Posts Tagged 'Robotics'

Alliance of Top Industry, Academic and Non-Profit Organizations Team Up to Launch National Robotics Week

The first annual National Robotics Week will be held from April 10-18 (Just think there will hardly be any snow!), recognizing robotics technology as a pillar of 21st century American innovation, highlighting its growing importance in a wide variety of application areas, and emphasizing its ability to inspire technology education.

Experts agree, robotics is positioned to fuel a broad array of next-generation products and applications in fields as diverse as manufacturing, healthcare, national defense and security, agriculture and transportation. At the same time, robotics is proving to be uniquely adept at enabling students of all ages to learn important science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts and at inspiring them to pursue careers in STEM-related fields. During National Robotics Week, a weeklong series of events and activities is aimed at increasing public awareness of the growing importance of “robo-technology” and the tremendous social and cultural impact that it will have on the future of the United States.

National Robotics Week is a product of a 2009 effort by leading universities and companies to create a “national roadmap” for robotics technology, which was initially unveiled at a May 2009 briefing by academic and industry leaders to the Congressional Caucus on Robotics. U.S. Representative Mike Doyle (PA-14), co-chair of the caucus, and other members have submitted a formal resolution asking Congress to support the designation of the second full week in April as National Robotics Week.

“During National Robotics Week, we are asking people to ‘experience the possibilities’ that come from using robotics technology in everyday life,” said Rep. Doyle. “From schools to the workplace to healthcare, robotics will play a huge role in making life easier for everyone and will be a significant area of job growth and development in the decades ahead.”

The current effort is being coordinated by a National Robotics Week Advisory Council, organized by iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT) and The Technology Collaborative, a Pittsburgh-based non-profit economic development organization, along with a number of other companies, universities and organizations, including:  Adept Technology (NASDAQ:ADEP); the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI); AUVSI Foundation; Botball® (KISS Institute for Practical Robotics); Carnegie Mellon University; Carnegie Science Center of Pittsburgh; FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology); Georgia Institute of Technology; Infamous Robotics; Innovation First International; Johns Hopkins University; MIT; Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council; Museum of Science, Boston; Robotic Industries Association (RIA); The Tech Museum in Silicon Valley; Stanford University; University of Massachusetts Lowell; University of Pennsylvania; and University of Southern California.

“We see robotics as a transformative technology that has the potential to change our society and become as ubiquitous over the next several decades as computing technology is today,” said Colin Angle, chairman and chief executive officer of iRobot. “We are thrilled as an organization to have a key role in this national effort to demonstrate to the country how robotics has matured into an all-encompassing and enabling technology.”

During National Robotics Week, numerous public events and activities will be held in cities across the country, including:

  • Boston, Mass.
    • New England Botball Regional Tournament and New England Botfest, University of Massachusetts Lowell, April 10
    • Robot Block Party, Museum of Science, April 17
  • Pittsburgh, Pa.
    • Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute 30th Anniversary Open House
    • Announcement of the Class of 2010 Robotics Hall of Fame Inductees
    • Carnegie Science Center Café Scientifique Event
  • Philadelphia, Pa.
    • University of Pennsylvania GRASP Lab Open House
  • Washington, D.C.
    • AUVSI Sponsored Unmanned Systems Day on Capitol Hill
    • Congressional Caucus on Robotics Briefing
    • CSM VEX Robotics Challenge, College of Southern Maryland, April 10
    • Greater D.C. Botball Regional Tournament, Woodson High School, April 17
  • San Francisco, Calif.
    • Young Innovators Day, The Tech Museum of Innovation, April 11
    • Robot Block Party, Stanford University, April 14
    • Robots in Action, Adept Technology, April 16
  • Los Angeles, Calif.
    • USC Center for Robotics and Embedded Systems Open House
  • El Cajon, Calif.
    • Southern California Botball Regional Tournament, Cuyamaca College, April 10
  • Atlanta, Ga.
    • FIRST Championship, The Georgia Dome, April 15-17
    • Georgia Tech Center for Robotics and Intelligent Machines Open House
  • Baltimore, Md.
    • Johns Hopkins University Open House
  • Marion, Ohio
    • National Robotics Challenge, April 15-17

“Nineteen years ago, in an effort to ‘hook’ students on the fun and excitement of science and technology, FIRST created a national robotics competition that now draws more than 250,000 participants a year. The thinking was that the younger and more diverse the participants, the better chance we will have of producing a generation of innovative problem solvers,” said Dean Kamen, noted inventor, president of DEKA Research and Development, and FIRST Founder.

One Sweet Combination — Robotics Meets Strawberries

This press release almost slipped through the grate at Techburgher. Just came across it as I was organizing our ever-growing in-box and couldn’t resist posting it.

It looks like researchers at Carnegie Mellon University’s National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) have developed a plant-sorting machine that uses computer vision and machine learning to inspect and grade harvested strawberry plants and then mechanically sort them by quality — tasks that until now could only be done manually.

In a successful field test this fall, the machine classified and sorted harvested plants more consistently and faster than workers could, with a comparable error rate.

“We’re looking forward to using the system,” said Liz Ponce, CEO of Lassen Canyon Nursery in Redding, Calif., one of five strawberry plant producers sponsoring the NREC project. “All of our stakeholders feel that it has a lot of potential.” The other sponsors are Driscoll Nursery Associates; Nor Cal Nursery, Inc.; Plant Sciences, Inc.; and Crown Nursery LLC. Together, the five producers represent about 85 percent of the California strawberry plant nursery market. 

To maintain good strawberry yields, commercial berry growers must replace their plants every year. During the fall harvest season, strawberry plant nursery farms use manual labor to sort several hundred million strawberry plants into good and bad categories — a tedious and costly process. 

The strawberry plant sorter uses computer vision to examine harvested plants that pass by on a conveyor belt. The sorter’s novel machine learning algorithms allow it to be taught how to classify strawberry plants of different sizes, varieties and stages of growth, beyond the simple classification of good and bad plants. This introduces dramatic new efficiencies for strawberry nursery farms, helping them improve quality, streamline production and deliver better strawberry plants to berry growers, which in turn produces better strawberries for consumers.

“The sorter can adapt to plants that vary from year to year, or even within the same growing season,” said Christopher Fromme, the project’s manager and lead engineer. “It’s very flexible.”

During a 10-day field test in October, NREC engineers tested the strawberry plant sorter under realistic conditions, where rain and frost change plants’ appearance, and roots may contain mud and debris. The prototype system had to sort plants of different varieties and levels of maturity. While in the field, it sorted more than 75,000 strawberry plants. On average, it sorted 5,000 plants per hour, several times faster than human sorting. The NREC hopes to achieve sorting rates of 20,000-30,000 plants per hour with the final system. While the sorter’s overall error rate was close to that of human workers, it inspected and sorted plants more consistently. 

“That’s the beauty of it,” Ponce said. “Hand sorting varies more and has more drift in quality.” 

The successful field trial concludes phase two of a five-phase program that will develop a machine ready for commercial operations. Phase three will develop better methods to separate harvested strawberry plants for inspection, improve the sorter’s robustness and ease of use, and integrate it into the nurseries’ harvesting and packaging processes.

Bossa Nova Robotics Featured in Time Magazine

Techburgher loves it when a local tech company gets international ink. Such is the case with Bossa Nova Robotics being profiled in Time Magazine. Get the article right here.

AETHON RELEASES NEW ROBOTIC OPERATING SYSTEM

AETHON®, Inc., the leading developer of mobile robotic
solutions for hospital supply chain logistics, announced today the release of its newest robotic
operating system – TUGOS 6.5, which will significantly advance the operational capabilities of
its autonomous mobile robot, the TUG®. With this latest upgrade, AETHON will also be able to
increase the number of application solutions it offers to hospitals. Most notably, this advanced
navigational operating system for mobile robotics significantly increases the processing speed
of TUG’s autonomous decision-making algorithms, improving its navigational speed and agility.
The new TUGOS 6.5 also allows the use of more powerful motors and larger wheels, enabling
the TUG to automate a wide range of hospital delivery tasks, including larger delivery carts for
environmental service applications such as trash and linen.
With over 100 hospitals now using the TUG, AETHON’s innovative robotic technology offers
customers the opportunity to invest in a product that provides a proven solution to improve
quality and time of delivery while lowering costs. AETHON has been addressing the
fundamental issues associated with lowering health care costs, increasing productivity, and now
improving worker safety, through greater optimization of logistic processes.
Marc Summerfield, Director of Pharmacy at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC),
called the TUG “a transformational technology that has allowed us to save technician time while
improving medication turnaround time and nurse satisfaction”. Since the upgrade to AETHON’s
newest operating system, Marc and his staff have seen an additional increase in medication
throughput. Because of the TUG’s success in the pharmacy, UMMC is looking at the new TUG
features to further enhance medication efficiency and safety goals.
AETHON’s success in developing robotic solutions is unmatched in the world. Unlike any other
robotic system, its unique proprietary technology and innovative approach gives the TUG its
ability to safely and reliably operate in unstructured and dynamic environments such as
hospitals.

AETHON, Inc., a developer of mobile robotic solutions for hospital supply chain logistics, released its newest robotic operating system – TUGOS 6.5, which will significantly advance the operational capabilities of its autonomous mobile robot, the TUG®. With this latest upgrade, AETHON will also be able to increase the number of application solutions it offers to hospitals. Most notably, this advanced navigational operating system for mobile robotics significantly increases the processing speed of TUG’s autonomous decision-making algorithms, improving its navigational speed and agility.

The new TUGOS 6.5 also allows the use of more powerful motors and larger wheels, enabling the TUG to automate a wide range of hospital delivery tasks, including larger delivery carts for environmental service applications such as trash and linen. With over 100 hospitals now using the TUG, AETHON’s innovative robotic technology offers customers the opportunity to invest in a product that provides a proven solution to improve quality and time of delivery while lowering costs. AETHON has been addressing the fundamental issues associated with lowering health care costs, increasing productivity, and now improving worker safety, through greater optimization of logistic processes.

Marc Summerfield, Director of Pharmacy at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC), called the TUG “a transformational technology that has allowed us to save technician time while improving medication turnaround time and nurse satisfaction.”  Since the upgrade to AETHON’s newest operating system, Marc and his staff have seen an additional increase in medication throughput. Because of the TUG’s success in the pharmacy, UMMC is looking at the new TUG features to further enhance medication efficiency and safety goals.

Cardiorobotics Closes on $11.6M Funding Round

Cardiorobotics, Inc., a medical device company developing snake robot technologies for use in a wide range of surgical and interventional applications has closed on an $11.6 Million
private equity Series A round of financing. The round was led by Eagle Ventures and its co-investors, The Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse and The Slater Technology Fund and affiliated investors.
Funds raised in this round will support the advancement of the clinical product, a clinical feasibility trial on humans, and completion of
commercial product for regulatory approval in the United States and the European Union.
“This investment will be used to advance our core product, the cardioARMT, toward commercialization,” said Dr. Samuel Straface, Cardiorobotics, Inc.,
president and Chief Executive Officer.  ”We’re pleased to have Eagle Ventures, The Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse, and The Slater Technology Fund and affiliated investors share our vision in providing single-port, off-pump treatments for patients with heart arrhythmias.”
“I am impressed by the combination of the breakthrough technology platform, experienced entrepreneurial leadership, and high commercialization potential
of the cardioARMT,” said Mel Pirchesky, president and Chief Executive Officer of Eagle Ventures.
Cardiorobotics’ is the global leader in snake robotics for minimally-invasive cardiac interventions, allowing minimally invasive
treatments for patients suffering with heart arrhythmias.

It’s Monday and Techburgher is still recovering from Whuff-aoke on Saturday night. The voice is back and we’re starting off the week with some exciting news from Cardiorobotics, a medical device company developing snake robot technologies for use in a wide range of surgical and interventional applications.

Cardiorobotics has closed on an $11.6 Million private equity Series A round of financing. The round was led by Eagle Ventures and its co-investors, The Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse and The Slater Technology Fund and affiliated investors.

Funds raised in this round will support the advancement of the clinical product, a clinical feasibility trial on humans, and completion of commercial product for regulatory approval in the United States and the European Union.

The  investment will be used to advance  the cardioARMT toward commercialization,  said Dr. Samuel Straface, Cardiorobotics, Inc., president and Chief Executive Officer.

“I am impressed by the combination of the breakthrough technology platform, experienced entrepreneurial leadership, and high commercialization potential of the cardioARMT,” said Mel Pirchesky, president and Chief Executive Officer of Eagle Ventures.

Cardiorobotics’ is al leader in snake robotics for minimally-invasive cardiac interventions, allowing minimally invasive treatments for patients suffering with heart arrhythmias.

Robotics Institute Director Matt Mason Wins Robotics and Automation Society’s Pioneer Award

Here’s some news from Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute that flew in late last week before Memorial Day weekend. This almost slipped through the grates of the Techburgher Grill:

Matthew T. Mason, director of the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, was presented the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society’s Pioneer Award at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Kobe, Japan. Mason, a professor of computer science and robotics, was cited by the society “for pioneering contributions to the fundamental understanding of the mechanics of robotic manipulation and to graduate education in robotics.”

The Pioneer Award has been presented annually since 1998 to recognize individuals who have initiated new areas of research, development or engineering that have had a significant impact on the development of robotics and/or automation. It is usually given to people in the mid or late portions of their careers. Previous winners include Takeo Kanade, professor of computer science and robotics and a former director of the Robotics Institute.

Mason has devoted much of his research to exploring the fundamental mechanics of how robots can manipulate the things around them and to developing the planning capability that robots need to  decide what actions to take to achieve a goal. His research projects have included an origami-folding robot and desktop robots that use their wheels not only to move themselves, but to rearrange objects on a desk.

BotsIQ Roars Into Pittsburgh Region March 13 & 14/April 25

Nothing like metal-on-metal, robot battles!

Nothing like metal-on-metal, robot battles!

BotsIQ is back– and bigger than ever! Be prepared for grinding metal, flying sparks and a remarkable display of student ingenuity in this gladiator-style robotics competition. The Southwestern PA BotsIQ 2009
competition
is certain to be exciting not just for the students who build and battle their robots, but for anyone who attends the spectacular event. Organizers are thrilled to see the contest grow to more than 40 teams for this fourth year of competition. This year’s contest begins with preliminary battles at California University of Pennsylvania March 13 & 14, 2009 and finals slated for Saturday April 25, 2009 at Century III Mall in West Mifflin.

For months, teams of young people from across the region have worked countless hours and solicited the support of their communities. This battle to the finish of student-made, remote-controlled robots is backed by a committed group of educators and
manufacturers.

The National Tooling and Machining Association was instrumental in bringing BotsIQ to south western Pennsylvania in 2006. Students love BotsIQ because it makes education fun— drawing on their knowledge of math, science, engineering and even public speaking. Educators love BotsIQ because of the enthusiasm it sparks in their students and the resources it provides to their classroom. But, it’s the manufacturing industry that is standing behind this new sport because of the potential impact it has on business. Young people who are interested in how things are made are the future of
the high-tech manufacturing workforce.

Competing in 2009: Albert Gallatin Senior HS, Beaver County CTC, Belle Vernon Area HS, Butler County AVTS, Center Area HS, Central Westmoreland CTC, Connellsville Area HS, Derry Area HS, Eastern Westmoreland CTC, Fayette County AVTS , Forbes Road CTC, Greater Latrobe Senior HS, Greensburg Salem HS, Hampton HS, Hempfield Area HS, Highlands HS, Lenape Tech, Mapletown Jr/Sr HS, Montour HS, Northern Westmoreland CTC, Norwin HS, Parkway West CTC, Pittsburgh Peabody HS, Plum HS, Punxsutawney Area HS, Richland HS, Riverview Jr/Sr HS, Serra Catholic HS, Shaler Area HS, Somerset County Technology Center, South Park HS, Springdale Jr/Sr HS, Steel Center AVTS, Sto-Rox HS, West Mifflin Area HS, Western Area CTC, and Western PA School for the Deaf.

For more information, contact Terri Campbell at (724) 552-0174 or (724) 575-2420. 

The Wavecam Never Blinks

wavecam11Just when sports fans – and coaches – thought they had seen it all (in high-definition-slow-motion-reverse-camera angles, no less), along comes the Wavecam™.  And for the first time, the action speaks louder than the play by play announcers.

That’s because this aerial robotic camera system is built to pan, tilt and zoom all while “flying” vertically and horizontally over football fields, basketball courts or hockey rinks (to name just a few potential venues). 

The results? For people watching via broadcast television or Internet streaming, they’ll see new and different angles, as well as the traditional views. According to Gary Giegerich, Wavecam Media’s chief executive officer and co-founder, “The Wavecam enables audiences and coaches to see any view imaginable – in the play, over the play – it’s all right there.”
For coaches, it’s a whole new ballgame. Just ask Penn State’s Joe Paterno. After having the Wavecam installed at the team’s practice facility, the Nittany Lions went on to win a Big Ten championship and a trip to the Rose Bowl.

“The Wavecam is a great asset for us,” says PSU’s head football coach. “The camera can get behind the quarterback in the center, it can get sideways when the offensive line lines up or they’re up on the ball. We can get just about anything we want — and get it better with the Wavecam.”
 That’s exactly what Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder Edmund Dougherty had in mind when he started designing the Wavecam in 2006. A member of the Emmy Award-winning team that designed and built the Skycam, Dougherty says the Wavecam is in a different universe.
 “First of all,” he explains, “the Wavecam is permanently installed, which means it will be available for all events (for example, men’s and women’s basketball games, practices, concerts, graduations) held at a particular venue. Every broadcaster who has seen the Wavecam loves what it can do. In addition, it’s affordable and safe and easy to operate.”

The camera itself is mounted to a trolley that “flies” along thin Dura-tech™ suspension lines. Installation takes just about a week as the crew utilizes the facility’s existing infrastructure (walls, poles, ceilings and scoreboards). The flip of a switch turns it on; from there, it takes only one or two “pilots,” depending on the event, to operate the Wavecam system.
 In 2008 Wavecam Media made its debut with two high profile customers — Villanova University basketball and Penn State football. According to Giegerich, talks are underway with a number of NFL, NBA and NHL teams, as well as with prominent college football and basketball programs.

“What makes Wavecam even more attractive to both professional and college sports is that revenue can be generated by selling on-trolley advertising and Wavecam sponsorship and naming rights. It’s definietly a win-win situation.”

Paterno agrees, “Once people see what the Wavecam is like, it’s obviously going to be something they want,” he says. “And it’s just not for football, it’s for all sports.”

Disney & CMU Launch Global R&D Lab (possible Walt Disneyburgh?)

Disney announced a major research and development initiative to engage top technology universities to conduct research and development for its Parks & Resorts Division, Disney Media Networks, ESPN, Walt Disney Feature Animation, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Disney Interactive Media Group and Pixar Animation Studios.

Carnegie Mellon University and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich), known for their leading-edge work in computer science and technology, are to establish collaborative labs with Disney in Pittsburgh and Zurich.

“Creating the next generation of sophisticated technologies requires long-term vision and collaboration with world-class innovators,” said Ed Catmull, president, Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, who made the announcement Monday at SIGGRAPH, the world’s largest computer graphics conference. “We are strengthening our commitment to R&D throughout Disney by establishing labs with Carnegie Mellon University and ETH Zurich,” he said.

The labs will connect Disney with renowned academic partners with world class science and technology talent. The labs will engage in R&D on computer animation, computational cinematography, autonomous interactive characters, robotics, data mining and user interfaces, among other initiatives. They will be located at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh and ETH Zurich. Each lab represents a five-year commitment from Disney to fund a director and seven to eight principal investigators. Additional staff will include professors, academic interns, scientific consultants and collaborators.

Carnegie Mellon is home to some of the world’s leading researchers in computer science and engineering, entertainment technology and robotics, areas of particular interest to Disney.  Jessica Hodgins, professor of computer science and robotics and director of Disney Research, Pittsburgh, said one of the lab’s first projects will be developing methods for people to interact with autonomous characters, either virtual or robotic. “We’ll be looking for ways to sense what a person is doing or thinking so that the character can respond appropriately,” she said. “Whether the character is a robot or a virtual creation, the interaction issues are the same. We need to figure out what sensors to build and how to interpret and respond to human behavior.” 

ETH Zurich has a strong tradition of research in computational methods and computer systems. It is one of the most renowned locations for research in computer science, and as such, a strong partner for Disney. Professor Markus Gross, head of ETH Zurich’s Computer Graphics Laboratory in the Department of Computer Science, calls the collaboration with Disney “on the cusp of the cutting-edge.”

The Disney Research lab in Zurich will work with faculty members from the Department of Computer Science, specifically with Visual Computing and the Computer Graphics Laboratory, to conduct the highest level applied research in areas including computer animation, image synthesis, computational photography and artificial intelligence.

Joint Ph.D. projects and research contracts, as well as teaching services from senior Disney researchers, are part of the advantages and synergies to be drawn from the collaboration. Professor Markus Gross will head Disney Research in Zurich. 

The individual R&D programs at Disney Parks & Resorts, Pixar and Disney Animation Studios, Interactive Games, Disney‘s television and motion picture studios, and ImageMovers Digital and their existing university alliances with schools throughout the globe will continue. The Pittsburgh and Zurich labs will focus on areas of research that span multiple business units across the company.

Company: Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University
Web Site: www.cmu.edu
Location: Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Description: Carnegie Mellon is a national research university of about 7,500 students and 3,000 faculty, research and administrative staff. Carnegie Technical School was founded in 1900 in Pittsburgh by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. The school was renamed Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1912, when it became a degree-granting institution. In 1967, Carnegie Tech merged with the Mellon Institute to form Carnegie Mellon University. Read more.

Phase I SBIR Awarded for Safe Routes

RE2, Inc., a leading developer of intelligent modular manipulation systems and Joint Architecture for Unmanned Systems (JAUS) software solutions, announced that it has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program to develop a System for Dynamic Modeling and Planning of Safe Routes for the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), a U.S. Navy funded program. 

“This project represents a new direction of technology development for RE2 and will build upon RE2’s strong background in robotics research and robust software engineering capabilities to provide a solution that meets the needs of today’s military,” stated Dr. Patrick Rowe, vice president of research and development for RE2, Inc.
 
During the six-month Phase I program, RE2 will research and develop enhancements for existing route planning technology that calculates the safest path through a post-combat or urban area, taking into account information about various threats. Threats include the chance of sniper attack, risk of encountering improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and hostile local reaction to military presence. The RE2 team will also implement an intuitive graphical user interface software tool to display map and route information in an easy-to-understand format, and allow the user to quickly update the threat information as new intelligence is obtained in order to plan a new, safer route.
 
“In addition to improving our military’s ability to safely navigate through hostile environments, we envision that this technology will also be applicable to commercial markets in the future, thus expanding our product offerings outside of the Department of Defense,” said Jorgen Pedersen, president and CEO of RE2, Inc.

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