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Control system helps several drones team up to deliver heavy packages

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Many parcel delivery drones of the future are expected to handle packages weighing five pounds or less, a restriction that would allow small, standardized UAVs to handle a large percentage of the deliveries now done by ground vehicles.  But will that relegate heavier packages to slower delivery by conventional trucks and vans?

A research team at the Georgia Institute of Technology has developed a modular solution for handling larger packages without the need for a complex fleet of drones of varying sizes.  By allowing teams of small drones to collaboratively lift objects using an adaptive control algorithm, the strategy could allow a wide range of packages to be delivered using a combination of several standard-sized vehicles.

Beyond simplifying the drone fleet, the work could provide more robust drone operations and reduce the noise and safety concerns involved in operating large autonomous UAVs in populated areas.  In addition to commercial package delivery, the system might also be used by the military to resupply small groups of soldiers in the field.

Continue reading at:  Georgia Tech News Center

Georgia Tech and partners to help NASA advance deep space exploration

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Every few years, NASA creates Space Technology Research Institutes (STRI) in areas it believes are going to be strategic for future technology and space missions.  Today, that area is electric propulsion – the use of electrical energy to accelerate propellant to create thrust.  The technology yields extremely efficient thrusters to power space flight for gateway launches to the moon or even shuttling massive loads of cargo to Mars.

The Georgia Institute of Technology, along with 11 partner universities and 17 researchers, will receive $15 million over five years to fund the Joint Advanced Propulsion Institute (JANUS) – a new STRI to develop strategies and methodologies to surmount limitations in ground testing of high-power electric propulsion systems.

Continue reading at:  EurekAlert!

Georgia Tech structure certified as ‘living building’

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It’s not too often that tours of new buildings start with the toilets.  But they’re a big part of a different kind of building in Atlanta.

And so, Shan Arora, who oversees Georgia Tech’s Kendeda Building, troops visitors pretty quickly to a ground floor bathroom where the toilet begins to hum, and then foam.  There’s no conventional flushing, with the toilets consuming only a teaspoon of water per use.  And the waste is composted in digesters in the basement instead of being piped to a treatment plant.

“We say there’s a lot of potty talk in the Kendeda Building,” Arora said.

Georgia Tech is announcing on Thursday — Earth Day — that the building has won certification as the 28th “living building” worldwide.  That means the building has proved over a year of operation that it meets the standards of the International Living Future Institute that it does more good for the natural environment than harm.

Continue reading at:  AP News

Georgia Tech creates new Office of Corporate Engagement

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This spring, Georgia Tech will launch the Office of Corporate Engagement, a new integrated model of corporate relations and industry collaborations designed to help the Institute leverage critical partnerships and develop new relationships with industry.  The launch of the new office is the first of two phases that will reimagine Georgia Tech’s corporate and industry engagement ecosystem, including a refined organizational structure, over the next several months.

“Continued engagement with industry is a critical part of realizing Georgia’s Tech mission to develop leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition,” said President Ángel Cabrera.  “A renewed, streamlined organizational approach is essential to welcoming and meeting the demands of these growing opportunities.”

The refinements follow a recently completed holistic review of Georgia Tech’s existing corporate, business, and industry engagement structure and activities.  At the request of President Cabrera, the Office of the Executive Vice President for Research (EVPR) and the Office of Development completed a strategic examination of previous reports and studies, and a comprehensive assessment of engagement points for internal and external stakeholders.

Continue reading at:  Georgia Tech News Center

Delta Jacket wins 2021 Georgia Tech InVenture prize

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Aya Ayoubi calls it “humanitarian couture.”

The fourth-year industrial design student’s unique garment took home top honors at Georgia Tech’s 13th annual InVenture Prize competition, which pits student innovations head-to-head.

Ayoubi says she had to learn how to sew to execute her vision — an inflatable, reversible, and waterproof jacket that transforms, through a series of zips, into an air mattress or a sheltering garment to protect from the elements.  She says the garment is geared to provide safety and dignity to homeless populations.

Not only did Ayoubi’s Delta Jacket win the $20,000 first-place prize awarded by the judges, but Ayoubi also took home the People’s Choice Award and an additional $5,000 after a public vote during Wednesday night’s airing on Georgia Public Broadcasting.  Along with the cash prizes, the winner receives a free U.S. patent filing from Georgia Tech valued at $20,000.

Delta Jacket will also be accepted into the CREATE-X Startup Launch program, which will provide additional seed funding and access to legal assistance and expert mentors to build a successful startup company.

Continue reading at:  Georgia Tech News Center

Future of 5G is under the microscope at Georgia incubator

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Entrepreneurs needing — or wanting — a 5G testing environment can now start their search in the metro Atlanta area.  Peachtree Corners, a small town firmly rooted in technology growth, has launched a new incubator with a focus on the next-gen Internet innovation.

The initiative is a collaboration among the Georgia Institute of Technology, the city of Peachtree Corners and T-Mobile.  The 5G Connected Future incubator is based out of the $6 million Curiosity Lab, a city-owned 500-acre smart city technology park, outfitted with an autonomous vehicle test track and other advancements.

“This is kind of a unique model.  I’m not sure that I’ve seen one that’s exactly like it,” remarked John Avery, executive director of Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), a startup incubator.  ATDC is providing the program management, startup educational and event planning, and other services which go along with helping startups become successful.

“It’s very unique to have a public entity — the city of Peachtree Corners, an academic institution like Georgia Tech — and then a commercial provider, T-Mobile, come together, with overlapping interests, and decide to work together to help not only figure out some of the innovation about what 5G will bring us in the future, but to together, help whoever it is that’s coming up with this technology to get from Point A to Point B,” said Betsy Plattenburg, executive director of Curiosity Lab.

Continue reading at:  Government Technology

Collective worm and robot “blobs” protect individuals, swarm together

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Individually, California blackworms live an unremarkable life eating microorganisms in ponds and serving as tropical fish food for aquarium enthusiasts.  But together, tens, hundreds, or thousands of the centimeter-long creatures can collaborate to form a “worm blob,” a shape-shifting living liquid that collectively protects its members from drying out and helps them escape threats such as excessive heat.

While other organisms form collective flocks, schools, or swarms for such purposes as mating, predation, and protection, the Lumbriculus variegatus worms are unusual in their ability to braid themselves together to accomplish tasks that unconnected individuals cannot.  A new study reported by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology describes how the worms self-organize to act as entangled “active matter,” creating surprising collective behaviors whose principles have been applied to help blobs of simple robots evolve their own locomotion.

The research, supported by the National Science Foundation and the Army Research Office, was reported Feb. 5 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  Findings from the work could help developers of swarm robots understand how emergent behavior of entangled active matter can produce unexpected, complex, and potentially useful mechanically driven behaviors.

Continue reading at:  Georgia Tech News Center

The Partnership for Inclusive Innovation is now accepting applications for pilot programs

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The Partnership for Inclusive Innovation is a public-private partnership that launched in 2020 to lead coordinated, statewide efforts to position Georgia as the Technology Capital of the East Coast.  It is now accepting applications for pilot programs seeking funding of up to $250,000!

They are looking for Georgia businesses, entrepreneurs, and entities that want to help foster innovation, access, growth, entrepreneurship, and innovation throughout our state.

Pilot selection criteria include:

    • Team and infrastructure
    • Innovation and impact
    • Alignment with the Partnership’s values
    • Expected return on investment
    • Time needed to make an impact
    • Sustainability

Interested applicants should apply by March 8, and additional information is available online at PartnershipForInclusiveInnovation.org.

Georgia Tech will help manage DOE’s Savannah River National Laboratory

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The Battelle Savannah River Alliance (BRSA) – which includes Georgia Tech – has been selected by the Department of Energy to manage one of the country’s premier environmental, energy, and national security research facilities—the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL).

Employing approximately 1,000 staff, SRNL conducts research and development for diverse federal agencies, providing practical, cost-effective solutions for the nation’s environmental, nuclear security, energy, and manufacturing challenges.  As the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Environmental Management Laboratory, SRNL provides strategic scientific and technological support for the nation’s $6 billion per year waste clean-up program.

As part of the BRSA, Georgia Tech will help manage the SRNL and guide the future growth of the lab’s core competencies while expanding collaboration with Tech’s $1 billion-per-year research program.  The laboratory is located near Aiken, S.C., across the Savannah River from Augusta and Richmond County.

Continue reading at:  Georgia Tech News Center

Dr. Abdallah testifies on U.S. competitiveness, research, STEM pipeline at Congressional hearing

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On Jan. 29, Chaouki Abdallah, Georgia Tech’s executive vice president for Research, testified before a U.S. House of Representatives committee about the cooperative United States research and development (R&D) enterprise, including the threat of falling behind other nations in critical technologies, investment in the nation’s institutions of higher education, and the future of the STEM talent pipeline.

Along with Abdallah, the hearing brought together expert testimony from representatives from federal and industry perspectives, including Diane Souvaine, chair of the National Science Board, and Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google and founder of Schmidt Futures.

In his testimony to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Abdallah stressed the importance of maintaining the U.S. position of leadership in R&D, and the importance of the collaboration between the federal government, higher education, and the private sector.

“The mission, alignment, and cooperation of these three actors have historically made the U.S. research landscape the most productive and admired in the world … and made the U.S. safer, healthier, and wealthier.”

Continue reading at:  Georgia Tech News Center

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