Toyota has broken ground on Woven City, a futuristic city prototype where the technologies of tomorrow can be tested en masse.
An initial series of test flights with drones has been launched in Poland as part of the EU-funded Uspace4UAM project. The first of these trials is now underway in Rzeszów, a city of close to 200,000 people.
The test flights are being carried out by three Uspace4UAM consortium members: Dronehub, the developer of drone-in-a-box systems for automated monitoring and data collection; drone equipment and sensor supplier Honeywell; and drone software technology company Altitude Angel. About 160 flights will be carried out in the Rzeszów area during the first phase, under 3 scenarios of autonomous drones flying for public service missions. The first scenario will involve emergency aerial monitoring of accident sites, the second will take ortho-and photogrammetric photos for public institutions, and the third will replicate the transportation of automated external defibrillators for use in life-threatening situations.
“Dronehub demos within Uspace4UAM started in November 2021, and we will end in June 2022. During this time, amongst other objectives, we will check how drones react to different and rapidly changing weather conditions,” states test flight project manager Jakub Węglarz of Dronehub in a news item posted on the SESAR Joint Undertaking website. The SESAR Joint Undertaking—which is funding Uspace4UAM—is a partnership between European private and public sector institutions formed to speed up the delivery of smarter, connected, accessible and more sustainable air transport solutions through research and innovation.
Lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS), also called “killer robots” or “slaughterbots” being developed by a clutch of countries, have been a topic of debate with the international military, ethics, and human rights circles raising concerns. Recent talks about a ban on these killer robots have brought them into the spotlight yet again.
What Are Killer Robots?
The testing was conducted to help solve various problems like labor shortages in the logistic industries.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries Limited has just announced the successful completion of the proof-of-concept testing for its latest unmanned cargo transport vehicle. Dubbed the Kawasaki Researching Autonomic Compound to Exceed Rotorcraft (K-RACER) X1, it is an unnamed vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft with, in this case, an underslung ancillary delivery robot.
Continue reading “Kawasaki’s K-RACER Completes Testing of Its Delivery Robot” »
China is deploying robots equipped with machine guns along the border with India. A report claims that China is replacing soldiers with these machines — as the Chinese troops are unable to cope with the high altitudes. Palki Sharma tells you more.
#China #RobotSoldiers #Gravitas.
Continue reading “Gravitas: China deploys ‘Robot Soldiers’ along the border with India” »
Unpredictable spikes and drops in demand combined with chronic supply chain and labor shortages are accelerating the pace of digital transformation in manufacturing, starting with worker safety. Forty-eight percent of manufacturers say their progress on digital transformation initiatives has accelerated so much that it’s years ahead of what was originally anticipated, according to a KPMG study. Keeping workers safe and connected is the primary goal of most digital transformation and hiring plans, with on-site distancing & workplace safety listed as the two highest priorities.
Everguard.ai, a startup based in Irvine, California, combines AI, computer vision, and sensor fusion to reduce the risk of injuries and accidents by preventing them before they happen. The company’s SENTRI360 platform proves effective in preventing workplace injuries and operational downtimes at several steel-heavy manufacturing companies, including Zekelman Industries and SeAH Besteel.
From redesigning shop floors, to meeting social distancing guidelines, and doubling their investment in training and development, worker safety now dominates manufacturing — even more so due to the pandemic. Frontline workers saved many manufacturing companies from going out of business by applying their expertise and insights in real-time, enabling entire plants to pivot and produce new products at record speed. Continued trade tensions, tariffs, and supplier shortages put more pressure on manufacturers to reshore production and have worker safety programs in place now. As manufacturing returns to the U.S., AI and computer vision are stepping up to improve worker safety.
Trivergence is starting to affect every industry. In financial services, the wallet has become a smart app that can collect data and learn. On a blockchain, users can exchange, save, borrow, invest and protect this digital money peer-to-peer without the intermediation of banks. In manufacturing, 3D printers are manufacturing aircraft parts in a Boeing facility with a blockchain network facilitating all the patented files, contracting and payments peer-to-peer. Telecommunications companies are no longer negotiating complex, costly and ever-changing roaming agreements, but using blockchain-based smart contracts among providers to automate the web of payments and settlement globally.
Over time, the Trivergence will usher in a next-generation internet where nearly every animate and inanimate object on Earth generates data, a distributed ledger records and secures this data and AI analyzes the data, communicates with the objects, alerts their owners and continuously adjusts and improves the efficiency of the economy and the sustainability of its effects on the environment.
New business models enabled by this Trivergence are beginning to disrupt many industries and provide platforms for innovation in the economy for decades ahead. This second era has weighty implications for every business, government and individual, as well as technology strategy, architecture and leadership. If we can overcome the dark side — and that’s a big “if” — this Trivergence helps us reclaim our digital identities, effectively fight climate change and help solve some of the world’s most intractable problems.
Chinese robotics market is projected to expand at 20% through to 2025, when the government is aiming to double manufacturing robot density and drive adoption in key sectors including automobile and mining.
China has taken a giant leap forward in one of its most ambitious space programs. It has advanced its future lunar base plan by eight years.
China and Russia presented a detailed plan for a joint lunar base called the International Lunar Research Station, in June 2021, challenging a similar plan by the US.
On December 27, Chinese space officials revealed a revised completion date for the unmanned lunar base. It aims to set up the facility by around 2027, previously scheduled for 2035.
