Weekend Roundup: April 17, 2020

April 17, 2020 | AUVSI News

This Week in the Unmanned Systems and Robotics World

Oceanographers from the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) recently uncovered a hidden Arctic eddy using an autonomous glider. Eddies are circular movements of water that have broken off from an ocean current. (Scottish Association for Marine Science)

Pony.ai has partnered with Los Angeles-based ecommerce platform Yamibuy to launch an autonomous delivery service for customers in Irvine, California. Expected to run through mid-summer, the service will rely on Pony.ai’s autonomous fleet of retrofitted Hyundai Konas to deliver packages and groceries from Yamibuy to its customers’ doorsteps. (VentureBeat)

Three driverless vehicles equipped with Sensible 4’s autonomous driving software and technology have begun operating on the streets of Helsinki, Finland. Sensible 4 says that if the first-of-a-kind pilot is successful, it will be one step closer to bringing autonomous driving technology to the mainstream. (Sensible 4)

A new US Army study has found that unmanned vehicles could potentially benefit from the materials used for a soldier’s personal protection gear. Findings from the study show that polymers filled with carbon nanotubes could potentially improve how unmanned vehicles dissipate energy. (defenceWeb)

The European Space Agency (ESA) has unveiled a prototype of a glove that could help an astronaut pilot a drone in space from a control panel on the back of their hand. The glove was designed as part of the ESA’s Pextex Project by Agatha Medioni of Comex, which is a French company. (Popular Mechanics)

Drone Delivery Canada is testing the heavy-lift capabilities of its Condor delivery drone. Featuring a compartment that provides about 20 cubic feet of storage space, the drone can haul 400 pounds of cargo up to 124 miles. (DroneDJ)

Once the coronavirus lockdown is over, Buffalo Automaton plans to test unmanned robot water taxis off Plymouth. The firm has developed AutoMate, which is a system that uses artificial intelligence technology, cameras and sensors to steer boats without a human driver being on board. (PlymouthLive)