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U.S. Robotics Roadmap calls for white papers for revision

U.S. Robotics Roadmap calls for white papers for revision

The U.S. National Robotics Roadmap was first created 10 years ago. Since then, government agencies, universities, and companies have used it as a reference for where robotics is going. The first roadmap was published in 2009 and then revised in 2013 and 2016. The objective is to publish the fourth version of the roadmap by summer 2020.

The team developing the U.S. National Robotics Roadmap has put out a call to engage about 150 to 200 people from academia and industry to ensure that it is representative of the robotics community’s view of the future. The roadmap will cover manufacturing, service, medical, first-responder, and space robotics.

The revised roadmap will also include considerations related to ethics and workforce. It will cover emerging applications, the key challenges to progress, and what research and development is needed.

Join community workshops

Three one-and-a-half-day workshops will be organized for community input to the roadmap. The workshops will take place as follows:

  • Sept. 11-12 in Chicago (organized by Nancy Amato, co-director of the Parasol Lab at Texas A&M University and head of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Ilinois at Urbana-Champaign)
  • Oct. 17-18 in Los Angeles (organized by Maja Mataric, Chan Soon-Shiong distinguished professor of computer science, neuroscience, and pediatrics at the University of Southern California)
  • Nov. 15-16 in Lowell, Mass. (organized by Holly Yanco, director of the NERVE Center at the University of Massachusetts Lowell)

Participation in these workshops will be by invitation only. To participate, please submit a white paper/position statement of a maximum length of 1.5 pages. What are key use cases for robotics in a five-to-10-year perspective, what are key limitations, and what R&D is needed in that time frame? The white paper can address all three aspects or focus on one of them. The white paper must include the following information:

  • Name, affiliation, and e-mail address
  • A position statement (1.5 pages max)

Please submit the white paper as regular text or as a PDF file. Statements that are too long will be ignored. Position papers that only focus on current research are not appropriate. A white paper should present a future vision and not merely discuss state of the art.

White papers should be submitted by end of the day Aug. 15, 2019, to roadmapping@robotics-vo.org. Late submissions may not be considered. We will evaluate submitted white papers by Aug. 18 and select people for the workshops by Aug. 19.

Roadmap revision timeline

The workshop reports will be used as the basis for a synthesis of a new roadmap. The nominal timeline is:

  • August 2019: Call for white papers
  • September – November 2019: Workshops
  • December 2019: Workshops reports finalized
  • January 2020: Synthesis meeting at UC San Diego
  • February 2020: Publish draft roadmap for community feedback
  • April 2020: Revision of roadmap based on community feedback
  • May 2020: Finalize roadmap with graphics design
  • July 2020: Publish roadmap

If you have any questions about the process, the scope, etc., please send e-mail to Henrik I Christensen at hichristensen@eng.ucsd.edu.

U.S. Robotics Roadmap calls for reviewers

Henrik I Christensen spoke at the Robotics Summit & Expo in Boston.

Editor’s note: Christensen, Qualcomm Chancellor’s Chair of Robot Systems at the University of California San Diego and co-founder of Robust AI, delivered a keynote address at last month’s Robotics Summit & Expo, produced by The Robot Report.

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ASTM International proposes standards guide, center of excellence for exoskeletons

One of the barriers to more widespread development and adoption of exoskeletons for industrial, medical, and military use has been a lack of standards. ASTM International this month proposed a guide to provide standardized tools to assess and improve the usability and usefulness of exoskeletons and exosuits.

“Exoskeletons and exosuits can open up a world of possibilities, from helping workers perform industrial tasks while not getting overstressed, to helping stroke victims learning to walk again, to helping soldiers carry heavier rucksacks longer distances,” said Kevin Purcell, an ergonomist at the U.S. Army Public Health Center’s Aberdeen Proving Ground. “But if it doesn’t help you perform your task and/or it’s hard to use, it won’t get used.”

He added that the guide will incorporate ways to understand the attributes of exoskeletons, as well as observation methods and questionnaires to help assess an exoskeleton’s performance and safety.

“The biggest challenge in creating this standard is that exoskeletons change greatly depending on the task the exoskeleton is designed to help,” said Purcell. “For instance, an industrial exoskeleton is a totally different design from one used for medical rehabilitation. The proposed standard will need to cover all types and industries.”

According to Purcell, industrial, medical rehabilitation, and defense users will benefit most from the proposed standard, as will exoskeleton manufacturers and regulatory bodies.

The F48 committee of ASTM International, previously known as he American Society for Testing and Materials, was formed in 2017. It is currently working on the proposed exoskeleton and exosuit standard, WK68719. Six subcommittees include about 150 members, including startups, government agencies, and enterprises such as Boeing and BMW.

ASTM publishes first standards

In May, ASTM International published its first two standards documents, which are intended to provide consensus terminology (F3323) and set forth basic labeling and other informational requirements (F3358). The standards are available for purchase.

“Exoskeletons embody the technological promise of empowering humans to be all they can be,” said F48 committee member William Billotte, a physical scientist at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). “We want to make sure that labels and product information are clear, so that exoskeletons fit people properly, so that they function safely and effectively, and so that people can get the most from these innovative products.”

The committee is working on several proposed standards and welcomes more participation from members of the exoskeleton community. For example, Billotte noted that the committee seeks experts in cybersecurity due to the growing need to secure data, controls, and biometrics in many exoskeletons.

ASTM proposes standards guide, center of excellence for exoskeletons

An exoskeleton vest at a BMW plant in in Spartanburg, S.C. Source: BMW

Call for an exoskeleton center of excellence

Last month, ASTM International called for proposals for an “Exo Technologies Center of Excellence.” The winner would receive up to $250,000 per year for up to five years. Full proposals are due today, and the winner will be announced in September, said ASTM.

“Now is the right time to create a hub of collaboration among startups, companies, and other entities that are exploring how exoskeletons could support factory workers, patients, the military, and many other people,” stated ASTM International President Katharine Morgan. “We look forward to this new center serving as a catalyst for game-changing R&D, standardization, related training, partnerships, and other efforts that help the world benefit from this exciting new technology.”

The center of excellence is intended to fill knowledge gaps, provide a global hub for education and a neutral forum to discuss common challenges, and provide a library of community resources. It should also coordinate global links among stakeholders, said ASTM.

West Conshohocken, Pa.-based ASTM International said it meets World Trade Organization (WTO) principles for developing international standards. The organization’s standards are used globally in research and development, product testing, quality systems, commercial transactions, and more.

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R-Series actuator from Hebi Robotics is ready for outdoor rigors

PITTSBURGH — What do both summer vacationers and field robots need to do? Get into the water. Hebi Robotics this week announced the availability of its R-Series actuators, which it said can enable engineers “to quickly create custom robots that can be deployed directly in wet, dirty, or outdoor environments.”

Hebi Robotics was founded in 2014 by Carnegie Mellon University professor and robotics pioneer Howie Choset. It makes hardware and software for developers to build robots for their specific applications. It also offers custom development services to make robots “simple, useful, and safe.”

Hebi’s team includes experts in robotics, particularly in motion control. The company has developed robotics tools for academic, aerospace military, sewer inspection, and spaceflight users.

Robots can get wet and dirty with R-Series actuators

The R-Series actuator is built on Hebi’s X-Series platform. It is sealed to IP678 and is designed to be lightweight, compact, and energy-efficient. The series includes three models, the R8-3, which has continuous torque of 3 N-m and weighs 670g; the RB-9, which has continuous torque of 8 N-m and weighs 685g; and the R8-16, which has continuous torque of 16 N-m and weighs 715g.

Hebi's R-Series actuator

The R-Series actuator is sealed for wet and dirty environments. Source: Hebi Robotics

The actuators also include sensors that Hebi said “enable simultaneous control of position, velocity, and torque, as well as three-axis inertial measurement.”

In addition, the R-Series integrates a brushless motor, gear reduction, force sensing, encoders, and controls in a compact package, said Hebi. The actuators can run on 24-48V DC, include internal pressure sensors, and communicate via 100Mbps Ethernet.

On the software side, the R-Series has application programming interfaces (APIs) for MATLAB, the Robot Operating System (ROS), Python, C and C++, and C#, as well as support for Windows, Linux, and OS X.

According to Hebi Robotics, the R-Series actuators will be available this autumn, and it is accepting pre-orders at 10% off the list prices. The actuator costs $4,500, and kits range from $20,000 to $36,170, depending on the number of degrees of freedom of the robotic arm. Customers should inquire about pricing for the hexapod kit.

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Algorithm evaluates military robots ability to get up after falling

Scientists at the US Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU) have developed software to ensure that if a robot falls, it can get itself back up. This means future military robots will be less reliant on their soldier handlers. Based on feedback from soldiers at an Army training…

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US Army making mobile robots more reliable for soldiers

Researchers at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University developed a new technique to quickly teach robots novel traversal behaviors with minimal human oversight. The technique allows mobile robots to navigate autonomously in environments while carrying out actions a human would expect of the robot in a given…

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