On Nov.9, Coach Lane Crosby packed her car with nine students, drove to Carolina Forest and had her students competed in the Grand Strand Qualifying Tournament, a competition apart of South Carolina first LEGO league.

The league holds these competitions to support the development of students with interest in engineering and science through STEM and robotics activities.

After months of hard work and practice, the Georgetown School of Arts & Science Robotics Team were ready to show-off their skills as they competed in their first competition of the year.

At Ten Oaks Middle School, teams displayed their research and demonstrate their Core Values at the 2019 League City Shaper.

Core Values that included discovery, teamwork, fairness, integrity, innovation, respect, impact, cooperation and mostly importantly fun.

Each team was given a challenge this year in order for them to demonstrate their unique innovation skill with LEGO robotics.

This years challenge was to create a robot that could help a blind person shop for groceries around the store.

Georgetowns team, named the Angry Nerds, students spoke with Food Lion employees, robotics experts Brian Anderson and people with visual impairments who shop at Food Lion to find the best solution to the problem.

What they came up with was a technologically solution, to put object detection devices on the front of grocery carts and create a map of the store on an existing app.

Coach Crosby helped navigate the kids research as they not only had to make and program the robot but make sure the missions were successful.

They had to design a robot and program the robot and thats was the third area. In the fourth area, they have to run the missions on this board Crosby said referring to the robotics board. In the championship, the team has to score a certain amount of points to be considered to move onward in the championship. She says that coaches arent with them as they present their project to judges and how they design and use it and answer judges questions. Six of the nine students were rookies but Crosby said they quickly got the hang of things. She said that the setting is different in most classrooms in which most of the students had to use STEM and teamwork to solve a problem.

I am really proud of these guys Crosby said Theyve really learned a lot in a short period of time and Im really thrilled the way they work together as a team.

Not only did they build the device but also shared their idea with the manager of Food Lion, two people with visual impairments and the SC Commission for the blind. Annika, one of the middle schoolers, help build the teams robot as part of the programming team.

We did good on a lot of things,Annika recalled But our robot was kind of acting up a bit. It was definitely a fun experience.

Crosby is proud of her students balance of the project, robot design, robot game and core values.

Although they did not win the champions award, Angry Nerds took home the Core Values Award giving them enough points to qualify for the state competition.

The team will be moving forward to the SC East State Regional competition at Cane Bay High School on December 14.

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'Angry Nerds' help the blind shop in robotics competition - South Strand news

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is getting back into robotics after a first attempt several years ago fizzled. But this time the company wants to create robots with minds of their own.

The company's R&D lab, known as X, announced theEveryday Robot Projecton Thursday, describing its efforts to build a new breed of robots infused with artificial intelligence. The goal is a robot that can be "taught" how do to something, rather than needing to be programmed by humans ahead of time to perform a chore.

"It's possible for robots to learn how to perform new tasks in the real world just through practice, rather than having engineers 'hand code' every new task, exception, or improvement," Hans Peter Brondmo, Alphabet X's "Chief Robot Whisperer", wrote in a blog post announcing the news Thursday.

The robots can learn by observing human demonstrations and by "shared experiences," the company said.

The X group said the robots were still years away from being available. But it described a vision of consumer robots capable of operating autonomously in homes and offices.

"This team's moonshot is to see if it's possible to make robots as helpful to people in the physical world as computers are now in the virtual world," the company said.

Alphabet has been testing the robots with simple tasks, like sorting garbage into landfill, compost, and recycling piles. Robots learned how to perform these tasks with a combination of simulation, reinforcement, and collaborative learning, according to Google. The company says that its success at this task proves that robots can learn new tasks in the real world through practice.

"Our next challenge is to see if we can take what the robot learned in this task and apply that learning to another task without rebuilding the robot or writing a ton of code from scratch. This could prove to be impossible, but we'll give it a shot," Brondmo wrote.

This isn't the first time Google hasbet on roboticsas the future of tech. In 2013, Google bought several top robotics companies, including Boston Dynamics, but the project was scrapped after two years and many of the acquired companies have been spun off. Now, Google seems to be picking up where it left off in a quest to build household robots.

This project could eventually be in direct competition withAmazon'sconsumer robot. The company is reportedly working on a robot codenamed "Vesta" that would act as a mobile version of theAlexavoice assistant.

Go here to see the original:

Google's Parent Company Alphabet Introduced a New Project Aimed at Developing A.I.-Enabled Robots That Learn on Their Own - Inc.

Ariona Dowhitt, left, and Fawn Reese, right, look on as their teams robot goes about its various tasks. (Eric Stone/KRBD)

LEGOs are some of the most popular toys in the world. For most, theyre a fun way to build models and let the imagination run wild. But in Ketchikan, some students are using the Danish toy to learn about robotics, teamwork and sportsmanship.

Its a little after midday on a gloomy Sunday at the Plaza mall in Ketchikan. People are milling about doing some Christmas shopping.

But in one corner of the mall, theres a table set up with LEGOs. Four teams of elementary and middle schoolers from Ketchikan and Prince of Wales Island are putting the finishing touches on miniature LEGO robots.

Their goal? Improving the city. Well, a miniature city.

You have to make a project on how to make the world better, said Ketchikan student Satcha Breese. Hes with DJ Mama, one of two teams from the mixed-grade charter school.

The theme for this years FIRST Lego League competition is City Shaper, and it challenges kids to think about how to improve their built environment. Part of that is an original model, and teams get bonus points for outfitting their building with things like toy solar panels or rooftop gardens.

Heres how it works: the teams build and program their robots to complete certain jobs moving their original creation and some other colored blocks to circles on the printed rubber mat, freeing up a stuck swing, even clearing a traffic jam.

Each obstacle has a different set of points, said Jacob Alguire, a math and science teacher at Ketchikan Charter School. He coaches the schools two teams, DJ Mama and the Dragon Knights.

Like the traffic jam right there with the gray base and the blue levers. You get 10 points by lifting that up and effectively clearing the traffic jam.

Referees add up the score at the end of the round. But they deduct points if team members touch their robots while they go about their tasks.

The robot is supposed to autonomously solve all of these missions, Alguire said.

Its a three-round competition, so if something doesnt go right the first time, the kids can go back and tweak their robot and its program.

The Dragon Knights made some changes before the second round, says team member Chandler Reeve.

We dragged our blocks way too far, so then we went back to our program and we change it to go, like, not really that far from now were going to see how that goes this time, Reeve said.

Of course, not everything always goes according to plan.

Coach Alguire says the Dragon Knights missed one crucial step before round two.

So they forgot to upload the program that they want, he explained. And right now theyre scrambling in the very last second, like you would in any type of sports show theyre trying to fix everything at the last minute and see if they can get it working before they go up on the table.

Over on DJ Mamas side of the table, team member Fawn Breese says the program is a great way for kids to learn sportsmanship and team problem-solving.

It teaches teamwork and how to not be mean to the other teams and that were all people and we have to work together, Breese said.

DJ Mamas teamwork paid off they ended up outscoring their competitors by 70 points.

Lori Ortiz helped organize todays tournament. She wants to see the program expand to other Ketchikan-area schools and communities throughout Southeast.

We actually have some of these resources ready to go, Ortiz said. We have some computers, we have the LEGO programming, and we have the robot brains and the LEGO pieces. We just really want to build up more teams.

The only thing organizers say they need? More adults to volunteer as coaches so they can expand the competition in the years to come.

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LEGO robotics competition puts students' problem-solving skills to the test - KRBD

Rutherford county students recently participated in the 2019 Music City BEST Robotics Competition where Rutherford County students made up nearly half of the competition.

Lipscomb University hosted the competition of 14 teams, of which six were from competing from Rutherford County.

The teams competed in a variety of categories such as BEST Exhibit Design and Construction, BEST Engineering Design and BEST Rookie team.

The six schools that participated were Blackman Middle, Christiana Middle, Rockvale Middle, Rocky Fork Middle, Stewarts Creek Middle and Thurman Francis Arts Academy.

Of the six teams competing many of them took home multiple awards including the highest honor for 1st place BEST Award for invitation to the regional tournament at Auburn University this award went to Stewarts Creek Middle.

Stewarts Creek Middle School team will travel to Auburn University for the South BEST Regional Competition in Auburn, Alabama.

A complete list of schools and their awards:

By KEAIRA LOLOW, Rutherford County Schools

Link:

Six Rutherford schools compete in Robotics competition - Murfreesboro Voice

Image: X

A team of roboticists, computer scientists, researchers, makers and builders at X, Alphabets moonshot factory, announced the first results of its Everyday Robot Project, which aims to bring robots out of structured environments and into the dynamic, everyday environments of our homes and workplaces.

The teams project lead, Hans Peter Brondmo, shared details of the teams progress on a Medium blog post. For the past few years, the project team has been working to determine whether it was possible to create robots that could be helpful, affordable, and able to help people with everyday tasks. The teams experimental system is exploring three questions:

The Everyday Robot Project aims to see whether a general-purpose robot can be created to help people with tasks in unstructured environments. Image: X

Brondmo, in his blog post, said recent advances in machine learning, combined with sophisticated sensor technology and low-cost hardware, mean that we are much closer than ever to robots becoming mainstream.

Brondmo said in order for this to happen, there needs to be a shift away from programming a robot, and teaching them instead:

For robots to be useful in everyday environments we need to move away from painstakingly coding them to do specific and structured tasks in exactly the right way at exactly the right time. We have concluded that you have to teach machines to perform helpful tasks; you cannot program them.

The teams first task was to see if a robot could learn how to sort waste from recyclables in their office. Image: X

The team chose a task (sorting waste from recyclables) that was complex enough to where the team wasnt sure whether it could be done, but not so difficult that it would take a year in order to determine whether it was possible.

In order to achieve this, the team used several machine learning techniques, including simulation, reinforcement learning, and collaborative learning, Brondmo reported. Each night, tens of thousands of virtual robots practice sorting the waste in a virtual office in our cloud simulator; we then move the training to real robots to refine their sorting ability, Brondmo wrote. This real-world training is then integrated back into the simulated training data and shared back with the rest of the robots so that the experience and learning of each robot is shared with them all.

Over the last few months, the robots sorted thousands of pieces of waste, reducing the offices waste contamination levels from 20% to less than 5%. Brondmo said the project showed they could create a robotic system that integrates the robots capabilities to do something generally useful, as well as prove that its possible for robots to learn how to perform new teasks in the real world through practice, rather than the programming for every new task.

Brondmo said the next challenge for the team is to see whether they can take what the robot learned from this task, and apply it to another task without rebuilding the robot or writing a ton of code from scratch. He admits that this could prove to be impossible, but well give it a shot.

The project team is promising more updates on its project page.

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The Everyday Robot Project Aims to Expand Usefulness of Robots - Robotics Business Review

ELKHART Students at the E3Roboticsx Center have received grant funding for their robotics teams as they work to enhance their skills in science and engineering.

Bayer Fund, a philanthropic arm of Bayer, recently awarded four one-time grants in the amount of $5,000 to support its participation in the FIRST Robotics program. The awards included FIRST Robotics Competition teams, $3,000; FIRST Technology Challenge teams, $1,000, FIRST Lego League teams, $500; and Junior FLL teams, $500.

The teams will use support from their Bayer Fund grant to participate in FIRST Robotics educational programs and competitions. FIRST enables teams of students to compete with others in building, designing and programming their own robots to perform preassigned tasks, giving students a chance to get involved with real-world engineering.

Students who participate in FIRST Robotics programming learn STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) skills and become experienced problem solvers, said Michelle Insco,senior manager, community engagement. Bayer Fund prioritizes the investment in hands-on learning experiences for students like those at the E3 Robotics Center to encourage their development into future scientists, engineers, and computer programmers.

Bayer Funds sponsorship of FIRST Robotics teams continues the nonprofits support of programs that improve STEM education. Over the past five years, Bayer Fund has contributed over $40 million to STEM outreach efforts.

The E3 Robotics Center is offering educational support for schools, teachers, coaches and mentors looking for STEM-based training (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). Our mission at E3 Robotics Center, Inc. is to provide youth robotics programs to students K-12 and to focus on Exploration, Education and Engagement for students and for the community as we move forward as a federally approved 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, executive director Brian Boehler says.

See original here:

Team receives funds for robotics competition - The Elkhart Truth

Last year, the White Pine County School District started a competitive VEX IQ robotics program at David E. Norman Elementary. Last years team included sixteen students, separated into four teams. This year, the program has expanded to include thirty students in grades 3-8 from McGill Elementary, DEN Elementary, and White Pine Middle School. The students are separated into 4 elementary-level teams and 4 middle school-level teams. The elementary teams, called the DENBots, are coached by Career and College Readiness specialist Caroline Murphree and the middle school teams, called the Electric Cougars, are coached by our new high school English teacher Deborah Nielson. The teams have competed and performed well in four tournaments so far this year.

In this years challenge, the student teams had to construct robots that are able move cubes and balls to scoring zones. The cubes are scored by either lifting them onto platforms or carrying them to color-coded scoring zones in the corners of the board. Balls are scored by putting them inside of or on top of the cubes. The competition is separated into the teamwork and skills challenges.

In the teamwork challenge, random pairs of teams have one minute to score as many points as possible. The teams with the highest average scores advance to a final round where the two teams who score the most points together become the teamwork champions.

In skills matches, teams drive by themselves and program their robots to score points autonomously. The scores from driving and programming are added together to give the total skills score and the highest scoring team is the skills champion.

The first annual White Pine VEX IQ Challenge Tournament was held in the DEN Gym on October 19th, attended only by local teams. At this tournament, the Buckin Engineers team (Michael Van Tassell, Guinevere Callender, and Carter Nielson) and Minotaur team (Tegan Ricci, Masson Blades, Caiden Castellano, and Camdon Weaver) were Teamwork Champions. Buckin Engineers also won the Excellence Award and the Skills Award. Wall-V (Samuel Sorensen and Mo Van Tassell) won the Design Award, Bots of Fire (Rebecca Murphree, Merissa Carson, Eva Sorensen, and Neah DeLaCerda) won the STEM Research Project Award, and Brainiacs (Duncan Hill, Jillian Bath, Chloe Hellmann, Jenny Nicolls, and Cecil Kunz) won the Judges Award.

On November 2, the Electric Cougars teams travelled to Farmington, Utah to compete in the Farmington VEX IQ Extravaganza. At the end of the qualification round, Buckin Engineers were in 2nd, Cobras (Crichton Swetich, Connor Hill, Caleb Hellmann, and Thomas Murphree) were in 9th, Wall-V were in 18th, and Bots of Fire were in 21st of 27 teams. Buckin Engineers, Cobras, and Wall-V all advanced to the finals round. Wall-V and their alliance partner, Team Tie Dye from Farmington, scored 40 points to finish in 8th place. The Cobras and their alliance partner, Disco DJs from Farmington, scored 34 points to finish in 9th place. The Buckin Engineers and their partner, RoboKnights B from Kaysville, scored 91 points to become the Teamwork Champions. Buckin Engineers also won the Design Award.

On November 9th the DENbots and the Electric Cougars both travelled to Lied STEM Academy in Las Vegas. At the end of the qualification round, Buckin Engineers were in 2nd, Wall-V in 5th, Brainiacs in 10th, Minotaur in 11th, Flying Unipiggies (Brindel Blades, Emery Balch, Catie Murphree, Breanna Nielson) in 15th, Nyan Weirdos (Kalli Ray, Tahlia Aquino, Kaleb Nielson, Landon Neilson) in 20th, Cobras in 22nd, and Bots of Fire in 25th of 38 teams. In the finals round, Flying Unipiggies and their alliance partner, Narwhals of Doom (an independent team from White Pine County), scored 40 points to finish in 5th place. Minotaur was disqualified due to a minor rule violation. Brainiacs, who were allied with C.O.L.T.S C from Canarelli Middle School in Las Vegas, scored 10 points to finish in 7th place. Wall-V was allied with Beeters from Engineering for Kids in Las Vegas and scored 71 points to finish 3rd. The Buckin Engineers and their alliance partner, 275A from Cram Middle School, scored 83 points to win the Teamwork Champions Award.

Finally, on November 16th, the teams competed at Green Valley High School in Henderson. After qualification, Minotaur was in 1st place, Buckin Engineers in 2nd, Cobras in 5th, Wall-V in 10th, Nyan Weirdos in 13th, Brainiacs in 17th, Bots of Fire in 19th, and Flying Unipiggies in 27th of 31 teams. In the final round, Wall-V and their partner, C.O.L.T.S G from Canarelli Middle School, scored 82 points to finish 2nd. The Cobras, who were allied with Robot Squad from Engineering for Kids, scored 41 points to finish 5th. The Buckin Engineers and Minotaur were allied together in the top seed scoring 86 points to become Teamwork Champions again!

Mrs. Murphree and Mrs. Nielson are excited about how well the teams are doing and are looking forward to a successful season this year with such a promising start. There are a few more regular tournaments in December and January. The Elementary State Championship and the Middle School Championship, which determine advancement to national and world-wide competitions, will take place in February.

We would like to thank Mt. Wheeler Power, Robinson Mine, Tesla, and the Robot Education Competition Foundation for sponsoring our program!

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White Pine Robotics teams off to a great start - Ely Daily Times

From WCS InFocus

The combined Brentwood High and Brentwood Middle school Robotics Club achieved a first for the team in the 2019 Music City Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology (BEST) Tournament November 2.

This was the clubs fifth year competing in the BEST Tournament. They advanced to the semifinals for the first time in the clubs history. They also produced a perfectly scored engineering notebook that detailed the development process from brainstorming to production.

We improved last years performance in the field, said BHS Advanced Placement physics teacher Dr. Robert Marrero. We are confident we will do even better next year. These are exciting times for robotics.

The six-week competition is hosted by Lipscomb University. Each team must construct a robot using the provided kit. This year, the theme was Off the Grid. Teams were required to create a robot that could quickly repair downed power lines. Then they had to create a marketing presentation as well as an exhibit booth.

MORE SCHOOL NEWS

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Brentwood Middle, High Robotics Team Compete in BEST Tournament - Williamson Source

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "Warehouse Robotics - Market Analysis, Trends, and Forecasts" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The Warehouse Robotics market worldwide is projected to grow by US$3.2 Billion, driven by a compounded growth of 11.6%.

Mobile, one of the segments analyzed and sized in this study, displays the potential to grow at over 12.7%. The shifting dynamics supporting this growth makes it critical for businesses in this space to keep abreast of the changing pulse of the market. Poised to reach over US$1.8 Billion by the year 2025, Mobile will bring in healthy gains adding significant momentum to global growth.

Representing the developed world, the United States will maintain a 10.2% growth momentum. Within Europe, which continues to remain an important element in the world economy, Germany will add over US$127.6 Million to the region's size and clout in the next 5 to 6 years. Over US$103.2 Million worth of projected demand in the region will come from the rest of the European markets.

In Japan, Mobile will reach a market size of US$69.8 Million by the close of the analysis period. As the world's second largest economy and the new game changer in global markets, China exhibits the potential to grow at 15% over the next couple of years and add approximately US$774.4 Million in terms of addressable opportunity for the picking by aspiring businesses and their astute leaders.

Presented in visually rich graphics are these and many more need-to-know quantitative data important in ensuring quality of strategy decisions, be it entry into new markets or allocation of resources within a portfolio. Several macroeconomic factors and internal market forces will shape growth and development of demand patterns in emerging countries in Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East.

All research viewpoints presented are based on validated engagements from influencers in the market, whose opinions supersede all other research methodologies.

Competitors identified in this market include:

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/9nrrq9

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Analysis on the World's Warehouse Robotics Market, 2019-2025 - The United States Will Maintain a 10.2% Growth Momentum - ResearchAndMarkets.com -...

Europe is focussed on making robots that work for the benefit of society. This requires empowering future roboticists and users of all ages and backgrounds. In its 9th edition, the European Robotics Week (#ERW2019) is expected to host more than 1000 events across Europe. Over the years, and over 5,000 events, the organisers have learned a thing or two about reaching the public, and ultimately making the robots people want.

Demystify robotics

For many, robots are only seen in the media or science fiction. The robotics community promises ubiquitous robots, yet most people dont encounter robots in their work or daily lives. This matters. The Eurobarometer 2017 survey of attitudes towards the impact of digitisation found that the more familiar people are with robots, the more positive they are about the technology. A recent workshop for ERW organisers highlighted the importance of being able to touch, feel, see and enjoy the presence of robots in order to remove the fear factor and improve the image of robots. People need to interact with real robots to understand their potential, and limitations.

Bring robots to public places

Most robotics events happen where roboticists and their robots already are, in universities and industry. This works well for those who show interest in the field, and have the means to attend. To reach a broader audience, robots need to be brought to public places, such as city centres, or shopping malls. ERW organisers said dont expect ordinary people to come to universities. In Ghent Belgium for example, space was found in the city library to give visitors an opportunity to interact with robots. More recently, the Smart Cities Robotics (SciRoc) challenge held an international robot competition in a shopping mall in the UK.

Tackle global challenges

Robots have a role to play in tackling todays most pressing challenges, whether its the environment, healthcare, assistive living, or education. Robots can also improve efficiencies in industry and avoid 4D (dangerous, dirty, difficult, drudgerous) jobs. This is not often explicitly highlighted, with robots presented for the sake of it as fun gadgets, instead of useful tools. By positioning robots as the helpers of tomorrow, we empower users to imagine their applications, and roboticists receive meaningful feedback on their use. Such applications may also be more exciting for a broader diversity of people.

The Blue-Eyed Dragon Robot by Biljana Vickovi (with the University of Belgrade, Mihajlo Institute, Robotics Laboratory Belgrade, Serbia) for example introduced an innovative and socially useful robotic artwork into a public space with a tin recycling function. It integrates robotics into an artwork with a demonstrable ecological, social and cultural impact. The essence of this innovative work of art is that it enables the public to interact with it. As such people are direct participants and not merely an audience. In this way contemplation is replaced by action. says its creator.

Tell stories about people who work with robots

Useful robots will ultimately be embedded in society, our work, our lives. Their role is often presented from the developerss or industrys perspective. This leaves the public with the sense that robots are being done to them, rather than with them. By bringing the users in the discussion, we hear stories of how they use the technology, what their hopes and concerns are, and ultimately design better robots and inspire future users to make use of robots themselves.

Bring a diversity of people together

Making robots requires a large range of backgrounds, from social sciences, law, and business, to hardware and software engineering. Domain expertise, will also be key. Assistive robots will require input from nurse carers for example. Engaging with a diverse population of makers and users will help ensure the technology is developed for everyone. The ERW2019 central event in Poznan features a panel dedicated to women in digital and robotics. Carmela Snchez from Hisparob in Spain says this year, our motto for ERW is Robotic Thinking and Inclusion. We focus on how robotics and computational thinking can help inclusion: inclusion of different abilities, social, and economic backgrounds, and genders.

Avoid hype and exaggerations

Inflated expectations about robotics may lead to disappointment when robots are deployed, or may lead to unfounded fears about their use. A recent ERW organiser commented Robots are not prevalent or visible in society at large and so prevailing perceptions about robots are largely shaped by media presentation, which too often resort to negative stereotypes. Its worth noting robots are typically made for a single task, and many do not look like a humanoid robot. With this lens, robots no longer seem too difficult to engineer, and are far from science fiction depictions. This could be empowering for those who would like to become roboticist, and could help users imagine robots that would be helpful to them. The Smart CIties Robotics challenge for example showed the crowds how robots could help them take a lift, or deliver emergency medicine in a mall.

Teach teachers

By teaching teachers to teach robotics, we can reach many more students than what is possible through all the European Robotics Week combined. Lia Garcia, founder of Logix5 and a national coordinator of ERW in Spain underscored the need to engage the education sector: We have to work with teachers. We need to get robotics onto the school curriculum, onto the teaching college curriculum and to get to teachers who teach teachers. Workshops that teach educators, and help spread the word among local teachers are essential. As an added encouragement, they could receive CPD (continuing professional development) credits for taking part in robotics workshops. The ERW2019 central event in Poznan features a workshop dedicated to robotics education in Europe on 15 November.

Run competitions

Competitions are an important way of bringing students into robotics. Its fun, and exciting, and shows they can build something that works in the real world. Europe now hosts several large robotics competitions including the European Robotics League (Emergency, Consumer, Professional, and Smart Cities). While these competitions are tailored to university students, others are run for kids. The ERW event page already has over 100 robot competitions and challenges listed for this year. Fiorella Operto from Scuola di Robotica has coordinated more than 100 teams from all over Italy committed to using a humanoid robot to promote the Italian Cultural Heritage. The 2020 edition of the NAO Challenge is devoted to Arts&Cultures, asking robotics to improve the knowledge of and to promote beautiful Italian art.

Keep it fun

More than ever, we have a broad range of tools to engage with the public. It could be as simple as drawing pictures of robots, to developing robot-themes escape rooms, or engaging on social media including youtube, twitter, instagram and tiktok. Robots are fun, which is why they are such good tools in education. Be creative with demos and activities. Make robots dance, allow people to decorate them, play games. University of Bristol for example will be running a swarm-themed escape room called Swarm Escape!.

Engage with stakeholders

Events with the public are a good opportunity to engage with stakeholders, including government, industry, and users. This is important as stakeholders will ultimately be the ones making robots a reality. Having them participate in such events helps them understand the potential, invest in technology and skills, and shape policy. It could also provide funding for some of the more ambitious events. For the first time since 2012, Robotics Place, the cluster of Occitanie, organizes a one day meeting with its members on November 20th in Toulouse. Robotics Place members will meet with press, politics, students, partners and professional customers. says Philippe Roussel, a local coordinator for France.

Act regionally, connect across Europe

Events are present across Europe, organised regionally for the local community. Connecting these events at a European scale increases impact, raise awareness, builds momentum, and allows for lessons to be shared across the content. euRobotics and Digital Innovation Hubs provide valuable resources for these purposes.

Yet there is a divide in access, with cities being better catered to than rural communities, or areas that are poorer. The challenge is to provide everyone with access and exposure to robotics and its opportunities. Extra effort should be made to reach out to underserved communities, for example using a robot roadshow. Organisers of ERW said a further benefit of this cross-border approach would be to enhance the European dimension. As an example, from May 2020, a 105m long floating Science Center called the MS Experimenta will be touring southern Germany, bringing science from port to port.

Get involved

Feeling inspired, ready to make a difference? Organise your own European Robotics Week event, big or small, and register it here along with the over 900 events already announced.

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Engaging the public in robotics: 11 tips from 5,000 robotics events across Europe - Robohub

Just to let you know, if you buy something featured here, Mashable might earn an affiliate commission.Learn about STEM while having fun.

Image: dji

By StackCommerceMashable Shopping2019-11-23 10:00:00 UTC

As fun as it is to indulge in theories about robots taking over, it would be unwise for us to fear technology.

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The Iron Man edition of the DJI Tello Quadcopter is no different than the original from a mechanical standpoint. However, the Marvel collaboration comes dressed in Iron Man graphics and is accompanied by bespoke features: The Tello Hero App lets you complete immersive missions in the world of Tony Stark, and you can even program the drone to mimic the movements of the Iron Man suit.

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DJIs new line of STEM-focused drones and robots make great gifts - Mashable

At first glance, Alisa Morris could have been playing a high-tech video game.Her face was pressed into a binocular-viewing pad, her hands were manipulating an elaborate claw-like device and a monitor screen beside her showed what looked like mechanical arms moving around a yellow circle.Morris actually was trying out a robotic surgery demonstration machine called the da Vinci Xi with the help of specialist Johnny Farah of Minogue Medical.Yeah, there you go. Now you have better reach, thats going to help you reach those really really tight areas that surgeons experience in a complex case, Farah encouraged Morris, who works in the perioperative care department at the Halifax Infirmary.That was so fun, Morris said after yielding the controls to a friend amid the hubbub of a packed infirmary lobby. The movement is very seamless, its just like moving your own hand.

Adding robotic extensions to a surgeons hands sounds futuristic but its quickly becoming the norm in operating rooms across the world.The impact of surgical robotics on the lives of patients and their families cannot be understated, said Dr. Katharina Kieser, chief of gynecology at the QEII Health Sciences Centre, told the gathering organized by the QEII Health Foundation on Friday morning.

Access to this cutting edge technology means surgeries can be performed with a few small incisions and the utmost precision, leading to faster recovery times, less dependence on painkillers and other benefits, she said.The robotic surgery program at the QEII Health Sciences Centre was launched on a trial basis in February. Two gynecological surgeons and two urological surgeons have performed about 88 procedures.We felt it was very important to make sure we have a small team initially doing these procedures to make sure we were cohesive, all well trained and that we were doing enough numbers and volumes for everybody to feel very comfortable, said Joanne Dunnington, director of perioperative services for the Nova Scotia Health Authority, in an interview at the event.

This is the future of health care. ...While its tremendously important for our patients today its only the tip of the wedge for more development in advanced technology for the next 10 to 30 years. Its a huge deal.

- Bill Bean, CEO of QEII Health Foundation

Many of the procedures have been for prostate and uterine cancers, as well as partial nephrectomies, which involve the removal of part of the kidney. The four surgeons are supported by a nursing team of about six people. Many physicians get robotic surgery training in their residencies and Minogue Medical, the Canadian vendor for the da Vinci robot, also provides education and training on that machine for NSHA staff, Dunnington said.This is the future of health care, said Bill Bean, CEO of the QEII Health Foundation, in an interview. And so while its tremendously important for our patients today its only the tip of the wedge for more development in advanced technology for the next 10 to 30 years. Its a huge deal.The foundation is so far footing the entire bill for the robotic surgery program, which will cost $8.1 million over the next five years.It was announced at the event that the Sobey family has given $3 million toward the effort, making for a total of $5.3 million in donations. The foundation will be reaching out to the community as the campaign goes on to make up that $2.8-million shortfall, Bean said.The robotic surgery program at the QEII, the first in Atlantic Canada, has also been a boon for the recruitment of top surgeons, urology chief Greg Baillytold the gathering.In the past couple of years, weve been able to recruit at least four surgeons in four different specialties who have robotic experience in their fellowship training including urology, thoracic surgery, gynecology and ear nose and throat, said Bailly, who also heads the QEII robotics council.

Without a doubt, surgical robotics have played a key role in recruiting these individuals.For more information on the QEII Health Foundations robotic surgery campaign, go to https://qe2foundation.ca/current-priorities/surgical-robotics.

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QEII Health Centre touts effectiveness of robotic surgery - TheChronicleHerald.ca

A KUKA welding robot on display at FABTECH 2019. Image courtesy of Jonathan Alonso, CNC Machines.

CHICAGO More than 40,000 attendees gathered here last week to look at the latest robotics and automation solutions in the metal forming, fabrication, welding and finishing space. The annual FABTECH show is held every two years in Chicago, rotating with other series in the other years.

Here are some of the newer robotic and automation trends we discovered while at the show:

3D printing continues to advance in the types of products it can produce and materials it can use. The technology is preferable to traditional machining for shorter-run applications, lower costs and a more varied production capability. However, traditional machining can produce high-volume products and components more quickly.

Formlabs showed off industrial 3D printed examples at FABTECH 2019. Image: Jonathan Alonso, CNC Machines.

As 3D printing starts to use more materials, it becomes a more compelling option, attendees said. At the show, BigRep announced four new materials:

Xometry displayed parts produced with its newest 3D printing process, Carbon DLS, a 3D printing technology that uses digital light projection, oxygen-permeable optics and programmable liquid resins to produce products with end-use durability, resolution, and surface finish.

The company also ran live demos of the Xometry Instant Quoting Engine, which enables the user to select the type of process (3D printing or machining), material and other parameters to obtain pricing for custom parts.

Several companies were showing off new arc welding capabilities. While robots have been used for this application for some time, some providers are making changes in some of their designs.

Kawaski Robotics, for example, separated the centers of the upper arms length and rotation axis of the BA006N and BA006L so that wire feeders can be placed in the space behind the upper arm. The design change is designed to provide more operation flexibility, as well as higher speed to increase productivity.

By eliminating cable positioning variables, the change also makes offline programming more efficient and maintenance faster, Kawasaki said.

The AR3120 robot provides long reach for welding. Image: Yaskawa Motoman

Yaskawa Motoman displayed its AR700 and AR900 robots, which the company says are ideal for welding small parts with complicated angles in tight places with an overarm torch. A slim profile design enables close proximity placement of robots for high-density workcells, and a smooth, easy-to-clean surface accommodates use in harsh environments. As an option, the manipulator cable can be connected on the bottom of the robot (as opposed to the side) to avoid wall interference.

Another Yaskawa Motoman robot, the AR1730, has a contoured arm design to allow easy access to parts in tight spots and avoids potential interference with fixtures, enabling close proximity placement of robots for high-density work cells.

Using robots for such tasks isnt new, but the precision and dexterity of the robots and grippers continues to evolve so that robots can handle ever more of these tasks.

Arc Specialties displayed the Kuka LBR iiwa, seven-axis force-controlled collaborative robot that incorporates force sensors into each axis with a resolution of less than one pound of force. Combining superior 3M abrasives with Burr King belt sanders and polishing spindles, along with an experienced robot integrator that puts it all together and creates the code, the result is a cell that demonstrates force-controlled polishing on the belt sander slack side and wheel, with final finishing on a disk.

Italy-based Lesta, which announced its entrance into the U.S. in August with its LestaUSA subsidiary, displayed its finishing robots for liquid and powder coat applications.

LestaUSA was showing its finishing robots for liquid and power coat applications. Image: Jonathan Alonso, CNC Machines.

Our robotic technology itself isnt new, said Derek DeGeest, president of LestaUSA. Whats unique here is that LestaUSAs proven technology is so simple that, upon completion of the installation, a manufacturer of any size can literally be making their own programs and painting robotically on Day One.

According to the company, other robotic painting technology requires engineers and robotic programmers, but LestaUSAs robots are self-learning and only needs a painter to learn. Lesta robots go into a weightless learning mode while in the hands of a companys best painter, who then performs the painting cycle on a desired part as the software creates its own robotic code of every movement and paint spray. The painters exact technique, including the application of the paint, is saved and then mirrored by the robot on future jobs.

Robot manufacturers continue to seek to make their products easier to use. Yaskawas teach pendant, for example, orients itself automatically with the way the operator is oriented. So if the operator turns 90 degrees, for example, forward, right, left, etc., will now be 90 degrees different than it was before, said Michael Castor, product manager, material handling. Someone can learn how to program basic movements in just 30 seconds; it used to be someone had to spend a whole day learning this.

Additionally, Yaskawas Universal Weldcom Interface (UWI) offers full utilization of the advanced capabilities on select Miller and Lincoln Electric digital welding power supplies, providing simple control of any weld process or parameter, including voltage, amperage and wire feed speed through a common user interface for either brand.

The UWI can filter weld modes based on process type, wire size, wire type and gas type and offers up to 16 unique processes from the power source library for easy access within the interface, and up to 1,000 custom arc files with specific processes and parameters are available for use in motion programming.

Trade shows such as FABTECH tend to be held the same month every year (or every other year for shows on a biennial schedule), but FABTECH will move to September in 2021 (Sept. 13-16) and for future Chicago events.

FABTECH is one of the largest events held at McCormick Place, bringing $73 million delegation spending to Chicago, said John Catalano, SME senior director, FABTECH. As a result of FABTECHs growth over the past years and our favorable relationship with the city and the convention center, we were proud to make this shift to support the needs of the industry.

(Editors note: Images and video provided courtesy of CNC Machines).

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Robotic Takeaways and Trends from FABTECH 2019 - Robotics Business Review

Bee+, a 95 mg four-winged robotic insect prototype designed by the Autonomous Microrobotic Systems Laboratory. PHOTO/Nestor Prez-Arancibia.

Next time you pass a flying insect, take a moment to appreciate its structure. With a body thats fairly heavy compared to its thin, delicate wings, this insect will fly with grace, fluidity and control. While this is an intrinsic aspect of an insects natural anatomical design, its very difficult to achieve this perfect balance of elements when replicating it in a robotic version.

In work that resulted in a best paper nomination by the 2019 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), USC Viterbi researchers achieved this balance. The research team, members of the Autonomous Microrobotic Systems Laboratory (AMSL), designed the first four-winged robotic insect weighing less than 100mg. At 95mg, this prototype, Bee+, features a new type of actuator that weighs half as much as the prior state-of-the-art piezoelectric actuatorone that transforms electrical energy into a mechanical displacement or stress.

The research team is led by Nstor O. Prez-Arancibia, Assistant Professor in the USC Viterbi Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering (AME) and includes AME PhD candidates Xiufeng Yang and Ariel A. Caldern, as well as recent AMSL PhD graduates Ying Chen and Longlong Chang.

This new actuator and a new robotic configuration enabled us to integrate four wings inside the same envelope as that of the prior two-winged prototype, said Prez-Arancibia. The individual areas of expertise of the participant PhD students reflect the multidisciplinary nature and complexity of the research effort that resulted in the reported innovation: Xiufeng is an expert on robotic design; Ying is an expert on control and dynamics; Longlong is an expert on aerodynamics; and Ariel is on expert on fabrication. Together, we were able to make an incredible breakthrough.

It also enabled the researchers to break the world record of lift-to-weight ratio for flying robots at this scale. Bee+ demonstrates improved controllability and potentially longer life span over predecessors, like the 75-mg RoboBee created seven years ago by a team of Harvard researchers that included Prez-Arancibia.

Members of the Autonomous Microrobotics Systems Laboratory, led by Nstor O. Prez-Arancibia. PHOTO/Nstor O. Prez-Arancibia.

Next up, the lab is working on creating the first fully autonomous (in terms of control and power) sub-gram flying robot.

Held in Macau, China from November 4-8, 2019, the IROS conference is one of the leading conferences on robotics in the world. Over 2,500 papers from 53 countries were submitted. The paper on Bee+ was one of four finalists for the IROS 2019 Best Paper Award and was simultaneously accepted for publication in the journal IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters. To read more about the Bee+, please see here.

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USC Viterbi Researchers Honored with Best Paper Nomination at the 2019 International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems - USC Viterbi School...

Humans have enlisted nearly 100 AI-powered robots in North American to come to the rescue for something humans are terrible at: recycling.

Even when we try to do it right, we're often making things worse; About one out of every four of the things people throw into the recycling bin aren't recyclable at all.

All those misplaced greasy pizza boxes (not recyclable) and clamshell containers tossed in with the plastics, have imperiled an industry that was never really that effective in the first place.

Only a small fraction of the over 2.1 billion tons of the garbage the world produces each year gets recycled about 16%.

And even that small sliver has gotten smaller over the past year.

For decades, the US sold more than half of its recyclables to China mostly plastics to be melted into pellets, the raw material for making more plastic.

But in March of 2018, China said, "No More."

"They started shipping more and more stuff to China, often contaminated dirty plastics or mixed too many mixed goods," said Kate O'Neill, a UC Berkeley professor and author of "Waste."

Around a quarter of the shipments China received had to be hand-processed, buried in landfills, or incinerated.

So the Chinese government declared that bales could contain only up to half a percent of things that contaminated them, like food wrappers or a dirty jar of peanut butter. US consumers and recycling centers couldn't keep up.

"I think people in the wealthy countries had gotten complacent, never bothering to build more recycling facilities domestically," O'Neill added.

Today, a handful of start-ups are testing out new technology to make recycling sustainable.

AMP Robotics is an artificial intelligence and robotics company that aims to change the way we recycle.

Founder of AMP Robotics, Matanya Horowitz said "the situation with the Chinese export markets have actually been good for [the company]."

Robots use artificial intelligence to sort through recyclables. BHS

AMP Robotics is rolling out its latest model: a "Cortex Robot" that uses optical sensors to take in what rolls by, and a "brain" to figure out what his "hands" should do with something even if it looks different to anything he's seen before.

"A lot of these recycling facilities are structured with the primary task of basically dealing with contamination that's not supposed to be there," said Horotwiz. ""What we see is a lot of recycling facilities are investing in automation to help improve their operations."

At least four companies are rolling out similar models, in the hopes of turning a profit from the US' growing piles of hard-to-sort recyclables.

And investors are taking notice. In November 2019, AMP Robotics announced a $16 million Series A investment from Sequoia Capital.

But what about helping humans get better at choosing what to put in their recycling bins in the first place?

New policies in Shanghai are one of the first steps in China's push to solve its waste problems.

This past summer, citizens will face fines and what are called "social penalties" if they don't sort things properly.

One trash sorting volunteer said, Shanghai started the test run on June 24. "It was very hard for us at the beginning. Everyone was busy, people didn't know how to sort," the volunteer who requested to be unidentified said.

"At first we had some hard times," said Shanghai citizen Zhaoju Zhang. "The most difficult part was how to differentiate between dry and wet trash. It was so complicated that we all got confused."

Almost immediately, hundreds of AI-enabled apps sprouted up in order to assist everyday sorting.

"If it's something that is confusing whether it's dry or wet trash, we can just scan the item and get the answer," Zhang said.

Shanghai citizens are now required to sort recyclables properly from their trash. Yuan Ye

But not everyone has access to AI to help parse the new rules, and many complain that complying is tough, and punishments are too harsh.

Kate O'Neill said the new laws are having a "massive cultural impact" and there are "some concerns about how draconian it is, but it's too early to really tell the results. But it certainly has seems to be a massive culture shift."

This kind of cultural shift in how we throw things away would be challenging in the US, where the average person produces twice as much trash as a Chinese citizen.

But experts warn that rethinking the way we deal with garbage is essential, and AI technology offers a promising way forward.

It's even possible for it to identify who created a piece of trash in the first place.

Horowitz explained that robots are able to learn the features of materials. They are able to sparse whether a material is cloudy or opaque. AI robots may even be able to identify symbols of specific brands. All of these abilities help the robots like Max narrow down the source of contamination and what to do with it.

Last year, over 250 companies signed a MacArthur Foundation agreement pledging that 100% of plastic packaging will be easily and safely reused, recycled, or composted by 2025.

CEO of SC Johnson, Fisk Johnson, said in an interview, "We're a family company, and we have a very long-term view, and business has to be part of the solution."

Whether or not they make good on this pledge, AI will be quietly watching, and gathering data on the packaging these brands continue to use.

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Most plastic is not getting recycled, and AI robots could be a solution - Business Insider

Robots are still a far cry from the ones that turned on humanity in I, Robot and the Terminator movies, but they are rapidly becoming more advanced. For example, Boston Dynamics has a dog-like robot that can open doors, and a humanoid one that does parkour and gymnastics. Here are 10 more outrageous skills robots have picked up in recent years.

1. Play soccer and Simon Says simultaneously

Researchers at MIT designed their quadrupedal mini cheetah to be virtually indestructible: it has the dexterity of a yoga teacher, can nail a 360-degree backflip and, when kicked to the ground, recovers in one kung-fu-like swoop. So far, the army of tiny bots have mastered soccer and Simon Says.

2. Cook a gourmet dinner

In a few years, its entirely possible that robot chefs will be as common a household item as toasters or coffee makers. U.K.-based tech company Moley has created an entirely robotic kitchen, which features a set of dexterous arms that can hold utensils, crack eggs, measure ingredients and even do the dishes. The master robo-chef is able to prepare hundreds of recipes from around the world, all of which can be downloaded from an electronic library. The consumer version is expected to launch by the end of the year.

3. Make rock music

A team of German engineers decided to put a literal spin on heavy metal with Compressorhead, a fully animatronic rock band. Each of its four members the aptly named Fingers (a guitarist with 78 fingers), Stickboy (a four-armed drummer), Bones (the bass player), and the latest addition, Junior (the lead singer, which the bands creators crowdfunded more than $400,000 to build) plays a real instrument. Since the band formed in 2013, it has released a full album and performed at music festivals in the U.K., Russia, France, Australia and even Canada.

4. Give hugs

Researchers in Stuttgart, Germany have created a real-life version of Disneys Big Hero 6. (A robot deemed so lovable that it won 2015s Most Huggable Character award.) HuggieBot standing over five feet tall and weighing 450 pounds asks humans for hugs (and even says please) before embracing them in its massive metal arms. Its creators hope that one day, HuggieBot can be used for emotional support in college dorms and senior facilities.

5. Win at Rock Paper Scissors

Even past victors of the World Rock Paper Scissors Championship (yes, thats a real thing) stand no chance against the University of Tokyos Janken robot, which has never lost a game ever. Instead of relying on prediction, the bot uses high-speed recognition to determine what shape the human hand is going to make, then reacts with the winning move. The entire process only takes a thousandth of a second.

6. Ski like an Olympian

During last years winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, humans werent the only ones competing in Alpine skiing. At the nearby Welli Hilli ski resort in Hoenseong, eight robot athletes zipped down the slopes to compete for a prize of $10,000. Each bot had to be over 50 cm tall, maneuver around the flag poles and needed to have joints that allowed them to bend their knees and elbows. The snow pants were optional.

7. Run a hotel

For just under $200, you could spend a night in a hotel run by robots. At Japans Henn na Hotel, almost every single thing from the receptionists (a female android and an English-speaking dinosaur) to the luggage porter to the room service is automated. In an unfortunate turn of events, half of the 243 robots staff were laid off earlier this year, but the hotel is still fully operational.

8. Build IKEA furniture

If theres a single thing everyone can agree on, its that trying to assemble IKEA furniture is a hellish process. Researchers in Singapore want to spare amateur furniture builders from ever having to crack another instruction manual, so they created a set of robotic arms that can assemble an IKEA chair in just 20 minutes. While most manufacturing bots function assembly line-style, this robot uses 3D cameras to correctly identify which parts it needs, then pieces them all together.

9. Perform brain surgery

Earlier this month, doctors in Toronto performed the worlds first-ever brain surgery using robotics. The patient had suffered a major aneurysm, and surgeons used a remote controlled robotic arm to guide a catheter from an incision made near her groin all the way up to her brain.

10. Lead a funeral

In Japan, hiring a Buddhist monk for a funeral can cost upwards of $3,000. Pepper a robe-wearing robot priest is able to chant sutras while simultaneously tapping a drum for a fifth of the cost. Bonus: the automated monk can live-stream the ceremony to those who are unable to attend.

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Ten outrageous things robots can do right now, from cooking to building IKEA furniture - National Post

How do you get machines to perform better? Tell them they could croak at any minute. In a new paper from the University of Southern California, scientists say that in a dynamic and unpredictable world, an intelligent agent should hold its own meta-goal of self-preservation.

Lead researcher Antonio Damasio is a luminary in the field of intelligence and the brain. In his profile at the Edge Foundation, they say Damasio has made seminal contributions to the understanding of brain processes underlying emotions, feelings, decision-making and consciousness. At USC, hes co-director of the Brain and Creativity Institute (BCI) with his equally luminous wife, Hanna Damasio.

Damasios paper, coauthored with BCI researcher Kingson Man, is a model based on philosophy and science of mind paired with accumulating research into robotics technology. They published the paper in Nature Machine Intelligence, a title usually meant as Natures [Journal of] Machine Intelligence but in this case, strangely prescient.

Damasio and Man suggest the way to make resilient robots isnt to make them impenetrably strong, but rather, to make them vulnerable in order to introduce ideas like restraint and self-preserving strategy. If an AI can use inputs like touch and pressure, then it can also identify danger and risk-to-self, ScienceAlert summarized.

This idea invokes the design concept of a survival game, where a finite number of resources is given to a set number of players and they must find an equilibrium or eliminate their competitors. The gorgeous 2018 card game Shipwreck Arcana is a great example of a cooperative survival game: To win, at least one person must survive being shipwrecked. You can share resources to preserve more people, or you can sacrifice resources from some players to increase the likelihood that one person will survive.

A robot with a sense of its own health isnt the most novel thingwhen a car tells you the oil is low or the engine is overheating, thats a direct self-preservation behavior. Theres just no in-between layer of circuitry to model thinking or prioritizing. Instead, the car has sensors only, and those sensors flag errors in order for the vehicles operator to address them. Imagine a car that considered your planned commute and the health of its engine and pulled itself over every 10 minutes to cool off.

Under certain conditions, machines capable of implementing a process resembling homeostasis might also acquire a source of motivation and a new means to evaluate behaviour, akin to that of feelings in living organisms, Damasio and Man say in their abstract. The car example fits this rubric. Instead of a sensor alerting an outsider every time, the hypothetical car has a brain to run analyses of the different factors that can go wrong and how likely each scenario is.

Human brains do this without, well, a second thought. Our many sensesnot just fivefeed constant input into our brains, and our body systems adjust in response. People dislike the idea that their brains and bodies are basically machines, although our complexity will probably never be fully understood by human scientists. What the scientists paper represents is the way more and more complex materials and computing are bringing machines steps toward our level, not the other way around.

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Robots Need to Know They Can Die at Any Minute, Just Like the Rest of Us - Popular Mechanics