Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.39
…hazardous. Autonomous drones can help, but they typically require GPS to navigate. Kajima Corp., one of the world's largest construction companies, today said it has partnered with Near Earth Autonomy Inc. to develop targeted systems to inspect such GPS-denied environments. “We are pleased that many of the autonomy capabilities that we developed for aerial transport also have valuable inspection applications,” said Dr. Sanjiv Singh, CEO of Near Earth Autonomy. “Autonomous inspections enable the safe identification and rapid correction of issues. Kajima’s innovative leadership, industry insights, and scale make them ideal partners. We are delighted to collaborate with Kajima to scale…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.41
…team said that its autonomous racecar lost its main GPS sensor and then its backup one at 123.45 mph. After the German TUM team's run at IMS, the EuroRacing vehicle had a good run but slowed down to 124.5 mph during its second lap. The consortium captain said he suspected a programming problem. In the end, the top three teams in the IAC were all from Europe. “Participating in the Indy Autonomous Challenge allowed our team to advance autonomous driving technologies and being able to take first place after two years of hard work acknowledges that we had an outstanding…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.76
…Suvarna. “In simulation, you have the ground truth of GPS and other vehicles, but all that goes away when you move to real vehicles.” Where the software meets the road With help from numerous corporate sponsors and partners, the IAC teams collaborated on a common hardware and software platform before developing their own controls. The Dallara cars had 326 horsepower and four cylinders, as well as a special clutch for smooth autonomous shifting. “Everyone was collaborative—the more capable the cars can be, the better for all of us,” Suvarna said. “The base vehicle software stack took us to 30 mph,…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.30
…in indoor and outdoor standards,” Theobald said. “It's basically GPS, which is different from the AGV [automated guided vehicle] world, where the robots precisely follow lines. That's not the way the real world works—it's less about the path than flexibly following goals. A lift truck or cleaning robot can navigate around people.” The MassRobotics standard uses the WebSocket API (application programming interface). In yesterday's demonstration, the display consisted of a Vecna map with Waypoint and WiBotic information published to it. Shared map created from Vecna, Waypoint, and WiBotic data using the MassRobotics interoperability protocol. More status reports to come “The…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.39
…was intended to advance robotics and software for exploring GPS-denied environments. “In time-sensitive missions, such as active combat operations or disaster response, warfighters and first responders face difficult terrain, unstable structures, degraded environmental conditions, severe communication constraints, and expansive areas of operation,” said Timothy Chung, program manager of the SubT Challenge at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). “The challenge has helped to significantly advance technological tools for tackling these impediments and safeguarding lives.” Since the challenge began in 2018, teams have competed in three circuit events – tunnel, urban, and cave. The Cave Circuit was shifted to virtual-only…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.65
…to run fully on the edge in high-threat and GPS- and communication-degraded environments, claimed Shield AI. The company's hardware products include the Nova and V-BAT UAS (unmanned aerial system). Hivemind is integrated onboard the Nova and will be integrated onboard the V-BAT. Shield AI said it is committed to supporting third-party aircraft with autonomy systems. Funding to bring valuation to $1B Disruptive, an Austin, Texas-based late-stage technology investor headed by Alex Davis, led Shield AI's Series D round. Other participants included Point72 ventures, which led Shield AI's Series C round. Other venture capital firms in previous rounds included Breyer Capital…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.75
…to navigate the site, along with real-time kinematic (RTK) GPS correction, which enables vehicle positional accuracy within 2 cm (0.78 in.). Renubot also uses AI and machine learning for autonomous command and control, as well as to learn and assess the topography as it conducts mowing and grooming of facility grounds, Renu said. “With its sophisticated, sustainable-to-operate autonomous mower, Renu Robotics is revolutionizing the way solar and energy companies conduct vegetation management,” said Laura Wrisley, vice president of North America sales at Velodyne Lidar. “The innovative Renubot demonstrates how Puck sensors power precision and safety in autonomous vehicles, operating without…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 1.40
…example, there are some places with no communications or GPS (such as tunnels and Faraday cages), few opportunities for charging, and uneven surfaces with obstacles. The scale of the challenge also required millimeter accuracy within a 1,000 km (621.3 mi.) network to, for example, repeat the measurement of a crack. In2Smart 2 was intended to bridge those gaps. To get the project up and running quickly, particularly for accelerated hardware integration, the In2Smart 2 team chose the Warthog robotic platform. The UGV allowed the team to test sensor systems, navigation concepts, and obstacle detection and avoidance within ready-to-run hardware and…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.69
…radar altimeter and provide mapping for alternate navigation if GPS guidance fails. Honeywell said its BVLOS suite will allow drone designers to combine data in new ways to save weight and power. Its radar computes an avoidance path using built-in circuitry, rather than requiring a separate processor. Its satellite uplink can be used to download real-time weather and traffic reports from other drones. Honeywell’s UAV Satcom and IMUs are available now, with some IMU models priced as low as $1,800. The RDR-84K and fuel cells are in late-stage development, and prototype fuel cells are available for purchase and evaluation now.…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.35
…increased autonomy, including visual-intertial odometry (VIO) and navigation in GPS-denied environments. “Situational awareness and obstacle avoidance enable BVLOS [beyond visual line-of-sight] and follow-me applications,” said Singh. “I'm really excited about unmanned aerial mobility—you could call Uber Elevate [acquired in December by Joby Aviation] and go from San Francisco to San Jose in a self-driven aircraft.” 5G and robotics “5G is fundamental to Qualcomm's vision of an intelligent wireless edge and distributed computing,” said Singh. “Before, AI was tied to the cloud, but now, it can be on the device. You still need to balance memory and power consumption. 5G makes…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 1.30
…beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) or in GPS-denied environments? Sweet: Yes – many enterprise robots are using 4G as a robust telemetry backhaul for tracking. 5G significantly increases network capacity to enable video, edge AI processing, and real-time command and control. 5G connectivity provides ultra-high reliability and low latency connectivity during flight, allowing drones to operate BVLOS. 5G’s low latency is especially useful in navigation scenarios where drones fly in GPS-denied environments. In this use case, drones can’t use GPS and rely on VIO to navigate in areas where the pilot’s view is obscured. 5G will ensure that…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 7.90
…vehicles. “In combining Honeywell’s best-in-class navigation sensors with leading-edge GPS resilience technology from InfiniDome, we’re working to develop a first-of-its-kind holistic solution built on tightly integrated layers of protection for all uses of navigation for unmanned air and ground vehicles,” said Omer Sharar, CEO of InfiniDome. InfiniDome said it provides front-end cybersecurity to protect wireless communications from jamming attacks. The Caesarea, Israel-based company designs systems to monitor and secure the GPS systems in drones and other unmanned systems, vehicle fleets, and critical networks, as well as defense applications. Autonomous systems must account for GPS unreliability Around the world, GPS signals…