Stryker’s Spine division to exhibit key technologies at AAOS 2017 – Yahoo Finance

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ALLENDALE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Strykers Spine division today announced that it will demonstrate its Aero-C Cervical Stability System (Aero-C) and Xia 4.5 Cortical Trajectory implants and instruments (Xia CT) at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Annual Meeting, March 1518, 2017, in San Diego (booth No. 3133).

Aero-C, the only straight forward anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) device that offers uniform compression across the interbody space, will be displayed at AAOS 2017, highlighting its full commercial launch. Using Aerofoil Compression Technology, Aero-C is designed to pull the vertebral bodies toward the implant as it is inserted, creating compressive forces at the implant-to-endplate interface.1 Aerofoil Compression Technology is also available for lateral and anterior lumbar interbody fusion procedures (LLIF and ALIF). Since the initial introduction to the market, over 600 cases have been completed.

Also to be demonstrated at AAOS is Xia CT, which includes implants and instruments used in less invasive LITe LIF posterior lumbar interbody fusion procedures for patients with degenerative disc disease, spondylolisthesis, and trauma. The cortical trajectory procedure facilitates a smaller midline incision to help achieve decompression, fixation, and fusion.2 It also is intended to be more muscle sparing than standard open procedures that require lateral dissection, and its reduced incision may allow for more efficient exposure and closure time.2 The launch of the Xia CT system occurred in 2016, with 575 cases completed to date.

Since their introduction last year, Aero-C and Xia CT have been well received by our surgeon customers and have achieved rapid adoption in the marketplace, said Bradley Paddock, President of Strykers Spine division. These unique products reflect our strong commitment to advancing spine health and helping to enhance outcomes for patients by providing physicians with innovative and differentiated technology.

Aero-C and Xia CT offer advancements that highlight the Spine divisions leadership in pioneering innovative technologies for traditional and minimally invasive surgical techniques. The company offers one of the most comprehensive and diverse product portfolios for the treatment of degenerative and complex spinal disorders. Its suite of leading-edge products includes implants, instruments, and biologics for the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine.

About Stryker

Stryker is one of the world's leading medical technology companies and, together with our customers, we are driven to make healthcare better. The Company offers a diverse array of innovative products and services in Orthopaedics, Medical and Surgical, and Neurotechnology and Spine that help improve patient and hospital outcomes. Stryker is active in over 100 countries around the world. Please contact us for more information atwww.stryker.com.

References

Indications for Use

The AERO-C Cervical Cage is indicated for use in cervical interbody fusion procedures in skeletally mature patients with degenerative disc disease (DDD) at one level from the C2-C3 disc to the C7-T1 disc. The AERO-C Cervical Cage System is to be used with autogenous bone graft and/or allogenic bone graft comprised of cancellous and/or corticocancellous bone graft, and is to be implanted via an open, anterior approach.

The Xia CT implants and instruments are intended for anterior/anterolateral and posterior, non-cervical pedicle and non-pedicle fixation for the following indications: Degenerative Disc Disease (as defined by back pain of discogenic origin with degeneration of the disc confirmed by patient history and radiographic studies); spondylolisthesis; trauma (i.e. fracture or dislocation); spinal stenosis; curvatures (i.e., scoliosis, kyphosis, and/or lordosis); tumor; pseudarthrosis; failed previous fusion.

Content ID: CVAER-PR-2_13458

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Stryker's Spine division to exhibit key technologies at AAOS 2017 - Yahoo Finance

Stryker’s Spine Division To Feature Novel 3D-Printed Spinal Implants at AAOS Conference – OrthoSpineNews

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Allendale, N.J.March 8, 2017Strykers Spine division will feature its 3D-printed Tritanium Posterior Lumbar (PL) Cage and introduce a variety of new cage sizes at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Annual Meeting, March 15-18, 2017, in San Diego (booth No. 3133).

Strykers Tritanium PL Cage launch initially included four footprint options, eight height options, and two lordosis options. The company now offers several additional sizes based on surgeon needs and requests, including a hyper-lordotic (12) cage option, as well as two new footprints9 x 32 mm and 11 x 32 mm.

During the conference, Strykers proprietary Tritanium In-Growth Technology will be featured in a virtual reality tour, providing surgeons with a unique perspective on how 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, allows the company to produce highly porous implants that would be difficult or impossible to create using traditional manufacturing techniques.

Tritanium Technology allows for the creation of porous structures designed to mimic cancellous bone in pore size, level of porosity, and interconnectivity of the pores.1 This precise randomization1 of fully interconnected pores differs from other technologies featuring longitudinal channels and traverse windows that result in a uniform lattice structure, as well as cages offering porosity that is only present on the surface.

Stryker is a pioneer in 3D additive manufacturing, investing nearly 15 years in research and development, said Strykers Spine division President Bradley Paddock. Unlike traditional manufacturing techniques, the flexibility of our 3D additive manufacturing capabilities allows us to precisely engineer and produce porous Tritanium devices. We are excited to continue growing our unique suite of Tritanium spinal products.

Also at AAOS, results will be presented from a pre-clinical animal study that evaluated the biomechanical performance and bone in-growth potential of various lumbar interbody fusion implants utilizing different materials, including the Tritanium PL Cage. Preliminary results of the study were presented at the North American Spine Society conference in October 2016. (Click here to access the Tritanium pre-clinical study summary.)

The Tritanium PL Cage features fully interconnected pores that span endplate to endplate. Its large lateral windows and open architecture allow visualization of fusion on CT and X-ray,2 and its solid-tipped, precisely angled serrations are designed to allow for bidirectional fixation and to maximize surface area for endplate contact with the cage. Additional spinal implants based on Strykers Tritanium Technology are in development.

About StrykerStryker is one of the worlds leading medical technology companies and, together with our customers, we are driven to make healthcare better. The Company offers a diverse array of innovative products and services in Orthopaedics, Medical and Surgical, and Neurotechnology and Spine that help improve patient and hospital outcomes. Stryker is active in over 100 countries around the world. For more information, visitwww.stryker.com or http://www.stryker.com/builttofuse.

Media ContactBarbara Sullivan, Sullivan & Associatesbsullivan@sullivanpr.com, 714/374-6174

Editors note: For images, video footage, or animation of the Tritanium PL Cage and Strykers 3D additive manufacturing process, contact Barbara Sullivan at bsullivan@sullivanpr.com or 714/374-6174.A backgrounder is available at http://www.stryker.com/builttofuse.

References

Content ID: TRITA-PR-6_13360

Stryker Corporation or its divisions or other corporate affiliated entities own, use or have applied for the following trademarks or service marks: AMagine, Stryker, Tritanium. All other trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners or holders.

Josh Sandberg has been an executive search consultant focused exclusively on orthopedic and spine start-ups since 2004. He has had a tremendous impact in helping his clients avoid costly hiring mistakes by his deep industry knowledge and network. In 2010, Josh co-founded Ortho Spine Companies, which is the parent company of Ortho Spine Distributors (OSD), Surg.io and Ortho Sales Partners (OSP). OSD a searchable database that helps ease the frustration of finding orthopedic distributors throughout the country. Surg.io is the ultimate distributor toolkit that offers distributors the tools necessary to build the foundation of a scalable and highly functioning sales organization. OSP is an end-to-end solution that helps companies approach the Global Market in a cost efficient way. Our team has hundreds of years of experience and can help you navigate the many challenges present in bringing new technologies to the market.

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Political correctness sends ACC from Tobacco Road to Brooklyn – Power Line (blog)

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For decades, the ACC basketball tournament has been held almost exclusively in North Carolina, along Tobacco Road. Between 1954, the first year of the tournament, and 1975, it took place in that state every year.

Following a trip to Landover, Maryland in 1976 (where Virginia won its first championship), the tourney returned to North Carolina for six of the next eight seasons. After a few visits to Landover and Atlanta, it was held in the Tar Heel State for 11 consecutive years, and 14 out of 15.

During the 51 year period I have described, North Carolina teams usually made up less than half of the ACC. I dont ever recall them comprising more than half, though they might have during the very early years before I was a fan.

Yet, the ACC consistently bestowed a home state advantage on Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina State, and Wake Forest, at the expense of Maryland, Virginia, and Clemson and (at various times) South Carolina, Georgia Tech, and Florida State.

Clemson has never won the tournament; it has been the runner-up only twice. Florida State has won it once (Atlanta); Virginia has won it twice (once in Maryland); Georgia Tech has won it three times (twice in Atlanta).

Maryland even though it had a great program in the 1970s, the first half of the 80s, most of the 90s, and the first several years of this century only won the tournament twice during this period (1984 and 2004). During this era it had as many trips to the Final Four as it had ACC championships. (The Terps also won the tournament back in 1958).

Fairly recently, the ACC added teams from all over the place e.g. Louisville, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Miami, Notre Dame, and Boston College (meanwhile, Maryland left the conference). North Carolina schools now make up less than 30 percent of the league. Yet, that state has hosted five of the last seven tournaments.

It would have held this years tournament too. However, political correctness accomplished what sports equity could not it drove the ACC tourney out of North Carolina.

The event is currently taking place in. . .Brooklyn. No ACC team is located in that area. The closest, I think, is Boston College, more than three and a half hours away.

At last, a truly neutral court.

The ACC moved its tournament in response to North Carolinas bathroom law. Its the same spirit of political correctness that caused the NBA to move this years all-star game from Charlotte to New Orleans and the NCAA to move two rounds of its mens basketball tournament out of the state. I expressed my disgust with this practice here.

Today, the Washington Post, without mentioning how the ACC tournament landed in Brooklyn, tried to make that borough look like a natural fit. It noted that Frank McGuire, who was a big deal coach 50 years ago, was a New Yorker who recruited successfully in that city.

No disrespect to McGuire, Charlie Scott, or Kenny Anderson, but I think this is a case of any port in a political storm. If the ACC hadnt been able to find a non-North Carolina venue in the continental U.S., I suspect it was prepared to go to Alaska. Heck, former ACC stars Trajan Langdon and Carlos Boozer came from there.

The ACC tournament isnt a big deal these days, given the inflated, incoherent nature of the conference and the fact that a large number of its teams will make the NCAA tournament regardless of what happens in Brooklyn. Unless youre a fan of one of the semi-finalists, theres not much reason to watch the event this weekend. That the conference pulled the tourney out of North Carolina for political reasons is a good reason not to watch it.

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Political correctness sends ACC from Tobacco Road to Brooklyn - Power Line (blog)

This man is cloning old-growth redwoods and planting them in safe places (video) – Treehugger

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David Milarch is on a quest to save California's coast redwoods, some of the world's oldest and largest living things; he may be saving the planet along the way.

There is nothing like a coast redwood. Sequoia sempervirens is the planets tallest tree, soaring to heights of more than 320 feet into the sky. They have trunks of more than 27 feet wide and can live for over 2,000 years. Some of the arboreal gentle giants living today were alive during the time of the Roman Empire.

Before the mid-19th century, coast redwoods spread throughout a range of some 2 million acres along the California coast, starting at Big Sur and stretching all the way into southern Oregon. People had been peacefully co-existing with the forests forever. But with the gold rush came the logging; today only 5 percent of the original old-growth coast redwood forest remains along a 450-mile strip of coast. And as the planet warms up, the specific conditions required by the redwoods change; their future doesn't look so great. Animals can migrate north to escape the south's warming temperatures and consequential habitat change; trees, not so much.

But with David Milarch on the case, maybe they can.

In 1991, Milarch, an arborist from Michigan, literally died from renal failure, before being revived and springing back to life. There's nothing like a near-death experience to inspire a new course in life, as was the case with Milarch. His new quest? To harvest the genetics of the coast redwoods and give them an assist in migration.

"I feel tremendous sorrow that 95 percent of them were killed and we didnt even know what they do to anchor our ability as human beings to live on this planet," says Milarch. "We killed them. Thats the bad news. Its my job when I walk through there [the forest] to yell out to those trees, to hold those trees, and say Im here to do everything in my power on Earth to bring all the human beings and all the help that I can to put this back. To put back every single tree that was cut down and killed. And Im going to do it."

By cloning and replanting them in places where they once thrived but were lost, he is not only increasing their numbers but planting them in locations where they have a better chance of longevity. And the result is two-fold: Save the trees and save the planet (for humankind, at least, the planet will go on with or without us, but you know what I mean). Redwood trees are among the most effective carbon sequestration tools in the world, notes Moving the Giants, Milarch takes part in a global effort to use one of natures most impressive achievements to re-chart a positive course for humanity.

To learn more about Milarch and the work he is doing, watch this wonderful short film. It might make you wonder if one can become an angel from a near-death experience alone.

For more on the project and how to help, visit Archangel Ancient Tree Archive.

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This man is cloning old-growth redwoods and planting them in safe places (video) - Treehugger

Optical evolution may have helped fish transition onto land – Science Recorder

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While scientists have long been believed that the evolution of fins into limbs is the main reason organisms were first able to come out of the water and up onto land, a new study from researchers at Northwestern University suggests that better eyes may have been just as important.

All four-limbed vertebrates come from a group known as tetrapods. Tetrapods evolved from early fish that slowly came up out of the sea and onto land. However, they were not the first animals to make this transition. A wide range of invertebrates including arachnids, crustaceans, and insects accomplished this about 50 million years before our ancestors.

To explain this, the researchers have come up with the buenva vista theory, which states our early ancestors crawled onto land only after they evolved eyes that allowed them to see the numerous food sources existing out of the water.

Why did we come up onto land 385 million years ago? asked lead author Malcolm MacIver, professor of biomedical engineering at Northwestern University, in a statement. We are the first to think that vision might have something to do with it. We found a huge increase in visual capability in vertebrates just before the transition from water to land. Our hypothesis is that maybe it was seeing an unexploited cornucopia of food on land millipedes, centipedes, spiders and more that drove evolution to come up with limbs from fins.

The team came to this conclusion by looking at both the eye sockets and head length in 59 fossils dating back to the periods before, during, and after tetrapods evolved. They found that the average eye socket measured roughly 0.5 inches across before the shift and 1.4 inches after,New Atlasreports.

This is an important distinction because bigger eyes would have had no evolutionary advantage underwater. As a result, there must have been another reason the animals evolved that feature. Researchers tested this by running a number of simulations that showed larger eyes could see almost 70 times further through the air than they could in water.

In addition, eyes also moved up on the skull over time, placing them in an area where they see over the surface. This would have pushed natural selection in a way so the limbed animals that could access more food were favored.

Bigger eyes are almost worthless in water because vision is largely limited to whats directly in front of the animal, said study co-author Lars Schmitz, assistant professor of biology at the W.M. Keck Science Department. But larger eye size is very valuable when viewing through air. In evolution, it often comes down to a trade-off. Is it worth the metabolic toll to enlarge your eyes? Whats the point? Here we think the point was to be able to search out prey on land.

The team also found evidence that the transition onto land led to more developed brains. This is because, while fish have to react quickly as a result of their short visual range, better eyesight may have given land-dwelling tetrapods more ways to detect predators. Without having to spend as much time worrying about being hunted, they could have allocated more energy towards developing complex cognition.

The findingswerepublished in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Joseph Scalise is an experienced writer who has worked for many different online websites across many different mediums. While his background is mainly rooted in sports writing, he has also written and edited guides, ebooks, short stories and screenplays. In addition, he performs and writes poetry, and has won numerous contests. Joseph is a dedicated writer, sports lover and avid reader who covers all different topics, ranging from space exploration to his personal favorite science, microbiology.

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Bont covered in glory in AFL Evolution game – AFL.com.au

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Marcus Bontempelli, Chad Wingard and Isaac Heeney appear on the game cover

THE FANS have spoken and Western Bulldogs premiership prodigy Marcus Bontempelli will appear on the cover of the yet-to-be-released AFL Evolution video game.

Following a fan poll on AFL.com.au late last year, Dogs club champion Bontempelli received 23 per cent of the 128,000 votes cast by fans.

'The Bont' will be joined on the cover of AFL Evolution by Port Adelaide star Chad Wingard and Sydney youngster Isaac Heeney.

The front cover design was revealed on Thursday today by AFL licensee Tru Blu Entertainment, which is working on the production in conjunction with Wicked Witch Software.

AFL Evolution, which is scheduled to be released in the first half of the 2017 season, will be available on next-generation consoles PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC Steam.

In December, the AFL's then commercial operations manager Darren Birch said: "AFL Evolution will deliver a unique experience for footy fans, taking them to the heart of the action in a virtual footy world."

As part of the formulation of AFL Evolution, players at all 18 clubs participated in photo shoots in which 24 cameras simultaneously photographed them to create highly detailed likenesses.

AFL Players' Association communications manager Rebecca Chitty said the players were thrilled to be involved in the project.

"This generation of AFL footballers grew up playing video games and this is an opportunity to feature in one thats sure to have footy fans highly engaged," Chitty said.

"Digital is an ever-evolving space and the players see this as just another way to grow the game by reaching out to new audiences and showcasing it on different platforms."

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Bont covered in glory in AFL Evolution game - AFL.com.au

VOTD: See the Evolution of 2D Animation from 1833 to 1990 – /FILM

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/FILM
VOTD: See the Evolution of 2D Animation from 1833 to 1990
/FILM
Since motion picture cameras weren't invented until 1890s, the art of animation predates live-action filmmaking by nearly 60 years. With such a head start on motion pictures, it's incredible that it took until 1937 for animation to start getting the ...
This Mesmerising Video Shows The Evolution Of Animation Over A CenturyGizmodo Australia

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VOTD: See the Evolution of 2D Animation from 1833 to 1990 - /FILM

The evolution of CJ Cron – the hitter – Halo’s Heaven

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During spring training this year, I noticed a different approach Cron was using when he walks up to the plate. At least I think its different since its hard to find much video of him from before a pitch is delivered. When Cron steps up to the plate, his legs are wide and he crouches down like hes doing a sideways deep knee bend before he comes back up to his ready stance. This got me thinking - what did Cron look like last year? How about in college? Or as a prospect? Enjoy this video journey into the evolution of C.J. Cron - the hitter.

Cron had a more narrow stance in the early days and seemed a little bit more rigid. He still had a pretty sweet swing and a lot of pop. There is a reason he was a #1 draft pick. He went to Orem in 2011 and slashed .308/.371/.629 with 13 home runs in just 34 games.

In 2012, Cron was leaning down a bit more but his stance didnt change all that much. He skipped over A ball and went right to A+ where he knocked out 27 home runs in 129 games. Rookie ball to A+ is a good jump and he seemed to handle it well.

By the time he reached AA ball and some more talented pitching, Cron looked more relaxed at the plate and opened up his stance a bit. His changes in approach at the plate from college to AA ball are pretty noticeable.

Cron had reasons to smile in his big league debut as he knocked in 3 hits and 2 RBIs during his May debut. Cron was pretty much here to stay at that point with just a few more short stints in Salt Lake. He was relaxed at the plate but still had a bit of over-eagerness.

Take a look at Crons body language here. He has a adjusted his approach at the plate at bit more and we probably wont see a lot more changes other than minor ones at this point. He looks really, really comfortable up there. Cron has 20-25 HR potential, though we havent seen it yet. Mostly because hes never had more than 116 games in one season. Crons AVG, OBP, and walks to K ratio have all improved over his 3 years in the majors. I guess the biggest question we will probably see answered this year is - has his evolution comes to its near peak - or will we see more out of him as a hitter in his age 27 season?

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The evolution of CJ Cron - the hitter - Halo's Heaven

Human-less trucks are here, courtesy of Bay Area robotics firm – Long Beach Press Telegram

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The idea for remote-controlled robots that drive trucks came to Stefan Seltz-Axmacher on a camping trip in Northern California.

I was talking to my friend about cool robots we can build, and I just pitched the idea, he said.

Now the 27-year-old co-founder of Starsky Robotics is heading one of a handful of startups looking at upending the long-haul trucking industry.

The 15-employee company already has raised $3.75 million, but unlike other startups such as the Uber-owned Otto that seek to eschew truck drivers completely, San Francisco-based Starsky Robotics wants humans steering big rigs, just not from behind the wheel.

Starsky outfits trucks with an add-on system that uses computers, radar and software to allow the vehicle to run autonomously on the highway, where there is much more predictability than on the streets. Then, once the big rig exits on to city streets, the remotely controlled robots take over.

Theres a very essential role for truckers to play in the economy, he said. What we are doing now is greatly increasing their productivity, so they can drive more trucks.

A shortage of drivers has plagued the industry, with one 2015 study from the American Trucking Associations estimating the shortage could grow to 175,000 by 2024.

With Seltz-Axmachers system, truckers wont be sitting inside a truck, but near a screen.

The core problem we are solving is that it is hard to get human beings to spend a month at a time in the truck, he said.

Last month, the company equipped a Freightliner and hauled 5,000 pounds of freight from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale. For 120 miles the truck ran humanless and then an additional 20 miles via remote control.

We are using people for what people are really good at, and that is complex tasks, high-level understanding and dealing with new variables, he said. And we are using artificial intelligence for what it is best at: boring repetitive tasks, staying in the lane and managing speed relative to other vehicles.

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Human-less trucks are here, courtesy of Bay Area robotics firm - Long Beach Press Telegram

Udacity adds robotics and digital marketing Nanodegree programs, 21 new hiring partners – TechCrunch

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Today at the inauguralUdacity Intersect conference, the online education startup announced new robotics and digital marketing variants of its popular Nanodegrees an effort to expand its corpus of 21st century skills-based courses. In addition to the new degrees, Udacity is adding 21 new hiring partners spanning the automotive, defense, tech, hardware and telecommunicationsindustries. And, lastly, the company is partnering withDidi Chuxing for a new $100,000 competitionto build safety features for self-drivingcars.

More than 20,000 students have been a part of Udacity Nanodegree programs. Spanning topics like deep learning and VR development, the programs offer students studies that aremore rigorous than a certificate and less intensive than a full degree. The new Nanodegreesannounced today expand the reach of Udacity into marketing and robotics.

This is a blueprint for anyone in higher education, said Sebastian Thrun, co-founder and chairman of Udacity.

Udacitys addition of the Deep Learning Nanodegree might have been a tip-off that the startup would be looking to cater to robotics enthusiasts. The first of two new Nanodegrees will be for robotics. Automation is a hot topic and any future involving machine intelligence will involve software-enabled hardware to increase efficiency. Students interested in this program will need a background ofcalculus, linear algebra, stats, basic physics, Python and computer algorithms.

It is easy to think that Udacity is reaching into uncharted territory with its new Digital Marketing Nanodegree program, but as marketing becomes more reliant on digital channels, new approaches are needed to prepare students for the rapidly changing career. And unlike the Robotics Nanodegree, the Digital Marketing Nanodegree will not require any prerequisite knowledge.

Each program will take three months to complete. Applications for the Robotics and Digital Marketing Nanodegree will open on March 8th and remain open until April 17th. Each term will cost $1,200.

The team also provided an update on Udacitys self-driving car efforts.Udacitys relationship with Didi is going beyond traditional partners. The two are launchinga new competitionto build anAutomated Safety and Awareness Processing Stack (ASAPS) for autonomous vehicles. And, of course, another partner,Velodyne, will be providing the necessary data to fuel the efforts. The competition will have two rounds and begin on March 22nd, with the winners getting $100,000 and the right to implement their code in Udacitys actual self-driving vehicle.

Udacity has made an effort to brand itself as a solution for the education asymmetries that plague the economy. This meant working in tandem with more than 50 hiring partners to both tailor curriculum toemployers needs and match students to prospective jobs.

Students end up at thesecompanies and open up doors to us, added Thrun. Its working, its kind of amazing.

The new partners added today fit the trend of connecting availableNanodegrees directly to open jobs. iRobot and Megabots are both in need of students with an understanding ofmechatronics. But beyond just robotics, Udacity has added companies, large and small, with a global reach.

The startupplans to continue adding new hiring partners and including them in discussions about futurecurriculum. But Thruninsists that there is more thatneeds to be done.

The single thingthat works best is instilling confidence and helping students prep for interviews and get theirCV into shape, insisted Thrun. Youd be shocked at how many people lack the confidence to ace their interview.

To get there, Udacity has been building itscommunity of graduates and putting them to use helpingnew students. Some graduates, like Omar Albeik, a Syrian refugee studying in Istanbul, are hired to develop websites and other side projects, sometimes for Udacity and sometimes for other companies. Other former studentsevaluate project submissionsand offer mentorship.

Albeik, who contributed back to Udacity as part of its Blitz team, didnt sign up for Udacity because of its pitch to help with securinga job. Instead, it was about the ability to try to experiment with something without being forced to commit to it.

When I started learning, I was learning for the sake of learning, said Albeik. I wanted to choose what area to go into and Nanodegrees helped me discover.

But for when the time comes, the corporate relationships certainly dont detract. Thefull list of new hiring partners is below:

X

Megabots

iRobot

Fiat Chrysler

Lockheed Martin

Kuka

Delphi

Innovation Works

Ross Intelligence

Renovo

Velodyne

Paytm

1mg

Zomato

ZEISS

SAP

CI&T

IBM Brazil

Telefonica Vivo Brazil

Zalando

Rakuten

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Udacity adds robotics and digital marketing Nanodegree programs, 21 new hiring partners - TechCrunch

Beeping and buzzing robotics competition comes to Central Jersey – MyCentralJersey.com

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Roboraiders launch 2016 FIRST robotics season in Hillsborough, N.J. viewing video of the new game, FIRST Stronghold. iPad video by Pam MacKenzie. Pamela MacKenzie

Two students at North Brunswick High School working on a robot for their school's team "Raider Robotix".(Photo: ~Courtesy of Karen Ramsden-Zahler)

The robots are back in town.

Several Central Jersey high schools will have robotics teams building and competing in the 2017For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Robotics Competition.

The high schools involved withFIRST Mid-Atlantic Robots include Hillsborough High School, Watchung Hills Regional High School, Bound Brook High School, Plainfield High School, Somerville High School, Bridgewater-Raritan High School, Rahway High School, Union County Vo-Tech, Immaculata High School in Somerville, Montgomery High School, Hunterdon Central Regional High School, the Pingry School in Basking Ridge, Gill St. Bernards in Gladstone and the Central School in Somerset.

Other schools involved includeNorth Brunswick High School, Piscataway High School, Middlesex Borough High School, St. Joseph's High School in Metuchen, West Windsor-Plainsboro north and south high schools, J.P. Stevens High School in Edison, JFK Memorial High School in Iselin, South River High School and South Plainfield High School.

There will be seven events held in New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania.

Two of the seven events will be conductedin Central Jersey. From March 17 to 19, Bridgewater-Raritan Regional High School will host 38 teams and from March 31 to April 2 at Montgomery High School will also host 38 teams. The events are open to the public and are free and typically run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The only difference between science fiction and science is timing, said Dean Kamen, FIRST founder and president of DEKA Research & Development. We want kids, through their FIRST experience, to realize that whatever is in their imaginations could become reality if they develop the tools science, technology, engineering and apply those tools into innovations to turn todays science fiction into tomorrows science.

READ:Central Jersey robotics teams score at FIRST regional meet

The competition is dubbed STEAMWORKS and will allow, for the first time,human players on the field to interact with the robots during the game. In the steam-powered challenge, the objective is to prepare an airship for flight by building steam pressure, starting rotorsand climbing aboard.

Long-distance steamship races will include alliances comprised of threeteams having to collect fuel for the boiler to build pressure while the ships' pilots collect and install missing gears to engage the ships' rotors. Last year,ParallelUniversefrom the Union County Vo-Tech in Scotch Plains was a member of the winningalliance, which included two other teams.

Somerville High School's Team 102 Gearheads' electrical team, made up of Emilio Santana, Tim Vogel, and Matt Emmons, preparing the components to control the robot while the programming team in the background continues coding the control commands.(Photo: ~Courtesy of John Giardina)

Towardsthe end of the game, the robot can climb a rope on the airship for liftoff. Based on points earned when launch time reaches zero, the team best prepared for flight wins. The competition this yearhas asteampunk theme.

The competition hasstrict rules, limited resources and time limits. Teams of students are challenged to raise funds, design a team brand, hone teamwork skills, and build and program robots to perform prescribed tasks against a field of competitors.

READ:FIRST Robotics and Mid-Atlantic Robotics honor Donald Bowers

FIRST has three other programs Jr. FIRST LEGO League ages for six to eight, FIRST LEGO League for ages eightto 14, and FIRST Tech Challenge for ages 14 to 18). In 2017, FIRST Robotics Competition will reach 85,000 high school students representing approximately 3,400 teams. Teams come from nearly every state in the US, as well as many other countries. FIRST Robotics Competition teams will participate in 55 Regional Competitions, 80 District Competitions, and 10 District Championships.

In addition, approximately 800 teams will qualify to go to one of the two FIRST Championships at the end of April.

For more information on FIRST, visit http://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc.There are 120 teams in the district that covers New Jersey, Delaware and Eastern Pennsylvania. For more on FIRST Mid-Atlantic Robots go to http://www.midatlanticrobotics.com.

Staff Writer Nick Muscavage: 908-243-6615; ngmuscavage@gannettnj.com

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Beeping and buzzing robotics competition comes to Central Jersey - MyCentralJersey.com

Budget 2017: Funding for robotics and batteries dismissed as … – Telegraph.co.uk

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The Chancellor Philip Hammond said the funds would keep the UK at the forefront of disruptive technologies. However, the funding was criticised as inadequate by some in the industry, who pointed out that it can cost hundreds of millions of pounds to develop one technology alone.

While of course any investment in our technology industry is welcome, a leading world economy like the UK should be more decisive in its efforts to boost the development of disruptive technologies, said Adolfo Hernandez, the chief executive of language software firm SDL.

A 270m pot to cover everything from artificial intelligence, robotics, driverless cars and new biotech isnt big when you put it into context. The US spent more than $1bn (820m) on R&D in AI-related technologies alone in 2015. For the UK to be a true global leader in these areas, we must be prepared to provide adequate funding and support.

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Budget 2017: Funding for robotics and batteries dismissed as ... - Telegraph.co.uk

Rethinking Warehouse Fulfillment With Robots – WWD

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Warehouse fulfillment centers for online (and, previously, catalog) sales of fashion and beauty products essentially have remained the same for the past 30 years: Workers load up shelved products moved by conveyors onto bakers racks before taking them to a shipping station for packing and later loading onto carriers such as United Parcel Service, the U.S. Postal Service or FedEx.

Shoppers who ordered from a Sears, J.C. Penney, Lillian Vernon or Service Merchandise catalog got the goods weeks later. Even as online sites emerged in the market, delivery wasnt that much faster, although the ordering process was quicker.

Then came Amazon, which changed everything.

Consumers now expect ultrafast and often free shipping. They want the best price, too. But retailers and brands are fending off Amazon by offering consumers more personalized services, which include customizable products (such as Nikes Nike ID shoes and accessories) and subscriptions and membership commerce (such as what TechStyle Fashion Group offers with its Fabletics and JustFab brands).

Click here to read about a recent Zebra Technologies executive survey on planned technology investments.

Quiet Logistics, based in Devens, Mass., which is west of Boston and located at a former U.S. Army base turned business development park, specializes in these services. They offer fulfillment of online orders that match a brands aesthetic in regard to package design, packing materials, logos and marketing collateral (including handwritten notes). Clients include Bonobos, Zara, Bluefly, Milly, Glossier, Gilt and Bombfell, among others. The company primarily serves the fashion, beauty and accessories markets.

Bruce Welty, founder and chairman, and Rick Faulk, chief executive officer, said the growth of online sales is quickly transforming all of retail. And what makes it all happen is a warehouse, which is the core of how e-commerce is powered, Welty said.

But Faulk and Welty said its a labor-intensive process. And as a result of the Amazon effect, the demand for warehouse labor has increased while labor availability has decreased. Technology has helped. In 2003, Kiva Systems was founded and offered automated pick, pack and ship systems. It wasnt long before companies such as The Gap, Staples, Saks Fifth Avenue and Gilt Groupe used Kiva robots for fulfillment, which involves automatically taking freestanding racks of products to a human packer. This replaces the traditional conveyer belt/bakers rack system. Still, Welty said 97 percent of the market still uses non-robotic systems.

Amazon acquired Kiva in 2012 for $775 million, and renamed it Amazon Robotics LLC. While Quiet Logistics still uses Kiva robots today, the founders wanted to take the next step in automated fulfillment. The urge to evolve is because Kiva robots follow tracks on the warehouse floor, and tend to bunch up in traffic jams behind one another until human packerscan unload the products.

So Welty and his team scoured the globe looking for a next generation robot that could see and maneuver around the warehouse. After a fruitless search, they decided to just build the machines themselves and launched Locus Robotics in 2015.

The companys LocusBots function collaboratively with warehouse staff. Working in zones, each robot takes empty bins to a product location on the warehouse aisle where a human then checks and scans the item. Each bin is one online order.

Brian Lemerise, president of the company, said the process is more efficient and productivity is improved as each robot knows which human helper loaded an item. One Locus robot may work with four or five humans on the floor. Once the bins are complete with orders, the robots head to the packing station where the personalization and customization occur. Worker throughput is more than five times better with the new robots versus conventional, non-robotic fulfillment, the company said.

The robot weighs about 80 pounds unloaded, and has a payload of 40 to 150 pounds. It takes 30 to 60 minutes to charge, and will operate for about 10 hours on a single charge. The company did not disclose the cost of the robots.The robots are managed with LocusServer, which is the software brain of the fleet. The company said the system is scalable to spikes in demand even during peak periods.

Welty said the new robotics solution addresses all the challenges that keep warehouse operators up at night scalability, redundancy, portability, flexibility, adaptability and manageability while dramatically improving throughput and quality. Its the culmination of many, many years of doing, thinking, building and testing within the four walls of the warehouse.

Lemerise said the end goal with the LocusBots is to continue to deliver a better brand experience to the online shopper. Lemerise said increased efficiency in the warehouse coupled with building brand equity though the right packaging is geared to delight the shopper.

The president said the 275-thousand-square-footwarehouse at Devens manages the inventory for 34 separate brands. Fulfillment includes shipping as well as handling returns. Regarding the growth of online commerce, Lemerise, who worked in fulfillment for J.C. Penney, acknowledged the impact on traditional retailing. Stores are closing at a fast pace, but for his part, Lemerise said many of the sales associate level jobs can be transferred to e-commerce fulfillment, which can pay $2 more an hour due to current market rates and there are no cranky customers to deal with.

In fact, we dont advertise these positions as warehouse jobs, he said. We look for employees with merchandising skills. That means following Zaras exact instructions for folding a dress or shirt. Or carefully packing apparel or accessories in tissue, and handwriting a thank you note.

The company said this past holiday shopping season was the busiest its seen. The firm added 600 seasonal workers to handle the bump in volume. According to government data, online holiday sales this past year in the U.S. had a 14.3 percent year-over-year gain. And for 2016, online sales climbed 15.1 percent compared to 2015.

Regarding the use of robots, theres a lot of political noise in the market that robots are stealing jobs from people. The executives at Quiet Logistics and Locus Robotics disagree, and note that jobs are simply shifting or being transformed. Last week, freshly minted Commerce SecretaryWilbur Rosssaid on CNBC that automation is inevitable. He said that the U.S. needs technological [advancements]. And if we dont employ robots, the Chinese will, the Vietnamese will, the Europeans will, the Japanese will. Everyone will.

Earlier this month, analysts at the Economic Policy Institute also cautioned against the notion that automation steals jobs. In an economic snapshot report, the nonprofit said that robots and automation allow us to increase efficiency by making more things for less money.

When goods and services are cheaper, consumers can afford to buy more robot-made stuff, or have money left over to spend on other things, the authors of the report noted. When consumers spend their leftover cash on additional goods and services, it creates jobs. These new jobs help compensate for the jobs lost to automation.

However, in a recent blog post by the Bank of England, economists at the firm said automation, machine learning, driverless cars and artificial intelligence could displace more workers than analysts and other economists think. Over the next 20 years, they expect two million retail jobs in the U.K. to disappear. Or maybe more.

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UNSW team chase $6.6 million prizemoney at Abu Dhabi robotics competition – The Sydney Morning Herald

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An Australian team will do battle next week against 24 other outfits in pursuit of $US5 million ($6.6 million) prizemoney at the Abu Dhabi Formula One circuit.

But they won't be racing cars. Instead, the University of NSW engineers will compete using drones and a ground-based robot in a search and disaster response simulation.

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The only Australian team to compete in the $6.6 million Mohamed Bin Zayed International Robotics Competition leaves this weekend for Abu Dhabi to do battle against 25 teams from 11 countries.

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The only Australian team to compete in the $6.6 million Mohamed Bin Zayed International Robotics Competition leaves this weekend for Abu Dhabi to do battle against 25 teams from 11 countries.

It is the richest robotics competition in the world and is named after the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohamed Bin Zayed.

"The focus of the competition is disaster response," said Mark Whitty, lead researcher for the engineering team.

"Take the Fukushima disaster, when the Japanese reactor went into meltdown. The robots they tried to place were unable to do things like walk up stairs, unscrew nuts and bolts basically incapable of doing anything useful."

Dr Whitty said that while the competitions are fun, the end goal is for the deployment of search-and-respond robotics that are safe, co-operative and autonomous.

"A big challenge in using robotics during disasters is communication," he said. "From 9/11 on, there have been problems. We need systems that don't rely on cables or uncertain WiFi and other systems."

The UNSW team must use drones they have designed to locate and land on moving vehicles. Those four hexacopter drones Flippy, Floppy, Flappy and Fally were developed by seven students and three UNSW researchers.

One drone will land on a truck, pick up a target object and deliver it to a final destination.

But that's just the first of their heroic labours they also have to use an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) to approach a mock disaster site.

The UGV, called Pepper, has a top speed of three metres a second - about 11 kilometres an hour. The drones can fly at 60km/h, but the competition speed limit is 30km/h.

"Our UGV has to drive to a location, identify and pick up a certain size spanner, then grip it and use it to turn a valve stem," said project leader Dr Stanley Lam.

In total there are four challenges:

The UNSW team has entered all four challenges and Dr Whitty rates their chances.

"Of the 25 teams selected we are ranked second of those that are funded independently," Dr Whitty said.

"We are taking a crack team of students. It's the same group that won best technical performance and blitzed the course record at the Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition in 2015," he said.

The team's name, Saving Robert, "came out of our lab's theme of saving vegetables", says team member John Lam, who now works at Microsoft in Seattle.

"We had a pet onion plant in the lab called Allen and it died," Mr Lam said. "We've now moved on to a carrot, called Robert, but we haven't planted it yet."

What will they do with the prizemoney if they win?

"I imagine the students will want to continue to support the development of robotics at UNSW," Dr Whitty said.

This could be in the form of preparing for other events, buying equipment and supporting younger students, including high-school kids, he said.

In total, 143 teams from 35 countries applied to enter the competition. But only 25 made the final cut.

Other teams that are through include some of the best robotics outfits in the world from Carnegie Mellon University (USA), ETH Zurich, University of Tokyo and Imperial College London.

Three of the 10 team members are UNSW graduates: Stephanie McArthur is now at Google Waymo, working on self-driving car technology; John Lam is at Microsoft in Seattle; and Samuel Marden is at Uber in Pittsburgh.

Other team members are Chris Lu, William Andrew, Daniel Castillo, Harry Dudley-Bestow and Dominik Daners.

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UNSW team chase $6.6 million prizemoney at Abu Dhabi robotics competition - The Sydney Morning Herald

Miso Robotics’ Flippy flips burgers, loves its job – SlashGear

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Spongebobs days as a fry cook will soon be over. Somewhat. But while Spongebob is a fictional character, the robot that will be flipping burgers and putting them on buns definitely isnt. Its called Flippy and its nothing but a smaller and more dexterous version of a stereotypical robotic arm. But unlike those industrial machines designed more for power, Miso Robotics designed Flippy to be fast, precise, and smart. All for the purpose of having it flip burgers and then, when properly fried, place them on buns.

Before you knock Flippy as just some mindless sponge-hating machine, do think about what it takes to cook burgers. You have to place the patties on the frier, lay out the buns, put the other ingredients on the bun, check if one side of the patty is cooked, flip it, wait for that other side to cook, place it on the bun, and then place the other half of the bun on top. These are the steps that human cooks will have taken for granted after days of repetition. Almost ironically, a robot would actually require a bit more brains to do even just a fraction of that.

Flippy isnt just an arm but actually a more complex system. It has sensors, particularly cameras, that can sees the location of the patty and the bun. It can check when a patty is cooked and flips it over. And once done, it picks it up and places it on an empty bun. It can even get out of the way of the human who still has to place the patties on the grill. And, yes, it uses artificial intelligence for all of those.

Luckily for human employees, Miso Robotics cant yet replace them with robots. Flippy can flip burgers and place them on buns, and thats pretty much it. Humans still have to place the patties on the grill, lay out the buns for Flippy to fill, and cover said buns. Flippy simply saves them from the greasy, and sometimes dangerous, task of actually cooking the burgers.

Flippy is just one of Miso Robotics kitchen assistants. It envisions that more such smart robots will eventually perform more rote and risky tasks in the future. But rather than be a reason for unemployment, such robots could help free up human workers, particular cooks and chefs, to do what no robot can do: socialize with customers.

SOURCE: Miso Robotics

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Dalton to host robotics district qualifier this weekend – The Daily Citizen

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If anyone wants to know what STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education is about, David Moeller, CEO of the Northwest Georgia College and Career Academy, said the Georgia FIRST Robotics competition is the place to find out.

"This is where students put theory to practice," he said. "This is where the rubber hits the road."

The 2017 FIRST District Qualifier is Friday and Saturday at the Dalton Convention Center. The event is free and open to the public. FIRST stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.

During a robotics competition team members are challenged to design, build and program industrial-sized robots to compete against other robots. Teams compete in two events to determine if they qualify for the district championship.

About 40 teams from Georgia will compete to qualify for the district championship next month in Athens. Among them are The Mountaineers, a rookie team from North Murray High School.

Moeller said he's excited to see another team from the area competing. The Career Blazers Fighting Mongooses, out of the Career Academy, is the other team.

"I think it's great," Moeller said. "The more teams we can get to spring up in this region, the better."

Kevin Henry and James Rowlenson, both North Murray teachers, sponsor the 15-member Mountaineers team. Rowlenson said after watching last year's competition at the convetion center the team was motivated to prepare for qualifiers.

"They saw what was going on and really started working on getting ready," Rowlenson said.

Moeller's team met The Mountaineers last weekend at the Peachtree Regional in Gainesville.

"They did really well as a rookie team," Moeller said.

Rowlenson said he's looking forward to his team "being successful."

"We learned a lot about how the game is conducted and different things about the challenge," he said of regionals. "We're going take all the lessons and apply them this week."

Moeller said it's going to be an exciting time.

"Northwest Georgia is a manufacturing community and the whole industry is based on STEM education," Moeller said. "The fact that we're helping other teams is fantastic."

The Career Blazers will also return to the area competition. The team has doubled in size to 24 compared to last year.

"This is only our second year," he said. "Were still learning but they're doing well."

The team competed in the regional last weekend and won a team spirit award. Last year the team won the All-Star Rookie competition at the FIRST Robotics state championship in Athens and competed in the World FIRST Robotics Championship in St. Louis, Mo.

Moeller said this week's qualifier is a time for students to put what they learned into action.

"It's great when the teams can actually read about something and work with their hands to make it happen," Moeller said. "It just reinforces everything."

If you go

Friday

Opening ceremonies: 10:30 to 11 a.m.

Qualification matches: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 7 p.m.

Saturday

Opening ceremonies: 9 to 9:30 a.m

Qualification matches: 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Alliance selections: 12:30 to 1 p.m.

Final rounds: 2 to 5 p.m.

Awards ceremony: 5 to 6:30 p.m.

All events are at the Dalton Convention Center and are free and open to the public.

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Dalton to host robotics district qualifier this weekend - The Daily Citizen

Marianna High School Students Win State Robotics Competition – My Panhandle

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MARIANNA, Fla. - Three Marianna High School students now have bragging rights after competing against students statewide for a robotics competition.

High school seniors Erika Pereda, Joshua Peacock, and Daniel Tillman won first place for animatronics during this year's Technology Student Association Conference in Orlando.

Animatronics is making robotic devices come to life.

Some examples include the robots at Chuck E. Cheese's, Universal Studios, and Walt Disney World.

The group chose to create an animatronic alligator.

"The goal is to actually present it into a children's museum, and our goal is to educate children through science and technology," said Pereda.

Some parts of the gator were real, including the head and the claws.

The robotic gator is running on six motors and a hydraulic system.

Key features include movement, and an IPhone connected to a Bluetooth controlled speaker for audio.

"The hardest thing we had to do was the talking of the mouth, the talking with the alligator moving its jaws up and down.. synchronize that to the sound to the alligator...But Josh did an awesome job with doing that," said Daniel Tillman.

Joshua Peacock also helped program the gator's eyes to change color.

"You give it like a number value for a color, so it's like 0 to 255, like a red, a green, and a blue value," said Peacock.

Project Lead the Way Pre-Engineering teacher Vicki Garrett is proud of her students.

"It's amazing what they can do with that, and it's such a big thing especially for entertainment purposes. The movie industry uses animatronics all the time," said Garrett.

The group will move on to compete nationally in Orlando this June.

The students will share the robot with elementary school students some time next week.

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Marianna High School Students Win State Robotics Competition - My Panhandle

Shark Tank’s Robert Herjavec coaches kids to fuel entrepreneurial spirit – VentureBeat

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Were used to watchingShark Tanks Robert Herjavec cutdeals with adult entrepreneurs on ABC. Now, the reality show staris turning his attention to school kids by partnering withPepsiCos Frito-Lay to launch a Dreamventioncontest.

Above: Dreamvention mascot with Frito-Lay chips

Image Credit: Brnice Magistretti/VentureBeat

Kids aged seven and up can submit their inventions by uploading an original drawing on the Dreamvention website the deadline for entry is April 24. The winner, who will be announced in December, will receive a cash prize of $250,000. In addition, product development firm Mako Design+ Invent will turn the winners idea into a prototype, thus paving the way for a lucky kid-trepreneur to start his or her own business.

The partnership officially kicked off last Monday at Google Garage, which hosted about two dozen Bay Area fifth graders for a morning Invent-athon. The studentsteamed up with Googlers to get their creative juices flowing and pitch ideas to an intrigued Herjavec. From a helium-filled backpack to a snowball gun, the ideas were as practical as they were imaginative.

I think once a mind has expanded, it can never go back to its original size, said Robert Herjavec, in an exclusive interview with VentureBeat. So I think the idea is to really let them expand their minds to show them anythings possible. And I have no doubt that some of these kids will achieve something great one day.

Above: Google Garage

Image Credit: Brnice Magistretti/VentureBeat

Above: Kids and Googlers brainstorming

Image Credit: Brnice Magistretti/VentureBeat

Above: One of the group tables

Image Credit: Brnice Magistretti/VentureBeat

Frito-Lay has also partnered with YoungMinds Inspired (YMI), a free educational outreach program. The 10 schools that submit the most inventive ideas will each be awarded $5,000 to help further in-class science programs.

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Knott’s Berry Farm plugs into virtual reality, the new park thrill on the cheap – Los Angeles Times

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Knotts Berry Farm is getting in on the latest theme park craze: putting visitors in a virtual world created primarily by software engineers instead of carpenters and welders.

The new VR Showdown in Ghost Town, which opens next month at the Buena Park theme park, will put virtual reality headsets on up to 16 visitors at a time, letting them shoot futuristic blasters at robot creatures in a battle to save the historic ghost town.

Many new theme park attractions in Southern California rely on 3-D technology and motion simulating seats, including the new Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and Despicable Me: Minions Mayhem rides at Universal Studios Hollywood. (The park ditched the Harry Potter 3-D but said it wasnt because riders complained about nausea.)

But smaller regional parks are turning to virtual reality headsets to immerse visitors in a new world without the expense of building sets, erecting towers and installing hydraulic powered seats.

Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia began last year to strap virtual reality headsets to riders of its Revolution roller coaster to give them the sensation of flying through space as they shoot at alien aircraft. Similar virtual reality elements were added to roller coasters at nine Six Flags parks across the country.

SeaWorld Orlando also announced plans to add virtual reality goggles to its Kraken roller coaster, taking riders on an underwater adventure.

Industry experts say virtual reality headsets represent a new way for smaller theme parks to attract new guests without making a huge investment.

Its a very cheap way to add a new attraction or extend an older attraction, said Martin Lewison, a theme park expert and business management professor at Farmingdale State College in New York.

A major benefit of using virtual reality headsets is that the experience can be changed or overhauled simply by writing new software for the headsets.

At Six Flags over Georgia, the park added virtual reality headsets last year for riders of a roller coaster called Dare Devil Dive. But the park announced last week that it is instead adding the virtual reality headsets for riders of a 100-story drop tower ride, dubbed Drop of Doom VR. The new ride lets parkgoers on the tower ride shoot at giant, mutant spiders.

Another advantage to the virtual reality headsets is that the world seen by parkgoers is interactive, so the experience is never the same twice.

At Knotts Berry Farm, the new attraction lets visitors score points by destroying the bad robots and completing objectives, said Ivan Blaustein, director of product integration at VR Studios, the company that created the headsets and software for the theme park.

One of the drawbacks of using virtual reality headsets, said Lewison, is that each headset needs to be cleaned after every use, which can reduce the number of people who can ride the attraction per day.

Knotts Berry will be charging an introductory price of $6 to try the new attraction, on top of the regular park admission price.

Dont expect to see virtual reality headsets used at major theme parks like Disneyland or Universal Studios Hollywood, Lewison said.

When visitors pay ticket prices of at least $99 to enter Disneyland or Universal Studios, he said they expect to see expensive animatronics and movie-quality sets that create an immersive world.

Theme park purists dont like it, Lewison said. Theyd much rather go on a $250-million ride at Disneyland than throw a mask strapped to a Samsung smartphone over my eyes.

hugo.martin@latimes.com

To read more about the travel and tourism industries, follow @hugomartin on Twitter.

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Knott's Berry Farm plugs into virtual reality, the new park thrill on the cheap - Los Angeles Times