News
Weekend Roundup
Photo: Jaeyoun Kim / Iowa State University.
Photo: University of Adelaide.
This week in the unmanned systems and robotics world the National Transportation Safety Board recommended all carmakers integrate forward collision avoidance onto all new passenger and commercial vehicles, a Japanese company has created what may be the world’s strongest robot, and Ford and Jaguar Land Rover announced they will begin testing driverless transport pods in the U.K.
The Federal Aviation Administration has approved 32 more commercial drone exemptions this week, bringing the total number of approved operations to 556 out of over 1,600 requests.
Jim Williams, the former manager of the FAA’s UAS Integration Office, recently spoke about his predictions for the future of the commercial drone industry and the biggest hurdles to getting there. (The Washington Post)
The National Transportation Safety Board is recommending that all carmakers begin implementing collision warning systems and eventually add assisted and autonomous braking. (The Verge)
Japanese company Autonomous Control Systems Laboratory Ltd. has created a hexacopter that will inspect two of the reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. (Infowars.com)
Researchers have created robotic tentacles out of a soft material that is sensitive and responsive enough to pick up an ant without crushing it. (Live Science)
FANUC, a robotics and automation firm out of Japan, has invented a robot that can lift 1.7 tons. (The Telegraph)
A robot out of the University of Adelaide in Australia leverages the way insects spot and track their prey to improve its vision systems. (Phys.org)
Ford and Jaguar Land Rover are teaming up to test driverless pods in Milton Keynes, U.K. (Bloomberg)
Software startup nuTonomy is creating algorithms that mimic the way a person drives so self-driving car features feel more natural to the person in the vehicle. (MIT Technology Review)
The Seal Beach Marine Safety Department in California is using drones to spot sharks offshore. (Discovery News)
Tesla will release a limited-edition version of its first SUV in about three months that will use an autopilot driving system for hands-free highway operation. (IndustryWeek)
South Africa’s Civil Aviation Authority has started a training program for its UAS operators. In three weeks, new laws will come into effect that require commercial UAS users to be a registered pilot that has passed testing and training protocol. (HTXT.Africa)
#IHPrevolution Featured Article:
DJI founder Eric Cheng explains how drones are revolutionizing science by going where no one has gone before, tracking endangered species with new ease and precision and dramatically reducing the cost of monitoring and mapping. (IncreasingHumanPotential via Mother Jones)
