PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

How do you turn 10 minutes of power into 200? Efficiency, efficiency, efficiency

DARPA seeks revolutionary advances in the efficiency of robotic actuation; fundamental research into biology, physics and electrical engineering could benefit all engineered, actuated systems

2012-07-04
(Press-News.org) A robot that drives into an industrial disaster area and shuts off a valve leaking toxic steam might save lives. A robot that applies supervised autonomy to dexterously disarm a roadside bomb would keep humans out of harm's way. A robot that carries hundreds of pounds of equipment over rocky or wooded terrain would increase the range warfighters can travel and the speed at which they move. But a robot that runs out of power after ten to twenty minutes of operation is limited in its utility. In fact, use of robots in defense missions is currently constrained in part by power supply issues. DARPA has created the M3 Actuation program, with the goal of achieving a 2,000 percent increase in the efficiency of power transmission and application in robots, to improve performance potential.

Humans and animals have evolved to consume energy very efficiently for movement. Bones, muscles and tendons work together for propulsion using as little energy as possible. If robotic actuation can be made to approach the efficiency of human and animal actuation, the range of practical robotic applications will greatly increase and robot design will be less limited by power plant considerations.

M3 Actuation is an effort within DARPA's Maximum Mobility and Manipulation (M3) robotics program, and adds a new dimension to DARPA's suite of robotics research and development work.

"By exploring multiple aspects of robot design, capabilities, control and production, we hope to converge on an adaptable core of robot technologies that can be applied across mission areas," said Gill Pratt, DARPA program manager. "Success in the M3 Actuation effort would benefit not just robotics programs, but all engineered, actuated systems, including advanced prosthetic limbs."

Proposals are sought in response to a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA). DARPA expects that solutions will require input from a broad array of scientific and engineering specialties to understand, develop and apply actuation mechanisms inspired in part by humans and animals. Technical areas of interest include, but are not limited to: low-loss power modulation, variable recruitment of parallel transducer elements, high-bandwidth variable impedance matching, adaptive inertial and gravitational load cancellation, and high-efficiency power transmission between joints.

Research and development will cover two tracks of work:

Track 1 asks performer teams to develop and demonstrate high-efficiency actuation technology that will allow robots similar to the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) platform to have twenty times longer endurance than the DRC GFE when running on untethered battery power (currently only 10-20 minutes). Using Government Furnished Information about the GFE, M3 Actuation performers will have to build a robot that incorporates the new actuation technology. These robots will be demonstrated at, but not compete in, the second DRC live competition scheduled for December 2014.

Track 2 will be tailored to performers who want to explore ways of improving the efficiency of actuators, but at scales both larger and smaller than applicable to the DRC GFE platform, and at technical readiness levels insufficient for incorporation into a platform during this program. Essentially, Track 2 seeks to advance the science and engineering behind actuation without the requirement to apply it at this point.

While separate efforts, M3 Actuation will run in parallel with the DRC. In both programs DARPA seeks to develop the enabling technologies required for expanded practical use of robots in defense missions. Thus, performers on M3 Actuation will share their design approaches at the first DRC live competition scheduled for December 2013, and demonstrate their final systems at the second DRC live competition scheduled for December 2014.

INFORMATION:

Full details of the program and instructions on how to prepare and submit proposals are provided in the BAA, which is available on the Federal Business Opportunities website at http://go.usa.gov/wDF.

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Motion sensors detect horse lameness earlier than veterinarians, MU study finds

2012-07-04
COLUMBIA, Mo. ¬— The most common ailment to affect a horse is lameness. A University of Missouri equine veterinarian has developed a way to detect this problem using a motion detection system called the "Lameness Locator." Now, Kevin Keegan, a professor of equine surgery in the College of Veterinary Medicine at MU, has found that his Lameness Locator can detect lameness earlier than veterinarians using the traditional method of a subjective eye test. The Lameness Locator, which is now in commercial use, places small sensors on the horse's head, right front limb and ...

Global warming favors proliferation of toxic cyanobacteria

2012-07-04
Cyanobacteria are among the most primitive living beings, aged over 3,500 million years old. These aquatic microorganisms helped to oxygenate the earth´atmosphere. At present their populations are increasing in size without stopping. It appears that global warming may be behind the rise in their numbers and may also lead toan increase in the amount of toxins produced by some of these populations. "Cyanobacteria love warm water, therefore an increase in temperature during this century may stimulate their growth, especially that of the cytotoxic varieties, which could ...

Physicists identify new quantum state allowing 3 -- but not 2 -- atoms to stick together

2012-07-04
MANHATTAN, KAN. -- A Kansas State University-led quantum mechanics study has discovered a new bound state in atoms that may help scientists better understand matter and its composition. The yet-unnamed bound state, which the physicists simply refer to as "our state" in their study, applies to three identical atoms loosely bound together -- a behavior called three-body bound states in quantum mechanics. In this state, three atoms can stick together in a group but two cannot. Additionally, in some cases, the three atoms can stick together even when any two are trying to ...

Bugs inspire better X-rays: Nanostructures modeled like moth eyes may boost medical imaging

2012-07-04
WASHINGTON, July 3—Using the compound eyes of the humble moth as their inspiration, an international team of physicists has developed new nanoscale materials that could someday reduce the radiation dosages received by patients getting X-rayed, while improving the resolution of the resulting images. The work, led by Yasha Yi—a professor of the City University of New York, who is also affiliated with Massachusetts Institute of Technology and New York University—was published today in the Optical Society's (OSA) journal, Optics Letters. Like their Lepidopteran cousins ...

The genomics symposium to boost the further development of cancer research

2012-07-04
July 3, 2012, London, United Kingdom, and Shenzhen, China – The symposium themed "The Era of Next Generation Sequencing in Cancer", co-organized by BGI, the world's largest genomics organization, and Imperial College London, was successfully conducted in London, UK. Around 70 experts, scholars, and representatives from the local colleges, institutes and biotechnology industries attended the meeting with the aim to exchange their insights on high-throughput genomics and accelerate the further development of cancer research. The symposium started with a friendly opening ...

New study finds increase in track-related injuries among youth in the United States

2012-07-04
With the 2012 summer Olympic games about to take place in London, children everywhere are looking forward to watching their sports idols and role models take center stage. While the Olympics may inspire some to try a new sport, such as track, parents should be aware that this participation does not come without risk of injury. A new study by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital found that from 1991 through 2008 more than 159,000 children and adolescents between 10 and 18 years of age were ...

Stereoscopic 3-D for professional training of football referees

2012-07-04
The objective of this innovation project is to improve the learning environment of the assistant referees with multimedia materials which offer a visual experience that is the most similar to what referees on the pitch experience, and which can train visual perception in decision-making calls on off-side plays. For that purpose, researchers in the UC3M Television-Film group: memory, representation and industry (TECMERIN) are using this 3D recording technique for the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to use as teaching material in its training courses ...

2 species fused to give rise to plant pest

2012-07-04
Zymoseptoria tritici is often a headache for European farmers. This ascomycete originating from the Middle East attacks the leaves of wheat plants triggering "speckled leaf blotch", which can cut crop yields by up to 50 percent. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg and Aarhus University in Denmark have now taken a close look at the genome of a close relative, Zymoseptoria pseudotritici and have made a surprising discovery. The fungus which, unlike its more globally active cousin, preferentially attacks grasses in Iran, clearly ...

Study results: Adult stem cells from bone marrow

2012-07-04
Baltimore, MD – July 3, 2012. Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Maryland report promising results from using adult stem cells from bone marrow in mice to help create tissue cells of other organs, such as the heart, brain and pancreas - a scientific step they hope may lead to potential new ways to replace cells lost in diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson's or Alzheimer's. The research in collaboration with the University of Paris Descartes is published online in the June 29, 2012 edition of Comptes Rendus Biologies, a publication of the French Academy ...

Foster kids do much better under approach developed by CU School of Medicine

2012-07-04
AURORA, Colo. (July 3, 2012) –Foster kids who receive mentoring and training in skills such as anger management, healthy communication, and problem solving are less likely to move foster homes or to be placed in a residential treatment center, and more likely to reunify with their biological families, according to a study by University of Colorado School of Medicine researchers. Many programs nationwide have tried to help foster children achieve better placement outcomes by working with parents and making system-wide changes. This study, published in Pediatrics, focused ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Next-generation AI and big data: Transforming crop breeding

Biomimetic synthesis of natural products: Progress, challenges and prospects

New limits found for dark matter properties from latest search

SCAI expresses disappointment over ABMS decision to deny independent cardiovascular medicine boar

Rice researchers develop efficient lithium extraction method, setting stage for sustainable EV battery supply chains

Statement on ABMS denying new cardiovascular board

St. Jude scientists solve mystery of how the drug retinoic acid works to treat neuroblastoma

New device could allow you to taste a cake in virtual reality

Illinois researchers develop next-generation organic nanozymes and point-of-use system for food and agricultural uses

Kicking yourself: Going against one’s better judgment amplifies self-blame

Rice researchers harness gravity to create low-cost device for rapid cell analysis

Revolutionary copper-infused microvesicles: a new era in biofunctional medicine

Primary care practices with NPs are key to increasing health care access in less advantaged areas, Columbia Nursing study shows

TTUHSC conducting study to help patients that experience traumatic blood loss

Next top model: Competition-based AI study aims to lower data center costs

Innovative startup awarded $10,000 to tackle cardiovascular disparities

Study compares indoor transmission-risk metrics for infectious diseases

Micro-expression detection in ASD movies: a YOLOv8-SMART approach

Machine learning on blockchain: A new approach to engineering computational security

Vacuum glazing: A promising solution for low-carbon buildings

Racial and ethnic differences in out-of-pocket spending for maternity care

Study reveals racial and ethnic disparities in maternity care spending

Changes in food insecurity among US adults with low income during the COVID-19 pandemic

After NIH decision to cap indirect costs, prominent molecular biologist calls for swift action, petition signatures

Omitting race from lung function equations increases detection of asthma in Black children

The role of solute carrier family transporters in hepatic steatosis and hepatic fibrosis

Cold sore discovery IDs unknown trigger for those annoying flare-ups

Health organizations join forces on Rare Disease Day for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

How many languages can you learn at the same time? – Ghanaian babies grow up speaking two to six languages

Virginia Tech to lead $10 million critical mineral research coalition in Appalachia

[Press-News.org] How do you turn 10 minutes of power into 200? Efficiency, efficiency, efficiency
DARPA seeks revolutionary advances in the efficiency of robotic actuation; fundamental research into biology, physics and electrical engineering could benefit all engineered, actuated systems