Sector News

Cloud-enabled robot is powered by Nvidia Jetson AI

Wed, Jan 12, 2022

Software development teams and hardware teams can work in parallel to develop robotic systems, cutting development time by up to 80 per cent, using the Nimbus software, says Cogniteam. The company has announced that the cloud-based robotics development and deployment platform now supports Nvidia Jetson edge AI technology.  The Nimbus’s packaging of field-tested software, such as sensors and AI capabilities, accelerates development time, with rapid up-time for cameras, spatial awareness sensors, and other advanced technologies, which can now be instantly uploaded to assets via the cloud.

The latest Nvidia Isacc release includes support for the Robot Operating System (ROS) developer community, where Nvidia has released new Isaac GEMs, hardware-accelerated software packages to build AI-enabled robots on the Jetson platform. Software developers can install advanced AI algorithms from Nvidia Isaac ROS GEMs and standard ROS packages in just a few clicks, says the company. 

“Pulling from open source to commercial libraries, developers can work harmoniously to test AI algorithms without the worries of compatibility hassles,” said Cogniteam’s co-founder and CEO, Dr. Yehuda Elmaliah.

Nimbus is easy to use, meaning that basic programming can be achieved with minimal experience, according to the company. “This allowed us to begin addressing complex development challenges nearly immediately, without reinventing the wheel,” said Gal Frenkel, co-founder and CEO of RoboDeck. “We worked with Cogniteam to implement their industry-tested sensor technologies with Nvidia’s advanced algorithms and ROS capabilities. Nimbus gave us a powerful investor-ready prototype way ahead of schedule, getting us better prepared for production.”

Customers can use Nimbus to take advantage of their Nvidia integrations and simulate tests for the robots in various environments. Once deployed, teams can remotely update drivers and firmware. In other words, a single platform can be used to deploy a scalable fleet of robots, says Cogniteam. 

http://www.cogniteam.com

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Quartet board streams four USB3 cameras simultaneously

Tue, Jan 11, 2022

Capable of streaming four high performance USB3 board level cameras, the Quartet TX2 Embedded is the latest carrier board from Teledyne Flir.

The cameras can stream simultaneously and at full bandwidth. By eliminating peripheral hardware and host systems, it is suitable for space constrained applications. It is pre-integrated with the company’s Spinnaker software development kit (SDK) and offers scalable performance options.

The Quartet TX2 carrier board combines power and data transmission over a single cable per camera in a compact footprint of 138 x 92 x 18.2mm. It enables developers to create compact vision systems using Nvidia’s established TX2 computing module, integrating a powerful single board computer (SBC) into vision systems with limited space.

The Quartet TX2 carrier board can be used with up to four Blackfly S USB3 board level cameras. The Nvidia Jetson deep learning hardware accelerator also allows for decision-making system on a single, compact board. 

Teledyne Flir is a Teledyne Technologies company, specialising in in intelligent sensing solutions for defence and industrial applications. The company was founded in 1978.  

Teledyne Technologies provides sophisticated digital imaging products and software, instrumentation, aerospace and defence electronics and engineered systems. Teledyne’s operations are primarily located in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Western and Northern Europe. 

http://www.teledyne.com

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Software engine makes lidar data hardware-agnostic

Tue, Jan 11, 2022

3D spatial intelligence specialist, Outsight, offers the Augmented Lidar Box (ALB), believed to be the first real-time lidar (light detection and ranging) software engine that allows developers to seamlessly use lidar data from any hardware supplier. 

The software within a small computing device works with sensors from different manufacturers (including Velodyne, Ouster, Hesai, Robosense and Innoviz) and  instantly converts raw 3D data input to accessible, actionable data. 

Lidar technology is increasingly used across a range of industries outside of the automotive sector, such as energy, intelligent transportation systems, logistics, manufacturing, smart infrastructure, defence, space and agriculture.

3D lidar was introduced in 2005 to give autonomous vehicles real time, 360 degree perception. It allows cars to determine the situation on the road, but also to cope with other, more complex tasks, for example, analysing people’s interactions in a certain space, calculating the exact volume and quantity of objects in a truck, or enabling many robotics applications. It is estimated there will be 16 million lidar sensors in smart cities, security and industry verticals by 2030, and 13 million installed in vehicles. Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) such as smart intersections and smart infrastructure applications are expected to be the main drivers of market growth, with software for lidar in smart infrastructure and ITS applications expected to account for at least 40 per cent of the value.

Lidar sensor prices are dropping as more companies operate in the market but there are problems of data interpretation and ease of use of available devices, reports Outsight. Selecting the right lidar sensor from dozens of hardware suppliers and more than 100 available products, without any standard, is a time-consuming and inefficient use of engineering resources, argues the company.

It says its ALB real time software allows any engineer from any market segment to use lidar data without needing to become a 3D expert because it includes the fundamental insight commonly required by users (e.g., localisation and mapping, object identification and tracking, segmentation and classification).

The ALB is believed to be the first lidar pre-processor. It is a real time software engine that turns any lidar into a spatial intelligence device. It overcomes the complexity of using raw 3D data, so any application developer or integrator can efficiently use lidar without needing to become a 3D lidar expert, says Outsight.   

http://www.outsight.tech 

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Magnachip expands OLED DDIC for automotive displays

Mon, Jan 10, 2022

Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display driver integrated circuits (DDICs) from Magnachip now include models for automotive displays. 

The company has responded to an increase in demand for automotive semiconductors required for electric vehicles (EVs), autonomous driving and connected cars and their infotainment and safety systems. OLED panels offer image quality, high visibility and fast response times.

Magnachip is developing an OLED DDIC for automotive systems’ centre stack and instrument cluster displays, based on its 40nm process technology. The next-generation DDIC supports a wide range of resolutions including FHD (full high definition) and is suitable for both rigid and flexible OLED displays. The DDIC will integrate source drivers, gate drivers and timing controllers in a single chip. This feature will enable the production of cost-effective display panels consisting of fewer components, says Magnachip. 

Market research company, Omdia, expects the automotive display market to grow from $8.2 billion in 2021 to $9.7 billion in 2025. The revenue of global automotive OLED panel market reached $117 million in 2021 and it is expected to increase approximately 350 per cent to $524 million in 2025, says the company.

YJ Kim, CEO of Magnachip, believes: “Vehicles incorporating displays based on our next-generation OLED DDIC technology represents another step in improved safety, functionality and convenience for consumers.”  

The company plans to supply the new product to premium European car manufacturers in the first half of 2023.

Magnachip Semiconductor designs and manufactures analogue and mixed-signal semiconductors for communications, IoT, consumer, industrial and automotive applications. The company provides a broad range of standard products to customers worldwide. It has more than 40 years of operating history and a portfolio of approximately 1,200 registered patents and pending applications, together with extensive engineering, design and manufacturing process expertise. 

http://www.magnachip.com 

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