Experiment 3: DARPA RACER Highlights

DARPA’s Robotic Autonomy in Complex Environments with Resiliency (RACER) program conducted in March its third experiment to assess the performance of off-road unmanned vehicles. The multiple courses were in the unforgiving terrain of the Mojave Desert at the U.S. Army’s National Training Center in Ft. Irwin, CA. Researchers also demonstrated the flexibility of the performer team’s autonomy software.

www.techbriefs.com/tv/darpa-racer


Meet FRIDA — An AI-Powered Robot Creating Art

Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute has a new artist-in-residence: FRIDA, a robotic arm with a paintbrush taped to it. FRIDA — named after Frida Kahlo, stands for Framework and Robotics Initiative for Developing Arts — uses AI to collaborate with humans on art. Specifically, it uses AI models akin to those in ChatGPT and DALL-E 2. “FRIDA is a project exploring the intersection of human and robotic creativity,” said Project Member Jim McCann.

www.techbriefs.com/tv/meet-frida


NASA Supercomputer Has Theory on Moon’s Formation

In one of the highest resolution simulations of the Moon’s formation, a new NASA and Durham University supercomputer tells a different story of its origin: the Lunar surface may have formed in a matter of hours after a collision when material from the Earth and a Mars-sized body were launched directly into orbit. “This opens up a whole new range of possible starting places for the Moon’s evolution,” said Researcher Jacob Kegerreis.

www.techbriefs.com/tv/supercomputer


Developing Truly Autonomous (and Safe) Vehicles

The push toward truly autonomous vehicles has been hindered by the cost and time associated with safety testing, but a new system developed at the University of Michigan shows that AI can reduce the testing miles required by 99.99 percent. It aims to enable manufacturers to more quickly verify whether their AV technology can save lives and reduce crashes. Watch this video to see what happens when vehicles trained by AI perform perilous maneuvers.

www.techbriefs.com/tv/autonomous-vehicle-safety