Aveox Inc., a developer of Brushless DC Motors, Controllers and Power Conversion Electronics, has launched its “Ultimate Torque” (UT) line of brushless motors and stator/rotor sets, which can be used for applications such as UAS propulsion and generation and robotics. According to Aveox, the UT direct drive Torque Motors are characterized by very high motor constants (Kt ∕ ), low inertia and low weight. The company adds that proprietary designs created using Finite Element Analysis software have been optimized to deliver “high peak and continuous” torque while minimizing cogging torque and reducing weight.

MIT engineers have developed a navigation method that helps last-mile delivery vehicles find the front door without having to map an area in advance. With the approach developed by MIT engineers, a robot would use clues in its environment to plan out a route to its destination, which wouldn't be described as coordinates on a map, but instead could be described in general semantic terms such as “front door” or “garage.” So in instances where a robot is charged with the task of delivering a package to someone's front door, it wouldn’t take the robot long to explore the property before identifying its target. The robot also wouldn’t have to rely on maps of specific residences.

Autonomous technology developer Vecna Robotics has partnered with supply chain operator GEODIS to equip a GEODIS distribution center in Dallas, Texas with autonomous platforms. The distribution center in Dallas is currently using Vecna robots and workflow technology to automate the horizontal transport of inbound pallets from a staging area to put-away storage within the 150,000 square foot distribution center. The pallets were previously picked up, delivered and put away using human labor and manual trucks.