Archives for May 16, 2018

Watch a laser-powered RoboFly flap its tiny wings

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Making something fly involves a lot of trade-offs. Bigger stuff can hold more fuel or batteries, but too big and the lift required is too much. Small stuff takes less lift to fly but might not hold a battery with enough energy to do so. Insect-sized drones have had that problem in the past — but now this RoboFly is taking its first flaps into the air… all thanks to the power of lasers.

We’ve seen bug-sized flying bots before, like the RoboBee, but as you can see it has wires attached to it that provide power. Batteries on board would weigh it down too much, so researchers have focused in the past on demonstrating that flight is possible in the first place at that scale.

But what if you could provide power externally without wires? That’s the idea behind the University of Washington’s RoboFly, a sort of spiritual successor to the RoboBee that gets its power from a laser trained on an attached photovoltaic cell.

“It was the most efficient way to quickly transmit a lot of power to RoboFly without adding much weight,” said co-author of the paper describing the bot, Shyam Gollakota. He’s obviously very concerned with power efficiency — last month he and his colleagues published a way of transmitting video with 99 percent less power than usual.

There’s more than enough power in the laser to drive the robot’s wings; it gets adjusted to the correct voltage by an integrated circuit, and a microcontroller sends that power to the wings depending on what they need to do. Here it goes:

“To make the wings flap forward swiftly, it sends a series of pulses in rapid succession and then slows the pulsing down as you get near the top of the wave. And then it does this in reverse to make the wings flap smoothly in the other direction,” explained lead author Johannes James.

At present the bot just takes off, travels almost no distance and lands — but that’s just to prove the concept of a wirelessly powered robot insect (it isn’t obvious). The next steps are to improve onboard telemetry so it can control itself, and make a steered laser that can follow the little bug’s movements and continuously beam power in its direction.

The team is headed to Australia next week to present the RoboFly at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Brisbane.

This article originally appeared on TechCrunch.

Google WiFi now shows which devices are struggling to connect

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Run a large-enough WiFi network and there’s bound to be that one device that can’t quite hold on to a fast connection, like the tablet in your bedroom or a laptop in the backyard. But how do you quantify that flaky connection? Google can help. It’s deploying an updated Network Check feature for Google WiFi routers that will check the performance of devices on your network and help you identify ones with unusually low performance. You’ll know if you need to move an access point, move a device or (if it’s truly bad) expand your network to provide better coverage.

The feature should reach Google WiFi users worldwide through the mobile app in the “coming weeks.” You already have the ability to check the speed between access points, but this should provide a much more comprehensive picture of your network that eliminates much of the uncertainty.

This article originally appeared on Engadget.

Calgary bus driver hailed as ‘godsend’ for saving family from burning house

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Vincent Fleck noticed flames and alerted those sleeping inside of the danger

Bus driver Vincent Fleck woke Marsha Bastarache and her family to get them out of the burning house. (Bryan Labby/CBC)

A Calgary bus driver is being hailed as a “godsend” for saving a sleeping family of six — plus their dog and pet rabbit — from a northeast house fire early Tuesday morning.

“We were all sleeping and I guess the bus driver who does this route, he was just finishing up his last run and he drove around the community on the run and he thought he smelled smoke,” said Marsha Bastarache, who lives in the home in the Redstone neighbourhood with her son and his family.

“So then he came back around again and he noticed the fire out front,” said Bastarache of the fire, which broke out around 1 a.m.

“So he was banging on the doors really loud and he woke me up and I went to the door and he said, ‘The front of your house is on fire, get out.'”

The family got out, grabbing a pet rabbit and dog on the way. They were sheltered in the bus as the fire department extinguished the flames.

This house in Redstone was damaged by fire on Tuesday morning, but a passing bus driver alerted the family inside before the flames spread. (Bryan Labby/CBC)

“The firemen, after it was pretty well over, came and told us that if the bus driver hadn’t of seen the fire, we would have probably lost the house and our lives at the same time,” said Bastarache.

The bus driver, Vincent Fleck, said he just did what anyone would do in that situation.

“I couldn’t get the bus back down here, so I ran down and knocked on the door, rang the doorbell. Lights came on, phoned 911 and that’s pretty much it,” he said.

He said he was “a little out of breath” when he got to the house after his run from the bus stop and that his adrenaline was pumping.

Fleck drives the route every Monday and Tuesday night and says Calgary Transit drivers are trained to keep an eye on the neighbourhoods they drive through.

Bastarache is thankful for Fleck’s keen eye.

“I think he is a godsend,” she said.

“He’s definitely got his angel wings. He earned them last night, I tell ya.”

‘She’s a real fighter’: Amber Athwal learning to walk again

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20 months after a brain injury from a dental procedure, Amber’s progress has ‘amazed everyone,’ says dad

Amber Athwal at the Glenrose Hospital where she is literally taking the next steps on her road to recovery. (CBC/Scott Neufeld)

A six-year-old Edmonton girl left with brain damage after a dental procedure in 2016 is once again defying expectations and learning to walk again.

Amber Athwal was all smiles Monday as her father wheeled her into the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, where she’s trained over the past six weeks on a device known as a Lokomat.

It’s basically a large treadmill that supports her body weight while robotic legs guide the movements of her own legs.

Amber giggled often as she and her physiotherapists pretended to cut a plastic pink cake on a tray in front of her as a way to improve her arm mobility.

She stuck out her tongue with a prolonged “Ewww” after one physiotherapist offered her a piece, before erupting into laughter.

“Amber’s progression amazed everyone,” said her father, Ramandeep Athwal. “All the doctors — nobody expected these things from Amber. But she’s a real fighter. She’s shown really good progress from Day 1. And we are very positive about it.”

Nobody expected these things from Amber. But she’s a real fighter. She’s shown really good progress from Day 1.
– Ramandeep Athwal

In February, the Alberta Dental Association and College found Dr. William Mather guilty of failing to provide appropriate care during Amber’s tooth extraction on Sept. 7, 2016.

Amber, who was four at the time, went into cardiac arrest while she was recovering from the general anesthesia. She suffered permanent brain damage because of oxygen deprivation.

But the family chose to focus on Amber’s future, pouring in as much time, effort and money as possible into her recovery so their daughter wouldn’t suffer her whole life, her dad told CBC News Monday.

“We don’t think much about what happened,” said Athwal. “We only think about the future. We want to make Amber’s future as normal as we can. So we have given everything, the money, time, everything to Amber to get her back.”

Amber Athwal giggles and jokes with staff at the Glenrose Hospital during her physiotherapy. (CBC/Scott Neufeld)

Athwal said initially they were told their little girl wouldn’t be able to see, listen or talk again and would need to be tube-fed.

She was still using a feeding tube when she was released from the Glenrose in January 2017 and couldn’t hold up her head on her own. But progress was swift.

Less than a year and a half later, Amber is sitting on her own, can use words in both English and Punjabi to explain what she needs and to call to people, including her “Papa.”

She’s drinking and eating again and butter chicken is her favourite.

But there are still painful reminders. Athwal said his four-year-old daughter often asks why Amber is now “like this.”

“I know [Amber] feels the pain — what she suffered, the pain her parents have suffered. I know that she has questions in her mind, but she can’t ask us properly,” confided Athwal, before quickly focusing on the positive again.

On Monday, Amber shook hands with the CBC crew at the Glenrose and showed off her pink nail polish, her wide smile revealing the gap where her four front teeth are still missing from the 2016 procedure.

Athwal said they have since devoted every moment they could to Amber. He credits much of her progress to his wife who is constantly working on her rehabilitation but also to Amber — who wants to walk, run, learn and “play with the other kids” — for all the effort she makes.

Dentist in Amber Athwal case denies any wrongdoing

In July, Amber started private physiotherapy, as well as speech and occupational therapies, but it’s not cheap or affordable for the family. Their lawyers are footing the bill which runs as high as $8,000 a month, said Athwal.

Athwal had to leave his daughter’s side full-time and return to his job as a dispatcher, where he still has time to drive Amber to her various therapies while fielding work emails and phone calls.

The family has filed a $26.5-million lawsuit against Mather, who denies any wrongdoing. The allegations have not been proven in court.

“By [getting] funding for the therapies, Amber’s therapies, I think it will help to get the wound healed and make Amber’s future better,” said Athwal.

As Amber wraps up her sixth week of training at the Glenrose, Athwal is hopeful an assessment at the end of the month will lead to more physiotherapy this summer. He says it’s his daughter’s joy that keeps him motivated.

“She’s always happy, she’s always smiling,” said Athwal. “And that’s what motivates, keeps us happy as well. That even going through with this thing — she’s happy. Why can’t we be happy?”

Denis Shapovalov to become top-ranked Canadian after 1st-round win at Italian Open

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Teenager to pass No. 22 Milos Raonic when next week’s rankings come out

Denis Shapovalov overcame a rough first set to upend Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic Italian Open on Tuesday in Rome. (Andreas Solaro/AFP/Getty Images)

Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov pulled off another big win, overcoming a slow start to beat 15th-seeded Tomas Berdych 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) in the first round of the Italian Open on Tuesday.

The 19-year-old Shapovalov is coming off a semifinal appearance in last week’s Madrid Open, where he beat fellow Canadian Milos Raonic in the Round of 16.

Already up to a career-high ranking of 29th this week, the victory over Berdych will move Shapovalov ahead of No. 22 Raonic when next week’s rankings come out — making him the top Canadian.

Shapovalov is already the youngest player in the top 30 since Richard Gasquest reached No. 17 in 2005 at the age of 19.

Showing off his crafty game, Shapovalov made an audacious foray to the net to conclude one point with an overhead smash as he ran out to a 4-0 lead in the decisive tiebreaker.

Berdych came back to make it 5-5 but the left-handed Shapovalov then drew his opponent into the net and unleashed a wicked one-handed backhand passing shot down the line.

On his first match point, Shapovalov wrong-footed Berdych with another shot down the line that his opponent couldn’t get back.

The risk-taking Shapovalov committed twice as many unforced errors as Berdych but also hit more than three times as many winners.

On a day in which the start of play was delayed and then interrupted by rain, 14th-seeded Diego Schwartzman eliminated Chilean qualifier Nicolas Jarry 6-4, 6-1, and 16th-seeded Lucas Pouille held off Italian wild card Andreas Seppi before a partisan crowd, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (3)

In the women’s tournament, 11th-seeded Angelique Kerber defeated Kazakh qualifier Zarina Diyas 6-2, 7-6 (6), and 14th-seeded Daria Kasatkina beat Australian qualifier Ajla Tomljanovic 6-0, 6-4.

More boardwalk improvements coming for Charlottetown

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Council approved bid Monday night

The work will run behind HMCS Queen Charlotte to the Maritime Electric Pumping Station. (Natalia Goodwin/CBC)

The next phase in the replacement of the Charlottetown boardwalk will begin in the next couple of weeks.

At its meeting Monday night, council approved the low-bid from James C. Johnson Associates for $119,025 to do the work. They also passed the quote of $7,475 from CADC for project management and professional fees for the project.

The work will start at HMCS Queen Charlotte and run to the Maritime Electric Pumping Station, allowing this section to match the others the city has done over the past two years.

“We’re putting down a different type of material. What we had in Victoria Park was an inch and a half spruce lumber, it wasn’t treated.” said Coun. Mitch Tweel, chair of the parks and recreation committee.

The new material is treated, marine-grade lumber.

Parks and Recreation chair Mitchell Tweel says the improvements have made a big difference. (Natalia Goodwin/CBC )

“We’re striving to have the same material and have that consistency with the boardwalk all along the waterfront.”

Tweel said the maintaining the new section has been much easier with the new material.

“The difference is night and day,” he said.

“It got to the point where it was virtually impossible for the staff to do any type of maintenance, replacing, you know, single boards and whatnot, nails were coming up, it wasn’t safe for boardwalk users. So that’s why we made the investment that we did.”

The work is expected to be completed by the end of June.