2nd Robotics and ROS in Zurich Meetup

For the second meetup we will be hosted by Gonzalo Casas and Romana Rust at the Institute of Technology in Architecture located at the ETH Zurich Hönggerberg campus (notice it's a bit farther from HB than last time, so plan for travel time).

The institute has an impressive robotics setup used for architecture (did anyone say robot arms hanging from the ceiling!?). They also use robots to come up with new digital fabrication techniques (e.g., http://gramazio-kohler.arch.ethz.ch/web/e/projekte/314.html ) and they have their own special framework for using ROS in architecture.

Agenda:

• Talk: "ROS for Digital Fabrication in Architecture" by Dr. Romana Rust and Gonzalo Casas, ETH (20 min)
• 5 min break
• Demo: "ROS integration into Magic Leap" by Daniela Mitterberger ETH (10 min)
• Talk: "Wecorp, Next Generation Security" by Dr Max Werner, Mr Samuel Garcin, Mr Fernando Acero WECORP (20 min)
• Know each other and mingle over drinks - sponsored by WECORP

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Talk abstracts:

Gramazio Kohler Research investigates on additive digital fabrication techniques used for building non-standardized architectural components. Our special interest lies in combining data and material and the resulting implications this has on the architectural design.
In this context, we have been using industrial robots for over a decade and recently published a python library that integrates robotic platforms, and in particular, ROS, directly into CAD environments such as Rhino and Blender. We will present some research projects and applications of robotics in the architecture domain and briefly showcase the COMPAS FAB python library.

Wecorp is a London based group developing UAS solutions aiming to disrupt the security industry. The talk will first focus on the opportunities and challenges the next generation of security services is faced with. We will then present a short case study on how to combine robotics, computer vision and reinforcement learning to develop a follow me capability on an autonomous flying robot.