The Industry Innovation Report
Grasshopping Robots Made Possible With New, Improved Latch Control
If animals and insects can jump across grass and sand, why can't robots? Sarah Bergbreiter, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, has found that researchers don't have to look far to enable this in robots. Existing latch mechanisms that were once thought of as an 'on'...
Ford Patents AV Repossession
Ford is trying to patent technology that would allow cars to repossess themselves. As first spotted by The Drive, a Ford patent application titled "Systems and Methods to Repossess a Vehicle" was published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)...
Michigan: $10K Scholarships For Students Who Join EV Sector
Michigan is dangling a $10,000 carrot in front of tech students, incentivizing them to stay in state and build the electric vehicle sector. The state announced the Michigander EV Scholars program, its latest incentive to boost its electric vehicle workforce....
USPS Buying 9,250 Ford E-Transit EVs And 14,000 EV Chargers
The US Postal Service is buying 9,250 Ford E-Transit battery-electric vehicles and 14,000 EV charging stations from three different suppliers as part of its plans to electrify a large portion of its mail delivery fleet. In an announcement post on Tuesday, the agency...
Countries Meet To Halt Wide-ranging Ocean Threats
The world's oceans and the multiple threats they face, from climate change and pollution to overfishing and mining, will be the focus of a global conference in Panama this week. Some 600 leaders of government, the business sector, green groups and academics will...
Smart Cities IoT: The Rise Of Home Wellness Technology
The emergence of "smart homes," aided by IoT, has transformed the definition of what is now considered a great home and great investment. Homeowners don't simply look for houses with ample ventilation or larger parking, they look for a "thinking" space that can...
Amazon Gets A Green Light To Launch 3,000-Satellite Kuiper Constellation
Amazon has received the go-ahead to construct a constellation of 3,236 satellites after gaining approval for an updated orbital debris mitigation plan. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the U.S. main telecommunications services regulator,...
How Robots Can Help In The Fight Against Toxic Algae
Harmful algae blooms in lakes are a major environmental problem, producing extremely dangerous toxins that can taint water supplies or harm other organic life—including people. Biologists can test water safety by collecting samples off the side of a boat, but getting...
Microsoft Researchers Are Using ChatGPT To Instruct Robots And Drones
OpenAI's ChatGPT isn't just good at generating coherent text responses to natural language prompts -- it can also play a role in human-to-robot interactions and use sensor feedback to write code for robot actions. Microsoft recently conducted research to "see if...
University of Michigan ‘Smart’ AV Bolstered By $15M Grant
The U.S. Department of Transportation grant supports nine colleges and universities, developing new technologies and training the workforce for the future of mobility The University of Michigan will continue to lead regional efforts aimed at transitioning the nation...
