Here’s an exciting table tennis battle between man and machine: The Duel – a great video of a table tennis match… – ralph.ewig
Category Archives: Science and Technology
Video: The ALMA radio telescope array
The latest episode of the CBS 60 Minutes program had a fascinating report about the new ALMA radio telescope array in the Atacama Desert, which is situated on a high plateau in Northern Chile : ALMA: Peering into the universe’s past – CBS News
SciTech: UrbanAero selects Green Hills to provide operating sysem for AirMule UAS
Here’s a recent announcement from Urban Aeronautics of Israel. I have followed the UrbanAero development of large vertical-takeoff/vertical-landing ducted fan vehicles for several years.
Green Hills Software INTEGRITY RTOS chosen by Urban Aeronautics
for AirMule Unmanned Aerial System
Green Hills Software, the largest independent vendor of embedded software solutions, has announced that the company’s INTEGRITY® real-time operating system (RTOS) and MULTI® integrated development environment (IDE) have been selected by Urban Aeronautics, Ltd. for the flight management system of the AirMule Unmanned Aerial System (UAS).
Green Hills products are widely deployed in avionics systems and other equipment that demand high levels of safety criticality.
The AirMule is a compact, unmanned, single engine, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft capable of evacuating two casualties or lifting significant payloads into urban or mountainous terrain. It is part of a new family of internal rotor (ducted fan) aircraft known as Fancraft™.
Urban Aeronautics is the world leader in the design of VTOL utility aircraft. These aircraft are capable of operating safely in a vast, new and significant range of missions in confined areas. This is possible via the exclusive reliance on internally mounted lift rotors.
Urban Aeronautics has taken the lead in the development of the AirMule. Flying autonomously or controlled remotely without on-board crew, the AirMule can carry a useful load of 500 kilograms and fly under the radar to land within a minimal space of 40m2 without a runway. It is designed to meet stringent US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) manned helicopter safety standards, fulfilling all airworthiness requirements for future implementation as a safe transporter of casualties from the disaster area.
Dr. Rafi Yoeli, president and chief executive officer of Urban Aeronautics, said: “Responsiveness, reliability and, above all, safety are the key requirements we have when selecting tools and components for our UAS craft. Green Hills Software has a proven track record of providing operating systems, middleware and development tools that meet these standards and so we had no hesitation in working with them.”
Christopher Smith, vice president of marketing, Green Hills Software, commented: “Urban Aeronautics has developed a highly innovative technology that promises to deliver significant benefits in search and rescue and other operational roles. Green Hills is proud that UA has chosen to rely on the trusted INTEGRITY RTOS and middleware for the AirMule.”
Information and videos on the AirMule can be viewed at: http://www.tactical-robotics.com.
About Urban Aeronautics
Urban Aeronautics Ltd., based in Yavne, Israel, has developed advanced aerodynamic technologies that are the basis for an entirely new family of internal rotor (ducted fan) aircraft known as Fancraft™. UrbanAero capitalizes on its extensive portfolio of Intellectual Property via two subsidiary companies, Tactical Robotics Ltd. and Metro Skyways Ltd., each of which is developing unique Fancraft™ for specific markets. Additional information on Urban Aeronautics can be found at: http://www.urbanaero.com.
About Green Hills Software
Founded in 1982, Green Hills Software is the largest independent vendor of embedded development solutions. In 2008, the Green Hills INTEGRITY-178 RTOS was the first and only operating system to be certified by NIAP (National Information Assurance Partnership comprised of NSA & NIST) to EAL 6+, High Robustness, the highest level of security ever achieved for any software product. Our open architecture integrated development solutions address deeply embedded, absolute security and high-reliability applications for the military/avionics, medical, industrial, automotive, networking, consumer and other markets that demand industry-certified solutions. Green Hills Software is headquartered in Santa Barbara, CA, with European headquarters in the United Kingdom. Visit Green Hills Software at www.ghs.com.
Green Hills, the Green Hills logo, MULTI and INTEGRITY are trademarks or registered trademarks of Green Hills Software in the U.S. and/or internationally. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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Here’s a test flight from Dec. 2013:
Video: Seminar on “soft machine” approach to robotics
The latest SETI Institute seminar is titled “Refactoring Space Exploration with Soft Machines”:
Vytas SunSprial, NASA Ames/Stinger Ghaffrian
To understand how we control motion, we need to understand the physical mechanism being moved. Emerging theories of vertebrate physiology are overturning the traditional bone-centric model of the body in favor of a “tensegrity” model, in which the primary load paths are in the continuous tension network of the soft tissues. In this talk, I will discuss research and development at NASA Ames into dynamic tensegrity robots and how these “soft machines” may be controlled through biologically inspired methods. Along the way, I will talk about how the unique properties of tensegrity robots may enable new methods of planetary landing and exploration.
Zooniverse passes one million citizen science volunteers
Congratulations to Zooniverse on gaining their one millionth volunteer for their many citizen science projects after starting seven years ago : One Million Volunteers – Zooniverse
This map shows the global distribution of volunteers.
Here’s a list of scientific publications resulting from Zooniverse activities: Zooniverse Publications.
A posting on the Planet Hunters blog about the milestone : 15 percent of 1 million – Planet Hunters
This accomplishment is yours too. Our estimate is over 280,000 people world wide (unregistered and registered volunteers) have participated in Planet Hunters. 150,000 registered Zooniverse volunteers have classified at least one Planet Hunters light curve. Roughly 15% of the 1 million registered Zooniverse volunteers have contributed to Planet Hunters science. That’s a huge representation!