KUKA and youBot Store launch an initiative

                      "Fun in Mobile Manipulation"

to promote education in mobile manipulation on the undergraduate and
graduate level.

Participants in the initiative will be typically research groups and
labs in universities and public research facilities, which are willing
to organize an one-week programming marathon ("hackathon") for under-
graduate or graduate students around mobile manipulation at large.

Participants will get a KUKA youBot on a loan basis *free of cost* for a
period of four weeks. They will only have to cover the cost for shipping
and insurance of the youBot and for hosting a group of students in their
labs.

The concept for the event is rather simple:
For a whole week, the students should be allowed and encouraged to
develop cool software on one of the most recent and versatile robot
system: the KUKA youBot. Ideally there should be no limits to their
creativity but, of course, the host can encourage the students to look
into specific applications or technical issues. Pictures, videos, and
reports on earlier events can be found with Google (youbot + hackathon).

The investment of the research labs participating in this initiative
is reasonably low:
- cost for insuring and shipping the youBot(s) (< 500 EUR/650 USD)
- cost for PR (supported by youBot Store team) (~ 150 EUR/195 USD)
- lab space for a week for a handful of students
- some time to supervise the students
- pizza, pasta, and soft drinks for the students (~ 200 EUR/260 USD)

The return on investment of the participating research lab can be
remarkably high:
- smart students interested in mobile manipulation
- visibility as key player in mobile manipulation
- local media attention (if you inform your local media)

Technical support and advice regarding the organisation of the event will be provided by the youBot Store team free of cost.

Research labs interested in organizing a hackathon using a KUKA youBot should contact:

  youBot Store GmbH
  Werner-von-Siemens-Str. 6
  86159 Augsburg, Germany

hackathon@youBot-Store.com

RoboCup@Work
at
German Open 2013
Call for Participation
http://www.robocupgermanopen.de
26. - 28. April 2013
Magdeburg, Germany

The RoboCup German Open 2013 will again take place in Magdeburg. This year there will be a demonstration league for RoboCup@Work. RoboCup@Work is a new competition in RoboCup that targets the use of robots in work-related scenarios. It aims to foster research and development that enables use of innovative mobile robots equipped with advanced manipulators for current and future industrial applications. Robots cooperate with human workers for complex tasks ranging from manufacturing, automation, and parts handling up to general logistics.

Thank you for joining us at the KUKA youBot rollout party during IROS 2012 in Vilamoura. The party took place on Oct. 9 at 19:30 in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Vilamoura in room Sotavento.

After some painful birth problems - sharing the fate of the A380, Dreamliner and Galileo - the KUKA youBot is smoothly rolling of the assembly line. As small as it is the KUKA youBot has the potential to become a major milestone in robotics.

Please feel free to visit our facebook page and like KUKA youBot.

See more in our <a href="http://www.youbot-store.com/blog/21-youbot-4th-brics-research-camp.aspx" target="_self">blog</a><br />

The first RoboCup@Work competition is taking place at Robocup 2012 in Mexico City. Four teams compete in this new demonstration league of RoboCup that focuses on mobile manipulation tasks in work-related scenarios. More information and media will be published in the blog.

The RoboCup 2012 competition will be held in Mexico City from Monday 18th through Sunday 24th June 2012. RoboCup@Work is a new competition in RoboCup that targets the use of robots in work-related scenarios.

During AUTOMATICA 2012 (May 22-25, 2012) you will have the pleasure to watch several research results on KUKA youBots.

KU Leuven will show their loose coupling demonstration on two KUKA youBots together with University of Twente's demonstration on new open source robot control via a haptical device on the joint booth of the European Robotics projects of euRobotics, BRICS and ECHORD. Furthermore, you will see a mobile manipulation task between a KUKA youBot and a KUKA omniRob concept as well as different KUKA youBot's controlled via different devices such as Android smart phones, tabloid computers and game controllers.

Just like previous years, KUKA youBot will be presented at the 12th RoboCup German Opens in Magdeburg, Germany. More information about the event can be found on the following website: http://www.robocupgermanopen.de/

--- English Text below pictures ---

Während der Europäischen Robotikwoche (28.11. - 02.12.2011) werden in Bonn/St. Augustin und in Stuttgart
jeweils Programmiermarathons auf dem KUKA youBot, einem omnidirektionalen mobilen Manipulator
für Ausbildung und Forschung, durchgeführt.

Gefragt sind youBots, die:
• sich mit Laserschwertern duellieren
• Spielzeugkarosserien schleppen
• Schiffscontainer leeren
• IKEA Möbel montieren
• Paletten umstapeln
• Basketball oder Handball spielen
• gemeinsam Walzer tanzen

Wir bieten:
• youBot Hardware und Software
• Pizza, Pasta und Softdrinks

Wir erwarten:
• fundierte Kenntnisse und Erfahrungen in der Softwareentwicklung
• Neugier, Kreativität, Spieltrieb und Ausdauer
• open source Software für youBot
• spannende Demos

Teilnehmer können eine Woche lang auf einem der neusten und vielseitigsten Robotersysteme der Welt
coole Software entwickeln. Der Kreativität sind kaum Grenzen gesetzt.

Veranstalter in Stuttgart:
Locomotec UG
Nobelstraße 15
70569 Stuttgart
Tel. (0711) 656 936-0

Anmeldungen unter:
hackathon@locomotec.com

Veranstalter in Bonn/St.Augustin:
Masterstudiengang
Autonome Systeme
Grantham-Allee 20
53757 St. Augustin
Tel.: 02241 865 251

Anmeldungen unter:
Email: Bjoern.Kahl@h-brs.de

Anmeldefrist jeweils: 14.11.2011

*Bei Kollisionen mit Vorlesungen und anderen Lehrveranstaltungen
können auf Nachfrage alternative Termine verabredet werden.

                                

--- English text ---

During the European Robotics Week (28.11. - 02.12.2011*) there will be
in Bonn/St. Augustin und in Stuttgart each programming marathons on a
KUKA youBot, an omni-directional mobilemanipulator for education and research.

For a whole week participants can develop cool software on one of
the most recent and versatile robot system: the KUKA youBot.

There will be no limits to your creativity. At the end of the week
we would like to see youBots
* hauling together large work pieces
* emptying toy models of ship containers
* assembling IKEA furniture or
* stacking pallets
as much as youBots which
* fight each other with toy laser swords
* play basket ball or handball or
* dance waltz together.

We offer
* free access to youBot hardware and software
* free supply of pizza, pasta and softdrinks for the entire week

We expect
* sound knowledge and experience in software development
* curiousity, creativity, durance
* open source software for the youBot
* exciting demos

Organizers:
  Locomotec UG
  Nobelstraße 15
  70569 Stuttgart, Germany
  Tel. +49 711 656 936-0
  Email: hackathon@locomotec.com

  Master Course Autonomous Systems
  Univ. of Applied Sciences Bonn-Rhine-Sieg
  Grantham-allee 20
  53757 Sankt Augustin, Germany
  Tel. +49 2241 865-251
  Email: bjoern.kahl@h-brs.de

Venues:
* Technologiezentrum der Univ. Stuttgart, Stuttgart
* Univ. of Applied Sciences Bonn-Rhine-Sieg, Sankt Augustin

Dates:
  28.11. - 02.12.2011 *)

Registration deadline:
  14.11.2011


*) In case of time clashes with lectures and other educational
events we can off alternative dates upon request.

KUKA youBot will be presented at the international Robot EXhibition (iREX) 2011 from November 9 (Wed.) - 12 (Sat.), 2011 (for 4 days). Come to the Tokyo International Exhibition Center (Tokyo Big Sight) and see KUKA youBot on the booth of KUKA Robotics Japan. More information can be found on the following web sites:

http://www.nikkan.co.jp/eve/irex/english/general.html
http://www.kuka-robotics.com/japan/ja/?

Picture from the booth:

KUKA youBot will be present at exhibition and in workshops at the 2011 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) from September 26-30, 2011 at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square, San Francisco, California, USA.

On Monday, September 26, 4pm, at the special symposium in Continental Parlor 7, that will highlight 12 of the best demo proposals, with short descriptions of the demos by the authors ("SP10 – Haptic coupling with augmented feedback between the KUKA youBot and the PR2 robot arms"): http://www.iros2011.org/demos

On Tuesday, September 27, 2011, 8:00-9:30, Continental Ballroom 4 in the Forum "Robots: The New Commercial Platforms" with speaker Bernd Liepert, KUKA Laboratories, Germany: http://iros2011.org/forums

Let's meet where the continents meet:

From July 5-11, 2011, KUKA youBot will be present at this year's RoboCup in Istanbul, Turkey.
The event will take plave at the Istanbul Expo Center, WTCI.

RoboCup 2011 will be open to public attendance from July 7 to 10 July. Tickets will be available soon.
http://www.robocup2011.org/en/

Come to Berlin and see KUKA's coolest robots,
KUKA youBot and two KUKA-LWRs,
at the Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery (CARS)
25th International Congress and Exhibition.

http://www.cars-int.org/
The exhibition takes place on June 23 - 24, 2011 at the Estrel Hotel in Berlin.

KUKA youBot will be present at exhibition and in workshops at the 2011 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2011) from May 9 to 13, 2011 at the Shanghai International Conference Center and the Shangri-La Hotel Shanghai Pudong in Shanghai, China.
http://www.best-of-robotics.org/icra2011workshop/
http://www.icra2011.org/

KUKA youBot will be on tour in April:

* 10th RoboCup German Open in Magdeburg (GER) from March 31 - April 3, 2011
http://www.robocupgermanopen.de
* Hannover Messe 2011 in Hannover (GER) from April 4-8, 2011
http://www.hannovermesse.de/product/kuka-systems-gmbh?product=241207&directLink=D542884
* European Robotics Forum in Västerås (SWE) from April 6-8, 2011
http://www.eurobotics-project.eu/cms/index.php?idcat=40

The software section on KUKA youBot store has received a new face and plenty of new software. In the store youBot users will find basic software, which allows them to operate their youBot. They will find further software and example programs that will help them to develop their own software. All software is open source and continues to be under development with new releases being published regularly.

Manufacturing of KUKA youBot mobile platforms started on January 24, 2011, but had to be suspended shortly afterwards because of delivery problems of sub-suppliers. Manufacturing will be resumed in week 8.

On January 24, 2011, a software developer team at Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences lead by Ph.D. student Jan Paulus has released a first version of an open source youBot application programming interface (youBot API). The work is a byproduct of the work that the research team is doing within the European project BRICS - Best Practice in Robotics. The youBot API allows the users to program the youBot in joint space.
The software which is still under development is available over https://github.com/youbot/.