Platform One

UAV as a lightning rod

Japanese telecom company NTT has developed a system where a UAV can trigger lightning to protect cities and infrastructure. The successful UAV-based lightning triggering and guidance experiment uses electric field fluctuations...

Platform One

Self-supervised AI stack for off-road autonomous vehicles

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh (USA) have developed an AI system for training off-road autonomous vehicles. Successfully navigating off-road terrain requires a vehicle that can interpret its surroundings in real time...

Platform One

Giant robot for construction

RIC Robotics is developing a 20 ft tall autonomous construction robot called Zyrex. The ‘giantroid’ is designed to be cognitive and, ultimately, fully autonomous, capable of executing complex and delicate tasks across commercial and industrial...

Platform One

Networked radar for airspace monitoring

Researchers in the US have developed a dynamic calibration technique that allows a network of small radar systems to detect UAVs. Traditional large radar systems cannot effectively detect low-flying aircraft below 400 feet...

Platform One

Safety testing of Amazon UAVs

Amazon has received approval to begin UAV deliveries to customers following a key safety programme. The MK30 UAV has been specifically designed for airborne Beyond Visual Line of Sight deliveries using an on-board detect and avoid system...

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UAV triggers mines

A heavy-duty UAV is incorporating a system to boost its ability to find and trigger mines after a conflict. The Draganfly Heavy Lift UAV will use the Mine and Ground Inert Clearance (MAGIC) mesh-based demining system developed by Autonome Labs...

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Morphing robot covers more ground

A robot can cover diverse environments as adeptly as animals by changing form on the fly. The GOAT (Good Over All Terrains) developed at the CREATE lab at EPFL in Switzerland can spontaneously morph between a flat ‘rover’ shape and a sphere...

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Driving dataset combines weather and road conditions

Vaisala Xweather and NIRA Dynamics have developed a dataset that combines weather forecasting and computer vision with real-time data. The integration draws on data from NIRA Dynamics from billions of data points gathered from connected vehicles...

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Surfing underwater currents to reduce power

Underwater vehicles have to manage a complex environment of currents, fighting against many flows as they attempt to stay on course. Peter Gunnarson and John Dabiri at the California Institute of Technology have designed an underwater robot...

Platform One

Data transmission test on a high

Tests in Japan have shown successful data connection with an autonomous high altitude platform station (HAPS) flying at an altitude of 20km for the first time. The trial with Space Compass and NTT DOCOMO connected a 4G LTE base station on the ground with the HAPS...