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Weekend Roundup
Festo’s BionicANTS working together to move an object. Photo: Festo.
Festo’s ultra-lightweight eMotionButterflies coordinated with indoor GPS. Photo: Festo.
Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata interacts with his robot companion (Turn on closed caption for translation).
A roundup of noteworthy news in the unmanned systems and robotics world this week, including 16 new commercial drone exemptions, Facebook Internet drone updates, several bird-inspired robots and a bright future for the U.K.
The Federal Aviation Administration approved 16 new commercial drone exemptions this week bringing the total number of approved commercial operators in the U.S. to 69 out of over 600 requests. The agency says the pace of approvals should pick up as they can quickly approve new requests that match already approved operations. Click here to see all of the exemptions.
At its developer conference this week, Facebook revealed details about its Internet delivery drones, including that test flights have begun for the aircraft, which boasts a wingspan greater than a Boeing 737 and weighs more than a small car. (Mashable)
At a press conference for driverless cars and wider technology, the U.K. Transport Minister Robert Goodwill, in discussing Amazon’s drone testing in the U.K., invited companies from countries with over-regulation to the U.K., saying “If you want to innovate and you want to invest in this sort of technology, come to the U.K., because we’re here to help you.” (Daily Mail)
A 25-story condo tower under construction in Los Angeles will feature the first ever drone landing pad to potentially accept precision drone deliveries. (LA Curbed)
3D Robotics has released DroneKit, an API for developing drone apps. The company will not take a cut of app sales from developers. (Washington Post)
French roboticists from Aix Marseille University have made a small bio-inspired drone called BeeRotor that adjusts speed and altitude based on visual input. (Popular Science)
German robotics company Festo has released bionic ants and butterflies, aptly named BionicANTS and eMotionButterflies, modeled after the creatures and as part of the company’s Bionic Learning Network that enables individual robots to work together and communicate to accomplish a task. (Cnet)
A team from Stanford University built a flexible drone wing modeled after bat and bird anatomy that can collapse in response to contact and recover after impact. (BBC News)
A report produced by KPMG for the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders predicts that by 2030, driverless cars will create 320,000 new jobs and save 2,500 lives in the U.K. (Telegraph)
Driverless car platforms from Valeo, a French auto parts manufacturer, will draw from drone software and other technologies from its partner Safran, a French defense and aerospace group. (Reuters)
Kirobo, the world’s first astronaut robot designed to keep a Japanese astronaut company in space, is helping researchers better understand human-robot interaction. (The Next Web)
Google is teaming up with Johnson & Johnson to build advanced robotic surgery assistance platforms that will allow for better control during surgery and reduce recovery times. (TechCrunch)
Twenty-five teams will compete in Seattle this May in Amazon’s Robot Picking Challenge to identify, grab and package items with care. (Time)
