Archive 06.12.2023

Making AI more helpful for everyone

KUKA and the Upper Bavarian company digital workbench have launched a cooperation at Agritechnica. The aim of the cooperation is a concrete product: a mobile harvesting robot to support fruit farmers during the apple harvest.

Soft grippers have advantages in human-machine interactions, but most of them suffer from low response time. Bistable structures could improve this characteristic, but the performance of current bistable grippers is limited by their predefined structural parameters and grasping modes.

Artificial hands can be operated via app or with sensors placed in the muscles of the forearm. New research from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) shows that a better understanding of muscle activity patterns in the forearm supports a more intuitive and natural control of artificial limbs. This requires a network of 128 sensors and AI-based techniques.

As a machine learning technique, TinyML combines reduced and optimized machine learning applications that require hardware, system, and software components. These operate at the edge of the cloud in real time while converting data with minimal energy and cost.

Seeing robots made with soft, flexible parts in action appears to lower people's anxiety about working with them or even being replaced by them.

People interacting with social robots disclosed more about themselves over time and reported feeling less lonely, according to a new study.

Inspired by a small and slow snail, scientists have developed a robot protype that may one day scoop up microplastics from the surfaces of oceans, seas and lakes.

Computer vision enables contact-free 3D printing, letting engineers print with high-performance materials they couldn’t use before.

Computer vision enables contact-free 3D printing, letting engineers print with high-performance materials they couldn’t use before.

When a natural disaster such as an earthquake occurs, every minute counts. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are often used to assist the search for survivors as they can provide an initial overview of difficult-to-reach areas and help to detect victims—provided they are visible.

Damp, cold conditions are the enemy of wind power. If a layer of ice forms on the rotor blades, this can result in rotational imbalance and, hence, increased wear. In such cases, the turbines often have to be shut down for several days, leading to massive losses for the operators due to the pause in electricity production.

Tech-Winder is a robust solution for industrial cord management. Aluminum body, for hard impact protection. Flame retardant netting, for added protection against any sparks that may land on the cord. This industrial grade cord reel keeps your pendant cords protected and organized. Stores up to 50 meters (164 ft.) of cable in length with a diameter of 4.5 mm to 10.0 mm. Adapts to NAAMS or Modular Fencing when mounting. Help prevent your next $1,200 factory cable incident, by getting organized with Tech-Winder from Tech Rim Standards.

This interdisciplinary program synergizes science, engineering, information systems and computing, focusing on manufacturing's next evolutionary step called Industry 4.0. The new facility ecosystem also has wide-ranging applications, opening up potential curriculum expansion.

In a step toward more autonomous soft robots and wearable technologies, EPFL researchers have created a device that uses color to simultaneously sense multiple mechanical and temperature stimuli.