This Week in the Unmanned Systems and Robotics World
A culinary robotics company called Creator has designed an autonomous robot that cooks and builds burgers to order. The machine is made up of 20 computers, 350 sensors and 50 actuators that form a robotic assembly line. (CNBC)
MyDefence has launched a next generation wearable Counter UAS technology called PITBULL. PITBULL uses smart jamming to defeat enemy UAS. (MyDefence)
Autonomous Vehicles
Autonomous Vehicles
The Automated Vehicles Symposium moves to Orlando in 2019
The Automated Vehicles Symposium takes the show on the road in 2019 and heads to Orlando, Florida. The event takes place July 15-18, 2019 at the Orlando World Center Marriott.
Kroger, Nuro team for autonomous grocery delivery
No time to go to the store? Grocery giant Kroger and Silicon Valley company Nuro have announced a pilot program for a fully autonomous grocery delivery service.
The companies say that customers can place same-day delivery orders through Kroger’s ClickList system and Nuro’s app, and the orders will then be brought to the doorstep by a Nuro autonomous vehicle.
The pilot market will be announced soon, with deliveries expected to begin this fall. Kroger has 2,800 stores in 35 states.
Capital Metro launching autonomous vehicle project in Central Texas
Central Texas' transportation agency, Capital Metro, has announced that it will explore automated vehicle (AV) technology through evaluation demonstrations.
Testing could begin as early as late July. If testing goes well, a pilot service is expected to follow later this fall.
“Capital Metro wants to lead the charge - to be among the first transit agencies in the United States to showcase this technology to our 'smart' city. I believe this will be the largest public AV bus pilot in the country,” says Randy Clarke, Capital Metro's President/CEO.
'FLEX' driverless public electric shuttle operating on South Australia's public roads
As part of a five-year trial of autonomous vehicle technology, a driverless public electric shuttle called the Flinders Express (FLEX) has begun operating on public roads in South Australia for the first time.
The vehicle, which is funded by the State Government and industry partners, will initially provide ‘first mile–last mile’ shuttle services, then connections to bus stops on the main South Road and businesses within the Tonsley precinct.
Within a year, the shuttle is expected to run to the Flinders Medical Centre and the University’s Bedford Park campus before using main arterial roads around the entire Bedford Park precinct. During the first stage of the trials, commuters can book free rides on the shuttle on week days from Monday to Friday between 10am and 2pm.
Kratos' Unmanned Systems Division's Autonomous Impact Protection Vehicle approved to deploy on public roadways
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’ Unmanned Systems Division (USD) has received confirmation that its Autonomous Impact Protection Vehicle (AIPV) has officially been approved for “autonomous operation on public roadways in the first of many planned states in the USA for roadway line painting operations.”
This approval transitions the AIPV, also known as the Autonomous Truck Mounted Attenuator (ATMA), from the validation phase of deployment to “standard safety critical equipment ready for operational use with trained roadside construction crews.”
Weekend Roundup
This Week in the Unmanned Systems and Robotics World
Researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have developed Solar Soaring technology that gives UAS the ability to fly for more than 12 hours. Solar-Soaring, which is a “pair of endurance-enhancing technologies,” enables a UAS to fly longer without carrying extra weight in batteries, ultimately helping the warfighter. (United States Navy)
Autonomous shuttle to undergo testing this summer in Lincoln, Nebraska
A loaned Navya autonomous electric shuttle recently arrived in Lincoln, Nebraska, and is expected to be in the city until at least mid-July as part of the city's study on using an autonomous shuttle system downtown to help with traffic and parking issues.
Lincoln is able to test the autonomous shuttle after being awarded a $100,000 grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies. Earlier this year, Lincoln was named one of 35 Champion Cities selected by Bloomberg as finalists in the 2018 Mayors Challenge, which is a nationwide competition that encourages City leaders to develop “bold, inventive ideas to confront City challenges.”
Voyage selects Renovo's AWare as platform for developing its autonomous driving technology
Voyage has announced that it has selected Renovo’s AWare as the platform for developing its autonomous driving technology.
Built from the ground-up with Level 4, driverless applications in mind, AWare allows Voyage to focus on building autonomous driving technology for its communities, thanks to AWare’s features, from “real-time execution of safety-critical operations, to a growing ecosystem of drop-in partner integrations.”
“Renovo shares our belief that the future of autonomy requires the ability to easily and safely integrate the best functionality on the market,” Voyage says on its website.
ST Engineering and SafeRide Technologies partner to provide cybersecurity protection for autonomous vehicles
Global technology, defense and engineering group ST Engineering has announced a strategic partnership with SafeRide Technologies to integrate SafeRide’s “vSentry” software cybersecurity suite with ST Engineering’s Connected Electric Vehicles and Autonomous Vehicles (AV) platforms.
A “specialist” in automotive cybersecurity, SafeRide Technologies offers “anomaly uncovering” and cyber threat prevention for connected and autonomous vehicles.
