Tag Archives: Autodesk

Hyundai’s TIGER walking robot is an advanced locomotive version of Boston Dynamic’s Spot!

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Walking in the footsteps of Elevate – Hyundai’s Ultimate Mobility Vehicle (UMV) shown-off at CES 2019, is the all-new TIGER that the Hyundai Motor Group revealed today. A logical progression in the development of the walking car robot dream that Hyundai has been chasing for quite some time, the TIGER (Transforming Intelligent Ground Excursion Robot) concept is developing under the freshly formed New Horizons Studio in collaboration with Autodesk and Sundberg-Ferar. This will be the company’s first unmanned Ultimate Mobility Vehicle (UMV) with the 360-degree directional control, designed typically to carry payload on challenging terrain in remote locations.

As Dr. John Suh, Head of New Horizons Studio, aptly put forward, the group’s vision to design automated vehicles like TIGER and the associated technologies to push the envelope of imaginations for future UMV’s. He said, “We are constantly looking at ways to rethink vehicle design and development and re-define the future of transportation and mobility.” The vehicle’s size and total weight are kept to the minimum courtesy of the carbon fiber composite additive printing – making it possible to transport TIGER to remote locations via unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV’s) for exploration or delivering emergency payload for rescue missions. Taking the capabilities of any off-road vehicle to the next level, TIGER can transform its locomotion from wheeled mobility to walking abilities instantly. Hyundai Motor Group calls it the Leg-wheel articulation that enables it to deliver payload in inhospitable terrain safely. For the most part, TIGER uses an all-wheel-drive mechanism to get over the landscape, and when things get too tricky for its wheels, it’s time to get walking.

The first prototype version of the TIGER will be X-1 (‘X’ for experimental) – honing strong legs and chassis thanks to the advanced generative design capabilities. Not only will the UMV be ideal for rescue missions and payload delivery, but it will also be perfect for 360-degree surface evaluation for other planetary exploration missions – the likes of the Moon mission or the ongoing Mars missions. As per David Byron, Manager of Design and Innovation Strategy at Sundberg-Ferar. “TIGER is a modular platform design allowing different bodies to be attached to the chassis for unique applications such as cargo delivery or surveillance in locations not suitable for humans.”

While Elevate is designed to carry passengers, this one solely targets unscrewed missions with its compact form factor. Now that Hyundai Motor Group has acquired Boston Dynamics, this robotic powerhouse’s characteristics may well come into play for bringing the two walking robots to life. In a way, it looks like the evolved cousin of Spot the dog robot already. We can expect the TIGER X-1 to take shape in the next couple of years, and a buyable version is expected at least five years from now. After all, designing a vehicle like this is no child’s play!

Designer: Hyundai Motor Group

Make your own Pixel clock using Ping Pong Balls and LEDs!

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It’s a pretty rare thing for me to talk about something like the DIY Ping Pong Ball LED Clock, because it isn’t a product. It’s a set of instructions that you can follow to make your own! Posted on the Instructables website (owned by Autodesk), this nifty clock comes from the mind of a tinkerer by the username ‘thomasj152’. The clock uses a series of circular pixels, created by Ping Pong balls that have LEDs within them. The spherical shape of the balls means the pixels are arranged in a hexagonal layout (which makes for a pretty unique font style when you get numbers to flash on it), and a wooden frame holds the entire unit together, balls, batteries, circuit board and all.

While I’m not going to lay down the step-by-step instructions here (you can head to the Instructables page to check it out), the process is relatively simple and does involve power tools. The individual ping pong balls need to be truncated (chopped) a little below the midline, before being glued together in their hexagonal layout. They’re then fitted into a frame, and mounted on a backplate that has the LEDs and Arduino board assembled in. The LEDs and Ping Pong balls don’t need to align perfectly, because the diffusive property of the plastic used in the ping pong balls will ensure the entire ball illuminates almost evenly like a glowing orb. Just make sure when you’re cutting up the ping pong balls, you take the logo out, because you don’t want that shining on your clock!

An Arduino Nano microcontroller takes care of the software end, and all you need to do is run the script provided on the Instructables site to get your clock running. Yes, that rainbow background is built right into the code, although there’s one with just the numbers too. Makes for a nice quirk-punk addition to your workspace, or even a very meaningful gift to a family member or a friend!

Designer: thomasj152

Click Here to Make Your Own!

Click Here to Make Your Own!

NASA and Autodesk are testing new ways to design interplanetary landers

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Autodesk, the software company behind AutoCAD, has teamed up with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to look at news ways to create an interplanetary lander that could potentially touch down on the moons of Saturn or Jupiter. When Mark Davis, the...

Autodesk and Kickstarter designed a 3D file to help you test 3D printers

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Kickstarter and Autodesk are arguably the two biggest companies heavily invested in the 3D printing industry. Autodesk is a pioneer in the 3D CAD modeling world, developing software that a majority of designers, architects, and engineers use to prototype and manufacture their products. Kickstarter, a community of creators, relies on 3D printing too as makers turn to rapid prototyping to manufacture quick samples of their products/concepts for testing. Kickstarter has also accelerated the 3D printing movement by providing a crowdfunding platform for a multitude of 3D Printer manufacturing startups.

The two companies have joined forces to develop a 3D file that tests the quality of FDM (fused deposition modeling, or 3D printers that extrude melted plastic) 3D printers. The open-source project helps you inspect the quality of your printer (and even your plastic reel) by putting it through rigorous testing. The 3D file lets you look at various aspects of the printing process, from its ability to build bridges, to print overhangs, to print dimensionally accurate models, or models that don’t warp, and even test extruder features like flow control. The all-inclusive model (available for download below) lets you measure the accuracy and finesse of your printer, which is heaven-sent for creators who would go on to print critical prototypes, and for 3D printer manufacturers, who can measure the quality of their printers before launching a campaign to retail them. The test even lets you sort the good printers from the bad, so you aren’t stuck with an expensive metal box that prints warped, disproportionate, or stringy 3D models!

Designers: Autodesk & Kickstarter.

Click Here to Download File

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Click Here to Download File

3D printing will revolutionize how the Marine Corps fights

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"The people closest to the problem are also the people closest to the solution," Capt. Chris Wood, co-lead for Additive Manufacturing with the US Marine Corps, told Engadget. In 2016, the USMC put that adage to the test as it launched the Logistics I...

MakerBot will connect Chromebooks to cloud-based 3D printers

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Earlier this year, Makerbot announced in its most recent bloodletting that it would focus more on the education market. Today we're seeing some of the fruits of that decision. First up is "My MakerBot," what the outfit describes as a cloud-enabled br...

Drones help expand the world’s busiest airport

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Drones and airports usually go together like oil and water, but you can't say that about Atlanta's air hub. The city has formed a partnership with 3DR, Autodesk and engineering firm Atkins that has drones mapping Hartsfield-Jackson International Air...