On July 26, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced that Aurora Flight Sciences will invest more than $13.75 million to expand its operation in the City of Manassas, Virginia, where it is headquartered.
Aurora, which was acquired by The Boeing Company last year, plans on building a robotics and integration facility that includes a manufacturing unit, a research and development lab, a hangar, and office space. The project is expected to create 135 new jobs.
Robotics
Robotics
Weekend Roundup
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)
School district in Texas holds "Tech Wars" robotic competition for students
In McAllen, Texas, the McAllen school district recently held its inaugural “Tech Wars” robotic competition, which gave students the opportunity to compete against in each other in drone racing, a Battle Bot competition, and an unmanned vehicle competition.
Tech Wars took place on a football field, and according the Monitor, which is McAllen's newspaper, the idea behind creating Tech Wars came from McAllen ISD Superintendent J.A. Gonzalez.
“We wanted to give kids with these technology talents the opportunity to shine, so it’s not about the star quarterback or star pitcher or great swimmer or great volleyball, but now it’s about the great drone racer,” Gonzalez says.
RoboBusiness
RoboBusiness is the pioneering event of the global robotics ecosystem and the most important gathering of the year for those seeking to learn about and profit from robotics. For over 13 years, RoboBusiness has brought together thousands of executives, engineers, investors, startups, robotics experts, and those implementing robotics into their businesses from around the world to learn from one another, build relationships, and craft robotics strategies that can be immediately put to use to grow their businesses and stay ahead of the competition.
Boston Dynamics to start selling its headless robotic SpotMini in 2019
Starting in 2019, Boston Dynamics will begin selling its headless robotic SpotMini, according to Marc Raibert, the company’s founder.
During a robotics conference in California, Raibert said that SpotMini is currently in pre-production, and is scheduled for large-scale production and general availability “from middle of 2019.”
Weighing approximately 66 pounds, the SpotMini is capable of operating up to 90 minutes between charges, but it can also be driven semi-autonomously. Using its series of cameras, it can even navigate fully autonomously.
Artificial Intelligence: Dispelling the Terminator Myth and Debunking the Future
Over the last year, AI debates have come in various shapes and sizes; as technologists, entrepreneurs, researchers, and almost everyone else, put forth their AI opinions. Questions about the capabilities and potential of AI were posed by people of diverse backgrounds prompting critical discussions and spurring more questions.
During this webinar, AI and deep learning experts will introduce attendees to their world, explain their visions for the future, and answer the question of what it means when science-fiction is within our reach.
Who Should Attend?
Roboticists
Futurists
Individuals interested in the impact of autonomous systems and artificial intelligence
Speakers
Endeavor Robotics to supply U.S. Marine Corps with its Firstlook 'throwable' robots
The U.S. Marine Corps has awarded Endeavor Robotics a $10 million contract for its “lightweight, battle-proven” FirstLook robots.
Weighing in at five pounds, the ‘throwable’ FirstLook robot can be dropped roughly 20 feet onto concrete without sustaining damage. The robots are typically used to clear buildings, detect IEDs, and are also a top choice for confined spaces like caves, tunnels and crawl spaces.
More than 1,000 FirstLook robots have been fielded across the world to military, law enforcement and industrial customers.
Survae's digital asset management platform now connected to C-2i Innovations' autonomous amphibious robot
Survae and autonomous amphibious robots' developer C-2i Innovations have announced that Survae’s digital asset management platform is now connected to C-2i’s Sea Otter device, which is used for all-weather inspection, sampling and mapping of shore and water regions, from oceans and harbors to rivers, estuaries, marshes and tailing ponds.
The Sea Otter, which is portable and deployable from beaches and small boats, provides persistent sensing where UUVs and ROVs cannot, the companies say. Operating up to 10 miles from shore, the Sea Otter is highly maneuverable, and in a single deployment it can cover multiple stations, providing versatile station keeping for up to five months in all weather/all season situations.
Fotokite named winner of Genius NY competition
On April 10, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that Switzerland’s Fotokite was the winner of the $1 million grand prize from Round II of the Genius NY accelerator.
Fotokite has created a “kite-like tethered drone system” by combining aerial and ground-based robotics with patented flight control algorithms. Using the tether, the system can fly for 24-hours fully autonomously.
“This is tremendous support from the Genius NY program and CenterState CEO and a total game changer for Fotokite,” says Chris McCall, CEO of Fotokite.
Weekend Roundup
This Week in the Unmanned Systems and Robotics World
On March 30, China’s unmanned submersible, “Hailong 11000,” completed its first sea test in the western Pacific Ocean. Capable of diving to a depth of 11,000 meters, the vehicle is expected to complete an 11,000-meter-deep sea test in three years, according to the China Ocean Mineral Resources R&D Association. (The State Council of the People's Republic of China)
