ofpblog XL - part 2 :: posts :: 101 - 200

continue to ofpblog XL - part 3 :: posts :: 201 - 300

Sun, 3 Feb 2008 00:22:00 +0100

this is part 2 [posts 101 - 200] of ofpblog XL,
continue to: part 3 or part 1 - part 4 - part 5.

Gyroscope controlled remote UAV camera

Sun, 3 Feb 2008 00:22:00 +0100

category bionics

this method uses a gyroscope to control a remote camera that's mounted on a uav. the remote camera streams the video wireless to the user's headset.

watch the video.

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Wiimba, a Roomba and Wiimote hack

Sat, 2 Feb 2008 23:52:00 +0100

category robotics

japanese longjie0723 modded his robotic vacuum cleaner roomba and his wiimote so he could vacuum wireless.

watch a video.

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UoT's EMC, a modified 914 PC-BOT

Fri, 1 Feb 2008 23:19:00 +0100

category robotics

at the university of toledo's center for creative instruction, a white box robotics 914 pc-bot has been modified to help recruit prospective students. the modded pc-bot is named emc.

the 914 pc-bot is a general service robot designed for digital life in the home, at work, at school and at play.

read more. watch a video [ 1 ][ 2 ].

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Swarmbots - part 1

Sat, 2 Feb 2008 21:25:00 +0100

category robotics

6 videos of robot swarms.

read more. grey goo ahead?

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Robert Musters' Blue Falcon robotbird

Sat, 2 Feb 2008 17:25:00 +0100

category robotics

robert musters [alt] built a goshawk ornithopter, an rf-controlled robot bird that flies by flapping its wings.

watch a video [ indoor ][ outdoor ].

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U.S. Navy's Armed-Robots Labs

Sat, 2 Feb 2008 15:05:00 +0100

category robotics

space and naval warfare systems center san diego [ssc san diego] is the u.s. navy's research, development, test and evaluation, engineering and fleet support center for command, control and communication systems and ocean surveillance. they develop semiautonomous armed robots for use in combat by the u.s. military.

read about ssc's robot developments or a wiki on ssc san diego.

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Duncan Fitzsimmons' foldable wheel Crossbreed

Sat, 2 Feb 2008 14:23:00 +0100

category mobility

the crossbreed collapsible wheel, designed by 2007 rca graduate duncan fitzsimmons, is a full sized adult bicycle wheel that can be collapsed down to a convenient size and shape for storage and transportation when not in use.

the wheel has a simple and robust construction, uses a standard 700c tubular bicycle tyre and can be collapsed and re-deployed quickly and easily, all with the tyre fully inflated and in place on the wheel rim.

read more. watch a video [early prototype testing].

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Technology Calendar - February 2008

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 22:36:00 +0100

category specials

what's up in february:
• 06-08   LIFT 2008 - geneva, switzerland
• 14-18   AAAS Annual Meeting 2008 - boston, usa
• 23-24   FOSDEM 2008 - brussels, belgium
• 26-29   iSAIRAS 2008 - los angeles, usa
• 27-28   Homeland Security 2008 - washington, usa
• 27-01   TED 2008 - monterey, usa

check out the techcalendar for more infos.

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Korg's Kaossilator

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 20:28:00 +0100

category audio

the kaossilator from korg is a pocket sized instrument that packs synth sound along with innovative performance features into an ultra-compact unit. one can play musical phrases by simply tapping or sliding their finger across the touch pad.

it is a portable, travel friendly device that runs on batteries and has hooks for attaching a strap.

watch a video.

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LEURRE's cockroaches controlled by robots

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:10:00 +0100

category robotics

in a 2001-2005 eu funded project called leurre, european researchers succeeded in influencing cockroach swarm behaviour by using small robots that released [cockroach] sex pheromones.

watch a video. read more or listen to a talking robots podcast with josé halloy, unit of social ecology at the french free university of brussels. german spoken videos on technology research using cockroaches - part [ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ][ 4 ].

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Murata's Murata Boy

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:14:00 +0100

category robotics

the japanese electronics company murata manufacturing developed murata boy, a robot capable of riding bicycles unassisted.

balancing, pedaling and directing the bicycle, turning the bike to avoid obstacles, etc.
height 50 cm, 5 kg, ±1.6 km per hour, bluetooth enabled.

watch a video.

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U.S. Army Future Combat Systems

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 15:57:00 +0100

category robotics

future combat systems [fcs] is the us army's modernisation program consisting of a family of manned and unmanned systems, connected by a common network.

carnegie mellon university's national robotics engineering center [nrec] develops advanced, autonomous, unmanned ground vehicles/systems for the fcs program, such as crusher, black knight and upi.

watch a video. you can find a lot of interesting video material of military and civil projects on nrec's site, e.g. here.

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ATR's crowd-monitoring service robot Robovie

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 01:06:00 +0100

category robotics

the japanese company atr [alt] created a crowd-monitoring [alt] humanoid service robot [alt] that recognises and assists when people are lost.

in a series of demonstrations conducted from 22-24 january, a modified atr robovie monitored people as they passed through a 100 square meter section of the universal citywalk osaka shopping center. relying on data from 16 cameras, 6 laser range finders and 9 rfid tag readers installed in and around the area, the robot was able to watch up to 20 people at a time, pinpoint their locations to within a few centimeters, and classify each individual's behavior into one of 10 categories [waiting, wandering, walking fast, running, etc.]. whenever robovie spotted people who looked disoriented, the child-sized droid wheeled up to them to assist.

watch a video. read more [ 1 - alt][ 2 ].
in june, the company plans to start hiring out its machines to companies toying with the idea of employing robots.

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Robot compilation

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 13:58:00 +0100

category robotics

a compilation video showing several robots.

aiko, android 7 & android 9, anybots' monty, dexter and others, biped lucy, boston dynamics' bigdog, cherr 1.4, kawada's hrp-2, lynxmotion ah3-r, mowgli, murata boy, honda's asimo, pal robotics' reem-a, ri man, sarcoman, toyota robot, hanson robotics' eva ...

watch the video.

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Motoman's parcel sorting system DIA10

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 02:39:00 +0100

category robotics

motoman's dia10 dualarm robot provides highspeed motion with enhanced, humanlike flexibility of movement. this makes the robot suited for a wide variety of packaging, assembly, part transfer, machine tending and other handling tasks.

it features 15 axes of motion [7 axes per arm, plus a single axis for base rotation] and has a 10 kg payload per arm, a 1.1 m reach per arm [from centerline of base rotation to tool mounting surface], a repeatability of ±0.1 mm and can handle up to 1000 items per hour. both robot arms can work together on one task to double the payload or handle awkward products.

read more. watch some videos [ 1 ][ 2 ].

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Industrial Robots - part 3

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 21:10:00 +0100

category robotics

6 videos of industrial robots.

part 1 | part 2

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Laval's robot conductor

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:07:00 +0100

category robotics

using a robot arm as the conductor, robot orchestra gave a performance on 15 january 2008 in laval, france.

laval is also home of laval virtual, the annual international conference-exhibition-festival on virtual reality. [ techcalendar - next laval event - 9-13 april 2008 ].

watch some videos [ 1 ][ 2 ].

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Kiva Systems' Mobile Fulfillment System

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 14:11:00 +0100

category robotics

the kiva mobile fulfillment system [mfs] by kiva, maine, usa is a robotised infrastructure for distribution centres. it uses small robots to move goods inside the warehouse.

pallets, cases, and orders are stored on inventory pods that are picked up and moved by a fleet of mobile robotic drive units.

watch some [ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ][ 4 ].

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3sat's nano on robotics

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 21:38:00 +0100

category robotics

for those who understand german.
german/swiss/austrian television program nano [on 3sat] ran two stories on robotics.

• robots in our every day lives
watch the video [windows .asx - 6m20s - 72MB]
nano special: robots are going public

• sensible robots
watch the video [windows .asx - 5m30s - 63MB]
nano special: industrial robots.

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NeuroSky's brain-computer interface ThinkGear

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 19:18:00 +0100

category bionics

the californian company neurosky creates headsets that can read the users's mind. the headsets are called thinkgears and run on neurosky's eSense software.

the electrodes of standard medical electroencephalography [eeg] use a conductive gel to facilitate the reading of the signals. the thinkgear works with dry-active sensor technology and does not need such a gel.

watch a video. another brain-computer interface.

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EPFL's Talking Robots Podcast

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 21:22:00 +0100

category robotics

the école polytechnique fédérale de lausanne [swiss federal institute of technology in lausanne] has a podcast on robotics.

• roland siegwart - autonomous robots [.mp3 - 14.6MB] - 18 jan 2008
in this interview they talk to roland siegwart who is full professor at the autonomous systems lab at the eth zurich. based on his experience with the 18 robots he has created, he shares his know-how on autonomous robotics and the research which is being done on robot navigation/localisation and mapping.

• gianmarco veruggio - roboethics [.mp3 - 16.8MB] - 4 jan 2008
in this interview they talk to gianmarco veruggio who founded the association scuola di robotica in genoa, italy, to study the complex relationship between robotics and society. this led him to coin the term and propose the concept of roboethics, or the field of ethics applied to robotics. he discusses topics such as the use of robots in our everyday environments, the lethality and benefits of medical robots or military robots, augmented humans and robots as human-like artifacts. should we start thinking like asimov, deriving laws and limits to apply for the peaceful cohabitation of humans and robots?

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CNU's tiny robot uses rat heart muscle

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 19:45:00 +0100

category robotics

sukho park of chonnam national university, korea, and a team of researchers have designed a small, flat robot that is powered by the contractions of cardiac tissue, taken from a rat's heart.

they affixed the heart tissue onto the body of the robot. when the tissue contracts, the robot's six horizontally aligned legs pull together. when the tissue relaxes, the legs draw apart. the pulses propel the robot forward through a solution at 100 micrometers per second [36 cm per hour].

read an article + video. read more.

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BU's scar-free healing

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 18:49:00 +0100

category healthcare

new research by professor paul martin and colleagues from the university of bristol, uk, shows that by suppressing one of the genes that normally switches on in wound cells, wounds can heal faster and reduce scarring. treating skin wounds with osteopontin antisense dna reduces the size of scars.

this has major implications not just for wound victims but also for people who suffer organ tissue damage through illness or abdominal surgery.

read more.

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CM's Vision-guided Footstep Planning for ASIMO

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 22:58:00 +0100

category robotics

as part of carnegie mellon's humanoid robotics research effort, they are collaborating with honda research and development.

the goal of the research is to explore new approaches to human-robot interaction and robot autonomy on honda's asimo [alt] platform.

watch a video: they have enabled asimo to navigate autonomously in dynamic, unpredictably changing surroundings.

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Denso's robots

Sat, 19 Jan 2008 00:18:00 +0100

category robotics

two videos of californian industrial denso robots:

• a robot arm bowling competition [2003]
• a water-proof model.

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TU/e's Visual Interaction Platform

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 21:04:00 +0100

category computers

the visual interaction platform [vip] is a project being developed by students at the department of industrial design from the technical university eindhoven in the netherlands.

vip is a working prototype incorporating some new interaction techniques for the navigation through and the manipulation of both 3d and 2d data. the prototype aims at professional applications like architectural design, surgical planning and geological exploration. its design was influenced by the analysis of user requirements and by the requirement for a natural interface.

watch a video [part of the project called blue eye].

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Robots in the wild

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 17:18:00 +0100

category robotics

two videos of small robots crawling and driving through the wild:

• video 1 - boston dynamics - rhex
• video 2 - macroswiss - spyrobot [at elrob* 2006].

* next elrob [30 jun - 3 jul 2008] or check the techcalendar.

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Fanuc's robotised factories

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 15:24:00 +0100

category robotics

fanuc is a japanese electomechanical manufacturer specialising in robotics. it is the largest maker of industrial robots in the world and part of the furukawa group.
all fanuc factories in japan are robotised.

fanuc won the 2007 japanese robot of the year award with their m-430iA.

watch a video of a fanuc robotised factory. more videos [ 1 ][ 2 ]. another japanese robotised factory.

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UoW's contact lenses with circuits

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 00:32:00 +0100

category bionics

university of washington researchers have developed a contact lens including circuitry and a matrix of LEDs.

contact lenses with metal connectors for electronic circuits were safely worn by rabbits in lab tests. the lenses were manufactured at the microscopic level.

this may be a foundation for overlay displays in which computer graphics could be superimposed on our normal vision.

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nouvo.ch on the development of robot flies

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 23:45:00 +0100

category robotics

for those who understand french.
swiss television program nouvo ran a story on the development of robotic flies [and other small uav's].

go to the story + video. two additional videos on the story's page. more nouvo on ofpblog.

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Kuka's automotive line spot welding

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 01:41:00 +0100

category robotics

video of kuka robots in action [line spot welding] in the automotive industry.

watch the video. more kuka videos.

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EU's i2010, Intelligent Car Initiative

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 00:27:00 +0100

category mobility

we all depend heavily on transport in our everyday lives. however, ever-increasing road traffic generates serious social problems: congestion of road networks and urban areas, damage to the environment and to public health, energy waste and, above all, accidents. 40.000 people die every year on europe's roads and many more are injured.

fortunately, advanced information, communication and other technologies [e.g. mems - a wiki] can now be incorporated into onboard intelligent vehicle systems, offering new solutions to today's transport problems. these high-tech systems have great potential to:
• help drivers prevent or avoid traffic accidents
• mitigate the consequences of accidents that do occur
• provide drivers with real time information about traffic on road networks, thereby avoiding congestion
• find the most efficient routes for any journey
• optimise engine performance, thus improving overall energy efficiency.

visit i2010 to learn more or participate in the iCar quiz [till 15 feb 2008].

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AUVSI, unmanned vehicles

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 22:19:00 +0100

category robotics

the association for unmanned vehicle systems international [auvsi] is the world's largest non-profit organisation devoted exclusively to advancing the unmanned systems community.

auvsi, with members from government organisations, industry and academia, is committed to fostering, developing, and promoting unmanned systems and related technologies.

watch a video.
auvsi symposium [10-12 jun 2008] - international aerial robot competition [28 jul-1 aug 2008]
check the techcalendar.

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Dutch Horizonscan 2007

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 21:08:00 +0100

category robotics

the dutch government must establish in the short term a delta plan robotics.
that recommendation does a think tank under the guidance of prof. dr. roel in 't veld [alt] in the dutch horizonscan 2007 [alt].

the netherlands is not prepared, according to the research workers, to the impact of the robotisation of the society and also threatens the netherlands in gaining a leading position in the development of robots. more than hundred scientists and representatives of businesses and government have mapped the 150 most important national chances and threats to the scan.

read the report in dutch [.pdf] or have a look at the cover [.pdf].

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Techland's Warhound A.I.

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:25:00 +0100

category computers

a demonstration of artificial intelligent cover behaviour in the game warhound produced through polish studio techland.

watch a video.

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Robots in Search

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 16:53:00 +0100

category robotics

robots in search, toronto, canada offers robotics for engineers, scientists and explorers in general.

their aim is to present electronic, electromechanical, and cybernetic devices at one place for robotics enthusiasts/hobbyists, individual engineers, scientists and researchers and for enterprises.

watch some videos [ 1 ][ 2 ].

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Duke University's monkey controlled robot

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 15:45:00 +0100

category robotics

in a first-of-its-kind experiment, researchers at duke university's nicolelis lab used the brain activity of a monkey to control the real-time walking patterns of a robot half way around the world.

the duke team is working with the 2004-2009 computational brain project [alt] of the japan science and technology agency. they focus on helping those with paralysis.

watch a video. read more.

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Robot critters

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 02:49:00 +0100

category robotics

japanese video showing animal-like robots.

watch the video.

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Eidolon TLP, A.I. YouTube publisher

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 22:47:00 +0100

category robotics

eidolon tlp is [seems to be] a [partially] automated system that publishes content on youtube.

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Sanyo's Solar Ark

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 18:08:00 +0100

category energy

the solar ark -from the japanese electronics company sanyo- is a unique, ark-shaped, solar photovoltaic power generation facility that offers activities to cultivate a better appreciation of solar power generation, and thereby of both ecology and science.

this 315m-wide, 37m-tall facility is located in gifu, japan.

watch some photos.

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Philips' clothing and body adornment

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 17:04:00 +0100

category bionics

researchers at royal philips electronics, design department in the netherlands are designing clothing and body adornment which incorporate technology. dresses that blush and tattoos that change shape when skin is touched are all part of a design probes project.

the design probes investigate future trends of how people will be living their lives 15 years from now. focussing on the idea of skin as a canvas, philips are converting traditional forms of technology into sensitive, emotional and fashionable items.

watch a video.

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University of Minnesota's living heart made in lab

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 16:05:00 +0100

category healthcare

doris taylor's team at the center for cardiovascular repair at the university of minnesota in minneapolis reported success in creating a beating rat heart in a laboratory.

by using a process called whole organ decellularisation, they grew functioning heart tissue by taking dead rat and pig hearts and reseeding them with a mixture of live cells. experts not involved in the minnesota work called it a landmark achievement and a stunning advance. but they and the minnesota researchers cautioned that the dream of growing human organs, if it is ever realised, was still at least 10 years away.

watch a video [ 1 ][ 2 ]. read more.

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GM to make biofuel out of garbage

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 23:40:00 +0100

category energy

general motors corp. is planning on making biofuel with garbage at a cost of less than a 0.18 euro/liter.

gm has entered into a partnership with illinois-based coskata inc. which has developed a way to make ethanol from practically any renewable source, including old tires and plant waste. the process is a significant improvement over corn-base ethanol because it uses far less water and energy and does not convert food into fuel.

read more or go to gmnext.

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Bug Labs' BUG modular gadgets

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 22:19:00 +0100

category computers

bug by bug labs is a collection of easy-to-use electronic modules that snap together on the linux bugbase to build any gadget you can imagine. each bug-module represents a specific gadget function [ex: a camera, a keyboard, a video output, etc]. the user decides which functions to include and bug takes care of the rest letting the user try out different combinations quickly and easily. with bug and the integrated programming environment/web community [bugnet], users can build, program and share innovative devices and applications.

watch some videos [ 1 ][ 2 ]. watch their bizarre promotional videos [ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ].

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Panda Ethanol's energy from cow manure.

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 21:08:00 +0100

category energy

panda ethanol is nearing completion of the first-ever manure fired ethanol plant in the world in hereford, texas.

the plant is expected to extract methane from 453.000 metric tons of manure [the product of about 500.000 cows] to generate 378 million liters of ethanol, plus ash by-product, each year. methane derived from the manure will be burned to generate the steam necessary for processing corn into ethanol. there are 3.5 million head of cattle within 160 km that each deposit about one ton per year. more plants are planned.

watch a video.

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Japanese exoskeletons

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 02:07:00 +0100

category robotics

videos of japanese exoskeletons.

video [ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ][ 4 ].

last two videos: hal [hybrid assistive limb] from cyberdine.

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Cranberry juice against urinary tract infections

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0100

category healthcare

a two decade study by prof. itzhak ofek, a researcher at israel's tel aviv university's sackler faculty of medicine, reveals two glasses a day keep bladder infections and viruses away.

cranberry juice also exhibits anti-viral properties against the flu, can prevent cavities, and lessens the reoccurrence of gastric ulcers. unhappily for half the human race, however, the healing power of cranberries apply only to women.

read more. a wiki on cranberries.

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Tata's Nano

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 23:23:00 +0100

category mobility

on january 10, indian tata motors unveiled their people's car named nano, a small car that costs only 100.000 indian rupees [1731 euro].

it is 3 metres long, seats four comfortably or five at a squeeze, does 105 km/hour at 21 km/liter, 624 cc, 33 horsepower petrol engine that meets bharat stage-III and euro 4 emission norms. it was also designed to pass international side offset, side crash and full frontal crash tests

watch a video. read a press release or a wiki.

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BiTMICRO's 1.6 TB 3.5 inch SSD

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 21:32:00 +0100

category computers

as reported earlier, bitmicro networks will release a 832 gigabyte 2.5-inch solid state drive for laptops later this year. bitmicro also announced a 3.5-inch ssd for desktops with a capacity of 1.6 terabyte [TB].

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Adrian Bowyer's RepRap

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 14:58:00 +0100

category robotics

adrian bowyer explains his reprap project at pop!tech 2007 [ techcalendar - event ], a self-replicating 3d rapid prototyping robot designed to print out all of its own parts and more. what it can't print are inexpensive objects like screws and cheap motors that can be found at affordable prices around the world.

watch a video.

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Verbus Systems' modular accommodations

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 22:31:00 +0100

category lifestyle

a unique travelodge hotel complex is being build in london, uk by verbus systems using freight containers.

the metal boxes are placed on top of each other like lego bricks. the construction method used is ecologic and inexpensive. this bed-and-breakfast hotel will open its doors in june 2008.

watch a video. read more.

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TU's spherical ultrasonic motor

Wed, 9 Jan 2008 20:21:00 +0100

category robotics

tokyo university of agriculture and technology has developed an outer rotor spherical ultrasonic motor featuring unprecedented compactness and rotational freedom. this new spherical ultrasonic motor boasts a spherical diameter of just 20mm.

the new compact motor features a multi-degree of freedom that enables it to rotate around in the direction of x, y, and z-axes. consequently, the motor is capable of free spherical movement. it is possible to mount a camera on top of the motor thereby providing the camera with a multi-degree freedom of movement and can e.g. be used as a robot's eyeball or joint.

read more and watch a video here.

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Small modular homes

Tue, 8 Jan 2008 23:28:00 +0100

category lifestyle

when you go small in modular, prefab housing, it's not just about energy efficiency and carbon footprints. it's also about being strange, cool and beautiful.

read and watch more about twelve small, modular house designs.

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Aptera Motors' Aptera

Mon, 7 Jan 2008 19:53:00 +0100

category mobility

the aptera, a brand new three-wheeled car, comes in two flavours, all electric or plug-in electric hybrid.

the all-electric is capable of 130 km per hour and could travel up to 193 km on a single charge. the hybrid has a fuel economy of 127.5 km per liter and will have a range far beyond any passenger vehicle available today.

watch a video. both types are open for reservation. also check out the tesla roadster.

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Alan Rath's Ambulatory Sculptures and Robots

Sun, 6 Jan 2008 23:30:00 +0100

category robotics

known for his electronic, kinetic, and robotic sculpture, alan rath has produced ever-evolving work since the early 1980s. although largely self-taught in electronics and art, rath holds a degree in electrical engineering from mit.

an acknowledged pioneer in the exploration of electronics as an art form, rath has been central to the developing dialogue of the role of new media in the arts. the computers he creates and places within handcrafted aluminum, steel, glass, and plastic armatures are capable of complex directives over time [some evolve over decades]. the life force in these machines is encapsulated and carefully controlled with seeming aesthetic and mechanical ease.

watch a video.

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BiTMICRO's 832 GB SSD

Sat, 5 Jan 2008 14:08:00 +0100

category computers

we heard about 32, 64 or even 128 gigabyte solid state drives [ssd], but now bitmicro networks is pre-announcing the latest addition to its e-disk altima ssd family, the 832 gigabyte capacity serial ata solid state disk in 2.5" form factor, at the forthcoming ces 2008 in las vegas [open the techcalendar].

with no moving parts, a solid state drive largely eliminates seek time, latency and other electro-mechanical delays and failures associated with a conventional hard disk drive.

read more. expected launch: 3rd quarter of 2008.

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TROS Radio Online on Artificial Intelligence

Fri, 4 Jan 2008 22:00:00 +0100

category computers

only for those of you who understand dutch.
on new years day, the dutch radio show tros radio online aired a one-hour special on artificial intelligence.
"computers" are getting smarter, but how smart will they get?

two guests in the studio:
• professor jaap van den herik - maastricht university
• professor frank van harmelen - free university

audio links:
• mp3 link
• wma link [streamed audio]

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Korea Institute of Industrial Technology's SeRoPi

Fri, 4 Jan 2008 01:21:00 +0100

category robotics

seropi [service robot platform initiative] is a service robot that has been developed at the korea institute of industrial technology - division of applied robotic technology [in korean, english translation], also known for their EveR-1 and EveR-2 humanoids.

seropi is smart enough to recognize objects, grab them and placing them on the exact spot as told. measuring 1.25 m in height, the seropi navigates around on a couple of primary wheels with a single secondary wheel for support at a maximum speed of 2 m/s.

watch some videos of seropi action [ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ][ 4 ].

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Stockholm Central Station's human heating system

Wed, 2 Jan 2008 20:15:00 +0100

category energy

the body heat from hundreds of thousands of people who pass through the stockholm central station each day will be used from 2010 to heat a new office building, a small hotel and shops nearby.

this system should reduce heating costs by 20%.

read the full story.

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Ooms Haverhorn's Road Energy Systems

Tue, 1 Jan 2008 19:20:00 +0100

category energy

developed by ooms nederland holding in collaboration with wth and tipspit, road energy systems [via][alt] extracts energy from asphalt concrete.

the system exploits the heat-absorbing capacity of asphalt concrete, which is enhanced by its black color. the thermal energy produced is used to cool buildings, houses and roads in summer and heat them in winter.
research has shown that road energy systems cuts co2 emissions by 50% compared to conventional heating systems and minimises chloride use [salt for icy roads].

read a wiki on renewable energy.

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UW's Morpheus, a brain controlled humanoid

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 14:09:00 +0100

category bionics

researchers at the university of washington, neural systems lab develop morpheus, a brain-computer interface project where a humanoid robot is controlled by the thoughts of a human.

they are working towards enabling sophisticated control and interaction with the environment, using very simple selection-based interfaces that can be operated using brain waves alone.

watch a video. read a wiki on brain-computer interfaces.

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Intelligent Systems Research Institute's M-Tran

Sun, 30 Dec 2007 22:49:00 +0100

category robotics

researchers at the japanese intelligent systems research institute develop m-tran [modular transformer] since 1998, a self-reconfigurable modular robot.

a number of m-tran modules can form:
• a 3-D structure which changes its own configuration
• a 3-D structure which generates smaller robots
• a multi-dof robot which flexibly locomotes
• a robot which metamorphoses.

watch a video.

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Ross Lovegrove's Solar tree street lights

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 23:06:00 +0100

category energy

ross lovegrove, a british designer, together with an italian company specialising in designer lighting systems, artemide, as well as the world's largest producer of photovoltaic cells, the german company sharp solar, made street lighting systems that work on solar energy.

the solar cells on the tree are able to store enough electricity in spite of receiving no direct solar light for days at a time because of clouds.

the solar trees are curently on tour in europe. watch a video of ross lovegrove at ted 2005.

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Cognitive Systems - The Fifth Wave

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 14:37:00 +0100

category computers

in a 45-minute presentation, jack shaw, leading expert on the future of business and technology, discusses the impact of the next major wave of business technology: cognitive systems.

watch the video.

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Annie Leonard's The Story Of Stuff

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 00:11:00 +0100

category lifestyle

from its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. the story of stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. the story of stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. it'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.

watch a video.

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Matt Denton's i.C. Hexapod

Tue, 25 Dec 2007 20:12:00 +0100

category robotics

matt denton made a six-legged interactive robot, i.c. hexapod, that tracks peoples faces.

each leg has 3 hobby style servos and there are some servos to move the head. each servo is connected to an on board processor called the p.brain which has a 16bit PIC processor running at 59Mhz. the p.brain looks after all of the leg and body locomotion functions. a second computer is connected to a ccd video camera on its head that takes pictures and uploads them to i.c.'s website.

watch a video.

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Harvesting ocean power

Sun, 23 Dec 2007 00:38:00 +0100

category energy

an overview of current methods used for collecting electricity from ocean powers.

watch the video.

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Johnny Chung Lee's Wii head tracking for 3D VR

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 23:04:00 +0100

category computers

head tracking for desktop virtual reality displays, developed by johnny chung lee, uses the wii remote to deliver 3D-like environments to the user, using a normal screen.

using the infrared camera in the wii remote and a head mounted sensor bar with two infrared led's, you can accurately track the location of your head and render view dependent images on the screen. this effectively transforms your display into a portal to a virtual environment. the display properly reacts to head and body movement as if it were a real window creating a realistic illusion of depth and space.

watch a video. you can freely download his software and a tutorial.

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Hitachi's EMIEW2

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 21:24:00 +0100

category robotics

hitachi's emiew2 robot [english translation] is the successor of the emiew.

80 cm, 13 kg, 6 km/h, rolls or walks, 27 degrees of freedom, communicates and is location-aware.

watch some videos [ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ].

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Advanced Transport Systems' ULTra PRT pods

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 17:02:00 +0100

category mobility

in 2008 passengers will travel from the car park to a new terminal at heathrow, uk in electric driverless personal pods that can carry up to four persons.

the pods, from the british advanced transport systems ltd., are called ultra's [urban light transport], an innovative form of a prt system [personal rapid transit], which is a system of driverless automatic pods travelling on their own guideway network, available on demand to passengers.

watch a video.

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Time itself could be running out in our universe

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 23:41:00 +0100

category specials

scientists have come up with the radical suggestion that the universe's end may come not with a bang or a crunch but with a standstill - that time could be literally running out and could, one day, stop altogether.

the idea that time itself could cease to be in billions of years - and everything will grind to a halt - has been set out by professor josé senovilla, marc mars and raül vera of the spanish universities of salamanca and the basque country.

read more.

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British Library's Turning the Pages 2.0

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 22:17:00 +0100

category computers

turning the pages 2.0 is a toolkit that allows libraries and museums to put entire collections of books online in a compelling 3D environment, with a suite of useful tools to aid learning.

developed with the british library, it is available as a service for institutions and private collectors around the world. it's a true next-generation web application, taking advantage of the latest web technologies.

watch a video. watch the stunning british library selection of beautiful ancient books [there is also a shockwave version of the turning the pages application available that doesn't need an install or up-to-date pc].

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WINd propulsion TEChnology for Cargo vessels

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 20:22:00 +0100

category energy

the eu co-funded wintecc project tests skysails, an innovative wind propulsion technology for cargo vessels and wamos II, a reliable wave and surface current monitoring system that uses the unfiltered output from common nautical radar units to determine wave and surface current parameters in near real-time, with measurements based upon the backscatter from the ocean's surface.

the 320m kite-like automatic skysails are currently used during regular operation of the mv beluga skysails cargo vessel and can save up to twenty or thirthy percent oil.

watch a video.

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Shadow Robot Company's air muscles

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 20:52:00 +0100

category robotics

researchers at shadow robot company develop artificial muscle systems that consist of mesh-covered rubber tubes. these tubes expand and contract as air is pumped through them, allowing them to mimick the behaviour of natural muscles.

watch a video.

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BBC's Visions of the Future

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 00:34:00 +0100

category specials

in this three-part bbc documentary visions of the future, leading theoretical physicist and futurist dr michio kaku explores the cutting edge science of today, tomorrow, and beyond.

he argues that humankind is at a turning point in history. in this century, we are going to make the historic transition from the 'age of discovery' to the 'age of mastery', a period in which we will move from being passive observers of nature to its active choreographers. this will give us not only unparalleled possibilities but also great responsibilities.

watch the complete documentary [19 videos].

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Project Aiko's assertive fembot

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 22:42:00 +0100

category robotics

aiko is one of the first androids to mimic pain, and reacts to it. this technology can be beneficial for people born with or who have undergone amputations. this is the first step toward a life-like mechanical limb that has the ability to feel physical sensation.

aiko is the brainchild of robotics developer le trung and made a public appearance on november 10, 2007 at the ontario science centre.

since le trung can't find any sponsor, he started a donation for project aiko.

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Pal Technology's REEM-B

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 20:54:00 +0100

category robotics

pal technology announces the successor to their reem-a robot. the new robot, reem-b, will be officially presented in february 2008.

watch a preview. more videos of their robots.

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Honda's Asimo's collaborate

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 00:06:00 +0100

category robotics

at a demonstration at its tokyo headquarters, automaker honda motor co. showed off two of their child-sized asimo robots serving tea and performing other tasks in coordination with one another.

read more. watch a video [ 1 ][ 2 ].

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Boeing C-130H gets an Advanced Tactical Laser

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 20:47:00 +0100

category energy

boeing reports that an atl [advanced tactical laser] weighing 5400 kg was installed in a C-130H to target precise ground targets from the air.

with the laser installed, boeing is set to conduct a series of tests leading up to a demonstration in 2008 in which the program will fire the laser in-flight at mission-representative ground targets to demonstrate the military utility of high-energy lasers. the test team will fire the laser through a rotating turret that extends through the aircraft's belly.

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Microsoft's SenseCam against dementia

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 22:54:00 +0100

category healthcare

sensecam is a wearable digital camera that is designed to take photographs passively, without user intervention, while it is being worn. the photos can be collapsed into a movie that patients can later review to effectively jolt their memory.

it was originally developed as a memory aid for healthy people, but it is now in clinical testing for those with memory impairment, such as dementia.

read more.

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How to bully a Sarcos robot

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 22:18:00 +0100

category robotics

Sarcos robots get stability tests.

watch a video [ 1 ][ 2 ].

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Kawada's HRP working robots

Sun, 9 Dec 2007 23:13:00 +0100

category robotics

videos of japanese kawada robots hrp-2 and hrp-3 give an impression how future humanoid robots could assist during/take over human labour.

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Tom Chudleigh's Free Spirit Spheres

Sun, 9 Dec 2007 04:39:00 +0100

category lifestyle

tom chudleigh's spheres are accomodations that can be hung from trees or any other solid object like buildings or rock faces. a web of rope is connected to any strong points available. this replaces the foundation of a conventional building.

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VUB's best of 2007 robots compilation

Sun, 9 Dec 2007 02:10:00 +0100

category robotics

videos containing fragments of the most important robots belgian researchers at the vub noticed in 2007.

Dribbel, Cornell Ranger, Albert Hubo, Prosthesis Hugh Herr, R2D2, Roomba, Robosapien, artificial hands, ARMAR, iCub, DLR arm, Lucy, Veronica, softarm, Nespresso Robot, REEM-A, Roboreptile, Robocup, Schrimp III, flying robots, Jena walkers.

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Ben Smither's one-wheeled scooterboard

Sun, 9 Dec 2007 01:06:00 +0100

category mobility

ben smithers' one-wheeled skateboard is self-balancing and driven by a small motor.

once you step on the board and lean forward, the board moves automatically, so there is no need for a remote control.

he was influenced by other self-balancing vehicules like a german one-wheeled scooter or segways.

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Industrial Robots - part 2

Sun, 2 Dec 2007 20:58:00 +0100

category robotics

6 videos of industrial robots.

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Reidar Finsrud's near-perpetuum mobile

Sun, 2 Dec 2007 16:42:00 +0100

category energy

in 1996, the norwegian artist reidar finsrud revealed his near-perpetuum mobile.
a steel ball [about 7 cm, 9 kg] is rolling on an aluminum track, about 63.5 cm in diameter, placed horizontally. three pendulums, about 115 cm long with tunable weights at the lower end, controls three horse-shoe magnets that the steel ball has to pass by on the track. embedded in the track is a [mechanical] controlling/timing mechanism. it looks like a steel wire bent into a triangular track, 13 cm long. the ball rolls over it and pushes the wire down through a slot in the track. this affects one of the pendulums and regulates its swinging motion. the ball has been reported to move for many days uninterrupted.

read a wiki on the history of perpetual motion machines. watch more detailed [45 min.] videos [ 1 ][ 2 ].

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Industrial Robots - part 1

Sat, 1 Dec 2007 21:08:00 +0100

category robotics

6 videos of industrial robots.

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NEC's translating mobile phone

Sat, 1 Dec 2007 05:04:00 +0100

category babel

japanese electronics giant nec has created a world-first real-time translator on a cellphone, which can instantly turn japanese spoken travellers' words into written english.

read more. a step closer to douglas adams' babelfish.

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nouvo.ch on ecology and technology [in french]

Sat, 1 Dec 2007 02:01:00 +0100

category specials

french moderated swiss television program on ecology and technology. watch the video.

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Wearable technology at work in the European Union

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 22:22:00 +0100

category computers

the eu has funded a project related to wearable technology. the project, named wearIT@work will end in one year and was funded with 14.3 million euro.

for mobile workers, the goal is to replace traditional interfaces, such as screen, keyboard or computer unit, by speech control or gesture control, without modifying the applications. such wearable systems are currently being tested in four different fields: aircraft maintenance, emergency response, car production and healthcare.

read more.

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MIT's foldable light electric vehicle

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 16:54:00 +0100

category mobility

mit's smart city project [ 2 ] and taiwanese itri and sym developed an energy-saving foldable electric vehicle that integrates unique safety features and state-of-the art vehicle technology.

a functional prototype was presented at the 2007 milan motor show in italy.

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6 most important experiments in the world

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:50:00 +0100

category specials

the blue brain project, the earthtime project, planted forests project, dark-matter experiment, the census of marine life, artificial life.

read the full story [4 pages].

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Waseda University's Twendy-One household robot

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 15:21:00 +0100

category robotics

researchers at tokyo's waseda university's sugano laboratory have unveiled a 1.5 meter, 110 kg humanoid robot called twendy-one that was designed to lend a hand with household duties.

while communicating with a person, the robot can simultaneously carry out some work. with sensors and flexible joints, the robot is able to absorb potential shocks in case it bumps into users.

watch some videos [ 1 ][ 2 ].

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HP's and Crospon's skin patch drug delivery

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 14:26:00 +0100

category healthcare

hp and crospon have developed a skin patch which uses microneedles that barely penetrate the skin. the microneedles can replace conventional injections and deliver drugs through the skin without causing any pain.

the skin patch technology also enables delivery of several drugs by one patch and the control of dosage and of administration time for each drug. it has the potential to be safer and more efficient than injections.

read more.

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Penn State University's microbial electrolysis cell

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 13:47:00 +0100

category energy

researchers at psu, led by bruce logan, have designed a process to generate hydrogen from organic materials/waste.

the bioelectrochemically assisted microbial reactor, dubbed beamr, uses bacteria to break down biodegradable organic material. adding a small jolt of energy to the system causes hydrogen gas to bubble up to the surface. the entire process generated 288 percent more energy than the electricity required to produce the reaction.

read more. watch a video

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Sarcos' Exoskeleton

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 13:19:00 +0100

category robotics

the utah based company sarcos develops robotic exoskeletons for the u.s. army.

by stepping inside this robotic exterior, a soldier can easily perform duties with a strength and features that years ago could only be seen in science fiction movies.

watch a video [ 1 ][ 2 ].

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Vivek Rangnekar's cancer resistant mouse

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 23:51:00 +0100

category healthcare

university of kentucky researchers, led by vivek rangnekar, have created a cancer-resistant mouse by introducing a tumor-suppressor gene called 'par-4' into an egg. the 'par-4' gene, discovered in 1993, kills cancer cells, but not normal cells.

the scientists discovered that the 'par-4' gene was transmitted to new generations of mice. the next step will be to use this gene in humans through bone marrow transplantation.

read more.

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ZKEnergy's and Magturbine's maglev wind turbines

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 23:14:00 +0100

category energy

construction began on the world's largest production base for maglev [magnetic levitation] wind power generators in central china for zkenergy. in arizona, magturbine will start production on a later date.

magnetic levitation is an extremely efficient system for generating wind energy because of the lack of friction. theoretically, one large maglev wind turbine could generate one gigawatt of clean power, enough to supply energy to 750.000 homes.

read more [ 1 ][ 2 ]. read a wiki.

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Keio University's brainwave controlled computers

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 18:53:00 +0100

category bionics

japanese professor junichi ushiba from tokyo's keio university created a brain-computer interface that offers people with paralysis a second life in online virtual worlds.

players can e.g. move their second life avatars just by thinking of commands. the interface uses electrodes attached to the user's scalp to sense activity in the brain's sensory-motor cortex.

watch a video.

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continue to ofpblog XL - part 1 :: posts :: 1 - 100

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 18:53:00 +0100

category ofpblog XL - part 1

this is part 2 [posts 101 - 200] of ofpblog XL,
continue to: part 1 or part 3 - part 4 - part 5.