For such small objects, they pack a huge financial punch. How much money are we talking about for Nevada? Governor Sandoval says…a lot. As he told us, "They will bring thousands of jobs to our state, and we estimate that the average wage for those jobs will be $62,000. It could mean 2 point 5 billion...that's with a B...in economic impact." The Reno-Stead Airport could soon be a beehive of drone-buzzing activity. Standing in front of the newly-finished terminal building, spokesman Brian Kulpin told us, "It is an exciting day for us. It can mean big things for the future for us, and we need this type of shot in the arm for our community."
25 states were clamoring for this winged jackpot…only 6 were chosen. How did Nevada win one of those coveted spots? Among the drone's pre-flight check, space is a "go" here. As the governor put it, "We have some very unique assets. We have more airspace than the other 49 states combined." There's plenty of ground space too out at Stead, where the airport backs up to BLM land. But aerospace specialist Tom Wilczek with the Governor's Office of Economic Development says the ace in our hand was our weather: "The clarity, the ability to have 320-plus flying days a year is extremely important to the FAA."
The payoff looks huge. Commercializing drones, from tracking wildfires to checking land for mining and agriculture, will be a hot, high-paying, high-education industry. Manufacturer Hawkeye UAV demonstrated their drones at Reno-Stead Airport earlier this year. Where manufacturers like they go, other makers and vendors will follow. On the phone, Steve Hill, the director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development told us, "We'll have companies moving in and out of the state to do testing for periods of time."
Back out at Reno-Stead Airport, Brian Kulpin is ready: "We're going to market this for economic development. We have a brand new terminal here, we have the 5,000 acres here...lots of room for development up here in Stead." It won't take long. Besides Stead, the state has chosen Fallon Naval Air Station for drone technology testing, along with 2 southern Nevada spots authorized as "test sites for commercial unmanned aerial vehicle development." The state should start to see some real activity in those spots next year. The research and testing that's performed in Nevada will help the FAA develop their national standards for drone operating, licensing and privacy issues, which they expect to issue by late-2015.
"This is wonderful news for Nevada that creates a huge opportunity for our economy," said Senator Harry Reid. "Nevada has long been a leader in the UAS Industry, and no state makes a better candidate than ours. With this application approval, Nevada will continue to lead in new and innovative technologies of the 21st century, along with creating a large and profitable industry. I appreciate the work of all those involved and I look forward to working with Governor Sandoval to ensure a successful implementation of the award, and subsequent creation of the testing sites in Nevada."
In 2012, Senator Reid led passage of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, establishing the Federal Aviation Administration program to begin testing for the integration of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles--commonly referred to as drones--into the National Airspace System. Awarding Nevada the FAA test sites will have far reaching implications on the economy of Nevada. The range of jobs created includes, but is not limited to: teachers, machinists, aircraft mechanics, software developers, electrical engineers, and human resource professionals.
2013年12月30日星期一
2013年12月27日星期五
Meat Hooks Help Ease Human-Machine Teamwork
Robots and humans, for decades kept separate from each other on factory floors, are inching toward integration. After years of walling off robots to ensure safety, some companies are finding ways to put them alongside people, with lightweight materials and new sensors enabling engineers to build machines that can be employees' partners or even worn on the job.
"Typically we would put up these big gates to keep people and robotics separated," said Scott Whybrew, director for global manufacturing engineering vehicle systems at General Motors Co. (GM) "Human-safe robotics, though, gives us the ability for robots to work side-by-side with the operators."
People-friendly machines hold the potential to propel a global robot market estimated at $8.7 billion in 2012. BMW is testing models that could someday collaborate with workers, while GM is developing its "robo-glove" to give employees a more-muscular grip. Astronauts wrap up successful spacewalk to fix station Google Inc. (GOOG), with eight acquisitions in the past year, is also signaling its interest in robotics. Robot-human teams would combine machines' strength and employees' ability to see, feel, touch and think -- qualities impossible or too costly to replicate mechanically. It's a new frontier in automation after mechanization helped boost U.S. factory output by 53 percent in the past two decades even as manufacturing employment tumbled 28 percent.
"Robots and humans working together are the best of both worlds," said Jose Saenz, research manager for Fraunhofer IFF, a German company that studies factory automation. "How can you have a robot carrying the load while a person guides it? These are future scenarios that we'll be seeing soon." As robots get safer, cheaper and more petite, smaller companies may be able to take advantage of the technology, according Jeff Burnstein, president of the Association for Advancing Automation trade group in Ann Arbor, Michigan. "Collaborative robots will open up a lot of eyes," Burnstein said. "There's a huge opportunity there."
In Australia, a meat-industry trade group contracted with automation manufacturer HDT Global to mechanize slaughterhouse processes that required workers to snag carcasses with a hook while slicing off beef chunks as heavy as 50 pounds (23 kilograms). That motion often leads to shoulder strain and severe hand cramping. HDT Global, whose products span tactical rescue vehicles to robotic prosthetic hands, devised a motor-driven hook mounted on a robot arm that replaces the need for human pulling power to make a clean cut. It was delivered last year. "What we've definitely proved is that this task does not need to be done by a 6-foot-3 burly Australian guy because the device amplifies the force so much," said Julio Santos-Munne, director of HDT's operations in Evanston, Illinois. "Part of the intent was to be able to have women do this task."
"Typically we would put up these big gates to keep people and robotics separated," said Scott Whybrew, director for global manufacturing engineering vehicle systems at General Motors Co. (GM) "Human-safe robotics, though, gives us the ability for robots to work side-by-side with the operators."
People-friendly machines hold the potential to propel a global robot market estimated at $8.7 billion in 2012. BMW is testing models that could someday collaborate with workers, while GM is developing its "robo-glove" to give employees a more-muscular grip. Astronauts wrap up successful spacewalk to fix station Google Inc. (GOOG), with eight acquisitions in the past year, is also signaling its interest in robotics. Robot-human teams would combine machines' strength and employees' ability to see, feel, touch and think -- qualities impossible or too costly to replicate mechanically. It's a new frontier in automation after mechanization helped boost U.S. factory output by 53 percent in the past two decades even as manufacturing employment tumbled 28 percent.
"Robots and humans working together are the best of both worlds," said Jose Saenz, research manager for Fraunhofer IFF, a German company that studies factory automation. "How can you have a robot carrying the load while a person guides it? These are future scenarios that we'll be seeing soon." As robots get safer, cheaper and more petite, smaller companies may be able to take advantage of the technology, according Jeff Burnstein, president of the Association for Advancing Automation trade group in Ann Arbor, Michigan. "Collaborative robots will open up a lot of eyes," Burnstein said. "There's a huge opportunity there."
In Australia, a meat-industry trade group contracted with automation manufacturer HDT Global to mechanize slaughterhouse processes that required workers to snag carcasses with a hook while slicing off beef chunks as heavy as 50 pounds (23 kilograms). That motion often leads to shoulder strain and severe hand cramping. HDT Global, whose products span tactical rescue vehicles to robotic prosthetic hands, devised a motor-driven hook mounted on a robot arm that replaces the need for human pulling power to make a clean cut. It was delivered last year. "What we've definitely proved is that this task does not need to be done by a 6-foot-3 burly Australian guy because the device amplifies the force so much," said Julio Santos-Munne, director of HDT's operations in Evanston, Illinois. "Part of the intent was to be able to have women do this task."
2013年12月25日星期三
Astronauts wrap up successful spacewalk to fix station
In a 7-1/2-hour spacewalk, their second in four days, the astronauts, Col. Michael S. Hopkins of the Air Force and Richard A. Mastracchio, installed a new pump module on the outside of the space station. The module, a 780-pound box about the size of a refrigerator, contains a pump and accompanying apparatus that circulate ammonia coolant through one of two loops on the station. "It's like Christmas morning opening up a little present here," said Mastracchio, an engineer, as the spacewalk unfolded on NASA Television. Operations on the space station, including some science experiments, have been curtailed since a valve in the pump module malfunctioned two weeks ago.
Plugging in the last of the electrical connectors on Tuesday afternoon, Hopkins said, "Houston, you've got yourself a new pump module." The pump passed a brief check, and was turned on Tuesday evening. "We have a pump that is alive and well," said Rob Navias, a NASA spokesman who provided commentary during the spacewalk. Nonessential equipment that had been turned off should be switched on by the end of the week or early next week, he said. The first spacewalk, on Saturday, went quickly and almost flawlessly, and the astronauts were able to get far ahead of schedule and remove the old module, a task that had originally been scheduled for the second spacewalk. On Tuesday, they ran into trouble when one of the ammonia fluid lines would not detach. With brainstorming help from mission control, they finally succeeded, but then some toxic flakes of frozen ammonia leaked out. The astronauts had to take a few precautions at the end of the spacewalk to ensure their spacesuits were decontaminated. During a spacewalk in July, the cooling system in an Italian astronaut's spacesuit malfunctioned and the helmet partly filled up with water. There were no such problems this time.
"Fantastic work," Hopkins said as he re-entered the airlock. "Merry Christmas to everybody." The malfunctioning pump module had been installed just three years ago, and the station has only two more spares available. With the space shuttle fleet retired, NASA has no craft big enough to ferry a replacement up from Earth. The module will be stored on the outside of the space station, and NASA officials said it might be possible to return it to service in the future, even with the faulty valve. After a busy few days, the station's six crew members will have a day off on Christmas. On Friday, two Russian astronauts are to conduct a previously scheduled seven-hour spacewalk to install two cameras and replenish some science experiments outside the station.
Plugging in the last of the electrical connectors on Tuesday afternoon, Hopkins said, "Houston, you've got yourself a new pump module." The pump passed a brief check, and was turned on Tuesday evening. "We have a pump that is alive and well," said Rob Navias, a NASA spokesman who provided commentary during the spacewalk. Nonessential equipment that had been turned off should be switched on by the end of the week or early next week, he said. The first spacewalk, on Saturday, went quickly and almost flawlessly, and the astronauts were able to get far ahead of schedule and remove the old module, a task that had originally been scheduled for the second spacewalk. On Tuesday, they ran into trouble when one of the ammonia fluid lines would not detach. With brainstorming help from mission control, they finally succeeded, but then some toxic flakes of frozen ammonia leaked out. The astronauts had to take a few precautions at the end of the spacewalk to ensure their spacesuits were decontaminated. During a spacewalk in July, the cooling system in an Italian astronaut's spacesuit malfunctioned and the helmet partly filled up with water. There were no such problems this time.
"Fantastic work," Hopkins said as he re-entered the airlock. "Merry Christmas to everybody." The malfunctioning pump module had been installed just three years ago, and the station has only two more spares available. With the space shuttle fleet retired, NASA has no craft big enough to ferry a replacement up from Earth. The module will be stored on the outside of the space station, and NASA officials said it might be possible to return it to service in the future, even with the faulty valve. After a busy few days, the station's six crew members will have a day off on Christmas. On Friday, two Russian astronauts are to conduct a previously scheduled seven-hour spacewalk to install two cameras and replenish some science experiments outside the station.
2013年12月19日星期四
Astronauts Finalizing Spacewalk Preparations
The first spacewalk is scheduled for Saturday at 7:10 a.m. EDT when the spacewalkers will set up the worksite on the S1 truss. Monday’s spacewalk will include the removal of the old pump module and the installation of a spare pump module. If necessary a third spacewalk would occur on Christmas day to finalize the installation of the new pump module.
NASA Television will begin coverage of the spacewalks an hour before their 7:10 a.m. scheduled start times. The spacewalks are scheduled to last about six hours and 30 minutes. Shortly after the spacewalks conclude, mission controllers will participate in a briefing at Johnson Space Center to discuss the day’s activities.
A briefing was held Wednesday with International Space Station program manager Mike Suffredini, Flight Director Dina Contella and Lead Spacewalk Officer Allison Bolinger. The mission managers discussed how a faulty pump module forced the launch delay of the Cygnus resupply craft and led to the planning for the contingency spacewalks.
The astronauts are also preparing for the possibility of ammonia leaks during their spacewalk. The pump modules are filled with ammonia for cooling and leaks have occurred while disconnecting cables during previous repair spacewalks. If ammonia flakes get on a crew member’s suit, the spacewalkers would go through a series of decontamination steps before re-entering the space station.
In the Russian side of the space station, Commander Oleg Kotov and Sergey Ryazanskiy are preparing for a Dec. 27 pre-planned spacewalk. The cosmonauts with assistance from Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin resized their Orlan spacesuits, checked batteries and reviewed their translation paths to the external worksites.
The duo will install a foot restraint; install medium and high resolution cameras; jettison gear from a pair of external experiments; and install a new experiment as well as a payload boom on the Zvezda service module.
Kotov and Ryazanskiy also participated in a study that monitored their cardiovascular system. Tyurin later worked on the Russian radiation detection experiment Matryeshka that observes radiation absorption in a mannequin.
NASA Television will begin coverage of the spacewalks an hour before their 7:10 a.m. scheduled start times. The spacewalks are scheduled to last about six hours and 30 minutes. Shortly after the spacewalks conclude, mission controllers will participate in a briefing at Johnson Space Center to discuss the day’s activities.
A briefing was held Wednesday with International Space Station program manager Mike Suffredini, Flight Director Dina Contella and Lead Spacewalk Officer Allison Bolinger. The mission managers discussed how a faulty pump module forced the launch delay of the Cygnus resupply craft and led to the planning for the contingency spacewalks.
The astronauts are also preparing for the possibility of ammonia leaks during their spacewalk. The pump modules are filled with ammonia for cooling and leaks have occurred while disconnecting cables during previous repair spacewalks. If ammonia flakes get on a crew member’s suit, the spacewalkers would go through a series of decontamination steps before re-entering the space station.
In the Russian side of the space station, Commander Oleg Kotov and Sergey Ryazanskiy are preparing for a Dec. 27 pre-planned spacewalk. The cosmonauts with assistance from Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin resized their Orlan spacesuits, checked batteries and reviewed their translation paths to the external worksites.
The duo will install a foot restraint; install medium and high resolution cameras; jettison gear from a pair of external experiments; and install a new experiment as well as a payload boom on the Zvezda service module.
Kotov and Ryazanskiy also participated in a study that monitored their cardiovascular system. Tyurin later worked on the Russian radiation detection experiment Matryeshka that observes radiation absorption in a mannequin.
2013年12月16日星期一
200,000 apply for one-way trip to Mars
According to an announcement, made by The Mars One foundation Tuesday, it has engaged suppliers for an upcoming 2018 unmanned mission. Among the devices provided are robotic lander and a communications satellite. Lockheed Martin is in charge of building the lander, while Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. is focused on the satellite construction.
The first mission is specifically designed to test the technology which would be servicing the first human settlement on Mars. If the tests are successful then the first people on Mars might land in 2025.
According to a statement of Mars One CEO Bas Lansdorp, the interest toward the program has been enormous ever since it was first announced with over 200, 000 people filing their applications. The people seem to not mind the fact they are never coming home – a trip made impossible by the absence of a launch platform on the Red Planet, but, on the bright side, The cost of use will be pennies this fact significantly reduces the cost of the journey. For the moment the applications have been submitted and the company is planning on notifying the lucky ones by the end of the year that they have made it to the second round.
Lansdorp said that the unmanned mission is the "most important and most difficult step of actually getting humans to Mars." At the same time, it is going to be the first privately funded space mission. Ed Sedivy, a chief engineer at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, said, "The opportunity to participate in that is just really exciting."
Lansdorp hopes to receive the major share of funding for his project in the form of donations from sponsors and partners, as opposed to public contributions. The cost of the lander and satellite has not yet been established, however, the ballpark figure has already been estimated by Mars one, Lansdorp said.
NASA Phoenix mission has served as prototype for the lander, Lansdorp said. The Mars One probe will consist of a robotic arm with a camera to be shooting continuous video and a water experiment featuring the water production on Mars.
The mission will also bring with it winners of the international university science contest. The winning projects will get an opportunity to be carried out on Mars. Aside from serous scientific findings, Lansdorp wants to see several “fun” experiments, among which is sending a balloon with a camera attached to it to film Mars from an altitude of 200 to 500 meters – something never done before. In the meantime, the communications satellite will provide live video feed from surface of Mars to Earth, representing the first Mars synchronous communications satellite.
Originally, the first humans were planned to be sent over to the Red Planet in 2023, but the project has been delayed. After the first humans have arrived, the plan is to send new crews over, with the number of people gradually growing as soon as the means of transportation are designed to hold more people. According to Sedivy, it would take them nearly 3 years from commitment to initiating a preliminary design to launch, so they’re left with about a year to study the actual concept.
As far as funding is concerned, Mars One is considering various scenarios. The total budget for the project is an estimated $6 billion. According to Lansdorp, who kept the amount secured by partners secret, the donations amounted to over $200,000.
The first mission is specifically designed to test the technology which would be servicing the first human settlement on Mars. If the tests are successful then the first people on Mars might land in 2025.
According to a statement of Mars One CEO Bas Lansdorp, the interest toward the program has been enormous ever since it was first announced with over 200, 000 people filing their applications. The people seem to not mind the fact they are never coming home – a trip made impossible by the absence of a launch platform on the Red Planet, but, on the bright side, The cost of use will be pennies this fact significantly reduces the cost of the journey. For the moment the applications have been submitted and the company is planning on notifying the lucky ones by the end of the year that they have made it to the second round.
Lansdorp said that the unmanned mission is the "most important and most difficult step of actually getting humans to Mars." At the same time, it is going to be the first privately funded space mission. Ed Sedivy, a chief engineer at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, said, "The opportunity to participate in that is just really exciting."
Lansdorp hopes to receive the major share of funding for his project in the form of donations from sponsors and partners, as opposed to public contributions. The cost of the lander and satellite has not yet been established, however, the ballpark figure has already been estimated by Mars one, Lansdorp said.
NASA Phoenix mission has served as prototype for the lander, Lansdorp said. The Mars One probe will consist of a robotic arm with a camera to be shooting continuous video and a water experiment featuring the water production on Mars.
The mission will also bring with it winners of the international university science contest. The winning projects will get an opportunity to be carried out on Mars. Aside from serous scientific findings, Lansdorp wants to see several “fun” experiments, among which is sending a balloon with a camera attached to it to film Mars from an altitude of 200 to 500 meters – something never done before. In the meantime, the communications satellite will provide live video feed from surface of Mars to Earth, representing the first Mars synchronous communications satellite.
Originally, the first humans were planned to be sent over to the Red Planet in 2023, but the project has been delayed. After the first humans have arrived, the plan is to send new crews over, with the number of people gradually growing as soon as the means of transportation are designed to hold more people. According to Sedivy, it would take them nearly 3 years from commitment to initiating a preliminary design to launch, so they’re left with about a year to study the actual concept.
As far as funding is concerned, Mars One is considering various scenarios. The total budget for the project is an estimated $6 billion. According to Lansdorp, who kept the amount secured by partners secret, the donations amounted to over $200,000.
2013年12月14日星期六
The cost of use will be pennies
"The cost of use will be pennies on the dollar compared to today's delivery systems," Mr. Templeton said. This, he added, could very quickly eat into the business of many delivery companies."None of the horse and carriage companies of the past ended up becoming automobile companies today," said Mr. Templeton, who is also a consultant on the Google team designing a driverless car.The roadblocks, real and potential, are significant. Safety is one worry. Another is current technology. Drones like the ones showcased by Amazon are electric and are estimated to be able to carry only small packages weighing less than five pounds. That means they would not work for most online purchases.
Hal Bennett, a drone researcher, has a possible answer for that. He wants to build drones powered by tiny jet engines rather than electric ones. He says they could carry 50- and 100-pound packages 45,000 feet up at 250 miles an hour. While his drones are still in a research phase, and very much under wraps, Mr. Bennett said the possibilities were endless."Imagine you're climbing around in Yosemite and you decided you want a Burger King hamburger. You just order it on your GPS," Mr. Bennett said.Many people probably don't want to imagine that. Drones over El Capitan? Delivering, of all things, fast food?Then again, American pizzerias really began routine deliveries only in the 1950s, reflecting the rise of another bit of technology: the automobile.
Then, in the '60s, a man who started out with one pizzeria in Ypsilanti, Mich., came along and made quick delivery a priority. His name was Thomas Monaghan. The company: Domino's.Say hello to Yana and Bo, two robots who want to teach your five-year-old to write code. The newly crowdfunded Play-i system uses music, animation, and stories to teach kids ages 5 to 12+ to program their new robot friends--and have fun in the process. The learning and storytelling platform combines bots designed for interactive play with a visual programming interface that can be accessed on a phone or tablet. It's so simple, it doesn't even require reading or writing skills. With a few intuitive commands, inquisitive kids can control Yana and Bo's motion, regulate their sounds and lights, and even make them interact with the world around them. The pair--whose names are derived from "Robot" and "You Are Not Alone"--even detect each other, playing games like hide-and-seek on command.
Hal Bennett, a drone researcher, has a possible answer for that. He wants to build drones powered by tiny jet engines rather than electric ones. He says they could carry 50- and 100-pound packages 45,000 feet up at 250 miles an hour. While his drones are still in a research phase, and very much under wraps, Mr. Bennett said the possibilities were endless."Imagine you're climbing around in Yosemite and you decided you want a Burger King hamburger. You just order it on your GPS," Mr. Bennett said.Many people probably don't want to imagine that. Drones over El Capitan? Delivering, of all things, fast food?Then again, American pizzerias really began routine deliveries only in the 1950s, reflecting the rise of another bit of technology: the automobile.
Then, in the '60s, a man who started out with one pizzeria in Ypsilanti, Mich., came along and made quick delivery a priority. His name was Thomas Monaghan. The company: Domino's.Say hello to Yana and Bo, two robots who want to teach your five-year-old to write code. The newly crowdfunded Play-i system uses music, animation, and stories to teach kids ages 5 to 12+ to program their new robot friends--and have fun in the process. The learning and storytelling platform combines bots designed for interactive play with a visual programming interface that can be accessed on a phone or tablet. It's so simple, it doesn't even require reading or writing skills. With a few intuitive commands, inquisitive kids can control Yana and Bo's motion, regulate their sounds and lights, and even make them interact with the world around them. The pair--whose names are derived from "Robot" and "You Are Not Alone"--even detect each other, playing games like hide-and-seek on command.
2013年12月10日星期二
At your door in minutes, delivered by robot
But given the explosive growth of e-commerce, some experts say the shipping business is in for big changes. United Parcel Service, which traces its history to 1907, delivers more than 4 billion packages and documents a year. It operates a fleet of more than 95,000 vehicles and 500 aircraft. The ubiquitous Brown is a $55 billion-plus-a-year business. And, like Amazon, UPS is reportedly looking into drones. So is Google. More and more e-commerce companies are making a point of delivering things quickly the old-fashioned way -Making Robots More Like Us with humans.Some of the dreamers in the technology industry are dreaming even bigger. It won't be just drones, they insist. Robots and autonomous vehicles - think Google's driverless car - could also disrupt the delivery business.
"As cities become more automated, you're going to start to see on-demand delivery systems that look like small delivery vehicles and can bring you whatever you want to wherever you are," said Bryant Walker Smith, a fellow at the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School and a member of the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford. "Rather than go to the store to buy some milk, a robot or drone will go to a warehouse and get it for you, then deliver it."Smith said these delivery vehicles would come in all shapes and sizes. Some might be able to scurry down alleyways and avoid traffic. Others could be refrigerated to store food.
Brad Templeton, a futurist and a member of the board of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said the current systems for delivery - "with the exception of pizza" - were too cumbersome and expensive for today's online shoppers. Autonomous vehicles, including drones, promise a faster, cheaper option."The cost of use will be pennies on the dollar compared to today's delivery systems," Templeton said. This, he added, could very quickly eat into the business of many delivery companies."None of the horse and carriage companies of the past ended up becoming automobile companies today," said Templeton, who is also a consultant on the Google team designing a driverless car.The roadblocks, real and potential, are significant. Safety is one worry. Another is current technology. Drones like the ones showcased by Amazon are electric and are estimated to be able to carry only small packages weighing less than 5 pounds. That means they would not work for most online purchases.
"As cities become more automated, you're going to start to see on-demand delivery systems that look like small delivery vehicles and can bring you whatever you want to wherever you are," said Bryant Walker Smith, a fellow at the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School and a member of the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford. "Rather than go to the store to buy some milk, a robot or drone will go to a warehouse and get it for you, then deliver it."Smith said these delivery vehicles would come in all shapes and sizes. Some might be able to scurry down alleyways and avoid traffic. Others could be refrigerated to store food.
Brad Templeton, a futurist and a member of the board of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said the current systems for delivery - "with the exception of pizza" - were too cumbersome and expensive for today's online shoppers. Autonomous vehicles, including drones, promise a faster, cheaper option."The cost of use will be pennies on the dollar compared to today's delivery systems," Templeton said. This, he added, could very quickly eat into the business of many delivery companies."None of the horse and carriage companies of the past ended up becoming automobile companies today," said Templeton, who is also a consultant on the Google team designing a driverless car.The roadblocks, real and potential, are significant. Safety is one worry. Another is current technology. Drones like the ones showcased by Amazon are electric and are estimated to be able to carry only small packages weighing less than 5 pounds. That means they would not work for most online purchases.
2013年12月4日星期三
Making Robots More Like Us
The research was not initially focused on solving the problem of human interaction, but the scientists soon realized the implications, recalled Dr. Pratt, who is now the project manager for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Robotics Challenge, an upcoming contest that is intended to advance robotics technology to be used in natural disasters and other emergencies."It actually started with numerically controlled machine tools," he said — using computer-controlled robots to perform milling tasks.For those manufacturing uses, what mattered was the precise positioning of the robot limb. However, Dr. Pratt was focused on developing walking robots that could move in the natural world, and force was more significant than precision to meet that challenge: "There the position of the limb didn't matter so much, but what mattered was how hard was the robot pressing on the world, and how hard the world was pressing back on the robot," he said.
The solution was to put something elastic, like a spring, between the motor and the joint. These are now described as series elastic actuators, and the technique of installing them is now widely used as a low-cost solution for robots that are both nonthreatening to humans and able to move more agilely in the natural world. "In the Darpa Robotics Challenge, almost all of the robots that are being used there have series elastic actuation or other types of compliant control," he said. "The reason is both because it makes the locomotion task easier and the manipulation task easier, and it also makes it possible for the robot to be gentle when it does things and not make things worse."
Dr. Pratt recalled an incident when the researchers first realized that series elastic actuation was the key to freeing robots from their cages. While working on an early humanoid robot named COG, in a project led by Rodney Brooks, the founder of Rethink Robotics who was then director of the M.I.T. artificial intelligence lab, they were demonstrating how the robot could do tasks like writing with a pencil and paper. However, there was a bug in the software, causing the robot's arm to repeatedly bang the table.Dr. Brooks decided it was an opportunity to demonstrate the safety of the technology. He placed himself between the table and the arm, which began spanking him.
The solution was to put something elastic, like a spring, between the motor and the joint. These are now described as series elastic actuators, and the technique of installing them is now widely used as a low-cost solution for robots that are both nonthreatening to humans and able to move more agilely in the natural world. "In the Darpa Robotics Challenge, almost all of the robots that are being used there have series elastic actuation or other types of compliant control," he said. "The reason is both because it makes the locomotion task easier and the manipulation task easier, and it also makes it possible for the robot to be gentle when it does things and not make things worse."
Dr. Pratt recalled an incident when the researchers first realized that series elastic actuation was the key to freeing robots from their cages. While working on an early humanoid robot named COG, in a project led by Rodney Brooks, the founder of Rethink Robotics who was then director of the M.I.T. artificial intelligence lab, they were demonstrating how the robot could do tasks like writing with a pencil and paper. However, there was a bug in the software, causing the robot's arm to repeatedly bang the table.Dr. Brooks decided it was an opportunity to demonstrate the safety of the technology. He placed himself between the table and the arm, which began spanking him.
2013年12月3日星期二
Tiny flying robot soars like a ... jellyfish?
Or centuries, humans looking to tame the skies have tried to mimic the movements of birds and insects. But engineers building flying machines have now found an unlikely muse: the ocean-dwelling jellyfish.A tiny flying robot built at a lab in New York University mimics the gently puffing movements of the efficient swimmer's gelatinous bulb — not to paddle through water, but to stay aloft in air. "Our robot is an aerial jellyfish if you will," Leif Ristroph, assistant professor of mathematics at NYU who designed the tiny machine, told NBC News. The four-winged robot is wire-connected to a power source. Like an umbrella, the robot's four wings collapse and open, "squirting" the air downward and allowing it to lift off."No one's ever built this, and as far as we know nature never built it either to fly in air," said Ristroph, who was to present his design at the Fluid Dynamics Conference in Washington on Sunday.
"Maybe that indicates that it's a bad idea? In any case we got it to work, so maybe not that bad." The four-winged robot built at NYU mimics the movements of a jellyfish, to efficiently stay aloft.Water and air are both fluids, so the rules governing movement in either media are similar. Buoyancy helps stay afloat in water, but the real difficulty staying up in air is generating a lift to balance the body weight of the craft, Ristroph explained.Other flying robots, like the tiny robotic bee built at Harvard's Wyss Institute, or the H2bird flapping-wing drone built at a lab at Berkeley,Vidmar uses software to follow tens of thousands sense the direction and location and adjust their movements to stay in the air.
But Ristroph's pint-sized robots are "sort of dumb," he said. With no fancy sensors, the bots' physical design ensures that they stay upright just by opening and flapping their wings."That's the beauty of the design," Ristroph said, "It doesn't need a 'smart' design to help it recover."Very tiny flying robots, each just centimeters across like his demo prototype, are best suited to adopt this spare design. And how might they ever be used? "[You'd] make a hundred of them and throw 'em up into the air and monitor the air quality above NYC — the pollutants or CO2," Ristroph said, making for a "nice peace-time application."
"Maybe that indicates that it's a bad idea? In any case we got it to work, so maybe not that bad." The four-winged robot built at NYU mimics the movements of a jellyfish, to efficiently stay aloft.Water and air are both fluids, so the rules governing movement in either media are similar. Buoyancy helps stay afloat in water, but the real difficulty staying up in air is generating a lift to balance the body weight of the craft, Ristroph explained.Other flying robots, like the tiny robotic bee built at Harvard's Wyss Institute, or the H2bird flapping-wing drone built at a lab at Berkeley,Vidmar uses software to follow tens of thousands sense the direction and location and adjust their movements to stay in the air.
But Ristroph's pint-sized robots are "sort of dumb," he said. With no fancy sensors, the bots' physical design ensures that they stay upright just by opening and flapping their wings."That's the beauty of the design," Ristroph said, "It doesn't need a 'smart' design to help it recover."Very tiny flying robots, each just centimeters across like his demo prototype, are best suited to adopt this spare design. And how might they ever be used? "[You'd] make a hundred of them and throw 'em up into the air and monitor the air quality above NYC — the pollutants or CO2," Ristroph said, making for a "nice peace-time application."
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