Mapless mobile robot navigation at the edge using self-supervised cognitive map learners.

Navigation of mobile agents in unknown, unmapped environments is a critical task for achieving general autonomy. Recent advancements in combining Reinforcement Learning with Deep Neural Networks have shown promising results in addressing this challenge. However, the inherent complexity of these approaches, characterized by multi-layer networks and intricate reward objectives, limits their autonomy, increases memory footprint, and complicates adaptation to energy-efficient edge hardware.

Autonomous self-burying seed carriers for aerial seeding.

Aerial seeding can quickly cover large and physically inaccessible areas to improve soil quality and scavenge residual nitrogen in agriculture, and for postfire reforestation and wildland restoration. However, it suffers from low germination rates, due to the direct exposure of unburied seeds to harsh sunlight, wind and granivorous birds, as well as undesirable air humidity and temperature. Here, inspired by Erodium seeds, we design and fabricate self-drilling seed carriers, turning wood veneer into highly stiff (about 4.