An exhibition of robots and technology in Dubai, independent artificial intelligence experiments with the robot Spot from Boston Dynamics, the flying car Flyter, and more.
Spot’s Got an Arm!
Now that Spot has an arm in addition to legs and cameras, it can do mobile manipulation. It finds and picks up objects (trash), tidies up the living room, opens doors, operates switches and valves, tends the garden, and generally has fun. Motion of the hand, arm and body are automatically coordinated to simplify manipulation tasks and expand the arm’s workspace, making its reach essentially unbounded. The behavior shown here was programmed using a new API for mobile manipulation that supports autonomy and user applications, as well as a tablet that lets users do remote operations.
How Boston Dynamics Built The Most Advanced Robot
Capable of eye-catching gymnastic feats, lighting-quick machine learning and slick dancefloor bops, Boston Dynamics robots are truly a modern day technological marvel. And whether you think they mark the dawn of a new age of idle leisure for mankind, or represent a grim harbinger of humanity’s inevitable enslavement, you must admit they’re pretty cool from an engineering standpoint. So today, we’re peering under the hood of our future metallic overlords and finding out just how Boston Dynamics build their robots. The most striking feature of Boston Dynamics’ more famous latter-day creations – the adorable, dog-like Spot and the swole, Stormtrooper-esque humanoid Atlas – is that they walk on legs
How Autonomous Robots Are Changing Construction
There’s a lot of buzz around self-driving cars, but autonomous-driving technology could revolutionize a different industry first — construction. That industry hasn’t changed much over the last several decades, according to some experts, making it an ideal candidate for automation.
“The way we build today is largely unchanged from the way we used to build 50 years ago,” said Gaurav Kikani, vice president of Built Robotics. “Within two years, I think we’re really going to turn the corner, and you’re going to see an explosion of robotics being used on construction sites.”
The industry is also faced with a labor shortage that the Covid-19 pandemic has further complicated.
“Covid is making people step back and say, ‘hey, the way we’ve been doing things for a long time is just not sustainable,’” said Kevin Albert, founder and CEO of Canvas. “It is just a wake-up call for the industry.”
Canvas is one of several companies working on autonomous construction technology. Big players like Caterpillar and Komatsu, and start-ups like SafeAI and Built Robotics, see value in using autonomous machines to accelerate construction projects.
The mining industry was one of the first to employ the use of self-driving tech. Caterpillar began its first autonomy program more than 30 years ago. The company now has the largest fleet of autonomous haul trucks. Caterpillar says it’s hauled 2 billion metric tons in just over six years.
Built Robotics is a San Francisco-based start-up founded by an ex-Google engineer that already has machinery out in the field. It’s automated several pieces of equipment, such as bulldozers and excavators.
“You can now collapse your construction timeline so you can knock out work overnight so that it’s ready for your human workers in the morning to speed them along,” Kikani said.
SafeAI is another Silicon Valley start-up. It recently teamed up with Obayashi for a pilot program. It’s been retrofitting equipment like dump trucks, bulldozers and loaders.
Robots are also helping inside. San Francisco-based Canvas created an autonomous machine for finishing drywall and has worked on projects like the San Francisco International Airport and Chase Arena. Humans work alongside its robotic system.
“Drywall is very hard work on the body,” Albert said. “And we’ve seen that 1 out of every 4 workers has to end their career early because of injuries. This will create longer careers for people and also enable people to join the trades that haven’t had access before.”
The construction industry is one of the largest sectors in the global economy, with about $10 trillion spent each year. That spending accounts for 13% of the world’s GDP, even though the sector’s annual productivity growth has only increased 1% over the past 20 years. According to McKinsey & Co., $1.6 trillion of additional value could be created through higher productivity, and autonomy would help the industry achieve that.
Boston Dynamics Dancing Robots
Our whole crew got together to celebrate the start of what we hope will be a happier year: Happy New Year from all of us at Boston Dynamics.
Why do robots look like humans?
Many robots are designed with a face – like Hitchbot or Pepper robot – yet don’t use their ‘eyes’ to see, or speak through their ‘mouth’. Given that some of the more realistic humanoid robots, like Sophia, are widely considered to be unnerving, and that humans have a propensity to anthropomorphise such designs in technology, should robots have faces at all – or do these faces provide other important functions? And what should they actually look like anyway? Richard Sprenger explains
Elon Musk | Robotarm for Spot | High Technology News
Space Internet from Starlink, Tesla autopilot, smart fabric from Microsoft and other technology news.
In this issue: Space Internet from Starlink, testing a new autopilot from the company Tesla, and recently Elon Musk announced that the next “killer product” Tesla will not be a cyber truck but Solar Roof.
In China, entrepreneurs try to solve the problem of charging electric cars. The company Boston Dynamics has already managed to sell about 260 units of the robot Spot.
Microsoft developers presented an unexpected product – a smart fabric Capacitivo. Artificial intelligence from Google is used for surveillance and identification of people on the border of the U.S. and Mexico.
New footage of the test of the combat robot “Uranus-6” and many other things have got into the network only here. Sign up to be in touch with all the news in the world of technology!
Japan & China Advancing Technlogy 2020
Visual demonstrations of a number of new products and technology innovations, including robotics.
5 Advanced Robots From Boston Dynamics Will Change The Jobs Of Humans.
1. Handle Legs & Wheels: The Best of Both Worlds Handle combines wheels and legs to provide agile high-strength mobile manipulation. Handle is a robot that combines the rough-terrain capability of legs with the efficiency of wheels. It uses many of the same principles for dynamics, balance, and mobile manipulation? found in the quadruped and biped robots we build, but with only 10 actuated joints, it is significantly less complex. Wheels are fast and efficient on flat surfaces while legs can go almost anywhere: by combining wheels and legs, Handle has the best of both worlds.
2. Atlas The World’s Most Dynamic Humanoid Atlas uses balance and whole-body skills to achieve two-handed mobile manipulation. Atlas is the latest in a line of advanced humanoid robots we are developing. Atlas’ control system coordinates motions of the arms, torso and legs to achieve whole-body mobile manipulation, greatly expanding its reach and workspace. Atlas’ ability to balance while performing tasks allows it to work in a large volume while occupying only a small footprint.
3. LS3 Legged Squad Support Systems The AlphaDog of legged robots carries heavy loads over rough terrain. LS3 was designed to go anywhere Marines and soldiers go on foot, helping carry their load. LS3 carries 182 kg of gear and enough fuel for a 32 km mission lasting 24 hours. (In one test on flat terrain LS3 carried over 500 kg of payload.) LS3 automatically follows its leader using computer vision, so it does not need a dedicated driver. It also travels to designated locations using terrain sensing, obstacle avoidance and GPS.
4. BigDog The First Advanced Rough-Terrain Robot The first legged robot to leave the lab and take on the real world. BigDog has four legs that are articulated like an animal’s, with compliant elements to absorb shock and recycle energy from one step to the next. BigDog is the size of a large dog or small mule.
5. SpotMini Good Things Come in Small Packages A nimble robot that handles objects, climbs stairs, and will operate in offices, homes and outdoors. SpotMini is a small four-legged robot that comfortably fits in an office or home. It weighs 25 kg (30 kg if you include the arm). SpotMini is all-electric and can go for about 90 minutes on a charge, depending on what it is doing. SpotMini is the quietest robot we have built.
The Best Realistic Robots Development Of Artificial Intelligence till 2020
1) Cassie, Two-Legged Walking Robot From Agility Robotics – Made For Search & Rescue Efforts. 2) HRP-4C (Miim) is Feminine humanoid Robot Can Sing Walk & Dance So Well. 3) hrp-4c, miim, dancing robot, singing robot, 4) Atlas, The World’s Most Dynamic Humanoid Robot from Boston Dynamics.