robots.netRecent robots.net articlesAnimatronics Technology of 1933- June 18, 2008 "Back in MY day...." (creeky voice) we built robots with plywood and steam engines. Back then, a PIC was used to break ice, and an oscillator was someone without direction. This look back at an old Popular Science magazine article by the Modern Mechanix blog shows the innards of a giant sloth created for the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. He moves his head, breathes and roars using a prehistoric array of bellcranks, bellows, and even a state-of-the art electric motor controlled by a..http://robots.net/article/2569.html iRobot Wins RFP to Create Liquid Shape-Shifting Robot- June 17, 2008 iRobot announced that it has won DARPA's RFP for a shape-shifting chemical robot. Nicknamed ChemBot, the robot should be "soft, flexible, mobile objects that can identify and maneuver through openings smaller than their static structural dimensions; reconstitute size, shape, and functionality after traversal; carry meaningful payloads; and perform tasks." The iRobot team will include experts from Harvard and MIT, specializing in "chemistry, materials science, actuator technologies,...http://robots.net/article/2568.html $89k for a Robotic, Drive-by-Wire Ford SUV- June 16, 2008 Jesse G Hurdus writes, "thought I'd send some interesting news your way. Team VictorTango's base vehicle platform for the Urban Challenge (which placed third, just behind Stanford), is now being sold as a product by TORC Technologies. Of course, this is just the fully Drive-By-Wire Ford Hybrid Escape (minus sensors and A.I.), but its very cool none-the-less!" Team VictorTango was Virginia Tech's entry in the Urban Grand Challenge. You can find out more about on the Team...http://robots.net/article/2567.html Random Robot Roundup- June 15, 2008 For those who were wondering about RobotGrrl, she's going to Stanford for the EPGY AI program. Our RoboGrrl story was picked up by several other blogs and, between Styrobot sales, donations, and a $1500 scholarship from Stanford, she was able to pay for the tuition. There's a good interview with RobotGrrl over at RoboJenny's blog. She has a few Styrobots left, so you still have a chance to buy one. Roland Piquepaille let us know about two new robot stories he's blogged about including...http://robots.net/article/2566.html Origami using Surgery Robot- June 15, 2008 Using the Da Vinci Robotic system from Intuitive Surgical, a surgeon at the Department of Telesurgery of Kanazawa University in Japan showed off its abilities and his by creating a tiny origami crane no bigger than a penny. Video. This opens up a whole new group of items that doctors can accidentally leave behind after your appendectomy or lap band surgery.http://robots.net/article/2565.html Robots, the Podcast for News and Views on Robotics- June 13, 2008 Following the conclusion of the Talking Robots podcast series, the follow-up podcast Robots will continue to provide a look behind the scenes of robotics in research and industry. In addition, Robots, will offer an even more in-depth view, by complementing the high-level picture given by professors running research labs with news and views from people building and programming robots at the work-bench. To discover Robots, the podcast for news and views on robotics, visit the new...http://robots.net/article/2564.html Talking Robots: Final episode- June 13, 2008 After 45 interviews with high profile professionals in robotics, nearly 200'000 downloads and a good insight on today's and tomorrow's robotics the final Talking Robots episode interviews people without a robotics background on their thoughts about robots. Following it's great success, the podcast now breaks free from it's university roots and is continued under the name Robots, the podcast for news and views on robotics. Check out the new website - and don't forget to update your...http://robots.net/article/2563.html Git Along Little (cyborg) Dogies!- June 12, 2008 A US Department of Agriculture news story describes some unusual research being done by Dean M. Anderson of the USDA's Agricultural Research Service. Anderson is working with engineers at MIT to develop a "walkman-like headset" for cows. Once fitted with the new hardware, a cow would received commands controlling their movements. The headset would combine GPS data with remote commands sent from humans to guide the cows across the range and into the corral. The units would also be...http://robots.net/article/2562.html Ugobe secures 12.8 million dollars in additional funding- June 12, 2008 Ugobe, Inc., makers of Pleo the sophisticated dinosaur robot has raised another 12.8 million dollars in additional venture capital for the purpose of extending the Ugobe robot line. As written in a recent VentureBeat article, Taiwanese manufacture Hyield Venture Capital Company, a division of FoxConn Technology led this recent round of funding that included the Frontier Management Group in Shanghai, China, and Maxima Capital who launched Dell's Asian operations facilities. This...http://robots.net/article/2561.html Ping Pong Playing Robots- June 11, 2008 Robots capable of playing Ping Pong with humans have been around for more than 20 years. In 1988 MIT published "A Robot Ping-Pong Player: Experiments in Real-Time Intelligent Control (AI)" by Russell L. Andersson. Ping Pong is interesting to roboticists because it requires understanding of dynamic environments, accurate real-time vision, fast actuation, and intelligence to play the game with a winning strategy. (Andersson went on to write an IEEE paper on an aggressive trajectory...http://robots.net/article/2560.html |