ICRA 2019

  • If you've perused our website over the past several days, then you're doubtless aware that we attended the International Conference on Robotics and Automation last week in Montreal. It was a great event, and we're pleased to now present with you with what we think were the highlights of the show.
  • ​Although we've seen a lot of robots designed to deliver packages to people's homes, most of those bots are stymied by houses' front steps. Tokyo-based Amoeba Energy is developing a solution, in the form of a tracked robot that uses soft foam to easily climb up stairs and over other obstacles.
  • ​Several years ago, California-based Willow Garage introduced a two-armed wheeled robot known as the PR2. It was designed for use in robotics research, but unfortunately the company has since gone out of business. Quebec-based Kinova Robotics has stepped in to fill the gap, however, with its Movo.
  • ​If you like unsettlingly animal-like robots, then you're probably already familiar with Boston Dynamics' SpotMini. Well, it's now in for some competition. Last week at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation, Chinese manufacturer Unitree Robotics showed off its Laikago quadruped.
  • ​You might think that most new robots are designed to head off into factories or other workplaces, but the fact is that many of them are made to be used by robotics developers. That's the case with EVE r3, although its successor may find use in applications such as home care for the elderly.
  • ​We hear a lot about aerial and underwater drones, but ones that travel on the water's surface … not so much. They can be quite useful, though, as we discovered when we recently checked out the Heron USV (unmanned surface vessel) at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation.
  • Last time we wrote about the HyQ robot​, it had just mastered walking and begun venturing into rough terrain. Now, its successor has do so with a three-ton passenger airplane in tow.
  • ​Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) drones typically have four horizontal propellers for moving up and down, along with a vertical rear "pusher" prop for moving forward in more efficient fixed-wing flight. A new aircraft, however, uses the same four props for everything.
  • ​Back in 2013, we heard about an all-terrain walking robot known as RHex. Designed in a collaboration between McGill University and the University of Pennsylvania, it used six flipper-like legs to scamper around. Now, its successor is taking to the briny depths.
  • Amongst many other things, aerial drones are now being used to inspect high-voltage power transmission lines. Canada's Hydro-Quebec public utility company, however, has developed what could be a better alternative … the LineRanger robot.