7 Platform one Uncrewed Systems Technology | February/March 2024 Researchers in the USA have developed a tiny, autonomous robot carrying sensors to perform tasks such as catching gas leaks or tracking warehouse inventory (writes Nick Flaherty). The researchers at the University of Washington (UW) created the MilliMobile four-wheeled robot to be powered by light or radio waves. At 10 x 10 mm, it is about the size of a penny and weighs 1.1 g. The robot uses a solar panel-like energy harvester to move about 10 m per hour, even on a cloudy day with light conditions as low as 20 W/m2 and -10 dBm of radiofrequency (RF) power. It moves towards light sources using a sensor. Able to drive on surfaces such as concrete or packed soil, the robot can In early December 2023, we at High Power Media Ltd were shocked to learn that our long-standing Production and Sub Editor across all of our titles, Guy Lindsay Richards, had become seriously ill. He was optimistic for his planned treatment, but tragically died the day before it was due to commence. Guy first worked on RET 42 in November 2009. As one of our team remarked: “I think we always understood each other well and probably got the best out of each other. It was always a pleasure to deal with him.” Other comments were along the lines of, “what a super-nice guy he was”, “a professional, courteous and nononsense man”, and “Guy was one of the most pleasant and good-humoured carry equipment that is three times its own weight, such as a camera or sensors. Carrying a 1 g payload only reduces its speed by 25%. Miniaturising the robot to gram scale significantly reduced the energy required to move it. The team developed methods to produce intermittent motion by people I’ve ever had the privilege to work with, and I will miss him.” Despite Guy calling a spade a spade and not suffering fools gladly, he was a kind, caring and thoughtful man, totally down to earth. He was humble too, never bragging about his accomplishments, which included winning Gold Awards for journalism many years in a row. Brought up near Cardiff in South Wales and having excelled at school, Guy attained an HND in electrical and electronic engineering at Sheffield University. From his mid-20s he held a range of jobs within electronics and journalism discharging a small capacitor (47-150 μF) to move a motor in discrete steps, enabling motion from as little as 50 μW of power or less. “We took inspiration from ‘intermittent computing’, which breaks complex programs into small steps, so a device with very limited power can work incrementally as energy is available,” said UW researcher Kyle Johnson. Software-defined techniques were used to maximise power harvesting, operating in the optimal part of the charging curve by varying the charging time to achieve speeds up to 5.5 mm/s. The researchers have added light, temperature and humidity sensors, as well as Bluetooth, enabling the robot to transmit data over 200 m. before settling in as a staff member at Reed Publishing. After moving back to Cardiff, Guy worked for the Western Mail prior to joining our team. All of us at HPM send our deepest condolences to his devoted son, James, his brother, Jon, and his sister-in-law, Jen, and to all his extended family and friends. Mini robots Obituary Smart robot sees the light Guy Richards: 1958-2023 The four-wheeled robot is about the size of a penny
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjI2Mzk4