All Entries Tagged With: "robots"
Autotec’s Gentlemanly Wearable Robot Opens Doors For You
It’s official. You can’t lock robots inside the house anymore. A new robot arm from Japanese manufacturer BL Autotec should be able to reach out for the doorknob and open the door when attached to an emergency droid, clearing the way for the rest of their robot cavalry to escape.
Yep, the damn golems don’t have to fire steel-melting lasers or launch obstacle-blasting missiles anymore. All the limbed robot has to do is wield its mechanical arm, give the doorknob a tight grip and turn its claw to loosen the bolt. Even scarier, the mobility robot they designed to take the arm can strap around people’s shoulders like a backpack, allowing it to ride you like its own personal beast of burden. Yikes.
Autotec’s robot arm features four shafts that let it stretch to a full meter long and a specially-shaped claw for managing all that [...]
Truckbot Is An Intelligent Robot With A Smartphone Brain
Got an old smartphone? Don’t trade it in and don’t sell it for cheap to anyone who vaguely resembles a mad scientist. If you do, you may be aiding in humanity’s demise against the robot invasion. Proof: the currently dumb, but potentially powerful Truckbot, a robot with a smartphone grey matter.
The brainchild of Tim Heath and Ryan Hickman, the first-generation droid may look like a sloppy patch-up job now. In fact, it looks nothing more than a miniature handcart with a board, some wires and an Android powered HTC G1 strapped to it. All it does is roll around a table too, turning and heading off into specified directions. Now you’re probably asking: “That’s the robot invasion? Even I can pull that off if I ever stopped playing Farmville long enough.” Well, you’re probably right.
Truckbot’s setup actually sounds simple enough that any budding evil genius can get one up and [...]
NASA Builds Humanoid Robonaut 2, Gives It Human-Like Hands
We all love robots. Humanoid automatons, on the other hand, are just freaky to me. I don’t want my robot housekeeper to look like Robocop, thank you very much. That’s not going to stop NASA, though, who just finished introducing the Robonaut 2 (R2), a humanoid robot capable of many precise, human-like actions.
Created in collaboration with General Motors, the automotive assembly line is obviously one of this machine’s more likely destinations. NASA’s interest, however, is in space exploration, where the humanoid’s forceful and accurate limb mobility can take people’s place in hazardous operations.
The R2 builds upon NASA’s Robonaut technology, a decade-old android designed in conjunction with DARPA. This latest version takes on a similar form, with a humanoid upper body and a wheeled platform below the trunk. According to NASA, it has strong limbs too, as each five-fingered hand of the R2 can lift up to 20lbs of weight, four [...]
Plen Robot Is A Droid For Your Android
Got an Android-powered phone, want your own robot? Akazawa Japan’s Plen robot literally writes its own pun: it’s an Android Droid – a droid that can be controlled using Google’s Android OS and he looks awesome.
Billed as the world’s first “Desktop Hobby Robot,” Plen can be controlled over Bluetooth using a bundled app designed to run on smartphones with the open-source OS. It won’t destroy your enemies, take out the trash or do anything useful, but it can perform a bunch of actions that should deliver some entertainment your way.
Plen stands just a little under 9 inches and weighs a little over 1.5 lbs. Boasting 18-degrees of freedom, it can manage some nifty actions. It maintains balance using built-in gyro sensors, allowing it to skate and dance without risk of falling over. Getting it to walk right into a wall not fun enough for you? Slap on the included skates [...]
Robo Cafe Puts Robots In Charge Of Waiting Tables
Before robots become our overlords, they’ll have to be our servants first. And serve our hungry fellowmen is what those piles of steel and wires will do in Robo Cafe, a concept restaurant where human waiters have been replaced by an entirely mechanized workforce. Yay, no more service tips!
Korean company ITM Technology (whose expertise lies in military robotics and weapons – makes you queasy, doesn’t it?) designed the system from the ground up, starting with a restaurant interior that makes it easy for their table service robots to navigate. Platforms will be set up around the sides, where the wheeled 70-centimeter tall table servers can make their way to individual guests.
The robots have been rendered intentionally cute, complete with a digital smiling face. Customers can either verbally give their orders or choose them from a touchscreen display on the chest. Once the food is ready, the robots can then be [...]
Robotic Weapon Is A Roving RC Robot That Sees In The Dark, Fires Paintballs And Makes A Quick Escape
Want to have your own weaponized robot on wheels patrolling your home against criminal elements? Me too. Since you aren’t likely able to get a military-spec, battlefield droid firing armor-piercing bullets, Inspector Bots’ non-lethal but potentially painful Robotic Weapon should do.
Nicknamed the “Mega Hurtz,” “The Wireless Weapon,” “Kill Bot,” and “SWAT BOT” (yep, it’s got a whole phonebook full of names), it’s actually less murderous than those scary monikers imply. Armed with a Mil-Sim A5 paintball gun, it’s intended to subdue targets rather than blow them to smithereens.
The Robotic Weapon (hate the name, by the way) is a remote-controlled 4WD vehicle measuring 36 x 20 x 20 inches with a top speed of 50 mph. Controllers can maneuver it within a 700-ft range, seeing through the robot’s eyes using a barrel-mounted camera (IR/low lux with night vision) that can see up to 35 feet in the dark. Complementing the paint-shooting [...]
Japanese Company Now Taking Orders For Actoids, Your Very Own Robotic Doppelganger
Ever wanted to be in two places at one time? Now you can. Sort of. Japanese retail store operator Sogo & Seibu have announced they will be taking pre-orders beginning January for the Actoid, a life-size humanoid robot that will be made to look exactly like its owner.
Unfortunately, the robots will be limited in function, so you can’t have then come to work pretending to be you. However, you should be able to use them for little more than experiencing the joys of having a robotic doppelganger.
According to the company, the Actoids will have a silicone body and can speak using pre-programmed recordings of your voice. They can’t walk (so you can’t make them pretend to pace around the office), but they can move their upper bodies (so you can have them sit in your chair, pretending to be busy) and show numerous facial expressions. If no one talks to [...]
CoolerBot Is A Wildlife Papparazi Robot That Looks Like It Wants To Bomb Your Village
Robot hobbyist Steve Norris named this the CoolerBot , but its functions have nothing to do with either lowering the temperature or being cooler than every other robot on the block. Instead, the telepresence droid is like an armored papparazi, taking wildlife photos all on its own (with your help from afar, of course).
Why a robot? Because humans scare animals. And humans can’t keep looking inside a peephole while standing outdoors for extra long periods of time. While this robot looks more scary than humans (not sure how it looks like to animals, though), it should be able to lie in wait without having to stretch its legs or pee or get hungry.
Designed to sit outdoors for extended durations, the photograph-snapping CoolerBot sports rugged build (durable body, waterproof electronics) and can self-recharge its pair of 12-volt SLA batteries via solar power. It uses a tail-dragger configuration that lets it [...]
Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em Robots Get A Modern, Motion-Mimicking Twist
Robots that do nothing but bash each others’ heads are always fun. It fulfills the bloodlust without any blood. Heck, they’re robots – they can take the beating. The good old Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em Robots of yesteryear gets a modern twist with the Motion Mimicking Robotic Pugilists, fighting piles of plastic and electronics that mimic the motions of their human masters.
Just like Wii Boxing, you hold on to sensor-equipped controllers on each hand, performing attack motions that your robot toy faithfully mimics. Instead of having to watch the ensuing mayhem on a TV, though, it happens right in front you – with real robots to boot.
Each of the controllers (two for each robot – one left, one right) are fitted with accelerometers and tilt sensors, ably detecting every punching movement you perform. You can have your Motion Mimicking Pugilist throw a 1-2 combo, parry with the left and deliver [...]
Doctor Who Fan Builds His Own Full-Sized Dalek, Forces It To Do Good Deeds
If I’m going to try to conquer the universe, I want to do it with a bunch of heartless armored beings from another planet too. Same as this Doctor Who fan, who thought it wise to build his own Dalek mutant to obey his every beck and call.
Who is this future master of the human race (and future adversary of the Time Master)? It’s 47-year old Rob (probably short for Robot) Bosher, a healthcare assistant, who fashioned the creature after seeing a plan for one posted online.
Built for around £700, Bosher’s full-size Dalek replica isn’t especially high-tech, but looks as dauntingly awesome as I’ve always imagined one to be. It uses an electric wheelchair as base, allowing it to be controlled via a joystick remotely (or by pushing from behind, as per the photo, in case it runs out of juice). To amp up the realism, it comes with working [...]
Robot Negotiates To End Hostage Taking; Suspect Surrenders
Earlier this week, a robot in Colorado successfully negotiated for the surrender of a hostage taker. I was shocked.
Robots doing good deeds like negotiating for the safety of humans? Unheard of, right? Everyone knows robots are evil and only aim to enslave mankind. Of course, this one wasn’t autonomous, so everything was controlled by his benevolent human operator.
According to reports, a heavily-armed 61 year old man barricaded himself inside his home, threatening to shoot anyone who comes in to appease him. The local authorities’ solution? Send in a robot. Let’s see you gun that slab of metal down, pal.
Since a “negotiating robot” isn’t really in any known government’s arsenal yet, the team sent in a bomb disposal mechanoid, equipping it with a camera, a mic and a set of speakers. An operator steered the machine into the armed man’s location, while police personnel monitored the audio and video feed. When [...]
AIDA, A Robotic Backseat Driver That Tries To Charm You With Backlit Eyes
If having your wife and your mother-in-law barking at you from the passenger seats of your car aren’t enough distractions, you might soon be able to add a robot in there too. That’s if AIDA, short for Affective Intelligent Driving Assistant, ends up making its way to future vehicles.
Created by a collaboration from the MIT SENSElab, the MIT Media Lab’s Personal Robots Group and the Volkswagen Group of America’s Electronics Research Lab, AIDA is a high-tech navigation system that acts more like a knowledgeable companion than a GPS device. It’s effectively a robotic backseat driver who, male drivers the world over fervently hope, is a lot less annoying than the ones you typically have riding with you.
What exactly will this social, direction-dispensing robot do? According to the press release, AIDA will keep a database of “understanding” of the city that goes beyond routes and waypoints, as well as demonstrate an [...]
Rex, A Robotic Beast Of Burden
Why carry bags when the robots can do it? That’s the idea behind Rex, a load-bearing robo-mule that will trail you and respond to voice commands like a well-trained mutt.
Created by Israel Aerospace Industries, the baggage-toting machine is currently being marketed to military organizations in an effort to fill an “urgent operational need.” According to the company, the robot will relieve in-field combatants of the encumbrance created by putting heavy loads on their back, allowing them to perform their work in the field unimpeded.
Described as a “robotic beast of burden,” Rex can carry over 400 lbs of cargo while rolling on six small wheels, relieving soldiers of having to carry heavy loads of ammunition and supplies. No need to lead it around on a noose either, as it can be programmed to follow the lead soldier at a safe distance. Even better, it can respond to voice commands, such as [...]
Underwater Grooming Robot Crawls Ships, Cleans Hulls
Still waiting for that promised future when robots will take care of cleaning our homes and properties? Me too. In the meantime, at least one of them machines will be doing a similar job for the US Navy. Called the Hull Bio-Inspired Underwater Grooming (Hull BUG) robot, the amphibious creation scrapes off barnacles, oysters and other marine life that end up sticking to the hulls of ships.
More than turning out a better-looking vessel (as the “grooming ” in the name suggests), the BUG will actually perform a much more crucial service to the fleet. All those sea creatures holding on to a boat’s main body end up slowing it down, forcing the ship to use up more energy to maneuver itself in the water, eventually costing the Navy over $500 million in extra fuel and maintenance. With the robot turning out a clean ship, the seafaring branch of the military [...]
Marubot Football League Puts Real Robots Into Arcade Cabinets, Pits Them Against Each Other
Video games are fun. Having physical robots crush each other’s head, however, is way more entertaining. While the Marubot Football League isn’t exactly Robot Wars, having four mobile mini-androids tossing balls and making goals across a playing table sounds just as enticing.
Is it more fun than foosball? Given that you control inanimate men on a stick on one versus moving robots with actual faces on the other, there’s no contest. That’s right, your robot will have a face – one that beams when it scores, feigns sadness when it loses a goal and gets really angry during a tied game.
The first arcade game of its kind, the Marubot uses a large gaming cabinet about the size of an Air Hockey table. Four sets of controls (two joysticks and a turbo button) are installed around the sides, along with time and score displays. Up to four players can get on the [...]
Precision Urban Hopper Robot Jumps Over Walls, Your Home Is No Longer Safe
Time to raise your fences, boys. A new robot from Boston Dynamics, harbinger of the apocalypse, can now clear vertical obstacles close to 50 times its size in a single bound. Called the Precision Urban Hopper, it should easily go over your electrified fences 25 feet and under to kill every human in the house.
Developed under funding from Darpa, the leapfrogging robot can drive across normal surfaces like ordinary rovers. Encountering tall obstacles, however, doesn’t deter it from its path. Instead of looking for a way around, it just catapults itself into the air, landing on the other side. Your robot-proof fence just may not be so safe anymore.
The Precision Urban Hopper is barely larger than a shoebox, yet can scale two Yao Mings, one standing on top of the other’s head, with plenty of air to boot. It performs its roving functions using a rather pedestrian system of four [...]
