Paramilitary Police State & Attack of the Drones
Badass Quadrotor: Flying Drone that Can Pick Up Objects and Carry Them Off, and Also Spy On You
September 19, 2010Singularity Hub - Holy crap, the quadrotors at UPenn’s GRASP lab are cool. Grad student Daniel Mellinger has had a busy summer with his autonomous flying drones, teaching them how to pick up objects, perch, and operate a spy camera. His latest video, just released, showcases a drone performing some impressive aerial stunts. The four bladed ‘copter recovers from being tossed around, flies in tight circles, and dodges through hoops. As if that wasn’t enough, the quadrotor can even zip through hoops as they are tossed in the air. That’s right, the drone matches the acceleration of the hoop and then dives horizontally through it while it falls. It’s freakin’ amazing! Check out the videos below to see the quadrotor in action.
The last time we saw UPenn’s quadrotor it was using bursts of speed to fly through any window at any orientation, all the while buzzing like a hive. Since then UPenn has unleashed some new and impressive videos for their four bladed dynamo. Not only can this bot perform some complicated aerial feats, it’s being upgraded for surveillance and autonomous flight as well. Watch the first video to get your fix of awesome aeronautics but stick around for the rest to see even more cool accomplishments.
So, what do you do with a flying drone that can perform complex aerial stunts? You put a claw on it. Earlier in the summer Mellinger (and I should also credit his advisor Prof. Vijay Kumar), had the drone landing on objects, picking them up and carrying them off. Pretty neat. But it gets better. He then taught groups of the drones to work in unison so they could carry off even larger objects. I couldn’t help but cackle maniacally during the grasping/carrying video below. Kidnapper drones that sound like hornets! Delightfully evil.
Following up on the grasping project, the UPenn drone was then taught how to perch on wooden platforms and operate a pivoting spy camera. You know…these things are sounding more and more like some weird robotic version of the flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz.
The work shown in the above videos has a big limitation — it (largely) depends on the lab environment in which it is performed. There are many cameras set up around the flying space that capture images of the drones and other objects in real time. Along with inertial measurements from inside the drone, the lab system has a sort of omniscience for what’s happening in the space. This allows for the split second timing and course plotting we see in the first video. I should also point out that while all the innovative programming for the drones has been developed by UPenn, the drones themselves are purchased from Ascending Technologies.
I recently reviewed a quadrotor from PixHawk at ETH that could autonomously navigate itself using onboard sensors, not external cameras in its environment. As a commenter quickly pointed out, this makes the PixHawk quadrotor closer to real world applications even if it’s aerial stunts aren’t nearly as impressive as the UPenn work.
Well, things move fast in the quadrotor world. The same day I wrote my PixHawk article (the day before publication coincidentally), UPenn’s GRASP lab released a video of their quadrotor performing its own autonomous flight using onboard sensors. And this work was even better than PixHawk’s! The usual suspects at GRASP, along with grad student Shaojie Shen, got their quadrotor to travel in real work environments both indoors and outdoors. Not only that, but they did so without using any sort of markers, the drone simply mapped its surroundings with a laser scanner and camera. This is some impressive work, even if it’s not as flashy as watching the drone fly through hoops or carry off Dorothy.
Editor's Note: In first-century terms, the disciple John describes 'locusts' that come out of the smoke caused when the bottomless pit is opened to release the devil during the tribulation of the last days (Revelation, chapter 9). These locust-like creatures could be another version of the drones which are demonstrated in the videos above. John sees in the vision presented to him that the 'locusts' torment men without the seal of God for five months: "And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them." John describes the 'locusts' with both human and non-human features: "The shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon." The Lord reassures His people (those with "the seal of God in their foreheads") that He will protect them from the torment of these locust-like creatures which will come upon the earth in the last days.
Willow Garage Teaches Robot Not to Crush Puny Humans
September 29, 2010Singularity Hub - If Sam Waterson taught me anything it’s that I need to fear the powerful grip of robots. Because robots are made of metal…and they’re strong.
Thankfully Silcon Valley robotics startup Willow Garage has worked to relieve my anxiety by teaching their PR2 bot how not to crush things – including humans.
This summer UPenn grad student Joe Romano instructed the PR2 how to use tactile feedback (aka haptics) to hold delicate objects. Sensors in the grippers allow the robot to easily pick up and place objects, or hand them off to a human. Other researchers can freely incorporate Romano’s work because, as with all Willow Garage code, it’s made available via the open source Robot Operating System library (ROS).
The PR2 already had some safety features on its movements that kept it from banging into people, but the new haptic feedback is a big improvement. Making sure a robot won’t crush things is a necessity if you want to sell it to researchers all over the world, as Willow Garage is aiming to do. Catch the video below to see Romano showcase the PR2’s human friendly grip. Make sure you watch until the end to catch a great series of high five shenanigans. Double fist pound into explosion – Ha! Priceless.
[source: Willow Garage Blog]
Whoa! HRP-4 Humanoid Robot Walks, Moves Just Like A Real Human
September 30, 2010Singularity Hub - Kawada and AIST continue to promote their newest bipedal robot, the HRP-4, with clips of its smooth motions and graceful movements. The streamlined HRP-4 has a better range of motion and more room to move than any previous robot in the HRP series — it also looks more human while working. Kawada recently announced that the HRP-4 will go on sale early next year for a price tag of $300,000 — aiming to get robotics researchers around the world to adopt it as a development platform. This series of bots certainly has demonstrated success in the past with bipedal motion, so the HRP-4 may be a popular unit come January.
Watch the robot show off its smooth moves in the four clips from Kawada below. The video demonstrating how the HRP-4 can stretch and flex is pretty cool — looks like it’s warming up for ajog.
Thanks for good stuff
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