Topic: robotics

Inside the Robot Operating System, the robotics industry and the Open Source Robotics Foundation

Eight years ago, the Robot Operating System (ROS) project began, and since then there have been huge advancements made to the robotics industry. Robots are teaching kids to code, becoming companions, have been given X-ray vision, and even started to fly. But adding these features isn’t easy, and that is where the Robot Operating System … continue reading

Julia language gets $600,000 grant, Google releases API 23 SDK for Android Wear, and NASA sends robots to college—SD Times news digest: Nov. 19, 2015

The open-source programming language Julia is getting a boost from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. The foundation has announced a U.S.$600,000 grant to help bring the programming language out of beta and to version 1.0. Julia is designed to eliminate the need for researchers to use multiple programming languages to perform computational analyses and … continue reading

Robots get a better grip, Google announces a new 3D rendering API for Android, and Informatica completes its acquisition—SD Times news digest: Aug. 10, 2015

Engineers at MIT have developed a way to give robots better dexterity and grip. The engineers developed a model that allows robots to predict the force a gripper needs to pick up something, giving it the ability to adjust its grasp. The researchers see this new approach as being helpful in medicine, disaster response, and … continue reading

IBM opens Bluemix to developers for NASA International Space Apps Challenge

IBM and NASA are collaborating on a global code-a-thon, challenging developers to build applications to power the next generation of space exploration, robotics and human life on earth. As part of NASA’s International Space Apps Challenge, IBM announced it would offer its Bluemix cloud platform to developers competing in the three-day coding competition. The online … continue reading

Researchers build robotic garden that teaches basic programming concepts

A group of researchers have created a robotic garden they say is an aesthetically appealing way to get young students involved in programming. The researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) and the Department of Mechanical Engineering uses robotic sheep, origami flowers and robotic ducks to introduce students to topics such as … continue reading

iRobot’s venture capital firm, Microsoft’s Cosmos, and Google’s Android Compatibility Program for Lollipop—SD Times news digest: Jan. 26, 2015

iRobot is starting its own venture capital firm in order to invest in robotic companies, TechCrunch has reported. The company is in the midst of looking for a West Coast investor to head up its firm and is looking to make five to 10 investments a year, according to TechCrunch. “There’s a lot going on … continue reading

Humans prefer taking orders from robots, study says

Soon you’ll have to bow before your robot overlords. New research from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) revealed that workers actually favor robots having control over human responsibilities. “In our research we were seeking to find that sweet spot for ensuring that the human workforce is both satisfied and productive,” says project … continue reading

SD Times news digest: August 25, 2014—Robo Brain, first Firefox OS smartphone available in India, and Appcelerator’s latest funding round

Robot brain learns concepts by searching Internet Computer scientists have developed a large-scale computational system that learns from resources that are publicly available on the Internet. Robo Brain is currently downloading and processing about 1 billion images, 120,000 YouTube videos, and 100 million how-to documents and appliance manuals, and will store the information in a … continue reading

Robots use ‘X-ray vision’ to see through walls

Robots can walk, talk, fly and even tell jokes, and now they are adding another special ability to that ever-increasing list: X-ray vision. Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) have developed a way for robots to see through solid walls using radio frequency signals. “This is an exciting time to be doing … continue reading

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