Better hurricane monitoring with robotic swarms

When: 2:45 p.m. Sept. 28, 2017

Where: Santa Clara Convention Center, Expo Theater

Who:
Professor Thomas Bewley
Director
UCSD Flow Control & Coordinated Robotics Lab

Charles Bergan
VP of Engineering
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

Talk webpage: http://www.robobusiness.com/conference/schedule/presented-by-qualcomm

More info:
While some robots take jobs, others save lives. The technology transfer underway from the cellphone industry into robotics has enabled a new class of low-cost robotic devices capable of providing advanced warning and tracking capabilities for major storms such as hurricanes Harvey and Irma. We will discuss a new proposal that uses cellphone technologies to build autonomous swarms of sensor-laden robots that will significantly improve our ability to estimate and forecast such extreme and dangerous atmospheric events.

Full press release about the research here: http://jacobsschool.ucsd.edu/news/news_releases/release.sfe?id=2102

 Simulation available here: http://flowcontrol.ucsd.edu/katrina.mp4

MiPosaur robot gets to meet Spiderman creator Stan Lee

MiPosaur, a robot created by toymaker WowWee in collaboration with the UCSD Robotics group got to spend some quality time with the Real Stan Lee, creator of Spiderman and many, many other heroes from the Marvel universe.

Lee featured the robot on his blog, http://www.therealstanlee.com/

We're quoting here:

The MiPosaur is a highly intelligent robotic creature with an incredible, evolving intelligence and personality. It can sense its own surroundings and environment, and Interact with them in a unique and lifelike way. MiPosaur comes with an interactive TrackBall equipped with BeaconSense™ technology; with it, the MiPosaur can chase the trackball, play with it, "smell" it like food, go for a walk, as well as alter its moods depending on the various interactions.  The MiPosaur is fully interactive with the WowWee MIP™ robot and a BLE enabled app, compatible with both iOS and Androidsmart devices, and features additional activities and games.

You can see MiPosaur in action here:

Robot developed by UCSD Robotics and toymaker WowWee available to preorder

MiPosaur, a robot born of the collaboration between toymaker WowWee and the UCSD Robotics research group, is now available to pre-order on Amazon.com.
MiPosaur is a self-balancing robotic dinosaur and responds to hand gestures as well as commands made via a smart phone app. I can follow a ball, dance and, of course, roar.
See MiPosaur in actoin here:

The 10 Laws of Robotics--according to one of our alums

Nick Morozovsky with SkySweeper, one of the robots he developed and 3D printed while a Ph.D. student in the UCSD Robotics lab.

When Nick Morozovsky, a Ph.D. student in robotics here at the Jacobs School, was writing his dissertation, he realized his experiences had led him to compile a list of laws that roboticists would need to abide by to survive in grad school, and beyond. 
Morozovsky is speaking from experience. During his time working in the UCSD Coordinated Roboticcs lab, he developed and built several robots, including Switchblade, a rover that could balance on its threads, and SkySweeper, which could glide along cables and was 3D printed. He also worked on MiP, the first-ever self-balancing robot, which was developed by UCSD Robotics and toymaker WowWee. 

For more advice from Morozovsky, you can attend an upcoming meetup of San Diego's Robotics Club at 6 p.m. March 17:

http://www.meetup.com/San-Diego-Robotics-Club/events/220104955/
You can also follow him on Twitter at @DrNickMo: https://twitter.com/DrNickMo

Nick’s Rules of Robotics

1. Never disassemble a working robot.

2. If it works the first time, you’re testing it wrong.

3. When in doubt, lubricate.

4. Never underestimate the estimation problem.

5. If specs for a part are listed differently in two places, they’re both wrong.

6. Glue, tape, and zip-ties are not engineering solutions (though they might work in a pinch).

7. Do not leave lithium polymer batteries charging unattended.

8. Always have a complete CAD model, including screws and fasteners, before constructing your robot.

9. Avoid using slip rings if at all possible.

10.  Always check polarity before plugging a component into a power source.

SDK now available for MiP robot developed by UC San Diego and toymaker WowWee

Robotics enthusiasts and coders rejoice! Toymaker WowWee has released a software development kit (better known as SDK) for MiP, the first consumer self-balancing robot that the company developed in partnership with the UCSD Robotics Lab.

 MiP can already do many things on its own, including balancing, fetching you a drink and dancing. But it was created to be hacked. The SDK is available for both Android and iOS.

"Tell your friends, fork our project, buy our robot and share with us your own projects! These are the best kinds of positive feedback to us," the toymaker says on Github.

This robot won a Popular Science Best of What's New Award

 Congratulations to MiP--a partnership between researchers in the UCSD Coordinated Robotics Lab at the Jacobs School and toymaker WowWee--which won a Best of What's New award in the Entertainment category from Popular Science magazine. In this TV segment on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," the robot gives host Joe Scarborough a run for his money.
The magazine hails MiP as the first self-balancing consumer robot. It goes on to say:

The device uses a set of multi­axis gyroscopes and accelerometers to remain upright. It can respond to gesture commands, zip around corners, and carry small items such as a soda can, all while remaining vertical. The best part? Users can network up to eight MiPs together for synchronized movement. Robot dance party!

Much of the technology behind MiP's ability to balance on two wheels was developed here at the Jacobs School, lead by mechanical engineering professor Thomas Bewley.

More about MiP here and here.

As a side note, this is the second year that Nick Morozovsky, a Ph.D. student who just graduated from Bewley's lab, has a robot he worked on featured in Popular Science's Best of What's New. Last year, his robot SkySweeper won an award. "Being recognized two years in a row for the high-tech, but low-cost robots that we’ve been developing in the Coordinated Robotics Lab is awesome validation," Morozovsky said. "We have more robots in the pipeline that have the potential for an even bigger impact." Recruiters: heads-up: he is currently looking for a job!

 UPDATE: MiP  has been nominated for a People's Play Award. You can vote here!

MiP was on Big Bang Theory

Fans of the Big Bang Theory on CBS, you may want to watch this week's episode again. It was the most-watched prime-time show this past Monday, Oct. 20 in all demographics. And MiP, a toy robot designed by the UCSD Coordinated Lab and toymaker WowWee made an appearance in one key scene.
Remember that scene when Penny and Leonard are talking to Bernadette and Howard about finances? Look at the objects on the table. There is a MiP, right there. It's unclear whether the robot will be part of a plot in upcoming episodes. We'll keep watching.

MiP the robot makes friends at Comic Con 2014

MiP, the toy robot created by the UCSD Coordinated Robotics Lab and toymaker WowWee, is at Comic Con 2014 this week and has been making some new friends. Pictures of the fun below.

More about MiP here and here. Want one? MiP is currently available at Best Buy and more broadly next month.

MiP goes to Los Angeles

LA-area UC San Diego alumni will get an exclusive look at MiP, the toy robot designed by toymaker WowWee and the UCSD Coordinate Robotics lab during an Inspiring Minds event May 13 at the Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel.
Tom Bewley, a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, who heads the coordinated robotics lab, will be the featured speaker.
Below is his ambitious agenda:

What are the simplest robotic designs for overcoming various obstacles? How can advanced algorithms for coordinating robotic sensor vehicles help us better respond to environmental hazards?

Where did the radiation from Fukushima, the oil from Deepwater Horizon, and the ash from Eyjafjallajökull go? Where will a category 5 hurricane developing over the Gulf of Mexico make landfall? Robotic sensor vehicles, advanced control algorithms, and high-performance computing will help us to quickly and accurately answer such questions in the future; recent major advancements of such coordination algorithms will also be discussed.

How do you inspire K-12 students to take an interest in STEM? Make it fun! Attendees will also have a chance to meet MiP, the first of an engaging new line of consumer toys and educational curricula, developed in collaboration with WowWee Robotics, designed to do exactly that.

 More info about the event here.

More info on MiP here and here.

Chancellor Khosla Visits TIP Team

From left: Graduate students Nick Morozovsky and Daniel Yang, TIP team members Kaylee Feigum, Parry Wilcox, Victor Balcer, Kevin Katz, Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla and  graduate student Yuncong Chen.

Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla visited Aug. 22 with students who are part of the Jacobs School's Team Internship Program and work at the Sorrento-Valley-based Brain Corporation. TIP brings together teams of students from different majors who get real-world engineering experiences at companies around the world. The Brain Corp. interns got to build a drone and experimented with various robot prototypes.

Brain Corporation is a pioneer in developing novel algorithms that model the functionality of the nervous system and can be applied to robotics, computer vision, motor control and autonomous navigation. The TIP team aren't the only Jacobs School employees at the company. It also employs part-time two Jacobs School graduate students, Daniel Yang and Nick Morozovsky, who are part of the research group of Thomas Bewley, a professor in mechanical and aerospace engineering. The group connected with Brain Corporation via Jacobs School alum Marius Buibas, who is a scientist at the company.

Bewley, Morozovsky and Yang are household names here at the Jacobs School. In Bewley's lab, Morozovsky designed SkySweeper, a robot for power line inspection, and Switchblade, an agile robot that can balance and climb stairs. Yang is the designer of a fire-fighting robot known as FFR. Both robots have received ample media coverage and FFR's technology was recognized at this year's Student Infrared Imaging Competition, bringing $10,000 home for the Bewley lab.