New Mars Forums

tahanson43206

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Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 19,443

Re: Robots becoming useful...

This is a follow up to post #50...

https://store.dobot.cc/products/dobot-m … obotic-arm

Now we're talking!

DOBOT Magician Lite Robotic Arm
$899.00 USD
Outsmart the robots in the future
The Perfect K12 Platform for Students, Teachers and Educators
Multiple End Tools
Safe and Easy to Use
Bluetooth Connection
Graphic Programming
Multiple Expansion Interface
AI and STEAM Powered Education Solution

1

Add to Cart

Almost in reach. Definitely worth considering for a product.

(th)

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Robots becoming useful...

Japan Will Send Real-Life Transformer to the Moon in Star Wars-Like Lunar Droid

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/japa … 85141.html

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Robots becoming useful...

Engineers create flexible robotic gripper with rich sensory capabilities

https://news.mit.edu/2022/flexible-way- … eling-0415

    In a recent project, Adelson and Sandra Liu — a mechanical engineering PhD student at CSAIL — have developed a robotic gripper using novel “GelSight Fin Ray” fingers that, like the human hand, is supple enough to manipulate objects. What sets this work apart from other efforts in the field is that Liu and Adelson have endowed their gripper with touch sensors that can meet or exceed the sensitivity of human skin.

    The fin ray has become a popular item in soft robotics owing to a discovery made in 1997 by the German biologist Leif Kniese. He noticed that when he pushed against a fish’s tail with his finger, the ray would bend toward the applied force, almost embracing his finger, rather than tilting away. The design has become popular, but it lacks tactile sensitivity. “It’s versatile because it can passively adapt to different shapes and therefore grasp a variety of objects,” Liu explains. “But in order to go beyond what others in the field had already done, we set out to incorporate a rich tactile sensor into our gripper.”

tahanson43206

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Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 19,443

Re: Robots becoming useful...

https://currently.att.yahoo.com/finance … 30911.html

TechCrunch
Neptune raises $17.25M to clean ship hulls with robots
Brian Heater
Wed, April 20, 2022, 9:15 AM

Here’s a wild fact I’d never heard: Biofouling on ship hulls increases fuel consumption around 15% on average. The term specifically refers to a build-up of microorganisms and other life. That includes a wide range of different creatures, like algae and barnacles. It’s one of those problems a landlubber such as myself very seldomly encounters.

So, what’s the answer to this silent problem? Robots, obviously.

Neptune Robotics builds systems designed to clean the gunk off the front of ships -- sort of a large, vertical, submergible Roomba, if you will. The company has already deployed its technology to a number of ports in its native Hong Kong, as well as spots in China, including Guangzhou, Yantian and Shekou. The system is notable for its ability to navigate in murky waters, to make sure its scrubs spots below the surface of the water. The system has thus far been used to clean more than 100 ships.

Image Credits: Neptune Robotics

Today the company announced $17.25 million in funding as it rolls out its technology to additional ports in the global top 10. China continues to be the initial focus (based on proximity and the volume of container ships), with plans to grow to a larger footprint in Asia, followed by Europe and the U.S. Sequoia China led the round, which also featured participation from Matrix Partners China and SOSV.

“We were immediately impressed with their focus and drive to solve emissions in marine logistics - an area often overlooked in the climate tech space,” SOSV/HAX’s Duncan Turner said in a release. “Unlike many other climate tech companies, Neptune can immediately make a meaningful climate impact (and they have already started).”

Among other things, the funding will go toward expanding the company headcount. "We started with three of us in November 2018, grew to 18 in 2020, and now [we're] at 60," co-founder and CEO Elizabeth Chan tells TechCrunch. "Part of the funding will be used to attract engineering talent, industry experts and marine biologists. With a headcount of around 120 in 2023, we are going to extend Neptune's robotic offerings, expand into more ports and increase the fuel efficiency of our customers in an environmental manner. In order to better serve our customers in the maritime industry, a wide port coverage is essential."

The systems are able to clean the hull both above and below the water, cleaning the surface with a cavitational waterjet system that removes biofouling without damaging the ship’s surface. The company is monetizing the system via an RaaS (robotics-as-a-service) model. It presently requires multiple Neptune employees to be on site for operations.

"Currently while in service, there is a Neptune operation team of four on site," says Chan. "They are on site to assist the robot's semi-automated algorithm, provide live updates to shipowners and conduct operation work for the cleaning system. In 12-16 months, we expect to reduce the figure to one for port operations and two for anchorage operations."

These appear to be teleoperations systems. The division between programmed behavior and directly guided behavior is not clear.  What ** does ** seem clear is that the venture is exploiting a business opportunity created by natural buildup of material on surfaces immersed in sea water.

(th)

SpaceNut

Administrator

From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 29,433

Re: Robots becoming useful...

Japanese railway company creates massive VR controllable robots

https://stealthoptional.com/news/japan- … struction/

I like it

tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 19,443

Re: Robots becoming useful...

Just the thing to build RobertDyck's Large Ship!

Massive beams would be child's play for that outfit.

(th)

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Robots becoming useful...

Some robots look like stuff from science fiction, a more down to Earth approach by Japan seems to be using tech to repair powerlines. The strange thing about people is while we have all this tech sometimes it won't really be used to move forward but instead just be used to 'entertain' for example you can display, educate and design with hologram help but the business side of the industry is finding more use for the entertainment side of tech, ABBA announced Hologram Concert. Will people on Mars crave new forms of futurist entertainment?

A Godzillia sized Mecha?
Japanese Railroad Builds Giant Gundam-Style Robot to Fix Power Lines
https://futurism.com/japanese-railroad- … -robot/amp

Leave space missions to billionaires and robots, says astronomer royal
https://www.theguardian.com/science/202 … omer-royal

Japan's Robot Hotel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEC6q7l_zdQ
Strange French guy studies Robots builds Robotic Arm... then goes full hood culture so he can Steal some Cola Soda Can?
https://hooktube.com/watch?v=TLXXLY7zewo Rock Robots better than ABBA's holograms? https://files.catbox.moe/bl8zgx.mp4
AI will one day build you a “Burger King” Robot?
https://futurism.com/the-byte/dalle-ai-burger-king

Astrobees that fly autonomously on the ISS. Motion is by fans and see via cameras and sensors.
https://scitechdaily.com/nasa-celebrate … e-station/

tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 19,443

Re: Robots becoming useful...

Source: U.S. Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Video: Aquatic drone measures water quality in streams, rivers
Marie Donlon | April 26, 2022

An aquatic drone from U.S. Oak Ridge National Laboratory is being used to measure water quality along rivers and streams to determine where pollutants like excess fertilizer are entering waterways.

Dubbed AquaBOT, the aquatic drone searches for water quality indicators such as nitrate, temperature and dissolved oxygen along the entire length of mid-sized streams.

Source: U.S. Oak Ridge National Laboratory

According to AquaBOT's developers, the process of manually measuring the water quality of such streams previously included tests conducted only at certain points along streams and rivers where water quality can be variable. However, the AquaBOT can reportedly take measurements from along the entire length of a stream or river, potentially determining where pollutants might be entering the waterway.

Currently being used to study the water quality of streams in Iowa, the AquaBOT can be seen in action in the accompanying video that appears courtesy of U.S. Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

To contact the author of this article, email mdonlon@globalspec.com
Powered by CR4, the Engineering Community

The idea of sampling an entire waterway might make sense on Mars, if (big IF I admit) the settlers can afford to create a stream that flows any distance.

On the other hand, that are streams and rivers to be monitored all over the Earth, so this system ** should ** show up as a commercial product at some point.;
(th)

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Robots becoming useful...

Underwater drone tracks CO2 in Alaska gulf
https://apnews.com/article/climate-scie … e825752736
How robots help older New Yorkers fight social isolation
https://www.fox5ny.com/news/elliq-robot … r-citizens

tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 19,443

Re: Robots becoming useful...

The link below should (if it works) take viewers to a commercial web site showing a $7,000 (small) mobility package.

This is most definitely NOT a toy.  This appears to be a robust platform for remote operation, and I'm hoping we (observers) get to see implementations soon.

https://www.trossenrobotics.com/agilex-scout-mini.aspx

I've removed all the Google tracking data.

(th)

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Robots becoming useful...

Walmart Announces Same-Day Drone Delivery in Six States

https://www.reviewgeek.com/119361/walma … ix-states/

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Robots becoming useful...

Robot orders increase 40% in first quarter as desperate employers seek relief from labor shortages, report says

https://www.businessinsider.com/robot-o … age-2022-5

When a machine invents things for humanity, who gets the patent?

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-05-mac … atent.html

tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 19,443

Re: Robots becoming useful...

For Mars_B4_Moon re #61

Thank you for finding and posting the link to the WalMart drone story!

The drop-down delivery cable idea is ** really ** interesting.  It seems possible that all these drones will be operated by teleoperators, so there will be new positions opening for folks located anywhere the Internet is available.

This drone design ** may ** be adaptable to the cloud-harvesting scenario I've been discussing with SpaceNut in another topic, depending upon how communications is done.

(th)

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Robots becoming useful...

This could also be posted in one of the Martian Farming Threads

World’s first raspberry picking robot cracks the toughest nut: soft fruit
https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 … soft-fruit
Two robots developed by Fieldwork Robotics, a spinout company from the University of Plymouth, have been harvesting the berries round the clock in polytunnels in a field near Odemira in south-west Portugal

tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 19,443

Re: Robots becoming useful...

For Mars_B4_Moon re #64

Thanks for finding and posting this encouraging report!

By the time we humans reach Mars, I am ** hoping ** personal assistants will have evolved so that a Mars citizen is supported by a team of **very** smart robots like the raspberry pickers, able to take care of each plant from seed to final harvest.  The environment will be free of pests, assuming none are introduced by careless Earth people.  A smart farming robot should be able to serve for many Mars years without anything beyond first echelon maintenance.

The radiation environment might degrade systems over decades of service, but humans have already demonstrated the ability to build computer based systems able to survive on Mars for extended periods.

What I particularly like about your report is that some humans on Earth were able to make the gigantic leap from theory to practical application.  I note that this occurred in Portugal, but the ideas were born in the UK!

Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK
University of Plymouth - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › University_of_Plymouth
The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university ...
History · Campus · Organisation and administration · Academic profile

I wonder what else may be going on at this institution?

(th)

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Robots becoming useful...

Cruise gets green light for commercial robotaxi service in San Francisco
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/02/cruise- … cisco.html

NY State is giving out hundreds of robots as companions for the elderly
https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/25/2314 … sofa-elliq

Artificial skin gives robots sense of touch and beyond
https://techxplore.com/news/2022-06-art … obots.html

Space explorers will become part-cyborg, Astronomer Royal says
https://mol.im/a/10866609

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Robots becoming useful...

Floating solar power could help fight climate change — let’s get it right
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01525-1

and Robots stealing jobs?

Robotic peregrine falcon can scare birds away from crop fields
https://www.newscientist.com/article/23 … op-fields/
Fearing lawsuits, factories rush to replace humans with robots in South Korea
https://restofworld.org/2022/korea-fact … th-robots/

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Robots becoming useful...

Drone Delivery Canada Care by Air Project: A New Transportation Route for Hospitals

https://dronelife.com/2022/06/23/drone- … hospitals/

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Robots becoming useful...

New York state buys robots for lonely elders

https://www.thesciverse.com/2022/07/new … onely.html

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Robots becoming useful...

Tesla's Robot Revolution
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Djp6_rh3_I0

Chinese scientists develop robot fish that gobble up microplastics
https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/scien … 022-07-12/

Japanese startup to demo robotic arm onboard ISS in 2023

https://spacenews.com/japanese-startup- … s-in-2023/

Japanese startup GITAI plans to demonstrate robotic arm capabilities externally on the International Space Station for the first time next year.

GITAI said July 11 its autonomous, 1.5-meter-long dual robotic arm system (S2) would be mounted on the Bishop Airlock, a module funded by U.S.-based Nanoracks.

The startup aims to achieve NASA’s Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7 from the demonstration, confirming its feasibility as a technology that could be used in space.

S2 achieved TRL 6 in February after completing tasks inside a thermal vacuum chamber at Tsukuba Space Center, Japanese space agency JAXA’s headquarters in Japan.

GITAI first demonstrated its robotic technology onboard the ISS in 2021, when its S1 space system demonstrated the ability to assemble structures and operate switches from inside the Bishop Airlock.

Sho Nakanose, GITAI’s founder and CEO, said its latest tests bring the company closer to flight-qualified technology for applications beyond the ISS, including on-orbit servicing and lunar exploration.

“Our vision is to provide a safe and affordable means of labor in space, and this opportunity on the Bishop Airlock brings us one step closer to making that happen,” he said.

The ISS already features three, significantly longer robotic arms: Canada’s Canadarm2, the Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System (JEMRMS) and the European Robotic Arm (ERA) that launched last year.

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2022-07-12 09:24:17)

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Robots becoming useful...

Astrobee Space-Bots Mark a New Milestone in Human-Robot Teamwork

https://spaceref.com/newspace-and-tech/ … -teamwork/

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Robots becoming useful...

Global Consumer Service Robotics Market Grew 25 Per Cent In 2021: Report
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/432533

People will be ‘blown away’ by Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot, claims Elon Musk, who says it could serve as a companion or do menial tasks after it debuts at AI day on September 30
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech … I-Day.html

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Robots becoming useful...

Baidu's robotaxis can now operate without a safety driver in the car

https://www.engadget.com/baids-robotaxi … 24214.html

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Robots becoming useful...

The last mile: At the Edge with drone delivery
https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/a … -delivery/

Fighting fires with wires: How drones, robots and artificial intelligence are helping emergency services tackle wildfires
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech … fires.html

Anti-wildfire technologies are being developed and tested all over the world
These include water-dropping drones and AI tools that predict a fire's path

5 Trends Dominating the Robotics Sector
https://www.roboticsbusinessreview.com/ … cs-sector/

The world’s first smart mailbox is ready for drone deliveries
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/the-w … deliveries

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2022-08-08 09:37:58)

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Robots becoming useful...

A Remote Surgical Robot is Going to the International Space Station

https://www.universetoday.com/157027/a- … e-station/