Another day, another set of robotic quadrocopters flying in formation. In our continuing series featuring the GRASP manhack quadrocopters, we present a video of the wee robots flying in perfect formation in their string cage. → Read More
An anonymous robot otaku from Japan has created a video that shows a mini desk robot battling it out against a human. The human wants to switch it on, but the robot just won’t let him. → Read More
The store downstairs from your apartment specialized in junk. Its owner was a small man, his face sagging and acne scarred, his front shirt pocket bulging with a pack of Marlboros and his hands always, always fiddling. He died a week ago and his shop has been locked since. At night you hear a baby crying through the floor. A mewling, a squeal, silence for an hour, maybe two. You stare in the near dark at a stain on the ceiling, straining to hear the noise again. There it is. A baby’s cry. → Read More
Following our visit to Berkeley Bionics to talk with the team about their inspiring artificially intelligent, bionic devices, we were lucky enough to visit The Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (VMC) to speak with those involved in the clinical testing of this new technology as part of patient treatment.
Berkeley Bionics has been working in conjunction with VMC Chief of Spinal Cord & Orthopedic Rehabilitation Dr. Akshat Shah to bring eLEGS — the wearable, artificially intelligent exoskeleton that enables those suffering from paralysis to stand up and walk again — into patient care, treatment, and rehabilitation. → Read More
There may be some truth to the idea that some people get turned off coding because it’s often restricted to simple input-output stuff at first, tied to a screen filled with text. Carnegie Mellon, a hotbed of roboticism, has decided to make introductory programming (with an eye to to robots) a little more accessible. They’ve put together a little robot that’s easy to code for and can be used to bring hacking and coding to the real world right off the bat. → Read More
It’s not everyday that one has an encounter with a robot, let alone has the chance to wear one, and recently, I was lucky enough to have just that. Thanks to Berkeley Bionics, I got to take a peak into the future of bionic devices — and get a small taste of what it must feel like to be Anthony Stark (a.k.a. Iron Man).
The Berkeley-based startup is developing exciting new technology that is truly the stuff of comic books and, formerly, of science fiction. Specifically, the company is making wearable, artificially intelligent bionic devices that it calls “exoskeletons”. This has taken shape in two significant forms: eLEGS and HULC. Both of which you can see (as well as an interview with Berkeley Bionics CEO Eythor Bender) in the accompanying video. → Read More
I am not seeing exactly how this robot can be used to explore the damaged nuclear plants in Fukushima (I understand they are not designed to resist radiation), but it’s pretty cool nonetheless. Jointly developed by the Tokyo Institute of Technology and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the so-called Tri-Star IV is actually supposed to carry out missions on the moon. → Read More
We’ve always liked the Parrot AR Drone quadrocopter, and of course the four-rotor layout is gaining popularity among robocists everywhere — but this is something totally new. Weighing in at just 20 grams (that’s only slightly more than DARPA’s hummingbot), it’s basically just a PCB with rotors on it — and with the telemetry being handled off-device, it’s essentially a thin-client UAV. → Read More
Drone warships may soon be sailing under their own power using sediment sucked from the sea floor. How does it work? Well, the batteries create current by using the natural fuel sources in the water and from sea bottom dwelling animalcules.
Office of Naval Research just did a patent on making energy with a combination of seawater and organic material at the bottom of the ocean. If this can work in large quantities, you can see an unmanned vehicle out there simply burrowing down into the bottom of the ocean trying to recharge. … It’s unmanned systems [like that] that offer tremendous versatility and tremendous reach.
As a German, I can tell you we don’t understand baseball at all, but apparently our robot makers do. A team of researchers at German Aerospace Center (DLR) has developed Rollin’ Justin, a humanoid whose most spectacular skill is that he can catch two flying balls thrown in his direction at the same time. → Read More
Do you remember Hexapod, the six-legged robot from Japan that we have shown you earlier this month? It’s maker now has released a few more technical details [JP] and also published two demo movies on its site, which are pretty cool (the spider-like sounds the Hexapod can make are especially terrifying). → Read More
The RoboGames 2011 in San Francisco ended yesterday, and thanks to robot otaku blog Robots Dreams from Tokyo, we can show you two of the most interesting matches that were held during the event on video. → Read More
Now the Germans are producing spider-like robots, too: Following the made-in-Japan arachnid Hexapod we’ve shown you just last week, the so-called Hector (which stands for HExapod Cognitive auTonmously Operating Robot) is much bigger (it’s 1m long) and looks much more futuristic than its Japanese counterpart. → Read More
At about 39 seconds into this video we can see a wheelchair powered by an XBox 360 controller. If that isn’t cool enough, keep watching. This wheelchair will respond to human commands but it filters them to ensure that the driver doesn’t roll down stairs or into a wall. → Read More
The Chiba Institute of Technology in Japan has developed a humanoid it plans to send to RoboCup Japan Open 2011, a soccer tournament for robots that will be held in Osaka next month (we covered the event in two posts last year). Named “Hajime Robot 31″, the humanoid stands a respectable 1m tall, weighs just 5kg and comes with 17 joints. → Read More
Spider-like robots are nothing new per se, but the newest model, developed by Tokyo-based robot maker Kondo [JP] looks pretty cool. The so-called Hexapod has six legs (of course), is powered by a 10.8V 800mAh Ni-MH battery, and (most important of all) it moves much like a real spider. → Read More
Japan’s International Rescue System Institute (IRS) unveiled a new rescue robot that can be used to take over the work from humans in high-radiation areas. Not too surprisingly, the institute announced the remote-controlled machines will be used to scope out the situation in various places at the damaged nuclear power plant in Fukushima. → Read More
The Smithsonian Museum of American History will now feature the exciting world of robots! The main event— the John Cena vs. The Rock, if you will—is a tiny robot by the name of Marv, which stands for mini autonomous robot vehicle. It was developed in 1996-97 by the Department of Energy’s Sandia National Lab. → Read More
The Japanese don’t call them androids but actroids or geminoids: robots designed to exactly look like humans. We’ve spent multiple posts over the last years on these robots before covering the first geminoid from outside Japan earlier this month. And now we have a video that shows the 3 most famous geminoids out there in a meeting in Nara, Japan – together with their human counterparts. → Read More
You might have heard of the da Vinci surgical robot — it’s the state-of-the-art system used by surgeons to operate remotely, and although it’s quite a bulky setup, it’s also nearly as precise as human hands. Seattle surgeon Jim Porter, in order to show off the da Vinci’s capabilities, folds a paper airplane using the system’s little grippers.
Check out the video inside, it’s really quite cool. → Read More
San Francisco, CA
