In the last week of December, the US Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration announced final rules for Unmanned Aircraft, commonly known as drones. The new rules will require Remote Identification of drones and allow operators of small drones to fly over people and at night under certain conditions. Around the same time, new rules are coming into force across all EU member states, Norway and Iceland, and they will also be mirrored by the UK. The rules make it clear where drones can be flown, as well as making it easier to trace owners. The distinction between commercial and recreational use has been removed, potentially paving the way for more drone uses. Under the rules, even small drones will need to be registered with the relevant aviation authority. Although the relaxation is a boon to a commercial small drone sector, there has been a vocal cry of disappointment by some in the drone sector, including Alphabet's Wing team, which sees a major privacy flaw. Its critics support remote ID in drones as a necessary development. What Wing and others are taking exception to is the singular way that flight information is broadcast in the current framework, and to whom.
Updated: Feb 24, 2023
Nuro is the first company allowed to operate autonomous cars commercially in California. The company received a permit in April that allowed it to test its robots, but this permit will allow the firm to actually charge people for the service. The firm's vehicles will be limited to 25 mph (40 km/h) and restricted to operating in fair weather conditions. According to the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles, Nuro had to meet several safety standards, such as showing its vehicles are capable of avoiding hazards and creating a plan for how to interact with police and other emergency responders. In February 2020, the company won an exemption to operate from the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which was another state requirement. Nuro was founded by two former Google engineers and has funding from Softbank. Its vehicles are designed to operate without a driver or passengers in them. GM’s Cruise unit, Waymo and Amazon unit Zoox have also gotten approval for tests in California and are all seeking to cash in on the new technology.
Updated: Feb 24, 2023
Hyundai Motor Group is buying an 80% stake in robotics provider Boston Dynamics from SoftBank Group, worth $880m, to develop and commercialise robotics, with applications ranging from component manufacturing to smart logistics. Boston Dynamics was spun out from the MIT in 1992, bought by Google in 2013 and sold to SoftBank in 2017. Boston Dynamics makes agile, mobile robots that can work in difficult, dangerous or unstructured environments. However, it has also been exploring applications in manufacturing and logistics environments to carry out repetitive and physically demanding tasks. In March 2020, it unveiled a demonstration of future warehouse logistics with Otto Motors, in which its Handle logistics robot picked boxes and loaded pallets carried by Otto Motors’ automated mobile robots. It also has logistics applications with its computer vision-based depalletizing solution, called Pick, and will introduce a mobile robot for warehouses in 2021. Hyundai said the acquisition would mark a major step towards its strategic transformation into a smart mobility solution provider. The deal is expected to benefit each company’s strengths in manufacturing, logistics, construction and automation. Hyundai said it was also looking for new mobility solutions such as autonomous driving and urban air mobility, as well as smart factory platforms. Here you can find the latest video of Boston Dynamics’ robots: https://youtu.be/fn3KWM1kuAw .