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Robotics
Willow Garage offers free robots to researchers
By Ben Coxworth
14:07 February 9, 2010 PST
Imagine if every time someone wanted to develop a new piece of software, they first had to design and build a computer to run it. Not only would this greatly add to the time and expense required for software development, but it would also mean that all of us consumers would have to own multiple computers. Well, that’s what it’s like in the field of robotics. Because there is no robot-equivalent of the PC or Mac, every time someone wants a robot that can do something new, a new robot has to be built from scratch. Wouldn’t it be easier if there were one standard robotic platform, for which people just designed new hardware or software? Californian robotics company Willow Garage seems to think so, which is why they’re giving ten of their PR2 robots to deserving research organizations. Read More
Roxxxy the US$7,000 companion/sex robot (NSFW)
By Jeff Salton
21:09 February 3, 2010 PST
When it comes to technology, the sex industry is no laggard, and as robotics become more human-like in their appearance and abilities, US-based company TrueCompany is poised to launch Roxxxy – the world’s first "sex robot" that has many more capabilities than your average sex doll. Apart from having better defined physical features than previous dolls, Roxxxy has been programmed with her own personality and her manufacturers say she can listen, talk, carry on a conversation, feel your touch and respond to it, as well as move her private areas inside when she is being “utilized” to deliver an unforgettable erotic experience. There are even plans for a male version - Rocky the Robot. Read More
Robo Cafe: robot waiters make a restaurant a one-man operation
By Loz Blain
13:59 January 14, 2010 PST
Back in the 70s, the robots were coming for our crappy manufacturing jobs. Now, it seems, they're coming for our crappy table service jobs. Korean company ITM Technology has developed a restaurant concept around a cute little robot that fulfills the role of a waiter - it takes orders from customers, either verbally or through a touch screen, then relays them to the kitchen, and brings the food out when it's ready. Robo Cafe eliminates ordering errors, reduces staffing costs dramatically for restaurant owners, and even brings the boss all the tips. It's probably not going to be nearly as interesting to Tiger Woods, though. Read More
Intelligent sport: BREAKAWAY Game revealed at 2010 FIRST Robotics Competition Kickoff
By Gizmag Team
13:40 January 10, 2010 PST
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), a not-for-profit organization founded by inventor Dean Kamen to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology, launched its nineteenth FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) season today with the Kickoff of a new robotics game called “BREAKAWAY”. “FIRST is about giving kids the opportunity to build skill sets like analytical thinking to then develop what they may or may not use to build a robot; but they might use these skills to become a scientist, engineer, or inventor,” said Dean Kamen, FIRST Founder, as he explained how what students learn from FIRST is very different from other sports. “Ten years from today, one of these students is going to be out in the world having done something extraordinary for a major, global problem.” FIRST sees informed thinking, creative analysis, and Gracious Professionalism™ as the keys to changing society. Read More
The serious truth behind the adorable PARO baby seal-bot
By Loz Blain
00:16 January 7, 2010 PST
PARO is an animatronic baby seal companion robot designed by some very clever people with one simple purpose in mind - to make you love him. From everything we've seen, he's exceptionally talented at his job, melting the hardest hearts and bringing a big silly smile to everyone who meets him. But although he might be a wonderful toy, PARO's real purpose is to address a serious problem that's affecting Japan right now, and will soon spread across much of the Western world. Read More
Get your own robotic doppelganger
By Darren Quick
22:30 December 16, 2009 PST
Are you the kind of person that likes their own company? Maybe you're just a narcissist? Well Japanese department store operator Sogo & Seibu have just the thing for you. As part of a New Year’s promotional sale Sogo, Seibu, and Robinson’s department stores will offer people the chance to buy a humanoid robot custom-built to look, move and sound just like themselves. Read More
Helping robotic surgeons to operate on beating hearts
By Darren Quick
14:59 December 16, 2009 PST
Stopping a heart from beating during surgery is a complicated and risky procedure. Robotic technology that predicts the movement of the heart as it beats, thereby enabling surgical tools to move in concert with each beat, could help cut the risks of such surgery by allowing surgeons to operate on a beating heart as if it were stationary. Read More
Nao - a robot that sees, speaks, reacts to touch and surfs the web
By Jeff Salton
19:55 December 6, 2009 PST
The versatile humanoid robot Nao caught Gizmag's attention at the 2009 International Robot Exhibition (iREX 2009). What Nao lacks in size, he makes up for in features and capabilities. Nao can see (via two cameras), will react to touch, can surf the Web and can interact with other Naos. He can speak (in English or French, so far) by reading out any file stored locally in his storage space or captured from a website RSS flow. The bot is fitted with an accelerometer and gyrometer so he won't fall down, he's also equipped with two pairs of ultra-sound senders/receivers on his torso that give feedback on several echoes so Nao is aware of obstacles close by and can avoid them. Read More
Audi testing autonomous TTS Coupe quattro
By Gizmag Team
15:57 November 30, 2009 PST
The age-old battle of man versus machine will move to a new arena in 2010 when Audi will begin pitting an autonomous TTS Coupe quattro against record times of some of the great driving challenges, including a likely attempt at the infamous 12.42-mile Pikes Peak Hill Climb in Colorado, USA. The driverless Audi is from the same team that built the VW Touareg which won the first race for autonomous vehicles, the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge. The inevitable incorporation of advanced robotic technologies into our automobiles will ultimately yield a safer vehicle and it’s the thin end of the wedge – one day soon your car will not only be smarter than you are, it will also be faster and maybe even better looking. Read More
MIT's robo-fish swims like the real thing
00:23 October 9, 2009 PDT
What is it with scientists and robotic animals? Did they not have pets as children? This year alone, we’ve seen robot ferrets, penguins, dogs, locusts, moles and bats. And now, scientists at MIT have come up with a robotic fish. Although we’ve seen mechanical fish before, this one is different in a very significant way – the robofish truly mimics the natural swimming action of real fish, flexing mechanical muscles to propel itself through the water. Read More
Get away from her you b#%$@ - the Power Loader suit to become a reality
By Darren Quick
22:27 October 4, 2009 PDT
Science-fiction is well on the way to becoming science fact with engineers from Activelink, a Kyoto-based subsidiary of Panasonic, developing an exoskeleton suit inspired by the "Power Loader" suit Ripley wore in her climactic battle with the Queen Alien in Aliens. And, just like in the movie, the Power Loader suit is designed to give its wearer superhuman strength for the lifting of heavy objects – in the movie it was cargo, but Activelink also has construction and disaster relief operations in its sights. Read More
Sandia hoppers have robots jumping for joy
By Darren Quick
00:23 September 21, 2009 PDT
Whether they use wheels, treads, or even legs, robots often have trouble extricating themselves from situations they may encounter on a space mission. Their design can also prevent them from easily navigating around certain obstacles. The chances of hitting a roadblock only increase when human control is removed, as in the case of autonomous robots. Hopping robots inspired by the clumsy jumping of grasshoppers could prove to be the answer to giving robots unprecedented mobility for exploring other planets, gathering battlefield intelligence, and assisting police during standoffs or surveillance operations. Read More
Work out with Taizo the exercising robot
By Darren Quick
00:42 September 15, 2009 PDT
‘Taizo’ is a humanoid robot designed to lead the elderly in physical exercises. He stands just 72cm (28") tall and has 26 degrees of freedom that enables him to smoothly demonstrate around 30 different moves for his followers to imitate. Since his primary assignment is to help the elderly, most of his exercise regime centers around chair-bound activities, but he can stand up to demonstrate some actions. Read More
Oshkosh demonstrates TerraMax autonomous vehicle system
By Paul Lester
18:27 September 3, 2009 PDT
The ability of military vehicles to better protect occupants with modern designs and high-tech materials has become an increasing priority and UK firm Amsafe has already seen success with its Tarian armor plating in the U.S. Oshkosh Defense, part of the U.S. Marine Corp’s MRAP (Mine-Resistant, Ambush Protected) program, is also heavily involved and a recently-announced armor system took an alternative approach with an emphasis on mobility. Development of its new TerraMax vehicles seems almost flawless in its potential, however, at least in protecting the lives of the soldiers on board because, put simply, there aren’t any. Read More
Robotic gaming gets on a roll
By Darren Quick
00:42 August 26, 2009 PDT
Robots have uses beyond packaging, production lines and the imminent overthrowing of humanity - or at least South African/U.S. start up Robonica thinks so. It’s aiming to ‘redefine the entertainment robotics market’ with a line of robotic gaming products that fuse elements of robotics, remote controlled vehicles and electronic gaming. The core of the Robonica’s introductory product, Roboni-i Action Games, is a fully programmable remote controlled robot with sensors that make it aware of its environment and that enable it to interact with other robots. Read More
Intelligent harvesting robot could lead to cheaper food at the checkout
By Darren Quick
02:37 August 17, 2009 PDT
Researchers in the U.K. are working at turning newly developed imaging technology into an intelligent harvesting machine. Using microwave measurement, the system can look beneath the leafy layers of a crop, identify the differing materials, and enable precise size identification. Such a machine could minimize wastage in crops like cauliflower and solve an impending labor shortage for U.K. farmers caused by a fall in the number of migrant workers. Read More
Harnessing blowflies to teach robots how to see
19:24 August 11, 2009 PDT
One of the biggest challenges facing robotics is teaching machines to perceive surroundings and make sense of what they see. Attempting to duplicate the complexity of human perception is next to impossible, so researchers at Cognition for Technical Systems (CoTeSys) in Munich are, instead, studying how blowflies process images using a 'flight simulator'. Despite having a brain the size of a pinhead, a fly can process and interpret 100 discrete images per second – four times better than humans. Read More
Learning robot puts on a happy face
By Darren Quick
00:18 July 14, 2009 PDT
Robots generally aren’t the most expressive of entities, but their faces are becoming increasingly realistic as the number of artificial muscles controlling them rises. Today, a highly trained person must manually set up these kinds of realistic robots so that the servos pull in the right combination to make specific facial expressions, but researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) are looking to automate the process by giving robots the ability to learn realistic facial expressions. Read More
Focus on search and rescue robots at RoboCup 2009
By Karen Sprey
04:50 July 6, 2009 PDT
Search and rescue robots (S&R robots) were put through their paces in two complex and realistic disaster scenarios as part of a special rescue robot supporting program at RoboCup 2009 – the robotics world championships - in Graz, Austria. In recognition of the potentially lifesaving uses of rescue robots, RoboCup 2009 promoted their development in the separate category “RoboCup Rescue”, building on the success of the RoboCup Soccer project through technical discussion forums of technical discussions and competitive evaluations for researchers and practitioners. 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
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
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
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
Green-thumbed robots: the future of sustainable precision agriculture?
19:10 March 26, 2009 PDT
March 26, 2009 When consuming your five a day of fruit and vegetables, have you ever stopped to consider the back breaking labor and significant resources involved in their production? According to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratories (CSAIL), the robotic, computerized answer to minimizing these factors could be just around the corner. Students at the laboratory have undertaken a project that utilizes robots to take the thinking and manual labor out of producing specialty crops such as fruit and vegetables. Read More
windykites1
- February 9, 2010 @ 19:22 UTC
