Tag Archives: robotics

Rookie Robotics Team from Small UWS High School Joining the Giants in Robotics Competition – westsiderag.com

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Sonia Benowitz is second from left. Credit: Annabelle Malschlin.

By Lisa Kava

Students from the newly formed robotics team at West End Secondary School (WESS), on West 61st Street, are competing in the New York City regionals of the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) from April 5-7. The event will take place at the Armory Track and Field Center in Washington Heights.

Founded in 2015, WESS has 500 students in its public high school. How did its novice robotics team secure a spot at FRC, alongside larger, well-established schools known for their STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) programs, such as The Bronx High School of Science and Stuyvesant HIgh School?

The story starts in September 2023 when Upper West Sider Sonia Benowitz, 14, entered 9th grade at WESS. She had loved building LEGO robots in WESSs middle school robotics club, the community of the club and working with friends towards a common goal, she told West Side Rag in a phone interview. But a club did not exist for high school students. So she created one.

First, she approached her school principal who was supportive, she said. Benowitz then asked her middle school robotics coach, Noah Tom-Wong, to help run the club. Together with math teacher Evan Wheeler, who signed on as faculty leader, they began to spread the word. Soon the club had 25 members from 9th through 12th grade.

With Tom-Wongs guidance, the club members gathered wood, metal, and other supplies, ordering from vendors and robotics companies. They began to build a fully functional robot that could perform various tasks through remote wireless control. For example, one task is that the robot will use its arms that we built to pick up disks shaped like frisbees, Benowitz said, then throw the disks into a goal area.

Tom-Wong suggested the club enter the FIRST Robotics Competition, in which he had competed as a student at Stuyvesant High School. He volunteers frequently at FRC competitions. Robotics provides students [with] an incredibly unique environment where they can exert energy safely and with great impact, he told the Rag. The nature of the competition not only makes students good at STEM, but also [at] STEM communication.

But the $6,000 registration fee for the competition was not in the school budget. Thats when Samantha Alvarez Benowitz, Sonias mom, got involved. Researching, she learned about a rookie grant from NASA through its Robotics Alliance Project. The WESS team applied and got it. According to Alvarez Benowitz, they were the only school in New York City selected to receive the NASA grant, and one of five schools in New York state,

On the application we had to describe who was on our team, so I did a demographic survey and found that close to 70% of our team members are from historically underrepresented groups in STEM, including women, people of color, LGBTQ+, and students with disabilities, Sonia Benowitz said. They also wanted to know how we would get and pay for the supplies we needed to build the robot. The team has been fundraising through bake sales and other school functions. They also applied for grants, receiving $2,500 from the Gene Hass Foundation, an automotive company that sponsors STEM education.

At the competition the WESS team will be paired with two other teams to form a three-team alliance. Each team has its own robot which will be programmed to perform different tasks. The robots are judged and awarded points. We have to prepare our robot to complete as many tasks as possible, but also to complete tasks as well as possible, Benowitz explained. The WESS robot has been programmed to drive up a ramp onto a platform, like a car on a road, Alvarez Benowitz added. The ramp and platform are part of an existing set that all the teams use.

Working collaboratively is crucial, according to Tom-Wong. The work that comes out of these robotics teams can be very complex, he said. Its not unusual at competitions to see students from multiple teams working together to fix one teams problem. The top five teams will compete in the championships in Houston at the end of April.

Benowitz is excited about the competition. Our team has been working towards this moment for months, and we have all put in a lot of time and effort to get here. She is also a little nervous. I hope that our robot wont have any problems or break in the middle of a match.

Tom-Wong credits the rookie team for its perseverance. The group had to work with less stock and fewer tools [than most teams]. We also do not have the experience that the veteran teams have, he told the Rag. He is hopeful that WESS students will remain active in robotics in future years. Ultimately this group is unique in that they are pioneering the robotics program at WESS. They are laying the groundwork for a place where students can push themselves to learn and develop.

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Rookie Robotics Team from Small UWS High School Joining the Giants in Robotics Competition - westsiderag.com

Google giving $500K to expand robotics and AI education programs in Washington state – GeekWire

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U.S. Congresswoman Suzan DelBene joins Googles Paco Galanes, Kirkland site lead and engineering director, right, with students working on robotics projects at Finn Hill Middle School in Kirkland, Wash., on Friday. (Google Photo)

Googles philanthropic arm is giving a $500,000 grant to expand access to robotics and artificial intelligence education programs across Washington state middle schools, the company announced Friday.

In partnership with the non-profits Robotics Education & Competition Foundation (RECF) and For InSpiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), Google.org said the grant would support 1,234 new or existing robotics clubs in Washington and reach more than 8,900 students over the course of three years.

The announcement came during an event Friday morning at Finn Hill Middle School in Kirkland, Wash., where students put together robots and were introduced to hands-on STEM tools by Google employee volunteers. The Alphabet-owned tech giant has a sizable workforce in Kirkland and the greater Seattle area.

U.S. Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (D-WA) attended the event and said the investment was key to educating future leaders in robotics and AI.

Programs like these give young people the opportunity to innovate, build new skills, and open bright new pathways for their future, DelBene said.

The funding is part of a $10 million initiative launched by Google.org to fund FIRST and RECF in communities where the company has a presence.

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Google giving $500K to expand robotics and AI education programs in Washington state - GeekWire

NEURA and Omron Robotics partner to offer cognitive factory automation – Robot Report

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NEURA has developed cognitive robots in a variety of form factors. Source: NEURA Robotics

Talk about combining robotics and artificial intelligence is all the rage, but some convergence is already maturing. NEURA Robotics GmbH and Omron Robotics and Safety Technologies Inc. today announced a strategic partnership to introduce cognitive robotics into manufacturing.

By pooling our sensor and AI technologies and expertise into an ultimate platform approach, we will significantly shape the future of the manufacturing industry and set new standards, stated David Reger, founder and CEO of NEURA Robotics.

Reger founded the company in 2019 with the intention of combining sensors and AI with robotics components for a platform for app development similar to that of smartphones. The NEURAverse offers flexibility and cost efficiency in automation, according to the company.

Unlike traditional industrial robots, cognitive robots have the ability to learn from their environment, make decisions autonomously, and adapt to dynamic production scenarios, said Metzingen, Germany-based NEURA. This opens new application possibilities including intricate assembly tasks, detailed quality inspections, and adaptive material handling processes.

We see NEURAs cognitive technologies as a compelling growth opportunity for industrial robotics, added Olivier Welker, president and CEO of Omron Robotics and Safety Technologies. By combining NEURAs innovative solutions with Omrons global reach and automation portfolio, we will provide customers new ways to increase safety, productivity, and flexibility in their operations.

Pleasanton, Calif.-based Omron Robotics is a subsidiary of OMRON Corp. focusing on automation and safety sensing. It designs and manufactures industrial, collaborative, and mobile robots for various industries.

Weve known Omron for quite some time, and even before I started NEURA, we had talked about collaborating, Reger told The Robot Report. Theyve tested our products, and weve worked together on how to benefit both sides.

We have the cognitive platform, and theyre one of the biggest sensor, controllers, and safety systems providers, he added. This collaboration will integrate our cognitive abilities and NEURAverse with their sensors for a plug-and-play solution, which everyone is working toward.

Omron Robotics Olivier Welker and NEURAs David Reger celebrate their partnership. Source: NEURA

When asked whether NEURA and Omron Robotics partnership is mainly focused on market access, Reger replied, Its not just the sales channel there are no really big limits. From both sides, there will be add-ons.

Rather than see each other as competitors, NEURA and Omron Robotics are working to make robots easier to use, he explained.

As a billion-dollar company, it could have told our startup what it wanted, but Omron is different, said Reger. I felt we got a lot of respect from Olivier and everyone in that organization. It wont be a one-sided thing; it will be just Lets help each other do something great. Thats what were feeling every day since weve been working together. Now we can start talking about it.

NEURA has also been looking at mobile manipulation and humanoid robots, but adding capabilities to industrial automation is the low-hanging fruit, where small changes can have a huge effect, said Reger. A lot of things for humanoids have not yet been solved.

I would love to just work on household robots, but the best way to get there is to use the synergy between industrial robotics and the household market, he noted. Our MAiRA, for example, is a cognitive robot able to scan an environment and from an idle state pick any known or unknown objects.

MAiRA cognitive robot on MAV mobile base. Source: NEURA Robotics

NEURA and Omron Robotics promise to make robots easier to use, helping overall adoption, Reger said.

A big warehouse company out of the U.S. is claiming that its already using more than 1 million robots, but at the same time, Im sure theyd love to use many more robots, he said. Its also in the transformation from a niche market into a mass market. We see thats currently only possible if you somehow control the environment.

Its not just putting all the sensors inside the robot, which we were first to do, and saying, OK, now were able to interact with a human and also pick objects,' said Reger. Imagine there are external sensors, but how do you calibrate them? To make everything plug and play, you need new interfaces, which means collaboration with big players like Omron that provide a lot of sensors for the automation market.

NEURA has developed its own sensors and explored the balance of putting processing in the cloud versus the edge. To make its platform as popular with developers as that of Apple, however, the company needs the support of partners like Omron, he said.

Reger also mentioned NEURAs partnership with Kawasaki, announced last year, in which Kawasaki offers the LARA CL series cobot with its portfolio. Both collaborations are incredibly important for NEURA and will soon make sense to everyone, he said.

Reger will be presenting a session on Developing Cognitive Robotics Systems at 2:45 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, May 1, Day 1 of the Robotics Summit & Expo. The event will be at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, and registration is now open.

Ill be talking about making robots cognitive to enable AI to be useful to humanity instead of competing with us, he said. AI is making great steps, but if you look at what its doing, like drawing pictures or writing stories these are things that Id love to do but dont have the time for. But if I ask, lets say, AI to take out the garbage or show it a picture of garbage, it can tell me how to do it, but its simply not able to do something about it yet.

NEURA is watching humanoid development but is focusing on integrating cognitive robotics with sensing and wearables as it expands in the U.S., said Reger. The company is planning for facilities in Detroit, Boston, and elsewhere, and it is looking for leadership team members as well as application developers and engineers.

We dont just want a sales office, but also production in the U.S., he said. We have 220 people in Germany I just welcomed 15 new people who joined NEURA and are starting to build our U.S. team. In the past several months, weve gone with only European and American investors, and were looking at the Japanese market. The U.S. is now open to innovation, and its an exciting time for us to come.

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NEURA and Omron Robotics partner to offer cognitive factory automation - Robot Report

Pioneering Emotional Intelligence in Robotics: The Rise of Emo – yTech

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In a breakthrough for robotics and artificial intelligence (AI), a robot named Emo stands as a testament to technological ingenuity, possessing the capability to learn and replicate human emotional expressions. This development marks a significant stride in narrowing the emotional divide between humans and machines, potentially reshaping the way we interact with robots in a multitude of sectors.

Core Innovation Behind Emos Emotional Acuity Emos core innovation lies in its dual neural network architecture, which empowers the robot with unprecedented emotional intelligence. By utilizing advanced cameras and motor systems, Emo can observe and assimilate human expressions. Over time, its capacity to respond in contextually relevant ways improves, making human-robot interactions increasingly natural and seamless.

Professor Hod Lipson and his team are the visionaries behind Emos conceptualization and realization. Their work paves the way for a future where robots can forge emotional bonds with humans, setting a new benchmark in social robotics.

Potential for Transformative Impact Across Industries The ripple effect of Emos introduction is vast, with implications for customer service, therapy, elder care, and education. It foretells significant growth within the social robotics market, with affordable manufacturing techniques on the horizon and analysts predicting robust market development bolstered by the integration of empathetic robots in everyday life.

Navigating the Ethical Considerations of Advanced Robotics Notwithstanding the advancements and promises of Emos technology, ethical questions loom. Issues surrounding emotional authenticity, privacy, and employment disruptions accentuate the need for conscientious deployment of such robots. This underscores the importance of engaging with ethics-focused organizations like IEEE and ACM, which strive to establish standards that balance technological progress with societal well-being.

In summary, Emo represents a fusion of AI and emotional perception, potentially revolutionizing human-robot interaction and industry practices. Its advent warrants thoughtful consideration of the ethical landscape as we embrace the age of emotionally intelligent machines. The robotic companions evolution and the industrys path forward will be characterized by ethical vigilance, research brilliance, and insightful analysis, jointly shaping the role of robotics in our future.

Expanding the Market Forecast for Emotionally Intelligent Robots The global market for social and emotional robotics is expected to experience substantial growth over the coming years. According to a report by MarketsandMarkets, the social robot market, in particular, is expected to rise from USD 918 million in the current scenarios to over USD 3,900 million by the next decade, expanding at a CAGR of 14.5% during the forecast period. This growth is fueled by increasing adoption in sectors such as personal assistance, education, and healthcare, where they can perform tasks ranging from companionship to assisting with cognitive therapy and rehabilitation.

The emergence of robots like Emo will spur further research and development, reducing costs and enhancing functionalities. This will likely attract investment and increase the accessibility of these robots, thus making them more commonplace in both consumer and commercial environments.

Challenges and Controversies Within the Robotics Industry Despite these promising market forecasts, the robotics industry faces challenges and controversies that could impact the emotional intelligence sector. One of the primary concerns is job displacement, as robots become capable of performing tasks typically reserved for human workers. This could lead to significant shifts in the labor market and necessitate retraining for those whose jobs are affected.

Another key consideration is data privacy and security, especially with robots that can collect and analyze personal emotional data. Ensuring that this information is used responsibly and securely is paramount to maintaining public trust.

For research, development, and the establishment of standards in robotics, resources can be found through organizations such as IEEE and ACM.

Summary and Industry Outlook In conclusion, Emo exemplifies the potential for emotion recognition in robotics to drive innovation across various sectors. The social and emotional robot industry is anticipated to flourish, bringing about advancements in how these machines are integrated into our daily lives. As the industry progresses, it will be essential to monitor market dynamics, foster ethical practices, and encourage responsible innovation, thereby ensuring that the evolution of robots like Emo contributes positively to society.

The success of products like Emo and the industrys trajectory will heavily rely on striking a balance between innovation and the humane and ethical application of technology. Thought leaders, developers, and policymakers will need to collaborate to navigate these challenges successfully. The trends in the robotics industry point towards a future where emotionally intelligent machines become an integral part of the fabric of society, enhancing human life while addressing the ethical implications of such profound technological integration.

Leokadia Gogulska is an emerging figure in the field of environmental technology, known for her groundbreaking work in developing sustainable urban infrastructure solutions. Her research focuses on integrating green technologies in urban planning, aiming to reduce environmental impact while enhancing livability in cities. Gogulskas innovative approaches to renewable energy usage, waste management, and eco-friendly transportation systems have garnered attention for their practicality and effectiveness. Her contributions are increasingly influential in shaping policies and practices towards more sustainable and resilient urban environments.

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Pioneering Emotional Intelligence in Robotics: The Rise of Emo - yTech

From Spacesuit Loop Scrubs to VR Therapy: Decoding a Day of Science Aboard the ISS – SciTechDaily

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Expedition 70 Flight Engineers (from left) Loral OHara and Jasmin Moghbeli, both NASA astronauts, pose for a portrait while installing helmet lights on spacesuits and checking the functionality of their spacesuits components. Credit: NASA

Thursday marked another day of station upkeep aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The Expedition 70 crew spent most of the day on spacesuit and station maintenance, auditing equipment, and wrapping up experiments started earlier this week.

In the morning, NASA Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli was joined by ESA (European Space Agency) Commander Andreas Mogensen to perform a loop scrub on spacesuits that will be used during upcoming spacewalks this year. Moghbeli then reconfigured the hardware to initiate iodination, which is performed to remove contaminants from transfer loops.

ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and Expedition 70 Commander Andreas Mogensen replaces computer hardware inside the Advanced Space Experiment Processor-2 (ADSEP-2) that can house and process samples for a variety of biological and physical science experiments. Credit: NASA

Mogensen had a busy rest of the day, completing a VR Mental Care session, which demonstrates the use of virtual reality for mental relaxation. He then moved on to station upkeeprestocking the battery pantry and completing monthly maintenance on the orbital labs treadmillbefore rounding out the day with a hearing assessment.

NASA Flight Engineer Loral OHara began the day setting up a microphone to be worn on her shoulder to take sound measurements around the station and then completed some orbital plumbing tasks, removing and replacing the filter in the waste and hygiene compartment.

JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut and Expedition 70 Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa poses for a portrait next to the Cell Biology Experiment Facility Incubator Unit inside the International Space Stations Kibo laboratory module. Credit: NASA

Earlier in the week, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa hydrated and incubated production packs for the BioNutrients-1 investigation. On Thursday, Furukawa retrieved the samples to inspect and photograph, which will help researchers better understand on-demand production of human nutrients over long-duration missions. He then wrapped up his day installing the Robotics Work Station for upcoming research.

All three cosmonauts aboard the station continued audit and inventory tasks that started earlier this week. Flight Engineer Oleg Kononenko inventoried the Rassvet module, while Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub audited medical kits and Flight Engineer Konstantin Borisov audited light units throughout Roscosmos segments. Borisov also ran a Pilot-T session, an ongoing experiment to practice piloting techniques, while Chub replaced the carbon monoxide sensor in the Zarya module.

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From Spacesuit Loop Scrubs to VR Therapy: Decoding a Day of Science Aboard the ISS - SciTechDaily

Supercomputer Ramanujan Universe to enable engineering students to pursue qualitative research in AI and ML … – Education Times

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The Ramanujan Universe - a supercomputer was inaugurated at Jaypee Institute of Information Technology (JIIT) to help the Engineering students pursue cutting edge research in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). The supercomputing facility was inaugurated by Rajive Kumar, member secretary, AICTE on the National Mathematics Day.

This newly developed High Performance Supercomputing Center(HPC) facility has eight A 100Graphics Processing Unit(GPU) cards accelerated nodes, six compute nodes, more than 3500 GB RAM and 100 GB InfiniBand connectivity. The supercomputer has been developed with the help of technical expertise provided by Dell. The cost ofRs10crore has been incurred to develop this high computing facility.

Speaking to Education Times, on the sidelines of launch event, BR Mehta, vice-chancellor, JIIT, Noida, says, Introduction of the supercomputer will enable undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD students to solve complex mathematical problems, algorithms and more. Several students involved in AI and ML research can use the supercomputer. In addition to the regular curriculum, we would encourage the students to use the supercomputer for research in healthcare, data analysis, data Science and cyber security."

The needfor supercomputer was felt for long and itslaunchwill fulfil requirementof AI programmerstodevelop diversesoftware applicationscatering to differentindustries.This supercomputer cancalculatewithing fraction of secondsandenable processing of complex tasks and simulations at incredibly high speed.In the era of AI and ML, this facility will play a crucial role in advancing scientific research, technological innovation, and solving complex real- world problems in the areas of AI, Robotics, and many more by harnessing the power of high-speed computation and data processing.

Rajive Kumar, member secretary, AICTE, says, The supercomputing facility will be beneficial to all Engineering students as computing is the major component of their curricula. Besides the computer engineering students, students from mechanical stream can use this to create Computer Aided Design and Drafting technology (CADD) technology. Students can take the help of this supercomputer to complete their online internships and projects. This high-powered supercomputing facility will revolutionise the engineering education in the country. This is the second college which has introduced a facility of high-powered supercomputing after IIT Delhi in North India.

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Supercomputer Ramanujan Universe to enable engineering students to pursue qualitative research in AI and ML ... - Education Times