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“You really need to develop a whole product solution—hardware, software, UI, interfaces, and process redesign—with a consideration for what problem you are really trying to solve.” —Aldo Zini
Getting large teams of robots to collaborate is the work of Dr Regis Vincent, who envisions applications that include mapping nuclear contamination.
What obstacles remain for robots to work alongside humans in industrial settings, and how far have we come in eliminating those challenges? Dr. Roland Menassa answers these and other questions in his presentation at the RoboBusiness summit November 2-3 in Boston.
John Reid, director of Product Technology and Innovation at Moline Technology Innovation Center, a part of John Deere’s Global Technology Innovation Network, discusses how his company’s technologies will help feed the world’s billions.
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General Dynamics Robotic Systems will manufacture the semi-autonomous security vehicles and provide spare parts, training and technical services for a five-year period. The work will be done at its Westminster, Md., production facility.
Hawthorne Army Depot in Nevada will receive the first four robotic security vehicles produced under this program. Since 2005, the MDARS demonstration vehicles have been evaluated at the depot logging more than 8,000 hours and 28,000 miles of service.
MDARS autonomously conducts surveillance activities including checking for intruders, remotely investigating alarm sources, monitoring high-value inventory and assessing facility barriers, such as the doors of storage bunkers. MDARS is a diesel-powered, 4-wheel hydrostatic-drive vehicle, with a payload capacity of 500 lbs. The vehicle is equipped with a real-time obstacle avoidance system and 360-degree sensors. It can operate for 16 hours without refueling and at speeds up to 20 miles per hour.
“General Dynamics Robotic Systems has taken MDARS from concept to full-scale production,” said Phil Cory, vice president, General Dynamics Robotic Systems. “MDARS will minimize numerous physical burdens to Hawthorne’s human security force while reducing their exposure to potentially deadly situations.”
General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs approximately 83,500 people worldwide and reported 2007 revenues of $27.2 billion. The company is a market leader in business aviation; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and information systems and technologies. More information about the company is available on the Internet at http://www.generaldynamics.com.
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Rob Doolittle
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