Weekend Roundup

The PR2 personal robot. Photo courtesy Willow Garage.

• Willow Garage, the laboratory responsible for the ROS operating system, is leaving behind the world of research and aims to go commercial. (MIT Technology Review)

• Google is reporting that it believes driverless cars are three to five years down the road, despite regulatory and insurance concerns. (Bloomberg)

• The role of robotics after disasters is changing as robots gain autonomy. (ASME)

• Researchers at the Universidad Carlos II in Madrid have developed a GPS that is 90 percent more accurate and could possibly be used on driverless cars. (Gotta Be Mobile)