Out Of The Gait: Robot Sets Untethered ‘Walking’ Record

The loneliness of the long-distance robot: A Cornell University robot named Ranger walked 14.3 miles in about 11 hours, setting an unofficial world record at Cornell’s Barton Hall early on July 6. A human – armed with nothing more than a standard remote control for toys – steered the untethered robot. Ranger navigated 108.5 times around the indoor track in Cornell’s Barton Hall – about 212 meters per lap, and made about 70,000 steps before it had to stop and recharge its battery. The 14.3-mile record beats the former world record set by Boston Dynamics’ BigDog, which had claimed the record at 12.8 miles.

A group of engineering students, led by Andy Ruina, Cornell professor of theoretical and applied mechanics, announced the robotic record at the Dynamic Walking 2010 meeting on July 9, in Cambridge, Mass.  Ruina leads the Biorobotics and Locomotion Laboratory at Cornell. The National Science Foundation funds this research.

Previously, students in Ruina’s lab set a record for an untethered walking robot in April 2008, when Ranger strode about 5.6 miles around the Barton Hall. Boston Dynamics’ BigDog subsequently beat that record.

One goal for robotic research is to show off the machine’s energy efficiency. Unlike other walking robots that use motors to control every movement, the Ranger appears more relaxed and in a way emulates human walking, using gravity and momentum to help swing its legs forward.

Standing still, the robot looks a bit like a tall sawhorse and its gait suggests a human on crutches, alternately swinging forward two outside legs and then two inside ones. There are no knees, but its feet can flip up – and out of the way, while it swings its legs – so that the robot can finish its step.

Ruina says that this record not only advances robotics, but helps undergraduate students learn about the mechanics of walking. The information could be applied to rehabilitation, prosthetics for humans and improving athletic performance.

Cornell University
www.cornell.edu

Carnegie Mellon University receives $10 million gift

The Hillman Center for Future-Generation Technologies will be one of two buildings in the 200,000-square-foot complex, which also includes the Gates Center for Computer Science, the university announced Wednesday. The Hillman Center will face Forbes Avenue and serve as the main entrance to the university’s school of computer science. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donated $20 million in 2004 to establish the Gates Center for Computer Science.

Construction of the computer science complex, which will include the Gates and Hillman centers, began last year and both buildings are expected to open by summer 2009. The cost of the school of computer science complex is $98 million.

source: Pittsburgh Business Times

Anna University To Create Plm Center Of Excellence With Grant

Siemens PLM Software, a business unit of the Siemens Industry Automation Division and a leading global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services, announced an in-kind software grant with a commercial value of US$23 million to Anna University in Chennai, India.

Anna University will utilize Siemens PLM Software’s industry-leading technology to establish a PLM Center of Excellence that will bring state of the art technical education in the field of PLM to students in the state of Tamil Nadu. Anna University will incorporate PLM and computer-aided design, manufacturing and engineering (CAD/CAM/CAE) tools into the curricula to help students develop a wide range of skills in digital product development, digital lifecycle management and digital manufacturing. The grant is provided through Siemens PLM Software’s GO PLM™ (Global Opportunities in Product Lifecycle Management) program.

“Anna University has committed itself to be at the forefront in the service of the nation by achieving excellence in engineering education, fostering co-operation and collaboration between academia and industry across the country,” said Dr. D. Viswanathan, vice chancellor, Anna University. “We have been committed to providing our students with the most current, technologically relevant education to ensure that they have the skills demanded by industry. We chose to partner with Siemens PLM Software because of their leadership position in the PLM industry worldwide and their commitment to work jointly with us in achieving our vision.”
 
Source: Siemens PLM Software

Siemens Announces $23M Grant to India’s Anna University

Siemens PLM Software, a business unit of the Siemens Industry Automation Division and a leading global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services, today announced an in-kind software grant with a commercial value of US$23 million to Anna University in Chennai, India.

Anna University will utilize Siemens PLM Software’s industry-leading technology to establish a PLM Center of Excellence that will bring state of the art technical education in the field of PLM to students in the state of Tamil Nadu. Anna University will incorporate PLM and computer-aided design, manufacturing and engineering (CAD/CAM/CAE) tools into the curricula to help students develop a wide range of skills in digital product development, digital lifecycle management and digital manufacturing. The grant is provided through Siemens PLM Software’s GO PLM (Global Opportunities in Product Lifecycle Management) program.

Source: TenLinks.com

Northern Illinois University partners with AutomationDirect for new student lab

As automation changes, educators need to maintain pace in the classroom to produce well-qualified graduates. To support this effort, Northern Illinois University (NIU) has unveiled the AutomationDirect Automation Laboratory in its Department of Technology.

AutomationDirect’s donation of $100,000 over four years also makes it possible to name a term professorship. NIU’s Department of Technology, which has more than 400 students, evolved from vocational  education and is now a component of the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology (CEET). The new lab will aid student in programs such as electrical engineering technology, manufacturing engineering technology, and industrial management and technology.
Source: Macroworld Investor

APICS Advances College Students’ Readiness to Compete

APICS The Association for Operations Management, the global leader in supply chain and operations management certification and training, today announced the launch of its APICS CPIM Pearson VUE Jumpstart Program. The program provides 100 vouchers annually that cover testing fees for the APICS Basics of Supply Chain Management examination. This exam is the first of the five required to earn APICS Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) certification.

The national initiative, a collaborative effort with Pearson VUE, the global leader in computer-based testing, is designed to help college students prepare to compete in today’s global marketplace by encouraging them to earn solid, well-respected credentials applicable to and sought by every global business and industry. Students who successfully complete all five examinations will join more than 75,000 manufacturing professionals who have become CPIM certified since 1973.

Source: APICS

Models Predict the Remaining Life of Mechanical, Electronics

New research at the Georgia Institute of Technology could soon make predicting the degradation and remaining useful life of mechanical and electronic equipment easier and more accurate, while significantly improving maintenance operations and spare parts logistics.

Nagi Gebraeel, an assistant professor in Georgia Tech’s H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, has developed models that use data from real-time sensor measurements to calculate and continuously revise the amount of remaining useful life of different engineering systems based on their current condition and health status. These predictions are then integrated with maintenance management and spare parts supply chain policies as part of an autonomous “sense and respond” logistics paradigm.

Source: Georgia Tech University

UMass Lowell Automated Biomanufacturing Plant

UMass Lowell opened a fully automated biomanufacturing pilot plant with equipment and services donated to the University by corporate partners: Invensys Process Systems (IPS), Wyeth Biotech, and Dakota Systems. Equipment to be donated by Millipore will be used in an adjoining lab to work in tandem with the plant. The new plant and lab will help Massachusetts biomanufacturing companies bring new biopharmaceuticals closer to commercial production. Contributions are worth $600,000.

The Massachusetts BioManufacturing Center is an interdisciplinary research, development and education center to assist biotechnology companies in developing procedures leading to industry-compliant manufacturing processes. Through education, applied research and process development, the center offers solutions that improve productivity, quality, and cost of biomanufacturing operations.

“This pilot lab is a great example of how the university, state, and private corporations can partner to advance technology, expose students to the latest industry trends, and bring ideas to market quicker,” said UMass Lowell chancellor Marty Meehan, who noted that biotechnology is an important driver of the state’s economy.

Source: Control Engineering

All-in-One Education Kits Enhance University Engineering Curriculum

Agilent Technologies Inc. introduced a new range of integrated curriculum-based solution kits for educators teaching engineering and electronics classes. Each cost-effective solution has carefully designed undergraduate engineering courseware, an ideal mix of teaching slide sets, problem-based student labs and industry-standard measurement equipment.

“We introduce this range of curriculum-based solution kits to help educators get the best out of their equipment and time, enhancing their teaching curriculum” said Mike Kawasaki, manager of Agilent’s Education Program. “With rising costs and increased demand on educators’ time, Agilent’s cost-effective integrated solution kits address those needs without any compromise to performance or quality”

The Agilent Multi-purpose Lab Station (MPLS) is a complete curriculum-based solution targeted at those learning and teaching basic electronics and instrumentation. Included are key instruments – such as oscilloscope, function generator, power supply and multimeter – and a training kit that contains exercises and pre-written labs to help students understand the fundamentals of these systems.

Source: Webwire

Honeywell Announces Student Winners

Honeywell announced the winners of a competition to advance innovation in the areas of process simulation and wireless technologies. Anne Muller from University of Dresden, Germany, won the process simulation category and Mohamed Abdul Galeel Salih Mohamed and Mohamad Tamer Nader Chaklab from the Electrical Engineering Department of the Petroleum Institute in Abu Dhabi, UAE, won the wireless technologies category. The competition was open to technical students in universities across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

The winners, selected by a panel of Honeywell experts, will present their papers in front of a live audience at the Honeywell EMEA Users Group 2008 Conference, being held now in Berlin.

The process simulation competition encouraged applicants to overcome process simulation design challenges using Honeywell’s UniSim Design software. Anne Muller’s entry, “Testing Automation Software with Dynamic Process Models,” examined the critical role of process control in modern industrial plants. Devon Clack of the University of Pretoria, South Africa, was the runner up with his entry titled, “Getting the most from a UniSim Design Simulation.”

Source: Automation.com

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