Sunday, November 29, 2015

Robopocalypse Report #32

Drones:


Amazon unveiled its new delivery drone design.  It reportedly has a range of 15 miles.

Corporate drone users are talking about airspace use for drones for safety reasons.

The FAA panel has actually recommended individual drones NOT be registered, but rather pilots of drones over 1/2 lbs.  Pilots must be 13 or older.  Just means the parents will register for their kids.  Drones are expected to be the holiday gift and the FAA is scrambling in preparation for what's expected to be hundreds of thousands of new drones taking to the air after this season.

The FAA may be testing an air traffic control system for drones.  Maybe.

Oregon is regulating drones, whatever the FAA may do.

Paradise Valley, the wealthy Phoenix suburb, is also regulating drones.

Wired went to the Drone Expo in San Jose and the saw the future.  The future looks like a swarm of bees, it seems.

DJI, the premier drone maker, is expanding into agricultural drones.

Some have started using drones to work vineyards.

Japan expects to be doing home deliveries by drone within three years.

The Work Horse Group might beat Google and Amazon to using drones for deliveries.

Geologists are using drones to hunt for oil.

Italy is looking into how to inspect infrastructure, specifically bridges and buildings, with drones.

Self Driving Cars:



The US Department of Transportation has signaled it will begin formulating rules for self driving cars.  This is pretty big.

What people REALLY want a self driving car for is to have it go park itself. 

Volvo has released photos of its concept car, promises the car will be on the road in Sweden by 2017 and will be taking on liability for any accidents caused by its cars.

Tesla is aggressively hiring for their self driving car project.

Quanergy has a breakthrough solid state LIDAR that will cost less than $1,000 per self driving car.

Roborace will have driverless, electric cars race one another.   This is a long way from DARPA's Grand Challenge!

Google's solution to self driving cars and pedestrians might be to have the car talk to the pedestrians.  I can see the hilarity of when hackers start adjusting what their cars say.  Especially in New York.

Some are really pessimistic about self driving cars.

Hino Motors has started testing a self driving bus on a driver track.

There are discreet levels of autonomy in self driving trucks it seems. 

Others are saying to calm down, the self driving truck isn't here soon.

3d Printing:



New South Wales, Australia has outlawed 3d printed guns.

New Balance has developed a 3d printed shoe sole.

Efesto's Industrial 3d Metal Printer is selling very, very well.

Desktop Metal has received Stratasys' backing. 

Lockheed Martin is jumping into 3d printing for satellite manufacture.

Siemens and Georgia Tech are trying to fill in missing pieces for 3d printing.

The implications of intellectual property law for 3d printing.

Robotics:


Italy's Walk-man robot.
 
NASA has selected two universities to further develop its Valkyrie humanoid robots.

The University of Tehran is also developing humanoid robots, their Surena series.

Robots have taken over parking 1,000 cars in Aarhaus, Denmark.

Pine cones inspired researchers in South Korea to develop a micro bot powered by humidity.

The SpencerBot may guide you through the airport in the near future.

Robots are being taught to say 'no' to human commands.  Some are calling this the start of Asimov's Three Laws.  Isn't that how Planet of the Apes started?

China is developing Pack Bots that can be used for recon, bomb disposal and attack for anti terror ops.

The Brits have developing swarming bots that use...pheromones?  

The Aussies are working on agricultural robots.

A hotel in Edmonton is planning on having robot waiters in one of its themed wings.

Despite there being 169 different robot models for sale on Taobao in China, none have sold.  Apparently, the Robopocalypse has not come for the wait staff in China as yet.

Another reason to hate Barbie: the Furbie-ized Hello Barbie might have been hacked and may be a security risk.

Field robots are coming to construction sites.

The bots are coming for food processing plants.

Cyborgism:



Yup, botanical cyborgs are a thing, too. (paper link)

You could be one, too.  Sorta.  Oy.

Software bots:

There is now a machine vision algorithm to analyze kids' drawings.

Software is apparently better at hiring people than people are now.

Software bots are apparently coming for the investment adviser.   *cough*baby cooper dollar bill*cough*  Google it.  I've linked too many times.

Philosophy:

Whether the Robopocalypse is our doom or next great economic innovation is up to us.

Robots will bring more jobs than destroy in Britain according to this piece.

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