Robotics

October 29, 2004 One of the leading pioneers in automated robot development is Tomotaka Takahash of the 'Robo Garage' at Kyoto University. Takahash has built the Chroino, Magdan and Neon model robots, which combine sleek, manga inspired design with cutting edge functionality and human like mobility. Following on from his work the Robo Garage has further developed the VisiON, ENRYU, robovie-R and GUNWALKER models. The Chroino (a combination of "to chronicle" and "black," which is pronounced kuroi in Japanese) is a 35cm tall humanoid robot with sophisticated movements, powered by a lithium polymer battery. A newly developed "monocoque frame" covering is made of carbon and plastic, giving Chorino a friendly appearance, light weight and robust body.  Read More

Toyota, the world's second largest automotive manufacturer, has made a clear statement of its intention to participate in the personal robotics market by announcing an internal project to develop partner robots designed to function as personal assistants for humans This year has seen a flurry of activity in the personal robotics area and the heightened activity has encouraged a number of companies such as Toyota, which has been known to be developing robots for some time, to play its hand. Toyota does not see itself solely as an automotive manufacturer, and sees itself as a manufacturer of products which contribute to society.  Read More

June 3, 2004 - The long awaited days when robots do the household chores are considerably closer with the arrival of the Dyson DC06; an autonomous robotic vacuum cleaner that will clean all floor surfaces at the push of a button. Capable of 'learning' the layout of a room without and navigating safely around unforseen obstacles, the DC06 is 5% vacuum cleaner and 95% robotic intelligence.  Read More

March 13, 2004 will go down as one of the most significant dates in technological history – the first running of the DARPA Grand Challenge. As in the first automobile race 110 years earlier, a significant “Grand Prix” of US$1 MILLION was posted, though the competitors knew they were really competing for a place in history and many spent multiples of that amount just preparing for the race. The 142 mile course of rugged desert terrain from Barstow (near Los Angeles) to Primm (near Las Vegas) had to be traversed within ten hours by fully autonomous vehicles – no drivers, no human assistance, no remote control. Significantly, the race was not won, and the mass media coverage bordered on mockery.  Read More

The DARPA Grand Challenge was the first race for autonomous robots from LA to Las Vegas on March 13, 2004 with a US$1 million prize. The race was be contested by 24 cars and one autonomous two-wheeler. This interview was conducted with the Team leader of the Ghostrider Robot Team, Anthony Levandowski just prior to the event.  Read More

January 19, 2004 Helper, security and companion robots will be commonplace a decade from now. There are already more than 100 robotic commercialisation projects in the global public arena, and a dozen commercially available robots in the Japanese domestic market. In the next two to three years, that number will grow considerably, with research companies forecasting the home robotics market may one day be equal in size to the automotive market.  Read More

Tuesday December 9, 2003 The term 'robot' has been in existence for a short time - it was first used in 1920 by Czechoslovakian playwright Karel Capek and comes from the Czech robota, which means 'tedious labor.'One hundred years hence, in 2020, analysts project that most households will own a robot, or at least be considering one. Robotics is already a US$8 billion industry globally, but mostof the robots in use today are industrial robots employed in manufacturing for welding, painting and assembly line tasks. The consumer robotics marketplace is just emerging, with a gross of US$600 million in 2002, comprised mainly of programmable robots which mow lawns, clean floors and amuse children.  Read More

Monday November 3, 2003: The Robomow is a fully automatic lawn mower designed to autonomously mow your lawn at the press of a button while you concentrate on more important weekend chores.  Read More

Monday October 13, 2003: The latest model guard robot shown at CEATEC Japan 2003 by Sohgo Security Services is currently in use for patrolling and surveillance purposes as well as for receiving visitors and giving directions. Using numerous sensors, the C4 can detect a human body and then transmit images of what it "sees" back to a monitoring centre.  Read More