Manufacturing

Asgardia, the first space nation, welcomes support from Mexico As Mexicans come together to support the development of Asgardia, the first space nation congratulates the anniversary of Mexico’s entrance to the Space Age with the launch of Morelos I – Mexico’s first artificial satellite. Asgardia applauds the work done by Mexico over the past three decades on building upon this first step into space and looks to strengthen collaboration with Mexico across future research and development. Mexicans are already stepping forward to support the democratic development of Asgardia, with over 6,200 Mexicans signing up to be Asgardian citizens. Keeping in...

Amazon lands patent for delivery drones that can be waved down by customers If Amazon's delivery drones do actually enter our lives, what will they look like and how might they move around? Will they launch from moving trains or blimps? Will they recharge on lamp posts and self-destruct in midair? If the latest patient issued to the company is anything to go by, perhaps they will be waved down by customers awaiting deliveries.Amazon filed the patent for a drone system that would allow for human interaction with unmanned aerial vehicles back in July 2016, and was awarded it by...

Software turns knitting machines into 3D printers A knitted rabbit, created using the technology(Credit: Carnegie Mellon University) Ordinarily, programming an industrial knitting machine to knit a certain type of item is quite a complex process. As a result, they're generally not used to create one-offs. That could change, though, thanks to new software that tells them how to knit custom 3D objects. The program was developed by a Carnegie Mellon University team led by assistant professor James McCann. Basically, it takes computer models of three-dimensional objects (in the form of 3D meshes), and automatically converts them into stitch-by-stitch instructions that...

Eliport delivery robots won't need us humans Plans call for Eliport robots to travel on sidewalks, amongst pedestrians(Credit: Eliport) When you think about all the logistical challenges involved, perhaps the use of aerial drones to deliver goods to peoples' homes just isn't feasible. That's why several groups are now developing ground-based delivery drones. One of the latest, Barcelona-based Eliport, envisions a system in which people don't even need to be involved. In the Eliport setup, autonomous four-wheeled robots will start by loading themselves up with 30 to 40 kg (66 to 88 lb) of cargo at a centrally-located warehouse/logistics hub. Guided...