Tuesday, September 28, 2010

at 8:32 PM

By Robotics Trends Staff - Filed Aug 30, 2010

The Roving Bat, a free-flying hybrid ROV and crawler designed and made by CSIP, a UK-based company specializing in the design, development, and manufacturing of remote-controlled robotic systems for hostile environments, was the subject of a documentary recently aired in Germany.

ZDF Umwelt magazin, a German TV show focusing on environmental topics, featured the Roving Bat in a documentary about how offshore activity requires high-tech equipment to function effectively. The ROV, equipped with a hydrocarbon leak detection system, demonstrated its capabilities while underwater cameras provided a clear view of the action.

“The Roving Bat was originally designed to survey the hulls of ships, underwater structures, and hydraulic dams for any signs of damage,” says Simon Gilligan, managing director of CSIP. “It can also be used for the search and disposal of limpet mines and other explosive and suspect devices attached on ships hulls, harbour walls, or piers, making it one of the most popular vehicles in our fleet.”

According to Gilligan, the ROB is powerful, with six built-in thrusters—two longitudinal and four vertical—that enable it to withstand heavy currents for stable and reliable inspection. Its body is designed to minimize drag, reach its target in free-flying mode, and stick to any vertical or inclined surface. The Roving Bat then moves along the surface in crawling mode for close inspection and is capable of covering up to 20 meters per minute. It has a thrust of 80 kg when travelling vertically and 48 kg horizontally.

CSIP has received “several inquiries” about the Roving Bat from researchers in Germany, says Gilligan.

For more information, contact Simon Gilligan at sg@csip.co.uk or +44 (0)1305 779 020.

at 8:31 PM

By Robotics Trends Staff - Filed Sep 02, 2010

An unmanned aircraft system guided by satnav has been developed within ESA’s Business Incubation Centre to provide rapid monitoring of land areas and disaster zones. The planes have already helped Spanish farmers in Andalusia to fight land erosion.

The German start-up company MAVinci has developed the new system that uses autonomous micro-air vehicles (MAVs) with a wingspan of less than two meters to inspect land areas.

“At the moment, the remote-sensing market uses mainly manned aeroplanes,” explains Johanna Born, CEO of MAVinci, “but they are expensive and not always available. “Our MAVs are cost-efficient, available at short notice, and easy to use for surveillance of development areas, construction sites, disaster zones, and waste disposal sites, just to mention a few.

“They can carry visual and thermal cameras or other customer-specific measuring equipment.”

MAVinci is hosted by ESA’s Technology Transfer Programme Office at the Business Incubation Centre, Darmstadt, Germany. There, ESA engineers provide expertise on attitude-determination algorithms and exploiting satnav data. ESA’s optical lab at ESTEC in the Netherlands also helps MAVinci with the calibration of its optical camera.

“The principles for the attitude determination of satellites and for autonomous aircraft such as MAVincis are identical, only the scale is different,” says ESA Flight Dynamics Engineer Michael Flegel. “Where a satellite might use the measured direction of the Sun, Earth, or of known star patterns, the MAV aircraft will use the local magnetic field direction, the direction of ‘down’ and similar local quantities.

“Obtaining meaningful information from the data is an art and the expertise can be applied to both satellites and spacecraft alike.”

The autopilot controls the aircraft from takeoff to landing, and uses satnav to follow a planned track, triggering the camera to image the target area. From the ground, the plane is followed by radio by a safety pilot who can take over the controls at anytime.

Helping to fight soil erosion in Spain
Erosion is a severe problem for land use and water supply in wide areas of southern Europe and northern Africa. According to UNESCO, erosion in Andalusian olive tree plantations results in the loss of an estimated 80 tonnes of soil per hectare per year. Last October, one of MAVinci’s micro-aircraft imaged several of the many erosion canyons in Andalusia to improve understanding of the dynamics of erosion and to find solutions for local farmers.

at 8:29 PM

By Robotics Trends Staff - Filed Sep 15, 2010

What’s it like to explore the surfaces of other planets? Two scientists from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., are finding out by taking part in the annual Desert Research and Technology Studies, or Desert RATS, project here on Earth. They will travel to the Arizona desert, a field location chosen to simulate possible sites of future planetary exploration missions.

It’s a cheaper, easier way for NASA to train crews and test equipment, and those who participate learn a lot about what will or won’t work during real flight missions. During the field campaign, engineers and field geologists will conduct tests on multiple exploration assets currently under development by NASA, such as new rovers, robots, suits, and habitats.

The Desert RATS 2010 mission involves the field testing of two space exploration vehicles that could, in the future, allow astronauts to spend two or more weeks living, working, and traveling across different planetary surfaces. This year, astronauts will use two such vehicles to explore a lava flow in Arizona and test data-collection methods, communications protocols, mission operations, and advanced technology during week-long traverses.

This year the campaign highlights how to best use two rovers and two crews at the same time—something that has never been done before. The team will look at how different communication scenarios affect scientific productivity. For instance, is it better for the crew to be in constant communication with Mission Control and a science back room, or is the crew just as effective if they only communicate with those teams twice a day? Because the geology in the study areas is already well understood, they can compare their Desert RATS investigation results with previous work to see how well they can do similar work using the new NASA technologies.

The NASA hardware being demonstrated for the 2010 mission includes:

• Space Exploration Vehicles - a pair of rovers that astronauts will live in for 7 days at a time
• Habitat Demonstration Unit/Pressurized Excursion Module - a simulated habitat where the rovers can dock to allow the crew enough room to perform experiments or deal with medical issues
• Tri-ATHLETEs (All Terrain Hex-Legged Extra-Terrestrial Explorers) - two heavy-lift rover platforms that allow the habitat, or other large items, to go where the action is
• Portable Communications Terminals - rapidly deployable communications stations
• Centaur 2 - a possible four-wheeled transportation method for NASA Robonaut 2
• Portable Utility Pallets, or PUPs for short - mobile charging stations for equipment
• A suite of new geology sample-collection tools, including a self-contained GeoLab glove box for conducting in-field analysis of various collected rock samples.

The centerpiece of these tests over the past three years has been a prototype planetary rover called the Space Exploration Vehicle (SEV). During traverses, investigations can be conducted from within the cabin environment using a suite of cameras and other sensors. The crew can also conduct spacewalks facilitated by the innovative “suitport” hatches that allow relatively quick egress/ingress; this greatly increases the flexibility of spacewalks.

In the future, astronauts will need surface mobility to explore multiple sites across the lunar and Martian surfaces. In the SEV surface concept, the small, pressurized cabin is mounted on a wheeled chassis that would enable mobile exploration. These two components could be delivered to the planetary surface pre-integrated or as separate elements.

This SEV can provide the astronauts’ main mode of transportation, and, unlike the unpressurized Apollo lunar rover, also allow them to work on long excursions without the restrictions imposed by spacesuits.

Desert RATS is sponsored by NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate in Washington D.C. and is managed by NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

at 8:25 PM

Scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab put Curiosity through its paces to see how it will fare on the surface of the red planet.

By Robotics Trends Staff - Filed Sep 16, 2010

The rover Curiosity, which NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission will place on Mars in August 2012, has been rolling over ramps in a clean room at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to test its mobility system.

Curiosity uses the same type of six-wheel, rocker-bogie suspension system as previous Mars rovers, for handling uneven terrain during drives. Its wheels are half a meter (20 inches) in diameter, twice the height of the wheels on the Spirit and Opportunity rovers currently on Mars.

Launch of the Mars Science Laboratory is scheduled for 2011 during the period from November 25 to December 18. The mission is designed to operate Curiosity on Mars for a full Martian year, which equals about two Earth years

Friday, April 30, 2010

at 2:14 PM

Screen Protection
LCD Privacy Screen Filters for LCD Monitors protect the information on your screen. As demonstrated in the picture to the right, individuals within the viewing area can see the screen clearly but individuals outside the viewing area will not be able to see the information displayed on the screen. Privacy Filter for LCD Monitors is a must when you are using your computer in office buildings or public areas including coffee shops, airplanes, waiting rooms and public transportation.
Anti-Glare Technology
Privacy Filters for LCD Monitors include an anti-glare matte coating, which reduces glare caused by sunlight and fluorescent lighting. This allows you to use your computer in bright settings including office buildings, cafes, parks and near windows. More importantly, glare reduction can help reduce some effects of eye strain caused by spending long hours in front of a computer screen.

See daetail...

Sunday, September 6, 2009

at 8:14 PM

Published by Sierra Monica B.

Ross Lovegrove’s lighting design called Solar Treecelebrates its first anniversary since the European Tour started in 2007. A creation of the Italian Artemide Group, worldwide leader in innovative lighting products, the Solar Tree began its journey back in October 2007 at MAK in Vienna, then continued to travel across Paris and Germany. Now it is back in Italy, where you can have the chance to see it in all its splendor at the 11th International Architecture Exhibition on Viale Garibaldi in Venice, until November 23.

Artemide Solar Tree with solar cell technology is “a project that combines design, technological innovation, nature, and art”( Ross Lovegrove) using an advanced solar technology developed by Sharp Solar, a solar cells producer, and is eco-friendly.
After complex studies, the urban concept design became real representing “the DNA of our time and it also shows it is possible to create beautiful things using the most advanced technology"(Ross Lovegrove).

It is an artificial tree made of steel pipes, each having a light bubble with 38 complex solar cells connected to a battery and to a special device located in the base. Light is produced during night by Light Emitting Diodes, after accumulating enough solar energy during day time.

Its designer chose this shape to inspire organic forms, a new representation of morphology of the tree with sensual and modern feelings.
The tree can function autonomously or in synchronization with the public electric grid, and at dusk, LEDs are activated to light until dawn. It can illuminate for 3 days continuously even in overcast weather.

"Artemide has been considering social responsibility and sustainability for a long while now" says Ernesto Gismondi, the President of Artemide. "Respecting life, environment and all the natural resources available means facing the energy saving issue in a very serious way. Consequently advanced and high technical capacity technologies are created".

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

at 8:39 PM

Lexus is not the maker of Bilstein shocks but we knew about how impressive their cars are and with the fact that they are a part of the Toyota Motor Corporation, we know their cars are made with excellence and quality.

Lexus is revealing another car which they added with greener pigments. Yup, finally the LF-Xh concept will shown off at the upcoming 40th Tokyo Motor Show. The new car will be standing as the LF-A concept along with the six more production units at the International Convention Complex (Makuhari Messe) located at Makuhari, Chiba Prefecture.