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Robot
Robotic jaws give dentists something to chew on
By Darren Quick
17:49 July 2, 2009 PDT
In news that might be a little worrying when coupled with our recent story of the flesh-eating robotic clock, UK researchers have developed a Chewing Robot. Thankfully the uses for the Chewing Robot are more benign - it has been developed to study the wear and tear on dental elements, such as fillings, crowns and bridges. By reproducing the motion and forces sustained by teeth within a human mouth, the robot has the potential to dramatically improve the process of developing and testing new dental materials. Read More
Feed me Seymour: The flesh-eating robotic clock
By Darren Quick
20:07 July 1, 2009 PDT
Giving robots a taste for flesh might not seem like a great idea given that they’re probably going to rise up and enslave us in the next few decades. But that’s just what a couple of UK-based designers have done with their prototype flesh-eating robotic clock. Read More
Robot does it by the book
By Darren Quick
21:52 June 22, 2009 PDT
Too tired to read the little ones a bedtime story after a long day? Japanese researchers may have had the time-poor parent in mind when they developed Ninomiya-kun, a robot capable of reading aloud from that most ancient of random access mass storage devices - a book. Read More
Squse robotic hand a soft touch
By Darren Quick
01:44 June 22, 2009 PDT
Kyoto-based factory automation firm Squse has developed a robotic hand that is dextrous and delicate enough to handle sushi. The scarily lifelike hand is constructed of a polycarbonate skeleton covered by a skin of soft silicone. Its 22 pneumatically powered artificial muscles enable its fingers to move like a human hand and it has 20 different moves up its sleeve, ranging from a full-hand squeeze to a delicate two-finger pinch used to transfer sushi from one plate to another. Read More
Robotic surgeon could remove shrapnel on battlefield
00:28 June 22, 2009 PDT
Bioengineers at Duke Univesity in North Carolina have developed a laboratory prototype of a robot that can locate and surgically extract shrapnel pieces from flesh without any kind of human supervision. Using 3-D ultrasound imaging as “eyes”, the tabletop robot was able to precisely locate tiny shards of metal and then successfully guide a needle to their exact location. Read More
Robotic ferret to sniff out hidden drugs, weapons and people
03:25 June 15, 2009 PDT
It won’t be cuddly, but it’ll certainly be efficient. The University of Sheffield is developing what it calls a cargo-screening ferret that uses a combination of laser and fiber-optic technology to sniff out the tiniest traces of drugs, weapons, explosives and even illegal immigrants. Read More
RoBeDo's latest 'just-add-netbook' robot
By Darren Quick
01:32 June 12, 2009 PDT
RoBe:Do Robotics has rolled its latest software-ready autonomous robot off the production line at its Colorado home base. Like its first two robotic offerings, RoBe:Do’s third robot, aptly named “Three”, comes fully assembled and ready for you to add the netbook of your choice to act as the robot’s brain... and making and delivering popcorn could be just the tip of the iceberg for this bot. Read More
Android KOBIAN feels its way in a human world
By Paul Best
21:58 May 25, 2009 PDT
When in science fiction films android robots show anything other than blind obedience – or something akin to feelings – it tends to spell trouble for the human race. I, Robot and Blade Runner come to mind. So here we are, not even properly ensconced in the age of humanoid robots yet, and already researchers at Japan’s Waseda University and Kyushu robotics manufacturer Tmsuk have conspired to create a robot, named KOBIAN, that can express a range of emotions. Uh-oh. Read More
Robotic Hawk serves and protects … and entertains
By Paul Best
00:31 May 11, 2009 PDT
It plays drums, serves drinks and learns whatever you care to teach it – it’s Hawk, your very own bot for the home. Designed and built on an i90 robot base, Hawk is a human-like robot with hawkish head and long claw-like arms. Ergo, it’s moniker. Read More
Panasonic unveils Fukitorimushi: a worm-like robot for cleaning floors
By Paul Best
20:28 May 10, 2009 PDT
Panasonic has shown off its robotic worm that cleans as it inches its way across the floor. Tagged the Fukitorimushi, which roughly translates as “wipe-up bug”, the robotic floor-sweeper is covered in a patented nanocloth – called Nanofront – made up of thousands of polyester filament fibers that can pick up extremely fine dust conventional cleaners leave behind – at least according to its makers. Read More
Robotic helicopter teaches itself how to fly aerobatics
By Paul Evans
23:47 May 7, 2009 PDT
Autonomous helicopters offer a highly maneuverable and versatile platform in scenarios like disaster relief operations, but programming these machines to perform complex aerobatics is a formidable challenge - unless of course they teach themselves. This example developed by Stanford computer scientists does just that, learning to fly by watching other RC helicopters in the air. Not only does this artificial intelligence system produce a spectacular flying exhibition, it's seen as an important demonstration of robotic learning through observation. Read More
Bionic penguins fly through water … and air
By Darren Quick
04:13 April 27, 2009 PDT
The latest example of biomimicry in robotics to cross our desk is from German electrical automation company Festo, which has used the shape of the acquatic, flightless bird to construct two different types of bionic penguins. The AquaPenguins use the bird's hydrodynamic body contours and wing propulsion to allow the robot to maneuver in cramped spaces, turn on the spot and, unlike their real-life counterparts, swim backwards. The larger helium-filled AirPenguins use the same principles to lift the usually flightless bird into the air. Read More
Honda’s prototype walking assist devices to go on show in the US
By David Greig
00:45 April 16, 2009 PDT
With increasing numbers of post-war baby boomers beginning to face old age, devices assisting people remain mobile as they grow older will become big business. Honda, which started out making motorcycles, has anticipated the needs of an aging population and invested heavily in mobility robotics research. The company is planning to demonstrate its prototype walking assist devices as part of a technical exhibition at the 2009 Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) World Congress, at Detroit's Cobo Center, from April 20 to 23. Read More
HAL exoskeleton can boost strength 10 times
By Darren Quick
19:01 April 15, 2009 PDT
Anyone who has seen Aliens will remember the exoskeleton forklift that Ripley wears to fight the alien queen at the end of the movie. Well, Japanese company Cyberdyne has unveiled a robotic suit that works on a similar idea of a robotic suit capable of augmenting human motion and strength. The Robot Suit Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL for short) is a wearable robot that uses a “voluntary control system” first to interpret the wearers' planned movement and then assist them in it. Read More
Robot can perform surgery on beating heart
By Kyle Sherer
21:19 April 12, 2009 PDT
Scientists at Japan’s Waseda University have created a machine that can perform surgery on a functioning heart by adjusting to the rhythm of its beat. The Waseda crew’s robot has been operating on pig’s hearts since 2004, with a claimed 95% tracking accuracy. Read More
da Vinci robotic surgery system gets visualization upgrade
By Kyle Sherer
17:56 April 11, 2009 PDT
Robotic Surgery specialist Intuitive Surgical has added enhanced 3D HD resolution, an updated interface and new ergonomic settings to the latest incarnation of its da Vinci System. Read More
Honda's Brain-Machine Interface: controlling robots by thoughts alone
By Loz Blain
00:25 April 2, 2009 PDT
Honda has taken some very significant steps into what could be an absolute revolution in human-computer interface. Honda Research Institute, Japan, has demonstrated a Brain-Machine Interface (BMI) that enables a user to control an ASIMO robot using nothing more than thought. Wearing a headset containing both electroencephalography (EEG) and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) sensors, the user simply imagines moving either his right hand, left hand, tongue or feet - and ASIMO makes a corresponding movement. The system is still huge and slow, and the commands are quite crude and imprecise - but Honda's baby steps represent a huge leap in technology. The next task is to refine the system to work with fine motor controls, add the ability to decode non-motor brain signals and speed it all up. Then, the doors will be open for a whole range of machines that can sense your thoughts, intentions and feelings, and act directly upon them. BMI has staggering potential - this is just the beginning. Read More
Children's game inspires new generation of security robot
By Kyle Sherer
16:50 March 25, 2009 PDT
Sophisticated sensors allow robots to see and hear the world at a level far beyond humans, but when it comes to interpreting the data they’re still a few notches below Daleks. Scientists at Duke University and the University of New Mexico have used the game “Marco Polo” as the inspiration for the creation of an algorithm that allows robots to identify and intercept moving targets. Read More
Brown University develops autonomous, gesture-following robot
By Kyle Sherer
00:07 March 20, 2009 PDT
A team from Brown University has developed a robot capable of following verbal and nonverbal commands in indoor and outdoor environments. Based on iRobot's brain-trust, previously known for developing PackBot, the machine was presented at the Human-Robot Interaction conference from March 11-13. Read More
UKP20,000 robotic fish to act as water pollution police
By Mike Hanlon
15:52 March 19, 2009 PDT
March 20, 2009 A number of robotic fish are to be trialled into the port of Gijon in Spain to evaluate how effectively and cost-efficiently they can detect water pollution. The 1.5 meter carp-shaped robots are part of a three-year research project funded by the European Commission and if successful, the fish could be used in rivers, lakes and seas across the world. The life-like creatures, which will mimic the undulating movement of real fish, will be equipped with tiny chemical sensors to find the source of potentially hazardous pollutants in the water, such as leaks from vessels in the port or underwater pipelines. Read More
Robot supermodel takes to the catwalk
By Kyle Sherer
18:10 March 18, 2009 PDT
Japanese researchers on Monday unveiled the HRP-4C robot in a mock fashion show, which showcased the versatile facial expressions and motions of the bot, rather than the outfit of the month. The petit, 158cm tall robot has 42 motion motors in its body, and can imitate a variety of facial expressions. Read More
Cajun Crawler: the Segway gets a leg-up
By Paul Evans
19:21 March 17, 2009 PDT
Take one DIY Self balancing electric vehicle project, replace the wheels with 6 pars of short legs based on Theo Jansen kinetic sculptures and the result looks like something out of “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy”. A dynamically stabilized, ride-on robot that crawls. Read More
Six weird and wonderful things people have built with Twitter
By Tim Hanlon
19:32 March 9, 2009 PDT
For the uninitiated, Twitter is a "microblogging" service that invites you to share what you're doing with the world in 140 characters or less - and it's currently taking the world by storm, with everyone from Scoble to Shaq on board. Its charm is that its usefulness is entirely open to interpretation - while many just don't get it (including Google's CEO), some use it purely for self-promotion, others to connect with their peers, others to tap breaking news long before mainstream media covers it, and then there's the subset of users that like to build or hack devices to use its API. Read on to meet six devices (of varying usefulness) that use Twitter to communicate with their human overlords. Read More
Airborne microbots to create wi-fi zones in disaster situations
By Kyle Sherer
17:24 March 9, 2009 PDT
Autonomous flying quadcopter robots, built from off-the-shelf parts in €300 kits (US$380) could be used to establish radio networks for phones and wireless Internet in disaster zones. Under development by researchers at the Ilmenau University of Technology, the bots are equipped with satellite navigation, GPS, and VIA Pico-ITX hardware. Read More
GigaPan: 1500 megapixel landscapes with any camera
23:03 February 27, 2009 PST
The folks over at GigaPan Systems, a collaboration between Google, Carnegie Mellon University and the NASA Ames Intelligent Robotics Group, have finally released to the public a new and very special toy. The GigaPan Epic mount is a robotic tripod for a standard digital camera that has the ability to create large panoramas and pictures with many magnitudes more detail than the average camera could take on its own. It works by positioning the camera automatically and taking potentially hundreds of photos. Specially designed software will then stitch the pictures together to create a seamless panorama which can be navigated and zoomed in on in the style of Google Earth, which has itself been upgraded to incorporate uploaded panorama’s into a layer that can be viewed in the mapping software. Read More
Celeste H Calabro
- July 5, 2009 @ 22:20 UTC
