The first article I read was about autonomous underwater vehicles. This interesting use of robotics has been used to discover parts of the ocean that humans cannot. From mapping the coastlines for surf reports to far beneath large ice sheets, these robots have been everywhere. GPS tracking has allowed for long range mobility and advanced mapping. Along with ocean floor mapping, these robots have been taking temperatures, current paths and salinity reports. They have given researchers valuable data for their studies. AUVs have gone from having to be connected to the base ship to being completely self driven. The most amazing piece of information from the article was the new ways in how the AUVs regain power while on their missions. The first is something that has been widely heard of, tidal energy. The AUVs harness the tidal ebb and flow to generate power for their propulsion. The next and most astonishing was the temperature gradient energy harvesting. As the temperature changes, AUV produces a small amount of energy. This has many applications within the building industry and the mechanical concentration. The article was a great introduction into the robotics world.
The second thing I checked out was http://robotsinarchitecture.blogspot.com/. This small application of robotics for art and architecture software. The KUKA robot arm has been used recently at graffiti art show in Berlin. The robot arm works with the Rhino software for 3D modeling. The goal of the group is to explore the options with robots and architecture. This group has been making presentations at schools and industry companies. They have been promoting projects for more research and applications within robotics and architecture. This group is definitely something to keep on eye on.
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