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ROBOTICS

Children's game inspires new generation of security robot

By Kyle Sherer

16:50 March 25, 2009 PDT

Rafael Fierro is an associate professor of electrical engineering at the University of New...

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

ROBOTICS

Brown University develops autonomous, gesture-following robot

By Kyle Sherer

00:07 March 20, 2009 PDT

The Brown University robot interprets human silhouttes as calls to action.
 
 Image via Br...

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

ON THE WATER

UKP20,000 robotic fish to act as water pollution police

By Mike Hanlon

15:52 March 19, 2009 PDT

UKP20,000 robotic fish to act as water pollution police

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

ROBOTICS

Robot supermodel takes to the catwalk

By Kyle Sherer

18:10 March 18, 2009 PDT

http://www.pinktentacle.com/2009/03/video-hrp-4c-fashion-model-robot/

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

ROBOTICS

Cajun Crawler: the Segway gets a leg-up

By Paul Evans

19:21 March 17, 2009 PDT

The Cajun Crawler was built by a team of mechanical engineering students at the University...

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

GOOD THINKING

Six weird and wonderful things people have built with Twitter

By Tim Hanlon

19:32 March 9, 2009 PDT

RoBe:Do serving popcorn

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

ROBOTICS

Airborne microbots to create wi-fi zones in disaster situations

By Kyle Sherer

17:24 March 9, 2009 PDT

The quadcopter bots have 20 minutes of battery power to find high ground.

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

CAMERAS AND IMAGING

GigaPan: 1500 megapixel landscapes with any camera

By Stephen Saunders

23:03 February 27, 2009 PST

The GigaPan Epic mount.

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

ROBOTICS

Biomass eating robot makes its own electricity

By Kyle Sherer

20:56 February 15, 2009 PST

Robotics Technology is developing the self-fueling EATR robot

February 16, 2009 Expected to survive autonomously for extended periods of time in hostile conditions, Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) could be seen as decidedly unglamorous in comparison to their airborne cousins – and none more so than the proposed Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot (EATR) from Robotic Technology, which will suffer the indignity of ingesting and expelling biomass to fuel itself, presumably with no toilet paper. Scatalogical humor aside, it's a remarkable project which promises to greatly extend the capability of unmanned roving bots with researchers estimating that 150 pounds of vegetation could give it enough juice for 100 miles of driving. Read More

ROBOTICS

Honda launches 360-degree, interactive look at ASIMO

By Noel McKeegan

17:45 February 12, 2009 PST

Inside Honda's ASIMO

Those of you who (like us) have followed the development of Honda's ASIMO humanoid robot might be interested in a new "Inside ASIMO" feature now available on the bipedal bot's website. The feature uses a 3D computer-generated model to provide an interactive look at ASIMO's form, function, movement and intelligence capabilities, outlining the technology that enables the robot to, among other things, climb stairs, run, avoid obstacles, recognize faces and distinguish sounds. Read More

ROBOTICS

Wheelchair-mounted robotic arm controlled by thought alone

By Kyle Sherer

20:39 February 10, 2009 PST

The Brain-Computer Interface allows control a robotic arm

Researchers at the University of South Florida have designed a system that uses an Electroencephalograph (EEG) to read the brain waves of wheelchair-bound people and allows them to control a robotic arm with their thoughts. The Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) captures P300 brain wave responses, the consistently detectable brain waves associated with decision making, and transmits instructions to the robo-arm “without the user moving a muscle.” Read More

ROBOTICS

Fully automated robotic mower for golf greens

By Darren Quick

23:58 February 9, 2009 PST

The Precise Path RG3

February 10, 2009 No-one likes mowing the lawn. It’s a boring, repetitive, time-consuming job. Now imagine if you had 18 lawns, all requiring immaculate care on a very regular basis. Even less fun, right? That’s the prospect those responsible for keeping golf greens in pristine condition face and, since repetitive jobs are perfect for robots, Indianapolis-based Precise Path Robotics has created the RG3 robotic greens mower - the first fully automated robotic golf course conditioning and maintenance mower. Read More

ROBOTICS

The DIY, open source, self-balancing ride-on robot

By Paul Evans

20:46 February 9, 2009 PST

Geoffrey D. Bennett aboard his DIY robotic transport

"Segway" slipped into the lexicon as the commonly used term for a self-balancing ride-on robot soon after the launch of Dean Kamen's famous invention in 2001. The Segway is certainly a unique way to get around and to the casual observer, the way the device operates might seem to defy gravity. There are quite a few DIY projects around the Internet including standard two-wheeled upright versions, unicycles and one wheeled skate boards that operate on the same self-balancing principle. Now a kind soul named Geoffrey Bennett has released an open source version of the firmware required to operate a ride on robot free, allowing anyone with basic mechanical ability and some electronics skills to build their very own self-balancing transport. Read More

ROBOTICS

Anybots’ QA telepresence robot

By Darren Quick

18:06 February 9, 2009 PST

Gizmag's Dave Weinstein with the QA telepresence robot

As a race we humans probably only have a few years to make good use of robots before they become self aware and take over the world, so we need to get in while we can. One of these good uses is through robotic telepresence, which lets a user move and interact with a remote environment through a robotic proxy that serves as the user's eyes and ears and follows their commands. Judging by the impressive show put on at CES 2009 by the QA telepresence robot from California based company Anybots, life-sized robot surrogates are definitely starting to reach a level of technological feasibility that could make rushing to a plane to reach that important meeting a thing of the past. Read More

ROBOTICS

Robotic Electric Motorcycle concept capable of MotoGP speeds

By Paul Evans

17:11 February 8, 2009 PST

Igarashi Design's riderless robotically controlled motorcycle

We're familiar with the soccer playing exploits of intelligent machines in Robocup and have been treated to a taste of what autonomous robotic systems are capable of in events like the DARPA Urban Challenge, but could a rider-less motorcycle robot compete with the speed demons of MotoGP? That's the vision of Japanese computer graphics designer Yutaka Igarashi who has conceived a new robotically controlled motorcycle design aimed at beating the lap time of a MotoGP bike around a circuit. Read More

ROBOTICS

Japanese company builds your robotic twin

By Kyle Sherer

16:39 February 8, 2009 PST

Your robotic twin can connect to the Internet and recite your RSS feeds

A Japanese company called Little Island will manufacture your own custom-made robotic doppelganger. The pint-sized bot is produced based on a picture you send in and at USD$2,215, it definitely overshoots the “novelty buy” demographic, aiming for the true-believer market that is really, really into robotics. Read More

ROBOTICS

K-9 the robot dog circa 2009

By Kyle Sherer

14:59 February 3, 2009 PST

K-9 the robot dog circa 2009

The latest winner in this round of the Trossen Robotics competition combines both of man's best friends - dogs and computers. Despite its high tech capabilities, the autonomous pooch dubbed K-9 looks suitably low-budget from the exterior in-line with its namesake from the original Dr. Who television series. Read More

ROBOTICS

Roofus robot scours rooftops for snow

By Kyle Sherer

17:10 February 1, 2009 PST

Roofus can be fitted with attachments to sweep, clean, or mow.

Here's an interesting idea for those readers out there facing bleak winter conditions to ponder. The Roofus robot concept will diligently wipe snow from rooftops, carting loads of up to 250kg to the edge and dumping it over the side. And though the concept designed by Michal Glogowski is primarily intended for work on icy surfaces, it can also be fitted with lawn mowing blades and sweeping attachments, making it a useful design throughout the whole year. Read More

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Miniscule motor swims through the bloodstream

By Noel McKeegan

00:15 January 30, 2009 PST

Miniscule motor swims through the bloodstream

Researchers from Monash University in Australia are working on microbot motors designed to swim through the human bloodstream. Dubbed the "Proteus" after the miniature submarine that traveled through the body in the 1966 sci-fi flick, Fantastic Voyage, the tiny piezoelectric motor is just 250 micrometers or a quarter of a millimetre wide - that's around 2.5 times the width of a human hair. Read More

ROBOTICS

Climbing robot inspects wind turbines for damage

By Kyle Sherer

16:14 January 29, 2009 PST

RIWEA hoists itself up the rotor blade of a wind turbine

Wind turbines, predominantly constructed from glass fiber reinforced plastics, are vulnerable to fractures and flaws that can be impossible for the human eye to detect - and even the cracks visible to humans can often only be spotted in a time-consuming and dangerous examination. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute say that their latest robot creation, RIWEA, can solve both problems to increase the overall efficiency of the wind energy system. Read More

CHILDSPLAY

WowWee 's Wi-Fi Spyball

By Emily Clark

20:29 January 13, 2009 PST

WowWee Spyball

A scaled back version of the Rovio Wi-Fi robot webcam, the Spyball from WowWee is a remote controlled, Wi-Fi enabled, transforming robotic ball that allows kids to see what their brother or sister is up to, as well as checking out what’s for dinner in the kitchen – all undetected. Read More

ROBOTICS

49-foot tall ASIMO rolls into California

By Noel McKeegan

19:43 December 21, 2008 PST

49-foot tall ASIMO rolls into California

Although first and foremost a platform for humanoid robotic development, Honda's ASIMO has increasingly found itself in a PR role in recent times - a World tour, conducting the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and a Disneyland stage show have all been on the agenda for the stair climbing, hand shaking bot. In its latest gig, a gargantuan 49-foot tall ASIMO float will greet onlookers at the upcoming Rose Parade in Pasadena, California. Read More

ROBOTICS

Snake-like robots to assist construction work

By Kyle Sherer

16:21 December 13, 2008 PST

RoMeLa's climbing HyDRAS robot

Researchers at the Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory at Virginia Tech have designed a series of autonomous serpentine robots that are able to climb poles and inspect structures too dangerous or inaccessible for humans. The robots coil themselves around a beam and roll upward using an oscillating joint motion, gathering important structural data with cameras and sensors. Read More

ROBOTICS

The multi-skilled Dragon Runner ground robot

By Noel McKeegan

03:45 December 1, 2008 PST

Dragon Runner Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle (SUGV)

Both in the air and on the ground, unmanned robotic systems have been deployed to battlefields in growing numbers over the past decade and it's safe to predict that these numbers will only grow in coming years. The reason is simple - they keep human beings out of the firing line. The latest example to join QinetiQ North America's TALON family is the versatile Dragon Runner Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle (SUGV) - a lightweight, portable modular robot which can be quickly configured for both reconnaissance and improvised explosive device (IED) disarmament. Read More

ROBOTICS

EU project demonstrates emotional robots

By Kyle Sherer

23:25 November 20, 2008 PST

The FEELIX GROWING project is aiming to provide robots with a working knowledge of human b...

Researchers estimate that body language makes up between 50-80% of communication, which means robots aren’t ready to become caregivers and companions until they get a good handle on nonverbal expression. To meet these challenges, a €2.5 million EU-funded project is developing robots that are capable of identifying different emotions based on facial expressions Read More

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