August 26, 2006
GPS World Cover Story!
OK, this is a shameless plug! An article I wrote on out Marine Mammal Marking Tag (MAMMARK), was the cover story of the August 2006 issue of GPS World. The article can be found here.
The observation technology used by wildlife researchers can limit their understanding of the behavior of marine mammals. Surface tracking using geolocation and Service Argos tags have shown that these mammals range much farther than previously thought. Relatively simple time/depth recorders (TDRs) show that they dive more than 1,000 meters deep and for longer than one hour. To further the understanding of these aquatic creatures, we developed a smaller and more capable tag with more sensing capabilities that can be deployed for longer durations. The MAMMARK tag, measuring 2.5 × 4 centimeters, carries a low-power microprocessor and a set of sensors that can be multiplexed through a high-resolution analog-to-digital converter (ADC).
August 21, 2006
The Robots are Coming!
Forbes magazine this month features an article on some robots that are up and coming, and others that have already been made. While it is clear to everyone that robots will be part of our future, how we (as a society) get there from here is not necessarily clear. The nice thing about this article is that is has stories on all of the robots featured. A recommended read.
The robots are on the move--leaping, scrambling, rolling, flying, climbing. They are figuring out how to get here on their own. They come to help us, protect us, amuse us--and some even do floors.
Since Czech playwright Karel Capek popularized the term ("robota" means "forced labor" in Czech) in 1921, we have imagined what robots could do. But reality fell short of our plans: Honda Motor trotted out its Asimo in 2000, but for now it's been relegated to temping as a receptionist at Honda and doing eight shows a week at Disneyland. The majority of the world's robots are bolted to a spot on a factory floor, sentenced to a repetitive choreography of welding, stamping and cutting.
No more. In our eighth annual E-Gang (our group of tech innovators to watch), we present the masters of robotic innovation--entrepreneurs and researchers who are fusing advances in biomechanics, software, sensor technology, materials science and computing to create new generations of robotic assistants.
August 19, 2006
Flying on Water
While this is not a robot in any sense of the word, it is just very, very cool. Though it is only a short article in Scuttlebutt, the video of this very large hyrofoil sailboat is quite impressive.
Hydroptère means, in greek, marine wing. To get free from the Archimedes’ principle, it is a matter of lifting up the hulls of the boat thanks to a vertical pushing developed by some kind of sea wings, the foils. People have been dreaming for a while not of floating on but of flying over the water."
The videos:
August 2, 2006
Autonomous Autogyro Flight
This is fairly interesting, combining two of my great interests: Autogyros and Robotics. The Piasecki corporation has recently (according to this press release) demonstrated autonomous flight with an autogyro. I have always felt that autogyros could be quite useful in the autonomous role, and think that this is a good step forward.
Piasecki Aircraft Corporation (PiAC) announced today the successful flight of the world’s first autogyro with Level 4 autonomy; flying a mission consisting of navigation through multiple pre-programmed waypoints. The system incorporates a 6-DoF model provided by Georgia Tech with autonomy system components supplied by Geneva Aerospace and integrated by Piasecki onto a commercial kit autogyro platform. The system was flown as part of a company funded technology demonstration program supporting the development of a system for the US Army FCS Air Guard Class III UAV program.
Building on this success, PiAC will continue expanding the flight envelope of the
system, incorporating Level 5 autonomous take-off and landing, as well as
integration of a mission management and control system being developed by
team member Lockheed Martin Systems Integration Owego, NY (LMSI-O). The
FCS Air Guard Team includes PiAC, LMSI-O, and Belzon (Huntsville, AL).