An essential task for a multi-robot system is generating a common understanding of the environment and relative poses between robots. Cooperative tasks can be executed only when a vehicle has knowledge of its own state and the states of the team members. However, this has primarily been achieved with direct rendezvous between underwater robots, via inter-robot ranging. We propose a novel distributed multi-robot simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) framework for underwater robots using imaging sonar-based perception. By passing only scene descriptors between robots, we do not need to pass raw sensor data unless there is a likelihood of inter-robot loop closure. We utilize pairwise consistent measurement set maximization (PCM), making our system robust to erroneous loop closures. The functionality of our system is demonstrated using two real-world datasets, one with three robots and another with two robots. We show that our system effectively estimates the trajectories of the multi-robot system and keeps the bandwidth requirements of inter-robot communication low. To our knowledge, this paper describes the first instance of multi-robot SLAM using real imaging sonar data (which we implement offline, using simulated communication). Code link: https://github.com/jake3991/DRACo-SLAM.

Berkshire Grey and FedEx Corp. announced they have expanded their strategic relationship. Berkshire Grey and FedEx have expanded their strategic relationship. The companies have entered into an agreement for new development activities that will provide broader robotic capabilities to help FedEx improve the safety and efficiency of its package handling operations globally. The two companies also expect to execute a master system purchase agreement in 2022, which will streamline and expedite the procurement process for Berkshire Grey solutions across all FedEx operating companies globally. Additionally, Berkshire Grey has granted FedEx a warrant to purchase common stock.

Growing up in Spain's Catalonia region, Alberto Rodriguez loved taking things apart and putting them back together. But it wasn't until he joined a robotics lab his last year in college that he realized robotics, and not mathematics or physics, would be his life's calling. "I fell in love with the idea that you could build something and then tell it what to do," he says. "That was my first intense exposure to the magic combo of building and coding, and I was hooked." After graduating from university in Barcelona, Rodriguez looked for a path to study in the United States.

With demand for robots growing as companies in multiple sectors look for new ways to enhance their productivity and competitiveness post-pandemic, ABB has compiled a set of growth predictions, looking at key trends driving demand for robots in the coming year. "The pandemic accelerated far-reaching global mega trends – from labor shortages and supply chain uncertainty, to the individualized consumer and growing pressure to operate sustainably and resiliently – leading new businesses to look to robotic automation," said Marc Segura, ABB's newly appointed robotics division President. "As technology opens new opportunities for meeting customer demands, new trends will continue to emerge that will further drive demand in areas where robots have traditionally not been used." Based on customer conversations, market research and a global survey of 250 companies across multiple industries, ABB has identified three key trends that will shape the demand for robots in 2022. With many countries restricting and phasing out the production of combustion engine vehicles over the next decade, the race towards electric cars has accelerated.

Turning machines are a core tool in any machine shop. While certain automated machines have been available for turning for years, automation has not been accessible to everyone. Until recently, it only made sense to add automation if you had large batch sizes. If not, you were stuck with a manual operation. Robotic automation has changed all that.

It's an unusual time to be in the paper and pulp industry. The markets for paper products change on an almost monthly basis. It can be difficult to know how you should respond to keep your operations productive, profitable, and efficient. Should you invest in automation for long-term efficiency gains? Or should you batten down the hatches and reduce spending until the markets level out? Several market forces have impacted the paper and pulp industry in recent years.

Which robot applications are best suited for the electronics industry? Robots are becoming extremely popular among electronic companies. Recent estimates indicate that robot growth is even higher in the electronics industry than in the automotive industry, which has traditionally been the leader for robot use. If you are looking to add robotic automation to your process, it can be hard to know which tasks are the best candidates. Classic application in electronics manufacturing, robots are perfect for circuit board assembly.

"Minimizing risks associated with aseptic processing is crucial when working with compounding systems," agrees Randy Fraatz, vice-president of North American Operations at Steriline, which produces aseptic manufacturing equipment. "The primary benefit of robotics and automation in general is safety, coming from the reduction of human-related mistakes in the entire process." Other benefits, says Fraatz, include the accuracy, efficiency, and reliability that result from automation. "If errors are reduced, process reliability and quality improve," he explains. Despite these advantages, uptake of robotics is slow, and many 503B outsourcing facilities continue to have technicians working in laminar flow hoods or biological safety cabinets to handle beakers and flasks for solution compounding and fill vials manually using syringes, notes Smalley.

Ask Peter Howard SM '84, CEO of Realtime Robotics and MIT Sloan School of Management alumnus, what he thinks is the biggest bottleneck facing the robotics industry, and he'll tell you without hesitation it's return on investment. "Robotics automation is capable of handling almost any single task that a human can do, but the ROI is not compelling due to the high cost of deployment and the inability to achieve commensurate throughput," he says. But Realtime Robotics has developed a combination of proprietary software and hardware that reduces system deployment time by 70 percent or more, reduces deployment costs by 30 percent or more, and reduces the programming component of building a robotic system in the industrial robot space by upwards of 90 percent. In other words, Realtime Robotics is making robot adoption well worth the investment. On some level, people are always planning -- even the most spontaneous among us.

The impending need for "design thinking" in robotic automation is becoming a sore subject now. Creating robots that are welcoming appear to be quite familiar to ourselves and we're more likely to respond to them with positivity to help them learn and develop amiable personalities. To fully understand the importance of design thinking in robotics, let's first understand why is design thinking so popular? Design thinking is just like thinking "out of the box" and clearly, it has become a buzzword among global corporations now. But "what makes design thinking so special?"