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

continue to ofpblog XL - part 4 :: posts :: 301 - 400

Sun, 6 Apr 2008 00:28:00 +0100

this is part 3 [posts 201 - 300] of ofpblog XL,
continue to: part 4 or part 1 - part 2 - part 5.

University of Utah's walking line following robot

Sun, 6 Apr 2008 00:28:00 +0100

a walking robot created for a university of utah's mechatronics class. the robot needs to be completely autonomous and all the propulsion needs to be provided by the legs.

watch the video.

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Microsoft concepts

Sat, 5 Apr 2008 22:50:00 +0100

category computers

two videos: microsoft concepts of how we could be using computers in the near future.

• the first video was originally meant to be shown at ces 2008 [ event], but had to be taken down. it's sort of a windows 7 preview and has a lot of cross integration between devices,
• the second video is from microsoft's 2010: real-time collaboration concept.

watch the videos [ 1 ][ 2 ]. related ofpblog post.

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Japanese assisting goggles

Sat, 5 Apr 2008 21:37:00 +0100

category bionics

japanese researchers added a camera and a computer to a pair of goggles. the goggles recognise objects and remember their location and can e.g. help find your keys and other misplaced household items.

watch the video.

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Anybots' Monty & Dexter

Sat, 5 Apr 2008 18:14:00 +0100

category robotics

trevor blackwell's company anybots develops life-sized humanoid robots. dexter balances dynamically, walks and will be able to run. monty has one fully articulated hand driven by 18 motors and one gripper.

watch six videos about these robots [ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ][ 4 ][ 5 ][ 6 ].

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UAV's using the Coanda effect

Sat, 5 Apr 2008 04:34:00 +0100

category mobility

four videos of uav's that fly by using the coandă effect.

the first video is from a group of swiss students participating in the schweizer jugend forscht contest [swiss youth researches - videos + votes - !attn!].

watch the videos [ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ][ 4 ].

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Roboticore's Visibot

Sat, 5 Apr 2008 02:32:00 +0100

category robotics

roboticore's [ 1 ] visibot is a small robot that specialises on image processing and recognition. visibot is a demonstration platform for roboticore's vision technology.

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

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USC's Superbot, modular robot systems

Sat, 5 Apr 2008 01:44:00 +0100

category robotics

usc's isi's polymorphic robotics laboratory's superbot is a new type of robots that are modular, multifunctional, and easily reconfigurable. its modules can be dynamically configured into different robots to fit the user's needs.

for example, it can crawl, walk, roll, climb, carry, fetch, or survey. the reconfiguration and module exchanges are easy and do not require any special knowledge or training. such robots are economic because a single robot can provide diverse behaviors and can be changed frequently. this is ideal for home campanions, search and rescue, security, surveillance, and so on.

watch a video.

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AIST's giant dinosaur robots

Sat, 5 Apr 2008 00:46:00 +0100

category robotics

the national institute of advanced industrial science and technology in japan [ 1 ] has created some incredible new robot/animatronic dinosaurs that can actually walk around.

watch a video.

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Darpa's iXo A.I. Control Grid

Fri, 4 Apr 2008 23:56:00 +0100

category specials

ignorance isn't bliss made a 20 cyber-bugged minutes virtually adrift inside the surreal cytoplasmic warfare-obsessed cerebral distortions of darpa's techno-militaristic planning regime. if the war machine could dream this would surely be it.

watch the video. [beware: drum and bass music]

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Robots: Evolution of a Cultural Icon

Fri, 4 Apr 2008 23:19:00 +0100

category robotics

from april 12 till october 19 2008, the san jose museum of art, california runs the exhibition robots: evolution of a cultural icon.

the exhibition examines the development of robot iconography in fine art over the past 50 years [clayton bailey, eric joyner...].
in 1920, the term robot was coined from a czech word robota, which means tedious labor. since then, the image and the idea of a robot have evolved remarkably from an awkward, mechanical creature to a sophisticated android with artificial intelligence and the potential for human-like consciousness. as robotic technology catches up with the wild imagination of science fiction novels, movies, and animation, dreams and fears anticipated in these stories may also become reality. artists included in the exhibition have responded to the technological innovation with optimism, pessimism, and humor, presenting work that ultimately explores our ambivalent attitudes towards robots.

you can find an introduction video and videos on the artists and their works on the museum's youtube channel.

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Dambach's Aisle Changing Stacker Crane

Fri, 4 Apr 2008 21:23:00 +0100

category robotics

dambach lagersysteme [ 1 ] delivers warehouse automatisation solutions.

watch a video of an aisle changing stacker crane for paletised goods.

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UNSW's CMR's MAVSTAR micro aerial vehicle

Fri, 4 Apr 2008 20:06:00 +0100

category robotics

unsw's cmr group's mavstar [micro aerial vehicles for search, tracking and reconnaissance] won the the best ugv performance award at this year's mav 2008 [ event].

watch some videos of test flights [ 1][ 2].

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The rise of emotional robots

Fri, 4 Apr 2008 19:15:00 +0100

category robotics

a video showing some robots being developed by researchers and d.i.y.-techies who are experimenting with different ways for humans and robots to interact.

watch the video. read more.

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MIT's MDS Mobile/Dexterous/Social robot

Fri, 4 Apr 2008 18:49:00 +0100

category robotics

mit's personal robots group developed four mds [Mobile/Dexterous/Social] robots, small mobile humanoid robots that possess a novel combination of mobility, moderate dexterity, and human-centric communication and interaction abilities.

the purpose of this platform is to support research and education goals in human-robot interaction, teaming, and social learning.
personal robots are an emerging technology with the potential to have a significant positive impact across broad applications in the pubic sector including eldercare, healthcare, education, and beyond. given the richness and complexity of human life, it is widely recognised that personal robots must be able to adapt to and learn within the human environment from ordinary citizens over the long term. although tremendous advances have been made in machine learning theories and techniques, existing frameworks do not adequately consider the human factors involved in developing robots that learn from people who lack particular technical expertise but bring a lifetime of experience in learning socially with others. the researchers refer to this area of inquiry as socially situated robot learning [ssrl].

watch a video.

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ARICC's Robo-Erectus does tai chi

Wed, 2 Apr 2008 20:54:00 +0100

category robotics

at singapore polytechnic's aricc they develop robo-erectus robots. they vary in size and normally play robot soccer.
this human-sized model stresses down doing some tai chi at the singapore robotic games 2008 [ event].

watch the video. another video where this human-sized model 'plays' soccer.

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Live robot-assisted surgery webcast on April 24

Wed, 2 Apr 2008 18:47:00 +0100

category robotics

halifax health will present florida's first live online robot-assisted gynecologic oncology case from daytona beach, florida, usa on thursday, april 24, at 7 pm edt. access to the live webcast can be found here [ 1 ][ 2 ].

dr. kelly l. molpus will perform the surgery, dr. christopher stanley will moderate and da vinci [ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ] is the assisting robot system.

watch a video. you can already ask for a reminder for the operation on their website.

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Regenerative medicine re-grows body parts

Wed, 2 Apr 2008 15:15:00 +0100

category healthcare

regenerative medicine is a practice that aims to refurbish diseased or damaged tissue using e.g. the body's own healthy cells. two videos show what can be done anno 2008.

• university of pittsburgh's mc gowan institute of regenerative medicine
• wake forest university's wake forest institute for regenerative medicine.

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

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CRS Robot with colour vision

Wed, 2 Apr 2008 01:18:00 +0100

category robotics

computer vision [using a cheap webcam] is used to determine colour of an object and then a crs robotics robot arm is used to move an object to its programmed drop point.

watch an video.

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Vernor Vinge on Singularity & Spimes

Tue, 1 Apr 2008 23:23:00 +0100

category computers

vernor vinge, author of rainbows end, and other award winning novels, as well as the original paper about the technological singularity presented at a nasa conference in 1993, converses with david orban of openspime.

• technological singularity, its perimeters, and the issue of what is called hard take-off.
video part [ 1 ][ 2 ].
• the future of networked smart sensors, spimes. their promise, and dangers, as they develop and get widely adopted in society.
video [ 3 ].

bruce sterling suggested the creation of a new type of technological device, called spime, that through pervasive rfid communications and gps navigation can track its history and interact with the world... the internet of things.

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Technology Calendar - April 2008

Tue, 1 Apr 2008 02:17:00 +0100

category specials

what's up in april:
• 31-02   The Future of the Internet 2008 - bled, slovenia
• 02-04   CogSys 2008 - karlsruhe, germany
• 08-10   RoboBusiness 2008 - pittsburgh, usa
• __-12   RoboTest 2008 - steinbach am taunus, germany
• 09-13   Laval Virtual 2008 - laval, france
• 10-13   Shell Eco-marathon Americas 2008 - fontana, usa
• 21-25   Mobile Robots & Autonomous Systems 2008 - hannover, germany

check out the techcalendar for more infos.

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VolcanBUL, a robotic bus

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 02:46:00 +0100

category robotics

volcanbul is an autonomous vehicle to transport people without any guiding infrastructure. it is guided by GPS, completely silent and environment-friendly and was developed for vulcania, a french theme park.

the control software is the robubox-cts, developed by robosoft using microsoft robotics studio.

watch a video.

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AUVSI's IVTT Seminar videos

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 02:04:00 +0100

category robotics

the third joint military/civilian seminar on intelligent vehicle technology transfer [ivtt seminar, 13-14 feb. 2008, gaithersburg, maryland, usa] was sponsored by the space and naval warfare systems command [spawar] and supported by the department of transportation intelligent transportation systems joint program office [dot its po], the army tank automotive research, development and engineering center [tardec], the association for unmanned vehicle systems international [auvsi], the intelligent transportation society of america [its america] and was hosted by the intelligent systems division of the national institute of standards and technology [isd nist].

this post's videos where shown at the seminar:
• xuv manoeuvering in a complex environment
• robot tanks follow the leader.

watch the videos [ 1 ][ 2 ].

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BigDog parody

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 02:58:00 +0100

category specials

you've seen the video of boston dynamics' bigdog.
now, some people made an excellent parody of the original video.

watch the video.

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Designing humanoids

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 01:41:00 +0100

category robotics

a video showing some developments in humanoid design.

watch the video.

the video seems new, but as far as i know, db, as shown in the video, was a project than ran from '96 till '01. please react if i'm wrong or if you have more infos about the video/robots.

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We were on the moon in 1969

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 21:28:00 +0100

category mobility

anno 2008, while iss' dextre [wiki] is installed [a two armed robot, or telemanipulator, which is part of iss' mobile servicing system], the moon landing hoax [ 1 ][ 2 ] still keeps bubbling up on the internet.
german professor dr. harald lesch explains how the 1969 landing on the moon was not a hoax.

harald lesch [ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ][ 4 ] is a famous german physicist, astronomer, natural philosopher, author and tv presenter [ 1 ][ 2 ].

attention: video material below is in german.
watch/download the videos where harald lesch explains it all [ 1 - .rm real media - 8.7MB* - 14m 30s][ 2 - .mpg - 14.7MB - 5m 31s].

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MobileRobots' Seekur, all-weather robot

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:29:00 +0100

category robotics

mobilerobots [prev - wiki] is a company in new hampshire, usa that designs and manufactures autonomous research robots, commercial service robots and navigation systems for robot developers and manufacturers. seekur [prev] is their omni-directional security rover, an all-weather autonomous outdoor/outbuilding robot.

the company is currently seeking beta sites for testing seekur's autonomous capabilities to protect airport perimeters and assets. eventually it will work at facilities of many types doing perimeter patrols, parking lot checks, asset tracking, environmental monitoring, gis database updates, surveillance and a variety of other safety and security tasks.

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

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Microsoft MIX' Future Vision on Healthcare

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 17:18:00 +0100

category healthcare

mix [videos - wiki - event] is a microsoft conference held annually for web developers and designers at which microsoft showcases upcoming web technologies. they also looked at how healthcare could look like in the future.

this year's mix event was held march 5-7 in las vegas.

watch the video.

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Robo-One 13th edition

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:11:00 +0100

category robotics

robo-one [org - wiki] is a robot competition for bipedal humanoid robots.

the 13th edition took place in japan [22-23 march].

watch a video.

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Foster-Miller's Talon robots

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:00:00 +0100

category robotics

foster-miller develops talon robots that are currently being used in iraq and afghanistan [more than 20.000 mission completed].

the robot can be equipped with night and thermal vision, live cameras and even a machine gun. they are also used to detonate bombs.

watch a video. development cost: about euro1.9 million.

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Robot musicians - part 1

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 01:26:00 +0100

category robotics

6 videos of robots and software playing or being music instruments.

watch the videos [ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ][ 4 ][ 5 ][ 6 ].

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Da Vinci Surgical System gets eye-tracker

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 22:35:00 +0100

category robotics

researchers from imperial college london are improving the da vinci surgical robot [intuitive surgical, inc.] by installing an eye-tracker, which allows surgeons to control the robot's knife simply by looking at the patient's tissues on a screen.

tracking the eyes can generate a 3d map, which in turn can make moving organs -like a beating heart- appear to stand still for easier operation. other features include 'see-through' tissues on the surgeon's screen [so tumors can be seen underneath tissues] and 'no-cut' zones, places where the robot won't allow the surgeon to cut by mistake.

read more about the improvements. watch some videos about the da vinci surgical system [ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ][ 4 ].

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MIT's energy-efficient microchip

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 21:28:00 +0100

category computers

researchers at mit and texas instruments have designed a new chip for portable electronics that could be up to 10 times more energy-efficient than present technology. given its reduced power consumption, the new chip could lead to cell phones, handheld computers, and remote sensors that last far longer when running from a battery.

indeed, the power required could be so low that implantable medical devices such as pacemakers and health monitors could be powered indefinitely by a person's body heat or motion -no battery needed.
according to anantha chandrakasan [mtl - sub-threshold circuits group], the key to the improvement in energy efficiency was finding ways to make the circuits on the chip work at a voltage level much lower than usual. while most current chips operate at around 1.0 volt, the new design works at just 0.3 volts.

read more.

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UoH's Adaptive Systems Research Group

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 18:39:00 +0100

category robotics

at the british university of hertfordshire, the adaptive systems research group develops a range of robots that can be used in increasingly more useful ways in the future.

watch a video.

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Science, Technology & Us with Dr. Kenneth Ford

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 16:03:00 +0100

category computers

as part of a series of seminars [science, technology & us] at cumberland university, president harvill c. eaton leads a class discussion with dr. kenneth ford, founder and director of the institute for human and machine cognition about cognitive science, artificial intelligence and computer programming.

watch the videos [poor sound quality][ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ][ 4 ][ 5 ][ 6 ].

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Inventions that changed the world: the computer

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:56:00 +0100

category computers

in 2004 jeremy clarkson hosted inventions that changed the world, a bbc series which tells the stories behind some of the most significant inventions which have helped shape the world we live in today. 6 videos show the story of the computer, first aired on 22 january 2004.

watch the videos [ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ][ 4 ][ 5 ][ 6 ].

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UoA's Phobot, a phobic robot

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 13:33:00 +0100

category robotics

phobot [wiki], a phobic robot developed by researchers from the university of amsterdam, the netherlands, was voted the publics favourite at the 3rd acm/ieee international conference on human-robot interaction 2008 [ 1 ] in amsterdam.

phobot is meant as a concept exploring possible support tools for kids with object or location-related phobias.
phobot and the phobic child will help each other overcome fears by following exposure program steps.

watch some videos [ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ][ 4 ]. read more.

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Wall and window climbing robots - part 1

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 22:58:00 +0100

category robotics

6 videos of robots that can climb up walls and windows.

watch the videos [ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ][ 4 ][ 5 ][ 6 ].

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Boston Dynamics' BigDog robot mule gets update

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:45:00 +0100

category robotics

boston dynamics' bigdog is a four-legged robotic mule that can now carry over 155 kg [original version 40 kg].

watch a video.

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Fraunhofer's Robokeeper

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:49:00 +0100

category robotics

the german fraunhofer institute for material flow and logistics developed a robot soccer goalkeeper called robokeeper [alt - org].

watch some videos [ 1 ][ 2 ].

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CWRU's Morphing Micro Air and Land Vehicle

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:33:00 +0100

category robotics

researchers from case western reserve university's biologically inspired robotics laboratory work on a morphing micro air and land vehicle [mmalv], a hybrid air and land vehicle which can be used to serve as a remote sensor platform.

the purpose of this vehicle is to serve as a device that can fly into hazardous/hostile environments, then land and walk around to explore, gather and relay intelligence so that decisions can be made about how to proceed in a dangerous situation without having to physically send people in to do the data collection.

watch a video of the robot in action.

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Robotised farming - part 1

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:00:00 +0100

category robotics

6 videos on farm automatisation/robotisation.

watch the videos [ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ][ 4 ][ 5 ][ 6 ].

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RPI's Avatar with reasoning abilities of a child

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:10:00 +0100

category computers

today's video games and online virtual worlds give users the freedom to create characters in the digital domain that look and seem more human than ever before. but your avatar is still little more than just a pretty face. a group of researchers from rensselaer polytechnic institute is working to change that by engineering characters with the capacity to have beliefs and to reason about the beliefs of others.

the characters will be able to predict and manipulate the behavior of even human players, with whom they will directly interact in the real, physical world, according to the team.
at a recent conference on artificial intelligence, the researchers unveiled the embodiment of their success to date: eddie, a 4-year-old child in second life who can reason about his own beliefs to draw conclusions in a manner that matches human children his age.

watch a video. continue reading.

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Robots playing a board game

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 19:45:00 +0100

category robotics

two robot arms play a game of mensch ärgere dich nicht [a board game similar to ludo, parcheesi or pachisi].

watch the video.

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Chemical brain controls nanobots

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 00:15:00 +0100

category robotics

a tiny chemical "brain" which could one day act as a remote control for swarms of nano-machines has been invented, explains dr anirban bandyopadhyay of the international center for young scientists, tsukuba, japan.

read more.

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Rafael's Protector, unmanned surface vehicle

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:47:00 +0100

category robotics

israel based rafael's [ 1 ] protector [ 1 ] usv is an integrated naval combat system, based on unmanned, autonomous, remotely controlled surface vehicles. highly maneuverable and stealthy, the protector can conduct a wide spectrum of critical missions, without exposing personnel and capital assets to unnecessary risk.

the boat is mission reconfigurable through its plug-and-play design, allowing utilization of various mission modules.

watch a future weapons documentary in two parts [ 1 ][ 2 ].

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Airsoft Uzi mounted on Quadrotor UAV

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:02:00 +0100

category robotics

two videos of a quadrotor uav with an airsoft uzi toy mounted on top.

watch the videos [ 1 ][ 2 ].

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Robowatch' Chrysor

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 19:34:00 +0100

category robotics

robowatch's chrysor is a rugged reconnaissance ugv of the one-ton class.

the vehicle is deployed in zones hazardous to personnel for purposes of situation assessment, area surveillance or reconnaissance.

watch a video.

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Robot Compilation - part 3

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:34:00 +0100

category robotics

a video with new robots developed for the eu robotics cognitive systems programme.

part 1 - part 2 - vub's best of 2007

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Belowground Cargo Transportation

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:45:00 +0100

category mobility

some western european countries are getting serious about transporting consumer goods through automated subterranean networks. this combination of low-tech sense and high-tech knowledge could lead to a further economic growth without destroying the environment and the quality of life. super fast underground cargo transport is a favourite subject of futurologists. yet, the key to the feasibility of the proposed systems is their very low but constant speed.

read more.

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Carnegie Mellon's Modular Snake Robots

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:58:00 +0100

category robotics

researchers at carnegie mellon university's biorobotics lab develop modular snake robots.

snake robots can use their many internal degrees of freedom to thread through tightly packed volumes and access locations that people and machinery otherwise cannot. these highly articulated devices can coordinate their internal degrees of freedom to perform a variety of locomotive gaits that go beyond the capabilities of conventional wheeled and legged robots. the true power of these devices is their versatility: they can crawl, climb, swim, and scale flights of stairs.

watch a video.

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DEXMART's Coffee-making robot

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 04:01:00 +0100

category robotics

dexmart is an acronym and stands for dexterous and autonomous dual-arm/hand robotic manipulation with smart sensory-motor skills: a bridge from natural to artificial cognition. dexmart is a large-scale integrating eu funded project. the project started on the 1st of february, 2008 and will last for four years.

the project has the ambition to fill the gap between the use of robots in industrial environments and the use of future robots in everyday human and unstructured environments, contributing to reinforce european competitiveness in all those domains of personal and service robotics where dexterous and autonomous dual-hand manipulation capabilities are required.

watch a video of the robot making some coffee.

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EU's ITALK project uses iCub, the robot toddler

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 02:31:00 +0100

category robotics

the eu funded italk project aims to develop artificial embodied agents able to acquire complex behavioural, cognitive, and linguistic skills through individual and social learning. this will be achieved through experiments with the italian robot icub [ 1 ].

the humanoid robot will learn to handle and manipulate objects and tools autonomously, to cooperate and communicate with other robots and humans, and to adapt to changing internal, environmental, and social conditions.

watch a video. read more.

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Insect cyborgs

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 01:25:00 +0100

category bionics

several scientists [ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ] work on connecting insect brains with computers or robots. of course, darpa has some interest.

watch a video. read more.

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Konarka's inkjet printer prints solar cells

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:07:00 +0100

category energy

massachusetts-based konarka technologies [ 1 ] announced that it has successfully demonstrated the ability to print solar cells with an inkjet printer. the technology could be used to reduce the cost of making solar panels.

inkjet printing is a commonly used technique for controlled deposition of solutions of functional materials in specific locations on a substrate and can provide easy and fast deposition of polymer films over a large area. the demonstration confirms that organic solar cells can be processed with printing technologies with little or no loss compared to clean room semiconductor technologies such as spin coating.

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Craig Venter, synthetic life & 4th generation fuels

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 00:36:00 +0100

category energy

can we create new life out of our digital universe?
craig venter [ 1 ][ 2 ] answers: yes, and pretty soon. he spoke at ted 2008 about his latest research into fourth-generation fuels: biologically created fuels with CO2 as their feedstock.

his talk covers the details of creating brand-new chromosomes using digital technology, the reasons why we would want to do this, and the bioethics of synthetic life.

watch the video of his ted talk.

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RoboSwift, a morphing-wing micro aerial vehicle

Thu, 6 Mar 2008 00:30:00 +0100

category robotics

dutch roboswift is a micro airplane fitted with movable wings, inspired by the common swift, one of nature's most efficient flyers.

the team will participate in mav08 [ 1 ], a competition for demonstrating state-of-the-art unmanned micro aerial vehicle [mav] and unmanned ground vehicle [ugv] technology in agra, india.

watch a video.

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Robot American Football - part 1

Wed, 5 Mar 2008 00:22:00 +0100

category robotics

japanese robot american football [org] is played every november.

the teams come from technical high schools throughout japan, and play with four active 'players' and one backup on the bench. each half is 3 minutes for a total game time of 6 minutes. they even have cheerleaders.

watch a video. read more.

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Fork Lift AGV's and Autonomous Trailer Loading

Tue, 4 Mar 2008 23:13:00 +0100

category robotics

4 videos of fork lift agvs [automated guided vehicles] and atl [autonomous trailer loading systems].

robots by transbotics and egemin.

watch the videos [ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ][ 4 ].

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Kuka's Robocoasters

Tue, 4 Mar 2008 22:27:00 +0100

category robotics

robocoaster modifies kuka industrial robot arms into robot roller coaster rides.

watch a video from science channel's beyond tomorrow.
need to go to legoland germany?

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How it's made: Robot Arm

Tue, 4 Mar 2008 21:54:00 +0100

category robotics

from science channel's how it's made.

watch a video.

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DelFly, camera-equipped insect bots

Tue, 4 Mar 2008 01:35:00 +0100

category robotics

delfly [spin-off technical university delft, the netherlands] is a micro air vehicle [mav] that attempts to somewhat imitate the flight of insects and birds and has video and communication onboard.
the delfly 2 weighs 16 gram, fits in a sphere with a radius of 30 cm and can fly for at least 15 minutes [at a maximum speed of 54 km/h] or hover in one place for 8 minutes.

their next step is delfly micro, that is part of the delfly's four-year programme in cooperation between asti and tno. the programme, called delfly nano, was started in january 2007. the goal of the nano programme is to build a flying robot with a wingspan of 5 cm, with the objective of carrying a payload onboard. this means that also the development of smaller cameras, actuators, data links etc is necessary.

watch some videos.

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Life, a virtual simulation?

Tue, 4 Mar 2008 00:16:00 +0100

category computers

watch a video.

i know, i'm waiting for the release of a new skin.

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Emil Ernerfeldt's Phun, a 2D physics sandbox

Mon, 3 Mar 2008 22:28:00 +0100

category computers

phun [download page] is a free application for creating 2D simulations of physics. it has a cartoony feel to it and is simple and fun to use.

it is a master of science theises by computing science student emil ernerfeldt at vrlab, umeå university, sweden.

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

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Netflix' robotised distribution

Mon, 3 Mar 2008 17:41:00 +0100

category robotics

netflix is the largest online dvd rental service in the usa, offering flat rate rental-by-mail to customers. their dvds get sorted and packed by robots.

compared to humans, the robots are faster and more efficient, at a lower cost. they're almost four times as fast and efficient as people, but replacing human labour completely in this process is still too expensive.

watch a video.

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Nanocomp's Large Carbon Nanotube Sheets

Sat, 1 Mar 2008 23:01:00 +0100

category mobility

nanocomp technologies, new hampshire - usa, announced it has successfully produced 90 cm by 180 cm sheets of carbon nanotube material and expects to deliver 9 square meter sheets as soon as this summer.

the sheets, which the company can produce on its single machine at a rate of one per day, are composed of a series of nanotubes each about a millimeter long, overlapping each other randomly to form a thin mat. the tensile strength of the mat ranges from 200 to 500 megapascals [a measure of how tough it is to break]. a sheet of aluminum of equivalent thickness, for comparison, has a strength of 500 megapascals. if nanocomp takes further steps to align the nanotubes, the strength jumps to 1200 megapascals.

one step closer to a cable for the space elevator.

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Dokkoisho Robot

Sat, 1 Mar 2008 18:53:00 +0100

category robotics

a video of a japanese robot that learns how to get up from lying on the ground.

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IRIS' Microbots

Sat, 1 Mar 2008 17:44:00 +0100

category robotics

brad nelson from iris [eth zürich, switzerland] is one of the world's leading researchers in a new field he calls biomicrorobotics.

nelson's lab won the 2007 robocup nanogram competition [ 1 ][ 2 ], a challenge where teams of students and researchers construct microscopic robots that will compete against each other in soccer-related agility drills. these robots will measure a few tens of micrometers to a few hundred micrometers in their largest dimension and will have masses ranging from a few nanograms to a few hundred nanograms. they will operate under an optical microscope and can be controlled by off-board electronics using visual feedback. to win the competition, a robot must be fast, agile, and capable of manipulating objects in the micro-world.

nelson recently gave an epfl's talking robots podcast interview, listen here.

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

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UoA's HIV blocking gene

Sat, 1 Mar 2008 16:05:00 +0100

category healthcare

a team of researchers at the university of alberta, canada, has discovered a gene that is able to block hiv, and in turn prevent the onset of aids.

dr. stephen barr, a molecular virologist in the department of medical microbiology and immunology, says his team has identified a gene called trim22 that can block hiv infection in a cell culture by preventing the assembly of the virus.

read more.

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iBand

Sat, 1 Mar 2008 14:22:00 +0100

category audio

an austrian band decided to play music using only iphones and ipods. they call themselves iband.

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

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Technology Calendar - March 2008

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:16:00 +0100

category specials

what's up in march:
• 01-02   BIL 2008 - monterey, usa
• 01-03   AGI 2008 - memphis, usa
• 04-09   CeBIT 2008 - hannover, germany
• 08-10   IEEE Virtual Reality 2008 - reno, usa
• 12-15   ACM/IEEE HRI 2008 - amsterdam, the netherlands
• 26-27   European Robotics Symposium 2008 - prague, czech republic
• 26-28   Internet of Things 2008 - zurich, switzerland
• 31-02   The Future of the Internet 2008 - bled, slovenia

check out the techcalendar for more infos.

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ReadyBot's Kitchen Cleaning Robot Challenge

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 22:02:00 +0100

category robotics

the readybot project aims to construct a general-purpose mobile robot capable of cleaning the kitchen. version 1 is designed primarily as a proof-of-concept for general public and trade fair demonstrations.

this project is intended to answer a simple question: how many common household and commercial tasks can a 2-armed, moderate-dexterity, simple robot perform?

watch a video.

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VeraTech Aero's Phantom Sentinel UAV

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:30:00 +0100

category robotics

veratech aero [minnesota, usa] develops small uav's. a couple of years ago they presented their phantom sentinel, a single rotor uav.

based on the concept of persistence of vision, the phantom's single rotor y-shaped blade has a center of rotation outside of the uav's physical fuselage. as the aircraft spins, it disappears from vision.
to maintain flight the uav is equipped with two propellers powered by very quiet electric motors and can be thrown by hand, launched, or dropped from a plane.
this unique combination of silence and invisible stealth allows it to creep within 23 m of nearly any event and remain reasonably undetectable to the human eye.

watch some videos [ 1 ][ 2 ].

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Automated killer robots a threat to humanity?

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 01:22:00 +0100

category robotics

increasingly autonomous, gun-totting robots developed for warfare could easily fall into the hands of terrorists and may one day unleash a robot arms race.

"they pose a threat to humanity," said university of sheffield professor noel sharkey [wiki] ahead of a keynote address wednesday before britain's royal united services institute [for defence and security studies]. continue reading.

other press articles [ 1 ][ 2 ].

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RoboCup@Home 2008

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 23:40:00 +0100

category robotics

robocup@home is a league inside the robocup competitions that focuses on real-world applications and human-machine interaction with autonomous robots. the aim is to foster the development of useful robotic applications that can assist humans in everyday life.

watch some videos [ 1 ][ 2 ].

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Barrett Technology's robotic WAM Arm

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 22:33:00 +0100

category robotics

barrett's wam* arm is a highly dexterous, naturally backdrivable manipulator.

it is a robotic arm with direct-drive capability supported by transparent dynamics between the motors and joints, so its control of contact forces is robust - independent of mechanical force or torque sensors. it is built to outperform conventional robots with unmatched human-like grace and dexterity.

watch a video.

* according to barrett's, there are two meanings to whole-arm manipulation [wam]. both are exemplified in barrett's wam arm:

• the inherent capability of a robot to control contact forces with inherent safety and robustness all along its link and joint surfaces, from the base of the arm through its end. this capability is especially enabling when applied to a kinematically redundant arm.
• a (w)holistic approach to robot design enhances safety and performance while reducing intrinsic manufacturing, shipping, training, software, footprint, power, and servicing costs. for example, conventional robot designs continue today to depend on legacy drive technologies that introduce friction, backlash, torque fluctuations, or generate poor aspect ratios. then conventional designers go to great lengths to attempt to mask these effects at the expense of safety or other performance metrics. the (w)holistic approach leverages simple, [high-speed cable] drives that do not introduce these problems in the first place and yet exceed the highest standards of conventional performance.

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Frédéric Kaplan & Martino d'Esposito's Wizkid

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:55:00 +0100

category robotics

wizkid looks like a computer, but is really a robot and is currently on display at the moma, new york.

wizkid is the result of a collaboration between engineer frédéric kaplan [alt] from epfl, and industrial designer, martino d'esposito, who also teaches at ecal.
their collaboration was supported by the new epfl+ecal lab, a joint initiative of the two lausanne-based institutions that aims to merge engineering, design and architecture in new and innovative ways.

watch some videos [ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ][ 4 ]. read more.

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Crusher's February 2008 Field Tests at Fort Bliss

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 21:08:00 +0100

category robotics

crusher, an autonomous ugcv, has been undergoing two weeks of its february 2008 ugcv perceptOR integration [upi] field tests at fort bliss, texas, where it planned and executed missions designed by ordinary soldiers.

tests include defining main and alternate supply routes, determining and clearing locations to establish forward operating bases, performing route reconnaissance, and maneuvering between checkpoints and observation posts.
maneuvers including on-road, off-road in dunes, off-road in washes, off-road at the edges of mountains clearing caves, and in urban environments [mout 1 - 2 ] during the day or at night.
over 100 km of autonomous maneuver was logged. in addition to remote operation of crusher from the upi command post, crusher's systems and payloads could also be controlled from an ipod-based handheld controller.

watch some videos [ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ]. related ofpblog post.

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Jim Mulvale on Basic Income For All

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 18:06:00 +0100

category lifestyle

jim mulvale advocates for guaranteed base income for all in order to ameliorate or eliminate poverty.

more on basic income:
• bien [basic income earth network]
• bien's 12th international conference [ 1 ].

watch a video of a presentation by mulvale. check out the techcalendar for more events.

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Botanicalls Twitter DIY

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:54:00 +0100

category bionics

in an effort to promote successful inter-species understanding, botanicalls opens a new channel of communication between plants and humans with their botanicalls twitter diy.

botanicalls allows plants to place phone calls for human help. when a plant on the botanicalls network needs water, it can call a person and ask for exactly what it needs. when people phone the plants, the plants orient callers to their habits and characteristics.

watch a video.

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Wind turbine blown to pieces

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 23:57:00 +0100

category energy

what happens when a wind turbine isn't shut down during a storm?

watch a video of a wind turbine whose brakes broke down.

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Pal Technology's REEM-B's first video

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 22:54:00 +0100

category robotics

as reported in december 2007, pal technology is working on reem-b, the successor to their reem-a robot.

now watch the first video of reem-b in action.

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Toki's BioMetal Fiber for artificial muscles

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 22:18:00 +0100

category robotics

japanese toki corporation develops biometal fiber, a thin fiber-like metal actuator [driving unit] which acts like a muscle.

although soft and pliable like a nylon thread under normal conditions, it becomes stiff like a piano wire and sharply contracts when a current is fed through it. if the passage of current is stopped, it will soften and extend to its original length. it can be repeatedly moved any number of times. the same effect can be obtained by heating it by hot air.

biometal is a metal-based artificial muscle made of a shape-memory alloy, unlike other artificial muscle systems that are rubber-based [pneumatic pressure-driven] [ 1 ] or chemicals-based [high polymer] [ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ].
watch some videos [ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ][ 4 ].

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Hippo Rollers & Q-Drums

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 23:01:00 +0100

category healthcare

hippo rollers and q-drums are simple rolling barrel devices that allows the millions whose livelihoods depend on the daily fetching of water to more easily access and transport their daily water supply, and reduce the risk of long-term bodily injuries. a roller e.g. holds 3-4 days worth of water for a family of 7, about 5 times the amount of water that can be moved using traditional methods, which frees up time for more productive economic and educational activities. it's an amazing product and an amazing story of good design enabling communities.

in april 2008, 50 hippo rollers will be donated to a group of 17 villages in the kgautswane community of northeast south africa by project h design. you can donate and sponsor a roller.

watch a tv ad for the south african design indaba expo 2007.

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FIRST Robotics Competition's FIRST Overdrive

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 23:37:00 +0100

category robotics

first overdrive is the 2008 game for the annual first robotics competition, a high school robotics competition, where students from all over the world compete to build 45 to 55 kg robots that can complete a task that changes every year.

• kickoff :: 5 jan 2008
• shipping deadline :: 19 feb 2008
• regional competitions :: weekends, 28 feb - 16 apr 2008
• championship :: 17 - 19 apr 2008

watch some videos about overdrive 2008 [ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ][ 4 ].
read a wiki about the first robotics competition or first overdrive.

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UAV's - part 1

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 20:36:00 +0100

category robotics

4 videos of military uav's.

read a wiki on unmanned aerial vehicles [uav]. a demo with video goggles.

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Robot Compilation - part 2

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 18:07:00 +0100

category robotics

watch a robot compilation video.

part 1

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Rinspeed's sQuba drives, floats and dives

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 16:38:00 +0100

category mobility

swiss rinspeed's squba is the first diving car [a convertible] with zero emissions and zero pollution.

power is supplied by rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. the innovative salt-water resistant interior from strähle + hess features genuine mother-of-pearl trim and diamond-plated non-slip inlays from kgs diamond, normally used in high-tech abrasives.

watch a video.

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Robot Soccer - part 1

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 17:35:00 +0100

category robotics

4 robot soccer videos.

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Toru Yamaguchi's Onimaru3

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 16:45:00 +0100

category robotics

japanese toru yamaguchi [org] put on a special demonstration with his small humanoid onimaru3 robot [org] at the kochi museum in japan.

watch a video of the demonstration.

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Orellana & Burns' Sleep Waking robot

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 15:28:00 +0100

category robotics

the sleep waking robot acts as a way to play-back dreams by using recorded brainwave activity and eye movements during rem sleep to determine robot behaviors and head positions.

through this piece orellana and burns [ 1 ] hope to investigate one of the possible human-robot relationships. in the next thirty years we will see more robotic technology integrated into our society, furthering our experience of reality through agency. robots already go beyond the limitations of our bodies. they build things that we find too difficult or tedious, assist us in our medical care, and are beginning to substitute as our sexual partners. just as the computer and the automobile have augmented our communication and transportation capabilities, the robot is destined to be essential to our society. what will humanity's relationship be to the robot in the future?

watch a video of the robot in action.

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InTouch Health's RP-7 remote presence robot

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 22:58:00 +0100

category robotics

rp-7, by intouch health, is a mobile robotic platform that enables physicians to be remotely present and check on their patients. through the integration of key technologies, the remote presence robotic system allows healthcare to happen anywhere, anytime.

rp's head is a combination lcd panel and video camera. the head can tilt and pan, at a range of 116 and 170 respectively. once pointed at the object of interest, the doctor can look closely by using the camera's 12x optical zoom.

watch a video of its predecessor, the rp-6, already at work in europe and north-america. other telepresence robots [ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ].

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Kevin Warwick at Lift08 conference

Sat, 9 Feb 2008 00:06:00 +0100

category bionics

kevin warwick [alt] is a british scientist and professor of cybernetics at the university of reading, uk. although he has done much research in the field of robotics, he is best known for his studies on direct interfaces between computer systems and the human nervous system, especially by the chip implant he had in 2002 that was connected with his nervous system.
he was one of this year's speakers at the swiss lift08 conference.

lift is about 'challenges and opportunities of technology in society'.

swiss television program nouvo [ 1 ][ 2 ] has a lift08 videos page containing interviews and this year's presentations, such as warwick's.

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Tsuyoshi Horo's Human Volume Reconstruction

Thu, 7 Feb 2008 22:59:54 +0100

category robotics

japanese tsuyoshi horo [org] created a user interface system based on human volume reconstruction using multiple cameras. point-and-drive.

watch a video [ 1 ][ 2 ].

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Robocross' Drum Machine

Tue, 5 Feb 2008 21:06:00 +0100

category robotics

german robocross' drum machine is a robotic drummer.

number five and the fox sports football robot started a drums-and-pole-dancing band. and they're already on the summer festival circuit.

watch a video of the drum machine in action with his pole-dancing bot posse at the gold coast big day out 2008, australia.

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Rotec Engineering's Tankpitstop fuel robot

Tue, 5 Feb 2008 18:51:00 +0100

category robotics

dutch tankpitstop [in dutch - alt] from rotec engineering is an automated fuel robot for cars.

watch a video [ 1 ][ 2 ].

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Rocketboom's Π song

Sun, 3 Feb 2008 22:34:00 +0100

category specials

watch/listen to the video.

a wiki on Π.

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National Geographic's PotD: Swarm-Bots

Sun, 3 Feb 2008 04:32:00 +0100

category robotics

national geographic's photo of the day [1 feb 2008] is a team of swarm-bots negotiating challenging terrain outside a laboratory in brussels, belgium.

a red color ring tells others "grab me". blue means "stay away". scientists study ant colonies, bird flocks, mammal herds, and fish schools to understand the simple genius of such animal swarms.

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Swarmbots - part 2

Sun, 3 Feb 2008 02:09:00 +0100

category robotics

6 videos of robot swarms.

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John Risch' Autonomous Follower Transport Robot

Sun, 3 Feb 2008 01:28:00 +0100

category robotics

the autonomous follower transport robot [atf], made by john risch [alt], is a control system that automates a small transport vehicle so that it would follow its user on its own.

watch a video [ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ].

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Robot Zeppelin

Sun, 3 Feb 2008 00:42:00 +0100

category robotics

watch the video.

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

Sun, 3 Feb 2008 00:42:00 +0100

category ofpblog XL - part 2

this is part 3 [posts 201 - 300] of ofpblog XL,
continue to: part 2 or part 1 - part 4 - part 5.