Weekly Robotics #290
I recently attended a workshop on Nix, which focused on reproducible package builds that potentially target multiple architectures with minimal overhead. To say it’s promising for robotics is an understatement, and I’m really looking forward to finding time for a deeper dive. The initial results we had with ROS 2 were super promising! As usual, the publication of the week section is manned by Rodrigo.
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FOXGLOVE 2.0: END-TO-END ROBOTICS OBSERVABILITY
Foxglove 2.0 is here, and it's better than ever. Access and visualize robotics data in one UI and automatically offload data from your robots - all at a price that works for you and your team. Learn more about how Foxglove helps you build better robots, faster
GITAI Successfully Demonstrates Robotics Construction Capabilities for Lunar Communications Towers
GITAI performed some exciting demonstrations where robots autonomously built a moon-destined communications tower. If you watch the video, pay attention to the robot arms and how they can traverse the tower system using a series of ‘sockets’ the manipulator can attach to from either side.
Building a DIY Surgical Robot
Back in December, I featured this video of a teardown of these surgical instruments. That’s also when I learned that the end-effectors are disposable, and you can buy them cheaply online. This allowed Bennett Stirton to start reverse engineering a way to manipulate these manipulators and start building his system.
Rosie The Robot Runs For Real
This article made me realize that there is a very high chance that Rosie is actually the first robot I’ve seen in my life. As for the build, it’s pretty interesting even though it probably would not fit in many houses.
Rust for Embedded Systems: Current State, Challenges and Open Problems
Researchers from Purdue University conducted a study on Rust in Embedded systems. The team collected a dataset of 2,836 embedded software in Rust and surveyed 225 developers. If you are considering switching your embedded application to Rust, this paper can be a good entry point to get a feel for what that would entail and how much software support you should expect.
Learning to walk in confined spaces using 3D representation
Researchers from the Robotic Systems Lab at ETH Zurich taught a quadruped robot to crouch and traverse confined spaces.
Got To Go Fast: The Rise Of Super-Fast FPV Drones
If you liked last week’s multirotor racing an F1 car, you might enjoy the video featured in this article, where Luke Maximo Bell is building an aerial vehicle to beat a world speed record.
Print My Drone
Since we are on the topic of drones, this website contains a range of 3D-printable multirotor frames you can 3D print yourself.
Karelics/task_manager
“Task Manager ROS 2 package is a solution to start, handle and track tasks from multiple different sources in a centralized way on a single robot”.
Publication of the Week - A Tricycle Model to Accurately Control an Autonomous Racecar with Locked Differential
As an F1 enthusiast, I was captivated by the Indy Autonomous Challenge. This paper, authored by the TII Unimore Racing team, unveils a unique model predictive controller (MPC) tailored for a tricycle model with locked differentials, a crucial component of the racecars at the Indy Challenge. The MPC’s distinctive feature is its ability to push the vehicle to its limits, thereby maximizing the racecar’s speed potential. You can check the video of the fastest lap from the team racecar at Monza.
Business
Recycling automation startup Glacier brings in $7.7M
“Glacier has also announced that it will be collaborating with Amazon to enhance traceability and recovery processes for recyclables. Its latest funding round, totaling $7.7 million, also included participation from New Enterprise Associates (NEA), AlleyCorp, Overture Climate VC, and VSC Ventures”.
Hugging Face is launching an open source robotics project led by former Tesla scientist
“Hugging Face, the New York City-startup that maintains the popular open source repository of machine learning and AI code of the same name and the open source ChatGPT-rival Hugging Chat, is launching a new robotics project under former Tesla staff scientist Remi Cadene, according to a post from Cadene on X this morning”.
Events
For more robotic events, check out our event page.