This Week in the Unmanned Systems and Robotics World

Volkswagen has unveiled its ID Buzz concept van, which is fully electric. Based primarily off of the company’s Type-2 Microbus, the vehicle has a top speed of 99 miles per hour, and can travel an estimated 270 miles (based on American driving habits and testing methods) thanks to the energy stored in its battery pack that hides beneath its wood floor. With a fully customizable inside, all of the vehicle’s seats can be removed, or several of them can be combined to create beds or loungers. The ID Buzz is intended to have both autonomous driving and human piloted modes. Volkswagen would like to release the vehicle between 2022 and 2025. (CNET)

China has unveiled its first human-like robot named Jia Jia. Developed by engineers at the University of Science and Technology of China, Jia Jia can answer simple questions, has natural eye movement and when she speaks, her lips move in sync with her words. Chen Xiaoping, team leader of the engineers from the University of Science and Technology of China, believes that Jia Jia can one day be used to work in a variety of places such as restaurants, nursing homes and hospitals. (The Economic Times)

The Taiwan Typhoon and Flood Research Institute (TTFRI) has unveiled its small UAS that it will use for its typhoon research program. Equipped with specialized sensors that help detect temperature, humidity, air pressure, wind speed and direction, each UAS has a flight time between 10-18 hours, and will have the ability to be used with several types of payloads, including electro-optic/infrared, high-definition survey, and mapping and meteorology equipment. (Focus Taiwan News Channel)

Volvo has launched a research project called Drive Me, that will give ordinary people the opportunity to test drive autonomous vehicles in Gothenburg, Sweden. The first participants of the project received their autonomous Volvo XC90 on Monday, January 9. The project will seek to examine the technological, infrastructural and societal conditions of the autonomous technology as they work in concert together. (Business Insider Nordic)

Baidu and BAIC Motor are working together to create a driverless vehicle capable of level 3 autonomous driving. Level 3 autonomous driving requires humans to be present, but they only need to intervene on certain occasions. Baidu hopes to have vehicles with these capabilities ready for road testing by the end of this year. (Tech Crunch)

A team of around 20 engineers from Seoul National University in South Korea has developed a driverless vehicle that is currently being used on its campus, but the vehicle will soon be available to test on roads, thanks to the Korean government passing legislation last year that will open downtown roads for driverless vehicle testing. The team hopes to make the car capable of level 4 autonomous driving, which means the vehicle will be fully autonomous. (Mashable)

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