Daily Archives: March 18, 2022

photo used with permissionGMR Robotics student team members (L-R) Sawyer Strand, Berlyn Burkel, Holly Wiskow, Lauren Stenberg, and Ray Tarala stand with their robot at the Northern Lights Regional in Duluth, an event the team won to qualify for the FIRST Championship in Houston, April 20-23. Outside Stenberg and Tarala, this regional was the first robotics competition any of the teams student members had participated in, thanks to FIRSTs two-year pandemic shutdown.

photo used with permissionTeam 5172s operator Berlyn Burkel (left), team drive coach John Langaas (center), and team driver Sawyer Strand (right) stand together behind the teams robot at the regional in Duluth. Langaas continues to help the team as a mentor, one of several former student members continuing to give back to the program.

Several of Team 5172, GMR Robotics, team members mentioned to team mentor Mary Anderson how she forgot to bring the teams blue banners to its first 2022 regional. These banners are awards given to teams for various FIRST Robotics competition achievements. She didnt forget; her action was intentional.

All the banners out there (in our shop) are Team 5172s, but the people on this team are new and they need to experience what that feels like to gain their own and be their own people, Anderson said. And now they get to hang their blue banner They might not have even recognized at the competition that there were blue banners in peoples pits, because it didnt mean something to them. Now, it means something to them.

The 2022 members of Team 5172 know exactly what it means, getting to experience their very own blue banner moment. Filled with new members, Team 5172 and its two alliance partners won the Northern Lights Regional in Duluth, ensuring a trip to the FIRST Championship in Houston, April 20-23.

Several team members talked about their feelings and reactions surrounding the Northern Lights Regional and getting to just compete, and what theyre looking forward to most as the season progresses.

After not seeing her team compete in just over two years due to the COVID pandemic, team mentor Mary Anderson talked about her feelings watching her team compete again, feelings surrounding that two-year shutdown, her reaction to the teams regional win, the teams upcoming regional in Grand Forks, and what she looks forward to most as the season continues.

At this years Duluth regional, the team brought with just two students who had competed before: Ray Tarala and Lauren Stenberg. An alliance captain on this years team, senior Lauren Stenberg had some nervous energy at this competition. Even though she was in her fourth year on the team, Stenberg competed on the game field for the first time at this Duluth regional.

It was a long time coming, Stenberg said. Were basically starting from scratch since all of our seniors and juniors and all theyre gone. So (were) starting from scratch, but we came out good.

Besides Stenberg and Tarala, the rest of the students had never competed at a FIRST competition, including the teams driver Sawyer Strand and operator Berlyn Burkel, both sophomores.

I thought it was a little nerve wracking, Strand said, because theres a lot of rookies, including me, so I learned a lot there.

Burkel said it was scary competing at first, but things got better throughout the regional. The regional took place March 2- 5 from the DECC Arena/Edmund Fitzgerald Exhibit Hall in Duluth, Minn.

I think we were all really nervous, Burkel said. Weve never really experienced a regional of any sort.

We didnt really know what to expect, Strand added.

In her first year on the team, freshman Holly Wiskow worked as a human player on Team 5172 and described having some nervous energy.

Once youre out there, its a lot less nerve-wracking, Wiskow said. Everybody there is nice and helpful.

Team mentor Anderson was also nervous to start with at the regional, feeling she was throwing her team members to the wolves an experience they had not yet had. She wanted these new students to have the best experience, but felt unsure if they as mentors had prepared the students enough. The improvement she saw from the first to the last day proved evident easing that nervousness.

If we look at Wednesday to Saturday night, the growth individually was, you could see it, Anderson said. You could measure that by the smiles on their faces, by the score on the board, of course, but just their comfort level of being together and working with others and other teams.

The students also came to appreciate the other teams around them, that gracious professionalism that FIRST promotes. For example, Team 5172 team members needed gears for their robot and a team from Becker, Minn., gave some to them. Also, Team 5172 had a joystick for another team one that was on its alliance that needed it and Team 5172 gave it to them to allow this fellow team to compete.

Speaking of help, Anderson thanked and recognized all the mentors, especially the younger mentors who lost their final years on the robotics team, such as Ryan Hlucny and Thor Anderson. Talking about that two-year period without competing, Anderson was devastated to see the students who were hurt by this shutdown, individuals who had a passion for robotics.

They got everything ripped away from them and for them to turn around and give back That takes pretty big people, Anderson said, because were all hurt and they lost the opportunity. And yet they want to support giving new kids (the opportunity.)

Before the FIRST Championship in Houston, the GMR team will compete at the Great Northern Regional at the Alerus Center, March 24-26 the last place the team competed at before the shutdown. According to the most recent counts, the event will feature 50 teams, covering Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

The GMR team and the team out of Northwood, N.D., will host the event. The Greenbush American Legion Post #88 and Northwood Legion will present the colors for the National Anthem on Friday, March 25 at 8:30 am.

Sponsored by Boeing, this years FIRST game, Rapid React, centers on an airport theme. The Air Force, John Deere, Digi-Key, Marvin Windows and Doors, the UND Drone Cage, and the City of Grand Forks will be at this regional event, all having donated to it. The event is an open one in terms of masks, but they are welcomed.

Team 5172 itself has experienced success, having reached the FIRST Robotics Championship before, but for many on the team, they had never experienced their very own blue banner moments before their recent Duluth trip. Theyre continuing the teams tradition, but at the same time aided by some of those from the past making their own marks.

To see the complete story, read the March 16 issue of The Tribune in print or online.

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GMR Robotics excited about recent success, look forward to future - Page 1 Publications

MOUNT VERNON Mount Vernon robotics students will compete against students from across the world in May.

Two of its four middle school teams, composed of eight students total, qualified to compete at the VEX Robotics World Championship due to their performance in a statewide competition the weekend of March 11. All of Mount Vernons robotics students have the opportunity to attend the World competition, which will occur May 3-5 in Dallas, Texas, regardless of whether they are competing.

The district had competed at the state level prior to this year, but 2022 marks the first year the three-year-old program has advanced to Worlds.

The tasks the students will have to compete at Worlds will be similar to their past competitions. The level of competition and size of the event will be key differences, robotics coach Emily Miller explained.

But the competition itself is only one aspect of the value of Worlds, Miller said.

It is quite legitimately Worlds, meaning that you might be playing with teams from China or from Indonesia or from all over the world, and there's often language barriers, Miller said, explaining students will have to find alternative ways to communicate at times through diagrams and online translators.

So far, teams are registered from countries such as Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Australia, South Korea and Canada, as well as various other parts of the United States.

Students will also meet their competitors and learn about their respective cultures off the competition field, as each team will have a pit table where they showcase items and food from their home countries, Miller said.

We're going there to play, but the ultimate goal that I have is just the learning experience the whole team can have from it, Miller said.

A look at past performance and future goals

Mount Vernon robotics is broken up into smaller teams for competitions, with four teams at the middle school level and two at the high school level, which are all named after Mount Vernons zip code.

The teams that qualified for Worlds during the state competition include team #43050B with eighth graders Mason Chesnut (captain, head builder and driver), Isabella Sherman (coder) and Natasha Jost (engineering notebook recorder and scout); as well as team #43050C with eighth graders Aspen McMahon (captain and head builder), Lily Grace (engineering notebook recorder), as well as seventh graders Shaun Barlow (builder), Carsten Hahn (driver) and Scout Nathan Hofferberth (coder).

Ohio sends eight teams to Worlds, and there are several ways for teams to qualify. Mount Vernons teams qualified because they made it to the semifinal round of States.

When a team wins a tournament, it does so along with another team that it forms an alliance with. In States, the Mount Vernons B and C teams aligned in the semifinal round. While they ultimately lost, they still qualified for Worlds because they had made it to semifinals.

Teams can also qualify for Worlds through skills rankings.

Team captain for team B, Mason Chesnut, joined robotics last year as a seventh grader, when he also competed in States. Chesnut said he, personally, and the teams at large are working on improving various skills before Worlds, one example being rings.

The object of competitionsis to attain a higher score than the opposing alliance, which is done by scoring rings as well as moving mobile goals to alliance zones and elevating on platforms.

Mount Vernons alliance lost the semi-finals because a ring got stuck under its robot and made them unable to drive, Chesnut said.

In middle school robotics in these tournaments just around Ohio and in Mount Vernon, we don't really incorporate the rings very much, but the high school teams very much do, Chesnut said. I'm thinking at Worlds, with all these better bots, rings are definitely going to get incorporated and we need to be able to score those rings on the post, which is something we're definitely going to work on.

Chesnuts goal for Worlds is twofold: make it to the end elimination bracket and have fun.

Worlds is just going to be a really fun experience, Chesnut said, and I think it's going to be really fun for the whole team just to be there.

Eighth grader Aspen McMahon is captain for the other team advancing to worlds, #43050C. McMahon, who is also head builder, said she and her team learned lessons during States they will be improving upon for Worlds.

I learned that we need to make our clamp stronger, which is what I'm doing right now, McMahon said during an interview as she worked on a robot after school.

Matches include both an autonomous period and a driver-controlled period. McMahons team is also working on coding more autonomousrobotsto improve the former.

Right now we only have one or two consistent autons and we're trying to get multiple so that it can fit whatever alliance we have for Worlds, McMahon said.

While McMahon had some previous competition experience going into States, for seventh grader Carsten Hahn on her team, it had been all new.

I was surprised by how many people were actually there, Hahn said of States. And I was surprised at the amount of support you can get from the Mount Vernon community.

Hahns entire family and several other families of robotics students attended States to cheer the teams on. Hahn served as a driver but also helped scout during States, meaning Hahn worked to form alliances with other teams, ready with a line of questions to ensure a good match.

Quick adaptation is a skill Hahn has honed.

When a clamp broke or the ring mechanism was not working, Hahn had to figure out how to drive without them. As Hahn prepares for Worlds, a main goal will be to ensure familiarity with some new mechanics being added to the robots.

Mount Vernons B, C and E teams were also invited to Nationals based on their award wins throughout the season, Miller said. The district decided to forgo Nationals due to the travel and costs associated as well as the timeline for registration. The team would have had to register for nationals before they found out about its Worlds eligibility.

Most of the time, teams will choose one or the other, Miller said of Nationals and Worlds.

The districts other four teams that did not advance to Worlds missed qualifying by small margins, Miller said, adding that there had still been a possibility for the others to advance as skills scores were being tallied this past week.

Overall, the program views any team's win as a win for all, which was exemplified during the state competition, Miller said.

The E team had just gotten knocked out and they came back to the stands and sat there and they were cheering and screaming for the B and C team, she explained.

And, they help each other all the time. You know, if there's a problem, our builders all go and try to figure out what the issue is, or another coder will hop over with the coder that's having a problem and fix it. So we're all one team, we just function with multiple bots.

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Emma Davis is a 2021 graduate of the University of Richmond, from which she holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and leadership studies. Emma reports for Knox Pages and Ashland Source through Report for America.

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One team, six bots: Mount Vernon robotics to compete on world stage - Knox Pages

About a dozen area children and their parents got a chance to learn a little about solar power and robotics during an event held at the Stewart C. Meyer Harker Heights Public Library on Tuesday afternoon.

The library supplied kits for participants that held everything they would need to put together a basic solar-powered robot and more, as the kits would make 12 different robots when all was said and done. It also contained the all-important solar panel that would have their robots up and moving once completed.

Library clerk Heather Heilman, who also holds the weekly virtual Science Time program, led the children in putting together first the robot bases and bodies, walking them through the instructions as she demonstrated each step. The parts and instructions were a bit involved, but with the help of Heilman, and their parents and guardians, the children seemed to have little difficulty.

The good thing is, Heilman told participants, if you mess up, its easy to pull back apart.

Noah Wilson, 8, appeared to have almost no difficulty following the directions on his own. Ive done this before, he said as he worked ahead.

He likes to build stuff, his father, Earl, confirmed. Noah would later turn his basic robot into a dog-bot because, he said, he has two dogs at home.

Bases and bodies completed, robot heads were put together and added next, then wheels were attached to the body to enable movement, and finally the wires were connected. Heilman led everyone outside to test the robots.

Why do we take it outside? she asked the children. What makes the solar panel work? The children all shouted out, The sun!

Someof the robots, like Noahs, worked the first time, though a few had to do some troubleshooting.

The robot didnt work, so Im redoing it right now, said Aaliyah Roman, 9. It worked on her second try.

Barry Holt and his granddaughter, Kennedy, 8, built the robot together. It worked a little bit, Holt said about their first attempt. After troubleshooting the gears, they had better luck on their second attempt.

It got better the second time, Holt said, adding, It finally worked pretty well. We really enjoyed it.

Noah sad he had a great time, too. His favorite part? Building it with my dad, he said.

Heilman said of the event, I think it went well, despite the fact that it wasnt easy to put together, adding that she was really impressed with the children. They followed directions really well. I was pleased with how well they grasped (the concepts) and their persistence.

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Heights library event teaches kids about solar robotics - The Killeen Daily Herald

Kids between the ages of 8 and 18 went head-to-head designing, building and programing robots to tackle six ag-related challenges.

HOUSTON When you think of Texas agriculture, what comes to mind? Livestock. Farmers. Probably tractors. What about robots?

"These kids are doing some awesome work in the area of STEM related to agriculture," said Dr. Toby Lepley, superintendent of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo's Ag Robotics Contest.

"The cool thing about it is these arent the kids we would traditionally look at showing at the livestock show," Lepley said. "These are young people from urban areas here in Houston all the way to our rural areas who have that interest in STEM."

On Wednesday, kids between the ages of 8 and 18 went head-to-head in NRG Arena, designing, building, and programming robots to tackle six challenges.

"Its difficult," said Caleb Kocmoud, part of Brazos County 4H's Team Sabotage.

This years challenges focused on pollination and bees, so each team's robot had three minutes to harvest honey, plant seeds, spread pollen, build a hive and identify bees (colored pegs), and help them find their favorite plants,

"That was very hard to program because you have to get it just right, tweaking it every single time," Noah Vieira, who is part of Team Null, said.

Issues identified in one round have to get fixed before the team goes again.

"It really helps develop communication skills, conflict resolution, really decision-making as well because these kids are having to use their heads very quickly to change and revamp whats happening on the playfield," Dr. Lepley said.

In Team Sabotage's case, the robot missed some cubes for the "hive" in the first round.

"We made some tweaks to extend the program further to get the last cube because we didnt get all the cubes in," said Kocmoud.

Those tweaks did the trick. Caleb and the rest of the Brazos County 4H team took home top honors. But every kid who competed walked away with valuable skills.

"Were educating them on bigger things than just livestock, but how STEM plays into livestock and really helps us live a healthier life," Dr. Lepley said.

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Robots and ag come together at RodeoHouston - KHOU.com

The documentary More Than Robots (streaming on Disney+) centers on an international high school robotics competition. Despite the movies title, robots are, in fact, the subject and spectacle of this lighthearted film.

Working in groups over the course of several weeks, young inventors participate in the FIRST Robotics Competition to create industrial-size robots that are complex enough to move automatically, shoot projectiles and even climb. The organization that runs the competition was founded by the inventor Dean Kamen, who wanted to host an event that would develop the skills of young engineers. (The international reach of the competition drew powerful patrons: When the organizers of the tournament present the seasons challenge, they acknowledge that the competition is sponsored by Lucasfilm.)

The documentary follows four teams in early 2020 as they prepare for regional competitions in Japan, Mexico and California. The most memorable scenes come from the two teams in Los Angeles, each led by their teachers Fazlul and Fatima, who are also a married couple. Despite the apparent differences in funding between the two schools, both mentors encourage their students to build robots that stand up to the hard knocks of engineering battles.

The movie is the first documentary feature directed by the actress Gillian Jacobs. As a filmmaker, she made the wise choice to feature bright-eyed inventors who are able to make technical innovation sound approachable in talking head interviews.

Ultimately, though, the documentary lacks balance and growth in its storytelling. Jacobs has more footage to show from the tournament in Los Angeles than either Japan or Mexico, and this imbalance has the unfortunate effect of making the international story lines feel neglected. Like many of the young inventors she documents, Jacobs has created a project that doesnt fall apart at first touch. But her film doesnt meet the mark for excellence, either.

More Than RobotsNot rated. Running time: 1 hour 29 minutes. Watch on Disney+.

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More Than Robots Review: An International Battle - The New York Times

These top 10 robotics companies in the United States are emerging as disruptive robot-makers

Robots and AI machines are taking over the world. They are becoming widespread in several industries like healthcare, manufacturing, automotive, education, and defense. Without robotics, many of the worlds largest manufacturing and tech industries would not be able to operate. Big robotics companies are making it possible for other enterprises to become this efficient. This article lists the top 10 robotics companies in the United States.

NVIDIA Corporation is a US-based technology company that specializes in designing and selling interactive graphics on PCs, mobile devices, laptops, notebooks, workstations, and more.

Rockwell Automation is one of the largest providers of industrial automation power, control, and information solutions for manufacturing companies globally.

Universal Robots has its roots in Denmark and works primarily for the automation industry. The company aims to make collaborative robots known as cobots. Universal Robots has introduced a whole new concept to conjugate the working of humans and robots for industrial work.

Boston Dynamics is an American engineering and robotics design company that is headquartered in Massachusetts. The company is best known for the development of a series of dynamic highly-mobile robots, including Stretch, Spot, Atlas, and Handle.

Canvas Technology is a robotics company with a mission to provide end-to-end autonomous delivery of goods. The robots are well-equipped with stereo cameras that allow viewing in full 3D, which covers the entire area in front of the robot.

Voliro is developing advanced flying robots to perform inspection and maintenance tasks more safely, cost-effectively, and faster than traditional methods.

Zebra Technologies is one of the worlds biggest robotics companies that offer retail robots called SmartSight. This automated system optimizes the customers retail experience and boosts overall store performance by solving the most common problems in retail stores, such as incorrect pricing and high labor costs.

iRobot Corporation specializes in designing and producing consumer robots. The companys portfolio of robotics solutions includes various innovations for smart homes and different concepts in visualizing, navigation, mobility, and artificial intelligence.

Ubtech Robotics is a popular Chinese robotics company that is well-known for creating intelligent humanoid robots. The companys innovative creations serve the public, accelerate STEM education for children and entertain homes.

The CloudMinds vision is that by 2025, helpful humanoid robots will be affordable for the average household. The vision also includes creating a new kind of venture with a unique international character that earns and keeps the trust of people and markets everywhere.

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Top 10 Robotics Companies in the United States that Leads the Industry - Analytics Insight

We know more about the moon and Mars than we do our own planet, says Richard Jenkins, founder and CEO of Saildrone, a data and robotics company located in a former Naval airstation hangar in Alameda, California.

Saildrone was founded in 2013, after Jenkins spent a decade of his life perfecting a high-performance, hard-wing sail, capable of breaking the motorless land speed record at 126.1 mph. The trick was to create a sail that was able to automatically trim itself to the correct position for maximum wind power, a feat traditionally achieved by using ropes and human force. Jenkins wing more resembles an airplane wing than a traditional sail, but instead of providing lift, the saildrone wing provides thrust.

Saildrone doesnt actually sell saildrones. They sell data, and a whole lot of it, for a fraction of the price of a traditional ocean research vessel. A day of saildrone data costs a client about $2,500 compared to the $30,000 daily cost of running a large research vessel. And saildrones are also carbon neutral, with the 23-foot Explorer model using just the power of the sun and the wind to complete full year long missions around the world.

These unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) are covered top to bottom with solar-powered sensors that provide real-time tracking data to their mission control center in Alameda. They measure weather patterns and CO2 levels, with the capability of providing live storm analysis from the middle of a category 4 hurricane. The live data collected from these hurricanes is being used by NOAA to more accurately predict the hurricanes path.

They also count fish to give precise population numbers to agencies responsible for setting catch limits for sustainable fisheries, capture real-time video of drug smugglers and illegal fishing operations that aids the U.S. Coast Guard in ocean security, and collect wind density data to help energy companies find prime spots to build offshore wind farms.

But one of the biggest projects these saildrones are undertaking is creating a complete topographical map of the entire ocean floor. The Surveyor, Saildrones largest model, measuring 72 feet from bow to stern, is equipped with state-of-the-art sonar sensors that provide 3D models of the ocean floor.

Ocean mapping is fundamentally important to understanding and predicting our future. Life started probably at the bottom of the ocean, and it really dictates the ocean currents and ocean circulation which transfers heat and carbon throughout our oceans, says Jenkins, so understanding the deep sea is critical for geophysics, safety and navigation, and also ocean circulation. Less than 20% of our ocean is mapped, and with 20 of our Surveyors, we could map the entire planet in 9.6 years.

Clients are able to access all this information at the touch of a button, using the Saildrone mission portal mobile application, with a user-friendly interface that makes traditionally clunky ocean data easily digestible and readily available.

In a data-driven, digital world, Saildrone is quickly becoming the premiere platform for those seeking precise information about our changing oceans. The company currently has around 100 manufactured saildrones. But Jenkins hopes to soon have a global fleet of 1,000 drones sailing around the world helping us understand and better protect our planet.

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Meet the sailing robots trying to solve climate change | TheHill - The Hill

Often when we think of robotics, plastic surgery is not the first thing that comes to mind. In fact, if surgery even enters the picture, plastic surgery isnt likely to be at the top of the list. However, robotics has changed how plastic surgery is performed.

We needed to understand better about how robotics is used in plastic surgery, so we consulted with a few plastic surgeons, such as plastic surgeon Dr. Asif Pirani. This is what we found out.

What are Robotics?

It is important to look at what robotic surgery is to begin with. To put it simply, robotic surgery uses surgical robots to make tiny incisions, insert miniaturized instruments, and a high-definition, three-dimensional camera.

This allows the surgeon to see what is going on inside without having to make a larger incision to do so. Traditional surgery, also known as open surgery, requires a larger incision to complete the same operation.

Once the instruments have been safely placed in an incision, the surgeon will manipulate the instruments using a nearby console, performing the operation in a very fine, delicate manner. It is very non-invasive when compared to traditional, open surgery, and will result in a cleaner, smaller scar, making it a great choice for plastic surgeons.

The Accuracy

Of course, the best thing about using robotics in plastic surgery is the accuracy of the surgery itself. With a robotic cut rather than one made by a hand, the work can be done on such a fine level that the precision and results are something that couldnt have been possible in the past.

Plastic surgery is a delicate type of surgery and requires the doctors to use the most precise movements possible. With the implementation of robotics, incisions can be smaller and more accurate than ever before.

It is also essential to remember that plastic surgery is not limited to aesthetic transformation. It can help to correct many other issues and the use of robotic equipment will make the process easier to have done and much easier to recover from.

Part of that improved accuracy comes from the improved resolution that you get looking through the three-dimensional vision lens, but the other part has to do with tremor reduction. You cannot get a steadier hand than a robotic hand.

The Cons

As is the case with all things, there are some cons to using robotics in plastic surgery. The first is that when you use a machine for these kinds of things, you will need to wait for the machine to be set up. There is also the time taken to make sure it is running well and the need to replace any microneedles that may break along the way.

Additionally, surgeons will likely need additional training to operate the equipment effectively. As new technology comes out, there are not trained doctors with years of experience who know how to use it, resulting in a learning curve. Yet, once a doctor has been trained with the equipment, the pros begin to pile in.

The Benefits

The pros for using robotics in plastic surgery far outweigh the cons. Ultimately, the role of robotics in plastic surgery benefits cosmetic procedures the greatest. When someone needs to have a surgical correction, it is often done on a fine degree, with the intent of the evidence of the procedure to be as non-existent as possible.

Since the incisions are so much smaller with robotic surgery, the risk of infection is substantially lower. There is a much less skin involved, being operated on, which means there is less exposure to the world. The process is also cleaner by nature, so the chances of infection are very low.

The functional outcomes of robotics surgery are also better and there is a lot more surgeon comfort, eliminating stressors and outside factors that could affect the results of the surgery. And, as we mentioned above, a robotic surgical device will not have a hand tremor as a human might. Surgeons naturally have steady hands, but a robot would be even steadier.

As a result, plastic surgeons are able to overcome previous limitations and apply this innovated technology to a lot broader uses. As it becomes used more and more, the sky seems to be the limit with robotic plastic surgery.

Bottom Line

If you are in the market for plastic surgery, it would be a good idea to consult with a surgeon that has the ability to use robotics during surgery, the results will be better, you will have an easier recovery, and it is far more accurate than traditional surgery is.

The benefits of robotic plastic surgery really make it the best choice for any procedure that you might be considering. You really cant go wrong using a plastic surgeon that specializes in robotics.

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Using Robotics in Plastic Surgery - Robotics and Automation News

Pubinno, a San Francisco-based technology firm that creates the "Internet of Beer" with artificial intelligence, robotics and cloud computing platforms, has now integrated a Bitcoin (BTC) payment infrastructure into its system.

Pubinno accepted BTC payments using the Lightning Network at the #LightningHackdaysIST held from Feb. 25 to 27. By using their Lightning Network-supporting wallets, participants could receive their own beer, poured just seconds after scanning a QR code to complete the transaction.

According to Pubinno CEO Can Algul, the Smart Tap system was created in 2016 and employs blockchain technology to link the future of draft beer with the future of transactions. Cointelegraph had a chance to chat with Algul about the Smart Tap system.

Algul explained how blockchain technology influenced his decision to utilize the Lightning Network for payments, stating that:

The Lightning Network was created in 2015 as a proposed solution to the Bitcoin scalability problem. It allows for off-chain transactions between nodes that are then settled on the blockchain. This allows for an increased number of transactions to be processed without increasing the load on the blockchain, allowing for microtransactions and instant payments.

Related: Bitcoin Lightning Network growth capacity plateaus at 3,400 BTC

According to Algul, the "advantages of the Lightning Network" allow bar owners to get paid in seconds with little or no commissions, and with the self-serve capability of the smart tap system, they may save a lot of money on labor costs.

When asked whether they intend to include other cryptocurrencies on the Smart Tap system as payment, Algul replied that it will be based on a number of variables such as scalability, frequency of use, transaction cost and speed. He added that:

He said, "the world is in a deep-rooted digitization phase and the fastest development is shaped around blockchain." Algul referred to BTC as the first cryptocurrency that comes to mind, but he also stated that stablecoins would be integrated into the payment system in the future.

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The Internet of Beer: Robotics startup taps Bitcoin to deliver automated beverage - Cointelegraph

To make their Mini Cheetah better equipped to skillfully scramble across varying terrains, robotics researchers at MITs CSAIL used AI-powered simulations to quickly teach the bot to adapt its walking style as needed. That included learning how to run, which resulted in a new gait that allows the robot to move faster than it ever has before.

As much as robot designers strive to engineer and program a robot to handle any situation it might experience in the real world, its an impossible task. The world is endlessly chaotic. And when simply walking down a sidewalk, a robot could face a myriad of obstacles from smooth pavement to slippery patches of iceto areas covered in loose gravel to all of the above one after the other. Its why bi-pedal robots and even quadrupeds usually have a very slow and careful gait. Theyre designed and programmed to expect the worst-case scenario when it comes to the terrain theyre navigating and proceed very carefully, even when walking across smooth surfaces free of any debris or obstacles.

Adaptability is the key to making robots move faster and more confidently across varying terrains; changing their gait and speed when theyve identified a transition from safer surfaces like pavement to materials like loose gravel that require a more careful and slower approach. A robots programming can be manually modified and upgraded every time it encounters a new terrain it cant successfully navigate, but thats a time-consuming process that inevitably sets the robot up for failure every time it encounters something new.

Photo: Thomas Buehler (MIT)

A better approach is to create a robot that can learn by trial and error, and automatically modify and alter its behavior and movements all by itself when it encounters a new terrain. The problem with that approach is that, as with a toddler, its not safe to let a robot simply run wild to have all these learning experiences on its own. One of the most promising use cases for robots is being able to send a machine with the same capabilities as a human into areas not safe for humans to go, and requiring a constant babysitter means a robot cant fulfill that role.

To skip past the childhood full of random learning experiences that most humans go through and accelerate the Mini Cheetahs development, the researchers at MIT CSAIL turned to artificial intelligence and simulations. In just three hours time, the robot experienced 100 days worth of virtual adventures over a diverse variety of terrains and learned countless new techniques for modifying its gait so that it can still effectively loco-mote from point A to point B no matter what might be underfoot.

The Mini Cheetah might not necessarily be able to recognize that its loose gravel thats constantly causing it to lose its footing or ice thats making its feet slip, but by constantly monitoring its movements it can tell when its not walking as effectively as it could, and based on what its legs are doing, it can now adapt their movements to ensure it keeps moving forward. Those adaptations can even compensate for how the robots components are performing or underperforming as a result of damage or being over-stressed.

Theres another reason robots dont run, and it has nothing to do with researchers worried about damaging a custom machine that potentially costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to build. Running requires a robot to push its various componentslike electric motors and servosto the limits of its operating range, at which point they can start to behave and perform different behaviors that are as hard to predict as what might happen to a robot traversing slippery ice. But the same way that the Mini Cheetah can now adapt to different terrains, it can also adapt to how its own components are functioning, which allows it to run more effectively.

It might not be the most graceful thing to watch when moving at high speeds, but the Mini Cheetah hit a new top speed of 3.9 m/s, or a little over 8.7 MPH, which is faster than the average human can run. The new approach isnt just about teaching robots to run, however. Robot hands could be quickly taught to safely handle thousands of different objects theyve never physically touched before, and autonomous drones could be taught how to fly in inclement weather through safe simulations instead of sending them out into the real thing to learn by trial and error.

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MIT's Robotic Cheetah Taught Itself How to Run and Set a New Speed Record in the Process - Gizmodo