“Mathematics is the queen of the sciences.”
– C.F. Gauss, the dude to whom videogames inappropriately accredit railguns
1. Release the Inspection Drones!
“Currently, inspection is done by hand at Lockheed Martin’s production facility in Fort Worth, Texas. Gantries are assembled above the (F-35 Lightning II) craft and workers use handheld scanners extended at arm’s length. This manual process introduces variables and also puts workers at risk as they attempt to straddle the smooth contoured surfaces of the aircraft. In an attempt to generate faster results, while increasing accuracy and safety for all involved – factory worker, customer and user – the transition to digital inspection is required.” Lockheed Martin’s Airgility team will solve this problem by deploying AI inspection drones.
2. Traceable AaaS
One of the five winners of the Formnext Start-up Challenge 2021, PrintParts’ “SmartParts process works by embedding programmable nanoparticles into parts, which can then be detected and registered using smart scanners.” Renishaw previously partnered with software firm TRACEam to deploy a somewhat similar end-to-end quality management tool for industrial AM systems to give customers a simple and scalable method of tracing and managing parts.
3. Consumer 3D Scanners
I love it when top spec, state-of-the-art tech trickles down to consumers. In the last two years, we’ve seen it with robot and cobot arms. Now it looks like optical metrology and inspection is the next tech that I can hopefully get my hands on, specifically in the form of 3D-scanning equipment. Best part: I might even be able to pick this up at my local Micro Center!
4. Making a PickNic of Robotic Challenges
“If a robot one day helps you make breakfast or change a diaper, there's a good chance PickNik Robotics had a hand in it.” That’s a bold statement, even for me, but I agree with Inc. and think PickNik has something here … Then again, I have yet to see any modern robot programming software that DOESN’T impress me.
5. Sorry, Spot Does Not Move Like Jagger
“Spot” me up? Please don’t. I promised you lot I would never post another video of a humanoid, bipedal, or quadrupedal robot again. I’m breaking that promise. Not because I think this bot can dance, but because I think Boston Dynamics is actually showing off their arm integration on top of Spot, which, unlike the rest of this and every other robo-dance video, is actually cool.
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