Point rate 64000 points/s&nbsp;Distance resolution 4.5mm&nbsp;FOV 360°x96°&nbsp;Scan distance 30m&nbsp;Performance increased by 200%&nbsp;Open source address: <a dir="ltr" href="https://t.co/u1Hr2wB1T2" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank" id="isPasted">https://github.com/unitreerobotics/point_lio_unilidar…</a>

New Upgrade Released: 200% Increase in L2 4D LiDAR Performance $419 🥳


New Upgrade Released: L2 4D LiDAR Doubles Performance for 419 USD

<article data-clipboard-cangjie='["root",{},["p",{},["span",{"data-type":"text"},["span",{"fonts":{"ascii":"微软雅黑","cs":"微软雅黑","eastAsia":"微软雅黑","hAnsi":"微软雅黑","hint":"eastAsia"},"data-type":"leaf"},"G1 has flexible mechanical dimensions and joint design, including 23-43 degrees of freedom, industrial-grade crossed roller bearings and low-inertia high-speed motors, providing powerful joint output. The maximum torque of the knee joint can reach 120N.m, the maximum load of the arm is about 3Kg, it has a large joint movement space, and is equipped with depth cameras, 3D lidar, 4-microphone array and other perception sensors, as well as an 8-core high-performance CPU. In addition, G1 also provides high computing power modules, smart batteries, chargers and other supporting equipment, supports smart OTA upgrades and secondary development, and is suitable for general humanoids, industry applications, fitness and embodied smart communities and other fields. It is worth mentioning that the price of the G1 bipedal humanoid robot independently developed by Unitree Robotics has been reduced to less than 100,000 for the first time, providing more companies and individuals with the opportunity to contact and apply humanoid robots. "]]]]' id="isPasted">G1 has flexible mechanical dimensions and joint design, including 23-43 degrees of freedom, industrial-grade crossed roller bearings and low-inertia high-speed motors, providing powerful joint output. The maximum torque of the knee joint can reach 120N.m, the maximum load of the arm is about 3Kg, it has a large joint movement space, and is equipped with depth cameras, 3D lidar, 4-microphone array and other perception sensors, as well as an 8-core high-performance CPU.&nbsp;</article>

AI-driven robots need to learn new actions as fast as possible. This is very important.

Learning in 2 Days, Human-Like Natural Walking

Continuously promote the implementation of industry applications to the ground Unitree B2 beyond the limit Maximum speed of 6m/s, sustained load of 40kg and sustained walking endurance of 5h. The comprehensive performance is two to three times that of existing quadruped robots worldwide! Adaptable to all terrains, large load, long-lasting endurance, and super athletic performance! Evolve, evolve, and evolve again! More introduction: www.unitree.com/en/b2 <h2> </h2>

Continuously promote the implementation of industry applications to the ground Unitree B2 beyond the limit Maximum speed of 6m/s, sustained load of 40kg and sustained walking endurance of 5h. The comprehensive performance is two to three times that of existing quadruped robots worldwide! 

Unitree releases B2, beyond the limits of hyper-evolution

The G1 robot can perform a standing long jump of up to 1.4 meters, possibly the longest jump ever achieved by a humanoid robot of its size in the world, standing only 1.32 meters tall; This video showcases some of the new features of the Go2 robot dog, which were updated a while ago but may still be unfamiliar to you. (Note: features vary by model and version) We sincerely hope you find it interesting!

The G1 robot can perform a standing long jump of up to 1.4 meters, possibly the longest jump ever achieved by a humanoid robot of its size in the world, standing only 1.32 meters tall.

Did you exercise today? Breaking Records! G1 Humanoid Robot Achieves a Jump Distance and Height Ratio of Over 1!

In the international Cybathlon competition, people with physical disabilities undertake routine tasks with the aid of assistive technology that can be seamlessly integrated into everyday life. Below, we present three ETH teams that will be putting their innovative solutions to the test at this October’s event.<h2 id="isPasted">Help from a fourlegged friend</h2>Developed by the Robotics Systems Lab at ETH&nbsp;Zur­ich, ALMA is a quadrupedal robot equipped with a range of sensors and a robotic arm. Unlike other entries in the Cybathlon discipline for assistive robots, all of which are attached to a wheelchair, ALMA moves autonomously on its own four legs, controlled by paraplegic pilot Sammy Kunz via a quadstick – a type of mouth-operated joystick. Deploying the robot as a separate system provides greater mobility, say team managers Carmen Scheidemann and Andrei Cramariuc. “But our biggest asset is also our biggest liability,” Scheidemann explains. “Because we have to ensure that ALMA moves safely without bumping into any objects.” In competition, the team has ten minutes to complete ten everyday tasks. For example, the pilot must use the robot to open a door and then close it behind them, or to pick up an apple and hold it in such a way that the pilot can take a bite. The quadstick used with ALMA features various tubes. By blowing or sucking, the pilot is able to control the different axes of the robot: either its quadrupedal platform or its gripping arm.“At a preliminary event in February, we had eight minutes to complete four tasks,” says Scheidemann. “In the end, we needed just over six.” The team is therefore confident about achieving a good score at the upcoming championship. In preparation for October’s event, various refinements to ALMA have been made in close cooperation with Kunz. Most of these involved enhancing the controls so that Kunz can operate the robot with as little practice as possible. “We suggest an improvement, and Sammy gives us feedback on what works for him and what doesn’t,” explains Scheidemann. “Then we make the necessary modifications.” Whereas 15 hours of practice were required before the preliminary event in February, improvements to the control system have now drastically reduced preparation times.Both managers have hugely enjoyed working with Kunz. “It’s really fulfilling to be working on a project that has the potential to bring about such a major improvement in the day-to-day lives of people with disabilities,” says Cramariuc. ANYmal robots, which provide the quadrupedal platform for ALMA, are already in use for a variety of industrial jobs, including the inspection of oil rigs. The current challenge is to deploy assistive robots not only in controlled envir­onments but also in everyday situations. The team will continue to refine ALMA. “But it will be a good few years before the platform is ready for market,” Scheidemann cautions. “We’re still very much at the experimental stage.”<a href="https://cybathlon.ethz.ch/en/teams/rsl" target="_blank" id="isPasted">To the RSL team</a><h2 id="isPasted">Cameras and a vibrating belt</h2>Pressing the right doorbell, finding a free seat and navigating an area containing obstacles of various heights are just some of the challenges that blind pilot Lukas Hendry will face in the Vision Assist­ance Race at the Cybathlon. Technical support comes from the Sight Guide team, which will guide Hendry using data from two cameras strapped to his chest. Patrick Pfreundschuh, one of the team managers, describes how the technology works: “We use one camera for positioning – that is, to tell us where Lukas is and where he’s heading. The other is a depth camera that takes 3D measurements of the surrounding area.” There’s also a third camera which the pilot holds in his hand to assist with tasks that require objects to be examined in more detail. All three cameras transmit information to a small, lightweight computer that Hendry carries on his back. The computer crunches the data and sends Hendry corresponding instructions via an audio signal. Finding a system with enough computing power was surprisingly difficult, says Pfreundschuh: “When your pilot is in the race, you need to be processing the input as quickly as possible. Otherwise, he might collide with an obstacle, which is obviously something we want to avoid!” The Sight Guide team is hopeful about making further improvements before the Cybathlon, such as making the audio signals that convey the instructions more easily understandable. In addition to the computer and cameras, Hendry also wears a special vibrating belt that tells him in which direction to move. “We don’t want to say exactly how this belt works, because it’s what gives us our competitive edge!” says Pfreundschuh with a smile.The Sight Guide team consists of doctoral candidates and students from the Autonomous Systems Lab at ETH Zurich, the Robotics and Perception Group at the University of Zurich and the Institute for Mechatronic Systems at Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW). For the doctoral students, the Cybathlon is both inspiring and enjoyable, which is why they are happy to work on the project in their spare time. Every month or two, they meet up with Hendry to perform mock-ups of the tasks they will face in the Cybathlon. Hendry then supplies feedback – for example, on how fast he receives the instructions – and many of the tweaks he suggests can be applied on the spot. Working with the pilot is one of the things that makes this project so special, says Pfreundschuh: “It’s great to see Lukas sailing through tasks that would be impossible for him without our technology. It makes me happy and proud to see the benefits we can provide for blind people simply by putting theory into practice.” The goal is to continue improving the technology once the Cybathlon is over – and Pfreundschuh hopes to find a new generation of students willing to take the reins.<a href="https://sightguide.tech/" target="_blank" id="isPasted">To the sightguide team</a><h2 id="isPasted">Sensing the ground while wearing prosthesis</h2>A key drawback of a prosthetic leg is that wearers are unable to feel the ground beneath their foot. The absence of sensory feedback on where their foot is positioned and how firmly it is touching the floor makes it difficult to walk, especially on uneven terrain or when climbing stairs. This is the main reason many patients decide against a prosthesis. But it doesn’t have to be this way, as Stefan Poth has discovered since becoming a pilot in the Cybathlon. He is taking part in the competition with his own prosthetic leg, which has been fitted with a special insole in the shoe. Developed by the NeuroLegs team, this insole is equipped with sensors that gather information on what the researchers call the foot-ground interaction. This includes feedback on whether Poth’s weight is on the toe, middle part or heel of his prosthetic foot. Data on where he is stepping is sent to a microprocessor attached to his waist. The computer processes the data and converts it into electrical stimulation by activating electrodes on an elastic belt that Poth wears around his leg stump. “Depending on where Stefan is stepping, electrical stimulation is applied in real time to either the front, side or back of the stump to replicate the sensation that would normally be perceived in the foot,” says Noemi Gozzi, co-manager of the NeuroLegs team.Poth’s team for the leg prosthesis race is made up of students from the Neuroengineering Lab at ETH Zurich. Affiliated with the Department of Health Sciences and Technology, the lab is headed by ETH professor Stanisa Raspopovic. This year’s team is building on the valuable experience gained in the previous Cybathlon four years ago. “Instead of starting from scratch, we’ve actually been able to improve our technology this year. For example, we’ve made it a lot more user­friendly,” says Valerio Aurucci, the second of the team’s two managers. The belt Poth wears around his leg stump was developed by this year’s team to avoid having to attach electrodes to his skin one by one, which has also made the system more reliable.Gozzi emphasises how rewarding it is to see their research being put into practice: “We’re trying to develop systems that will make people’s day-to-day lives easier. Stefan’s reaction when he felt a sensation from his foot for the first time was something very special – and it certainly made up for all those hours in the lab!” The Neuroengineering Lab is one of the leading research groups working on peripheral nerve stimulation, and Aurucci sees major benefits in the innovative solution they have developed: “The biggest advantage is that our system can be used with any prosthesis.” Getting to a market-ready product will require more development and additional safety features. The two team managers – both of whom are doing their doctorate at ETH – are therefore carefully considering their next step. Should they stick to research and hand over NeuroLegs to the next generation, or take the plunge into business by setting up a spin-off? The future is theirs to decide.<a target="_blank"></a><a href="https://cybathlon.ethz.ch/en/teams/neuro-legs" target="_blank">To the NeuroLegs team</a>

Helping to open doors: Cybathlon pilot Sammy Kunz uses his mouth to steer the assistance robot, while Carmen Scheidemann from the Robotics Systems Lab monitors the test run. Come October, the pressure will be on. (Photograph: Markus Bertschi / ETH Zurich)

In the international Cybathlon competition, people with physical disabilities undertake routine tasks with the aid of assistive tech that can be seamlessly integrated into everyday life. Here are three ETH teams that will be putting their innovative solutions to the test at this October’s event.

How four-legged robots and smart belts help people overcome everyday barriers

An ITMO PhD student has devised a way to design flexible robots capable of withstanding a shock load, retaining its energy, and adapting to movement on rough surfaces. The new robot’s joints are connected by flexible hinges rather than turning kinematic pairs. With such mechanisms, it’s possible to increase the capabilities of robots that interact with their environments: quadrupeds, anthropomorphic robots, and collaborative manipulators. The new <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/383819099_Parametric_Synthesis_of_Compliant_Joints_for_Impact-Robust_Shaftless_Leg_Mechanisms" target="_blank" id="isPasted">design</a> will be unveiled at the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2024).Roboticists from ITMO’s <a href="https://sai.itmo.ru/" target="_blank">Research Center “Strong AI in Industry”</a> have devised a method of optimizing a robot’s mechanical structure and movement trajectory to provide the necessary dynamic behavior. In order to test the method, ITMO PhD student&nbsp;Egor Rakshin&nbsp;has assembled a robot with flexible joints – its improved mechanism is impact-robust and can function even with insufficient information about its environment.&nbsp;When assembling the new model, the researchers used the one previously <a href="https://news.itmo.ru/en/news/13232/" target="_blank">developed</a> under the supervision of Prof. Ivan Borisov from ITMO’s Faculty of Control Systems and Robotics. In the previous version, mobility was provided by bearings, making the structure more rigid and less mobile; during a fall, part of the impact energy was dissipated through plastic deformation of the solid links.In the new version, the authors moved away from turning kinematic pairs with bearings in favor of flexible joints – they function as a passive suspension that absorbs the entire impact during the robot’s fall and protects drive gearboxes and rigid links from deformation. Additionally, the new design allows for recuperation, that is, recovering part of the energy dissipated during impact, as well as softening peak shock loads on the drives. Thanks to this, it may be possible to lower the requirements for the robot’s components and increase its energy efficiency.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1727134897715-1392501.jpg" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">A prototype of the robot. The researchers have optimized its mechanism using global optimization genetic algorithms, then used 3D printing and laser cutting to print parts of the robot – and assembled the prototype. Next, they tested the robot using motion capture to compare its actual activity with one predicted by a model. Images courtesy of the researchersIn order to test the mechanism’s capacity to absorb shock loads, the researchers threw the robot from a meter’s height and hit it with a football. None of these impacts caused harm: during a fall, the robot “bounced” off the floor and continued its movement undisturbed.<blockquote>“Our robot performs well under shock loads and can function in unstructured environments – even on unknown terrain, moving blindly. Thanks to its flexible joints, the structure can move along rough surfaces without a complex feedback system. With this design approach, we will be able to extend the endurance of walking robots and manipulators that have to interact with environments to perform their functions. Currently, the mechanism is a prototype of a single leg that can be used to assemble a quadruped (for example, a robotic cheetah) capable of covering longer distances thanks to energy recuperation,” shares the paper’s first author Egor Rakshin, a PhD student and engineer at ITMO’s <a href="https://news.itmo.ru/en/search/?search=Laboratory+of+Biomechatronics+and+Energy-Efficient+Robotics" target="_blank">Laboratory of Biomechatronics and Energy-Efficient Robotics</a>.&nbsp;</blockquote><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1727134923446-1392503.jpg" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">A prototype of the robot. Image courtesy of the researchersIn the future, the researchers are planning to use the new method to create new robots (quadrupeds, bipeds, and hybrid locomotion robots), including those for logistics and industrial inspection.&nbsp;The talk&nbsp;<a href="https://iros2024-abudhabi.org/accepted-papers" target="_blank">Parametric Synthesis of Compliant Joints for Impact-Robust Shaftless Leg Mechanisms</a> will be delivered for the first time at&nbsp;<a href="https://iros2024-abudhabi.org/" target="_blank">IROS 2024</a>, a major robotics conference organized since 1988.1,587 presentations from all over the world will be held at the conference, including three from ITMO’s Faculty of Control Systems and Robotics, thus making the total of 12 IROS-accepted works by ITMO researchers over the years (in 2016, 2019, 2021, 2023, and 2024).IROS is&nbsp;<a href="https://portal.core.edu.au/conf-ranks/?search=IROS&by=all&source=all&sort=dsource&page=1" target="_blank">included</a> in the CORE conference ranking, where it is ranked A (one of the most prestigious positions). In 2024, the event will be held in Abu Dhabi on October 14-18. IROS aims to introduce the international community of robotics researchers to the latest cutting-edge findings in intelligent robots and machines.

Egor Rakshin. Photo courtesy of the subject

An ITMO PhD student has devised a way to design flexible robots capable of withstanding a shock load, retaining its energy, and adapting to movement on rough surfaces. The new robot’s joints are connected by flexible hinges rather than turning kinematic pairs.

Researchers Create Robots That Withstand Shock Loads

Picture this: hundreds of ant-sized robots climb over rubble, under rocks and between debris to inspect the damage of a fallen building before human rescuers explore on-site.&nbsp;Downscaling legged robots to the size of an insect enables access to small spaces that humans and large robots cannot reach. A swarm of small robots can even collaborate like their insect counterparts to haul objects and protect one another. Picotaur, a new robot from the labs of Sarah Bergbreiter and Aaron Johnson is the first of its size able to run, turn, push loads and climb miniature stairs.“This robot has legs that are driven by multiple actuators so it can achieve various locomotion capabilities,” said Sukjun Kim, a recent Ph.D. graduate advised by Bergbreiter. “With multiple gait patterns it can walk like other hexapod robots, similar to how a cockroach moves, but it can also hop from the ground to overcome obstacles.” &nbsp;<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/V6PjNExaVbA?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0&amp;enablejsapi=1&amp;origin=https://www.wevolver.com" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true">&nbsp;</iframe>Video above depicts Picotaur, a 7.9 mm robot, is the first of its size to run, turn, push loads and climb miniature stairs.The 7.9 mm robot was 3D-printed using two-photon polymerization, a process previously successful in building various small-scale robotic systems in the lab such as microbots, microgrippers, microswimmers, and microsensors.“Using this process, we were able to miniaturize the two degree of freedom linkage mechanism that allows Picotaur to clear step heights and easily alternate between walking and jumping,” said Bergbreiter, a professor of mechanical engineering. &nbsp;Kim tested Picotaur’s ability to push loads by creating a miniature soccer field. He found that the robot has enough force to push the ball and then turn, reorient itself, and follow the ball into the net.<blockquote>Now we have this capability to expand the design space from 2D to 3D. We can apply this process to create other small-scale robotic systems for various applications.<cite>Sukjun Kim, Ph.D. Alumni, Mechanical Engineering</cite></blockquote>“Historically, microfabrication technology was limited in manufacturing microscale devices in two-dimensional spaces, like for the semiconductor industry,” said Kim. “But now we have this capability to expand the design space from 2D to 3D. We can apply this process to create other small-scale robotic systems for various applications, for example, microgrippers for grasping and delivering small objects for surgical applications and microscale manufacturing applications.”Because microrobotics is still in early development, there are challenges yet to overcome before we see fully integrated robots in the field. For example, the team hopes to explore adding solar cells to the top of the robot so that it can be powered without tethers.“Now that we see and accept larger robotic systems in the world, I hope that with this work people can imagine small-scale robots working around us and understand that that future is not too far off,” Kim said. &nbsp;“We can start thinking about where micro-robots would be useful and even find applications we haven’t thought of yet.”

Researchers in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University have created the first legged robot of its size to run, turn, push loads and climb miniature stairs.

It's an ant... it's a robot... it's Picotaur! The unrivaled micro robot

Scientists from ITMO have come up with a three-step algorithm for the development of manipulators and walking or wearable robots. Compared to the usual methods, the new approach results in lighter, more efficient, affordable, and compact mechanisms. Walking robots that can move without having a full map of their surroundings are just one example of the designs produced by the new method. Another is the jumping robot made by the researchers to demonstrate their new algorithm.<h1 dir="ltr" id="isPasted">Why it’s hard to combine movement and energy efficiency in robots</h1>Industrial robots need to move with high speed and precision. These are achieved with powerful electric drives that are very demanding in terms of the energy they consume. This means that such robots often need to be connected to a power outlet, making them stationary.Mobile robots are a whole other matter, however. They have to be designed in a way that allows them to perform all their tasks with just the energy they can get from a battery. And it can’t be the case of just increasing the battery’s capacity either – here, “more powerful” also means “heavier.” If a robot wastes half the energy gained from a heavier battery just to carry this battery around, it’s not a very efficient robot. That’s why researchers engineer robotic systems in a way that will make use of the mechanism’s inherent dynamics, thus requiring less energy.<h1 dir="ltr">Overcoming the challenge</h1>In robotics, such mechanisms are designed with morphology in mind. This means that most of the dynamics needed for the robot’s movements are provided by its body (the spread of its weight, its elasticity, or mechanical links). The control systems for such robots don’t need to program their every move, instead focusing on supporting its existing dynamics.&nbsp;When designing such robots, engineers must follow a formalized process that takes into account not only control algorithms, but also the design of the robot’s mechanics. According to Ivan Borisov, an engineer at ITMO’s Research Center “Strong AI in Industry,” for a long time robotics specialists concentrated on developing new algorithms while still using the same hardware and principles as in industrial robots.&nbsp;However, the success of Cassie the robot <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331449776_Walk_this_way_To_be_useful_around_people_robots_need_to_learn_how_to_move_like_we_do" target="_blank">has shown</a> that in order to achieve high speed, robustness, and capacity to navigate unstructured environments, robots need to be designed differently. First and foremost, they need to be adaptive and energy efficient.<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/a_YGPbWJO5g?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;enablejsapi=1&amp;origin=https://www.wevolver.com" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true"></iframe><h1 dir="ltr" id="isPasted">The method from ITMO</h1>ITMO scientists used the principles of morphological design to suggest their own method of designing mechanisms for manipulator, locomotion, and wearable robots. The method is based on a three-step algorithm.First step: creating an open kinetic chain. Here, the algorithm determines which parts should make up the mechanism and the trajectories they need to follow in order to produce the desired movements.Second step: closing the chain of parts that make up the mechanism (the kinetic chain is closed when each link in the chain has over two connections). Here, the algorithm determines which links in the chain need to be connected to the core mechanism so that a drive can be transported to a different joint. At this point, the program may also decide to remove or add certain connections in order to lower inertia. This helps preserve energy and speed up the robot.&nbsp;Third step: placing electric drives with maximal efficiency. At this stage, physical and virtual elastic elements are also integrated into the mechanism. With these, the robot can adapt to the environment, cushion itself against rough and uneven surfaces, and conserve energy.By targeting performance and maximum functionality at every step, this approach produces more efficient devices.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1718581571013-1323200.jpg" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Ivan Borisov. Photo by Dmitry Grigoryev / ITMO.NEWS<blockquote id="isPasted">“Using our method, we can develop any leverage mechanism, such as a leg mechanism for a walking robot, a finger mechanism for a grasping device, or parts of an exoskeleton. What’s even more, we can make robots that are able to function in unstructured or unknown environments. For instance, a walking robot that will be able to map out their surroundings even in bad lighting or an anthropomorphic wrist that can grasp objects it can’t see,” explains Ivan Borisov.</blockquote>To demonstrate the algorithm’s capacity, the researchers developed a jumping robot that can move on uneven terrain. The robot moves thanks to self-sustained vibrations of its drive and springs; it can change the speed and direction of its movements. Thanks to the new method used in its design, the robot requires a drive four times less powerful than a similar robot designed with the classical approach.&nbsp;According to Ivan Borisov, the method squeezes the most out of each part of the algorithm, maximizing the drives’ efficiency and using elastic parts to restore some of the used energy.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1718581765992-ezgif-4-4d6d52b5a1.gif" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Flexible jumping robot. Video by Dmitry Grigoryev / ITMO.NEWS<h1 dir="ltr" id="isPasted">What’s next&nbsp;</h1>The new method will be presented at the prestigious IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (SJR 1.92), where ITMO will be this year’s only Russian participant.Additionally, the researchers are developing software that will use the algorithm to generate designs of walking robots and trajectories of their electric drives. It will also test the suggested solutions in a simulated environment.A similar&nbsp;<a href="https://github.com/aimclub/rostok" target="_blank">program</a> for grasping devices has already been developed at ITMO. This one can design a robot based on the parameters of an object it needs to grasp. For instance, if you need a device for grasping apples, you need to simply indicate the fruit’s characteristics – then, the algorithm will generate the mechanism’s structure with optimal parameters.According to the researchers, as the method involves randomization, it can produce several solutions for the same problem, allowing the human operating it to choose the best one.&nbsp;Both algorithms are meant to assist designers in making mechatronic and robotic systems, including industrial, collaborative, or manipulator robots.

Flexible jumping robot. Photo by Dmitry Grigoryev / ITMO.NEWS

Scientists from ITMO have come up with a three-step algorithm for the development of manipulators and walking or wearable robots. Compared to the usual methods, the new approach results in lighter, more efficient, affordable, and compact mechanisms. 

Scientists Suggest New Method to Make More Adaptive and Autonomous Robots

Recently, Zhejiang Province in east China carried out a comprehensive emergency response drill "Emergency Mission 2024" to strengthen its capabilities in responding to natural disasters. During this drill, a certain fire brigade collaborated with DEEP Robotics to provide a "quadruped robot hazard rescue solution." The robot dog, in coordination with drones, successfully completed the task of scouting for chemical explosion hazards. <img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1717404273023-%E5%9B%BE%E7%89%871.jpg" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Quadruped robots possess superior terrain adaptability. In the "Emergency Mission 2024" drill, the DEEP Robotics X30 robot dog was able to quickly traverse complex terrains and reach disaster sites promptly. <img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1717404325553-%E5%9B%BE%E7%89%872.jpg" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">At the drill site, heavy rain caused severe flooding, leading to a factory explosion that ignited a warehouse containing oil and hazardous chemicals. The fire spread, threatening major hazardous chemical sources within the factory. The robot dog, in collaboration with drones, conducted comprehensive detection. Equipped with a dual-lens gimbal and gas detectors, it gathered crucial information on fire temperature, radiant heat intensity, toxic and harmful gases, and obstacles, providing valuable data to rescue personnel. DEEP Robotics is a leader in the innovation and application of embodied intelligence technology, being the first in the world to achieve collaborative search and rescue with robot dog clusters. In 2022, DEEP Robotics developed the "quadruped robot hazard rescue solution," which integrates hazard detection modules for flexible unmanned detection and search and rescue operations in post-earthquake rubble, indoor areas of collapsing buildings, tunnel traffic accidents, chemical pollution, and harsh environments such as toxic, hypoxic, and smoke-filled conditions following fires. <img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1717404358405-%E5%9B%BE%E7%89%873.jpg" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">The DEEP Robotics X30 robot dog, the core of the solution, weighs 50 kilograms and can carry up to 85 kilograms under extreme conditions. It is IP67 rated for water and dust resistance and can operate in temperatures ranging from -20°C to 55°C, making it reliable in extreme cold and heat, as well as adverse weather conditions. In emergency rescue and detection missions, time is of the essence. The X30 robot dog’s unique fusion perception capability enables it to act swiftly even in the dark. It is reported that DEEP Robotics is advancing the "AI+ Plan" in a new round of technological innovation. By using new AI and software systems, along with extensive data, the robot dogs undergo self-learning training, breaking the limitations of traditional models and achieving extreme motion capabilities in complex and harsh environments. In the future, the "AI+ Plan" will also extend to perception, planning, decision-making, and human-machine interaction capabilities.

DEEP Robotics is a leader in the innovation and application of embodied intelligence technology, being the first in the world to achieve collaborative search and rescue with robot dog clusters.

Emergency Mission 2024: DEEP Robotics' Robot Dog Scouts for Fire and Explosion Hazards

Yokohama, Japan, May 14, 2024 -- DEEP Robotics, a leading quadrupedal robot developer, yesterday began to participate in the 2024 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) in Yokohama, Japan, showcasing the company's latest advances in AI reinforcement learning and robotic technologies.At the conference, held from May 13 to 17, Hangzhou-based DEEP Robotics aims to present AI innovations that pave the way for its smaller and full-size quadrupedal robots to complete a series of highly complex and even acrobatic movements.The Lite3, one of the company's signature robot dogs, can scurry across a stack of large boxes, leap across gaps, navigate around stairs, and climb easily onto an elevated platform about a half meter tall.A more stunning feat is that the Lite3 can shift its center of gravity when tossed in the air, spin its body and land on its four feet, or quickly roll over after falling on its back. <img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNzE2NDQ1MTk5NzQ4LTQuanBnIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">The Lite3, in action during a parkour demonstration, can scale elevated platforms that are at least 50 centimeters tall.“We successfully applied the Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) method combined with depth camera sensor inputs and trained an end-to-end policy,” Zunwang Ma, a robot control engineer at DEEP Robotics, said in a speech yesterday at the 2024 IEEE ICRA.“This approach effectively broaden the limitations of traditional model-based control methods, enabling our quadruped robot to traverse high platforms and gaps without requiring precise perception and robot modeling,” Ma noted.Meanwhile, the X30, a larger, industrial-grade robot dog also produced by DEEP Robotics, amazed visitors with its autonomous adaptation to an array of unstructured, uneven surfaces such as grass, gravel, and rubble.&nbsp;The X30 stands out with the ability to traverse rugged terrains and navigate random objects with ease. It is designed to withstand external interference like pushing or pulling, maintaining its balance, which proves to be a big advantage in outdoor operations. <img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNzE2NDQ1NjI5MjMxLTEuanBnIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="X30 Quadruped Robot">The X30 climbs up stairs in a demonstration at the 2024 IEEE ICRA.Built to IP67 standards, the robot is able to function under the rain, on plateaus or Gobi deserts, or in any challenging environments with huge variances in temperature, altitude or degrees of humidity. Algorithmic improvementsThrough a series of algorithmic innovations and reinforcement learning iterations, engineers from DEEP Robotics have given a huge boost to the dexterity, autonomy and self-balancing abilities of Lite3 and X30.In the case of Lite3, it gains enhanced motion control capabilities on the back of intensive AI training. In a simulation mode, an avatar of the robot is always kept initially at a slant, said Ma, the engineer.By devising reinforcement learning policies and setting up rewards to guide the avatar, AI engineers enable the quadruped to shift in the air and maintain its dynamical balance in the virtual world.Other improved metrics of Lite3 include faster walking speed, topping up at 4 meters per second. When pushed to its limits, the robot can scramble up platforms higher than 50 centimeters, as well as jump over a 80-centimeter-wide gap.For its part, DEEP Robotics' X30 robot, when it comes with a depth camera, lidar and other type of sensors, is capable of perceiving the surrounding environment on the fly and thus figuring out its next steps.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNzE2NDQ1NjYyMjQ4LTIuanBnIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="ICRA Tech Talk">Zunwang Ma, a robot control engineer at DEEP Robotics, delivers a speech at 2024 IEEE ICRA. ‘AI-Plus Plan’The company is looking to incorporate advanced AI technologies into its robotics systems under a "DEEP Robotics AI-Plus Plan" to enable bigger breakthroughs in embodied AI.Application-wise, legged robots from DEEP Robotics have proven practical in an array of use cases including autonomous inspection, emergency detection and rescue.Overall, thanks to a large amount of data acquired from real-world application of its products, DEEP Robotics has met with relatively fewer difficulties in the sim-to-real transfer, meaning the deployment of robotics algorithms to a physical robot prototype.Going forward, the company aims to integrate reinforcement learning further into its development to broaden the application scenarios of its robots and explore the next frontiers of AI-powered robotics."With reinforcement learning, we can use fewer policies to achieve greater terrain adaptation and coverage , making the robot more robust and intelligent," Ma explained.Under DEEP Robotics' AI-Plus Plan, product capabilities will extend further to facets like perception, planning, decision-making and human-machine interaction. DEEP Robotics' products have been widely adopted in more than a dozen countries in North America, Western Europe, Japan and Korea, the Middle East and other regions.

The X30 and the Lite3, two quadrupedal robot models from DEEP Robotics, showcase their locomotion and perception capabilities at the 2024 IEEE ICRA in Yokohama, Japan from May 13 to 17.

DEEP Robotics Attends 2024 IEEE ICRA, Showcases Progress in AI-Enabled Quadrupedal Robotics

Parents spend roughly 300 hours each year cleaning up after their kids. That’s nearly two weeks that could be otherwise spent doing, well, anything else. Researchers in Carnegie Mellon University’s <a href="https://www.meche.engineering.cmu.edu/index.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank" id="isPasted">Department of Mechanical Engineering</a>, in collaboration with Google DeepMind and the University of Washington, are hopeful that parents will regain tidying time and then some with <a href="https://linchangyi1.github.io/LocoMan/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">LocoMan</a>, a four-legged version of the Jetsons’ beloved maid “Rosey the Robot,” that could lend a hand in the not-so-distant future.<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/d-GLiRPiHIE?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;enablejsapi=1&amp;origin=https://www.wevolver.com" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe>Quadrupedal robots, designed to move on four legs much like a dog, are already found leading search and rescue missions, surveying construction sites, and moving parts around factories. Their ability to navigate complex environments with a low center of gravity and light weight make quadrupedal robots a top contender for household use, too. Until now, the missing piece was the dexterity and versatility skills necessary for them to be efficient in daily life.By installing two custom-designed, lightweight manipulators (think robot arms) onto the front legs of a quadrupedal robot, <a href="https://engineering.cmu.edu/directory/bios/zhao-ding.html" target="_blank">Ding Zhao</a> has created a robot versatile enough to open doors, pour drinks, plug a phone in to charge, and—perhaps best of all—clean up after your on-the-go toddlers.<blockquote>While many researchers work on humanoid robots that look like humans, with potential to directly learn from humans or even replace humans in some tasks, we focus on robots that are complementary to humans to team up with them.<cite>Ding Zhao, Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering</cite></blockquote>“While many researcher work on humanoid robots that look like humans, with potential to directly learn from humans or even replace humans in some tasks, we focus on robots that are complementary to humans to team up with them,” said Zhao, associate professor of mechanical engineering.Unlike humanoid robots that come at a high cost and hefty weight, Zhao’s manipulators can be added to existing lower-cost quadrupedal robots and are compact, lightweight, and easy to fabricate, making them an accessible technology.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNzE1NzM1MTQ3ODg3LTA1MDktZW0taG9tZS1oZWxwZXItcm9ib3QucG5nIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">The core idea is to leverage the leg as an integral component of the “robotic arm” for executing 6D pose manipulation.“We used four commercially available servos and 3D printed a few other parts to bring them to life,” Changyi Lin, a Ph.D. candidate in the CMU Safe AI Lab and the first author of the paper explained.Zhao’s team introduced the robot to a class of five preschool students at The Cyert Center for Early Education. After explaining to children how robots work and what we use them for, the children had the opportunity to interact with Zhao’s robot. The students were impressed with the robot’s capabilities and didn’t want it to leave their classroom.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNzE1NzM1MTc3MDc1LTA1MTMtZW0yLWhvbWUtaGVscGVyLXJvYm90LnBuZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTUwLCJmaXQiOiJjb3ZlciJ9fX0=" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Ding Zhao (center), with children from the Cyert Center, interacting with the home-helper robot.The group continues to develop LocoMan to perform tasks autonomously by integrating advanced perception and intelligence planning capabilities into its existing whole-body controller.“We anticipate that robots like LocoMan will be ready to help out at home, or in daycares, within the next three years,” said Zhao. “It is a pleasant job just to imagine that I may no longer need to handle my kids’ messy fun.”This work will be presented at the loco-manipulation workshop and the manipulation skills workshop of the 2024 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

New locomotion and manipulation technology from Ding Zhao’s lab will enable four-legged robots to lend a hand in the not-so-distant future.

Manipulation technology makes home-helper robot possible

<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1715299294035-5712x4284.jpg" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">The robot spontaneously changed its gait to cross a terrain with gaps. 2024 EPFL/BioRob-CC-BY-SA 4.0With the help of a form of machine learning called deep reinforcement learning (DRL), the EPFL robot notably learned to transition from trotting to pronking – a leaping, arch-backed gait used by animals like springbok and gazelles – to navigate a challenging terrain with gaps ranging from 14-30cm. The study, led by the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.epfl.ch/labs/biorob/" target="_blank">BioRobotics Laboratory</a> in EPFL’s School of Engineering, offers new insights into why and how such gait transitions occur in animals. “Previous research has introduced energy efficiency and musculoskeletal injury avoidance as the two main explanations for gait transitions. More recently, biologists have argued that stability on flat terrain could be more important. But animal and robotic experiments have shown that these hypotheses are not always valid, especially on uneven ground,” says PhD student Milad Shafiee, first author on a paper published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-47443-w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nature Communications</a>.Shafiee and co-authors Guillaume Bellegarda and BioRobotics Lab head Auke Ijspeert were therefore interested in a new hypothesis for why gait transitions occur: viability, or fall avoidance. To test this hypothesis, they used DRL to train a quadruped robot to cross various terrains. On flat terrain, they found that different gaits showed different levels of robustness against random pushes, and that the robot switched from a walk to a trot to maintain viability, just as quadruped animals do when they accelerate. And when confronted with successive gaps in the experimental surface, the robot spontaneously switched from trotting to pronking to avoid falls. Moreover, viability was the only factor that was improved by such gait transitions.“We showed that on flat terrain and challenging discrete terrain, viability leads to the emergence of gait transitions, but that energy efficiency is not necessarily improved,” Shafiee explains. “It seems that energy efficiency, which was previously thought to be a driver of such transitions, may be more of a consequence. When an animal is navigating challenging terrain, it’s likely that its first priority is not falling, followed by energy efficiency.”<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1715299423668-ezgif-3-e8b7f9ed78.jpg" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Guillaume Bellegarda, Milad Shafiee and Auke Ijspeert. 2024 EPFL/Jamani Caillet - CC-BY-SA 4.0<h2>A bio-inspired learning architecture</h2>To model locomotion control in their robot, the researchers considered the three interacting elements that drive animal movement: the brain, the spinal cord, and sensory feedback from the body. They used DRL to train a neural network to imitate the spinal cord’s transmission of brain signals to the body as the robot crossed an experimental terrain. Then, the team assigned different weights to three possible learning goals: energy efficiency, force reduction, and viability. A series of computer simulations revealed that of these three goals, viability was the only one that prompted the robot to automatically – without instruction from the scientists – change its gait.The team emphasizes that these observations represent the first learning-based locomotion framework in which gait transitions emerge spontaneously during the learning process, as well as the most dynamic crossing of such large consecutive gaps for a quadrupedal robot.“Our bio-inspired learning architecture demonstrated state-of-the-art quadruped robot agility on the challenging terrain,” Shafiee says.The researchers aim to expand on their work with additional experiments that place different types of robots in a wider variety of challenging environments. In addition to further elucidating animal locomotion, they hope that ultimately, their work will enable the more widespread use of robots for biological research, reducing reliance on animal models and the associated ethics concerns.<hr>ReferencesShafiee, M., Bellegarda, G. &amp; Ijspeert, A. Viability leads to the emergence of gait transitions in learning agile quadrupedal locomotion on challenging terrains. Nat Commun 15, 3073 (2024). <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-47443-w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-47443-w</a>

Guillaume Bellegarda, Milad Shafiee and Auke Ijspeert. 2024 EPFL/Jamani Caillet - CC-BY-SA 4.0

A four-legged robot trained with machine learning by EPFL researchers has learned to avoid falls by spontaneously switching between walking, trotting, and pronking – a milestone for roboticists as well as biologists interested in animal locomotion.

Trotting robots reveal emergence of animal gait transitions

This story by Landon Hall was first published in the&nbsp;<a href="https://viterbischool.usc.edu/news/2024/04/teaching-robots-to-walk-on-the-moon-and-maybe-rescue-one-another/" target="_blank">USC Viterbi School of Engineering newsroom</a>.Georgia Tech alumna&nbsp;Feifei Qian&nbsp;(M.S. PHYS 2011, Ph.D. ECE 2015), an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and School of Advanced Computing, leads the NASA LASSIE project alongside co-investigator&nbsp;Frances Rivera-Hernández, an assistant professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Georgia Tech.&nbsp;Sharissa Thompson, a graduate student at Georgia Tech, is a student intern on the NASA Curiosity Rover project.The Palmer Glacier on Oregon’s Mount Hood isn’t the moon, but it’s a good place to practice.Some 6,000 feet up the snow-capped mountain, located about 70 miles east of Portland, a multidisciplinary team from the University of Southern California, Texas A&amp;M University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Oregon State University, Temple University, the University of Pennsylvania, and NASA gathered to turn loose a four-legged robot named Spirit into the wild.The team that included engineers, cognitive scientists, geoscientists, and planetary scientists field-tested Spirit as part of the LASSIE Project: Legged Autonomous Surface Science in Analog Environments. Spirit covered a variety of challenging terrains, using his spindly metal legs to amble over, across, and over around shifting dirt, slushy snow, and boulders during five days of testing in summer 2023. Sometimes he expertly traversed the hillside, while at other moments he teetered and fell over — all part of the process to better understand the substrate properties and learn to better walk on these extreme terrains. The practice time Spirit logged produced data that will be used to train future robots for use on intergalactic surfaces, like Earth’s moon and perhaps planets in our solar system.“A legged robot needs to be able to detect what is happening when it interacts with the ground underneath, and rapidly adjust its locomotion strategies accordingly,” says Feifei Qian, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and School of Advanced Computing, which is leading the project funded by NASA. “When the robot leg slips on ice or sinks into soft snow, it inspires us to look for new principles and strategies that can push the boundary of human knowledge and enable new technology. We learn and improve from the observed failures.”Watch this&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBTyelFFE1A" target="_blank">5-minute video</a>&nbsp;produced for the team by documentary filmmaker Sean Grasso.<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wBTyelFFE1A?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0&amp;enablejsapi=1&amp;origin=https://www.wevolver.com" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true"></iframe> Spirit learns from every step.“Similar to the way that when we walk on uneven surfaces as humans, we can sort of detect how the ground is shifting beneath our feet, a legged robot is capable of the exact same thing,” says Cristina Wilson, a cognitive scientist at Oregon State University.<h2>The more machines the merrier</h2>Qian’s group doesn’t intend to stop at just one robot, wandering the wilderness alone. She and her former colleagues at Penn, Cynthia Sung, Mark Yim, Daniel Koditschek, and Douglas Jerolmack, received a two-year, $2 million grant from NASA they’re calling the TRUSSES Project: Temporarily, Robots Unite to Surmount Sandy Entrapments, Then Separate. They want to help the space agency put teams of robots on the Moon and have them work together on tasks. They would take the knowledge they came in with, and the data they collect on the mission, and communicate those details to each other.“They would sense how the ground conditions are,” Qian says, “and then exchange that information with one another, and collectively form a map of locomotion risk estimation. The team of robots can then use this traversal risk map to inform their planetary explorations: ‘There is an extremely soft sand patch that might be high-risk for wheeled rovers. Come over here, this might be a safer area.’ ”The robots in mind for this kind of work would be more than just Spirit: There would be a wheeled rover (great for payload and long distances), a Hexapedal robot (intermediate payload but better mobility than the wheeled), and dog-like ones like the rugged version of Spirit (highest mobility, shorter distances). And here’s the coolest part of that research, the part that sounds like something the Transformers would do. Or at least a team of castaways on Survivor: If one got in a jam, made immovable by loose dirt or a rock or a ravine, his bot-mates would arrive and link together and form a bridge, or a pyramid, to hoist their pal to safety. And then back to work.“When they plan for the strategy to pull the robot up, they’ll decide what force to exert and what position the robot should go to, while also compiling the terrain information,” Qian says. “That’s the key idea of how to use these capabilities: to both prevent and recover from locomotion failures in extreme terrain.”<h2>Back to Mount Hood</h2>Spirit gets around a variety of natural environments, to learn how to better move on challenging terrains. Qian has let him off his leash on Southern California beaches, and the multi-university team has field-tested him in the soft granules of White Sands National Park in New Mexico. But <a href="https://youtu.be/wBTyelFFE1A" target="_blank">the video</a> shot at Mount Hood shows just how otherworldly that landscape can be in these planetary-analog environments. This provides Spirit with plenty of opportunities to learn on earth, before potentially exploring other planets.“You look around us, it would be very hard to drive up this,” Ryan Ewing, a geologist from NASA Johnson Space Center, <a href="https://youtu.be/wBTyelFFE1A?feature=shared" target="_blank">shares</a>. “But as a legged being, as humans, we can step around it easily. A dog could walk around it easily. So this project is the proving ground that we can enable new science and new mobility on environments that are like other planets.”In fact, a dog is indeed frisking about: Howard, Wilson’s German shepherd, wandered about, with the kind of agility Spirit could only dream of.“We are going to observe how Howard moves in different types of snow and ice conditions,” Qian <a href="https://youtu.be/wBTyelFFE1A?feature=shared" target="_blank">says</a>. “What exactly, out of those combined motions, allows him to succeed on challenging terrain?”The LASSIE Project calls for two more trips for Spirit: to Mount Hood this summer, and to White Sands next year. The TRUSSES team, from USC and Penn, also plans to visit White Sands next year with Spirit and the other, new, multitasking robots. Imagine WALL-E with friends.<hr>The NASA PSTAR (Planetary Science and Technology Through Analog Research) number for this project is 80NSSC22K1313.

Researchers at Georgia Tech have teamed up with NASA and five peer institutions to teach dog-like robots to navigate craters of the moon and other challenging planetary surfaces.

Good Dog: LASSIE Spirit Learns to Walk on the Moon

In Singapore, DEEP Robotics, in collaboration with its official partner EGP, is participating in the AMR SPPG Tunnel Project of the Singapore Powergrid (SPPG). This project utilizes quadruped robots for power tunnel inspections and integrates related detection systems to provide early warnings for emergencies. This marks the first time domestically-produced quadruped robots have been involved in overseas power industry applications. The relevant team has conducted extensive training and deployment locally.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNzEzNTA2OTA1MDQ4LeWbvueJhzEucG5nIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><blockquote>“Additionally, in South Korea, a factory production line management project employs DEEP Robotics quadruped robots for line meter recognition, tray handling, and component picking” said Zheng Dongxin, Product Manager of DEEP Robotics.</blockquote><h3>Quadruped Robot Applications in 26 Provinces and Cities in China</h3>Public information shows that DEEP Robotics' industrial-grade quadruped robot has served more than 100 clients in 26 provinces and cities in China including Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Hebei, Shandong, Zhejiang, Hubei, and Anhui. Moreover, in countries such as Singapore, South Korea and more, several DEEP Robotics industry projects have also been implemented, marking the first overseas industry application of domestically-produced quadruped robots.During the recent Spring Festival, quadruped robots stood guard at a certain ±800kV converter station in Hunan Province. Faced with significantly increased pressure on power guarantee during the Spring Festival, it utilized its superior full-process autonomous inspection capabilities and 24-hour all-weather operation capabilities. Equipped with a dual-light gimbal and a series of equipment modules, it replaced humans in conducting inspections in complex and dangerous industrial environments, helping companies identify potential risks, ensuring the smooth operation of Spring Festival power maintenance, and allowing everyone to celebrate the festival with peace of mind.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNzEzNTA2NzY4NjYwLeWbvueJhzIuanBnIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">In a substation in Anhui, the "robot dog + drone" low-altitude integrated intelligent operation and maintenance inspection was carried out, achieving autonomous inspection, automatic defect identification, timely detection of equipment operation abnormalities, and improving the reliable power supply capacity of the substation.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNzEzNTA2Nzg1OTMyLeWbvueJhzMucG5nIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">At a power station in Guangdong, quadruped robots conducted inspections tirelessly against wind and rain. Compared with traditional intelligent robots, its inspection point quantity increased by 60%. Equipped with dual-light gimbal cameras, it can identify 30 types of power equipment defects and read 9 types of meter readings. Previously, to achieve full coverage of intelligent equipment in substations, at least 9 intelligent robots were required. Now, with just one quadruped robot, it can be achieved, saving 70% of the investment in intelligent operation and maintenance costs. Unlike drones, quadruped robots have rich external device mounting capabilities. The project team attempted to mount a high-precision force-controlled six-axis mechanical arm on the robot body, enabling it to assist in maintenance, support emergency safety operations, and perform emergency breaker operations with high precision under extreme conditions.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNzEzNTA2ODA3OTY4LeWbvueJhzQuanBnIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">In a 220 kV cable tunnel in Fujian, maintenance personnel used quadruped cable inspection robots to comprehensively diagnose the health of power equipment. According to media reports, it can timely detect 95% of cable line surface defects, overheating faults, and channel fires, significantly improving inspection efficiency.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNzEzNTA2ODQ0MzExLeWbvueJhzUucG5nIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">At the receiving-end station of a ±1100 kV ultra-high voltage direct current transmission line in Anhui, maintenance personnel used quadruped robots and other intelligent devices to conduct inspections to ensure the safe operation of power equipment. With the help of intelligent AI algorithms, autonomous collection, identification, calculation, and diagnostic analysis of equipment status and other data can be achieved.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNzEzNTA2ODY2MjIwLeWbvueJhzYucG5nIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">In the 8-meter underground power gallery in Hangzhou, since the 19th Asian Games, DEEP Robotics’ quadruped robots have been working for more than half a year. State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power Research Institute, DEEP Robotics, MY Software, and other units have collaborated to perceive the environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity, harmful gas concentrations, and smoke density in the gallery through quadruped robots, and real-time monitoring of cable operation indicators such as protective layer circulation, partial discharge, and operating temperature. With the help of daily intelligent autonomous inspection and weekly intelligent active detection of new equipment, staff only need to inspect once every six months and conduct live measurements once a year, making the work process more streamlined and the inspection results more accurate.Looking at the world, as the wave of "Robot + AI" sweeps across the globe, global industry giants are also accelerating digitization and preparing for quadruped robot industry application projects. Whether the application potential of quadruped robots will explode in 2024 remains to be seen, but it is worth looking forward to! Additionally, DEEP Robotics (Hall 5 D46-3) is set to participate in the Hannover Messe in Germany from April 22nd to 26th. At the event, the quadruped robot will make its debut, showcasing its capabilities. Industrial scenes often involve significant dangers and tedious tasks. Challenges such as stairs, outdoor harsh weather conditions, extreme temperatures, darkness, and other adverse environments hinder traditional robots from entering industrial sites for operations. However, DEEP Robotics' quadruped robot can effectively address these issues.

In Singapore, DEEP Robotics, in collaboration with its official partner EGP, is participating in the AMR SPPG Tunnel Project of the Singapore Powergrid. This project utilizes quadruped robots for power tunnel inspections and integrates related detection systems to provide warnings for emergencies.

DEEP Robotics Lands Applications in Singapore and South Korea! Will Quadruped Robots Experience an Application Boom?

You’ve all heard of – or, more likely, seen – a precision scan by now.In short, it’s a digital model of what is usually a real-world object, system or process. When done well, for all intents and purposes, the scan is indistinguishable from the real deal. That means it can be used in simulations, for change detection, maintenance – and a whole lot more.There are, of course, existing options out there – and some very good ones.But working with partners, InDro Robotics has created a solution for industries we believe will set a new bar for routine, autonomous 2D and 3D digital captures. It’s a big deal – with significant and positive implications for clients across multiple sectors.“This is an overarching solution with use-cases across a wide variety of verticals,” says InDro Robotics Vice-President Peter King.“We’ve done comprehensive testing of this full-stack solution, and the results have been phenomenal. We are now preparing to roll this out to clients in the industrial sector and beyond.”Below: <a href="https://indrorobotics.ca/precisionscanning/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">InDro’s precision scan solution</a>, working a warehouse in California<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1712764391157-A8A5300-scaled.webp" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Digital Twin Scanning Robot"><h3 id="isPasted">Comprehensive Digital Twin Solution</h3>InDro’s new industrial scanning solution for digital twin creation brings millimetre-precision to the capturing process.Using a quadruped as a platform, InDro has outfitted the robot with the latest in sensors, including a new Leica LiDAR unit (the system includes three LiDAR units, plus depth cameras and more). The system is capable of true GPS-denied SLAM, exploring a brand new environment while capturing a high-precision 3D or 2D scan.What’s more, with an onboard Machine Vision library, the system is capable of object detection and classification. Use-cases include:<ul><li>Building a precise plan of a manufacturing or warehousing space</li><li>3PL (Third Party Logistics) applications</li><li>Change detection for construction, inventory</li><li>Scans in GPS-denied locations, such as mines or caves (and even some buildings)</li></ul>And that is literally just scratching the surface.“From a manufacturing point of view, for example, if we create a very accurate precision scan, a digital copy of an entire facility can then be used to remanufacture another manufacturing facility,” says King.&nbsp;<h3>Existing Solutions&nbsp;</h3>We’ve all seen digital twins before. Often these are captures of the exteriors or buildings or some other infrastructure (bridges, power lines, pipelines, railroads etc.) where the client is looking for change detection. What is different during this scan vs. the previous one? Is the anomaly going to present an immediate or future problem? Is construction proceeding at the correct pace? Is it time to oder more drywall?Such scans, clearly, can provide very useful data.Though robots (and drones) have been stepping into the interior scanning space, the robotics industry (with few exceptions) is in the early phase of both implementation and adoption. This means many sites still rely on manual scanning: A human being walking around the space with a handheld sensor (usually LiDAR) that creates a point cloud.“Traditionally, this has been done manually,” explains King. “In a lot of cases, it’s required really expensive professionals to travel to come on-site with their own very expensive equipment.”InDro’s precision scan – despite being a complex and comprehensive solution – offers a simpler and more cost-efficient means of capture. Quite simply, our robot is deployed on site to explore the areas the client wants captured. That could be a warehouse floor or an entire, multi-level building. When the robot needs to take a break and re-charge, it returns to its base for a wireless power-up.“It’s traditionally been extremely costly to go and collect this data,” says King. “What we’re offering is a service where we bring the robot, let it work throughout its day, and process the data. Clients will get their scans more affordably, more efficiently – and be in a position to do it more frequently in a cost-effective manner.”<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1712764457272-A8A5304-scaled.webp" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Digital Twin Solution"><h3 id="isPasted">Fast, Efficient, Accurate</h3>There’s a wide array of businesses, particularly in supply chain and manufacturing, that frequently update their 2D floor plans. When new tooling or machinery is installed or other physical changes to the location infrastructure take place, companies need to update their digital twin to reflect those alterations. Typically, this is still done manually.“A 2D CAD model is generally done by somebody that’s doing measurements by hand,” says VP King.Wouldn’t it be easier (and less prone to error) to have a fully autonomous robot do the work?“With this precision scan we would let the quadruped run in that new area – wherever things have changed – and automatically update their old file and have a fresh and accurate 2D CAD within a number of hours.”&nbsp;<h3>Tightly Integrated Solution</h3>InDro’s precision scanning solution was built from the ground up to be robust, reliable and – above all – highly accurate. It’s also fast, capable of capturing a 2D scan of even a large facility in less time than a single human shift. (2D scans are often of greater importance, pending the sector, but our solution is equally capable with 3D captures.)“The goal in developing this product has always been about giving clients affordable access to the best and most integrated technology,” says King. “We now have a full-stack solution available for on-demand scans, whether 2D or 3D, indoors or outdoors, and at a price point that makes this a true value proposition for our customers.”Below: Another look at InDro’s new precision scanning solution:<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1712764517883-A8A5296-scaled.webp" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Precision Scanning for Digital Twins"><h3 id="isPasted">InDro's Take</h3>We’re obviously proud of this technological accomplishment. We’ve proven this solution both internally and in large warehouse settings in the US – and are gearing up for commercial deployment at scale.“R&amp;D is an exciting but also challenging space,” says InDro Robotics CEO Philip Reece.“We are very selective in the projects we pursue – choosing to innovate and build things only when there’s a clear purpose or a clear client. In this case, it was obvious there was a need for an autonomous, precise solution for companies that require regular or even one-off scans. We are confident in our solution – because we’ve seen the results.”There is, of course, much more behind the technology. But we have to balance how much we reveal with the competitive nature of the market. We can, however, state that this is a proven solution that produces incredible results.Interested in more information? Contact us <a href="https://indrorobotics.ca/connectwithanexpert/" target="_blank">here.</a>

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