. Like a knight involved in jousting, each participant had to shield his own balloon from being pierced while trying to pierce the balloon of the opponent. This event, which had single elimination format,was a rather rapid one with many matches being played out in less than 60 seconds. The juniors event of this game was won by Shraddha while the seniors was won by Rohit Kumar. 

Interestingly, there was one event which had put everyone in a spot of bother. The line follower event which had circuitous black paths was so tough that not one participant could win the event. The final robot which took part in this event was the only one which was able to complete the lap. Not surprisingly, Vidyasagar who had designed this robot was declared the winner of this event. Impressively, Vidyasagar had also managed to bag two more events into his kitty. After winning 3 of the events- namely Line Follower, Temple Run seniors; Vidyasagar was declared the overall champion. 

The prize distribution ceremony which happened after the close of all the games was a solemn affair. Dr. Ravikumar, Director of Center for Entrepreneurship Development, Anna University, had graciously agreed to preside over the occasion as Chief Guest and give away the prizes. Dr. Ravikumar, who was acquainted with the our directors Pranavan and Sneha, had quite a few words of praise for both of them and the organization of Kidobotikz. He opined that the methodologies adopted by Kidobotikz to promote robotics based education for students had the potential to better the standards of education in our country and such efforts were well warranted.  PSBB KK Nagar won the overall shield.

Team Kidobotikz is happy to have conducted a two day KRG for the first time and is proud to declare that the two day event was a runaway success. We at Kidobotikz promise to bring back the next edition of KRG in a grander form and with much pomp. 

Happy Roboting ! ! 

Good Night ! !

Read More

Kidobotikz's Robopalooza: KRG Day 1

For most of us who have a defined notion of the word “Fun”, today would’ve been an awakening experience! It was the first day of KRG and the day could not have turned out better! The day turned out to be absolutely fantabulous with lots of action. The ingredients for the usual though- Children, Robots and Competitions. For the audience though, the event was an absolute gala. With parents and children making to the event in droves, the event was an absolute crowd puller; in particular there were a number of enthusiastic drop ins from the student community of the College of Engineering, Guindy. With both parents and students having fun, they desired to catch some of the roboting action for themselves.

The first day of the ninth edition of KRG began with some exceptional jubilation thanks to the regular attendees of KRG. The event in itself commenced on time with the robots getting caged and vetted for registration at 8:30 AM. As the first event, Temple Run (Stock robots), commenced at little past 9 AM simultaneous preparations were underway for participation of the second event. The second event, Robo Sumo, which was one of the star attractions of the day began with much fanfare and saw a huge participation. When the morning session for this event concluded at around noon, it was a good 3 hours of high intensity roboting at the TAG Auditorium. 

Meanwhile, another important event was underway supplementing all the action at the TAG Auditorium. At the H.M Hall adjoining the TAG Auditorium, a project expo event was organized which encompassed a myriad of projects conceived and developed by the students of Kidobotikz. Each of these individual projects were brilliant in their own right with some truly eye catching concepts. In line with the PM Shri Narendra Modi’s “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan”, this edition of KRG’s project had a specific “Clean India” theme. All the projects on display were in line with this theme and students had painstakingly developed some interesting concepts for display to the outside world. Their efforts, however, were sufficiently rewarded with a lot of students turning up to grab a presentation of these projects. Henry Maudslay, the great inventor and after whom the H.M hall is named after, would be proud man to have witnessed such young innovative minds.

Schools from various parts of the city honoured Kidobotikz’s invitation and brought their students here to view the projects on display. Among these, the contingent from Jeppiaar School was by far the largest with close to 300 students attending KRG. 

After a brief recess, the afternoon events began with great fervour. The overcast skies and sumptuous luncheon seemed to have had no effect on the energies of the participants. If anything, the pitch of the event was higher than the morning. At around 2:30 PM, to the sounding of whistles, the robo races and robo sumos resumed with a great deal of joy from both the participants and the audience. When one of the two last standing robots were nudged out of the arena, the games for the day came to a close with the next event being for parents. This event which was conducted by Kidobotikz to entertain all the mothers of the kidobotikz student community, was much appreciated by all.

At around 6:30 PM the curtains were brought down on the first day of the Kidobotikz Robo Games 2016- August Edition. With still another day left in the event, the action continues tomorrow from where we left it today. 

Happy roboting! ! !

Good Night ! !

Read More

Geek Speak: KRG Special Edition

Here comes Friday evening and with it a rush of activity. It is the last day before the big event and it’s a complete frenzy here at Kidobotikz. We’re on the eve of the most awaited weekend of the month- The weekend of KRG. The fact that it was a rainy evening seemed to have no impact on anyone. Every single person, be it students or personnel, seem to be caught up in the frenzy for the KRG weekend and the preparations are in full swing. The 11th hour preparations are underway and the entire campus is a beehive of activity. 

Back at the Makerspace, it is rush hour. Students who embody the principles of procrastination are here giving final touches to their robots which are to be displayed tomorrow. Supporting them are their faculty who are helping them test their robots and make sure that all of them are display a flawless working condition tomorrow. 

In the meantime, I just get a quick glance at all the robots that being tinkered upon and find one particular robot. This robot which sports liveries not much different from the sponsorship liveries on an F-1 race car belonged to a young mind. Shraddha, who is a 5th grader at the Ravindra Bharathi Global School, is the brains behind this interesting robot. The robot which has been aptly named “Magno-bot” is an cleaning robot which can separate ferrromagnetic materials from municipal waste. These could range from anything between iron filings to nails. She has developed it for tomorrow’s project expo and has high hopes for her project.

Meanwhile, the lobby of the Kidobotikz office is filled with parents for whom waiting outside the Kidobotikz classrooms has been a regular routine this week. Thanks to such devoted parents who are equally enthused about the event, kids are able to expose themselves to such interesting events and gain experience as educate themselves.

We have talked a lot about the preparations for the event itself; however, it would be a lost cause if our readers were not aware of how the actual event will turn out to be. While our prime suggestion would be to request you all to drop in at tomorrow’s KRG, we don’t want our followers to miss the action. So, stay updated on the Kidobotikz facebook page to receive a flurry of images that will be uploaded throughout the day to ensure that everybody can get a taste of the ongoing action.

If you are still an avid reader of our blog, it would prudent for you to catch a front row seat at CEG’s Tag Auditorium by 8:30 AM; because that is where all the action will be happening for the next couple of days. 

Happy Roboting ! !

Happy KRG ! !

Read More

Soft robotic caterpillar uses the energy from light for wriggle-locomotion

For decades scientists and engineers have been trying to build robots mimicking different modes of locomotion found in nature. Most of these designs have rigid skeletons and joints driven by electric or pneumatic actuators. In nature, however, a vast number of creatures navigate their habitats using soft bodies - earthworms, snails and larval insects can effectively move in complex environments using different strategies. Up to date, attempts to create soft robots were limited to larger scale (typically tens of centimeters), mainly due to difficulties in power management and remote control.

Liquid Crystalline Elastomers (LCEs) are smart materials that can exhibit large shape change under illumination with visible light. With the recently developed techniques, it is possible to pattern these soft materials into arbitrary three dimensional forms with a pre-defined actuation performance. The light-induced deformation allows a monolithic LCE structure to perform complex actions without numerous discrete actuators.

Researchers from the University of Warsaw with colleagues from LESN (Italy) and Cambridge (UK) have now developed a natural-scale soft caterpillar robot with an opto-mechanical liquid crystalline elastomer monolithic design. The robot body is made of a light sensitive elastomer stripe with patterned molecular alignment. By controlling the travelling deformation pattern the robot mimics different gaits of its natural relatives. It can also walk up a slope, squeeze through a slit and push objects as heavy as ten times its own mass, demonstrating its ability to perform in challenging environments and pointing at potential future applications.

Researchers hope that rethinking materials, fabrication techniques and design strategies should open up new areas of soft robotics in micro- and millimeter length scales, including swimmers (both on-surface and underwater) and even fliers.

The research on optical and opto-mechanical microstructures are funded by the National Science Centre (Poland) within the project "Guiding light the paths less frequented - optics of three dimensional photonic structures".

The research was published in the journal Advanced Optical Materials.

Source: University of Warsaw

Read More

Why every kid should be a part of the Maker Movement. . !

The Maker Movement, which has been claimed, to be a technology-oriented creative learning revolution underway around the globe. It has far reaching vast implications in the field of education. New tools and technology, such as 3D printing, robotics, microprocessors, wearable computing, e-textiles, “smart” materials, and programming languages are being churned out at an unprecedented pace. The Maker Movement enables users to share tools and ideas on the internet and create a vibrant, collaborative community of makers and hackers who provide solutions to tech problems plaguing our world.

Fortunately for educators, the Maker Movement presents with an interesting opportunity as it overlaps with the natural inclinations of children and the power of learning by doing. By embracing the lessons of the Maker Movement, educators can restructure the best student-centered teaching practices to engage learners of all ages.

Time and again, activities such as robotics and 3D fabrication have been subjected to marginalization as mere hobbies and not actual education. However, today’s new low-cost, flexible, creative, and powerful materials offer more than just “hands-on” crafting—these tools bring electronics, programming, mechanics and mathematics together in meaningful, powerful ways. It is prudent that we reimagine school science and math not as a way to prepare students for the next academic challenge, or a future career, but as a place where students are inventors, scientists, and mathematicians today.

Individual tenets of the maker revolution such as robotics are potentially capable of making science hands-on and interesting to young minds. They incentivise the learning drive and spirit by providing instant gratification to the creators. Engaging in constructive learning activities such as building robots is a way of bringing engineering to young learners. 

Tinkering is a powerful form of “learning by doing,”. It is a philosophy espoused by the rapidly expanding Maker Movement community and many educators. Real science and engineering is done through tinkering. Even the Indian concept of Jugaad follows some of these principles. 

With such a strong backing to inculcate children to be makers, it will be wise if parents and educators took the whole “learning by building” seriously and provide their young ones with tools to tinker on. These could be articles from robotics kits to DIY building blocks. However, among several forms of DIY, robotics in DIY is the closest one gets to engineering in real life.

However, getting children started with making is not just about shopping for new toys. Making is a position on learning that puts the learner in charge. The focus should be on engaging students in activities to brainstorm, design, innovate and build. It is also imperative to ensure that these children are monitored throughout their learning process and that the learning is sufficiently incentivised.

We at Kidobotikz strongly believe that our students should learn through building and committing errors in the process. Our kits aim to promote a learning drive in our students, one that gradually turns them into makers and innovators. This we feel is the right direction for the entire education system to move in. That way, the entire community of students can be transformed into innovators- children who dare to think outside the existing ethos and come up with path breaking ideas.

Happy Roboting ! ! 

Read More