Archive 08.09.2022

Recent advances in robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) have made it possible to automate many processes that were once thought to be too delicate or complicated for machines. So what is stopping cold chain businesses from taking advantage of these technologies?

The program and dedicated tracks will allow attendees to learn about the latest tools, technologies and techniques for robotics design and development, and give them hands-on access to the latest robotics enabling technologies.

Former intern turned intern manager, Richard Everett, describes his journey to DeepMind, sharing tips and advice for aspiring DeepMinders. The 2023 internship applications will open on the 16th September, please visit https://dpmd.ai/internshipsatdeepmind for more information.

Former intern turned intern manager, Richard Everett, describes his journey to DeepMind, sharing tips and advice for aspiring DeepMinders. The 2023 internship applications will open on the 16th September, please visit https://dpmd.ai/internshipsatdeepmind for more information.

Barbara Ribeiro, Robert Meckin, Andrew Balmer and Philip Shapira have published a new paper in Research Policy on the digitalization paradox of everyday scientific labor.

Currently, industry news is utterly humming with stimulating updates on machine vision developments from across the globe.

In recent years, roboticists and material scientists worldwide have been trying to create artificial systems that resemble human body parts and reproduce their functions. These include artificial skins, protective layers that could also enhance the sensing capabilities of robots.

IMTS 2022 takes place September 12th - 17th in Chicago, Illinois. The Exhibit hall floor will be loaded with new products and services. Here is a preview of some things to look forward to at this years event.

By Redwan Dahmouche

Speed and precision are two major issues in robotics and in Industry of the Future (also known as Industry 4.0). Within this framework, RoMoCo research team of AS2M department at FEMTO-ST Institute has developed MiGriBot, a miniature robot able to perform 720 pick-and-place operations of sub-millimeter objects per minute. The results of this research work have been published in Science Robotics.

These performances are made possible thanks to its architecture, that allows it to grip and manipulate micro-objects barely visible to the naked eye (from 40 micrometers to several hundred micrometers). In fact, where other microrobots have a rigid end-effector, MiGriBot is based on a principle with an articulated end. This articulated end allows to drive a microgripper without any wire or embedded actuator. The second advantage of this robot is that all its degrees of mobility, including the ones from the microgripper on the articulated end, are operated from the base of the robot, making its mobile parts very lightweight. Finally, its robotic structure occupies a surface of only 20x20mm2. This level of compactness is achieved by using Silicon for the rigid elements, a polymer (Polydimethylsiloxane – PDMS) as flexible joints and piezoelectric actuators equipped with position sensors. MiGriBot is therefore lighter, more compact and faster than existing robotic micro-manipulators.

While the fastest industrial pick-and-place robots do not exceed 250 cycles per minute, the combination of all the features of this robot: soft joints, small footprint, integrated gripping, lightweight structure and closed-loop control of the fast actuators allows MiGriBot to reach 720 pick-and-place operations per minute with about one micrometer accuracy. In the blink of an eye, MiGRiBot will have manipulated 5 micro-objects, which means that it will have approached, grabbed, moved and released an object 5 times successively.

This robot will be used to assemble Micro-Electro-Mechanical and Optical Systems (MEMS/MOEMS) used in the electronics industry, where the production throughput is increasingly high. Thanks to its speed and compactness, more than 2000 robots can be placed in 1m2 to perform more than one million operations per second. Increasing work rates will improve the productivity and competitiveness of manufacturers, which may encourage the relocation of production to Europe, America and countries with high labor costs. Applications in watch industry, medical instrumentation, aerospace, and other fields are also possible.

This work was funded by the ANR MiniSoRo project (ANR-19-CE10-0004) and by Grand Besançon Métropole.

Research team: Maxence LEVEZIEL, Wissem HAOUAS, Michaël GAUTHIER, Guillaume J. LAURENT, Redwan DAHMOUCHE (associate professor at université de Franche-Comté, project leader and head of the research team: redwan.dahmouche@univ-fcomte.fr / 06 29 24 19 81).

• PAPER – MiGriBot: A miniature parallel robot with integrated gripping for high-throughput micromanipulation. Maxence Leveziel, Wissem Haouas, Guillaume J. Laurent, Michaël Gauthier, and Redwan Dahmouche. Science Robotics, 7(69).

Our new paper, In conversation with AI: aligning language models with human values, explores a different approach, asking what successful communication between humans and an artificial conversational agent might look like and what values should guide conversation in these contexts.

Our new paper, In conversation with AI: aligning language models with human values, explores a different approach, asking what successful communication between humans and an artificial conversational agent might look like and what values should guide conversation in these contexts.

Our new paper, In conversation with AI: aligning language models with human values, explores a different approach, asking what successful communication between humans and an artificial conversational agent might look like and what values should guide conversation in these contexts.

People have been fascinated by bird flight for centuries, but exactly how birds can be so agile in the air remains mysterious. A new study, published Sept. 5 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, uses modeling and aerodynamics to describe how gulls can change the shape of their wings to control their response to gusts or other disturbances. The lessons could one day apply to uncrewed aerial vehicles or other flying machines.

The physics of walking for multi-legged animals and robots is simpler than previously thought. That is the finding described by a team of roboticists, physicists and biologists in the Sept. 5 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, in a paper titled "Walking is like slithering: a unifying, data-driven view of locomotion."

Student teams are an underappreciated resource in much of the scientific community. Joining a team working toward a goal while at university, whether for racing solar-powered cars or digging fish ponds in Africa, is an excellent way to sharpen technical and project skills while improving communication and teamwork. The space industry is starting to catch on to these strengths, with student teams developing exciting projects all over the world. A recent entry comes from students at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands—a six-legged robot called Lunar Zebro with a unique take on wheels.