Next Call:

MathWorks Miniseries: Test & Deploy an Adaptive
Model Predictive Controller

March 2nd @ 12:00pm EDT

Topic:

1. 1. n this webinar, Connell D’Souza of MathWorks will be joined by Alexandre Lamarre of Team SONIA as Alexandre to discuss how Team SONIA uses MATLAB, Simulink and ROS to design, test and deploy an adaptive model predictive controller for their submarine.  Alexandre will walk through how his team used MATLAB’s Symbolic Math Toolbox, Model Predictive Toolbox, Embedded Coder and ROS Toolbox to model their submarine, design a controller and deploy it as a C++ ROS node independent of MATLAB. 

Past Call:

MathWorks Miniseries: Estimating the direction of arrival with MATLAB 

February 2nd @ 12:00pm EDT

Topic:

1. 1. A common task that marine student competitions, viz., RoboBoat, RoboSub and RobotX, share is to detect the direction of arrival of an acoustic signal. This session will cover how to detect the direction of arrival of an acoustic signal in MATLAB. Learn how to simulate a passive sonar system and then detect and localize an acoustic beacon in a shallow water channel. Once we detect acoustic beacon we filter the data, detect the pulse front and then locate the beacon by calculating the bearing angle

Past Call:

MathWorks Miniseries: Intro to ROS , MATLAB , SIMULINK

January 19th @ 12:00pm EDT

Topic:

1. This session will cover how to use MATLAB, Simulink with Robot Operating System and Gazebo Simulator. Learn how to read and write ROS messages, publish and subscribe to topics from MATLAB and Simulink. You will also learn how to generate ROS nodes to deploy to your network independent of MATLAB as well as an introduction to software templates, and best practices to help you implement common ROS programming constructs in MATLAB and Simulink.

Past Call:

Dr. Kristen Mitchell | SEAP and NREIP

May 16th @ 7:00pm EDT

Topic:

In this session, we will be joined by Kristen Mitchell, from the Office of Naval Research, as she shares exciting information about both the Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP) and the Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program (NREIP).

The Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP) provides an opportunity for HIGH SCHOOL students to participate in research at a Department of Navy (DoN) laboratory during the summer.

The Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program (NREIP) provides an opportunity for COLLEGE students to participate in research at a Department of Navy (DoN) laboratory during the summer.

RoboNation Community Hours are for every human (and their robot counterparts are welcome to join them). – – While students from across the globe may attend the webinar, the opportunities discussed are only for U.S. Citizens (with some exceptions for Permanent U.S. Residents and Dual Citizens).

If you’re interested in robotics, autonomy, software engineering, STEM, mechanics, big data, or just love a good laugh, make sure to bring your curious spirit and join our next Community Hour.

Questions? Contact us at autonomy@robonation.org.

To learn more about the SEAP/NREIP programs, visit: https://navalsteminterns.us

Past Call:

MathWorks Mini Series | Tech Talk #3

May 16th @ 7:00pm EDT

Topic:

To design controllers, it is necessary to have a model of the system. In this session you will learn about basic modeling concepts and see a demonstration of how System Identification is used to create mathematical models of components from data.

The System Identification app enables you to perform all stages of modeling such as importing and preprocessing the data, trying out different model structures, and evaluating the resulting models. Two datasets of input and output data for a T200 Blue Robotics Thruster are used to demonstrate the modeling process. You will learn how to process the data by removing means and filtering out the noise. Models are then created using simple linear model structures like state space model and transfer function, illustrating that modeling is an iterative process. You will also learn how to use validation data to evaluate your models.

Past Call:

MathWorks Mini Series | Tech Talk #2

April 14th @ 7:00pm EDT

Topic:

This session will cover the various steps involved in building a model to simulate the dynamics of an AUV using Aerospace Blockset. You will learn about the various forces and moments exerted on an underwater vehicle and the scientific nomenclature involved with the motion of the submarine.

This session will also discuss the various components of modeling an AUV, such as vehicle propulsion, hydrostatic forces, hydrodynamic forces, noise, and filtering. Also, a Simulink demonstration model that was built using these concepts.

Past Call:

MathWorks Mini Series | Tech Talk #1

March 24th @ 7:00pm EDT

Summary:

This session will cover how to use MATLAB, Simulink with Robot Operating System and Gazebo Simulator. Learn how to read and write ROS messages, publish and subscribe to topics from MATLAB and Simulink. You will also learn how to generate ROS nodes to deploy to your network independent of MATLAB as well as an introduction to software templates, and best practices to help you implement common ROS programming constructs in MATLAB and Simulink.

Past Call:

The Inside Scoop on RoboNation

March 3, 2022

Summary:

It was an exciting opportunity to launch the 2022 Community Hour Season by sharing both the inside story about RoboNation and our Executive Director, Daryl Davidson. Join our team as we interview our head human and share our history. 

Past Call:

Deep Learning for Object Detection, presented by MathWorks

November 5, 7:00pm ET (New York time)

Summary:

It was an honor to host MathWorks in this Community Hour to present on the topic of utilizing Deep Learning for object detection. MathWorks covers a variety of points in this session, including:

 – Pre-processing and labeling data for deep learning, designing, and training deep neural networks in MATLAB

 – Importing and working with neural networks designed and trained in third party environments like TensorFlow, PyTorc, etc.

 – Deploying trained neural networks to NVIDIA GPUs for inference acceleration

Past Call:

Simulation Showcase

October 1, 4:00pm ET (New York time)

Summary:

Representatives from Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) and Open Robotics introduced the Virtual RobotX simulation tool and 2022 competition. Registration will open in October 2021! After discussing why simulation is important in preparing your system for competition, we heard from Team Inspiration who built a simulator based off the RoboSub venue to enhance their vehicle’s capabilities.

Past Call:

June Community Hour

June 12, 12:00pm ET (New York time)

Past Call:

May Community Hour

May 15, 12:00pm ET (New York time)

Summary:

This month, we had an exciting presentation from the Data Sharing Committee who have been working for the past year to develop a data sharing system for the University Programs. The effort will soft launch for the 2021 competition season. More information can be found here on the Data Sharing page.

Click here to view the slide deck from the May Community Hour.

Past Call:

April Community Hour

April 23, 7:00pm ET (New York time)

Summary:

Excited to be joined by our lead RoboBoat judge and one of our RoboSub judges to share the judges’ perspective heading into the 2021 competition season. Students got to hear judges’ tips for RoboBoat 2021 and RoboSub 2021 submissions, including how to approach the new Skills Video submission and what not to do. Next up, students heard more about the RobotX 2022 WAM-V Applications. Ended the call with a few questions and closed looking forward to learning more about Data Sharing next month!

Click here to view the slide deck from the April Community Hour.

Past Call:

March Community Hour

March 27, 12:00pm ET (New York time)

Summary:

Had a great turn out (90+) for the first 2021 Community Hour session! Started off reviewing the required submissions for RoboBoat 2021 and RoboSub 2021, registration and data sharing. Next up, was and update on RobotX 2022 and the soon approaching WAM-V Applications. Attendees broke out in breakout discussions for a quick networking at the beginning of the call. Ended with a few questions and closed looking forward to next month!

Click here to view the slide deck from the March Community Hour.

Past Call:

November Community Hour

November 13, 7:00pm ET (New York time)

Summary:

Had a great turn out for the first Community Hour session! Updates were provided regarding RoboBoat 2021 and RoboSub 2021 intent to compete forms, registration and objectives. Attendees broke out in breakout discussions on various topics, debriefing the 2020 competitions and providing insight on the 2021 competitions.