Category robotics

Robotic systems have become increasingly sophisticated over the past decades, evolving from rudimental stiff robots to a wide range of soft, humanoid, animal-inspired robots. Legged robots, particularly quadrupeds, have been found to be particularly promising for tackling simple tasks at ground level, such as exploring environments and carrying objects.

As computer vision researchers, we believe that every pixel can tell a story. However, there seems to be a writer’s block settling into the field when it comes to dealing with large images. Large images are no longer rare—the cameras we carry in our pockets and those orbiting our planet snap pictures so big and detailed that they stretch our current best models and hardware to their breaking points when handling them. Generally, we face a quadratic increase in memory usage as a function of image size.

Today, we make one of two sub-optimal choices when handling large images: down-sampling or cropping. These two methods incur significant losses in the amount of information and context present in an image. We take another look at these approaches and introduce $x$T, a new framework to model large images end-to-end on contemporary GPUs while effectively aggregating global context with local details.

Architecture for the $x$T framework.

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A team of researchers has developed a universal approach to controlling robotic exoskeletons that requires no training, no calibration, and no adjustments to complicated algorithms. Instead, users can don the 'exo' and go. Their system uses a kind of artificial intelligence called deep learning to autonomously adjust how the exoskeleton provides assistance, and they've shown it works seamlessly to support walking, standing, and climbing stairs or ramps.

Whether it's a powered prosthesis to assist a person who has lost a limb or an independent robot navigating the outside world, we are asking machines to perform increasingly complex, dynamic tasks. But the standard electric motor was designed for steady, ongoing activities like running a compressor or spinning a conveyor belt—even updated designs waste a lot of energy when making more complicated movements.

Robotic exoskeletons designed to help humans with walking or physically demanding work have been the stuff of sci-fi lore for decades. Remember Ellen Ripley in that Power Loader in "Alien"? Or the crazy mobile platform George McFly wore in 2015 in "Back to the Future, Part II" because he threw his back out?

If it walks like a particle, and talks like a particle... it may still not be a particle. A topological soliton is a special type of wave or dislocation which behaves like a particle: it can move around but cannot spread out and disappear like you would expect from, say, a ripple on the surface of a pond. Researchers now demonstrate the atypical behavior of topological solitons in a robotic metamaterial, something which in the future may be used to control how robots move, sense their surroundings and communicate.

A mobile app that uses artificial intelligence, AI, to analyze images of suspected skin lesions can diagnose melanoma with very high precision, according to a new study.

A team of roboticists at California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, working with a colleague from Carnegie Mellon University's, Robotic Institute, has developed a snake-like robot to investigate the terrain on Enceladus, Saturn's sixth-largest moon.

Equipped with Visual SLAM, ABB’s AMR T702 trolley robot offers increased speed, accuracy and autonomy in navigation and logistics. Integration with ABB’s AMR Studio software allows new users to easily configure AMR routes and jobs.

As part of our multi-year collaboration with Liverpool FC, we develop a full AI system that can advise coaches on corner kicks

As part of our multi-year collaboration with Liverpool FC, we develop a full AI system that can advise coaches on corner kicks

Theo works weekdays, weekends and nights and never complains about a sore spine despite performing hour upon hour of what, for a regular farm hand, would be backbreaking labor checking Dutch tulip fields for sick flowers.

Like most businesses, yours likely goes through production bursts. Maybe these are predictable surges, like seasonal upticks in demand for your products.

Researchers at the University of Chicago and the Illinois Institute of Technology recently developed Granulobot, a new modular robotic system that can change its physical shape to best navigate different environments.

The Open Source Robotics Foundation (OSRF) is pleased to announce the creation of the Open Source Robotics Alliance (OSRA), a new initiative to strengthen the governance of our open-source robotics software projects and ensure the health of the Robot Operating System (ROS) Suite community for many years to come. The OSRA will use a mixed membership and meritocratic model, following other successful foundations for open-source projects, including The Linux Foundation and the Eclipse Foundation.

The OSRA is extending an open invitation to all community stakeholders to participate in the technical oversight, direction, development, and support of the OSRF’s open source projects – ROS, Gazebo, Open-RMF, and their infrastructure. Involvement across the robotics ecosystem is crucial to this initiative.

The center of the OSRA will be the Technical Governance Committee (TGC), which will oversee the activities of various Project Management Committees, Technical Committees, Special
Interest Groups, and Working Groups. As a charitable program of the OSRF, overall responsibility for the OSRA remains with the OSRF Board.

The Alliance has received early support for our vision from prominent organizations such as NVIDIA, our inaugural Platinum member.

“NVIDIA develops with ROS 2 to bring accelerated computing and AI to developers, researchers, and commercial applications,” said Gordon Grigor, VP Robotics Software, NVIDIA. “As an inaugural platinum member of OSRA, we will collaborate to advance open-source robotics throughout the ecosystem by aiding development efforts, and providing governance and continuity.”

Intrinsic also continues its support of Open Robotics with its inaugural Platinum membership. “From the numerous contributions made by our team at Intrinsic across projects like ROS, Gazebo, and Open-RMF as part of the Open Robotics community, to our acquisition of the Open Source Robotics Corporation (OSRC), we’ve invested deeply in the open source community, and we look forward to continuing our support of the ecosystem as an inaugural member of the OSRA,” said Wendy Tan White, CEO of Intrinsic. Qualcomm Technologies rounds out the inaugural Platinum membership group and signals its commitment to open source robotics as well.

“Qualcomm Technologies is excited to join the Open Source Robotics Alliance (OSRA) to help drive the development of open-source robotics software and foster the growth of the vibrant ROS Suite developer community,” stated Dev Singh, Vice President of Business Development and Head of Robotics & Industrial Automation at Qualcomm Technologies. “Leveraging our longstanding history in on-device AI processing and heterogeneous computing, our comprehensive family of robotics platforms addresses all types of robots to deliver the benefits of AI at the edge.”

NVIDIA, Intrinsic, and Qualcomm Technologies join nine other inaugural members at press time, including Gold members Apex.ai and Zettascale, Silver members Clearpath Robotics, Ekumen, eProsima, and PickNik, and Associate member Silicon Valley Robotics. Initial Supporting Organizations include Canonical and Open Navigation. Incoming members include Bosch and ROS-Industrial, and several others to be announced soon.

Membership applications are now open for organizations and individuals interested in joining the OSRA and supporting the future of open source robotics. Instructions on how to apply and information on the member levels and benefits are available at www.osralliance.org.

About Open Robotics: Open Robotics is the umbrella term for the Open Source Robotics Foundation (OSRF) and its initiatives. Founded in 2012, the OSRF is a California nonprofit public benefit corporation exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Its flagship open-source robotics software, ROS, is the world’s most widely adopted robotics framework suite. For more information about its new OSRA initiative, please visit www.osralliance.org.