Nowadays, the skyrocketing last-mile freight transportation in urban areas is leading to very negative effects (e.g., pollution, noise, or traffic congestion), which could be minimized by using autonomous electric vehicles. In this sense, this article presents the first prototype of Ona, an autonomous last-mile delivery robot that, in contrast to existing platforms, has a … [Read more...] about Toward the Deployment of an Autonomous Last-Mile Delivery Robot in Urban Areas: The Ona Prototype Platform
Autonomous robots
Future Directions in Software Engineering for Autonomous Robots: An Agenda for Trustworthiness [Opinion]
Software engineering for autonomous robots investigates the synergetic interaction of computing and robotic technologies; this synergy is both realistic and strategic. On one hand, software engineering techniques and methods have the potential to enhance the quality of the software that controls autonomous robots and the effectiveness of software development processes in the … [Read more...] about Future Directions in Software Engineering for Autonomous Robots: An Agenda for Trustworthiness [Opinion]
Fully Autonomous Brick Pick and Place in Fields by Articulated Aerial Robot: Results in Various Outdoor Environments
Picking and placing of objects by aerial robots in fields is an important and challenging task for a range of outdoor activities, including industry and rescue operations. General strategies depend on the magnetic force to the pick object; however, this approach lacks both generality and robustness. Therefore, we focus on an articulated structure to grasp bricking. Another … [Read more...] about Fully Autonomous Brick Pick and Place in Fields by Articulated Aerial Robot: Results in Various Outdoor Environments
Geranos: A Novel Tilted-Rotors Aerial Robot for the Transportation of Poles
In challenging terrains, constructing structures, such as antennas and cable car masts, often requires the use of helicopters to transport loads via ropes. The swinging of the loads, exacerbated by wind, impairs positioning accuracy, therefore necessitating precise manual placement by ground crews. This increases costs and the risk of injuries. Challenging this paradigm, we … [Read more...] about Geranos: A Novel Tilted-Rotors Aerial Robot for the Transportation of Poles
Structured Ecological Cultivation With Autonomous Robots in Agriculture: Toward a Fully Autonomous Robotic Indoor Farming System
To support the hypothesis that embracing robotics has the potential to address farming challenges and, at the same time, replace large and complex farm machinery, this article proposes designing a farm around a heterogeneous robotic system dubbed Structured Ecological Cultivation With Autonomous Robots in Agriculture (SPECULARIA). This multirobot system has mobile robots … [Read more...] about Structured Ecological Cultivation With Autonomous Robots in Agriculture: Toward a Fully Autonomous Robotic Indoor Farming System
