ROBOT

2007-04-08T23:38:00.000-07:00

Design Goodness: Mike Smyth's Minimechadon
I always like to point out great design when I see it, and Mike Smyth's Minimechadon is a prime example. Mike created the little guy to experiment with learning algorithms for walking. The robot weighs 12oz and has 4 degrees-of-freedom.

The sensor array consists of 4 touch sensors on the bottom of each foot, Left and right IR obstacle detection, and 4 CdS photo detectors located on all four sides of the robot. The heart of the control system is a Microchip PIC16F819 micro-controller and a separate 8 channel A-D converter.

The mechanical structure is built from brass tubing (which all the wiring runs through, UHMW (a high density plastic material), and PCBs. Perhaps the most striking aspect of the robot is the use of PCBs to create a 3D structure and mount all of the circuits/electronics.

There are other pictures of the MiniMechadon on Mike's website , along with other projects. Be kind to his server though.

2007-04-08T18:17:00.000-07:00

The Open Servo Project If you've ever need a digital servo but have balked at the price, the Open Servo Project should be an attractive option. The project seeks to develop software and hardware to replace the internals of standard servos like the Futaba S3003 and the Hitec-HS311.

OpenServo is an open community-based project started by Mike Thompson with the goal of creating a low-cost digital servo for robotics. The hardware and software design of the OpenServo is free for anyone to use and modify to meet their particular needs. It is currently being developed by a small group of dedicated individuals striving to maintain the very best in free, open source software and standards.

The project uses a 8bit AVR microcontroller, MOSFET h-bridge, "feedback of servo position, speed, voltage and power consumption", and only costs about $10 extra per servo (so, about $20 for one complete servo).

Visit the OpenServo Forums for more information.

2007-04-06T17:28:00.000-07:00

More Info On The World's Smallest Robotic Hand This is an update to our previous post about this miniscule but amazing 'hand' from UCLA . The hand, which measures 1mm across when closed, is powered by gas pressure, and is hoped to be one day used in micro surgery. Balloons at the finger joints inflate to close the hand.

You can also see a video of the hand grabbing a fish egg . It's pretty amazing.

2007-04-04T17:34:00.000-07:00

Another Robot to Explore The Inside of Your Body
Scientists from the Shiga University of Medical Science and Ritsumeikan University in Japan, have created yet another miniature robot to explore around the inside of your bod y. The robot, which is less than 1" x 0.5" is inserted through an incision and is moved by controlling a magnetic field surrounding the patient.

The researchers developed five different kinds of prototypes with features such as image capture functions, medicine delivery systems, and tiny forceps for taking tissue samples. MRI images of the patient taken in advance serve as a map for navigating the minibot, which is said to have performed swimmingly in tests on animals.

The robot is also equipped with an umbilical cord to send back images and other data. Here's a link to the article in Japanese, if you're so inclined.

2007-04-03T18:21:00.000-07:00

Robot Rescues Fugitive from Seoul SewerIn more robot news from Asia, here's an interesting story about a sewer inspection robot that was used to locate a fugitive who'd hidden in the city sewer. The man, who'd stolen a woman's purse, escaped into a sewer pipe. Unfortunately, he'd been stripped of his clothes while fleeing, and he chose an exceptionally cold time to do so - the temperature was 34 degrees F.

The robot located the man, who'd apparently gotten lost in the pipes. The robot, a sewage pipe inspection robot, has six wheels and comes equipped with a camera.

Here's a video of a ~~Korean~~ Japanese news report on the event:

Pleo Update

2006-12-10T17:11:00.000-08:00

November has come and gone with quite a bit of new news relating to our cute robotic dino-pal, Pleo. You can check out all of the coverage on our sister site, . We've learned that Pleo really does exist and that (ha! Our suspicions are confirmed!). He'll be selling for around $250 and displays a wide variety of actions, like getting sick with a cold, limping, pretending to be scared, making sounds, and even responding to his name. Pleo will also come with a SD card slot and a USB port for donwloading new behaviors (and all sorts of hackery!) There's also several , and vidoes - from and . Pleo's NiMH battery will allow him to run for about 2 hrs, with a 4 hr charge time, however, there are currently no plans to make it replaceable.
PleoBot.com
he's pretty cute and cuddly

new
pictures
of
Pleo
PC Magazine
SciFi blog

RB2000 Robot Does Gymnastic Manuevers

2006-12-01T17:21:00.000-08:00

The RB2000 robot from JR Robotics and VStone is able to perform some impressive acrobatic feats. Our friend, Lem, of the . However, Even so, the demonstrations of this robot's abilities has generated quite a bit of press for JR Robotics. You can find out and on .
over at Robots Dreams captured some video
RB2000 twirling about on the highbars

... since the robot doesn't have any hands, the bar was passed through openings in the robots arms - so it's impossible to fall off. It does, however, demonstrate the considerable torque available from the JR servos used in the arms.

more about the RB2000 here
JR Robotics' website

Global Hawk Flies First Mission Over US Skies

2006-11-30T17:47:00.000-08:00

Nomura Creates a Robotic Walking Assistant

2006-11-26T17:46:00.000-08:00

Nomura Creates a Robotic Walking Assistant




This is for all of you out there that read the ballroom dancer-bot story and decided you needed to master walking before dancing. Nomura UnisonCo. along with Tohoku Universities' Kazuhiro Kosuge and Yasuhisa Hiratahave created a robotic walking assistantthat not only senses its user's behavior, but also detects obstacles inits way and the slope of the floor. The robot is unmotorized but isable to apply the brakes in order to help its user maintain theirbalance. They plan on marketing the robot for rehabilitation,the elderly and physically disabled. The unit should be available foraround $4,000 USD.

Evolution Robotics Prepares to Take on iRobot's

2006-11-20T18:55:00.000-08:00

It looks like everyone's favorite, under appreciated, robotics company, Evolution Robotics, has teamed up with a, "large appliance manufacturer" to create a competitor to iRobot's smash-hit Roomba.The main claim-to-fame of the new soon-to-be sucker'bot is that it willbe 'smarter' than the Roomba and incorporate more sophisticatednavigation technology, namely Evolution's NorthStar technology. The technology is already implemented in a vacuum robot from Sharper Image and a household robot from Yujin.

Unfortunately,Evolution and every other vacuum 'bot manufacturer out there seem tothink that adding more features and smarts is going to get customers topurchase, but more importantly LOVE, their products. Anyone heard ofthe iPod? It's simple, clean, and efficient, and they're still thehands-down winner in the vicious fight between MP3 players.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that no vacuum robot will ever overturn the Roomba until they are easier, simpler, better looking, and more efficientthan the Roomba. Customers don't want features, they want a productthat they can love, and the longer the user manual, they less they loveit.

iRobot Revails 'Warrior' Robot. Bigger and Badder than Packbot

2006-10-09T19:10:00.000-07:00

iRobot issued a press release this morning detailing some of their new products. Of special interest is the new 250lb Warrior robot. Warrior, which isabout six times the size of the packbot, can move at over 12mph overrough terrain and can carry a payload of up to 100 lbs.

This annoucement coincides with an Army Future Combat Systems conference. Our friends at Robot Stock News have more details. Via

Mucus Trail Robot to Travel Through Human Intestines

2006-10-06T02:24:00.000-07:00

Instead of having a robot to crawl by your intestines, how about it slipping length on a slipping mucus trail? A group of researchers of university of Delft of technology, in the Netherlands, adopts this approach of novel to the exploration of inter-body in order to protect the sensitive lining from the plan of intestines.

The is the develops by tube-formed robot which will have several polymer “feet”. The feet stick to mucus striping the interior of the intestines. The foot towards before-more will seize the wall of intestine while the feet postpone will be made to slip freely ahead by pulverizing them with water. Then, the back foot will seize the wall, by employing a surface different of polymer, and the front feet will advance ahead. The process can then be repeated to create inch-worm-like the movement by the goal of intestines.

The is the test the robot inside a length of intestine of pig, whereas it carries a camera and a tool for biopsy, towards the end of the year.

South Korea Develops Machine-Gun Sentry Robot

2006-10-06T02:16:00.000-07:00

This history unloads in very fresh category the “, however very alarming” of today - South Korea develops a robot-like sentinel equipped machine-gun. The robot of sentinel is equipped with two cameras, for the day and for the infra-red vision of night, the bourdonnantes possibilities, a loudspeaker to inform the intruder of dead the inpending, identification of model sophisticated to detect the difference between the human ones and the trees, and one expects that are sold for $200.00 USD and will be robots of 5.5mm a machine-gun.

A The, code develops between Samsung and the university of Korea, available late in 2007. The Korean government of the south projects to deploy these friendly recalls on the border between the North Korea of the south and, to relieve more far from the relations between the countries. Or, perhaps it is the manner of othe which around.

AYou can also see more images and video of the robot in this harshly translated page. This line particularly caught my attention: “? the person the equipment of identification of form to analyze the loss of blood and a device of the mobile object. “Let us hope just that Google was particularly bad to translate today.

AI imagine that the bad chiefs of the whole the world with secret cushy jobs of Bad-Type lick to them lips.

Robot controllers

2006-08-14T19:30:00.000-07:00

Matt (from Phidgets USA) has a new robotics store, if youre in to robotics, go check it out - We invite you to stop by and take a look around. It is our goal to create an online hub for vendors to reach a new generation of students, developers, scientists, researchers, hobbyists, and more. We look forward to working with all our vendors to help grow the robotics market and usher in new technologies. - Link.

Gloom-II - Mini-sumo robot (Modded Solarbotics Sumovore kit)

2006-08-11T03:01:00.000-07:00

Mr_tentacle posted a bit about his new robot, the Gloom II - he writes Gloom II replaces the original Gloom, which died of unknown causes. This is a Solarbotics Sumovore kit, which is a decent kit as these things go, but had a few issues, the biggest being a flawed trace on the main board that resulted in a short and was difficult to track down. This version is fitted with the optional BS2-compatible brainboard - the MCU is a BasicX BX-24p, much faster than a BS2, running a Sumo program of my own design. I ditched the 6 AA cells in favor of a 7.4V LiPoly; the AA cells seen beneath the LiPoly are there for ballast. - Link.

Omniteuthis - Amazing robot with a holonomic drive

2006-08-07T18:52:00.000-07:00

Mr_tentacle writes - "Omniteuthis is a 3-wheeled test platform with holonomic drive - omniwheels at the the corners allow it to move directly in any direction. A Robot Logic OMX-3 omni-mixer and an inexpensive rate gyro work together to make it more-or less driveable using a 2-stick heli radio... Omniteuthis features 3 omniwheels mounted at the vertices of an equilateral triangle. A Robot Logic OMX-3 omniwheel mixer and a GWS Gyro work in concert to provide the necessary control. I can move the ROV in any direction, without having to turn to "face" in that direction." - Link & video.

Laser cut - Palm Pilot robot

2006-08-07T02:59:00.000-07:00

Chris writes - "This is my version of the Palm Pilot Robot from the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon. Their website has a simple tutorial on how to make one and even has programs to download and bring it to life. I used this opportunity to figure out the ins and outs of the laser cutter which I have access to and design a chassis for the PalmBot. " Thanks Kat! - Link.

The American Association for Artificial Intelligence Celebrates 50 Years of AI

2006-08-03T00:41:00.000-07:00

The American Association for Artificial Intelligence has celebrated 50 years of AI at this year's conference. Wired News has some good coverage and pictures of the event. There was a robot scavenger hunt, beauty pagent, and poker tournament at the conference.

There were also predictions that AI would be able to read 80% of the factual information on the internet in 10 years, thereby giving robots the ability to learn and know from an ever expanding knowledge base. Robotic music and was also discussed.

Sebastian Thrun, of DARPA Grand Challenge fame, gave the keynote address.

Roomba Scheduler feature is a dustbin detector

2006-07-31T19:47:00.000-07:00

The new Roomba Scheduler robotic vacuum feature announced this week turns out to be a light on the dustbin that lets users know that they should empty it because it is full. Useful? Yes. Revolutionary? No. Will anybody junk their old Scheduler to rush out to upgrade? No, unless they just have to have a black Roomba. Will any gizmo and gadget reviewers feel compelled to write new Roomba reviews because of the upgrade? Doubtful. What Roomba customers wanted wasn't a dust detector -- they wanted a Roomba with dock that cleans itself. But that'll probably have to wait a year or so for the next generation. For now, think of the new Roomba feature as the equivalent of a baby crying to let you know it needs changing. Who says robots are not becoming more human? :)
The new Programmable Roomba Robotic Floor Vacuum With Dust Bin Alert is sold exclusively at Hammacher Schlemmer, the premier catalog which provides a lifetime guarantee with all of its products. The upgraded Roomba Scheduler sells for $329.99, the same as the existing Scheduler. Shipping is free with coupon code VISAON06. For cheaper Roombas, check out our Roomba Buyers Guide (Refurb Schedulers are $175).

Sony ScientistsTeach Robots to Create Their Own Language

2006-07-31T19:24:00.000-07:00

Sony scientists along with Italy and the European Commission's Emerging Technologies Initiative are working on a project to give robots language and cognitive skills that change and grow over time, without human intervention or rules. The experiments are being carried out on a pack of Aibo's and they are already able to communicate to each other about the location of a ball and its movement.

The canine cyborgs were placed in a room with other objects, some of which would respond to sounds. A stuffed elephant and other objects would not respond. The dogs ultimately spent more time "barking" at the responsive objects, and they learned that particular bark patterns elicited certain responses.

The project is called EC (embedded and communicating) Agents and the goal is to have machines that grow and evolve without human interaction.

Other groups are working on this technlogy to let MP3 players, and the like, talk to each other about your playing preferences, and to create swarms of robots that do search and rescue.

But, of course any time someone mentiones "learning robots" and "evolution" all the scifi junkies start to get weak in the knees. When the robots learn to talk to each other without us knowing, then we're in trouble. Robot overlords, anyone?

Families Raising Money to Buy Soldiers BomBots

2006-07-14T00:19:00.000-07:00

Families of the 209 Quartermaster Divsion are raising money in order to purchase three BomBots for their soliders. The BomBots, built by Virginian company, IRT, only cost $5,000. Several soldiers from the community have been killed or wounded by IEDs, and this inspired grandmother, Saundra Whiddon, to organize fundraisers to buy the robots.

Anyone interested in assisting with fundraising efforts aimed at buying bomb detection robots for the 209th Quartermaster Company should contact Saundra Whiddon at (765) 463-9659 or by e-mail at saundraz-song@verizon.net or Brenda Wilson at (765) 762-3837.

Thanks to Robot Gossip and Robot Stock News.

US Soldiers Get Latest Prosthetic Technology

2006-07-11T19:09:00.000-07:00

Research into prosthetics has lagged behind other medical research. The relatively low number of patients needing them doesn't create near the demand that other research areas, such as cancer, do. Recently, the US Military has stepped up the plate in order to meet the needs of its wounded soliders.

The War on Terror has created a higher demand for quality prosthetics. "Since the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, more than 370 U.S. soldiers have had amputations."

In 2005 the Department of Veterans Affairs budgeted $7.2 million to create the Center for Restorative and Regenerative Medicine at the VA Medical Center in Providence, Rhode Island. This year the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency ... began funding two prosthetics projects for $48.5 million ...

It has been said that the necessary coordination and research to create the ultimate prosthetic, one that interacts with the brain, is like the Manhattan Project. Such a prosthesis, "will need additional sensors to gather information on speed, angle, gait and balance."

Current technology can read muscle control signals, but this requires huge amounts of concentration on the part of the wearer. Lower body prosthetics, which are by far the most common, are even harder to control. Some sense the shift of body weight and then command the leg to move. However, none of these solutions give the brain feedback. They are also bulky and sometimes painful.

Unfortuanately, we don't have the technology to develop a proper prosthetic.We still have to solve problems of how to attach it to the body, how to read from the brain, how to send data back to the brain, how to power it, and what materials to build it from.

The six part Popular Science article is a great read for anyone who wants to know the current state of the art.

Flies and Whegs: Sticky Feet Robotics

2006-06-18T03:42:00.000-07:00

Biomimetics is off and looking at practically anything for inspiration. Insects are a particular favorite, of course, particularly those that fly, climb, and perform other gravity-defying tricks.

Take the fly, for instance. How does it walk upside down? German researchers recently proved that flies rely on “a glue-like substance made of sugars and oils.” The insects zoom and slick themselves up there, then peeling off their feet as they walk.

The Biologically Inspired Robotics Lab at Case Western Reserve University, upon reading the report and collaborating with the Germans, promptly mimicked the sticky climbing feat. The robot? A Wheg, of course.

What's NXT

2006-05-21T18:33:00.000-07:00

What's NXT is a weekly column written by Jim Kelly at The NXT Step Blog. Jim writes about LEGO Mindstorms NXT and all the cool news related to it.

While I didn't get the fancy packaging that the retail version will provide, I was just as happy when a plain brown box arrived .

The motors, brick, and cables were packages separately from the smaller pieces. The connectors, beams, rods, and misc. pieces were in a large plastic bag that had to first be sorted.

I had a couple of containers for my old RCX that I chose to use because they worked so well for me. I managed to purchase a larger plastic case to hold all the old RCX parts, and then began the counting. I first sorted all the parts based on the picture that LEGO released showing them all nicely placed. Trust me, mine never even came close to looking that good.

CMU Reveals Crusher

2006-05-16T22:59:00.000-07:00

CMU finally revealed Crusher to the public last Friday (yea, I'm behind). The new vehicle, based losely on Spinner, isn't able to invert itself like its younger brother, but is still amazing nonetheless. WTAE.com has some coverage of the launch with video. Notice the unique way that Crusher turns, by lowering its inner wheels and raising the outer ones. The 6.5 ton vehicle is fully autonomous and is able to travel at a top speed of 25 mph.

Crusher's hull is made from high-strength aluminum tubes and titanium nodes protected by a steel skid plate that can absorb shocks from impacts with rocks or tree stumps.

Each of its six wheels are powered by an electric motor, which are in turn powered of off banks of batteries which are charged by a deisel engine.

Initial applications for a vehicle like this would be in support positions, remotely delivering goods and weapons to soldiers in the field. The project is funded by DARPA and has cost $35 million USD to date.

Crusher will undergo extensive field tests under the purview of the Army and DARPA every quarter for the next two years. Much of the emphasis will be on increasing its autonomy capabilities. It's expected that the Crusher platform will influence unmanned vehicle design efforts funded by the Army's Future Combat System.