Robot News from RoboDaily.com
October 29, 2018
MARSDAILY
Third ASPIRE test confirms Mars 2020 parachute a go



Wallops Island, VA (SPX) Oct 29, 2018
In the early hours of Sept. 7, NASA broke a world record. Less than 2 minutes after the launch of a 58-foot-tall (17.7-meter) Black Brant IX sounding rocket, a payload separated and began its dive back through Earth's atmosphere. When onboard sensors determined the payload had reached the appropriate height and Mach number (38 kilometers altitude, Mach 1.8), the payload deployed a parachute. Within four-tenths of a second, the 180-pound parachute billowed out from being a solid cylinder to being f ... read more

MARSDAILY
Desert test drive for Mars rover controlled from 1,000 miles away
London, UK (SPX) Oct 29, 2018
A UK-built Mars rover was taken for a test drive in Spain's Tabernas Desert this week, under remote control from the Harwell Space Cluster in Oxfordshire - 1,000 miles away. The ExoFiT Mars ro ... more
ROBO SPACE
Small flying robots haul heavy loads
Stanford CA (SPX) Oct 25, 2018
A closed door is just one of many obstacles that poses no barrier to a new type of flying, micro, tugging robot called a FlyCroTug. Outfitted with advanced gripping technologies and the ability to m ... more
MARSDAILY
NASA's InSight will study Mars while standing still
Pasadena CA (JPL) Oct 25, 2018
You don't need wheels to explore Mars. After touching down in November, NASA's InSight spacecraft will spread its solar panels, unfold a robotic arm ... and stay put. Unlike the space agency's rover ... more
MOON DAILY
NASA seeks information for gateway cargo delivery services
Washington DC (SPX) Oct 24, 2018
NASA will lead the development of the Gateway, a permanent spaceship orbiting the Moon, to serve as a home base for human and robotic missions to the surface of the Moon and ultimately, Mars. The fi ... more
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ROBO SPACE
Humans help robots learn tasks
Stanford CA (SPX) Oct 29, 2018
In the basement of the Gates Computer Science Building at Stanford University, a screen attached to a red robotic arm lights up. A pair of cartoon eyes blinks. "Meet Bender," says Ajay Mandlekar, Ph ... more
ROBO SPACE
Elephant trunks form joints to pick up small objects
Rochester NY (SPX) Oct 25, 2018
Understanding how elephants use their trunks to pick up small objects could lead to robots designed with flexible hands or grippers, according to a new study that includes Rochester Institute of Tec ... more
ROBO SPACE
How to mass produce cell-sized robots
Boston MA (SPX) Oct 24, 2018
Tiny robots no bigger than a cell could be mass-produced using a new method developed by researchers at MIT. The microscopic devices, which the team calls "syncells" (short for synthetic cells), mig ... more
MOON DAILY
Preparing future explorers for a return to the Moon
Columbia MD (SPX) Oct 22, 2018
To train future explorers to support NASA's mission to return to the Moon's surface, scientists use similar environments found on the Earth. Last week, a group of domestic and international students ... more
ROBO SPACE
Understanding the building blocks for an electronic brain
Groningen, Netherlands (SPX) Oct 23, 2018
Computer bits are binary, with a value of 0 or 1. By contrast, neurons in the brain can have all kinds of different internal states, depending on the input that they received. This allows the brain ... more
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MOON DAILY
NASA calls for instruments, technologies for delivery to the Moon
Washington DC (SPX) Oct 22, 2018
NASA has announced a call for Lunar Surface Instrument and Technology Payloads that will fly to the Moon on commercial lunar landers as early as next year or 2020. The agency is working with U.S. in ... more
ROBO SPACE
Postman, shopper, builder: In Japan, there's a robot for that
Tokyo (AFP) Oct 18, 2018
Forget the flashy humanoids with their gymnastics skills: at the World Robot Summit in Tokyo, the focus was on down-to-earth robots that can deliver post, do the shopping and build a house. ... more
MARSDAILY
The claw game on Mars: NASA InSight plays to win
Pasadena CA (JPL) Oct 19, 2018
If you've ever played the claw machine at an arcade, you know how hard it can be to maneuver the metal "hand" to pick up a prize. Imagine trying to play that game when the claw is on Mars, the objec ... more
ROBO SPACE
Sound, vibration recognition boost context-aware computing
Pittsburgh PA (SPX) Oct 18, 2018
Smart devices can seem dumb if they don't understand where they are or what people around them are doing. Carnegie Mellon University researchers say this environmental awareness can be enhanced by c ... more
ROBO SPACE
Invention of ionic decision-maker capable of self-learning
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Oct 18, 2018
A NIMS research group has invented an ionic device, termed as ionic decision-maker, capable of quickly making its own decisions based on previous experience using changes in ionic/molecular concentr ... more


New infrared telescope first to monitor entire northern sky

ROBO SPACE
Teaching machines common sense reasoning
Washington DC (SPX) Oct 15, 2018
Today's machine learning systems are more advanced than ever, capable of automating increasingly complex tasks and serving as a critical tool for human operators. Despite recent advances, however, a ... more
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MARSDAILY
Scientists to debate landing site for next Mars rover
Pasadena CA (JPL) Oct 16, 2018
Hundreds of scientists and Mars-exploration enthusiasts will convene in a hotel ballroom just north of Los Angeles later this week to present, discuss and deliberate the future landing site for NASA ... more
MICROSAT BLITZ
MASCOT completes first scientific 'stroll' across asteroid Ryugu
Washington (UPI) Oct 12, 2018
The German lander MASCOT has completed its first scientific "stroll" across the asteroid Ryugu. ... more
ROBO SPACE
MIT unveils new $1 bn college for artificial intelligence
Washington (AFP) Oct 15, 2018
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced plans Monday to create a new college of artificial intelligence with an initial $1 billion commitment for the program focusing on "responsible and ethical" uses of the technology. ... more
GPS NEWS
Army researchers' technique locates robots, soldiers in GPS-challenged areas
Adelphi MD (SPX) Oct 10, 2018
Scientists at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory have developed a novel algorithm that enables localization of humans and robots in areas where GPS is unavailable. According to ARL researchers ... more
ROBO SPACE
No more Iron Man: submarines now have soft, robotic arms
Boston MA (SPX) Oct 10, 2018
The human arm can perform a wide range of extremely delicate and coordinated movements, from turning a key in a lock to gently stroking a puppy's fur. The robotic "arms" on underwater research subma ... more
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General Atomics awarded $193M for Gray Eagle logistics
Washington (UPI) Oct 24, 2018
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems received a $193 million contract modification from the U.S. Army to perform logistics services on the Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft system, or drone. Work on the contract, announced Tuesday by the Department of Defense, will be performed in Poway, Calif., and is expected to be finished in April 2019. The drone is used for intelligence, reconnai ... more
+ Armed drones, iris scanners: China's high-tech security gadgets
+ US Air Force's X-37B space plane marks 400 days in orbit
+ MyDefence demonstrates drone swarm counter UAS jammer
+ Alpha Unmanned Systems supports NATO Trident Juncture 2018
+ DARPA seeks proposals for 3rd OFFSET Swarm Sprint, awards 2nd Contracts
+ AeroVironment contracted for Raven drones, spares, training
+ Airbus, Boeing and Uber partner with Amsterdam Drone Week
The surprising coincidence between two overarchieving NASA missions
Washington DC (SPX) Oct 29, 2018
Two vastly different NASA spacecraft are about to run out of fuel: The Kepler spacecraft, which spent nine years in deep space collecting data that detected thousands of planets orbiting stars outside our solar system, and the Dawn spacecraft, which spent 11 years orbiting and studying the main asteroid belt's two largest objects, Vesta and Ceres. However, the two record-setting missions h ... more
+ Air Force contract Ball Aerospace for laser research
+ Memory-steel makes for new material to strengthen buildings
+ New composite material that can cool itself down under extreme temperatures
+ Novel material could make plastic manufacturing more energy-efficient
+ Origami, 3D printing merge to make complex structures in one shot
+ Orbit Logic's scheduling software selected for NASA satellite servicing mission
+ Noble metal-free catalyst system as active as platinum


Artificial intelligence controls quantum computers
Munich, Germany (SPX) Oct 26, 2018
Quantum computers could solve complex tasks that are beyond the capabilities of conventional computers. However, the quantum states are extremely sensitive to constant interference from their environment. The plan is to combat this using active protection based on quantum error correction. Florian Marquardt, Director at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, and his team have n ... more
+ Inexpensive chip-based device may transform spectrometry
+ Announcing the discovery of an atomic electronic simulator
+ Shielded quantum bits
+ Printed 3D supercapacitor electrode breaks records in lab tests
+ First proof of quantum computer advantage
+ Electrical enhancement: Engineers speed up electrons in semiconductors
+ New memristor boosts accuracy and efficiency for neural networks on an atomic scale
Russia, Uzbekistan hail $11 bn nuclear plant project during Putin visit
Tashkent (AFP) Oct 19, 2018
Russia and Uzbekistan on Friday hailed the construction of an $11 billion nuclear power plant that should help solve an energy deficit in the Central Asian country while binding it tighter to Moscow politically. Russian President Vladimir Putin was paying a first state visit to Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev since Mirziyoyev replaced the late Islam Karimov, who ruled for nearly three d ... more
+ Scientists discover new properties of uranium compounds
+ US curbs China nuclear exports as Trump warns Americans not 'stupid'
+ At Le Creusot, dimensional inspection of test pieces is going digital
+ New concept to cool boiling surface may help prevent nuclear power plant accidents
+ TVO joins FROG as EPR reactor operator
+ First fuel cladding tubes delivered for "Hualong-1" nuclear power plant
+ Framatome wins I and C modernization contract for EDF's 900 MW reactors
Sri Lanka arrests navy officer over wartime murders
Colombo (AFP) Oct 24, 2018
Sri Lankan police arrested and charged a senior naval officer Wednesday for the abduction and murder of two Tamil businessmen during the final stages of the island's brutal civil war. Lieutenant Commander K. A. Dayananda was taken before a magistrate and remanded in custody over the double murder, which investigators believe took place in January 2009. Police said the victims, both from ... more
+ Radical UK Islamist cleric Choudary released from prison
+ US strike in Somalia killed 60 militants: Pentagon
+ EU adopts new chemical weapons sanctions
+ US Defense Secretary warns of 'tough fight' to oust IS
+ Bosnia arrests Syrian, Algerian migrants with weapons
+ IS leader Baghdadi, world's 'most wanted', sought in Syria offensive
+ France warns against chemical attacks in last Syria rebel stronghold
Spain's Ibedrola sells hydro, gas-powered assets in U.K. for $929M
Washington (UPI) Oct 16, 2018
Spain's Iberdola, an electricity generation company that also operates in the U.K., U.S., Brazil and Mexico, said Tuesday that it was selling to the U.K.-based Drax group $929 million worth of hydro- and gas-powered assets. Iberdrola's President Ignacio Galan said the company's energy production in the U.K. - where it owns the unit Scottish Power-- is now completely emission free. ... more
+ How will climate change stress the power grid
+ Electricity crisis leaves Iraqis gasping for cool air
+ Energy-intensive Bitcoin transactions pose a growing environmental threat
+ Germany thwarts China by taking stake in 50Hertz power firm
+ Global quadrupling of cooling appliances to 14 billion by 2050
+ Equinor buys short-term electricity trader
+ China reviewing low-carbon efforts


Nuclear fusion: wrestling with burning questions on the control of 'burning plasmas'
Bethlehem PA (SPX) Oct 25, 2018
What would it take to meet the world's energy needs, sustainably, far into the foreseeable future? Perhaps creating energy the way the sun does, through nuclear fusion. Fission and fusion are very different nuclear reactions, according to Eugenio Schuster, Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics at Lehigh University. Fission, which produces the type of nuclear e ... more
+ Discovery of new superconducting materials using materials informatics
+ CCNY study breaks Forster resonant energy transfer distance limit
+ Chilean court authorizes Chinese group's lithium production purchase
+ Whiskers, surface growth and dendrites in lithium batteries
+ Nanotubes may give the world better batteries
+ Scientists unravel the mysteries of polymer strands in fuel cells
+ Pushing the extra cold frontiers of superconducting science
China's space programs open up to world
Beijing (XNA) Oct 24, 2018
When German scientists were conducting micro-gravity experiments on China's recoverable satellite in the 1980s, Chinese space engineer Tang Bochang was busy solving technical problems, while carefully keeping Chinese secrets. Tang joined the China Academy of Space Technology in 1970, the same year China launched its first satellite. He has participated in the development of returnable sate ... more
+ China's commercial aerospace companies flourishing
+ China launches Centispace-1-s1 satellite
+ China tests propulsion system of space station's lab capsules
+ China unveils Chang'e-4 rover to explore Moon's far side
+ China's SatCom launch marketing not limited to business interest
+ China to launch space station Tiangong in 2022, welcomes foreign astronauts
+ China solicits international cooperation experiments on space station


Plant hormone makes space farming a possibility
Zurich, Switzerland (SPX) Oct 18, 2018
With scarce nutrients and weak gravity, growing potatoes on the Moon or on other planets seems unimaginable. But the plant hormone strigolactone could make it possible, plant biologists from the University of Zurich have shown. The hormone supports the symbiosis between fungi and plant roots, thus encouraging plants' growth - even under the challenging conditions found in space. The idea h ... more
+ Installing life support the hands-free way
+ US-Russia space cooperation to go on despite Soyuz launch mishap
+ Escape capsule with Soyuz MS-10 crew hit ground 5 times before stopping
+ 'Concrete block on your chest': astronauts recount failed space launch
+ Smell and stress sensors a smash at Tokyo tech fair
+ Russian cosmonaut reveals what ISS crew truly fears
+ Kremlin says it's impossible to draw conclusions on Soyuz failure yet
Mars Express keeps an eye on curious cloud
Paris (ESA) Oct 26, 2018
Since 13 September, ESA's Mars Express has been observing the evolution of an elongated cloud formation hovering in the vicinity of the 20 km-high Arsia Mons volcano, close to the planet's equator. In spite of its location, this atmospheric feature is not linked to volcanic activity but is rather a water ice cloud driven by the influence of the volcano's leeward slope on the air flow - som ... more
+ Minerals of the world, unite
+ NASA's InSight will study Mars while standing still
+ NASA Mars team actively listening out for Opportunity
+ Desert test drive for Mars rover controlled from 1,000 miles away
+ Third ASPIRE test confirms Mars 2020 parachute a go
+ Mars likely to have enough oxygen to support life: study
+ The claw game on Mars: NASA InSight plays to win


Viasat, SpaceX Enter Contract for a Future ViaSat-3 Satellite Launch
Carlsbad CA (SPX) Oct 29, 2018
Viasat Inc has selected SpaceX to launch one of its ViaSat-3 satellite missions. The Viasat mission is scheduled to launch in the 2020 - 2022 timeframe from the Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This mission will launch aboard a Falcon Heavy. Viasat chose the SpaceX Falcon Heavy for its ability to fly a near direct-injection mission, inserting a ViaSat- ... more
+ Astronauts confident of next crewed Soyuz mission to Space Station
+ Russia launches first Soyuz rocket since failed space launch
+ Taxi tests for Paul Allen's Stratolaunch successfully reach 90 mph
+ Probe commission rules out sabotage as possible cause of Soyuz failure
+ US astronaut Hague 'amazed' by Russian rescue team's work after Soyuz failure
+ Launches of Russian Rokot-2 rocket may begin again in 2021
+ Rocket Lab selects Wallops Flight Facility for US launch site
Dutch join G7-led push to rid oceans of plastics
Ottawa (AFP) Oct 25, 2018
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced his country's endorsement of a G7-led initiative to rid the oceans of plastics, during a visit to Ottawa on Thursday. Britain, Canada, France, Germany and Italy, along with the European Union, signed the Ocean Plastics Charter at a leaders' summit in Canada's Charlevoix region in June, although neither the United States nor Japan put their names to a ... more
+ EU air quality slowly improving but still deadly: report
+ Philippines opens cleaner, stricter Boracay to tourists
+ Philippines to re-open 'cesspool' Boracay after clean up
+ EU parliament approves ban on single-use plastics
+ Philippines' spruced up Boracay re-opens with new rules
+ Indian court eases firecracker ban even as pollution soars
+ Uber plans pollution levy on London fares


Court orders top VW shareholder to pay 'dieselgate' damages
Frankfurt Am Main (AFP) Oct 24, 2018
German judges on Wednesday ordered Volkswagen's largest shareholder, holding company Porsche SE, to pay damages to some of its own investors over its handling of VW's "dieselgate" emissions scandal. A Stuttgart court awarded shareholders in two cases a total of 47 million euros ($54 million), saying that Porsche SE failed to inform investors in a timely way about software to cheat emissions ... more
+ After 'historic' quarter, Tesla looks to Europe, China
+ Do or die? Study gives crash course in driverless ethics
+ BAE to invest $4M for greener propulsion systems for vehicles
+ German government moves to head off city diesel bans
+ Driverless hover-taxis to take off in Singapore
+ How should autonomous vehicles be programmed
+ New driverless car technology could make traffic lights and speeding tickets obsolete
Caltech engineers create an optical gyroscope smaller than a grain of rice
Washington DC (SPX) Oct 26, 2018
Gyroscopes are devices that help vehicles, drones, and wearable and handheld electronic devices know their orientation in three-dimensional space. They are commonplace in just about every bit of technology we rely on every day. Originally, gyroscopes were sets of nested wheels, each spinning on a different axis. But open up a cell phone today, and you will find a microelectromechanical sen ... more
+ Researchers discover directional and long-lived nanolight in a 2D material
+ Big discoveries about tiny particles
+ Precise control of multimetallic one-nanometer cluster formation achieved
+ Two quantum dots are better than one: Using one dot to sense changes in another
+ Nucleation a boon to sustainable nanomanufacturing
+ New nanoparticle superstructures made from pyramid-shaped building blocks
+ Cannibalistic materials feed on themselves to grow new nanostructures


The surprising coincidence between two overarchieving NASA missions
Washington DC (SPX) Oct 29, 2018
Two vastly different NASA spacecraft are about to run out of fuel: The Kepler spacecraft, which spent nine years in deep space collecting data that detected thousands of planets orbiting stars outside our solar system, and the Dawn spacecraft, which spent 11 years orbiting and studying the main asteroid belt's two largest objects, Vesta and Ceres. However, the two record-setting missions h ... more
+ Air Force contract Ball Aerospace for laser research
+ Memory-steel makes for new material to strengthen buildings
+ New composite material that can cool itself down under extreme temperatures
+ Novel material could make plastic manufacturing more energy-efficient
+ Origami, 3D printing merge to make complex structures in one shot
+ Orbit Logic's scheduling software selected for NASA satellite servicing mission
+ Noble metal-free catalyst system as active as platinum
France suspends use of popular pesticide after dozens sickened
Paris (AFP) Oct 26, 2018
The French government on Friday ordered a three-month ban of a widely used pesticide after dozens of people, many of them farm workers, fell ill in western France in recent weeks. The move came after metam sodium was suspected when victims reported burning eyes and respiratory difficulties near Angers, an area which produces huge amounts of lamb's lettuce, also known as cornsalad. The sa ... more
+ A topical gel to protect farmers from lethal effects of pesticides
+ Summer drought may shrink supplies of French spuds
+ Judge slashes award but upholds verdict in Monsanto cancer trial
+ 'Himalayan Viagra' under threat from climate change: researchers
+ 'Himalayan Viagra' under threat from climate change: researchers
+ A warmer spring leads to less plant growth in summer
+ Study finds potential benefits of wildlife-livestock coexistence in East Africa
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