engineer

The big problem with putting robots everywhere is that they get lost. An engineer from Elche believes she has the solution

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It is no surprise that we see more and more robots in our daily lives: in a restaurant bringing orders to the table, in the field as a seasonal workermaking him courier delivery competition…and that’s not to mention its applications in automation on an industrial scale. Robots don’t need to rest, they don’t have labor rights, and they don’t complain. But they get lost. And that is a real, very common problem for which a research team from the Miguel Hernández University of Elche has found solution. The context. Autonomous robots need to know where they are to function and that does not always happen: when the location reference is lost, either because someone moves it, it is turned off or the environment changes without warning, the robot is unable to recover its position. Something as normal as running out of battery can be a technical drama. This phenomenon is not something isolated, in fact it even has a name in robotics: the “kidnapped robot problem“. Although we see more and more robots everywhere, this incident is a pending issue that has not been resolved in a robust way for decades. Without going any further, because resorting to GPS is something that can fail in settings such as indoors or near tall buildings. As deepens Míriam Máximolead author of the article: “It is a classic problem and very difficult to solve, especially in large environments.” The solution. What the team from the University of Elche has implemented is MCL-DLF, the acronym for Monte Carlo Localization – Deep Local Feature, a system that combines two technologies: on the one hand, a 3D LiDAR that emits laser pulses to draw a three-dimensional map of the environment similar to that of robot vacuum cleaners. On the other hand, an artificial intelligence that learns which elements of the environment are most useful for orientation. Why is it important. Because having a reliable location system is essential for any robotic deployment in real life: autonomous vehicles, delivery and logistics, assistance… its presence may be increasingly common, but it is still tremendously dependent on supervision: knowing where it is is essential for it to operate safely. The implemented method also introduces an important change: it is independent, in that it does not require external infrastructure to function like GPS, so its base is more robust and versatile in the face of different use scenarios in the real world. How it works. Its approach is hierarchical, so it first recognizes large structures and then fine details, similar to how people do. When you arrive at an unknown place, first you keep the essentials: what neighborhood you are in, for example. Then you look for more specific references to refine further. Furthermore, the system does not play everything on one card: it maintains several position hypotheses simultaneously and discards or refines them as the sensor captures more information. Tests carried out for months on the university campus with different lighting conditions, vegetation or simply the weather have shown more consistency than conventional methods. A good start with pending subjects. Beyond its promising results, the most striking thing about this research is its commitment to sensory autonomy: it does not depend on networks of beacons or GPS, but on its own sensors. This makes it a potentially more versatile system. However, it faces the great historical challenge of robot placement: how fragile it is in the face of changing environments. It is true that they have tested it in different conditions, but it has been within the campus: making the leap to more complex and constantly changing environments is their litmus test, in addition to additional validation in extreme conditions. Finally, before an eventual real commercial deployment, we will have to see how it integrates with other navigation systems and its computational cost. In Xataka | Tesla has been building the Optimus for years. China has just presented itself with fifteen companies and factories already set up In Xataka | We already have so many “humanoid” robots that it is difficult to differentiate one from the other. This graph fixes it Cover | Enchanted Tools

A Google engineer moved to a truck parked on the company’s campus. The rent was saved and 90% of its salary

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The price of housing, whether rent or purchase through a mortgage, represents the main disbursement For anyone. However, it is an expense that we assume because it is not to anyone anyone sleeping outdoors. However, not everyone faces the issue of housing in the same way. Better a van. Business Insider History collected last year From Brandon, a 23 -year -old software engineer, who moved to San Francisco in 2015 to do summer practices at a Google branch. However, he met A Rent market for clouds. Instead of renting an apartment, Brandon opted for an unusual solution: living in a truck to save and pay their student loans Before buying a house. 2,000 dollars for sharing room. When Brandon moved to San Francisco, he agreed to one of the corporate flats that Google has in the city. There I had to share a two -bedroom floor with four people, for which I paid about $ 65 per night. That was about 2,000 dollars a month. “I realized that I was paying an exorbitant amount of money for the apartment in which I was staying, and I was almost never at home,” Brandon declared Business Insider. At that time, the young man began to gestate how his home would be for the future. Housing plan on wheels. The following year, Brandon He returned to work in Google Full time, but the young man was not willing to burn his savings. So He drew a planfacing the following year. Before starting his new adventure in San Francisco, Brandon bought a 2006 Ford truck with more than 252,000 for $ 10,000, using the advance they had given in Google for the signing of their contract. That would be his new home and had parked him in the parking lot of the office, so the young engineer says he never is late for work. With everything you need to live, but cheaper. His only fixed expenses were $ 121 per month for truck insurance, since he has no electricity costs and Google pays his mobile telephone line. The truck box provided a space of 12 square meters, more than enough space To sleep and save your personal belongings. The young man says that he only needs a battery lamp to illuminate the interior of the truck, and a portable battery of 15,000 mAh in case the mobile drums or headphones are spent, and that recharges at work. The interior of the truck was furnished in a simple way, with a bed, a dresser and a coat rack to hang clothes. Actually, that truck already offered him more space than he had on Google’s floor paying $ 2,000 per month. Live in Google. Brandon has created a blogin which he tells how his day to day living in a truck. The engineer tells that, as in his first year of practices, he spends all day In Google facilities. The young engineer says he makes all meals in the canteen for Google campus employees, where he also has showers in the campus gym. That allows you to minimize your daily expenses. Thanks to this strategy, Brandon can save approximately 90% of your net salary, allocating these funds to the payment of their student loans and investments. As the vast majority of US students, Brandon has to pay a student debt of $ 22,434, of which a good part has already covered. As a conservative estimate (and taking into account the bonuses), I hope to finish paying it in the next six months, saving thousands of dollars compared to the standard amortization plans of 10 and even 20 years, “Brandon declared the North American environment. Another way of living San Francisco. Brandon says that living parked just a few minutes from your office has many advantages, and allows many of San Francisco’s bad things to be skipped. One of them is the rush hour In the morning, turning his daily journey to work on a simple walk. Not having to drag the economic burden of a monthly rent has allowed him to go to dinner at different restaurants and enjoy the city atmosphere much more. It is not the first time that happens, and Google’s security knows. As Brando himself account on your personal blogIt is not the first time that a Google employee chooses to live in his parking lot. Brandon did not have to see them with Google security staff until the third month of “residence” in its parking lot when, in the middle of the night, it was approached by Google security personnel. However, the situation was resolved without problems after showing its corporate accreditation and confirming that there was an error in the vehicle registration. Clarified the misunderstanding, the safety of the Google campus apologized for waking him and never bother him again. At least, Google will not have to demand Brandon go to the office against your will. It is as at home. In Xataka | A 17 -year -old is the digital nomad par excellence: he lives in trains (and does not get expensive) In Xataka | Help the waiter collect the table seems like a kind gesture: psychologists see something much deeper *An earlier version of this article was published in August 2024

When an engineer wanted to cross Africa by car, he invented a wooden. It would be the beginning of its end

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In one of his picturesque life, Tony Howarth had a revolutionary vision: Create a perfect car for Africa. A cheap, resistant, easy to repair and that could be made locally with sustainable materials. His project, baptized as ‘Africar’, promised to change transportation in the African continent forever. However, what began as an altruistic dream It ended up becoming a legal nightmare which led its creator directly to prison. From a filmmaker to engineer with a mission: to manufacture the perfect car for Africa Image: Silodrome Howarth was not any businessman. Graduated in Engineering from the University of Cambridge, had developed since childhood A passion for mechanics which led him to build his own fuel injection system for his motorcycle when he was barely ten years old. However, it was his recognized career as a photographer and filmmaker that led him to devote himself to this peculiar project. And is that Howarth has traveled more than 130 countries, experiencing in the first person the difficulties of African land roads. During his trips through Africa in the 70s, Howarth realized that Western vehicles were not designed for the extreme conditions of the continent. Earth tracks, deep potholes and the lack of specialized workshops turned any breakdown into a capital problem. In addition, the programmed obsolescence of the Western car industry made the spare parts more and more difficult to achieve. An inspiration of the Ford Model T Image: Silodrome The concept of Africar was inspired by the legendary Ford Model T, a vehicle that had been designed precisely for the roads without asphalting from Rural America of the early twentieth century. Howarth understood that what Africa needed was something similar: A simple, durable and that could be repaired by local mechanics No need for sophisticated equipment. Its design was revolutionary for its simplicity. The chassis was built with stainless steel tubes to avoid corrosion, while body panels could be manufactured with local materials such as laminated wood impregnated in resin, aluminum or even plastic. The chosen engine was the Citroën GSA Boxer Propulor Refrigated by air that offered reliability and ease of maintenance. An expedition that changed everything Image: Lancslive In 1984, Howarth built three prototypes of Africar for an ambitious expedition that would be documented by Channel 4: A journey from the Arctic Circle to the African Ecuador. The three vehicles-a ranchera, a pick-up and a six-wheel model-demonstrated their worth crossing thousands of kilometers of extreme land. During the journey, Africar exceeded evidence that left a Land Rover Series III that accompanied them. Their long -running independent suspension and their high distance to the ground allowed them to overcome obstacles that stuck more conventional vehicles. The fatal error Image: Lancslive The success of the expedition opened the doors to investment. In 1986, Howarth founded Africar International Limited in LancasterEngland, and began to capture capital of private investors. However, He made a mistake that would end his project and, later, in prison. Concerned about the dependence of the Citroën engines, which could be obsolete at any time, Howarth decided to invest the money of investors in developing their own engine. It was a logical decision from the technical point of view, but catastrophic since the financial. The funds were exhausted before completing the development, and the clients who had paid in advance did not receive their vehicles. The situation became unsustainable when investors discovered that the prototype shown in a Christmas presentation of 1987 was actually an empty shell: without engine, with the doors stuck and still wet paint. A bitter ending and a legacy that endures Image: Silodrome In July 1988, the Police intervened and Africar International Limited ceased its operations. Howarth fled to the United States in a desperate attempt to get the financing that saved the project, but it was useless. In 1994 he returned to the United Kingdom, where He was arrested immediately. Tony Howarth declared himself guilty of a fraudulent crime and five to obtain goods through deception. Was sentenced to 15 months in prison. In his own words, the prison experience “was like being in a British boarding school.” Although Africar never manufactured in series (it is estimated that only one and six specimens of production were built), Howarth’s idea did not die with him. His concept has inspired other African entrepreneurs, such as the creators of the Mobius in Kenyathat resumed the vision of a car designed for the region, despite Its economic difficulties. Cover image | Silodrome In Xataka | The list of 2025 most reliable cars has left us the most unexpected surprise: the best car does not have Toyota or Honda

Thus an engineer ended up turning a plane into his own home

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Can you imagine spending the rest of your life on a plane? Not flying, not going from one destination to another, but living inside it. Day after day. Like a real home, with all that implies. As CNBC points outthis was Bruce Campbell’s dream, a retired electrical engineer who currently lives in a Boeing 727 In the middle of a forest on the outskirts of Portland, in Oregon, United States. When a commercial plane reaches the end of its useful life, It is likely to end up dismantled. The most valuable components – like engines, airplane systems or landing gear – usually recover, but fuselage can be abandoned for years in one of the great world aircraft cemeteriesalthough there are recycling initiatives for aluminum and titanium parts. Bruce Campbell was not convinced by the idea that structures as complex and sophisticated as commercial aircraft ended up unscathed and forgotten in a desert corner. He thought that if they could no longer fly, at least they could remain useful in another way: as habitable spaces. With that idea in mind, in 1999 he bought the fuselage of a retired passenger plane, along with several of its internal components. According to USA Todaypaid for everything $ 100,000 (about 190,000 to the current change). A BOEING 757 converted at home But buying the plane was just the beginning. The next challenge was to move it to its new destination. To do so, the aircraft had to be partially disassembled and transported in truck to its farm on the outskirts of Portland. Once there, between trees and vegetation, piece by piece was assembled again. Today it rests on a support structure that connects with the landing train and wings. Bruce has maintained much of the original plane design, including some higher seats and compartments. Visitors access one of the emergency doors and, when touring the central hall, they find an inhabited space, full of everyday objects: a microwave, a table, a refrigerator and several computers. One of them especially attracts attention: a Apple Macintosh Se From the end of the 80s, where visitors can leave a message. One of the spaces that most attract attention is the command cabin, where several of the original controls used by pilots to keep the plane in the air are still preserved. The thrust levers, the controls and much of the instrument panel remain in place, almost as if the plane were ready to take off. In the rest of the interior, wiring and electrical systems are completely in sight, a detail that fits with the mentality of Bruce Campbell, an electrical engineer of training. Far from reserving its unique housing as a personal refuge, Campbell has more than two decades receiving visitors. To those who approach with curiosity, it offers a small tour inside the plane turned into the house, where he shares his vision and his way of life. It should be remembered that we talk about a Boeing 727a narrow fuselage aircraft whose production was extended between 1962 and 1984. It was widely used in medium -range domestic and international routes – with an autonomy of up to 4,720 km in its most advanced versions – and became one of the most popular models of its time. More than 1,800 units were manufactured, although many were removed in the 90s, when airlines began to replace them with more efficient models. Images | Airplanehome/Bruce Campbell In Xataka | Faced with the fear of losing a fortune, the US denies a button off its F-35. It has something worse: the control of the “blue line”

15 years ago, a forest engineer decided to grow sponges in Galicia. The war against plastic has ended up giving him right

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In the mid -90s, Juan Carlos Mascato finished studying forest sciences in Hamburg and enrolled in a company in the area. He was lucky: of all the things that company could have needed, he needed someone to speak Spanish, someone to send to Paraguay. It was then that he met the Lugfa and began his crusade against the plastic. Today is the largest producer in Europe in the sponges and natural scourers. And all from a small town in Pontevedra. What is the LUFFA? The LUFFAS are a genus of plants slightly related to pumpkins, cucumbers and melons. In fact, in Southeast Asia is a Very popular food as long as they are collected soon. Otherwise it becomes too fibrous to be consumed. So fibrous that, duly processed, they can be used as exfoliating sponges. For centuries, this type of vegetables (or some of its variants) were widely used and were among the crops of any orchard that would be precious. But the irruption of plastic from the 40s sent them to the drawer of history. Until now what THE WAR OF THE PLASTICS They have returned them to the first line. And what does the European Luffa giant do in Caldas de Reis? It is an excellent question. As Silvia Rodríguez explained in the countrythe clearest reason is that the Mascato family (of German mother, but Father Gallego) had a farm available in a town with a very particular climate that made it a good candidate to try subtropical crops: Caldas. Chance does not end there, of course. Because the processing of the LUFFA includes a fermentation phase in which the hot springs of the Gallego municipality fit as a ring to the finger. No one is a prophet in their land … And in this case it doesn’t happen either. Because the truth is that Iberian vegetable sponges It is little known here in the country. Of the 200,000 sponges that manufacture a year, only 10% stay in Spain. The rest goes to countries such as Korea, Taiwan, New Zealand, Sweden, Finland, Norwegian or East next … Right now, the company works on an online marketing project in Germany and expanding its productive infrastructure to the US. What sponges can teach us. Because although the story is already very interesting, there is something that really crucial: that for decades we have despised many traditional solutions simply because they were. And that is a mistake. This was made clear in 2015 Karolinska Institute of Stockholm when granted your youyou The Nobel Prize in Medicine. Many interpreted him as a prize for traditional Chinese medicine, but it was not accurate: your feat was incredible. Since 1965, your youyou It was analyzing thoroughly Each and every one of the remedies that the millenary Chinese civilization had been selecting. And, indeed, most pure superstition, pseudoscience and placebo. However, he found the Artemisininea revolutionary treatment against malaria. Rethink the past. This is an example of the book that if we approach us with an open (but rigorous) look at the technological history of humanity, we can find really creative solutions to the problems of our day to day. In the middle of a world invaded by plastics, natural sponges are an excellent example. Image | Jan Helbrant | Tony Buser In Xataka | How an idea can model societies with hundreds of millions of people almost 1000 years later: Schultz’s hypothesis

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