My Robot's

Grand Challenge Hijinks

2011-04-23T07:28:00.001-07:00

Reading like a robotic comedy of errors, DARPA has produced a masterfully understated official summary of the performance of each of the teams participating in yesterday's Grand Challenge. Some highlights:

Vehicle 22 - Red Team - At mile 7.4. Vehicle went off course, got caught on an obstacle and rubber on the front wheels caught fire, which was quickly extinguished. Vehicle has been disabled.

Vehicle 21- SciAutonicsII - At mile 6.7. Vehicle went into an embankment and became stuck. Vehicle has been disabled, and the team is recovering it.

Vehicle 5 - Team Caltech - At mile 1.3. Vehicle went through a fence, and couldn't come back through. Vehicle has been disabled, and the team is recovering it.

Vehicle 7 - Digital Auto Drive - At mile 6.0. Vehicle was paused to allow a wrecker to get through, and, upon restarting, sensors were not able to determine the proper route. After sensors tried unsuccessfully for three hours, vehicle was disabled.

Vehicle 25 - Virginia Tech - Vehicle brakes locked up in the start area. Vehicle has been removed from the course.

Vehicle 23 - Axion Racing - Vehicle circled the wrong way in the start area. Vehicle has been removed from the course.

Vehicle 2 - Team CajunBot - Vehicle brushed a wall on its way out of the chute. Vehicle has been removed from the course.

Vehicle 4 - Team CIMAR - At mile 0.45. Vehicle ran into some wire and got totally wrapped up in it. Vehicle has been disabled.

Vehicle 20 – Team TerraMax – Got to mile 1.2. Vehicle then started backing up and after .5 miles, the vehicle was disabled.

You can't make this stuff up!

Robots Candy-05 Wants To Be The Next Tiger Woods

2010-03-23T14:06:00.001-07:00

One of the prototypes from the last round of NEDO (New Energy & Industrial Technology Development Organization) funding is Candy-05, who seems to like Golf a whole lot. Looks like he has no problem getting the ball in the hole.

Candy-05 is developed by Nirvana Technology (now the Hajime Research Institute) and stands about 120cm tall. He rolls around on wheels and has stereoscopic cameras which help it locate a golf ball, eye the hole, and putt. His goal in life is to be an entertainment robot for park areas, where golf is popular. Video after the break.

Asimo Brandishes Firearms

2010-03-23T14:05:00.003-07:00

A tipster sends us word of this image of impending doom. The translation on the page doesn’t help much, but it may just be an action figure. Dear god let it be just an action figure and not a full sized Asimo with guns! Anyway, apparently Asimo and and a female robot were putting on shows at the National Science Museum in Japan. And judging by that image it couldn’t have ended well.

PALRO Robot From Fuji Soft

2010-03-23T14:05:00.001-07:00

The PALRO robot from Fuji Soft merges Fuji Soft’s software capabilities with an open architecture that offers developers a whole lot of room to experiment. PALRO is just 15″ tall and lightweight at just 1.9kg. He’s expensive, but not as expensive as you might think at $3.300.

PALRO has a built-in camera, microphones, speakers, an LED array with an Intel Atom 1.6GHz processor running the show. Not bad. Vstone’s Robovie-PC costs $1,100 more, so PALRO seems like a good deal.

Evolving Robots Navigate A Maze, Prey On Each Other

2010-03-23T14:04:00.003-07:00

It isn’t just us humans who have to worry about getting killed by robots. Other robots should worry too. We told you about this project last year, but it’s worth revisiting. Especially since several blogs think this is new news. Some boffins at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale of Lausanne have been working on “evolving robots” for awhile now. Their latest breakthrough is the most astounding yet. And sort of terrifying.

A group of robots programmed to use Darwinian selection in order to learn, evolve and mutate have successfully moved through a maze and helped each other in tasks like pushing tokens around in order to achieve a common goal.

Thing is, some of the creatures displayed early signs of a predator-prey relationship. In short they are learning to deceive, lie and probably warming up to a kill. Video below.

Pneumatically Powered Robot Walks On 24 Oxygen-Tubing Legs

2010-03-23T14:04:00.001-07:00

What has 24 legs and walks with the power of oxygen? This robot here. It’s a pneumatically powered walking robot with legs made of hospital oxygen tubing. It was built in 2005 and was controlled by a Mac Mini. The project took about 5 weekends and nabbed two first prizes (for best demo and best presentation) at Hackers’ Conference the same year. We just love to watch it walk, with the accompanying whirring sounds.

RP-7 Wi-Fi-Enabled Virtual Doctor

2010-03-23T14:03:00.002-07:00

The RP-7 robot admittedly looks pretty goofy with a doctor’s face that you just want to punch. Smug bastard. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t useful. In theory anyway. It has been functioning as an around-the-clock physician at the Ryder Trauma Center at the University of Miami/Jackson Medical Center in Florida.

The bot stands about 5 feet tall and is Wi-Fi-enabled. It comes from InTouch Health and just likes to roam around the wards in the trauma center, letting the patients and staff communicate with the off-duty doctors wirelessly via the monitor. That’s where the goofy face comes in.

The idea is that the robot will connect doctors to patients, allowing the two to converse even when the doctor is not on duty. It’s a great idea, but come on. Doctors never want to do squat on their off hours. Might as well paint a happy face on the monitor for all the good it will do.

Shinpo Can Play Rock-Paper-Scissors

2010-03-23T14:03:00.001-07:00

TMSUK teamed up with Waseda University to create a robot capable of walking without the bent knee approach. Shinpo is the result of this experiment. Basically it takes a step by lifting up its whole leg, while putting all its weight on the other foot, like humans do. In result, the pelvis is rotated. Obviously modeled after the design of the human body, the robot is 5″, 158lbs, 39 DOF, and the speed capacity of 1.8kph. That is one dense robot.

Now displayed in Niigata Hall of Natural Science, Shinpo can take a rest. The exhibit also includes interactive touch screens, movies, and information stands to help the visitors understand Shinpo. If you want to know more about Shinpo, I’d advise you to take a trip to Japan.

Robots BigDog Is Off To War

2010-03-23T14:02:00.000-07:00

If you don’t freak out at the sight of BigDog, you are made of sterner stuff than I. Imagine how enemy soldiers will feel, seeing it walk toward them. And soon they will meet.

Darpa has finally approved the contract for Boston Dynamics’ LS3 (Legged Squad Support System) for the US Marines. Like BigDog, it will travel autonomously for 20 miles without needing to refuel, carrying 400 pounds of equipment for the soldiers in its squad.

AIMEC Bot Now Has Legs

2010-03-23T14:01:00.002-07:00

When last we checked in with AIMEC he was learning Karaoke and was just an upper torso. But now he’s gone and got himself a pair of legs. We already really liked the robot’s look, but with legs it becomes so much more, capable of delivering your Coke with a song and maybe one day using those legs to dance himself back to the kitchen.

Follow AIMEC on Twitter here.

Dyzplastic’s Android figures

2010-03-23T14:01:00.001-07:00

Android is a great OS and it’s just a bonus that it has a cute robot mascot. We’ve been waiting for someone, anyone to come out with some cool Android figures and finally they are coming. Artist Andrew Bell has partnered with Google to release a series of authorized Android robot figurines.

They are starting with an initial run of 12 designs in blind boxes. Of course you want to collect them. Look at these guys. The figures stand 3 inches tall and have articulating heads and arms. Look for them to be available starting the 10th of this month.

FuRo Breaks Wind, Makes Controlling Bots Easier

2010-03-23T14:00:00.002-07:00

A division of the Chiba Institute of Technology by the name of FuRo (Future Robotics Technology Center) has created a controller dubbed WIND (Wireless Intelligent Networked Device.) No, it is not controlled by your farts, but rather by your movements. Move your arm left, the robot will do so. Nod your head up and down, the robot will do so. Many different movements are possible with the 3-dimensional sensors mounted on the mid to upper back and on the biceps and forearm. This kind of technology is good for a profession that handles dangerous materials, but also requires the unique, careful perception of a human.

The white boxs are key to this secret. The white boxs are “System On Chip” processors, meaning they contain as much “intelligence” as personal computers. That’s about the power of 250 GB HDD! Though the mini processors are abundant with memory, the Bluetooth wireless transmitter slows down the robot’s reaction speed. There is still much potential for WIND technology. Here is a demonstration video.

Earthquake Detecting Robot Breaks Ground

2010-03-23T14:00:00.001-07:00

Hiren Patel’s home village of Gujarat, India was hit by a devasting earthquake back in 2001. After his town was rebuilt, Hiren enrolled in J T Engineering College to study robotics. He set a goal for himself: Create something that detects earthquakes so people can better prepare for them. So Hiren and a hand full of other engineers set out to meet his goal, and the product was the Earthquake Detector Robot. EDR supposedly can detect earthquakes that are 3 hours away from hitting the surface. It senses change in the temperature of the ground and water with one of its sensors, and detects change in water level with the other. It also holds a transmitter that sends any new information to the authorities. Watch a news report with the interview below.

Robonaut2: NASA’s Robot Astronaut

2010-03-23T13:59:00.002-07:00

What the hell, we’ve sent monkeys into space and probably other animals that they are all hush hush about. It’s time we got a real robot up in space so astronauts can get creeped out. This guy was developed by NASA and GM. It’s a trainable, expendable crew member who just happens to be a robot.

Robonaut2 is ambidextrous and designed to use the same tools as human astronauts. He can lift up to 20lbs and operate in environments too dangerous for humans. Basically he’s our red shirt. If it looks like someone might die, they’ll send Robonaut2. Video below.

Lego Spider Robot

2010-03-23T13:59:00.001-07:00

MkMan’s Lego spider robot was created using pieces from a Mindstorm kit along with milled plastic parts. The legs are a locomotive concept known as Klann Linkage, meaning that they will operate in pairs, converting the rotational force from one motor into movement for both legs. There are four rotating gears that keep the eight legs moving. Looks like it gets around pretty good.

Robocop Competes In The Tough Guy Challenge

2010-03-23T13:58:00.002-07:00

The Tough Guy Challenge is an annual competition in England where participants struggle against mud, ice, and fire. And who’s tougher than Robocop? He’s part man, part machine. Sadly he didn’t win though. At least he didn’t have to go up against Ed-209.

Amoeba-Inspired ChIMERA Robot On Video

2010-03-23T13:58:00.001-07:00

In a recent TED talk, Dr. Dennis Hong talks about some of the creepier candidates in the world of robots, including the spider-like STRiDER and the amoeboid ChIMERA (Chemically Induced Motion Everting Robotic Amoeba).

ChiMERA achieves locomotion by moving its silicone skin and can squeeze through spaces half its diameter, and travels up to half a meter per second. It could be powered by chemical actuation, electroactive polymers, and air-driven tubes. Video below.

Awesome Nekosaur Crystal Robot Toy With Robot Guts

2010-03-23T13:57:00.002-07:00

Check out this awesome robot toy. Not every toy will give you robot guts. The Crystal Nekosaur is 6 inches tall, and comes with a paper insert that creates the illusion. He’ll cost you $79 and was designed by Alen Yen. It looks badass.

ARM-Powered Lego Robot Solves Rubik’s Cubes

2010-03-23T13:57:00.001-07:00

We’ve seen several bots adept at the twists and turns of Rubick’s Cube and this guy is the latest. It uses Lego Mindstorms parts, a Lego programmable robotics kit and even a Nokia N95 mobile phone.

The ARM armed Nokia N95 sits above the cube, scanning it with its camera as it solves the puzzle. Interesting take on a cube solving bot.

DARPA Wants An Autonomous, Grenade Throwing Robot

2010-03-23T13:56:00.002-07:00

DARPA has put up an interesting job posting. It involves a new research and development program called ARM. DARPA wants to build a robot that can use its arms to autonomously grasp objects.

The robot should be able to “hold an inert grenade with one hand, and pull the pin with the other hand” without any help from humans. The human who is the target should be able to leap up in the air, paddle his feet furiously and then zip away like Bug Bunny.

Thanks DARPA. You sure don’t make it easy to sleep at night.

Robonica Roboni-i Robot Toy Review

2010-03-23T13:56:00.001-07:00

The folks over at Engadget got some hands on time with the Robonica Roboni-i. Since becoming available, the price has gone from $299.95 to $159.95 at Hammacher Schlemmer. So what did they think?

In general they like it. Control is easy, but the turning could be better. At the current price, many people can only buy one unit, which is obviously not as entertaining as two. All in all they seemed to have a good time with the little bugger. Hit the link for the full review.

Vstone’s Tichno Sucks In Customers For You

2010-03-23T13:55:00.003-07:00

Tichno is a robot built by Vstone, that is meant to advertise for window stores. Usually Vstone develops robots that are meant for hobbyist to robots that are champions of the Robocup, but now they are reaching out to the advertising field. Tichno advertises by dancing, singing, talking, and doing other gestures such as hand waves.

Tichno is designed with an outer shell that is androgynous, so it can be determined to be a male or a female, depending on the customizable suit. The control board is identical to the ones of the DIY kits, but Tichno is 130cm and weighs 26kg, including 22 DOF. It is equipped with built-in speakers and a voice recorder, allowing it to play pre-recorded messages and songs, which it can dance to. The price is unknown, but there’s expected to be a cheaper version along with this one. Watch Tichno demonstrate its skills.

Robots Now Smoke Incense

2010-03-23T13:55:00.001-07:00

A small German shop by the name of General Robots has designed some pretty intense, wooden robots that will smoke up your place. What looks to be hand-carved, the wooden robot is rigged with an incense burner, in the place of its spine. I’m not sure how it works, but the top half of the body is removable from the bottom half, so the incense stick can be placed. Where it gets the oxygen when the top half is placed back on, is what i don’t know. Standing at only 6 inches tall, it costs €39.90.

Heineken Bot Serves Up The Brew

2010-03-23T13:54:00.000-07:00

This Heineken Bot” was made by the folks at Middlesex University and he recently showed up at the Kinetica Art Fair in London. If humans move their hands above its sonar-sensing head, and then place a cup in its holder they will be rewarded with some beer.

After he serves up the good stuff, he continues to wander along a pre-programmed path, waiting on others.

Robot Toys Seized At Customs

2010-03-23T13:52:00.000-07:00

Robots are pretty powerful, but they can’t defend themselves against customs in Seattle. 17,600 NFL toy robot figures similar to the one shown here were seized at customs recently.

The toys were made in China Where else?) and found to have 6 times the acceptable level of lead in them. So they won’t be invading American homes anytime soon. The toys are valued at about $96,000 and will be completely destroyed.

Mindstorms Bot Controlled By HTC Hero

2010-03-22T01:20:00.004-07:00

Using a cellphone to control a robot isn’t new, but Swedish tech company Enea Linköping is one of the first to link an Android app to a Mindstorms brain over Bluetooth. An HTC Hero is controlling two simple robots.

Of course, Android 1.5 doesn’t support the Bluetooth serial profile, so a hack is used: the phone sends out commands over WiFi,which are passed through a WiFi-Bluetooth tunneling app on a laptop before getting to the robots. So basically there’s a bit of lag. But hey, Android 2.1 has serial Bluetooth support. Android and Mindstorms seems like a match made in heaven.

Swisslog RoboCourier Opens Doors

2010-03-22T01:20:00.003-07:00

Swisslog and CCS Robotics have two new robots. SpeciMinder is available now and is able to automatically navigate through doorways as small as 27 inches. RoboCourier will be available later this year and can interface with both doors and elevators. Pretty neat.

Swisslog SpeciMinder is available now and is designed exclusively for INTRA-departmental materials transport. For example, a large one-floor laboratory or pharmacy in which several workers frequently move goods among multiple workstations is an ideal environment for SpeciMinder. The primary benefit of SpeciMinder is a tremendous increase in operational efficiency.

Swisslog RoboCourier will be available later this year and is designed for INTER-departmental materials transport. Like SpeciMinder, RoboCourier will be able to interface with doors, but it will have the added capability of interfacing with elevators and navigating hallways. This capability will allow RoboCourier to navigate multiple floors within a hospital, meaning it can transport materials from one department to another

After navigating a few million doors, maybe these guys will get sick of it and tackle the ultimate doors, those of perception. Break on through to the other side little bots.

Texas Robot Allows You To Work In The Office From Home

2010-03-22T01:20:00.001-07:00

If you own your own business and you run it from home, this robot may not apply, but if you work for someone in an office, it’s likely this robot is for you. The robot, named Texas, was created by Dallas Goecker. I suppose Dallas was inspired by his name to make the robot’s name Texas. The Texas Robot was created at Willow Garage, California, by Dallas. He mentions in his video that Willow Garage had a few PR2 robots just laying around and PR2 robots are the perfect, basic base for building a multifunctional robot. The caster of the PR2 robot was used in creating Texas. He connected a computer, a battery, and a display; the rest was already with the PR2 robot. Within the computer, there is a Wi-Fi router which will obviously connect to the internet, making the office-travel experience wireless.

Dallas describes to us through the video how it is to be in the comfort of your own home, while getting your work down and most importantly, getting a one-on-one interaction with co-workers. This robot could work very well in many office enviroments, but you might want to ask your boss if you can be represented by an autonomous robot. Watch his explanation of this robot below.

Ibn Sina Arabic Speaking Humanoid Robot Travels First Class On Emirates

2010-03-22T01:19:00.001-07:00

Ibn Sina recently made his journey from Dubai, to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia on an Emirates Airlines flight. Not a big deal except that he did so as a passenger and not in the cargo hold. Ibn Sina (named after an 11th century philosopher), made his way into the Emrites First Class passenger lounge along with Dr Nikolaos Mavridis.

The robot checked in at the first class counter and handled himself like any other passenger. He even made small talk with other passengers, who I’m sure feared for their life.

Student Builds Spider Bot From Spare Parts

2010-03-22T01:18:00.002-07:00

This spider-like hexapod robot from electrical engineer Matt Bunting was made from spare parts and based on an Intel 160GHz Atom processor. It even has a webcam and is made for all terrain. Even if it loses a leg somehow, it can balance and move easily.

The webcam takes successive images, which are used to help it determine if it is moving forward, sideways, backward or tilting. By analyzing that visual feedback, the 14×17x8-inch robot “learns” how to most effectively achieve its forward-moving goal. Intel has ordered two of Matt’s spider robots, one of which they plan to take on the road, showing off potential applications etc. Video below.

Our First Glimpse Of Robot Land

2010-03-22T01:18:00.001-07:00

Things are moving. All of the players are nearly in place. Very soon Robot Land will be a real place. In fact, $230 million of Robot Land’s $600 million budget has been secured and we now have some renders that show off what it will look like, assuming it really happens. It’s still not a certainty.

You can expect attractions like a Robot Water Park, Robot Battle Stadium, Robot Flower Island, Robot Museum and a whole lot more. I’m fairly certain it will start with humans visiting the park, until one day when only robots visit while on vacation.

Check out the link for more great details and renders.

ROBOBASE Sponsors Event Featuring Samurai Robot

2010-03-22T01:17:00.000-07:00

In Nagoya, A store by the name of ROBOBASE, was featuring an event, just for robots. As background information, the owner of the store, Daisuke Goto, has built many robots from hobby kits. He also spent much of his time at local robot events. For example, he participated in robot dance performances and even bot fights. So this time he decided to host his own robot event, as publication of his store and robots. He explained and presented many of his robots from the event, but the one I liked the most was the samurai robot. It may not be as complicated as some robots, but for a hobby kit robot, it looks pretty dang cool. Dust collector or not, Asahi Shimbun, the second largest newspaper industry in Japan, featured this event in their newspaper. So don’t worry, you’re not the only one who thinks this is cool.

Finally A Robot To Do My Chores

2010-03-22T01:16:00.001-07:00

Many robots have done chores for us, but AR (Assistant Robot) is like no other. For now, it is assigned to doing simple jobs such as dragging a mop around and picking up clothes. Just to do that, it takes a good amount of DOF to bend down all the way to the floor. AR has 32 DOF, pretty good if I may say. Additionally, the Assistant Robot is 155cm tall and weighs 130kg. Another thing that is impressive about the robot is its cameras and sensors. It has a total of five cameras on its head, two wide-angle stereo cameras, two telescopic cameras, and one omnidirectional camera. Its sensors include a laser range finder and ultrasound that are located at the base; used as detectors of objects such as furniture, people, movable objects, ect. Even further, AR has a SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping.) In other words, it uses its sensors to map a 3-D area around it, where it will remember the location of specific items. For example, if you taught it where the broom was, you could command it to pick up the broom and start sweeping.

Now, the biggest problem facing all of home-robot manufacturers is the disconnection between the home appliances and the robots themselves. If AR was doing the laundry, it would get it done, as seen in the video below, but much time would have passed by. If appliance manufacturers set up a partnership with home-robot manufacturers, they could incorporate a plug-in device where the robot would tell the machine to turn on, open door, put to heavy wash, ect. At the moment, Tokyo University IRT is controlling this project, but they are funded by many companies such as Toyota, Olympus, SEGA, Toppan, Fujitsu, Panasonic and Mitsubishi. Many of those companies go beyond the call of duty and create the components used in building these robots. Watch AR trot it’s stuff here.

Gunze’s New Commercial Puts Bipedal Robots In Underwear

2010-03-22T01:15:00.000-07:00

Kaela Kimura, the only human in the commercial, stars in the Japanese commercial presented by Gunze. Gunze’s new line of underwear, Body Wild, is demonstrated by the bipedal robots mentioned in the title. On the bright side, robots are again being introduced into human society. And on the contrary,the robots are only computer generated. It is obvious because our robots cannot do kick flips, or even accurately hit a ball into the air. These half body robots sure do look good in that underwear though. As if the Super Bowl commercials weren’t enough, watch the video below.

Zibits Mini RC Robots

2010-03-22T01:12:00.001-07:00

Here’s a cute little robot toy that won’t break the bank at less than $10 bucks. Zibits are miniature robots that look like a lot of fun to play with on your desktop. In all, there will be 12 different robot designs for to collect. These guys stand about 2.5″ tall and have light-up LED eyes.

Aikon 2 Sketches Human Faces

2010-03-22T01:11:00.004-07:00

Sketch artists won’t be happy about this one. This robot can look at a human face and make a decent sketch of it. Aikon 2 was featured at London’s Kinetica art fair last week and sports an “inexpensive” robot arm and software developed by a research team at Goldsmiths University of London.

Building a device with artistic ability is no easy task, so developers tried to understand and simulate the processes that artists use to sketch the human face. Those processes include: visual perception of the subject and the sketch, drawing gestures, cognitive activity, reasoning, and training. It does a much better job than I could do. Video below.

Marv, The Robotic Vibraphone

2010-03-22T01:11:00.003-07:00

Marv was created by three San Francisco Bay Area musicians and engineers. It’s a “MIDI Actuated Robotic Vibraphone” capable of both playing itself, or playing along with a human performer. And it is capable of playing super-duper-crazy-fast.

Marv can play music far more complex than a human player is capable of too, since it can strike any and all keys at once, and damp each key individually. I’ve never seen or heard a robot play so fast in my life.

Quasi Robot Stars At The Toy Fair

2010-03-22T01:11:00.001-07:00

Is this $80,000 robot really going to be sold on the market as a toy? Nope, It won’t be, but there will be a toy version coming out soon, promised by the creators from Interbots. The creators say that the toy version will be able to do basically the same thing that this robot, Quasi, can do. Quasi, or Q, can be controlled by a wireless tablet PC with touch screen. Just drag the stylus to the specific facial expression you want and it does it. You can also enter words into a dialogue for the robot to speak. It moves its mouth according to the vowel sounds processed through the dialogue. In other words, it looks like it’s speaking. Depending on the mood, the user can also change the eye color and wiggle the ears. This could be a pretty cool, hot toy, but it also seems like another way for kids to torture their parents; in the wallet, and at home. Watch the short demonstration video below.

TUBO Helps University To Research HRI

2010-03-22T01:10:00.003-07:00

TUBO (Tungmyong University roBOt) is being developed and studied at Tongmyong University’s Department of Robot System Engineering. They’re studying TUBO so they can learn about Human to Robot Interaction (HRI). The researchers promise for TUBO to become a fully developed household assistant robot. Very similar to AR, it has stereo cameras for face recognition, reading capability, Listening comprehension (limited to Korean), and SLAM. All of these components are in AR, except for the reading comprehension. With the Assistant Robot and TUBO being worked on at the same time, I think we can have a great product, if they work together.

A DIY Lego Segway

2010-03-22T01:10:00.001-07:00

This Segway was built entirely from Legos in a standard NXT 2.0 set and even features a cute Wall-E type rider. It balances itself by leaning on the NXT Color Sensor in light sensor mode to detect its angle relative to the ground.

If you want to build one yourself, there are complete instructions at the link below.

CubeStormer Solves Rubik’s Cube Fast

2010-03-22T01:09:00.001-07:00

We’ve seen our share of Cube solving bots. In fact we haven’t solved one around here without robot help in like three years. But, of all the Rubik’s Cube solving bots we’ve encountered, none of them completely surround the cube like this guy.

It goes by the name CubeStormer and is amazingly fast at what it does. That cube never had a chance.

Black Eyed Peas Feature Robots In New Music Video

2010-03-22T01:08:00.000-07:00

This hit by The Black Eyed Peas is something you should just listen to for the music and then watch the video. The song only starts to really pick up well towards the second half of the song. Other than the rap in the beginning and the strange chipmunk noises coming out of Fergie, the music is pretty dang awesome. Cool beat, up-beat tempo, and it’s just a very danceable song.

Now for the video. In the preface, before the music video even starts, Will.I.Am is looking at pictures of a robot that shows up later in the video. He was explaining to Apl.De.Ap what it was, basically an advanced auto-tune. Fergie doesn’t agree with it and finds it to not be right. The fact that a machine is doing the creative work for you and the fact that it is a machine. I personally agree with Fergie, but I still think that auto-tune can have a cool effect if used correctly.

When the actual music video starts, it shows Fergie crash landed on the pavement. She gets up and starts shaking her booty and rapping. She then finds Will and they try to escape the giant robot that seems to be looking for them. Once they get to their music junkyard/home, they activate their own robot and start the real dancing. Again, musically, this is where it’s at. Once they’re geared up, they set out to where the evil giant robot has done its dirty work. Fergie, Will, Apl, and Taboo all set out to “heal” the people with some sort of speaker that makes them want to break dance. At the end, the enemy robot gets hit by a sound wave and the giant robots have a dance off, leading to Fergie waking up in real life. It truly is an epic story, even better than transformers 2 and terminator put together, but the break dancing by the robots was sort of disappointing. I was expecting a nice flip or hand stand or something, but the tricks were pretty elementary. I guess The Peas really ran into a budget issue with this run. Watch the video here.

Spring Body Robot Designed To Investigate Gas Pipes

2010-03-21T06:54:00.001-07:00

Osaka Gas Co. and Osaka University have teamed up to develop a robot that can inspect the inside of gas pipes, eliminating the need and expense of tearing up roads. It’s the first time a gas company in Japan has developed an inspection robot that can freely travel through gas pipes.

With the development of a robot that moves through pipes and sends images from inside the pipes, it will be possible to pinpoint worn-out sections and quickly fix them. The robot is being jointly developed by Osaka Gas and Koichi Osuka, a professor at Osaka University’s Graduate School of Engineering. The robot has a spring body formed by a spiral of stainless steel with a small motor and tires. It will measure just 17 centimeters across and 1 meter long. The spring will push against the inside of the pipe as the robot moves forward, and it can smoothly pass pipe joints and turns too.

Robot Scans Onion, Sculpts It, No Tears

2010-03-21T06:52:00.002-07:00

There’s something disturbing about a robot that silently stalks an onion, while welding a laser and just biding it’s time. It watches and waits patiently to sculpt it in 3D.

David Bowen’s “Growth Modeling Device” scans an onion every 24 hours with a laser, then uses a “fuse deposition modeler” to generate a plastic sculpture of that scan. When the model is done, a conveyor belt moves the recreated onion out of the way. The end result is a visual record of the onion’s growth. Pretty neat and somewhat surreal.

Green Max 4.8 GMAX Robot Toilet Transformer

2010-03-21T06:52:00.001-07:00

Did you know that there’s a toilet maker called TOTO in Japan? They make “Greenmax” toilets (4.8 liters a flush). So what better way to market these porcelain thrones than with a robot action figure. Apparently TOTOROBO’s signature catchphrase, is “Protect the Earth, GMAX! Ready – Switch, on!”.

You learn something new everyday. Sadly, with all the good that the company does the environment with their toilets, the creation of this plastic toy with such huge packaging sort of undoes that.

Wiimote-Controlled Jazari Robot

2010-03-21T06:50:00.000-07:00

Patrick Flanagan’s ‘Jazari’ project features a ton of robotic instruments, all controlled from a pair of Wiimotes and some intelligent software. Surely it can’t be all live-controlled, as there is so much going on, but Patrick says that there’s a button or twist or tilt behind all of it.

If you like strange robot bands that deliver stranger music, this should be a real treat. Videos below.

Robot Sex Shirt

2010-03-21T06:49:00.000-07:00

You’ll never look at the plug and socket in the same way again. This shirt shows what robots watch after the kids go to bed. It’s named “While the Kids Are in Standby Mode” and it will cost you $18. Thank god we don’t see what comes next.

Robots Dominate South Korean Education

2010-03-21T06:48:00.001-07:00

School administrators in South Korea have decided to bring about a new way of teaching kids. That is, at the hands of robots. They are only forced to do this because of the lack of English teachers in South Korea. Currently only replacing preschool teachers, the South Korean School District has spent a good amount of money. By 2011, they approximate about 45 million USD to have been spent on upgrading only 500 preschools. In debate, they are thinking about replacing teachers in the elementary school level too.

Students seem to have fun with the robots and they really do learn from them. They don’t seem to be displaced by the idea of being taught by a robot either. Their only problem with the robot is the speech recognition. They’ll say the correct sentence, but the robot won’t pick it up completely, causing the student to have to repeat them-self.

They think they are solving the problem but they are only creating a bigger one in the future. For one, these teacher robots aren’t all that proficient. The kids may understand it, but the one-on-one teaching style is nearly destroyed. When there aren’t a bunch of adults standing around the robots, I think the kids would beat the motherboard out of this one. Secondly, They are using it as a job replacement. Consequentially, less jobs equal less gdp per capita and a higher unemployment rate. Over all, I think these robots wouldn’t be best for a full time job, but rather an assistant or substitute teacher. Watch the demonstration below.

Robo-Rex: Legos, Robots And Dinosaurs

2010-03-21T06:47:00.002-07:00

What could be better than robots, dinosaurs and LEGO all in one? Nothing. Robo-Rex has everything we love. It’s the brainchild of Alyse and Remi. A LEGO Technics build that they designed themselves. Some of the gears and parts are decorative, but some are used for articulation. The mashup was inspired by this German commercial.

Bandai Unveils Dorosseru Robot Figure

2010-03-21T06:47:00.001-07:00

Awhile back we saw Asimo hanging out with a female robot and we didn’t know anything about her, but now we have more details. Dorosseru is a character from Japan’s first Disney produced CG animation called Fireball.

It has Blue-LED lights in the eyes, movable joints and the legs and arms are made from some “super alloy material”. The figure stands about 180mm tall and weighs close to 270 grams. It can be yours for 8400 Yen (or $90). She’s cute.

You Could Design A Life-Saving Robot For The Pentagon

2010-03-21T06:46:00.001-07:00

Time for you inventors to do your patriotic duty and help the U.S. military design an autonomous robot that can carry injured troops from the front lines to safety. Autonomous as in with little or no help from a human of course. Hint: This is going to take more than a huge-ass Roomba with a gurney attached.

The Army wants inventors to develop a robot that will be able to adapt to “the large number of body positions and types of locations in which casualties can be found.” The robot also needs to be able to enter, navigate and escape terrain “without prior knowledge” of the geography. They also wouldn’t mind if your robot were able to perform as part of a hive mind, and cooperate with a swarm of other robot rescuers. You can submit your ideas until March 24.

Robot Skin Coming Soon

2010-03-21T06:45:00.001-07:00

British material-design company Peratech recently teamed up with MIT to create pressure-sensitive, electronically responsive “skin” for robots. Peratech’s signature product is a kind of sensitive metal-and-silicone material called quantum tunneling composite, or QTC.

This technology responds to pressure, converting physical force into an electric signal. It’s already been used to create touchscreens and even an “off button” on electronic passports to stop them from broadcasting RFID tags.

MIT’s Media Lab department hopes to dress up their robots in QTC very soon.

QTC robot skin could perhaps let a robot know precisely where it has been touched, and with how much pressure. It could also be helpful in designing machines that have better grasping capabilities, and for developing more natural ways for machines to interact with humans.

Crowbot Lets You Talk To Crows

2010-03-21T06:42:00.000-07:00

This Crowbot can attract and repel crows by playing different recordings. That's weird enough right? What's even weirder is Crowbot Jenny, a superhero babe who uses it to command her crow army. Crowbot Jenny and her Crowbot, a character and project conceived by Hiromi Ozaki is all about researching animals and our interactions with them. Ozaki consulted two leading crow experts at the University of Cambridge and he then came up with the Crowbot, which can communicate with the birds using a variety of crow calls. Ozaki wasn't satisfied and thought the Crowbot needed something more. That's where Crowbot Jenny comes in. She is "a reclusive girl who prefers to spend time surrounded by technology and animals rather than with humans." [Gizmodo]" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8611" width="500" height="375">

This Crowbot can attract and repel crows by playing different recordings. That’s weird enough right? What’s even weirder is Crowbot Jenny, a superhero babe. Crowbot Jenny and her Crowbot, a character and project conceived by Hiromi Ozaki is all about researching animals and our interactions with them.

Ozaki consulted two leading crow experts at the University of Cambridge and he then came up with the Crowbot, which can communicate with the birds using a variety of crow calls. Ozaki wasn’t satisfied and thought the Crowbot needed something more. That’s where Crowbot Jenny comes in. She is “a reclusive girl who prefers to spend time surrounded by technology and animals rather than with humans.”

MeBot, MIT’s Expressive Telepresence Robot

2010-03-20T12:19:00.002-07:00

It’s described as a “semi-autonomous robotic avatar” by its creators at MIT, which sums it up nicely. The MeBot is all about giving people a face and an expressive presence even when they are far away. The MeBot show’s the operator’s face on the screen and goes the extra distance by using software that will analyze the controller’s face and cause the MeBot to respond appropriately with its arms and articulated neck.

Apparently MeBot can also be operated using a control that resembles the it’s arms. The end result is an amazingly expressive telepresence bot.

We conducted an experiment that evaluated how people perceived a robot-mediated operator differently when they used a static telerobot versus a physically embodied and expressive telerobot. Results showed that people felt more psychologically involved and more engaged in the interaction with their remote partners when they were embodied in a socially expressive way. People also reported much higher levels of cooperation both on their own part and their partners as well as a higher score for enjoyment in the interaction.

Check out a video below

Amazing Modified Fire Chief Robot

2010-03-20T12:19:00.001-07:00

There aren’t too many people out there doing great vintage robot mods, but YouTube poster robothut has created this awesome robot named Fire Chief from a Chief Smoky robot. It actually sends smoke out of the fire hose nozzle. Here’s what he has to say about it:

So here is my version of the Fire Chief robot. The firs effect in the chest turned out very well, I used a rotating wrinkle foil drum that colored lights reflect off of just like the fake fire units do, but again the digital camera does not like to shoot in to the lit effect. The smoker hose effect turned out great! The tip of the hose is the smoke fluid cartridge so if need be it can be replaced , the hearter is on the end of the hose and the power to the heater runs inside the hose. The hose is fed air buy a small air pump that came from a junked out blood pressure machine.

The video below is worth checking out.

Kojiro Musculoskeletal Humanoid Robot

2010-03-20T12:18:00.002-07:00

Kojiro, a humanoid built by the fine folks at the University of Tokyo’s JSK Robotics Laboratory, has a detailed musculoskeletal system that mimics the human body. It uses a system of artificial bones, muscles and tendons. The idea is to create a robot that is lighter and more agile than the average bot.

It should also move in a more natural way. Motors pull cables that simulate how muscles and tendons interact. In fact it has about 100 tendon-muscle structures, which give it 60 degrees of freedom. In comparison Asimo has about 34 degrees.

Android Phone Becomes Robot Brain

2010-03-20T12:18:00.001-07:00

We’ve seen our share of robots that are controlled by phones, but usually those phones are controlled from a human’s hand. Thanks to some hackers, there are now some bots that use Android for their robot’s brain.

The TruckBot uses an HTC G1 as a brain with a chassis made from $30 in parts. The bot can use the phone’s compass to move in a particular direction, but they’re working on incorporating the bot more fully with the phone and the Android software. Some ideas they’re thinking about include face and voice recognition and location awareness.

Cycler Robot Teaches Kids To Recycle

2010-03-20T12:17:00.002-07:00

The Cycler robot has been around for awhile and sometimes goes by the name Recycler. He’s been in the business of teaching kids to recycle for over 10 years. And that’s what Cycler was created for. He’s used in school presentations where he teaches your kids to not be wasteful. Cycler handles some functions on his own, but for some bigger functions he is controlled by a handler.

Cutest Voltron Ever

2010-03-20T12:17:00.001-07:00

This is not only the littlest, but the cutest, most adorable Voltron ever.

Hinamitetu’s Gymnast Robot Now Grabs The Horizontal Bar

2010-03-20T12:16:00.001-07:00

We’ve been following this little guy for awhile now as he gets better and better. One thing is for sure, Hinamitetu’s bots have the heart of a champion. Hinamitetu has finally made a gymnast robot that can do a mid-air somersault and grab the horizontal bar again without taking a nosedive. What will this bot do next? We shall see.

Rihanna Gets Squirted On By A Robot

2010-03-20T12:15:00.000-07:00

We’re a few days late on this one, but in case you missed it, Rihanna recently got all nasty at Germany’s ECHO Awards in Berlin. She was making out with a robot or two and even got… Well, squirted on by one of them.

Emergency Robot Is Wearable, Opens Doors

2010-03-20T12:14:00.002-07:00

A Japanese robot manufacturer called BL Autotec has developed a remote-controlled robot hand that can grip and turn doorknobs. Once connected to a emergency robot, it can safely open doors at disaster sites. Imagine being able to open the door of a collapsed building without putting humans in danger.

The hand has a built-in CCD camera and an LED light so it can be operated remotely in dark areas. With four shafts, the hand can move up to 1m. It’s also able to move hazardous materials and rubble.

Robosoft Kompai Takes Care Of The Elderly

2010-03-20T12:14:00.001-07:00

Robosoft’s service drone has finally arrived as an R&D platform. Kompai is a personal assistance bot who understands basic instructions and requests and offers up some appropriate responses of it’s own. It functions as a note and shopping list recorder, a calendar, music player, even a video conferencing tool. All to aid the elderly and help them.

If you want to see it interacting with an actual elderly person or two, check out the video below.

First Lego Walking Biped Mecha

2010-03-20T12:13:00.002-07:00

Lego biped robots are nothing new, but this one is something special. It’s the first walking Lego robot. And it is awesome. It walks by raising its feet. For real. It could not have been easy creating this one, but now that it exists, I wonder what other Lego mechas it will inspire. Video below.

Toshiba’s Wheelie Robot Carries Your Dinner On It’s Head

2010-03-20T12:13:00.001-07:00

At last, a robot that can bring me food on it’s head, while wheeling to wherever I am. Toshiba’s Wheelie is a balancing bot that moves around on two wheels like a Segway, but with retractable runners on the front and back to keep it from falling.

It has stereo cameras on top and a laser range finder that allows it to navigate around or under obstacles. Sadly it has no arms with which to actually serve me. Still he is pretty cute and a robot bearing food is always a good thing. Video below of this little guy doing his thing.

In The Future Robots Will Build Skyscrapers

2010-03-20T12:12:00.002-07:00

That skyscraper looks pretty awesome. The design is amazing and it almost looks like a spider built it. It’s called a “nested skyscraper,”. It’s a concept design that would be good at resisting the effects of earthquakes and other natural disasters. And spiders will build it. Robot spiders.

Building this structure involves a series of robots that stretch over a network of carbon sleeves sprayed with fiber-laced concrete. A second set of robots wraps the structure with a steel mesh to allow for lateral movements and can increase or decrease its density according to structural and programmatic needs.

The whole process sounds super creepy when you picture little spider-like bots working away, maybe laying spider-bot eggs and wrapping people in steel mesh cocoons.

Student-Designed Robots Play Soccer

2010-03-20T12:12:00.001-07:00

The picture shows this year’s FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Breakaway match. Basically teams of high school students build robots to compete in a game of soccer. The kids have six weeks to build a robot that can compete in the game. Should they build an advanced killing machine in that time, it’s just a bonus.

The robots have to be able to handle bumps or go through tunnels, guard nets and kick soccer balls into their opposing teams nets. Amazing stuff. These kids do great work

Dead Xbox 360 Turned Into A Robot

2010-03-20T12:11:00.000-07:00

Check out this awesome mechanical robot that Jasper Stevens constructed out of a dead Xbox 360. When you see the red ring of death, run. The entire piece is connected using wiring and there’s no glue or tape. The Xbox 360’s DVD drive is the base of the sculpture. The robot’s joints are even flexible.

Camera-Equipped G182 Robot Vacuum

2010-03-20T12:10:00.002-07:00

The G182 Robot Vacuum comes with a remote controlled IR-equipped webcam, which allows you to check out its activity whenever you are not at home physically. It also helps you spy on people and see if the maid is stealing.

The one drawback to this design is that it won’t be able to go under furniture, like your couch, and keep it all clean in those areas. It will run you $500.

Robots Speak At Museums

2010-03-20T12:10:00.001-07:00

When you go to a museum and you would like to know about the exhibit, you don’t lways want to read about it. Now, Hiroshi Kasai’s design (Tsukuba University) of conversationalist robot speakers will revolutionize learning. Similar to a tour guide, the two Gemini robots speak about the exhibit at hand, but unlike a tour guide, the two robots speak to each other.

For example, if they are talking about a dinosaur footprint. Gemini1 would ask something like “when was this found?” and Gemini2 would respond something like “1948 A.D.” It has been proven that humans are more apt to learn by eavesdropping rather than being spoken to directly. If you think about it, to eavesdrop is much more interesting than to just listen. It also creates a more appealing environment. The two talking robots appeared at an art installation called Kansei x Tsukuba x Design, though they were not fully functional.

Fuel Cell Powered Robotic Fish

2010-03-20T12:09:00.002-07:00

The folks at the Faculty of Engineering at Osaka City University have designed a robotic fish that can swim around the tank powered by just a solid-polymer fuel cell, called the “Power Tube”. The 10cm long robotic fish can swim, dive and rise, thanks to a joint at the front end of the fish.

Originally they wanted to use a motor to get the fish swimming, but power consumption was about 1W, so they switched to a magnet system that reduced that number to just 10mW. Now they want to develop a robotic fish that can swim for three days on a single charge.

An Underground Robot That Can Blow Up Bunkers

2010-03-20T12:09:00.001-07:00

The US Defense Threat Reduction Agency wants a robot that can navigate underground. You know, drill through soil and rock to deliver an explosive load. A “one-time use, air-delivered, highly mobile vehicle having certain characteristics similar to an unmanned ground vehicle”

It’s called a Robotic Underground Munition (RUM). The robot would be delivered by air, land softly, then drill into the ground and navigate under the Earth until it reaches its target. Once it arrives to its destination, say an underground man-made structure, the robot would explode inside.

I hope it doesn’t miss and enter my home from beneath before blowing me up.

The World’s Newest Cinema Robot

2010-03-20T12:08:00.002-07:00

It is spring time, a time of romance and a time of productivity. South Korea has yet again been productive through their robot inventions. ED Corporation stands out this day with their civil services robot by the name of CIROMI, the robot located in movie theaters. CIROMI’s name is a mix of the words CInema, RObot, and somehow dreams. The creators at Ed Corporation said that they put dreams in the name because CIROMI helps make people’s dreams come true at the cinema. Management at the newly developed movie theater had a keen interest in robotics so they signed a deal to have the robot premiere along side the movie theater.

When CIROMI detects someone (via laser range finder), it rolls over to the person and greets him or her with a friendly greeting. Then, the customer can choose to do a select amount of things. Right now, you can only use the touch screen software to play games, send simple e-mails, or take photos with the built in camera. Specifically, this work in progress is only good for entertainment when waiting in a long line. So when you and your sweetheart are going to a movie, you shouldn’t be afraid of a long line anymore. In the future though, it will be able to make simple conversation, recommend specific movies based on personal interests of the person, and then buy the ticket right there. The simple version of CIROMI is also being used in train stations and restaurants. This way, the simple CIROMI can branch off into many different occupations.

2.5 Meter Optimus Prime

2010-03-20T12:08:00.001-07:00

He may not be as tall as the movie version, but this 2.5 meter, 550 kg Optimus Prime statue sure looks like he can kick some Decepticon ass. It was created using over 5,000 recycled steel parts. As you can see, the chicks dig him.

Dragon Runner: Bomb Squad Gone Robotic

2010-03-20T12:07:00.001-07:00

Britain is finally catching onto the idea of using robots for dangerous life-threatening missions. The British Ministry of Defense has unveiled a new remote controlled robot that simply defuses bombs. In more depth though, Dragon Runner, the robot, can do a multiple amount of things.

Having the ability to move at an average speed of 5mph, the robot can complete difficult tasks (for a robot) for the British army. For example, while using its forward extending manipulator arm, DR can open doors, move debris out of the way, and even dig up explosives (though it can only lift up to 10 pounds in weight.) Dragon Runner can also be used as a surveillance robot since it is equipped with four video cameras. Based on a six wheel design, it can even climb up stairs. Not many robots are capable of that. About one hundred of these bomb squad robots have been made by QinetiQ UK.

Vacuums Make Awesome & Unlikely Transformers

2010-03-20T12:05:00.002-07:00

Dyson makes a mean vacuum, but it turns out that the vacuum actually makes a pretty awesome robot as well. Artists contributing to Worth1000.com’s “Rejected Transformers 6″ contest created some Transformer-like bots out of unlikely things, including shopping carts, pots and pans, hi-fi sound equipment, wood and more. Good stuff. Hit the link for more.

NASA Working On A Robotic Space Psychologist

2010-03-20T12:05:00.001-07:00

NASA will begin work next month on a four-year, $1.74 million project called the Virtual Space Station. The project will attempt to create a program that can independently counsel depressed astronauts by supplying solutions to their typed insecurities. Remember HAL 9000 anyone?

Astronauts would type their psychological problems into a console, and a pre-recorded video therapist will then lead them through a series of likely solutions. The robot “helps astronauts identify reasons for their depression. Then the program helps them make a plan to fight the depression.”

If Astronauts use the thing. After all, denial is powerful. How can you admit that you are suffering psychologically if you are in denial? Plus he’s scared shitless that HAL will kill him interpret the mission differently. So you see, it’s doomed to failure either way.

Home Assistant Robot is Real Life Rosie

2010-03-20T12:04:00.002-07:00

Everyone has thought about the glorious possibilities of a servant bot ever since they watched Maid in Manhattan and Bicentennial Man in a single sitting, then later got the plot lines confused. But you won’t have to do any more difficult imagining, friends, because the robot of your laziest dreams is now within reach.
Joint research between Toyota and the University of Tokyo has yielded the “Home Assistant Robot”. Five cameras and six lasers let HAR see your horrid mess of a living environment and clean it up. The bot can open and close doors, do laundry, mop floors, put away dishes, and do general tidying. The robot can “learn” to a degree as well, comparing a dirty room to what it should look like, and performing the necessary cleaning. HAR lasts 30 to 60 minutes on a charge. But all that sweet robotry will set you back…about $10,000. Should be available in the next decade. Cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool, sloth ftw.

Robot Determines Humans Taste Like Bacon

2010-03-20T12:04:00.001-07:00

NEC built a Tasting Robot a while back to assess wines. Thing is, it has now assessed humans, and determined that they are tasty.

It’s all pretty straightforward tech: stick a bit of nosh in front of the robogourmet’s infrared spectrometer and it analyzes the reflected light to determine the chemical composition of the sample. A nice trick, although it can only be programmed to accurately identify a few dozen wines.

Innocent enough, you may think. However, when NEC demonstrated the cybersommelier to a reporter and snapper from Associated Press, the robot claimed the former’s hand tasted of prosciutto ham, while the latter apparently had the unmistakable whiff of bacon about him.

So now we have to worry about an apocalypse where they not only kill us, but eat us as well.

Bandai Surveillance Bot

2010-03-20T12:03:00.000-07:00

With the economy the way it is, it’s not impossible to imagine someone breaking into your abode and stealing your precious, precious servers filled with archived Botropolis articles, then selling them on the black market for thousands of dollars. This nightmarish scenario could happen to anyone, so you best be prepared. What better way to keep an eye on home sweet home while you’re out then with a disinterested, efficient, logical robot.
The NetTansorWeb from Bandai is essentially a souped up surveillance cam. It can be remotely controlled via the internet, and it can send pictures and reports to a computer or mobile phone. It avoids obstacles so that it can navigate your home and keep everything under control. Apparently it can also assist with your blogging endeavors by monitoring the comments section and performing simple blog actions, but, all told, “blog-related capabilities appear to be a gimmick.”
NetTansorWeb was shown at Robot Japan 2008. It should be in the consumer sphere by December for about ¥50,000 ($525). No word on whether or not this beaut will be available in the states, but let’s hope…for the sake of our security.

Factory Robot Tries It’s Hand At Bartending

2010-03-20T12:02:00.000-07:00

Beer pouring robot at TMCO open house from beerorkid on Vimeo.
TMCO is a manufacturer of metal products in Lincoln, Nebraska. Not the first place that comes to mind hen you think robotics. But here is one of its factory robots dressed up in a shirt and tie and taught to man a set of beer taps. It even asks for tips afterwards. Probably a new robot strategy where they are trying to kill our ecomony one tip at a time.

RCRC Robo-Car

2010-03-20T12:01:00.000-07:00

We told you about the cool Transforming RCRC car earlier this month. Here’s a video of the vehicle/bot in action. Makes you look forward to driving a real Transformer one day on the road.

Sony Rolly Gets Bluetooth, More Memory

2010-03-20T11:59:00.000-07:00

The rolling egg that fancies itself a robot is back, with an update in the form of the Rolly SEP-50BT. Compared to its predecessor the Rolly SEP-10BT, this new dancing fool has double the memory at 2GB along with Bluetooth. Which means that it can now be controlled from your cellphone, PC etc. It comes bundled with ‘Rolly Remote’, software that lets you control the movement of your Rolly. In fact you can control up to 7 Rolly’s from the PC. The new Rolly will be available in pink and limited edition black for about $350 on November 21 in Japan.

Dragonfly jet-powered helicopter runs on H2O2, shuns traditional tail rotors

2010-03-20T11:58:00.000-07:00

By Tim Stevens posted Mar 17th 2010 at 9:17AM

Your average whirleybird is driven by a big motor in the middle, spinning the blades one way and, as per Newton, rotating the body of the craft the other. A tail rotor counteracts the force, but a more efficient solution is to have the rotors power themselves, which is exactly how the Dragonfly DF1 works. It has tiny, hydrogen-peroxide jets on the blade tips, spinning them up without pushing the body of the helo in the other way -- though a small tail rotor is still needed to turn the craft. It's much like the tech that propelled James Bond toward his waiting DB5 in Thunderball, but unlike that jetpack this copter can fly for up to 50 minutes. It's the product of Swisscopter Americas and, while they've been playing with the DF1 for many moons now (demonstrated in a video below), the company is also working on the DF2 shown above, a rather more civilized version that seats two. The DF1 is certified for flight in the US, looks to be available for sale and, while no price is listed, they are said to be much more friendly to the environment than traditional helicopters. That'll surely add to the premium.

Itch chair scratches the backs of lazy meatbags

2010-03-20T11:52:00.000-07:00

By Tim Stevens posted Mar 18th 2010 at 8:39AM

If there's one thing we've learned over all these years of covering gadgets it's that human laziness knows no bounds. None at all. Now even the (lethargic) activity of scratching one's own back has been roboticized courtesy of designers Dana Gordon and Alejandro Zamudio Sánchez. They've created a chair called Itch, which features a touchpad hidden under the seat. The user simply needs to reach down and move the "mechanical fingernail" into position and then let it do its thing. It appears at this time that multitouch is not supported, so those who are about to suffer from springtime mosquito swarms may want to look for something a bit more robust -- maybe a multi-pronged back scratcher of the bamboo kind?

Apple said to be preparing 12-core Mac Pros and 27-inch LED Cinema Displays

2010-03-20T11:49:00.000-07:00

By Vladislav Savov posted Mar 19th 2010 at 7:32AM

AppleInsider has rounded up its stable of "people familiar with the matter" and squeezed them for info on Cupertino's plans for the near term. Firstly, they've heard that a 27-inch version of the currently available 24-inch LED Cinema Display is on its way, sporting a 2,560 x 1,440 resolution and targeted for release "by June." The more exciting tip from those in the know, however, relates to the well aged Mac Pro and its future upgrade path. Apple has apparently firmed up plans to offer 6- and 12-core options (to replace the current 4- and 8-core variants), though the star of the show internally is said to be Intel's Xeon 5600, rather than the similarly specced Core i7-980X that had been rumored. This seems to be motivated by the fact the i7 beast can't do dual-CPU configurations, which are necessary to offer a dozen cores. Pricing for the single Xeon CPU model is expected to be close to the current $2,499 starting sticker, but release dates still elude us.

Windows Phone 7 Series T-shirt cannon gets detailed, redefines 'mobile warfare'

2010-03-20T11:47:00.000-07:00

Microsoft's MIX 10 Windows Phone app demos were highlighted by a robotic t-shirt cannon entirely controlled by a WP7S app, and the code monkeys behind the project are now back with a full breakdown of how things were achieved -- the bot was built on a standard battle-bot chassis, which was then modded with the cannons and an HP Envy laptop for control purposes. Just to drill in the point about how familiar development for the new mobile OS will be, the MS guys point out that outsider assistance on the project was recruited under the pretext that what was being built were "out of the browser" Silverlight apps for the desktop. Very crafty. We've got video of the cannon in action waiting after the break, along with an image of the Phone controls.

Niko, the N900-powered Lego robot, looks poised to take over Twitter (video)

2010-03-20T11:41:00.000-07:00

While we've seen no shortage of smartphone-powered robots in the past, the Nokia camp has been sadly under-represented. But, there's a new one coming to balance things out, a machine called Niko that has Lego Mindstorm NXT 2.0 components for a body and an N900 for a brain. The bot has been under construction for a few weeks but it has just made its YouTube debut with the short video posted after the break, showing it roving around and taking a photo whenever it bumps into something. When all systems are go and the machine is set free Niko will be posting messages and pictures to Twitter describing its every move in thrilling detail. We can't wait for it to start picking fights with @CourtneyLoveUK.

Remote-controlled throwable robots

2009-09-27T08:37:00.001-07:00

Carnegie Mellon University robotics researchers, in conjunction with the U.S. Marine Corps' Warfighting Laboratory, have developed a small, throwable, remote-controlled prototype robot designed for surveillance in urban settings, several of which are being sent to Iraq for testing. The robot, known as Dragon Runner, has the ability to see around corners and deliver information to Marines while keeping them out of danger in urban settings where human access is impractical, dangerous or unsustainable. And look for Sarah Connor.

Deep Green, pool playing robot

2009-09-27T08:36:00.001-07:00

g robot

by Phillip Torrone posted Jul 30th 2004 at 7:57AM

First chess, now pool. Michael Greenspan of Queen's Univerisity has developed a pool-playing robot called Deep Green. Deep Green is equipped with a vision system that can identify striped and solid balls, and supposedly has an understanding of physics that allows it rival any human player at making a shot. The ability to hustle you out of your money is optional.

[via robots.net]

Helen Greiner, Chairman and Cofounder of iRobot, Corp. by Phillip Torrone posted Aug 2

2009-09-27T08:35:00.002-07:00

We recently got a chance to chat with Helen Griener, Cofounder and Chairman of iRobot (best known for the Roomba Robot Vacuum).� With the launch of new Roomba Discovery, the PackBots as well as I, Robot the movie, we had a few questions she was gracious enough to answer for us.

Helen was named the Ernst and Young New England Entrepreneur of the Year for 2003 (with iRobot co-founder Colin Angle). She has also been honored as a Technology Review Magazine "Innovator for the Next Century," invited to the World Economic Forums as a Global Leader of Tomorrow, and has been awarded the prestigious DEMO God Award at the DEMO Conference. Her 15 years of experience in robotic technology includes work at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and MIT's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. She holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and an M.S. in Computer Science, both from MIT.

Needless to say, we have a slight crush.

First up? name, rank, serial number?
Helen Greiner
Chairman and Cofounder
iRobot Corporation

Could you tell us how iRobot Corporation was founded?
Colin, Rod and I founded iRobot out of MIT after Colin and I graduated (in 1990).� The vision has always been to make robots that touch people's lives everyday and create a robotics industry.�� The plan has evolved over time by creating business model around the state of technology, the state of capitalization, and the state of manufacturing capability that existed.� We have built robots that go deep into the bore of oil wells, toys that were marketed by Hasbro, museum displays, a prototype planetary explorer, a legged robot for underwater mines, a robotic fish, a swarm of 100 robots, and a robot that explored shafts in the great pyramid. �

What's your daily schedule like at iRobot now?
Crazy, but always interesting.

What are some interesting things about the Roomba in general, and what are the new features folks should be excited about with the new Discovery Roomba?
The most interesting thing about is its ability to get around in any home on its own and clean well.� This was thought to be impossible at such a low cost.� So the combination of very inexpensive sensors made effective by very clever design, the multithreaded operating system running on very a very small microprocessor, and the really low power sweeper/vac. Also, The Discovery has a 16-bit microprocessor and flash memory.

The Discoveries make a lot of improvement in the cleaning, lifetime, quick charge, and dirt storage, but the most compelling are the new robotic features.� These guys actually know when they are picking up dirt and change the cleaning pattern to pick it up more efficiently.� The coolest though is the home base station.� The robot actually knows it is running low on juice and starts looking for its charger.� When it sees the infrared lobes that the base station transmits, it gets lined up, then like under control of a tractor beam it heads into the dock and starts a recharging cycle.� The first model that has this cost 249.99 but the other new model are compatible with the recharger accessory, which can be bought separately. �

PackBot is different division of iRobot, can you tell us about what these robots are intended for?
Government and Industrial Robotics and Consumer Robotics are our division names.� iRobot's PackBot is the new standard in unmanned reconnaissance and bomb disposal. It is a lightweight, rugged robot that can be carried and deployed by a single soldier. PackBot offers unprecedented mobility and durability?it can be thrown into a building through a window, climb stairs, drop 20 feet and still function properly. The robot was originally developed under the Tactical Mobile Robotics program, which was sponsored by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).� Designed as a versatile payload carrier, iRobot has added reconnaissance payloads with pan/tilt head and night vision, Chem/gas/rad payloads, and a bomb disposal (EOD) payloads.

The PackBot EOD has been used on thousands of bomb disposal missions and we are very proud of its life saving function.� The one pictured was sent back to us from Iraq for analysis after a bomb detonated.� In most missions, the PackBot EOD returns safely, but in the case where it is blown up, better a robot than a soldier.� A geek aside: the PackBot is running a Linux OS with
iRobot's Aware robot control software.

Pictured: PackBot #129. Killed In Action. April 8, 2004 Iraq. Click here for a larger view.

What was the relationship between iRobot and I, Robot the movie starring Will Smith?
The name iRobot comes from a common source, the Asimov I, Robot short stories. We also like it because it can be "intelligent" robot or "I" Robot (i.e. the personal combined with the technology).

We have done some joint promotions with the 20th Century Fox folks and I have been asked to talk about the state of the art in robotics at movie screenings.� Colin Rod and I were all interviewed for the DVD version.

What did you think of the movie? Would you say it's accurate in terms of where robotics is heading?
I loved the movie.� It kept true to the Asimovian principles and many scenes described in the book, but did not just follow any one story (which would have not made a summer block buster).� The robot was a compelling character. (see final question)

Besides iRobot Corporation, what robotic projects or robot firms have you been impressed with?
Well, Rod's work at MIT on humanoids is very compelling; I just got the tour last week.� And the demo humanoid, cardea, etc.� Manuela at CMU has made great progress using robot soccer as a challenge (with Aibos) on robot cooperation, machine vision, and strategy. Acroname just came out with a line of fairly inexpensive robots for hobbyists.

For anyone interested in robotics, what resources or conferences are coming up that you would suggest?
THE ROBONEXUS>� see www.robotnexus.com

For the first time ever the US robotic community (led by a media firm called Robotic Trends) is putting on a show to rival the Japanese robot shows like Robodex.

RoboNexus takes the best qualities of academic and business development events, consumer electronics and toy mega events, user group meetings and robotic competitions, and combines them into a single event.� The event will be marketed to millions of business professionals, educators, developers and consumers throughout the world, and is expected to draw over 15,000 attendees, making RoboNexus the largest robotics event held in North America. The conference and exposition will be held at the Santa Clara Convention Center, Santa Clara, CA on October 21-23, 2004.

Last up? The movie I, Robot takes place in 2035. What types of home robotics, and robotics in general do you think we'll see in 30 years?
Neither Sonny nor the ne5 in general will exist in 2035.� Two many breakthroughs would have to happen in technology and be commercialized in too short a timeframe.� All need to exist to make a system.� Power, actuators, sensors, perception algorithms are just not close today.� Perhaps even more importantly, at the cost they would have to be, hiring a human would be more cost effective, thus without a business motivation we will continue to see humanoid demos, not real servants. �

That said, I think they will exist someday?maybe 100 years. �

Instead, in 30 years chores around the house will be a thing of the past. The robots will have evolved from automatic appliances to home automations systems.� iRobot (and others) will be selling clean floor, clear windows, organized closets, mowed lawns, sparkling toilets, and dust-free surfaces that the consumer never has to think about.� The robots just come out and do the job when it needs to be done.

There will be a robot in every squad car and it would be unthinkable to send an officer into an unknown situation.� Robots will help the massive problems cause by the world aging demographic.� Predictions currently are dire about the availability of caregivers for the folks who will need them. Enter the robots, that allow doctor to go on house calls through telepresence, that bring your grandmother water in order to hydrate, assure medication compliance, and even find the spectacles that Grandpa has lost for the 1000th time.

A step-closer to automated-cars, a step further from traffic

2009-09-27T08:35:00.001-07:00

We know the volume of cars could be increased dramatically by computer-operated driving systems, but physicist L. Craig Davis recently published a study showing that most non-accident traffic is caused by, well, bad drivers—their excessive slow-downs cause ripple effects in the order of exponential magnitudes. Thankfully, he believes this could be prevented by a simple adaptive-cruise control system, which if one in five cars had, the flow of traffic would be dramatically improved. Instead of slamming the brakes, cars would instead absorb slowing traffic with the buffer of space between them, curbing the rippling traffic aftermath. Not bad, and when something accident-related does happen we can always deploy the robots.

[Via TechDirt]

Robot's public defender

2009-09-27T08:34:00.004-07:00

Even though Japan is the unrivaled world pioneer of robot tech, Japanese robot engineers have a hard time taking their bots to public places, like streets, squares, or shopping centers. Local police have put the smackdown on various public robot displays over the years, so now the Japanese cities Fukuoka and Kitakyushu have received a "Robot Tokku". Tokku are the new deregulated zones designated by the Koizumi government, and a robot tokku enables the testing of robots in the public environment — a must to develop consumer-friendly robot helpers. The first project under the new zones enabled a robot to go shopping in a busy Fukuoka district. Actually when you think about, the only thing that's bizarre about this story is that it wasn't already legal to hang out with your robot in public places.

Japanese schools break and build robots at Robot Demolition LIVE2004

2009-09-27T08:34:00.003-07:00

We know that not all Japanese kids get this kind of opportunity, but the mere possibility is nearly enough to make us move over there and create spawn in a place where students get to disassemble a working humanoid robot, and then rebuild it from scratch. The event is Robot Demolition LIVE2004, and right about now we're sorely wishing it wasn't just for kids.

[Via AkihabaraNews]

The year ahead for personal robots

2009-09-27T08:34:00.001-07:00

PC World has an article about the personal robots that are coming our way tomorrow (that is, the royal tomorrow) and the ones that are populating our homes today. They don't reveal any new robots we haven't already covered, but there are plenty of neat tidbits in the article, like that an estimated 4 million personal robots will be sold in 2006, and that people have bought over 500,000 Roomba RoboVacs from iRobot.

[via robots.net]

This year's ROBO-ONE, endorsed by...Aerosmith?

2009-09-27T08:33:00.003-07:00

Japan's ROBO-ONE tournament, a yearly fixture in which a multitude of amateur robot developers gather together their creations and have them beat one another up, gained an unwitting and unusual supporter this year: Aerosmith's Steven Tyler. He apparently saw a relative of the robot above on display in Tokyo and was so taken with it that he ended up autographing its sibling. (More photos and video of the proceedings at PC Watch at the link below.)

Video of the Chroino robot in action

2009-09-27T08:33:00.001-07:00

We wrote a while back about Chroino, a robot developed by Kyoto University's RoboGarage whose claim to fame is that it manages to walk upright far better than the bent-kneed hobble of your average bipedal robot. At the time we couldn't dig up any videos of it, but a kind reader points us to some at RoboGarage's English site, which also showcases some of their other creations.

[Thanks, Calvin!]

Robo-One's Rumble: Eight robots enter, one robot leaves

2009-09-27T08:32:00.001-07:00

We already knew that Steven Tyler was a fan, but CNN has some more details on Robo-One, Japan's twice-yearly robotics competition which ditches all the pretense of sports or scientific advancement and focuses on what we all really want: kickboxing robots that can fight each other Mortal Combat-style, with some of them sporting special deathblow moves like being able to pull off a somersault and crash down on their opponent from above. The highlight, of course, is the Rumble, when eight robots enter the ring and battle it out until only one is left standing.

German team wins RoboCup 2004

2009-09-27T08:31:00.003-07:00

The German team the FU-Fighters have won the small-size championships of the RoboCup, a yearly competition designed to promote robotics and artificial intelligence using soccer as the medium. They want to have a totally autonomous robotic team be able to beat the most recent World Cup winners by 2050. This goal is amusingly quirky enough for us to hope that they succeed. That a German team won this time around should come as no surprise to those familiar with the old quote "Football (soccer) is a very simple game. For 90 minutes 22 men go running after the ball and at the end the Germans win." It seems that applies to robots as well.

Evolution Robotics adds ERSP 3.0 for Windows

2009-09-27T08:31:00.001-07:00

If you're going to build a robot, your choices for SDKs are usually only on Linux or embedded systems. But now, Evolution Robotics has a SDK for Windows developers.

The Windows version features the core navigation and vision technology of the original breakthrough SDK. Patent-pending vSLAM navigation enables robotic devices to operate completely autonomously with knowledge of their environment and surrounding objects using a single low-cost camera. Also included is Evolution Robotics' advanced object recognition technology, which is already being used to support vision functionality in consumer robots such as Sony's AIBO.

In addition, the Windows version incorporates Microsoft's speech support. This, combined with critical infrastructure and core documentation tailored to the Windows environment, gives companies increased flexibility in developing advanced software tools needed to engineer powerful, autonomous applications quickly and easily.

We're going to see what's possible with this soon and will let ya know (and no, we won't be building a locker room bot).