Published in "IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine", DOI: 10.1109/MRA.2020.3044911 Matin Macktoobian, Denis Gillet, and Jean-Paul Kneib The authors are with the School of Engineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland (e-mail: matin.macktoobian@epfl.ch; Abstract This paper introduces the emerging field of astrobotics, that is, a recently-established branch of robotics to be of service to astrophysics and observational astronomy. We first describe a modern requirement of dark matter studies, i.e., the generation of the map of the observable universe, using astrobots. Astrobots differ from conventional two-degree-of-freedom robotic manipulators in two respects. First, the dense formation of astrobots give rise to the extremely overlapping dynamics of neighboring astrobots which make them severely subject to collisions. Second, the structure of astrobots and their mechanical specifications are specialized due to the embedded optical fibers passed through them. We focus on the coordination problem of astrobots whose solutions shall be collision-free, fast execution, and complete in terms of the astrobots' convergence rates. We also illustrate the significant impact of astrobots assignments to observational targets on the quality of coordination solutions To present the current state of the field, we elaborate the open problems including next-generation astrophysical projects including 20,000 astrobots, and other fields, such as space debris tracking, in which astrobots may be potentially used. Astrobotics is an emerging field of swarm robotics aiming to the development and control of astrobots [1, 2] to be of service to astrophysical studies and cosmological spectroscopic observations. In particular, astrobotics addresses a wide range of swarm-robotic-related topics (see, Figure 1) which exhibit challenging problems in design, interaction, coordination, and mission planning corresponding to astrobots. There have been many astrophysical projects, such as the SDSS family [3] which seek the generation of the map of the observable universe.

Astrobot swarms are used to capture astronomical signals to generate the map of the observable universe for the purpose of dark energy studies. The convergence of each swarm in the course of its coordination has to surpass a particular threshold to yield a satisfactory map. The current coordination methods do not always reach desired convergence rates. Moreover, these methods are so complicated that one cannot formally verify their results without resource-demanding simulations. Thus, we use support vector machines to train a model which can predict the convergence of a swarm based on the data of previous coordination of that swarm. Given a fixed parity, i.e., the rotation direction of the outer arm of an astrobot, corresponding to a swarm, our algorithm reaches a better predictive performance compared to the state of the art. Additionally, we revise our algorithm to solve a more generalized convergence prediction problem according to which the parities of astrobots may differ. We present the prediction results of a generalized scenario, associated with a 487-astrobot swarm, which are interestingly efficient and collision-free given the excessive complexity of this scenario compared to the constrained one.

This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter, reviews for the real world. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. After spending 35 hours researching and testing seven of the best kits for learning robotics, we found the Lego Boost to be the best kit for most beginners. With its Lego-based design, built-in sensors, and the most expansive set of options for creativity and personalization, it was the most fun to build with. And the streamlined tablet app's user-friendly instructions and super-simple programming made it the easiest to learn of any of the kits we tried.

Virtual assistants have been quick to invade our phones and our homes -- is it any surprise that they're creeping into our email accounts, too? A startup called Astro built a chatbot (imaginatively named "Astrobot") into its email app earlier this year, and now it's taking things a step further: as part of a new update going live today, users can talk to Astrobot when they want to sift through their emails sans hands. Well, mostly: you can't invoke it with a wake-word like "Ok, Google." Once installed, you'll have to long-press the little Astrobot button that lives in your inbox. Then, you just gab away: asking if you have any emails prompts Astrobot to read through your most recent messages out loud, and telling it to archive, snooze or mark as unread worked consistently well.

Astro expanded its AI-powered bot to Slack on Tuesday, merging the communications channel with email. Astro is an email platform that uses artificial intelligence to triage email inboxes, helping users better manage their daily email deluge. Astro first launched in public beta earlier this year, alongside news that the Palo Alto-based company had raised $8 million in Series A financing. Astro's AI technology powers a virtual email helper called Astrobot, a bot developed to help email users better organize and manage their inboxes. For example, Astrobot can highlight priority emails, remind users that they still need to respond to an email question, and ask users if they would like to unsubscribe from a newsletter that they never engage with.

Getting a job done often still relies on sending chains of messages back and forth to the extent that it would be nice to have an assistant to help deal with it all. That's the idea behind Astro, a new app that applies artificial intelligence to email in an attempt to make life easier for its users. Its marquee feature is Astrobot, a chatbot powered by machine learning that's designed to keep users abreast of what's important in their inbox. For example, Astrobot will read through users' emails and notify them when they've been asked important questions. It can also be used to unsubscribe from emails, clean out a user's inbox and more.