kets, vet

Technical Progress Meeting

The New Metro technical progress meeting was held on the 20th of April, 2021, via the GoToMeeting web platform.

The issues that were being discussed during the meeting are summarized as follows:

  • Issues regarding the training material. More specifically, the status of the development of learning material was presented by each partner.
  • Concerning the Extension Clarification, the partners exchanged opinions regarding the recovery plan and the planning for the project timeline up to the end of the project.
  • Regarding the piloting phase, there have been discussed alternatives and solutions to close the testing program presented by the WP Lead Partner and other Partners.
  • Finally, issues related to Project Management were put on the constructive discussion.

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mechatronic, vet

Robot in snake’s shape undertakes the fixing of pipelines on the seabed.

mechatronic, vet

The oil and gas industry relies on colossal infrastructure, which means analogous maintenance costs. Pumping mechanisms, wells as well as thousands of kilometers of pipes must, in addition to their installation, be inspected at regular intervals and repaired if necessary. Underwater robots have already begun to be developed, embracing edge technology. The goal is to offer solutions that will make all the above processes safer, more economical, and less contaminating.

Among these approaches is Eelume, a six-meter-long robot in the shape of a snake. The robot is equipped with a camera at both ends. It has the ability to remain in a refueling station immersed in depths that reach 500 meters, for up to six months, without having to return to the surface. The self-propelled robot can cover distances of up to 20 kilometers before having to return to its station for recharging. It can also be equipped with different gears, depending on the mission to be completed: for example, it can bear tools to handle submarine valves as well as special brushes to remove sediments and marine organisms that accumulate on the immersed equipment.

Unmanned vessels have already undertaken the maintenance of many submarine oil wells and pipelines at great depths. However, these vessels usually have to be transported to the location where they have to operate by fully manned vessels, and then the control is taken over by operators on the surface vessel. The cost of this procedure can be as high as $ 100,000 a day, according to Pål Liljebäck, an executive at Eelume Subsea Intervention, which developed the robot.

The company is based in Trondheim, Norway, and originated through the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Liljebäck typically states that “by allowing the robot to remain [for a long time] in a submarine station, it can be activated at any time to proceed with inspections or interventions, thus reducing the need to resort to costly surface vessels.”

Eelume has the ability to operate independently, undertaking missions assigned to it by a remote control center, to which the robot sends images and data. Its snake-like design allows it to operate in confined spaces as well as to twist its body in order to maintain its position in the face of strong underwater currents. Also, the fact that it remains in a submarine station makes it possible to activate it regardless of the weather conditions prevailing on the surface of the ocean and would possibly make it difficult to transport a conventional unmanned vessel by ship to that point.

The global market for underwater robotic solutions is expected to reach about $ 7 billion by 2025, according to analysts, and other companies have already begun the process of commercializing innovative proposals in the field of autonomous vessels capable of operating at great depths, and robotic technology allows their construction and use.

The oil and gas industries have a significant impact on climate change, while underwater exploration for potential deposits can damage the marine environment. Pål Atle Solheimsnes, lead engineer with Equinor, however, believes that Eelume is accompanied not only by economic but also environmental benefits. “Diesel-powered surface boats emit significant amounts of carbon dioxide, but robots, like the Eelume, have almost zero emissions.”

The Eelume Subsea Intervention, in collaboration with Equinor, will carry out the final stage of bottom tests later this year at the Asgard oil and gas field off the west coast of Norway. Eelume estimates that it will put into operation its first robots in 2022 and that it will have up to 50 of them scattered in the oceans of our planet by 2027.

 

Sources:

https://www.insomnia.gr/articles/various/robot/robot-se-sxima-fidiou-tha-borei-na-episkeuazi-agogous-ston-pithmena-ton-okeanon/

https://interestingengineering.com/snake-robot-fixes-pipelines-on-the-ocean-floor

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/20/tech/eelume-undersea-snake-robot-spc-intl/index.html

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mechatronics, xenobot

Live robots: The advanced Xenobot 2.0

mechatronics, xenobot

A new generation of living Xenobot robots has been created by scientists in the USA. These are tiny life forms that self-assemble a body of simple frog cells, do not need muscles to move, and have memory capacity. These “collectives” of cells have the ability to work together in swarms and in the future will undertake various tasks such as, e.g., the cleaning of microplastics or other pollutants and rubbish from land and sea.

Last year, a team of biologists and computer experts from Tufts and Vermont universities created the first Xenobot 1.0, tiny biological machines made from frog cells that were able to move, push a load, and exhibit group behavior in flocks with other similar robots. This year, the new Xenobots 2.0 are improved, as they move faster, are able to navigate in different environments, and can repair themselves if they show any damage.

Researchers, led by Tufts Professor of Biology Michael Levin, who published the report in the journal “Science Robotics”, believe that this technology has a tremendous future, and that is why the two collaborating American universities have just created the new Institute for Computationally Designed Organisms (ICDO) to create even more sophisticated live robots.

Xenobots get their name from the frog species Xenopus laevis, from whose embryos the researchers derived their cells. The new generation 2.0 robots live three to seven days longer than the previous generation 1.0, which lasted up to seven days. Their shape is spherical, and their size reaches half a millimeter at present, while their body is completely biodegradable when they “die”.

Previous attempts to create live robots have focused on wireless control of animals (e.g., cockroaches), but this concept raises bioethical issues. Xenobots differ because they are self-generating forms only coming from cells, have no neurons, and cannot be considered animals.

But what exactly are they? Living organisms or robots? There is no clear answer to this. Rather, something in between.

 

Sources:

https://www.healthweb.gr/perissotera/texnologia/zontana-rompot-ta-ekseligmena-xenobot-2-0

 https://now.tufts.edu/news-releases/scientists-create-next-generation-living-robots

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mechatronics, fashion

Supermodels robots in a fashion show

mechatronics, fashion

A new era for the fashion industry was inaugurated after the collaboration of Dolce&Gabbana and Genoa’s IIT (Italian Institute of Technology). For the first time, artificial intelligence robots participated in a fashion show. The researchers from IIT “lent” the designers three iCubs (a humanoid robot built by the IIT, 104 cm tall and weighing 22 kg) and another android with artificial intelligence. The robots, side by side to real-life models, took the catwalk to present the Dolce&Gabbana clothes collection. It was an amazing and unique fashion show, where robots and humans walked alongside. The result was a real mix of creativity and innovation that came after the collaboration of the fashion industry with the tech sector.

The fashion designers Stefano Dolce and Domenica Gabbana explained how this idea came to them. “We all wonder what this pandemic has taught us. Maybe it’s too early to understand. We can say what we did. Not being able to travel or meet people and clients, we saw the world through social networks and thought of the next chapter for our fashion. Given the digital hangover of these months, it could only be a chapter steeped in technology. We love it, and we use it, but we are not experts, so we contacted the IIT in Genoa. Research, especially medical research, projects us into the future and moves the boundaries of our knowledge a little further. We are convinced that fashion must and can read the world, always creating clothes and accessories that are beautiful to look at and as pleasant to wear as possible. That’s why it was extremely useful and fun too”.

Source: https://www.thepatent.news/2021/03/09/fashion-robots-now-on-the-catwalk/

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Robotic, AI, mechatronics

Robotic exoskeleton legs bearing AI technology

Robotic, AI, mechatronics
Credit: University of Waterloo

Researchers of the University of Waterloo, Canada, have designed and developed exoskeleton legs having the property of thinking and making control decisions on their own. Such a concept comes into reality by utilizing wearable cameras and applying artificial intelligence technology.

In general, exoskeletons are wearable robots designed to enhance the user’s strength and endurance. In the first place, they received attention in military-focused research, but now they are gaining more attention in the health industry and rehabilitation for those having disabilities. The goal of exoskeleton suits for the disabled is to help people regain their full mobility. In addition to enhancing physical movements, such robotic bodysuits are empowering to the user, restoring dignity and freedom to those who suffer from mobility problems.

Nevertheless, most existing exoskeleton legs must be manually converted to different modes for more complicated tasks, such as stepping over or around obstacles. In the direction of confronting this restriction, the researchers placed onboard cameras and AI-based software to precisely identify stairs, doors, and other features of the surrounding environment.

The next step of the project, ExoNet, aims to send instructions to motors so that robotic exoskeletons can climb stairs, avoid obstacles or take other appropriate actions based on analysis of the user’s current movement and the upcoming terrain. Brokoslaw Laschowski, a Ph.D. candidate that is the leader of the project, stated: “Our control approach wouldn’t necessarily require human thought. Similar to autonomous cars that drive themselves, we’re designing autonomous exoskeletons that walk for themselves.

Sources:

https://www.inceptivemind.com/self-walking-exoskeleton-legs-combine-ai-wearable-cameras/18137/
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=9351558

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stylios, mechatronic, ai, industry 4.0, kets

Athens for Industry 4.0, Summit 2021

stylios, mechatronic, ai, industry 4.0, kets

Professor Chrysostomos Stylios of the Department of Informatics and Telecommunications, University of Ioannina, participated in the proceedings of the 1st Annual Conference Athens for Industry 4.0, Summit 2021‘, which was held online on Wednesday 17 and Thursday 18 March 2021. Specifically, his speech was a part of the thematic unit entitled ‘Presentation of good practices of digital transformation in an industrial environment. Solutions and Applications‘ (Part B). The topic of his presentation was ‘Mechatronics as an emerging technology of the 4th Industrial Revolution’.

Professor Stylios clearly developed the extremely interesting issue of the transition to the 4th Industrial Revolution in the light of the technologies that compose and characterize it, giving special emphasis to the role of Mechatronics in the direction of completion and strengthening of this transition. His presentation highlighted the contribution of the European transnational project named NEW METRO, in which he participates, towards the modernization and updating of vocational training curricula for the training of the Mechatronics Technician, in order to bridge the skills gap, especially concerning the Key Enabling Technologies (KETs).

stylios, mechatronic, ai, industry 4.0, kets
stylios, mechatronic, ai, industry 4.0, kets

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ai, industry 4.0, kets, mechatronics

Precision tattooing by a 5G-connected robot needles

ai, industry 4.0, kets, mechatronics

The world’s first-ever remote tattoo has become a reality by a 5G-connected robot bearing needles.

The telecommunication company T-Mobile Netherlands creatively worked together with the tattoo artist Wes Thomas in order to display to the public the speed, reliability, and low latency of its new 5G network. As a result, the fruit of this cooperation is the designing and implementation of “The Impossible Tattoo” which is the world’s first-ever remote tattoo.

The whole concept can be described as follows. The tattoo artist controlled a robot arm from a distance in real-time, making use of the advantages of the 5G network of T-Mobile Netherlands. In addition, machine learning technology is integrated into the robotic arm to learn the precise placement of the arm and map the placement onto the customer’s body. The whole demonstration took place with the assistance and collaboration of the Dutch actress and TV personality, Stijn Fransen. Wes Thomas drew the design on a mannequin arm, whereas the robot copied his every move with a needle on Fransen’s arm.

By utilizing the benefits of the 5G network, the work can be completed with no delay and with millimeter accuracy from a distance, a really interesting aspect in the era of COVID-19 restrictions. Undoubtedly, the implementation of the T-Mobile project could not become a reality with the 4G and 3G networks. The processing of large amounts of data and latency-free data transmission can only be achieved with 5G technology.

It’s astonishing to meet new imaginative applications of technology in everyday life…

Watch the video of “The impossible tattoo” in action.

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vet, robotics, mechatronics

An underwater robot saves swimmers from drowning

vet, robotics, mechatronics

Robots using artificial intelligence come to solve the drowning of people in swimming pools and lakes. From a depth of 3 meters, a robot achieved to bring an 80 kg human effigy to the surface in 1 second.

Nearly 420 people drowned in Germany in 2019, with the majority dying in freshwater lakes and swimming pools. The solution in the absence of lifeguards could be a floating submarine rescue robot. A team of researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Advanced Systems Technology aims to improve the situation with a robot that uses artificial intelligence, the only one of its kind in the world.

Surveillance cameras mounted on the pool roof record the movement patterns and position of the drowned person in the pool and send the coordinates to the robot to a connection base on the pool floor, which opens in case of emergency. As soon as the vehicle reaches its destination, it locates the person in danger and transports him to the surface. A fastening mechanism prevents bodies from sliding down.

mechatronics, vet

In lakes, drones and zeppelin systems act as surveillance cameras. Because visibility is limited, the submarine must be equipped with acoustic sensors instead of optical ones. The echoes of sound waves can be used to determine the positions and orientation of people in such a way that the robot can be directed autonomously to the target-person and save it. This has been shown to work in practice through very impressive open water trials conducted by researchers on Lake Hufeisensee in Halle. An 80 kg effigy was deposited at a depth of three meters. The robot then picked it up, secured it in place, brought it to the surface in a second, and carried it via the shortest route – a distance of 40 meters – to the shore, where the rescue team was already waiting.

When the robot is notified of an emergency, a signal alerts the team immediately. The full rescue operation lasted just over two minutes. Casualties must be resuscitated within five minutes to avoid long-term damages to the brain. We were able to stay within this critical time frame without any problems,” says computer scientist Helge Renkewitz, who led the team in close collaboration with the water rescue service, Wasserrettungsdienstes Halle e.V.

Sources:

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/german-underwater-robot-can-save-drowning-swimmers/

https://www.news247.gr/good-news/ypovrychio-rompot-sozei-kolymvites-apo-pnigmo.9164949.html

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mechatronic, drone, ai

Mechatronics revolutionizes the America’s Cup of sailing

mechatronic, drone, ai

The use of mechatronics in the world of sailing is exceptionally recent. Nowadays, virtually every team participating in the American Cup boasts at least one mechatronics engineer aboard its hull.

Over time, these boats have become so sophisticated and technological that they require personnel who are increasingly prepared to manage complex systems. Seen from the inside, they look a lot like an aeroplane for the electronic components they have.

Navigation is managed by three roles: the helmsman, the mainsail trimmer and the controller. But besides them, there are at least eight other people – including a tactician – who perform vital functions for the regatta by pressing buttons that allow these boats to sail quickly and perform the necessary manoeuvres.

When these buttons are pressed, an electronic signal passes to a programmable logic controller, which is programmed to control hydraulic valves’ opening and closing or mechanical mechanisms to achieve a specific function.

For example, Mechatronics intervenes predominantly in delicate moments such as take-off, which is a delicate balance between forces.

To find out in detail how mechatronics contributes to the new racing boats’ performance, we recommend reading the interview with the American Magic team produced in April 2020.

 

Source: https://www.sailingworld.com/story/racing/mechatronics-in-the-americas-cup/

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