The History of Drones
1839 The Austrians attacked Venice with ‘drones’ in the form of explosives attached to balloons. 1916 The Ruston Proctor Aerial Target was the first pilotless winged aircraft made in history. It was the foundation that encouraged further research for UAV’s to be used as weapons in the war. 1918 A world first, the Kettering Bug […]
How “Robot Bloodhounds” Detect Odours On The Ground
Robot Bloodhounds: from fiction to reality Robot bloodhounds have come in many forms over the years. They’ve been iconic in works of fiction but have also been designed for military use, for research, and of course for consumers. From Dr Who’s charming sidekick ‘K-9’, to the terrifying dogs in Black Mirror’s Metalhead. Fictional depictions of […]
5 Fascinating Ted Talks About Robotics
Robots, of all kinds, are changing the way we live. Thanks to the amazing people working on this technology, our lives will not be the same again. Robotics technology is advancing in its applications across different industries. Watch these engaging TedTalks on the projects some of the best and brightest minds in robotics are working […]
The Softer Side of Robots
Despite the advancements in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, Robots have not learnt how to show emotion. Not just yet, anyway! When we think of robots, more often than not images of clunky contraptions, metal hinged joints and bulky movements. Whilst there are lots of applications for hard robotic machines such as factory lines, farming, military […]
Inside Industry 4.0: What’s Driving The Fourth Industrial Revolution?
Industry 4.0 is much more than just another buzzword. The term Industry 4.0 refers to the fourth industrial revolution. It’s comprised of growing trends in automation. For example, the internet of things, big data and cloud computing technologies. Just like steam power, electricity and digital automation of the past, cyber-physical systems will create the factory […]
Rise of the Robot
The Atlas robot from Boston Dynamics is a pretty resilient chap, judging by this video. He can trudge through uneven snow. Be knocked off his feet… and get up again (in an eerily similar way to the film Real Steel). And perform the tasks carried out in warehouses or shops across the country. It’s […]
Will a Robot Take Your Job?
The BBC recently published a study of over 350 professions, ranking them in order of the likelihood of a robot being able to do their job in the near future. The data, gathered by Oxford University academics Michael Osborne and Carl Frey, judged each position against 9 key parameters of artificial intelligence and machine learning […]