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Robotics narratives: Here, there, and everywhere

Padbot
Source: Padbot

UW-Madison Science Narratives and partners have joined together to create a 5-month video and audio adventure, exploring the work of Dr Bilge Mutlu and colleagues as they craft robots from a human perspective. It’s not just science fiction.

Watch Episode 5

In this next episode, UW-Madison roboticists discuss how quickly robotics research is evolving. How can robots enhance our human experience in ways that make it better?

Each month, Science Narratives posts videos or podcasts to their website. This project is a collaboration of the Division of Continuing Studies, DoIT Academic Technology and Storybridge.tv.

If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:

See all the latest robotics news on Robohub, or sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Photos from the Airbus Shopfloor Challenge

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Robohub covered the Airbus Shopfloor Challenge that took place during #ICRA16 in Stockholm. Below, you can see an extensive photo gallery as part of our coverage. Check it out!

Team Naist

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Team Naist, from Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Japan won first prize. They used a KUKA robot arm, an advanced head with stabilizing rods, and an advanced computer vision system that enabled them to drill holes efficiently and with great precision.

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Team CriGroup

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Team CriGroup is based at the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, within Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. They used ready made parts and a Denso arm with a special focus on software. Their method produced an innovative drilling pattern that minimized robot motion. They came in second place.

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Team Sirado

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Team Sirado brings together 6 researchers from the graduate School of Engineering, Arts et Métiers Lille campus, and 3 experienced industrial representatives from KUKA Systems Aerospace France, and KUKA Automatisme Robotique SAS. They also used a KUKA arm and a specially designed drill unit. Sirado took third place in the competition.

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Team R3

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R3 is a robotics collective based out of Ryerson University in Ontario, Canada. Their custom-made XY platform used 7 drill bits in one unit to drill many holes at once. They performed two rounds and competed on the final round.

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Team Vayu

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Team Vayu from India brings together five undergraduate students who share a passion for aerospace. They had the simplest approach with a compact 3 axis robot that performed well throughout the challenge.

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Team Akita Prefectural University

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Japanese team Akita Prefectural University implemented a unique solution for the challenge. Their robot used a delta-based solution to place the drill bit accurately. The arms themselves used rolled metallic tape under restrictors to extend and contract. They were able to demonstrate their setup, but weren’t able to compete.

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Team Bug Eaters

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The Bug Eaters team from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA is made up of four undergraduate Mechanical and Materials Engineering students. Their robot is an innovative version of the delta robot, but issues with their motors didn’t allow them to perform.

EU’s Horizon 2020 has funded $179 million in robotics PPPs

Source: European Commission, Europe's Digital Progress Report (EDPR) / Robot Report
Source: European Commission, Europe’s Digital Progress Report (EDPR) / Robot Report

Over the past two years, research in 5G and robotics PPP projects have received the highest funding awards within Horizon 2020, the EU’s research and innovation program.

PPPs are Public-Private Partnerships which align private and public research objectives under one sponsored umbrella and channel those efforts in specifically funded projects.

Of 850 projects involving 3,312 groups receiving $2.7 billion (€2.4 billion) in European Union funding as part of Horizon 2020’s first two years of implementation, the Private Public Partnership (PPP) for 5G accounted for $290 million (€260 million) in funding while Robotics PPPs attracted $213 million (€190 million). The report does not account for private funding coming on top of EU funding.

The most recent 21 robotics projects to receive Horizon 2020 EU funding were detailed in a recent post on Robohub by Sabine Hauert.

SMErobot invention by ABB: Lead-Through-Programming (Image credit: ABB AG)
SMErobot invention by ABB: Lead-Through-Programming (Image credit: ABB AG)

The Partnership for Robotics in Europe (SPARC) is a public-private partnership of 180 companies and research organizations and represents the EU’s strategic effort to strengthen Europe’s global robotics market, with the goal of increasing Europe’s share of that market to 42% (a boost of €4 billion per year). As part of the project, the EU will invest €700 million and industry will provide an additional €2.1 billion. Application areas emphasized by SPARC include: manufacturing, healthcare, home care, agriculture, security, cleaning waste, water and air, transport and entertainment. With €700M in funding from the Commission for 2014 – 2020, and triple that amount from European industry, SPARC is the largest civilian-funded robotics innovation program in the world.

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