ROB•TAK

Boston Dynamics PETMAN humanoid robot walks faster than earlier prototype

2010-08-01T15:30:00.000+02:00

Boston Dynamics PETMAN humanoid robot walks faster than earlier prototype: "Boston Dynamics have released a new video of their humanoid robot PETMAN which we met for the first time last October. The new humanoid prototype walks faster than the previous one reaching speeds of over 4 miles per hour. PETMAN is different than most other humanoid robots under development because it more closely matches the way humans walk; that is, this robot is a dynamic walker.

PETMAN can be seen in the video below walking at 4.4 mph which is 7.08 kph. This makes it faster than Toyota's running humanoid robot of last year with a top speed of 7 kph. Honda's much celebrated humanoid ASIMO is now a distant 3rd with a top speed of 6 kph. And PETMAN can keep its balance when an external force is applied, e.g., when pushed by a very rude engineer.

[source]

Scientific Memory Games: Improve your cognitive abilities.

Acroban: the childlike robot you want to punch (video)

2010-07-30T17:32:00.002+02:00

Acroban: the childlike robot you want to punch (video): "

We see a lot of robots around here. But few can evoke emotion without resorting to a doe-eyed visage or plush, Dough-Boy bodice. That's what makes Acroban so interesting. Dispensing with the cheap parlor tricks, Acroban still comes across as child-like, playful, seemingly dependent upon your care and guidance. Cute, even though it's a quivering mass of aluminum, wire, and servos with a questionable taste in headwear. Doesn't mean you won't punch it in the pie hole now and again just to show it who's boss -- it is a murderous robot after all. See what we mean after the break.
Continue reading Acroban: the childlike robot you want to punch (video)

Acroban: the childlike robot you want to punch (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Infria Flowers Email this Comments"

Maido-kun humanoid robot to the moon in 2015

2010-04-28T22:39:00.001+02:00

Maido-kun humanoid robot to the moon in 2015: "

In an ambitious new project unveiled on April 27, an Osaka-area business group has vowed to put a humanoid robot on the moon by 2015.

The business group, known as SOHLA (Space Oriented Higashiosaka Leading Association), made headlines in January 2009 after their Maido-1 lightning observation microsatellite was launched into orbit. Their new project is to develop a bipedal humanoid robot — named “Maido-kun” — which can function in the harsh lunar environment. If all goes as planned, Maido-kun will be ready to travel to the moon in 2015.

SOHLA admits there are a number of obstacles to overcome — most notably the astronomical development costs (now estimated at 1 billion yen, or $10.5 million) — but they are optimistic about their pursuit and believe it can help stimulate the local economy by getting small and medium sized manufacturers involved in the development of space technology. At present, SOHLA consists of six local enterprises working in partnership with government-affiliated organizations such as the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

In 2005, JAXA announced bold plans to send bipedal humanoid robots to the moon. However, after recognizing the numerous difficulties that the lunar landscape poses for two-legged humanoids, they decided it would be more feasible to send wheeled robots instead.

Wheels may be more practical than legs, but SOHLA board member Noriyuki Yoshida sees an advantage in robots that look like people. “Humanoid robots are glamorous, and they tend to get people fired up,” he says. “We hope to develop a charming robot to fulfill the dream of going to space.”

JAXA plans to send their first robot rover to the moon in or around 2015, and SOHLA hopes their Maido-kun humanoid will be able to hitch a ride on the same mission.

[Source: Yomiuri]

RoboGames 2010: Mech Warfare

2010-04-27T22:42:00.001+02:00

RoboGames 2010: Mech Warfare: "

Last year at RoboGames was the very first Mech Warfare competition. Like, ever. And it was pretty cool. But this year was exponentially more awesome. Mech Warfare pits walking robots armed with airsoft rifles against each other in a detailed cityscape. The robots are controlled remotely, but the catch is that you can’t directly see your robot. Instead, competitors rely on wireless cameras mounted on the bots themselves to see where they’re going, kinda like the old Mech Warrior computer game. I’d tell you more about how it all went, but I’m sure you’d rather just watch the video:

Next year, things are going to get even more epic. The arena will be increased in size, and a couple new match types will be introduced, including 2 on 2 matches and attack and defense, where the defending robots will be able to use things like autonomous turrets to help keep the attackers from capturing a target. The hardcore class will be back next year too, where instead of airsoft guns, the robots will be allowed to use things like missiles and flamethrowers. You can keep up to date with all the latest happenings in the Mech Warfare world at the official website, and also on the Trossen Robotics Forums.

One or two more pics, after the jump.

[ Mech Warfare ]

"

How Recycling Robots Could Help Us Clean the Planet

2010-04-24T20:46:00.001+02:00

How Recycling Robots Could Help Us Clean the Planet: "Imagine a future where waste-collecting robots will move through air, land, and water, cleaning our environment"

New Boston Dynamics Vids Show Faster Bots, Not Much Else

2010-04-24T16:29:00.000+02:00

New Boston Dynamics Vids Show Faster Bots, Not Much Else: "

Boston Dynamics has posted some updated videos of BigDog and PETMAN. As far as I can tell, there isn’t much new going on… BigDog still carries a bunch of stuff, climbs up muddy hills, doesn’t fall down on ice, looks like two guys running around under a tarp, and sounds like a swarm of killer bees. The one new sequence that I noticed shows BigDog running (the definition of running being an airborne gait phase) at 5 mph. At the end of the video, when the hydraulics are run externally and the engine is off, BigDog sounds a lot more reasonable. Unfortunately, it’s hard to beat the power density and instant rechargeability of petroleum-based fuels, so we might be stuck with the bees for a while longer.

PETMAN is moving a bit more briskly as well, reaching a walking speed of 4.4 mph. Although it’s dynamically balancing itself, it still looks to me like it’s perpetually on the verge of falling over, but I guess arguably that’s what dynamic balancing is all about. Remember that eventually Petman is supposed to be able to crawl, sweat, and do ‘calisthenics’ to test protective clothing. And when I say eventually, I mean by 2011, but that seems a little bit optimistic at this point. Artificial fingers crossed!

[ Boston Dynamics ]

"

Nomadic Plant Cleans, Feeds

2010-04-19T20:39:00.001+02:00

Nomadic Plant Cleans, Feeds: "

The Nomadic Plant was designed by Gilberto Esparza to seek out polluted water, clean it up and feed it needed nutrients. Powered by microbial energy, the art project also feeds itself, proving that robots will save the planet by symbiosis. The roboplant is on display at Plantas Nomadas Gijón, Spain through June 7. Seeing it makes us want to rescreen 'Silent Running', a nifty 90's flick with Bruce Dern, a huge garden and some of the cutest robot tenders that ever hit filmdom.

Via Greenpacks

"

次はジャンプかな

2010-04-18T19:51:00.001+02:00

次はジャンプかな: "8cm飛ぶと人型で世界一らしい？ので挑戦してみました。

（人型の定義は？というつっこみはまぁいいことにして）

通常撮影じゃわからないので

300fps撮影で

14cmぐらいかな？

リンク構造からヒザサーボだけで飛んでます。
"

Empieza la Campus-Party Europa

2010-04-17T13:08:00.003+02:00

Empieza la Campus-Party Europa: "

Estos días estaré en Madrid en la Campus-Party Europa. El inicio no ha podido ser mejor, está Roman Ontiyuelo de Salamanca con su taller Planeta Rojo NXT y también está Daniele Beneditelli conocido por sus innovadores proyectos. En la foto puede verse a Roman explicándo su proyecto a la ministra de ciencia e innovación.

Video from Campus Party

2010-04-17T13:08:00.002+02:00

Video from Campus Party: "

Setting up stuff.

Check my YouTube Channel for more short clips!

Robots: URBI Software Platform

2010-04-17T12:52:00.001+02:00

Robots: URBI Software Platform: "

The latest episode of the Robots podcast features an
interview with Jean-Christophe Baillie, CEO of
French robotics software company Gostai (see previous post). Baillie
introduces his software platform URBI which
supports many platforms from the AIBO to the Nao (now used in
the RoboCup
Standard Platform League) and shares his motivation to go open
source at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation
(ICRA) in a couple of weeks. For more information, have a look at the
URBI walkthrough video above, read
on or tune
in!

Review: iRobot Looj

2010-04-17T12:43:00.001+02:00

Review: iRobot Looj: "

Let it be said that I do not like heights. I also do not like cleaning out gutters. Add those two “dislikes” together and you get the iRobot Looj. The Looj, unlike iRobot’s Roomba, is slightly less intelligent than a broom on the end of a large stick, but it serves a very important purpose: to reduce the amount of time you spend on a ladder when cleaning gutters.

The Looj is basically a motorized tank with a remote control and a front sweeper. You ride it down your gutters, flipping out twigs and leaves as you go. Does it work? Absolutely. Is it foolproof? Probably not, but it’s a lot of fun. It also has a safety line attachment in case it gets stuck on dead bird guts. Generally, it’s not too bad for $169.

As you see, I have an older house with tighter gutters. While the Looj was able to ride down the gutter, it got caught up on the sides as it travelled. I was, however, able to force it to move out of tight spots as necessary and it never hung up irretrievably. The flippy-flappy head on the device was able to push out dust and branches and, although our gutters were surprisingly clear, I could imagine they’d do a job on leaves and other crud.

The Looj has a remote control that runs the machine forwards, backwards, and activates the brush. The handle connects directly to the device and snaps off quickly and easily. Sadly, the Looj suffered a three story drop during my testing but the fall only broke a back wheel and smashed the rope attachment. The Looj still worked, even after that rough treatment.

Bottom Line

I would definitely recommend this to owners of newer homes who may have heavy schmutz in their gutters. If you place your ladder at a corner of the house – and your gutters are wide enough – you can easily clean out two sides of a house in a few minutes.

Cleaning out gutters is a tedious job. The Looj, in its own madcap way, makes that job considerably easier.

Product Page

LEGOstudio by Isogawa

2010-04-11T11:19:00.000+02:00

LEGOstudio by Isogawa: "

Isogawa Yoshihito has presented us in the past with a valuable work and his great books [1, 2], plenty of building techniques and ideas.
They are very useful as reference sources for many building with LEGO Technic. It looks like they are a result from very singular way of living the LEGO passion and stay in life.

Now you may find a lot more creations and recent videos, from his LEGOstudio website, which he divided into: Main Works, Small Works and Joke Works.

Below just a few amazing and brilliant produced videos, well representative of Isogawa's genius that I've selected to highlight here today.

These and much more, found at ISOGAWA Yoshihito's Channel at YT.

You may also find a lot more about Isogawa's work, from his work, books and one article at BrickJournal 8 Vol. 2.

Awesome Roomba Dissection Tutorial

2010-04-11T11:13:00.000+02:00

Awesome Roomba Dissection Tutorial: "

Dino Segovis of DinoFab.com gives us the breakdown of a Roomba 4000 in a 20-minute, 2-part video packed with tons of digestible, relevant information!

Top 5 Things We Learned:

The Roomba 4000 is very hacker-friendly, in that is has innumerable sensors and motors, most of which are easily disconnected and repurposed.

If you’re taking apart your used Roomba, be ready for dust! These things work in dust, carpet, and generally dirty places all day- so get your mask ready.

The drive wheels use planetary gears, which is mostly just badass – planetary gears offer a nifty solution to creating a gear train that ends in the same axis as the input. HowStuffWorks has a great article with more info on planetary gears here.

For the front bumper, the Roomba 4000 uses IR sensors, instead of a simple button sensor to detect whether it’s touching a wall. Presumably this is for durability reasons- though that doesn’t explain why they opted for normal pushbutton sensors elsewhere.

Every sensor has a unique plug, making disassembly/reassembly infinitely less terrifying, since it’s easy to determine what goes where. No more plugging the kneebone into the jawbone.

All in all, the 2-part video is an impressive show of Roomba knowledge- the ease with which Segovis moves through the different parts of the dissection show that he’s had his hands in a fair few robots. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did- now I’m off to Craigslist to look for my own!

[ I Heart Robotics ]

SÍGUEME EN EL TWITTER

2010-02-07T10:20:00.001+01:00

ROB•TAK ON WORDPRESS

2009-03-03T22:21:00.001+01:00

http://robotak.wordpress.com/

FROM WINDOWS LIVE WRITER 2

2009-02-22T11:55:00.001+01:00

This is test 2.

FROM WINDOWS LIVE WRITER

2009-02-18T20:55:00.001+01:00

This is a Test.

COME PLAY WITH PLEO THE DINOSAUR

2009-01-03T20:02:00.002+01:00

More TED Talks. This time we have Caleb Chung.

2009-01-03T19:53:00.004+01:00

Happy New Year!

Feliz Año Nuevo!

Urteberri on!

SELF-AWARE ROBOTS

2007-10-14T13:23:00.000+02:00

I read about this some time ago and now I have find this interesting video.

TED

THE LAST STAND

2007-09-02T18:24:00.000+02:00

PLEOWORLD

2007-08-04T22:46:00.001+02:00

PleoWorld
I4U News

STRONGER

2007-07-08T12:18:00.000+02:00

Plastic Bamboo
Stage6

MEGA ROBOT RETURNS

2007-06-23T21:10:00.000+02:00

Kaktus Film

SCOOBA INTERNALS

2007-06-10T13:22:00.000+02:00

Found this article surfing on the internets. The article shows iRobot's Scooba internals and explains how it works. The writer explains some of the negative points of Scooba, but it seems that this Scooba version is old. Here there are some Scooba nude photos.

CIRCUIT BOARD
THE WHEEL
THE PUMP

THE FAN

informit.com

CRAYON

2007-06-07T17:19:00.000+02:00

Crayon Physics is little freeware experimental game from Kloonigames. It's not perfect (some times is really frustratunig) but it's fun. It would be a perfect game for the nintendo DS. Instructions of the game:

"The goal of the game is to move the red ball so that it collects the stars. You can cause the red ball to move by drawing physical objects... With left mouse button you can draw and with right you can remove objects."

GameSetWacth

NEW ROB•TAK

2007-06-03T13:49:00.000+02:00

I finalized (I suppose) the new design of ROB•TAK. Here it is the new layout.

Hope you like it!

MORE NXT ROBOTS

2007-05-31T22:17:00.000+02:00

Some Lego Mindstorm NXT creations.

RoboDog

Holonomic Drive

Automatic ashcan

nxtasy.org
The NXT Step

NISSAN DUALIS

2007-05-28T22:02:00.000+02:00

Mecha version of the Nissan DUALIS SUV designed by anime creator/mecha designer Shoji Kawamori (Macross). Check these videos of DUALIS Powered Suit rolling in Tokyo.

akihabaranews
robots.engadget
Pink Tentacle

TEST

2007-05-28T20:32:00.001+02:00

Totally new shit!

MORE SHIT

2007-05-28T18:23:00.000+02:00

Added Screens and updated my Personal data.

NEW SHIT

2007-05-24T17:29:00.000+02:00

Added Musics widget and revamped Links and Archives sections.

ROBOTS FOR EVERYONE?

2007-05-20T12:56:00.000+02:00

That would be the motto of Carnigie Mellon University's new project. The telepresence Robot Kit, named Terk, is the key of this project. What makes terk different from other robot construction kits/projects? It is Open Source and for everyone. Read the CNet article and make your own opinion:

"Everything is open source and public domain," Nourbakhsh said. "There is no incentive to make money here. None of the corporations that funded are looking to license this. These companies gave us gift money--even better than grant money because there's no strings--to help us try and come up with ways to get people to be more creative with tech and more tech-literate."

Said Nourbakhsh, "The people designing robots have been the geeks who invented robots (and I can say that; I'm one of them) and they are the worst people to engage others and creatively figure out what can be done with them."

I have my doubts about "robots for everyone". The tech and knowledge needed to design this kind of projects it's not accessible.

MAKE blog

NXT ROBOTS

2007-05-19T12:12:00.000+02:00

Since the release of Lego Mindstorms NXT, I have been looking to its growing and active community. As every body knows, the final objective of Lego Mindstorm is to make robots. So, here there are some of them:

Lego Rubik Utopy

Lego Autopilot

NXTway-G

And check out NXTLOG for more creations.

AUTOBOTS AND DECEPTICONS

2007-05-19T12:02:00.000+02:00

Transformers movie

ROBO-ONE 11

2007-04-22T12:56:00.001+02:00

Robo-one is one of the most popular and unique robot competition, and this 11th edition corroborates it. If you can follow year by year this unique challenge, you can see the evolution in the understanding of robot construction and behaviour. Since many people can’t assist to the event, I compiled a bunch of useful links about the competition:

Robot Watch 1
Robot Watch 2
Robot Watch 3
Robot-dreams 1
Robot-dreams 2
Robot-dreams 3
Robot-dreams 4
Robot-dreams 5

"REDESIGNING THE BARREL"

2007-04-16T16:34:00.000+02:00

GameSetWatch features an interesting column about mech designs. The article mentions Junji Okubo. This guy is the responsible for Steel Battalion´s mech designs (love the concept and realization of the game) and other cool mechanical designs that you can see in his web. The column talks about For the Barrel, a serialized novel that re-imagine the history of Gundam (I have been searching and I hadn’t found too much information about it).

GameSetWatch

TIGER SHIVA

2007-04-01T13:36:00.000+02:00

A mechanical tiger created by Kezanti, a Belgian artist.

Kezanti

LeJOS (RCX)

2007-03-25T15:25:00.000+02:00

Working?.

import josx.platform.rcx.*;

public class holamundo
{
public static void main (String[] aArg)
throws Exception
{
LCD.clear();
TextLCD.print ("hola");
Thread.sleep(2000);
TextLCD.print ("mundo");
Thread.sleep(2000);
}
}

LeJOS

EVERYDAY SHOOTER

2007-03-17T15:46:00.000+01:00

Everyday Shooter

ANYBOTS

2007-03-05T15:50:00.000+01:00

Anybots is a recently created company by Trevor Blackwell. The company recently announced Dexter, a dynamically balancing walking humanoid robot. Although the robot is in early stages of development, this humanoid robot was created with the intent to be of assistance in various household and industrial tasks. Check out the videos.

MONKEYS AND ROBOTS

2007-02-21T21:13:00.000+01:00

WOWWEE 2007

2007-02-17T16:55:00.000+01:00

Here you have a collection of 5 video presentations of WowWee´s robots of 2007. All robots were presented in the CES 2007 event.

FlYTECH DRAGONFLY

RS MEDIA

ROBOQUAD

ALIVE ELVIS

ROBOPANDA

RoboCommunity

SPECIMINDER

2007-02-16T12:44:00.000+01:00

SpeciMinder is a commercial Hospital Delivery Robot by CCS Robotics. Description from the webpage:

Whether within a large lab area or between floors, the RA-418 SpeciMinder™ can autonomously navigate and securely carry specimens throughout a healthcare facility.
No modification to the facility is necessary for the SpeciMinder™ to reach its destination (this is NOT an old-fashioned line follower). Featuring ARCSinside™ from MobileRobots, the RA-418 uses a self-created map of the building and simple user interaction to routinely travel between the emergency room and the lab. Manual calling will bring the autonomous mobile platform to your test station as well as dispatch it to the destination. Controlled access to the payload compartment ensures accountability and traceability of samples. Tamper proof and water tight carrier prevents biohazards.

Video showing the robot in action:

via Robot Gossip

CARNAGE HEART

2007-02-15T22:21:00.000+01:00

When I discovered this game I downloaded and played it (Hey! I don’t have a Playstation and this type of games are really hard to find in Spain). It’s a strategy game where your goal is to conquer a territory. To do that, you have to battle the bad ones. But battles are not like the average mech fighting game, in Carnage Heart you have to design (selecting the weapons, body, armour...) and program (in an easy visual - block - programming language) your mech before you throw them to the battle. GameSetWatch features a good article of this game, check it for more information.

via GameSetWatch

CONTOUR CRAFTING ROBOT

2007-02-15T12:44:00.000+01:00

The house building robot is the work of Behrokh Khoshnevis from the University of Southern California. Seeing the devastation of the earthquake that destroyed the city of Bam, in his native Iran, inspired Behrokh Khoshnevis to crate a technology to allow people to build stable homes in a rapid and economical manner.

The Contour Crafter robot is like a 3D printer. The design is similar to a gantry crane with a computer guided nozzle and arm. They place cement and manipulate different house materials, from water and electrical pipes to windows and doors crosspieces. Guided by a structural design program, the robot will build the structure from the ground up, as robot deposits cement and additional material layer by layer.

Videos with different CG examples:

The University of Southern California professor’s Contour Crafting robot will see the first test. It’s scheduled to build a house in California within the next few months. The house will built in less than 24 hours out of only concrete and gypsum, and without the help of a single human hand.

Video of a real prototype:

As you can see the machine provides a new model for construction that drastically cuts building timelines, material, manpower, and most importantly, waste and carbon emissions.

via robots.engadget 1 & robots.engadget 2

via inhabitat 1 & inhabitat 2

YUKI-TARO

2007-02-12T19:24:00.000+01:00

Yuki-taro is an environmentally-friendly autonomous snowplow robot. Yuki-taro measures 160 x 95 x 75 cm and weighs 400 kg. With the help of a GPS and a pair of video cameras, the self-guided robot seeks out snow and gobbles it up into its mouth. Yuki-taro compresses the snow into hard blocks measuring 60 x 30 x 15 cm, which Yuki-taro expels from its rear end. The blocks can then be stacked and stored until summer, when they can be used as an alternative source of refrigeration or cooling.

Developed by researchers from the Niigata Industrial Creation Organization, Research and Development, Inc., Niigata Institute of Technology, Yamagata University and the Industrial Research Institute of Niigata Prefecture. In 2006, Yuki-taro received a Good Design Award in the small-to-medium sized enterprise category.
Researchers continue to work on reducing Yuki-taro’s size, weight and cost, and they hope to make it commercially available in five years at a price of less than $8,300.

via Gizmodo:Robots & Pink Tentacle

ROBOTIC-LAB

2007-02-12T19:18:00.000+01:00

Robotic-Lab, an Spanish Blog-Forum webpage, is now in the links section of ROB•TAK.

WAR GAME

2007-02-03T18:05:00.000+01:00

via Robotics News

CLOCKY

2007-01-31T14:03:00.000+01:00

An alarm clock that runs away and hides when you don't wake up? Yes. From a student project to a comercial robot, Clocky is an special alarm clock available on Nandas´s webpage or in retail stores in the near future. RocketBoom features a little video of Clocky snoozing and running away.

via MAKE blog

IROBOT CREATE

2007-01-08T17:09:00.000+01:00

iRobot unveils iRobot Create. From iRobot Create website:

What is iRobot Create?
iRobot Create is an affordable programmable robot, pre-assembled to facilitate the development of new robots.

Who uses iRobot Create?
iRobot Create is used by advanced high school and college students, and serious robot developers. Computer programming experience is required.

What can I do with iRobot Create?
Robot developers can program behaviors, sounds, and movements, and even build on more electronics to create the robot of their dreams.

More on iRobot Create release on news.com

More on iRobot Create story on engadget.com

MAKE blog

"IT´S ALIVE"

2007-01-07T14:59:00.000+01:00

Wirez Magazine features an article on Pleo. It's an interesting read about the origin and evolution of the robotic dinosaur.

PleoBot.com

2007-01-01T12:36:00.000+01:00

Happy New Year!

Feliz Año Nuevo!

Urteberri on!

"A ROBOT IN EVERY HOME by Bill Gates"

2006-12-25T17:22:00.000+01:00

With the release of Microsoft Robotic Studio 1.0, Scientific American features an article written by Bill Gates, co-founder and chairman of Microsoft. The article explains why is necessary the unification of standards in robotics and how these needs to be applied with the help of PCs.

Imagine being present at the birth of a new industry. It is an industry based on groundbreaking new technologies, wherein a handful of well-established corporations sell highly specialized devices for business use and a fast-growing number of start-up companies produce innovative toys, gadgets for hobbyists and other interesting niche products. But it is also a highly fragmented industry with few common standards or platforms. Projects are complex, progress is slow, and practical applications are relatively rare. In fact, for all the excitement and promise, no one can say with any certainty when--or even if--this industry will achieve critical mass. If it does, though, it may well change the world.

INTERVIEW WITH DAVIN SUFER

2006-12-25T16:22:00.000+01:00

There is an interview with Davin Sufer, the CTO (Chief technical officer) of WowWee, on RoboCommunity. He talks about his role on the company and the evolution of WowWee and robotics.

Perhaps I've read and seen too much Science Fiction, but I can see WowWee producing androids in the future that are our robotic butlers. What do you think is currently preventing mankind in general from taking this next step? Is it technological, cost or perhaps a general subconscious resistance on the part of people?

I've said many times since I've started at WowWee that the hardest part about building robots is people. This is true on many levels.

People live in very unstructured environments. The device you are hinting at would need to be mechanically capable enough to get around and manipulate objects in our world. So first of all it would have to be able to get around without damaging something or getting stuck in a corner. Those are the technical challenges: capable mechanics and safe navigation.

People tend to have very high expectations from any type of intelligent device. An autonomous robot driving around a home would have a lot to live up to and the first versions will need to provide some useful, robust and practical capabilities.

Robots.net

2006-12-25T15:44:00.000+01:00

Merry christmas!

Feliz Navidad!

Eguberri on!

TOY SCULPTURE

2006-11-29T18:38:00.000+01:00

RocketBoom video blog post of November 28th covers interactive toy sculpture artist Anastasia Ward.

robots-dreams.com

PLEO PRODUCTION

2006-11-28T21:19:00.000+01:00

Pleo has a maker. From the article:

Foxconn Electronics (the registered trade name of Hon Hai Precision Industry) will make US robotic technology firm Ugobe's Pleo robotic dinosaurs, according to the Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN). Monthly capacity for the toy dinosaurs will be 200,000-300,000 units, with production set to begin in March of 2007, the paper added.

DigiTimes Systems

NEW PLEO INFO

2006-11-21T21:17:00.000+01:00

New photos and information of Pleo, the first robot from Ugobe. Extract from the article:

The Pleo, though, will differ in a few respects from earlier attempts at companion robots. First, it will cost around $250 when it hits shelves slightly later than planned, in the second quarter next year. (Ugobe showed it off earlier this year at the Demo 2006 conference.) While the Aibo sold for $1,900, the Pleo tag is closer to the price of two of the more successful robot products on the market: the $99 Robosapien toys from WowWee and the floor-cleaning robots from iRobot, which are priced from $99 to $400.
Second, Ugobe will try to go beyond selling a walking/talking toy. The company will publish a developers' kit and open its source code, making the Pleo something of a cousin to the Lego Mindstorms kits or the old Radio Shack 64-in-1 electronics kits. Consumers thus will be able to download "personality modules" and see how their Pleos react to different stimuli.

CNET News.com

KILLING ROBOTS FROM SAMSUNG

2006-11-16T12:20:00.000+01:00

Samsung and the Korea University have developed a sentry guard robot for South Korea/North Korea border security missions. The robot utilizes an ambient light camera and thermal/IR camera, as well as sophisticated pattern-recognition software for target identification, tracking, and engagement. $200,000 USD is the approximate cost for Samsung armed sentry/security robot. Projected availability date is late 2007.

Check the Starship Troopers style promotional video below.

Robot sentinella
Uploaded by Alice_in_Wonderland

nxtbot.com

BETA

2006-11-15T19:23:00.000+01:00

Trying the new beta of blogger.

2006-10-18T19:31:00.000+02:00

SINS OF A SOLAR EMPIRE

via
SOASE.COM

2006-07-16T21:04:00.000+02:00

LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT
robots

Algunas creaciones con Lego Mindstorms NXT.

2006-07-16T20:06:00.000+02:00

TEAM FORTRESS 2

play

2006-07-02T12:09:00.000+02:00

R.O.B.
play

via
4 color rebellion

2006-06-27T11:56:00.000+02:00

¿QUIERES? CON NOSOTROS PUEDES

2006-06-25T17:41:00.000+02:00

ENTREVISTA A BOB CHRISTOPHER
news

Bob Christopher es el CEO y cofundador Ugobe. En la entrevista se habla sobre el concepto de Pleo, estado de desarrollo, herramientas y otras cosas muy interesantes.

entrevista

Q&A: Ugobe Will Make You Care About Your Robot

via
Robot Gossip

2006-06-18T22:18:00.000+02:00

IROBOT TRIP
news

video

iRobot's Packbot

fotos
irobot

via

GoRobotics.net

2006-06-10T18:23:00.000+02:00

PLEO

video
Pleo: The Smartest Robot Pet - ROBORAMA.info

2006-06-10T15:36:00.000+02:00

BRAIN TRAINING

Entre mi hermano y yo, hemos conseguido crear un perfil del programa Brain Training para mi padre y mi madre respectivamente. Os comento que tiene merito.

2006-06-01T16:56:00.000+02:00

EPA!

2006-04-30T19:57:00.000+02:00

ROBO-PARKING

news

compañia

Robotic Parking

compañia
SpaceSaver Parking Systems

compañia
Skyparks

compañia
Wöhr

articulo
Lootah opens Robot Park

articulo
Robodude, Where's My Car?

articulo
HOBOKEN GARAGE AUTOMATIC PARKING SYSTEM, NJ, USA

via
robots.net

2006-04-30T19:49:00.000+02:00

Wii
play

2006-04-24T20:51:00.000+02:00

STEEL BATTALION
play

2006-04-22T10:47:00.000+02:00

ENTREVISTA A HELEN GRAINER
news

Helen Greiner es la cofundadora de la compañía iRobot. Podéis encontrar una entrevista en Knowledge@Wharton (puede que el enlace os pida registraros pero no hace falta, actualizar la página para ver el contenido).

Knowledge@Wharton: What would you like your robots to be able to do that they can't do right now?

Greiner: Everything!

Knowledge@Wharton: For instance?

Greiner: At iRobot we started building walking robots with the idea that biological systems get over more terrain with more agility than wheeled or track systems. [But] practicality dictated that, in the short term, we move to wheeled and track systems. I think, in the future, walking robots will be extremely important, but the technology's just not quite there yet. The strength-to-weight ratio in the motors doesn't allow the output to be as effective as the track systems we already have on the market today. So you really have to get to a point where you're doing something that the older technology can't do before you displace it.

entrevista en engadget (2.8.04)
Interview: Helen Greiner, Chairman and Cofounder of iRobot, Corp.

via
nxtbot.com

2006-04-20T20:11:00.000+02:00

ROBO-ONE IN THE SPACE

news

En 2010 llegará la versión espacacial de ROBO-ONE. La cosa es sencilla, lanzar un satélite con los robots e instrumental necesario para controlarlos. La competición es similar al sumo, pero en gravedad cero, el objetivo es sacar al contrario fuera del ring, una esfera de 5 m de diámetro. Os dejo unas imágenes extraídas del video.

video

articulo
PC Watch

via
robots.engadget

2006-04-19T23:13:00.000+02:00

DARK MESSIAH OF MIGHT AND MAGIC
play

2006-04-16T19:02:00.000+02:00

M-TRAN
unibot

MTRAN 2

¿Que es?

M-TRAN (Modular Transformer) es un robot modular auto-configurable que ha sido desarrollado por la AIST y Tokyo-Tech desde 1998. El sistema M-TRAN puede cambiar en cualquier momento su forma física y de locomoción para adaptarse al entorno que le rodea.

MTRAN 3

Diseño

Un modulo M-TRAN esta compuesto por dos bloques y una unión. Cada una de las tres superficies del bloque se conectan y encajan de forma mecánica con la superficie de otro bloque. Las conexiones se controlan desde el modulo.

MTRAN 3

Aplicaciones

Entre las muchas aplicaciones posibles destacan la exploración de planetas, búsqueda-rescate en lugares inaccesibles y la inspección de instalaciones industriales.

MTRAN 3

Proof of concept

El control del M-TRAN es centralizado y los movimientos son pregrabados. Los futuros diseños deberían incluir sensores y control distribuido en cada uno de los modulos.

videos
MTRAN 2
Simulations and Experiments

2006-04-09T16:45:00.000+02:00

WATER STRIDER
unibot

Objetivo

Desarrollar un micro-robot capaz de mantenerse y maniobrar sobre el agua de forma ágil y energéticamente eficiente.

Como

Entendiendo la física del "zapatero" (aquí nombre técnico), que mediante la tensión superficial del agua le permiten flotar. Se utilizan micro-actuadotes y materiales ligeros para simular el movimiento del "zapatero" (aquí nombre técnico).

Beneficios

Pequeño, eficiente y ágil podría acceder a lugares inaccesibles para diferentes aplicaciones. Por ejemplo, con un sensor podrían analizar el agua.

articulo

Robot Spider Walks on Water

2006-04-09T11:45:00.000+02:00

BATTALION WARS
playing

2006-04-06T21:54:00.002+02:00

GUNDAM 360
play

2006-04-01T13:41:00.000+02:00

ROBO-ONE 9
artículos

En el blog robots-dreams se pueden encontrar una serie de artículos sobre la competición. En inglés y directamente extraídos del evento. Os dejo una colección, para más información podéis echar un vistazo a su blog.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2006-04-01T12:46:00.000+02:00

TETSU-JIN 28

Vstone ha anunciado un nuevo modelo del robot basado en la serie de animación japonesa Tetsu-Jin 28. Se trata de una versión remozada del mismo robot que ya lanzó anteriormente y que imita los movimientos del robot de la serie original. Con el lanzamiento previsto para junio del 2006, esta versión se trata de una edición limitada de 100 unidades, con un precio de salida de alrededor de 3000 dólares.

Pc Watch Impress
imagenes + videos

via

Robots-dreams
engadget
Akihabara News

2006-04-01T12:22:00.000+02:00

MADRID Z

via

dannychoo

2006-03-31T10:42:00.000+02:00

ASENDRO

Robowatch y Diehl BGT Defence anunciarán el lanzamiento mundial de su nuevo robot modular ASENDRO el 11 de Abril del 2006.

Muy al estilo del PackBot de iRobot, ASENDRO es pequeño, transportable y rápido, lo que le hace desenvolverse bien en edificios y medios de transportes. Capaz de detectar personas y armas NBC, solventar escaleras. También hay disponible un brazo mecánico capaz de manipular objetos.

Nota de prensa en alemán

via
Bussines Wire

2006-03-30T20:52:00.000+02:00

ROBO-ONE 9
videos 2

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

Video 4

Video 5

Video 6

Video 7

Video 8

2006-03-30T12:15:00.000+02:00

DARPA GRAND CHALLENGE

Videos e información sobre la competición, los vehículos y los participantes en el siguiente enlace.

2006-03-26T14:17:00.000+02:00

ROBO-ONE 9
videos

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

Video 4

Video 4

Video 5

Video 6

Video 7

2006-03-26T13:37:00.000+02:00

BATTLEFIELD 2142

Videos

2006-03-25T13:47:00.000+01:00

ROBO-ONE 9
imágenes 2

majingaa blog
ROBO-ONE-9

2006-03-25T01:58:00.000+01:00

ROBO-ONE 9

imágenes

PCWatch
18/19 - 03 - 06

moriyama's photos
Flickr

Tempusmaster's photos
Flickr

2006-03-18T10:21:00.000+01:00

ROBOBAR

Link 1
Link 2
Link 3

AUTOTELEMATIC SPIDER BOT

Link 1
Link 2
Link 3

ROBOPIG

Link 1
Link 2
Link 3

PaPeRo

Link 1

ACM-R5

Link 1
Link 2
Link 3

FATRONIK QUICKPLACER

Link 1
Link 2

ROBOCARP

Link 1
Link 2
Link 3
Link 4
Link 5

JINDO/ARIN

Link 1
Link 2

DARPA, INSECTOS Y ROBOTS

Link 1
Link 2
Link 3

PIRKUS-R

Link 1
Link 2

2006-03-12T14:04:00.000+01:00

Arg!

Uno de los prototipos de Bandai Robot Laboratory. Para los que no caigan, se trata del mech que aparece al final de la película Ghost in the Shell, supongo yo.

2006-03-12T13:15:00.000+01:00

BN-1
playbot

BN-1 es un robot que apreció en Japón de la mano de Bandai en 2001. Se trata de un robot que imita en apariencia y comportamiento a un gato. Aquí podéis encontrar un pequeño análisis del robot.

En los videos se puede apreciar mejor el comportamiento del robot:

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

Más información y fotos, en Japonés:

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

2006-03-10T20:08:00.001+01:00

¿NUEVO ROBOT DE HITACHI?

Hace unos días Hitachi anunció mediante una nota de prensa, que estaba desarrollando un robot de seguridad. Como era de esperar, en diversos medios (yo no tuve tiempo) se hicieron eco de la noticia, como ejemplo los artículos de Engadget, Robot-dreams o Kyodo News.

Pero parece ser que el nuevo robot de Hitachi, no es tan novedoso como debería de serlo, ya que la compañía Americana MobileRobots Inc dice que el robot es sospechosamente parecido a Pioneer-DX, una plataforma de aprendizaje que esta comercializaba desde hace ya 4 años. La compañía a Americana incluso a publicado una imagen comparativa de los dos robots.

Aunque el robot en apariencia resulta muy similar, no se sabe si Hitachi ha creado su propio programa de control para el robot o ha añadido nuevo hardware.

Referencias:

PC Magazine
vnunet
WCNC

2006-03-09T23:12:00.000+01:00

AGROBOTS

La rama de horticultura de la universidad de Warwick, Warwick HRI, y los ingenieros de Warwick Manufacturing Group. están desarrollando una serie de robots que ayudarán a reducir los costes de mano de obra de granjeros y agricultores.
Un recolector de champiñones que dispone de una cámara que ayuda a selecciona los mejores champiñones.

Un corta césped, diseñado para ser controlado por un ordenador y posibilidad de trabajar en grupo.

Un invernadero inchable, reduce el trabajo de 6 horas a 10 minutos y dispone de una cinta transportadora de 100 metros. Diseñado para la compañía Aeropick.

Referencias:

ZDNet

2006-03-09T22:26:00.000+01:00

ECO-BE

Robot desarrollado por Citizen con la ayuda de el departamento de ingenieria de la universidad de Osaka, Robot laboratory y Viston. Extraido del artículo "Tiny robots warm up for football cup" de Cnet News:

...
The Eco-Be, which measures less than 25mm across, features a motor unit adapted from tiny watch motors. With a lithium battery, small LED and microprocessor on board, the robot can move forward and backward, as well as turn around.
It can be remotely controlled via a built-in infrared module. Each robot unit has a unique address, allowing multiple robots to be controlled independently and play simultaneously.
...
The organisers of RoboCup, an international robotics football competition held annually, plan to have a new category this year named the RoboCup Citizen Eco-Be League, which will feature the tiny robots.
...

Videos via PC Watch:

Video 1
Video 2

Otras referencias:

robots.engadget
Robots-dreams
artículo Fuji Sankei Business

2006-03-07T23:15:00.000+01:00

SCOTY
(Smart Companion Operating Technology)

WowWee muestra su nueva creación robótica. A diferencia de sus creaciones anteriores, este robot puede leer tu email en voz alta, reproducir música e incluso vigilar la habitación.

SCOTY esta compuesto por una estructura de metal y una serie de paneles que se iluminan dependiendo del usuario. Los dos paneles superiores son capaces de articularse. Estos están compuestos por una cámara que es capaz de reconocernos, micrófonos para escucharnos y altavoces para responder a nuestras ordenes. Dispone de tecnología inalámbrica, por lo que se puede conectar al ordenador. De hecho, este robot no dispone de inteligencia alguna, ya que el software utilizado para el reconocimiento voz y visión se encontraría instalado en el ordenador.

Diseñado como una aventura conjunta con Philips Electronics, todavía le quedan meses de desarrollo. WowWee está ultimando los detalles y estima un precio alrededor de los 400$ y una salida para finales de 2006.

2006-03-07T22:23:00.000+01:00

CROME HOUNDS

Sega ha lanzado la web del juego de mechs para xbox 360 Crome Hounds.