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May 19, 2010 10:20am
Eternal Image Urn Product Display for Shows
Found this video on Eternal Image on YouTube...
Hi all! Just became #67! I like this board and plan on staying here awhile.. but mostly lurking...and hopefully making some money!
GLTA
Take care
There was a little news story today on KYW 1060 AM, Philadelphia news today..
Click on the link http://www.kyw1060.com/, and on the right hand side, click URNS FOR DIE-HARD PHILS FANS
Meet the New Robots
http://www.industryweek.com/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=14972
Microsoft's best and brightest are quietly trying to bring robotics into the mainstream
hey guys, it's been awhile since I posted...found this new article in IEEE SPECTRUM magazine..no mention of coroware or innova.
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/aug07/5391
Google, Intel, And Microsoft Fund Robot 'Recipes'
Money from the three companies has enabled researchers at Carnegie Mellon University to create a series of Internet-connected robots that almost anyone can build using off-the-shelf parts.
By Thomas Claburn
InformationWeek
April 25, 2007 12:00 PM
Google, Intel, and Microsoft are funding what may become a robot invasion. Money from the three tech companies has enabled researchers at Carnegie Mellon University to create a new series of Internet-connected robots that almost anyone can build using off-the-shelf parts.
As part of the Telepresence Robot Kit (TeRK), a joint effort unveiled last summer between the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute and Charmed Labs, associate professor of robotics Illah Nourbakhsh and members of his Community Robotics, Education, and Technology Empowerment (CREATE) Lab have created a series of "recipes" for robot building. (Those who recall The Twilight Zone will be relieved to find that "To Serve Man" is not among them.)
Possible robots range from a three-wheeled model with a mounted camera to a sensor-equipped flower.
The project's goal is to expand involvement in robotics.
The heart of the TeRK is the robot controller, called Qwerk, available from the Charmed Labs Web site ($349). The unit functions as an electronic brain and handles wireless Internet connectivity, motion control, and functions like sending and receiving photos or video, responding to RSS feeds, and searching the Net.
Qwerk is a Linux-based computer. It uses a field-programmable gate array to control motors, servos, cameras, amplifiers, and other devices. It also can accept USB peripheral devices, such as Web cameras and GPS receivers.
"We leveraged several low-cost, yet high-performance components that were originally developed for the consumer electronics industry when we designed Qwerk," said Rich LeGrand, president of Charmed Labs, in a statement. "The result is a cost-effective robot controller with impressive capabilities."
The robots are intended for practical uses, in addition to education and entertainment. They can be used for home or pet monitoring, for example. A future recipe being developed includes environmental sensors for measuring noise and air pollution.
Nourbakhsh doesn't subscribe "to geeky notions of what robots should be." That may explain one of the recipes that he and his team are working on: a controllable stuffed teddy bear.
Be afraid.
http://www.informationweek.com/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=A1QV1120YKH40QSNDLRCKHSCJUNN2JVN?article...
Florida Awarded Homeland Security Funds for Bomb Team, Laboratory
I'm not sure if this article was posted before, so here it is if anyone wants to read it..GS
http://www.govtech.net/magazine/story.php?id=103235
Conflicting Signals Can Confuse Rescue Robots
http://www.govtech.net/news/news.php?id=104292
Robotic Parking Garage: No Tip Necessary
http://www.popularmechanics.com/blogs/technology_news/4213198.html
also, these links on this page are good reading...
http://www.popularmechanics.com/search/pm/do/relatedKeyword/?kw=robotics&cat=%2Fblogs%2Ftechnolo...
Robots Are Tougher Than You, Part 3: Outer Space
http://www.popularmechanics.com/blogs/technology_news/4213266.html
Robot Salamander May Give Evolution Clues
http://www.physorg.com/news92586516.html
Inspiring the next generation
http://www.rdmag.com/ShowPR.aspx?PUBCODE=014&ACCT=1400000100&ISSUE=0702&RELTYPE=PR&C...
A Robotic Sentry For Korea's Demilitarized Zone
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/mar07/4948
This one is in the recent PC Magazine...
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2099254,00.asp
In the latest issue of Design News magazine, I found this article on page 54....
http://designnews.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA6412171
and this one on page 33....
http://www.designnews.com/article/CA6415883.html?text=msrs
Go to www.automationworld.com for this article, if you haven't already read it, thanks!
The Case for Coordinated Cellular Robotics
February 2007 (p.54)
Written by Stefan G. Surpitski
This type of conveyorless manufacturing eliminates virtually all of the non-value added time.
Robotics has become a necessity in both high production and high precision manufacturing operations. Despite the maturity of robots in the workplace, numerous challenges continue for factory floor managers; a key challenge is utilization and continuous improvement directives. To address this problem, new robotic configurations are emerging that lend themselves, at the very least, to greater efficiency. The technology—known as Coordinated Cellular Robotics (CCR) involves conveyorless cells that employ robots capable of working cooperatively and simultaneously on a work piece.
Many discrete manufacturing processes incur between 15 percent and 20 percent transportation time for work-in-process (WIP), which adds no value. Even in the automotive industry, where the emphasis is on efficiency and utilization, it is widely recognized that the robots are standing idle for too long while they wait for parts to come down the conveyor. One solution to this problem is to eliminate the conveyors. Conveyors can be a constraint in manufacturing, and in some cases, in fact, are regarded as a sworn enemy of continuous flow. By their very nature, conveyors are fixed, unable to present multiple perspectives of the WIP, and are subject to stop-and-go cycles.
CCR can enable a factory to be designed with no conveyor lines; instead, clusters of robots are all working together to create the finished parts. The parts are always in a state of motion, no longer handcuffed to a conveyor and the go, stop, work, go cycle. In combination, operations are being performed on the WIP by other robots as the parts are in motion. Cooperative robots in a cell are tracking the WIP as it is being translated and rotated, resulting in continuous material flow. Robots hold the parts for each other while one, two or even three robots perform operations on the pieces simultaneously. The ability of a robot to rotate, raise and lower a piece, combined with the holding robot’s ability to position the work piece in between two or three process robots adds to the efficiency of the process. Known as process relative motion, this is the idea of working on the piece as it progresses down the line. This type of conveyorless manufacturing eliminates virtually all of the non-value added time, because the work piece is never in a state of rest as it would be if it were riding down a conveyor between operations. Furthermore, the system is more flexible because the line is not constrained by any hard automation.
Unsurpassed flexibility
As soon as a manufacturer wants to mix part types, the challenge is to identify flexible solutions that are cost effective and efficient. Robots are highly flexible—capable of reaching virtually every possible location within a defined envelope—but compared to hard automation, are relatively slower. However, when flexible manufacturing is the driving force, robots cannot be surpassed. Robots efficiently perform tool changes and can be reprogrammed for new applications. Advances in both simulation software and offline programming have made this possible. All of these advantages add up to a line that is capable of part type mixing with no difficulty. Furthermore, robots are faster, more reliable and less expensive than in the past.
Daimler Chrysler is among the most well known users of Coordinated Cellular Robotics. The company is currently using an ABB system in its Belvidere, Ill., plant, and has plans to use 50 to 60 Kuka cooperating robots in its new body facility, which will be operational in 2007. In addition, both BMW and the Volkswagen Group are using the technology. The most common uses of coordinated robotics is arc/spot welding and also load sharing, with two robots lifting one heavy piece together
Stefan G. Surpitski, ssurpitski@arcweb.comThis email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it , is an automation analyst at ARC Advisory Group Inc., in Dedham, Mass.
Thanks SPIN! Any new or pertanant information I find, I'll be sure to post it. It's a pleasure to contribute. GO INRA!
Hello all, I don't post much but I like to read this board all the time. I've been an INRA share holder for about a year now. Here is an article I found in the Jan.2007 issue of MACHINE DESIGN. It talks about JAUS and robots from RE2. Thanks!
http://www.machinedesign.com/ASP/viewSelectedArticle.asp?strArticleId=61905&strSite=MDSite&S...
Here's another one I found too...
naplesnews.com
Robots take center stage at FBI conference
Marv, weighing under 15 pounds, looks like a scale model of a tank and is one of a few robots that size capable of climbing stairs.
By Riddhi Trivedi-St. Clair
Tuesday, August 1, 2006
Dennis Duffala knows how risky it is to send soldiers or law enforcement personnel into a potentially dangerous situation.
Duffala, a retired colonel from the Lee County Sheriff's Office, lost his legs to a land mine in Vietnam while serving a tour of duty.
"I am intimately familiar with explosive situations," Duffala said. "Any time you can send in a machine in place of a warm body ... machines are expendable, humans are not."
That's why Duffala is keenly interested in robotics in general and unmanned robotics in particular.
Duffala and the other 200 attendees at the Florida chapter's FBI Academy Association Conference held Monday come from different local, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies. Each one has experienced hostile circumstances, from armed robberies to hostage situations.
So they were paying close attention when Walt Weisel, chairman and CEO of Fort Myers-based Innova Holdings, told them about the capabilities of the robots he brought with him. Marv and Matilda are unmanned robots manufactured by Mesa Robotics, which Innova has a partnership agreement with.
Marv, weighing under 15 pounds, looks like a scale model of a tank and is one of a few robots that size capable of climbing stairs.
As his handler for the day, Lisa Kuchinski, guided him down the corridors of Sanibel Harbor Resort and Spa, everyone from the attendees to the scores of uniformed and plain clothes security personnel wanted to "play."
Marv can be airlifted by an unmanned helicopter and dropped into any location from where he can conduct surveillance or even aid remote communications between law enforcement and a suspect.
A mounted camera provides a full visual of the location the robot is sent into, allowing its handlers to assess the situation without putting anyone at risk.
"Our No. 1 priority is always human safety and in a hostage situation, someone could get hurt," Duffala said. "If we can send in a robot with audio and video capabilities instead, we can protect our employees and other people."
Weisel displayed Matilda's navigation skills during his speech as he "invited" the robot to come from the back of the room to join him at the speaker's podium.
As the robot was guided through the tables of lunch guests by remote control, everyone turned to watch. With a 360-degree zoom lens camera mounted on a removable arm, the technician was able to expertly navigate the robot to the front, avoiding all obstacles.
Matilda can be remote controlled for up to 30 miles, Weisel told the audience.
In front of the audience, Matilda displayed her scanning capabilities, continuously monitoring and taking in visuals from the audience. The robot can also be equipped to perform tasks like tracking, dismantling and assembling, Weisel said.
"You can ask her to follow the man in the red shirt in the middle of the room and she will not let him out of her sight," Weisel said. "The robots can also be used to detect and take apart bombs or be sent into hostile situations."
Technology so advanced doesn't come cheap. Bare-bones, Matilda comes at a $50,000-$60,000 price tag. But many in law enforcement feel the utility for such a robot would outweigh the costs.
"I can think of many applications you can use Matilda for," said Capt. Patricia Wells with the Orange County (Orlando) Sheriff's Office. "It has tactical uses and that is important but we can also use it in everyday things. Like to patrol our 2-
million-square-foot conference center."
The robot has the ability of identifying objects or locations that look different from the last time it scanned an area and could thus help monitor suspicious package or potential threats, Weisel said.
"We put our guys at risk every day," Wells said. "I know we can find a use for it."
© 2006 Naples Daily News and NDN Productions. Published in Naples, Florida, USA by the E.W. Scripps Co.
Hello Everyone, here is an article I found in the Naples news...
naplesnews.com
A pioneer in unmanned robotics
Local company forges alliances to develop key technology for security, surveillance
By Riddhi Trivedi-St. Clair
Thursday, July 27, 2006
The universities conducting research on companies involved in production and development of unmanned robotic vehicles are a select group. But the competition is fierce.
There is money to be made — billions of dollars in contracts for defense and surveillance projects. But the customers, mostly the Department of Homeland Security and companies involved in defense contracting, are demanding.
Any new product or technology has to be well-proven before being accepted into the market and yet speed is of the essence to maintain an edge over the competition.
Walt Weisel, chairman and CEO of Southwest Florida-based Innova Holdings, has put together a group of companies, universities and people that would have perfect synergy and be able to feed from and grow on each other’s strengths.
The latest alliance he has forged is with the University of South Florida in Tampa. USF has a large robotics program and for the past two and a half years the department’s focus has been on unmanned vehicle systems.
The collaboration includes faculty members from several departments in the College of Engineering as well as researchers from Europe and Mexico, said Kimon Valavanis, a professor and the head of the Unmanned Vehicle Systems Research Group.
“Our concentration is on designing fully autonomous systems, especially small unmanned aerial and ground vehicles,” Valavanis said. “Our objective is to design the controller, the sensor, the hardware and the software so that the systems function by themselves with minimum or no supervision by a human.”
The only other universities that work on both ground and aerial vehicles are Carnegie Mellon, MIT, the University of California-Berkeley, University of Southern California and Georgia Tech.
The systems worked on at USF include a variety of sensors from cameras and vision centers to GPS, lasers, compasses, sonar sensors and laser sensors, all packaged into one sensor-based control system.
“But we are not in the business of manufacturing robots,” Valvani said. “We don’t design the frame or build it, we buy it and integrate all this into it.”
That’s where Innova comes in.
Weisel has already made some acquisitions and formed partnerships that “complete the research and development circle” for unmanned robotic systems. These include the acquisition of Washington-based CoroWare Technologies and partnerships with Mesa Robotics and Embry-Riddle University in Daytona Beach.
CoroWare is a Microsoft-certified partner with extensive software development and testing capabilities. It also has a lab where all new software can be tested for Joint Architecture Unmanned System compliance, a requirement in all products developed for the Armed Forces.
Mesa has a full range of unmanned robotic vehicles including Acer, Matilda and Marv, already being used by the defense department in Israel, Afghanistan and Japan as well as some foreign militaries.
And Innova’s subsidiary, Robotic Workspace Technologies, has patented technologies to develop an open PC-based robot controller that is universal for all models and can interface with any robot.
“But all the robots in the market right now are primitive, they have to be remotely controlled. They are good robots that can operate in hostile environments and can even be reconfigures,” Valavanis said. “But none of them are autonomous. What we want to do is use CoroWare’s software development technology and Innova’s controller and our navigation system to convert Mesa’s robots to fully autonomous systems.”
Such a vehicle would be able to go anywhere, track anything and perform any function required of it, Weisel said.
“You could have Matilda carry out surveillance or follow another vehicle, send her to any location and have her say ‘open a door’ or ‘blow it down,’” Weisel said. “We will be able to communicate with these systems through wireless, another vehicle or a remote station because everything will be on the same software platform and these systems will be able to track, assemble, dismantle or even put out fires.”
The systems — ground and air — will even be able to communicate with each other. That’s where the expertise of those at Embry-Riddle University comes in. The university has an advanced unmanned aerial vehicles program that can be used along with all the other software and USF’s research, Valavanis said.
He is currently working on the possibility of an unmanned ground vehicle from which small, unmanned air vehicles, like a small helicopter, would take off and land on.
“The concept, the mathematical model and simulation are there, the platform will be ready in December,” Valavanis said. “If we are able to do all this, the applications are enormous. You have to prove that the technology is reliable and that is more difficult, but if we do that, we will be in a very strong position.”
A strong position to win lucrative government and defense contracts. And that, of course, is also an important factor for Innova, a company that is looking to return to profitability soon.
“We need positive returns,” Weisel said, and the deals he has struck in the last few months have the potential of doing just that, provide a revenue stream to return the company to profitability.
© 2006 Naples Daily News and NDN Productions. Published in Naples, Florida, USA by the E.W. Scripps Co.