Innovation of the Week

Hot Topic! Robotic Firefighting Systems That Can Assist (Or Even Replace) Firefighters In The Most Hostile Environments.

19 Comments / Industry News / By / , , , / 11 May 2020 23 July 2020
Robot firefighting systems for the most hostile environments.
Milrem Robotics and InnoVfoam are developing robot firefighting systems to assist or even replace firefighters in the most hostile environments. The jointly developed firefighting solutions combine Milrem Robotics’ unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) Multiscope Rescue and InnoVfoams various firefighting systems, specifically foam proportioning systems and fire monitors. For further information see the IDTechEx report on Mobile Robots, Autonomous Vehicles, and Drones in Logistics, Warehousing, and Delivery 2020-2040. The firefighting robots are remotely operated by firefighters who remain at a safe distance while receiving a complete overview of the operation area via various cameras, i.e. thermal and infrared, and sensors onboard the… Read More »

What We’ve Learned About Boeing’s Scary and Game-Changing Loyal Wingman Fighter Jet Drones

18 Comments / Industry News / By / , , / 4 May 2020 15 October 2020
Everything We Learned From Boeing About Its Potentially Game-Changing Loyal Wingman Drone

In what is a massive milestone for Boeing and potentially for unmanned aerial combat systems as a whole, the company officially rolled out the first of three pre-production unmanned teaming aircraft, which is the central component of a total system called the Airpower Teaming System, or ATS for short. The War Zone was part of a small roundtable of journalists that talked with two of the minds behind ATS ahead of the official unveiling and we learned a lot about this potentially game-changing system, to say the least.

ATS is designed to work with manned aerial assets in the ‘loyal … Read More »

New Scavenger Technology Launched That Allows Unique Robots to ‘Eat’ Metal To Create Sustainable Energy

19 Comments / Industry News / By / , , , / 13 April 2020 30 June 2020
New Scavenger Technology Allows Robots to ‘Eat’ Metal for Energy

When electronics need their own power sources, there are two basic options: batteries and harvesters. Batteries store energy internally, but are therefore heavy and have a limited supply. Harvesters, such as solar panels, collect energy from their environments. This gets around some of the downsides of batteries but introduces new ones, in that they can only operate in certain conditions and can’t turn that energy into useful power very quickly.

New research from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering and Applied Science is bridging the gap between these two fundamental technologies for the first time in the form of… Read More »

New Dredging Innovation Launched by Royal IHC – the IHC Otter

15 Comments / Industry News / By / , , / 27 March 2020 30 September 2020
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Dutch dredging machinery manufacturer Royal IHC has just announced that they are extending their dredging product family with new compact dredger, the IHC Otter.

The IHC Otter is a range of compact dredgers as platform for deploying the well-known IHC TT-Pump, which provide customers with a compact, cost-effective solution to dredge slurry for smaller dredging projects.  The IHC Otter is mainly used to dredge silt, medium sand and gravel. It combines the advantages of the IHC TT-Pump unit into a single dredging solution.

FIT FOR PURPOSE

The design is based on the principles of production maximisation and reliability, and its … Read More »

Satellite Image Technology Is Being Used To Find And Solve Potholes On Roads In Blackburn

8 Comments / Industry News / By / , , , , / 26 February 2020 30 June 2020
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Sometimes they can make motorists feel like they’re driving on the rocky surface of the moon.

But the pothole crisis has been solved for one council – by spotting them from space.

Blackpool Council says it is the first in the UK to use satellite image capturing to identify craters in the roads in seconds.

The high-tech scheme has so far filled 5,145 potholes and saved the council £1million in repair and manpower costs.

The technology detects the damage before using a colour-coding system to inform engineers what action to take.

Councillor Fred Jackson said: ‘Project Amber and the use … Read More »

The UK Launches The World’s First ‘Human Detector’ To Protect Homeless People Sleeping In Bins From Harm

11 Comments / Industry News / By / , , / 14 December 2019 14 October 2020
A waste management company has developed a device to help protect homeless people who seek shelter inside industrial bins from harm.
A waste management company has developed a device to help protect homeless people who seek shelter inside industrial bins from harm. As temperatures drop across the country, waste containers become increasingly important refuges for rough sleepers, of which there are currently 320,000 in the UK, according to the latest research by Shelter. While finding people sleeping inside bins is rare, the rise in homelessness means that it is becoming an increasingly common situation. Over the last 10 years, the Waste Industry Safety and Health (WISH) forum states that 20 people have died after being accidentally thrown into trucks by rubbish… Read More »