Warehouse robot kills 90% of viruses

Researchers at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), in collaboration with Ava Robotics and the Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB), have designed a new robotic system that kills microorganisms in its proximity, using ultraviolet light.

During tests at GBFB, the robot drove by pallets and storage aisles at 0.22 miles per hour. At this speed, the robot could cover a 4,000-square-foot warehouse space in just half an hour. Ultraviolet C (UV-C) is a subtype of ultraviolet light that is short-wavelength (100–280 nm) and germicidal. Its light can kill or inactivate microorganisms by destroying nucleic acids and disrupting DNA or RNA. The dosage emitted by the robot seen here neutralised 90% of coronaviruses (and other organisms) on the warehouse surfaces. The results are encouraging enough that the approach could be useful for autonomous UV disinfection in other environments – such as airplanes, factories, restaurants, schools, and supermarkets, according to the researchers. Since UV-C is dangerous for all living organisms, however, it can only operate when nobody is around. MIT designed the UV-C light fixture, which then became integrated with Ava Robotics' mobile robot base. The complete system can map a space and navigate between waypoints and other pre-specified areas. While most effective in the direct "line of sight," the machine can get to nooks and crannies as the light bounces off surfaces. "Our 10-year-old warehouse is a relatively new food distribution facility with AIB-certified, state-of-the-art cleanliness and food safety standards," explained Catherine D'Amato, President of the Greater Boston Food Bank. "COVID-19 is a new pathogen that GBFB, and the rest of the world, was not designed to handle. We are pleased to have this opportunity to work with MIT CSAIL and Ava Robotics to innovate and advance our sanitation techniques to defeat this menace." Food banks are facing a particular demand due to the stress of COVID-19. The United Nations estimates that, because of the virus, the number of people facing severe food insecurity worldwide could double to 265 million. In the U.S. alone, the five-week total of job losses has risen to 26 million, potentially pushing millions more into food insecurity. "Food banks provide an essential service to our communities, so it is critical to help keep these operations running," said Alyssa Pierson, CSAIL research scientist and technical lead of the UV-C lamp assembly. "Here, there was a unique opportunity to provide additional disinfecting power to their current workflow and help reduce the risks of COVID-19

exposure."A shipping area can change overnight, so the team is now researching how to use onboard sensors to adapt to new environments – teaching the robot to differentiate between occupied and unoccupied aisles, for example, so it can switch its path accordingly; and altering its speed to ensure the optimal UV dosage is applied to different objects and surfaces. Comments »Source: https://www.futuretimeline.net

Read More........→July 06, 2020

Robots likely to be used in classrooms as learning tools, not teachers

 Smaller robots or modular kits are used to teach robotics in classrooms. from www.shutterstock.com 

Omar Mubin, Western Sydney University and Muneeb Imtiaz Ahmad, Western Sydney University, Robots are increasingly being used to teach students in the classroom for a number of subjects across science, maths and language. But our research shows that while students enjoy learning with robots, teachers are slightly reluctant to use them in the classroom. 

In our study, which saw staff and students interact with the Nao humanoid robot, teachers said they were more sceptical of robots being integrated into the classroom. 

 

In our study, students enjoyed the human-like interaction with the Nao humanoid robot. from www.shutterstock.com 

They preferred the robot to not have full autonomy and instead take on restricted roles in the classroom. The teachers also wanted full control over the robot. We observed that the teachers were in general unaware of robots and hence there was a technological bias associated with their opinions.

They said they did not trust the technical capabilities of the robot and wanted the robot to function and behave as a learning “buddy” of children and not as a teacher. We think this reluctance may have occurred primarily due to an uncertainty of how best to incorporate robots in the class, and a lingering concern that robots may eventually replace teachers.

This is despite research showing that robots are much more likely to be used as learning tools than as teachers in a classroom. 

The students, on the other hand, were much more enthusiastic about a robot in their classroom, enjoying the human-like interaction. 

However, they wanted the robot to adapt its behaviour to their feelings and display a wide range of emotions and expressions. Such fully autonomous behaviour will require further research and development in robotics.

For example, some of the children felt the robot’s voice was unnatural and did not adapt to situations by changing tone or pitch.

The children preferred as natural behaviour from the robot as possible, even to the extent that they were untroubled by the robot making mistakes, such as forgetting. It was clear the children were imagining the robot in the role of their teacher. 

How robots are currently used in the classroom:

Smaller robots or modular kits are used to teach robotics in classrooms. from www.shutterstock.com 

Numerous types of robots are being incorporated in education. They range from simple “microprocessor on wheels” robots (boebot), to advanced toolkits, (mindstorms) to humanoids (robots that resemble humans). 

The choice of the robot is usually dictated by the area of study and the age group of the student. 

Smaller robots or toolkits are particularly used to teach robotics or computer science. These toolkits can be physically manipulated allowing students to learn a variety of disciplines across engineering. However, the human-like shape of humanoids makes them easier to interact with, and for this reason are often used for language lessons.

 

IROBI robot complete with inbuilt tablet computer. Thomas Hawk/flickr, CC BY

Humanoids have the ability to provide real-time feedback, and their physical shape increases engagement. This often leads to a personal connection with the student, which research shows can help resolve issues related to shyness, reluctance, confidence and frustration that may arise in dealing with a human teacher. For example, a robot will not get tired no matter how many mistakes a child makes.

Humanoid robots are being widely utilised in classrooms in many countries including, Japan and South Korea. 

 

Pepper the robot from Softbank Robotics in Japan. Amber Case/flickr, CC BY

Nao, Pepper, Tiro, IROBI, and Robovie, for example, are primarily used to teach English. 

Telepresence – where a teacher can remotely connect to the classroom through the robot – is also being used as a way to teach students English. The teacher can participate in the classroom by being virtually present through a display mechanism. In some instances, the display is embedded in the robot’s torso.

Western countries have been much more hesitant in acknowledging the integration of robots in classrooms, with privacy, developmental hindrances, the rise in unemployment and technical deficiencies stated as the major drawbacks. 

Robots as learning tools, not teachers: 

Humanoid robots are still a fair way away from being autonomously situated in schools due mainly to technological limitations such as inaccurate speech or emotion recognition.

However, the intention of most researchers in robotics is not for robots to replace teachers. Rather, the design goals of most robots are to function as an aid in the classroom and to enhance the added value they can bring as a stimulating and engaging educational tool. 

In order to facilitate the integration of robots in the classroom, we need to be able to provide appropriate interfacing mechanisms (software, hardware or even mobile apps), allowing the human teacher to control the robot with minimal training.

Omar Mubin, Lecturer in human-centred computing & human-computer interaction, Western Sydney University and Muneeb Imtiaz Ahmad, PhD Candidate in Social Robotics, Western Sydney University

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Read More........→November 13, 2016

Forget drones, self-flying RoboBees may soon take flight

Washington DC, June 8Our skies are about to get a lot more high-tech as a team of researchers is developing robotic bees that can fly themselves. The Harvard University's National Science Foundation (NSF)-supported RoboBees project aims to create autonomous robotic insects capable of sustained, independent flight. Such robots could one day assist in reconnaissance, aid in remote communication or even act as artificial pollinators. Led by principal investigator Robert Wood, the researchers have designed increasingly sophisticated and tiny robots with a range of features that will one day soon enable autonomous flying. To do so the team required to advance basic research in a number of areas where they saw obstacles to realizing their vision: from micro-manufacturing methods and materials for actuation, to small-scale energy storage and algorithms to effectively control individuals and coordinated swarms of robots. The group's research led to breakthroughs in each of these areas. Highlights include new methods for manufacturing millimeter-scale devices based on lamination and folding; new sensors applicable to low-power and mobile computing applications; architectures for ultra-low power computing; and coordination algorithms for collections of hundreds or even thousands of robots to work together. The team was inspired by nature, specifically the incredible ability of small insects to self-launch, navigate and perform agile actions despite their small bodies. "Bees and other social insects provide a fascinating model for engineered systems that can maneuver in unstructured environments, sense their surroundings, communicate and perform complex tasks as a collective full of relatively simple individuals," Wood said. "The RoboBees project grew out of this inspiration and has developed solutions to numerous fundamental challenges -- challenges that are motivated by the small scale of the individual and large scale of the collective." Today's RoboBee weighs only 84 mg, roughly the same size and even lighter than a real bee, and represents a model of successful interdisciplinary collaboration. Wood estimates it will take another five to 10 years before the RoboBee might be ready for use in the real world. — ANI. Source: http://www.tribuneindia.com/

Read More........→June 11, 2016