Daily Archives: May 2, 2017

Everyone knows the robots are coming, so we should probably get to work figuring out how we can coexist. Thats the mission of Veo Robotics, which is working on a system that gives robots spatial awareness of every object and obstacle in their reach, from debris to people and everything in between. People and robots working together can accomplish far more than either one on its own.

Fraunhofer researchers created something along these lines, but Veos approach seems more dynamic and responsive, relying not on safe and unsafe zones but doing object recognition and other semantic modeling.

If you build in human interactivity from the beginning, its safer than putting up all the fences and gates in the world,Sobalvarro told me. He compared it to a draft horse on a farm: better that it knows you and where you are at all times than to keep it in the sturdiest pen.

Veos system uses a set of four depth-sensing cameras placed around the work space so as to give complete visual coverage. Once youve established that, you designate various things as work pieces, forbidden areas and so on.

This logic sits lightly on top of the robots ordinary controller; you dont have to redo everything or add the exact dimensions of girders to be carried and safe places for humans to stand. The robot operates as it would otherwise, except now it knows the exact location and size of everything in its field of view. If a human or vehicle intrudes, or a piece breaks, or theres some other deviation from the norm, it can slow or stop.

Critically, if the system is ever not 100 percent sure that its safe for instance, if a camera is obscured or it cant see behind a large piece the robot comes to a full stop.

Sobalvarro previously worked at Rethink Robotics, which created the popular Baxter and Sawyer bots, but felt that it was a better bet to empower existing setups than try to invent new ones. A plug-and-play system like Veos could essentially redefine collaborative robotics to encompass well, pretty much all robotics.

Were robot-agnostic, Sobalvarro said. We respect the investment companies have made. These things are gorgeous, they last a hundred thousand hours and have tolerances of a fraction of a millimeter. We love these machines, and our model is to work with all of them.

If any robot, no matter how big and powerful, can work alongside a human, in many cases thats a better option for a manufacturing workflow.

The company is testing its prototypes in production environments with partners it cant name but Sobalvarro assured me are not small fry. The next step is to upgrade from temporary gear (for instance, using Kinects as the depth sensors) to safety-rated hardware and get all their regulatory ducks in a row. Theyre looking at 2019 for a full deployment, but you can expect to hear more from them well ahead of that.

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Veo Robotics gives industrial robots a sixth sense for safely working around people - TechCrunch

Leland High Schools robotics teamis used to winning, but its high ranking at the FIRST Championship onApril 19-22 in Houston was a first for any San Jose Unified School District campus.

The team, called Team 604 Quixilver, is savoring a successful season just capped off by its first-ever division championship, after having competed many times before in the four-day international contest.

We had a fantastic time this season, said team president Rayne Mehta. When we came into the season, we said, Alright, we want to rank in the top eight at a regional.

Team members exceeded their own expectations with a third-place ranking in both of their regional competitions and fourth overall at the FIRST Championship. For their division win, they beat out about 60 other teams from around the world in numerous timed rounds.

That was fantastic because wed never reached that height before in all of our years as a team, Mehta said.

About 24 students traveled to Houston for the event, arriving there behind their robot Frankensteina mashup of models from previous years that had been shipped out in a crate a couple of weeks earlier. Starting early this year, the students spent six weeks working on their new robot. They met most days after school for a couple of hours, and sometimes spent whole weekends building together. After that period, they were not allowed to make any modifications except for repairs.

Some of the teams leaders didnt think they were smart enough to build a robot. One of them was Hannah Park, who joined the team three years ago and today is its strategy lead and project manager.

My impression of robotics at the time was that only MIT-bound world class math geniuses could do it and that it wasnt accessible to everyone, Park said. I really didnt want to do it for those reasons.

Helen Arrington, a founding member of Team 604 who also used to teach engineering and design, called the teams achievement exciting and exhilarating. She said shes proud of the team not only because it excels in building robots but also because its so inclusive.

Its not all about winning, Arrington said in an interview. I just tell the kids, As long as youre having fun.

The social aspect played a big part in Parks decision to finally join, after being prodded for several months by Mehta and two other friends.

OK, its three people, might as well give it a shot now, she said, adding that she ended up totally throwing all of my energy and time into it.

That time and energy has paid off, but team members arent resting. Aftermaking the rounds at Maker Faire in San Mateo later this month, the teams plans for this summer include conducting demonstrations for sponsors and figuring out a robot design that has been eluding them for years. Failure is a frustrating and expected part of the design process, but Park said the payoff is always worthwhile.

Half of it is going through the prototypes and you see what doesnt work, Park said. When you figure out what does and succeed in competition, it is very, very rewarding to have something that you designed from the start, that was your brainchild, and see it come to life on the field.

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Leland High team aces international robotics contest - The Mercury News

The celebration was on after Team 862 and its three alliance teams embraced a world championship.(Photo: Team 862)

In battle, it's all about who's fighting by your side.

Over the weekend in St. Louis, Mo., Plymouth-Canton's FIRST Lightning Robotics Team 862's foxhole was filled with winners.

Team 862, making its 15th trip to the FIRST Robotics world championships, combined with three other teams in its alliance and captured its first career world championship, topping a field of more than 400 teams.

With Team 862's robot, Valkyrie, running gears like a champand the other three alliances doing what they do best, the four-team alliance Team 862,Team 2767-Stryke Force from Kalamazoo, Team 254-The Cheesy Poofs from San Jose, Calif.,and Team 1676-The Pascack PI-oneers of Montvale, N.J. the alliance was able to capture gold.

The Cheesy Poofs have won the world title before; it was a first for the other three alliance members.

Members of Team 862 from Plymouth-Canton celebrated their subdivision win and a national title.(Photo: Team 862)

"We have one of the best gear running robots ... so we were very good at delivering gears to the Air Ship," said Jay Obsniuk, faculty adviser to the robotics team. "We were fast and dependable. For the end game, we never missed climbing the rope, which was a 50-point score. There were a lot of teams that struggled at this. We were a very dependable robot, doing what we could do 100 percent of the time and veryreliable."

It would have been easy for the team to falter. After all, it had lost in the semifinals in three previous competitions, including the Michigan state competition. Then, at the Michigan state championships, Valkyrie lost its bell pan. Competition rules say teams can't work on their robots except in competition, so Team 862 had to wait until it got to St. Louis to make repairs.

The team missed a practice match Thursday night, then lost four close matches Friday "The robot was fine, but things just didn't go our way," Obsniuk said but managed enough qualifying points to continue. It won four matches (though it lost a replay of one of them) and, with a robot in good shape and showing what it could do, Team 862 was chosen for the finals alliance.

Team leaders agreed being picked by the right alliance was a key.

"I just think altogether we were just a really good robotand we were picked by an amazing alliance," said Canton High School senior Jerry Nicklas, who was part of the team's electrical subgroup. "We had great chemistry. Cheesy Poofs and Stryke Force were really good shootersand we were primarily a gear robot, so that expanded our chances."

With all the trials and adversity, it would have been easy for the students to fold. But a funny thing happened on the way to the title: they bonded.

"You could tell they were frustrated, but with some motivationalspeeches and the fact that they are great kids, they never got down," Obsniuk said. "They tried harder, were even more determined, full of spirit, dancing, cheering and getting to know the over 30,000 other students there, learning from other teams and becoming a very solid team.

"It showed on Saturday, during the subdivision matches. The robot prefor

Lighting Team 862 members Joe Jagadics, Vivian Clements, Tyler Harris, Abby Morningstar and Luke Fenstermacher, with Valkyrie.(Photo: Team 862)

med great and the students even preformed better," he added. "Leading cheers, firing up the drive team and working with the other students on the other teams to help win the matches."

Salem High School senior Josh Markey, a member of the fabrication subgroup, was experiencing the world championship competition for the first time.

He called the frenetic pace the team competed 12 times in two days "amazing."

"The three or four days wentby in a blur ... everyday was fun," Markey said. "It was insane to watch us plan 12 matches in two days. It was awesome."

Not only did the competition yield a world championship for Team 862, but several of its members won individual honors. Obsniuk said seniors won scholarships from schools like Kettering, Michigan Tech, Lawrence Tech and UM-Dearborn, among others. Team president Allison Hurley won scholarships from Kettering and from the Bosch Corp.

"The students never got down, they worked hard on strategy, kept the robot in top condition and talked to the other teams. And they did it on maybe four or five hours of sleep every night," Obsniuk said. "The kids were fantastic."

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Support was high for Lighting Robotics Team 862 from Plymouth-Canton.(Photo: Team 862)

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Score one for the alliance: Plymouth-Canton wins robotics world title - Hometownlife.com

In honor of Small Business Week, Inc. reporters deployed to several cities where they spent one day talking to owners and entrepreneurs in a particular sector about their challenges.

Robots allow manufacturers to operate more cheaply. But robots themselves aren't cheap, limiting the ability of small manufacturers to compete with larger companies or win back business from overseas. A Baltimore startup thinks it has a solution: robots as a service.

Ready Robot's TaskMate.

CREDIT: Ready Robots via YouTube

Industrial robots typically sell for $75,000 or more, a significant capital outlay. And that price tag escalates dramatically with operational costs. Ready Robotics, a startup housed in City Garage, a Baltimore center for makers, charges $1,500 to $4,000 a month for use of one of its robots, called the TaskMate. The TaskMate is easy to program and move around a factory floor. That suits it for the short production runs on which many small manufacturers survive.

Kelleher Guerin developed the underlying technology for TaskMate while working on his PhD and then as a post-doctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University. He built a prototype and partnered with Benjamin Gibbs, a tech transfer official at the university. Their focus was on medical applications until they met Drew Greenblatt, owner of Baltimore-based Marlin Steel, a 30-employee maker of industrial baskets. Greenblatt invited them to tour Marlin's factory floor, where he explained the practical challenges faced by small manufacturers like himself. Soon after, Guerin and Gibbs pivoted toward industry.

Ready Robotics launched in June of last year, with Gibbs as CEO, Guerin as CTO, and Greenblatt as industry adviser.

"When Ford deploys a bunch of robots to make a new car, and it takes a year to set up the factory, they are fine with that because they're going to make that car for 10 years and amortize the effort," says Guerin. "Drew might have a job that takes two weeks. We were thinking, how do you have an industrial robot that helps in that situation?"

Ready Robotics' solution is a robotic arm that can be swiftly programmed to perform new tasks and is packaged with an assortment of grippers, pneumatic air tools, and other peripherals that transform it into a kind of automated Swiss Army knife. The robot, which comes with a stand, can also operate existing tools such as lathes, mills, and band saws, freeing up workers for more valuable assignments. While TaskMate is deployable in most industries, the company's initial focus is on metal forming, food production, plastics, and textiles.

The product is optimized for use by a blue-collar workforce. "We have trained people to do this in under two hours who are complete novices," says Guerin. "No automation experience. No robotics experience. The bar is very low."

Johns Hopkins owns the core technology, which Ready Robotics licenses on an exclusive basis. "We have been filing our own patents on top of that," says Gibbs. "So we have a really robust portfolio protecting the technology."

Ready Robotics, which has 12 employees including Gibbs and Guerin, has raised $3.75 million in a seed round and is embarking on a Series A. That money will allow the company to expand outside the Baltimore market, where it has two customers--one of them Marlin Steel--and proposals out to another three. Guerin estimates that within six months it will have produced and rented 60 units. In a year: double that.

On a recent day, a TaskMate could be found making wire forms for a telecom product near the entrance to Marlin's factory floor. It is the ultimate utility player, explains Greenblatt, switchable within a few hours among most of the 10 or 12 jobs the plant has going at one time. (Greenblatt is a nationally known voice for small manufacturing. Ready Robotics is his first entrepreneurial venture; he acquired Marlin.)

"The real American factory has runs of five and then 300 and then 50 and then 600--peanut runs," says Greenblatt. "You have to be nimble, adaptable, constantly changing over and making new fixtures."

"This is how small companies are going to automate," says Greenblatt. "This is how we will revolutionize American industry."

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This Company Has Created the Swiss Army Knife of Robots - Inc.com

NEW PORT RICHEY For the past two years, the River Ridge High School Royal Robotics team has fought its way to a berth in a prestigious national robotics competition.

That's a pretty impressive feat for a team that's winding up its second season after making it to the semifinals and earning the Creativity Award in the 2017 FIRST Championship in April in Houston.

The 21 members of the Royal Robotics team were among some 1,500 students to compete in Houston. Another championship bout was held later in the month in St. Louis. Winners of the two events will face off at the Festival of Champions in July in Manchester, N.H., where FIRST originated.

FIRST, which stands for "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology," is a nonprofit organization founded in 1989 as a way build student interest in science, technology, engineering and math and develop leaders through mentor-based programs and competitions for students ages 6 to 18.

Last year, the Royal Robotics landed a spot at the 2016 FIRST Championship after winning the Rookie All Star award at a regional competition at the University of Central Florida in Orlando

This year, the Royal Robotics earned their spot by winning the FIRST Lone Star Regional Competition in early April in Houston.

"The success this team has seen in two years is really remarkable, and they're competing with some really seasoned teams," said Terry Aunchman, director of career and technical education for the Pasco County schools.

"It's amazing. I think we definitely made a statement this year," said River Ridge High engineering teacher Sam McAmis, who mentors the Royal Robotics along with volunteers Tom Allen and Dave Raditch.

Their success is the result of the team's decision to step up the robot's design and alter team strategy, said team co-captain Allysa Allen, 17, noting that Royal Robotics were awarded the Excellence in Engineering Award at regional competition in Alabama as well as the Industrial Design Award at the regional in Houston.

Last year, the team honed a defensive strategy meant to appeal to seasoned teams and to help build alliances with other teams.

It worked, Allen said. "But this year we knew we had limited options. We chose to take on the mind-set of being a leader and winning the game. The planning, the design, the engineering was up there, and that definitely added to our level of success."

"It's a pretty exceptional robot," said Zack Babcock, 17, one of two remote control "drivers" on the team. "We all did our part."

The team had six weeks to build and program a robot before it was "tagged and bagged," with no work allowed until team check-in at the competition.

Bouts unfold with a series of 2-minute, 30-second matches between two opposing alliances of three robotics teams each on a carpeted playing field.

"One thing about FIRST is that you have to be able to work with other teams," Allen said. "Even the best robotics won't win if you can't do that. That's how you win. It's based on teamwork."

In the 2017 competition, teams earned points for their robots' ability to collect large "gears," fire balls into a tall turret and climb a rope.

Team members worked on a secondary "twin" practice robot to make improvements, mostly honing the robot's ball "shooter" for accuracy. The team also co-hosted practice scrimmages with Team 79 Krunch, a FIRST robotics team based out of East Lake High School in Tarpon Springs.

"We average about 30 hours a week," said Allen, who spent the bulk of her time scouting other teams prior to competitions. "It's definitely a commitment not something to be taken lightly."

The commitment paid off.

"I'm very impressed with them," McAmis said. "I think it is a really good way for them to get experience. It offers an opportunity for those who want to spend 20 or 30 hours a week working on an engineering project. They could be home playing video games or going out with their friends, but they are here at school building robots."

Team members raise money as well to help pay for expenses to get to compeitions, Aunchman said, noting that the Pasco Education Foundation matched contributions from AT&T, Southern Manufacturing Technologies, Great Lakes Scale, DeVry Education Group, Universal Labeling Systems, the Foundation for Community Driven Innovation, Affordable Golf Carts, San Francis Veterinarian Hospital, Mike Peters Insurance and Suncoast Credit Union.

While seniors on the team are now done with FIRST, some are taking the next step.

In the fall, Allen will head to Boston to study biological engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Babcock will study mechanical engineering at the University of West Florida. Kevin Hudak and Tim Rimos plan to study computer science and mechanical engineering, respectively, both at Pasco-Hernando State College and then at the University of South Florida.

"This has been a really good experience," Babcock said, adding that his stint on the robotics team helped land an internship last summer at Lockheed Martin in Oldsmar. "Being a senior and this being my last year, it's a really good way to end the season."

Contact Michele Miller at mmiller@tampabay.com. Follow @MicheleMiller52.

River Ridge robotics team shines at national championship 05/02/17 [Last modified: Monday, May 1, 2017 10:32am] Photo reprints | Article reprints

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River Ridge robotics team shines at national championship - Tampabay.com

At the FIRST Robotics district event in Marysville, teamwork, ingenuity, problem solving and quick thinking are all necessary things on the game field. Almost as important, though a great outfit. Jeffrey M. Smith | Times Herald

The Plymouth-Canton robotics team, called the Lightning Robotics, takes a group shot after winning the world robotics competition as part of a four-team alliance in St. Louis.(Photo: Plymouth-Canton Lightning Robots)

Nine years ago, Stryke Force was a rookie robotics team. Today, they're world champions.

"We're the youngest team to ever pull this off," said Jerry Culp, an executive at Stryker and a mentor for the Kalamazoo-area team.

A year ago, the Lightning Robotics team from the Plymouth-Canton school district didn't make it to the state or world finals. Today, they, too, are world champions.

The Stryke Force robotics team from the Kalamazoo area poses for a group shot after being part of the four-team alliance that won the world championships in St. Louis April 29.(Photo: Stryke Force team)

"This is like a huge comeback," said Vivian Clements, 17, a junior on the Plymouth-Canton team. "We skyrocketed in growth."

The two Michigan teams were part of a four-team alliance that won the worldFIRST Championship in St. Louis this past weekend. Their alliance included teams from San Jose and Montvale, N.J. The Stryke Force team was the captain of the alliance.

Related:

Oakland teams tops in robotics at Michigan high school competition

"It was just amazing," said Jack Bruinwood, 15, a home-schooled student from Portage and member of the Kalamazoo area team. "It was one of the best feelings to see all of our hard work that we put on through the years and to finally achieve the goal of winning."

It's a first-time world competition win for both of the teams, said Gail Alpert, president of First in Michigan, the state robotics association.

The robot for the Stryke Force robotics team from the Kalamazoo area climbs during the world championships April 29 in St. Louis.(Photo: Stryke Force robotics team)

"The amount of technology that was on these teams and proficiency in engineering was just so inspirational for all to see," Alpert said. "It was really the Olympics of FIRST."

Valkyrie, the robot for the Plymouth-Canton Lighting Robotics team, was key to the team's success as part of a four-team alliance that won the world robotics competition in St. Louis.(Photo: Plymouth-Canton Lightning Robotics)

Meanwhile, another Michigan team the Dragonsfrom Lake Orion High Schoolwas part of the alliance that was afinalist.

The world competition for FIRST For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology brought together 15,000 students and about 400 teams from across the U.S. and more than 30 other countries to St. Louis, Mo.

Their winning teams beat the competition by mastering the playing field, which required the robots guided by students to shoot balls into the boiler of an airship, deliver gears to pilots and climb a rope.

"I'm celebrating what these teams accomplished, but also what they represent that Michigan is the place for emerging talent in science and technology," Roger Curtis, director of the state Department of Talent and Economic Development, said in a news release Monday.

Culp said the road to success includes catching students when they're young.

"Much like you see in football, you don't become a rock star if you didn't play football before that. The same is very true here."

That's true in Bruinwood's case. He's been part of robotics since he was seven years old. Since middle school, he's had a key role in robotics: driving the robot.

"I'm in charge of moving the robot and then I am in charge of placing the gears on the springs and then making the robot shoot," Bruinwood said.

He's gotten good, he says, through practice. Culp said people were proclaiming Bruinwood "the best driver in the world," during the competition.

"When you watch what he's able to make that robot do around that floor, it's amazing."

The Kalamazoo team includes students from schools throughout the Kalamazoo area. Their name is reflects one of their main sponsors Stryker, a medical technology company in the city. Culp is president of the board that oversees all of the robotics teams Stryker helps sponsor. Other key sponsors are Midlink and the Kalamazoo County 4-H.

The Plymouth-Canton team is made up of students from Plymouth High, Salem High and Canton High schools. Their major sponsors are Bosch, Jabil, Leidos, Nissan and Ford.

Joe Jagadics, the lead mentor for the Plymouth-Canton team, chalked up this year's success to a group of students "who were just incredible to work with."

"They were really dedicated and really excited. They knew what they wanted to get done. They knew what they wanted to achieve and they worked to accomplish it."

Clements is still in shock that her team was part of the winning alliance.

"I cried a lot. I was really excited. Our team worked really hard to be better this year than last year. It's so surreal. I still can't believe we won."

Jay Obsniuk, a robotics teacher in the Plymouth-Canton district and the founder of the team, said that while a lot of the focus in robotics is helping students earn scholarships and jobs, winning the world competition "is like icing on the cake."

The Michigan team's win provides strong momentum for 2018, when the state will host the world competition for the first time.Opening and closing ceremonies will take place at Ford Field, while the competition will take place at Cobo Center.

Michigan for years has been a robotics powerhouse, winning more trophies at the world competition than any other state. Michigan also has more teams than any other state, at 450 this year. California is second, with just under 300 teams.

"Michigan has always been a leader in innovation," Gov. Rick Snyder, a big supporter of robotics who helped secure additional state funding that has helped the program grow in the state, said in a statement. "Thanks to the hard work of these students, the dedication of their coaches and the generosity of their sponsors, our state has also become a national leader in FIRST Robotics."

Contact Lori Higgins: 313-222-6651, lhiggins@freepress.com or @LoriAHiggins

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Michigan students, robots win at world robotics competition - Detroit Free Press

Yaskawa Motoman provided facility tours to more than 400 students in the Dayton region, part of help advance the future workforce of industrial automation workers.

The Miamisburg-based company showed students live robotic demonstrations and offered a more in-depth look at possible career opportunities in the industry. A week in April was deemed National Robotics Week back in 2010, with a purpose of building awareness about the importance of robotics to the economy.

Schools, universities and career centers represented include: Brookville Intermediate School, Dayton Early College Academy, Grant Career Center, Horizon Science Academy, Lakota Local School, Ohio Northern University, Project Lead the Way Program, Tolles Career and Technical Center, Troy Christian High School, West Carrollton High School and Wright State University.

Yaskawa Motoman is playing an active role in workforce development by creating career pathways for students in robotics and advanced manufacturing, said Bob Graff, senior sales manager. We are helping to fill the job gap and growing our economy by providing opportunities for schools to participate in co-op programs and internships for students, conducting tours of our facility and supporting regional and events like National Robotics Week.

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Yaskawa shows 400 students robotic demonstrations - Dayton Daily News