Weekly Robotics #41 02 Jun 2019

1) STMBL - an Open Source Servo Drive.

GitHub

INFO: Via Readme: STMBL is an open source servo drive designed for Retrofitting CNC machines and Robots. It supports Industrial AC and DC servos with up to 320V and 2kW. You can see some videos of machines using STMBL on author’s YouTube channel.

2) The History of Pixhawk.

Auterion

INFO: In this blog post Lorenz Meier from Auterion shares the story on how Pixhawk, an open source autopilot came to be and started to be widely adopted by the drone community.

3) Engineering for the Long Haul, the NASA Way.

Hackaday

INFO: In this Hackaday post Dan Maloney how NASA is learning from the mistakes, hardware failures and processes (using non-SI units in ground-based software anyone?). We liked that the article features lots of examples on engineering failures and lessons learned. Another important aspect covered is the reasoning behind using computer chips from 1988 in the projects that were deployed even in 2006.

4) First All-Student Rocket to Reach Space | Traveler IV Launch.

YouTube

INFO: On the 21st of April students from USC Propulsion Lab launched a rocket that reached an apogee of 339,800 ft (104 km). We found the above video to be very inspiring and we highly recommend watching it if you have 5 minutes to spare.

5) Ultrafast Motion-Planning Chip Could Make Autonomous Cars Safer.

IEEE

INFO: This article introduces the usage of motion planning using Realtime Robotics solutions. Thanks to FPGA chips and lattice motion planning the company can execute motion planning a rate of 1,000 Hz. In the video featured in the article you will see the presentation of the technology applied in simulation, we will watch the progress of Realtime Robotics and as soon as we see the technology proved on a physical self-driving car we will let you know.

6) The Artificial Muscles that Will Power Robots of the Future.

YouTube

INFO: In this TED talk Christoph Keplinger talks about artificial muscles (did you know that likely the first publication on artificial muscle was published in 1880) and shows HASEL (Hydraulically Amplified Self-healing ELectrostatic) actuators that use electricity applied to a conductor to displace insulating liquid.

7) Publication of the Week - Batiprint3D Project Report (2017)(PDF).

3dprintetbyggeri.dk

INFO: This project report contains information on Batiprint3D, a project to create 3D printed house in Nantes, France. Here you can find a BBC article on the topic after the house was constructed. The system is composed of two robots; an articulated robot arm and a guided vehicle. The core of the process developed by Batiprint3D is using polyurethane foam to create a cast for the walls. After the cast is made it is filled with concrete 30 cm (1 foot) at a time. According to the report the robot is using a laser beacon and photosensors for robot localization, achieving 1 mm accuracy in position.

Careers

1) TuSimple (San Diego, CA / Tucson, AZ, US) - Various Positions.

INFO: TuSimple’s team has assembled the top talent in the industry to deliver the world’s first self-driving truck to market. We covered self-driving trials by TuSimple in Weekly Robotics #40.

2) Tecnalia (San Sebastian, Spain) - Research Engineer in Vision for Robotics.

INFO: Tecnalia’s activity is Applied research to solve challenges from our industrial clients, as well as maturing technologies to anticipe the industrial need.

3) Blue Ocean Robotics (Barcelona, Spain) - Senior Robotics Developer.

INFO: Blue Ocean Robotics develops, produces and sells professional service robots in healthcare, hospitality, construction, agriculture and other global markets.