As much fun as test driving pre-production cars may seem, cruising around a course meant to see how hard a car can take a beating usually means a few hits to the human inside, as well. Not to mention the fact that human drivers are notoriously high maintenance—always wanting things like "food" and "sleep" and "legal compensation." So in order to overcome both these obstacles, Ford is taking advantage of self-driving technology to put its cars through the ultimate durability tests.
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Self-driving cars are nothing new: Google, Lexus and Audi have all showcased the technology in prototype form before. But these autonomous vehicles are all designed to operate on public roads and handle unforeseen obstacles using advanced sensors like LIDAR. What about cars operating in a controlled environment like a private track? Ford engineers answered this question when they partnered with Autonomous Solutions Inc. to develop robot drivers to test vehicle durability. The GPS-based system (accurate to one inch) allows up to eight autonomous cars to operate simultaneously on the same track.
Durability testing is traditionally rough on both test vehicles and human drivers. The new technology, which is three years in the making, is now being used to test upcoming models (like Ford’s 2014 Transit van). It enables testing 24 hours a day, seven days a week with perfect repeatability. Vehicles send their position and speed to a central computer (monitored by a single person) via a low-latency wireless connection and receive instructions on what maneuvers to perform. This is actually quite similar to what Anki Drive is doing with toy cars. Motors control the steering wheel, gear shifter and pedals to simulate a driver following a predetermined route.
Ford plans to equip the cars with more sensors (such as radar and cameras) to allow a mix of human and robot drivers to operate safely on the same track together. Check out the gallery below and the company’s video and PR after the break.
Filed under: Robots, Transportation
Via: New York Times
Source: Ford
Fans of Borderlands, drop what you’re doing and head on over to Etsy this minute. Claptrap is waiting there to help you complete your quest!
This handmade plush version of the world’s most irritating sidekick was handmade by Sarah Tracy of Fuzzy Aliens. Instead of scrap metal, this Claptrap was made from felt and polyester fiberfill. He measures about 1-foot-tall (plus another 6 inches for his antenna), and even has posable arms. Though I’m not sure if he can really stand up with just that one wheel.
Best if all, you won’t need to loot too many enemies to afford this Claptrap. He’s only $20(USD) over on Etsy.
Rejoice fellow space and brick nutters, because Lego is going to release an official Mars Curiosity set! The original model was designed by Stephen Pakbaz, an actual NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s mechanical engineer who worked in the mission. Pakbaz entered his creation in Lego Cuusoo, a web site that allows fans to submit models that could be turned into real sets, like the incoming Back to the Future
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When Anki Drive was demoed live on stage during Apple’s WWDC, we saw a modern take on classic slot cars using iOS devices and Bluetooth-equipped toy vehicles — basically a racing video game rendered with real world objects. But there’s actually a lot more to it than that. Earlier this week, we talked briefly with Boris Sofman — Anki’s CEO and cofounder — about the product and the startup’s history and ambitions. While playing the game and taking pictures was off limits, we got the opportunity to examine the cars up close. Read on after the break.
Gallery: WWDC 2013: Anki Drive App
If you fancy yourself a good air hockey player, this robot may have a thing or two to teach you. It comes from Japanese researchers at Chiba University’s Namiki Lab. It is pretty good at competing against human players because the robot changes its strategy based on its human opponent’s playing style. Think you have what it takes to win?
The system is comprised of an air-hockey table, a four-axis robotic arm, two high-speed cameras, and an external PC. The robot tracks the movement of your puck and paddle, using position data from the camera images that are processed by the PC, and uses that data to figure out how to react.
You may think you are fast, but the robot is faster, tracking the game at 500 frames-per-second. This ‘bot already knows its next move when you are reacting to that last shot. It already knows your next move as it counters your last hit. It can’t be stopped. It can’t be reasoned with… Sorry. The point is that you aren’t fast from the robot’s point of view. It is playing in a kind of Matrix-style bullet-time, because it is so much faster than you.
To make it more fair for those who play this robot, researchers programmed the robot with a three-layer control system. The first layer is responsible for basic motion control of hardware. A second layer decides its short-term strategy. Things like whether it should hit the puck, defend the goal, or stay still. The third layer is all about long-term strategy and throwing it’s superiority in your face. If you are playing aggressively, it will too. If you are defensive, it will become defensive. How can you win? Well, you can kill it at least. It’ll never see that sledgehammer coming.
[via IEEE Spectrum via Botropolis]
I’m not particularly fond of roaches, but I don’t exactly hate them either. I’d just rather not come face to face with any one of these insects because creepy crawly insects just give me the heebie jeebies. That said, I’m still on the fence when it comes to the RoboRoach project by Backyard Brains.
The RoboRoach kit, which is currently up for funding on Kickstarter, includes the “backpack”, a helmet, a battery, and recording electrodes. You’ll have to be comfortable with handling roaches, because you’ll have to anesthetize them before performing surgery on them to place wires into their antennae.
Once everything’s all set up, then you can begin to control the cyborg roach using your smartphone.
In a nutshell, here’s how the RoboRoach works: When you send a command from your mobile phone, the backpack sends pulses to the antenna, which causes its neurons to fire, such that the roach to think there is a wall on one side. The result? The roach turns!
Attempting to control something alive might have ethical implications, and Backyard Brains has got that covered in their ethical statement. They also explain that the roach doesn’t get shocked or hurt when the RoboRoach is on in their FAQs, so you might want to check that section out if you’re concerned about the well-being of these insects.
A minimum pledge of $100(USD) will get you one of your very own RoboRoach kits. Though you’ll have to spend at least $150 if you want them to include some live cockroaches for you to play with.
[via C|NET]
Last year Kenji Ishida and his company Brave Robotics released 10 units of his awesome remote controlled car that can transform into a mecha. Unsurprisingly, all 10 units were bought, and there’s no word on when the company will release more. But you might not have to wait for Brave Robotics, because toy maker Takara Tomy is also working on a similar toy.
Before you accuse Takara Tomy of stealing Kenji Ishida’s work, lawyer down. Frankie of Hobby Media spotted Takara Tomy’s prototype at the 2013 Tokyo Toy Show, and apparently he also found out that Takara Tomy is collaborating with Brave Robotics. So we’re all good.
Frankie also said that he saw the toy transform, but he was asked not to film it as it was still a work in progress. Just to refresh your memory, here’s what Brave Robotics’ toy looks like in action:
I think I’ll save up for Ishida’s life-size transforming car.
[via Hobby Media]
Robotic sports were bound to involve balls in space at some point. Students from the U.S. and Europe can now sign up for what is described as “the ultimate robot game” in which they will navigate floating spheres through the International Space Station for the Zero Robotics programming competition.
The competition was organized by MIT and the European Space Agency. The idea is to use volleyball-sized SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, and Reorient Experimental Satellites) that are equipped with 12 jets of compressed gas to move them in different directions. The teams from secondary schools program algorithms to maneuver the satellites and to complete game objectives by navigating obstacles and accomplishing certain tasks.
Just float some hoops around and I will slam dunk these robots everywhich way to a win! Not really. It sounds like fun though.
Just try not to hit our astronauts in their heads, guys. And no high speed fly-bys of the crew either. You leave that showboating stuff at home.
The first competitions take place in computer simulations online, but the best of the best teams will have their code put to the test on the SPHERES themselves in the finals next January aboard the International Space Station.
[via io9 via Geekosystem]
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