[lotuseclat79]

The Robot that can Turn Into a Car (w/VID).

A Japanese inventor has designed a robot that can change from robot to vehicle in seconds - and can even offer 'piggy-backs' on its shoulders.


Standing


Lap of honor around stage

-- Tom

[ekim68]

So this is the beginning of the transformers....

[lotuseclat79]

Probing Question: Where are all the cool robots?.

For the better part of a century, they’ve promised us robots. From Elektro, the 7-foot metal man of the 1939 World’s Fair, to Rosie the robot maid on "The Jetsons" to the android lieutenant commander Data on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," American pop culture has shown a future where humans do little work, leaving the heavy labor to their robot friends. Yet here we are in the year 2009 without a mechanical maid or butler in sight. It may seem petty to ask, but where are all the cool robots?


Westinghouse developed Elektro in the 1930s as a prototype of the future robot.

-- Tom

[lotuseclat79]

Planet Robo: Population Will Exceed 10 Million Worldwide by 2010.

The only legal framework applied to robotics is the usual "try not to build anything that actively kills people" boilerplate, and while that's a very good rule it hardly covers the complexity of human-robot interactions.

Note: I changed the title (but not the link) to reflect information in the article that apparently misstated the number of robots in 2010 - if it is correct.

-- Tom

[ekim68]

Harvard's robotic bees generate high-tech buzz

Harvard researchers recently got a $10 million grant to create a colony of flying robotic bees, or RoboBees to among other things, spur innovation in ultra-low-power computing and electronic "smart" sensors; and refine coordination algorithms to manage multiple, independent machines.

The 5-year, National Science Foundation-funded RoboBee project could lead to a better understanding of how to artificially mimic the unique collective behavior and intelligence of a bee colony; foster novel methods for designing and building an electronic surrogate nervous system able to deftly sense and adapt to changing environments; and advance work on the construction of small-scale flying mechanical devices, according to the Harvard RoboBee Web site.

http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/45971

[ekim68]

Rogue satellites to be cleared from Earth's orbit by German robots

German-built robots are to be sent into Earth's orbit to repair 'dead satellites' or push them into outer space.

Their robots will dock with failing satellites to carry out repairs or push them into "graveyard orbits", freeing vital space in geostationary orbit. This is the narrow band 22,000 miles above the Earth in which orbiting objects appear fixed at the same point. More than 200 dead satellites litter this orbit. Within 10 years that number could increase fivefold, the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety has warned.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/20...gue-satellites

[ekim68]

'Spider pill' offers new way to scan for diseases including colon cancer

A new way to scan for diseases, including cancer of the stomach or colon, using a remote contol ‘spider pill’ camera with moving legs, has been hailed by scientists in Italy.

Here

[lotuseclat79]

iRobot Adds to a Shape-Shifting Robot Menagerie.

Chembot is just the latest morphing robot to come rolling out of the lab.

5 Videos!

-- Tom

[lotuseclat79]

Digital Open Winner: teen creates a robot shop (Video) w/article.

Institute for the Future teamed up with Sun Microsystems and Boing Boing Video to co-host the Digital Open, an online tech expo for teens 17 and under around the world.

In today's episode, you'll meet Brennon Williams, a teen from Hillsborough, CA, who created an online robotics store for beginners.

-- Tom

[lotuseclat79]

Skiing Robot Races Down Slope.

4 videos!

-- Tom

[lotuseclat79]

Cheetah, Gecko and Spiders Inspire Robotic Designs.


Cheetah

Sangbae Kim with Stickbot

Spinybot

-- Tom

[lotuseclat79]

Is Your Microrobot Up for the (NIST) Challenge?.

The scientists and engineers who introduced the world to tiny robots demonstrating soccer skills are creating the next level of friendly competition designed to advance microrobotics -- the field devoted to the construction and operations of useful robots whose dimensions are measured in micrometers.


A microrobot used at the RoboCup 2009 nanosoccer competition by the team from Switzerland's ETH Zurich is compared in size to the head of a fruit fly. The robot, which is operated under a microscope, is 300 micrometers in length or slightly larger than a dust mite. Credit: ETH Zurich

-- Tom

[ekim68]

Say hello to HAL....

What's "HAL" (Hybrid Assistive Limb®)?

# "Robot Suit HAL" is a cyborg-type robot that can expand and improve physical capability.
# When a person attempts to move, nerve signals are sent from the brain to the muscles via motoneuron, moving the musculoskeletal system as a consequence. At this moment, very weak biosignals can be detected on the surface of the skin. "HAL" catches these signals through a sensor attached on the skin of the wearer. Based on the signals obtained, the power unit is controlled to move the joint unitedly with the wearer's muscle movement, enabling to support the wearer's daily activities. This is what we call a 'voluntary control system' that provides movement interpreting the wearer's intention from the biosignals in advance of the actual movement. Not only a 'voluntary control system' "HAL" has, but also a 'robotic autonomous control system' that provides human-like movement based on a robotic system which integrally work together with the 'autonomous control system'. "HAL" is the world's first cyborg-type robot controlled by this unique Hybrid System.

http://www.cyberdyne.jp/English/robotsuithal/index.html

[lotuseclat79]

DASH Robot Can Fall Off a 28m Building and Keep Running (Video).

[/QUOTE]
Dash Robot

-- Tom

[lotuseclat79]

Meet BigDog's Two-Legged Brother (Video: 1:15 m/s)

Boston Dynamics shows off its new two-legged military robot.

-- Tom