Atlas robot pulls off a delicate balancing act

Having previously shown off impressive capabilities dealing with uneven ground and being pushed around, the humanoid Atlas robot built by Boston Dynamics has now demonstrated the ability to balance unaided on the edge of a plywood board less than an inch thick.

Relying on a control algorithm developed by the Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition (IHMC), the Atlas robot looks shaky in parts but manages to balance on the edge for about 22 seconds before falling off. IMHC admits this was a lucky run and that the robot isn't usually able to maintain its balance for that long.

IMHC also points out that the robot only uses onboard sensors and its shakiness is due to "poor state estimation", which is essentially the robot's ability to estimate its position, orientation and velocity so it knows where its various bits and pieces are and where they're going.

IMHC has previously put the 6.1-ft (1.9-m) tall Atlas robot to work vacuuming and doing some light housework around the lab after it finished competing in the 2015 DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) finals. Maybe a turn at tightrope walking is in its future.

The video below shows the robot's balancing act.

Source: New Atlas, IMHC

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Move along chaffeurs, the robots are here!

In the area of Retail chain, especially the food and household supplies market, robotics as a concept has made massive strides. The industry has reached a point of progress where it is prudent to look at not how robots will drive business transformation, but at how they are already doing so.

Most jobs in the retail industry which involved dexterity and careful human handling are now being taken over by robots; robots that can be described as sophisticated, smart and functional. But what they miss out in anthropomorphic appeal, they more than make up for it in their capabilities. 

In the past few years robots have become adept in adapting themselves to the retail environments and lend a helping hand to the workforce that works in tandem with them. 

When we say robots are helping out, we do not talk of robots that look like ancestors of C3-PO and walk around and talking part in errands. No, we are talking of the kind that is more like an R2; functional and built with purpose.

Following are some examples where robots have already begun to make their presence felt:

Fulfillment of deliveries in restaurants:

Robots like Pepper the robot have started appearing at restaurants all across the globe. These are now replacing manual labour in mundane tasks such as delivery of food entree’ to customers. This has helped the restaurant chains cut back on inefficiencies and help them enhance their customer service

Helping consumers in industrial scale super markets 

As recently as December, Lowe’s introduced a robotic assistant in its stores. Called the LoweBot, will be deployed to 11 stores to help guide home improvers to find items in store. This robot can speak multiple languages and help consumers their way around these stores.

Making sky the limit to cut back on delivery timelines.

When we talk about robots, we should also factor in the thousands of drones that buzz around the airspaces of major city. When industry majors like Domino’s collaborate with relatively unknowns to airdrop pizza boxes out of the sky, it only reiterates the role robotics have played in easing the lives of consumers and industry planners around the world.

All these drive home the fact that robots are becoming a ubiquitous component of our consumerism driven lives.

Happy Roboting!

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In an audacious attempt, PSLV parks 8 satellites in two different orbits.

In a first, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s PSLV C-35 rocket launched a total of eight satellites, into two different orbits.

ScatSAT-1 onboard PSLV C-35

The 371 kg SCATSAT-1, a satellite for weather-related studies, was placed in the polar sun synchronous orbit at an altitude of 730 km some 17 minutes after the rocket took off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota at 9.12 a.m.

About two hours later, the rocket placed two satellites from two educational institutions (PISAT and PRATHAM), three commercial payloads from Algeria (ALSAT-1B, 2B and 1N) and one each for Canada (NLS-19) and the United States (Pathfinder-1).

Announcing the successful launch of all the satellites from the Mission Control Centre, ISRO chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar said the Monday launch marked a "landmark day" in the history of ISRO.

The rocket was re-ignited twice during its flight to place the set of satellites in different orbits. Due to the re-ignition, the Monday's launch is by far the longest PSLV launch by ISRO.

ISRO said though it had launched several PSLV rockets in the past, this launch is "the first mission of PSLV in which it had launched its payloads into two different orbits," ISRO said.

The satellites include SCATSAT-1, a satellite for weather studies, IIT-Bombay’s PRATHAM and PISAT from PES University in Bengaluru.

SCATSAT-1, with a life of five years, would provide weather forecasting services through the generation of wind vector products, it said.

PRATHAM 

The 10 kg PRATHAM by IIT Bombay intends to estimate the total electron count with a resolution of 1km x 1km location grid and PISAT (5.25 kg) from PES University in Bengaluru intends to explore remote sensing applications.

Algeria's ALSAT-1B is an earth observation satellite (103 kg), ALSAT-2B a remote sensing satellite (117 kg) and ALSAT-1N (7 kg) a technology demonstrator. Canada's NLS-19 is a technology demonstration micro satellite (8 kg) and Pathfinder-1 is a commercial high resolution imaging micro satellite (44 kg).

Source: The Hindu

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Geek Speak: Ishwarya

When we imagine the terms “Robotics engineer” or “Robotics Hobbyists”, our minds immediately race to a picturesque image of a young boy or gentleman who is meddling with gadgets and wires to develop a truly remarkable piece of machinery. One can almost feel sorry for having been a borderline chauvinist, for the world of robotics and computers is no longer limited to the dorms of young boys and cubicles of professional men. Women are increasingly obsessed in getting their palms greasy with solder, glue and what have you. Nowhere is this change more pronounced than at Kidobotikz where geek-princesses are a familiar sight. They’ve dropped their barbies and picked up their arduinos. This is the true empowerment that we talk about so often. Meanwhile back at Kidobotikz, I strike up a conversation with a young girl who has been quite engrossed in reading a book that has a title “Tatva” and is filled with rules. Upon inquiry she reveals that her classes for the day are over and she is awaiting her mother and reading about upcoming contests in the meantime. Meet Aishwarya, the reigning princess of robotics and our geek for the day.

Hey Aishwarya! Do you mind introducing yourself to our readers?

Hello everyone! I am Ishwarya, and my name starts with an ‘I’ not an ‘A’ (laughs). I study in class 8 of Jawahar Vidyalaya Senior Secondary School. At Kidobotikz, I am now in the expert level.

Can you tell us what led you to join Kidobotikz?

Nothing actually led me to join to kidobotikz. It just happened. On one of their enrollment drives they had distributed pamphlets outside our school. I received one of those pamphlets. It kinda piqued my curiosity. So, took it to my parents who were also interested in the idea of me learning robotics. That’s how I joined here.

That’s as simple as anyone would’ve put it. So, how has been Kidobotikz your experience?

To be honest, I’ve always been interested in science, in particular physics. I’ve always been curious to know more about the world we live in and the way things work. So, youtube used to a big hangout place for me. Joining Kidobotikz helped in a unique way. I was able to channel all of these curiousity into the Kidobotikz courseware and learn a great deal about technology. In particular, I got very interested in humanoid robots after joining Kidobotikz.

That’s interesting. So, what change in your attitude do you feel after joining Kidobotikz?

The day I joined Kidobotikz, I was under the assumption that I would be starting to work on humanoid robots. I assumed that robotics was some high tech activity which starts at a highly complex courseware that would only be getting tougher and tougher. Much to my surprise, here at Kidobotikz, the course started with the most fundamental of concepts such as basic electronics and mechanical. Only then did I realise that the knowledge required for building robots did not start at graduation level but in school. Kidobotikz helped me achieve that holistic perspective of the tech world.

I’m sure Team Kidobotikz feels elated by your compliments. Meanwhile, how was your KRG experience this time? 

I participated in 4 events this time- Line Tracer, Manual Race, Robo Sumo, Balloon Bursters. While, I couldn’t win the events, I managed to give a tough opposition to all participants. I’m working on the positives and I hope to bag a win in the next edition. Amidst all this, I am also gearing up to participate in FTC.

So, what are your plans for the future? Any field of interest that you are looking forward to work in?

I’ve always loved physics, astronomy in particular. I’m very passionate about concepts like black holes, quantum physics. So, I wish to be a physicist. Hopefully, i will implement my knowledge of robotics in these fields as well.

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4K capable aquatic drone ready to dive deep

A new "underwater drone" has taken to the crowdfunding circuit, this time in the form of the CCROV. While it offers the same basic functionality other existing models, it does have at least one distinguishing feature – an integrated 4K camera that sends real-time video to its operator.

By contrast, in the case of he Trident, Fathom One and BlueROV2 which are the competitors, cameras all top out at a resolution of 1080p. The iBubble utilizes an added GoPro Hero4 camera, which can shoot at 4K. Like all four of the other "unmanned-mini-subs-on-a-budget," though, the CCROV is linked to its land-based operator by a control cable – unfortunately, radio waves don't travel well through the water.

Buyers can choose between cable lengths ranging from 20 to 100 meters (66 to 328 ft), all of which are reeled onto a shoreside "tether deployment system." That system communicates via Wi-Fi with the user's iOS/Android mobile device (or an optional joystick control unit) on which they use an app to both view output from the onboard camera, and control the drone down to its maximum dive depth of 100 m.

It should be noted that the Trident and Fathom One do things a little differently in the tether department. They can both be outfitted with a shorter cable that runs up to a Wi-Fi-equipped buoy that's towed along on the surface. That buoy in turn communicates wirelessly with the user, meaning that one long, heavy "sea-to-shore" cable is unnecessary.

Along with its 4K/25fps camera, the CCROV itself also features four 250-lumen LED spotlights and six thrusters – four for horizontal movement, and two for moving vertically. According to its designers, that latter feature allows it to have a much smaller turning radius than drones equipped with just three or four thrusters … which describes the Trident and Fathom One.

One 90-minute charge of its battery, which is located in the tether deployment system as opposed to the drone, should be good for about one hour of use.

If you're interested in getting a CCROV for yourself, it's currently the subject of an Indiegogo campaign. A pledge of US$1,599 will get you one with a 25-m cable, when and if they reach production. The planned retail price is $2,699 – for comparison, prices for the other models we mentioned range from $600 for the Fathom One up to $3,000 for the BlueROV2.

You can see the CCROV in underwater action, in the following video.

Source: Indiegogo, New Atlas

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Geek Speak: Guruprasad

What best defines a Saturday evening? A calm, serene and ambient living room with some peaceful activity like listening to music or a some intensive hobby. That is if you are an adult. If you are student, saturday is the best time to blow off some steam after a gruelling week at school. It will be the ideal day to kick back with some robotics before you need to catch up with your assignments on Sunday. Kidobotikz is usually a place where robotics is used to kick back from the tiresome rigours of the week. Today is no different. There’s a trickle of students who are here to get themselves ready for various competitions. One can look around and notice sheets of paper scribbled with rough designs of sumo robots, race robots, project robots what have you. Amidst all this action, a puny young fella seems to be basking upon what he has developed. Having his name featured on the newsfeed of the kidobotikz app yesterday, he is here to show us what he had developed and tell more about himself. Meet Guru, my namesake and our geek for the day. 

Hi Guru! Can you tell me a bit about yourself?

I’m Guruprasad! I study in class 3 of GRT Mahalakshmi Vidyalaya Matriculation Higher Senior Secondary School.

Can you tell us why and when did you join Kidobotikz?

I joined Kidobotikz on the 19th of August, 2016. I remember the date because I wrote it down on my notebook so that I don’t forget (laughs). My mom saw the advertisement for Kidobotikz on the newspaper and decided to bring me here. Now I am in the foundation level.

That is good. What do you like about Kidobotikz? And how do you feel about the concepts?

The most important thing I like about Kidobotikz is the way of teaching. The online platform is very helpful and when there are doubts, I can easily contact a faculty via the chat and learn more. Before joining here, if there was one thing I was scared about, it was the fact that I forget a lot of what I read. So, I was worried whether I will be remembering everything that I learn. But, thanks to the videos and animations, it is easy to remember every concept. 

Why do you think learning robotics is important?

With Kidobotikz, I am learning very important concepts like Mechanics, Programming and Electronics. All of these are very important concepts themselves. When these are used in robots, that means robots are important too. Not only that, I am interested in becoming an entrepreneur. For that robotics is the best. 

Can you tell me about the robot that you have brought here today?

I’ve assembled a unique tricycle robot with the components from my foundation level kit. The robot contains IR sensors on the front and back. This way, it will go in a straight line. When it comes close to a wall, it will automatically stop and move back. This way it can move around all directions and avoid collisions with obstacles.

Which is your favourite robot?

My favourite robots are humanoid robots. They require the best of technology to be built. That makes them my favourite. 

What to do want to do when you finish schooling and college? 

I have no plans for the future yet. I am just 9 years old (laughs).

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Meet 'Waste Shark', the garbage-gobbling drone which is cleaning up the oceans

There may indeed be floating plastic waste strewn all across the surface of the world's oceans, but most of that trash still enters the water along the shoreline. It was with this in mind that South African entrepreneur Richard Hardiman created the WasteShark. It's an aquatic drone that's designed to autonomously cruise harbors and gulp down garbage, before that waste can drift out to sea.

Manufactured by Hardiman's Netherlands-based company RanMarine, the craft takes the form of a small electric catamaran with a scoop (or "mouth," if you will) located between the pontoons. As the WasteShark moves through the harbor, that scoop skims the surface and collects floating trash, transferring it into an onboard hopper for subsequent removal.

Plans call for the drone to also collect data such as water quality, depth and weather conditions, transmitting that information to port authorities in real time. Additionally, its onboard software will allow it to progressively learn about its environment, so it can tweak its routes for maximum efficiency depending on weather and tides.

Hardiman's project was recently accepted into a Dutch accelerator program for port-related technologies, which is what brought him to The Netherlands. He and his team have been testing WasteShark prototypes in the Port of Rotterdam – they're of two different sizes, and are thus named Fatboy and Slim. A pilot project ultimately calls for four of the craft to work the port over the next few months.

In the long run, Richard hopes to develop a larger solar-powered version called the Great Waste Shark, that can collect up to 500 kg (1,102 lb) of trash at a time. Onboard sensors including a camera will help it avoid collisions with other harbor traffic, although geofencing technology will also be used to keep it out of particularly busy areas.

For now though, you can see the prototypes in action, in the video below.

Source: New Atlas, RanMarine, Popular Science

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