All Entries Tagged With: "robots"
Roboscooper Can Pick Up Litter, Whack Everything In Its Way
Robots really need to start doing more of our stuff. I mean, they’re going to be our overlords soon enough, so we might as well enjoy their servitude while we can. Beef up your roster of robot slaves with the Roboscooper, an autonomous robot that can collect stuff strewn around your floors and stow them on his back.
Created by WowWee, the wheeled automaton delivers both playful robot looks and excellent utility, scooping up scattered objects that are too big for your Roomba to haul. Unfortunately, it’s got limited strength and is only able to take on objects weighing one ounce or less. Not bad, since that means it can pick up light objects, such as plastic toys, dirty socks and dropped food, all while taking laps around your joint without supervision.
The Roboscooper is a 13 x 8.5 x 8 inch (l x w x h) autonomous collector robot, equipped with [...]
GearBox Ball: A Smartphone-Controlled Robot Platform
Robots controlled by your smartphone – that’s the concept GearBox is promoting. More importantly, though, the robots themselves will be flexible, such that people can write their own apps to control it. Their first prototype for such a platform is called the GearBox Ball, a wireless robotic sphere with a hardware suite designed to interface with smartphones.
They’re calling it a “smart toy” and the name makes perfect sense. Leveraging the hardware and software capabilities of smartphones, you can’t only control the robots, you can build entire games around them.
Each GearBox Ball, for instance, once tethered wirelessly to your phone (via their software), can be controlled by tilting the handset in the direction you want it to roll. While that sounds fun on its own, they’re also writing a game called Sumo, which pits two balls on a head-to-head battle. The idea is to put the balls on a platform, control [...]
EMILY, The Robot Lifeguard To The Rescue
Those Baywatch babes were awesome. In reality, though, you can drown every summer all you want, you will never find a lifeguard that looks half as banging as Pam Anderson, Erika Eleniak or Carmen Electra. So, a robot guarding that lifeguard station won’t make a hell of a difference in your enjoyment of efforts to save your submerged ass.
That’s a good thing, because the robots will probably be taking over. And it all starts with EMILY, an autonomous robot lifeguard that can streak towards a drowning swimmer faster than any beach attendant.
Created by Hydronalix, the robot’s final version is intended to be an autonomously-working machine that scans for signs of trouble using sonar, then swims directly to the party in danger. From there, the drowning person can hang on to it as a flotation device, until human help comes or it can take the person directly to shore.
In its current [...]
China Can Do Giant Robots Too: Robo Guan Yu
Who says only the Japanese can erect robot monuments? If the Chinese can do up a giant wall visible from space, a towering robot shouldn’t be too hard. And that’s exactly what we get with the Robo Guan Yu, a large robot sculpture built in honor of legendary Chinese general, Guan Yu.
Created by Bi Heng, a student from China’s Central Academy of Fine Arts, the Transformer-inspired robot was assembled using parts from a 25-year old Jiefang truck used by the People’s Liberation Army (along with a few other salvaged components, most likely). And while it cannot actually transform, the design sure makes it look like it can morph back into a badass military vehicle any minute.
Robo Guan Yu stands 32 feet tall and weighs four tons, making for a truly imposing presence. Unlike other Chinese Transformer knockoffs (check your favorite bargain toy store for Transmorphers and their ilk), it actually [...]
Pincher Robot Can Destroy Explosives Safely From Afar
Think you can contain the robot takeover by setting traps that will blast our future overlords to pieces? Probably not with Pincher, an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) that’s under development at the Rafael Advanced Defense Systems in Israel, which can disable improvised explosives from long distance. How? By firing mini-rockets that destroy the combustible materials without exploding them. Yikes.
Of course, a robot like this will have plenty of value to humans too (for now). No longer will the bomb squad need to send in people to disarm a threat, for instance. Just grab the remote, guide the robot to the bomb location and launch those rockets from afar. Problem solved. If any untoward incidents occur, there will be no fatalities, other than a mass of steel and electronics that you can easily recreate in the factory.
The Pincher is tiny, measuring about 7 [...]
Miguelin, A 21-Foot Tall Robot Baby
It’s easy to want to shoot down giant enemy robots when they look like Voltron or Gundam. But when they’re designed to look like babies, you can’t help but think twice. That’s why we’re betting that Miguelin, a giant robot baby, is more likely to be the future of robot warfare than those we frequently see in the movies.
Created by Isabel Coixet in collaboration with the special effects team behind Alien vs. Predator, the baby was designed for the Expo Shanghai 2010 “Better City, Better Life,” where it will greet (or drool) on visitors at the Spanish Agency for International Exhibitions’ (SEEI) room. He’s supposed to represent Spain’s proposals for improving our cities. They mention such things as recycling, clean energies and new means of transport, which, honestly, have no relationship with a giant baby robot. Not that we care, since any excuse to [...]
Husqvarna DXR 310 Is A Remote-Controlled Demolition Robot
Need to get rid of a wall? Forget the sledgehammers and unleash the wrath of the Husqvarna DXR 310, a bear-sized, remote-controlled demolition robot.
Designed for getting rid of structures in constrained spaces, where explosives or wrecking balls won’t exactly make sense, the rig puts maneuverability at a premium. It can take a range of attachments too, including drills, jackhammers, claws and scoops, ensuring capable function through a wide variety of jobs.
The Husqvarna DXR 310 is a hydraulic robot that’s ran by a fumes-free 22kW electric motor. Armed with a remote control, you can propel it with no physical help, rolling on dual tank-style tracks and propping itself up steadily using four independently-adjustable outriggers. The track gauge can be changed as well, allowing it to fit through doors as narrow as 2.6 feet. Arm has three full joints for flexible operation, as well as a long [...]
Meet Dustbot, Your Future On-Demand Garbage Collector
Forgot to take out the garbage and missed the collection schedule? Had a party and want to send all those beer cans to a recycling center? In the future, taking care of both will be a phone call away with Dustbot, a fully-autonomous trash-collecting robot.
Created by researchers from the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna CRIM Lab in Pisa, Italy, the rubbish-packin’ golem travels from place to place, picking up all the refuse from homes that requested its service. Once you’ve got trash to take out, simply notify the robot using your mobile phone. It will then make its way to your exact address using your phone’s GPS location. You will need to tell it what kind of trash you’re putting in (whether it’s for the landfill, for the bottle recycling plant or for a different reuse facility). It will then take it to the nearest [...]
Plantas Nomadas Is A Self-Sustaining, Plant-Breeding Robot
We all know what kind of species will inhabit the Earth in our robot overlord future: half conventional life form and half automaton mashups. Yes, just like these Plantas Nomadas (Nomadic Plant), a veritable Roboplant that feeds on polluted water while housing a parasitic plant on its back.
Created by Mexican artist Gilberto Esparza, the autonomous machine is a working art project that essentially creates an entirely new species. Not only can it trek to your favorite polluted river on its own, it will drink from it to replenish its power, all while supplying by-products that the piggybacking plant will use for nutrients. A self-powering gardener robot, if you must. Scary and noble at the same time.
The Plantas Nomadas houses a microbial fuel cell (MFC), which it uses to supply the power it needs to stay in motion. It uses a hose-like mechanism to siphon gross [...]
Dancing Samurai Robot Waiters Bring You Sushi, Dance Moves
Dancing and singing waiters? Been there, done that. How about Dancing Samurai Robot Waiters with goofy eyes and a toothy grin? Bring it on, right?
While Japanese food may be the fare at Thailand’s Hajime Robot Restaurant, these raw-fish serving robot attendants are the real attractions. A fully-automated sushi bar, clients can pick their orders from a touchscreen menu, take their seats and wait for the rolling bundles of steel to show up with their food. Dressed in traditional (okay, slightly traditional) Samurai garb, the robots not only serve the dishes, but also clean up after customers are done, all while entertaining patrons with a bevy of dance moves.
Imported from Japan, the Dancing Samurai Robot Waiters have two multi-jointed arms, along with claws that help them clamp on to a tray in each hand. According to restaurant owner Lapassarad Thanaphan, they currently have four working full-time [...]
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 [...]
