Autonomous Robots
February 11, 2010
Palro Runs on Atom Processor
Palro (pal + robot) is 15" tall, has 20ยบ of freedom, an integrated camera and is Fuji Soft's latest entry into robotics. The autonomous bot can carry on conversations and is expected to hit the streets mid-March. Add to that an Atom processor and software with plenty of options and a hefty price tag of about $3,300.
Via FSI (translated)
January 29, 2010
Bioloid, the Wall Climber
Marko Wickrath, student at the Technical University in Dortmund, Germany, Robocup soccer referee and RoboGames Competitor designed Bioloid, a robot that can scale a wall. The robot studies it before it begins and sees it as a grid with an x and y axis. Then it autonomously climbs the randomly placed "rocks."
Via Suicide Bots
January 26, 2010
Mahru-Z Autonomously Cleans
Rosie the Robot has arrived. The 4 ft. tall Mahru-Z has a rotating head, arms, legs and 6 fingers and can "see" in 3 dimensions. You Bum-jae, the head of the cognitive robot center at Korea's KIST, says "The most distinctive strength of Mahru-Z is its visual ability to observe objects, recognize the tasks needed to be completed, and execute them."
Because she is autonomous, she can work her way through a room, pick up the dirty underwear in the process and toss it into the washing machine. Then she can take some food and toss it in a microwave. Let's hope that KIST instills the quality of cleanliness.
Via ZD Net
January 7, 2010
PR2 Demonstrates DMP
Peter Pastor, a PhD student at USC, used DMPs (Dynamic Movement Primitives) to teach PR2 new movements from only one demonstration. This is a huge concept in robotics when you think about it because it means that a bot can perform the same action even when not the objects are not in the same position. Kudos to Peter and Willow Garage and here's to their continued success.
Via Willow Garage
January 4, 2010
We Could Certainly Use an I-Shovel Now!
The I-Shovel automatically detects snow and will take care of that nasty chore for you. The prototype is made with with polycarbonate blades, wheels and handles, runs on rechargeable batteries with optional solar charging making it eco friendly. By the way, they are looking for investors and we are quite impressed even if too poor to contribute.
Via I-Shovel
December 16, 2009
Fuji Develops Farmbot
Fuji Heavy Industries has a new autonomous farming robot that runs on gas and uses laser signals to get a proper orientation from reflective plates that are 30 ft. from each other. The over six foot long robot can be utilized in greenhouses at a cost of about $100,000.00.
Via Engadget
December 9, 2009
Clean Up With Autonomous Bot
Fuji, Subaru and Sumitomo unveiled their new cleaning bot, powered by a 24V battery that will last for 2.5 hours. So far unnamed, it is a glorified Roomba that will vacuum and clean up garbage while avoiding obstacles with its sensors and laser system. Priced between $35,000 and $46,000, it would still be cheaper than maid service. The bot on the right is their previous model.
Via CrunchGear
November 4, 2009
VAIL and Stanford Devise Autonomous Parking
The new Volkswagen Automotive Innovation Laboratory (VAIL) has teamed with Stanford to create an autonomous parking system. It consists of front radar, a camera mounted on the rear view mirror and two LIDAR units on the sides. Tell your car to park itself and it obeys your orders and when you want to leave, ask it to return. The plan here is to work on a two button system but unfortunately for us all, the car can't yet detect obstacles such as trees, lamp posts and real valets.
Via Singularity Hub
October 30, 2009
ii-1 Robot is Campus Guide
Kobe's Konan University Faculty of Intelligence and Informatics has devised a guide robot that communicates with natural language. Relying on a database from the campus website, the ii-1 can not only answer 'yes' and 'no' questions, it can reply to those that ask 'why' and 'who' using Julius open source speech synthesis software. The autonomous bot can move around and avoid obstacles. Professor Hirotaka Nakayama and team plan to give it facial expression recognition to make it look more human friendly.
Via Robonable (translated)
October 21, 2009
Snackbot Serves Carnegie Melon
Mmmm. Donuts. When Snackbot isn't busy performing his usual applications, he will be serving the faculty and students at Carnegie Mellon. Snackbot has been originally designed to support research in the fields of design and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI.) He can autonomously move through a crowd, detect individuals, and recognize those he has met before.
Via Snackbot
October 9, 2009
Eporos School Together Like Fish
Nissan studied the movement of schools of fish and developed Eporos (EPisode O (Zero) Robot,) three-wheeled bots that share information to avoid crashing into each other. They use laser range finders and radio communication to determine where obstacles may be and then avoid them while still hanging near each other. The auto company is hoping to utilize the technology and apply it to future vehicles.
Via NY Daily News
September 22, 2009
Robotic Jumper Gets Drafted
Boston Dynamics, father of the BigDog, has been awarded a contract to create the Sandia National Laboratories' prototype Precision Urban Hopper for DARPA. The 4-wheel robot navigates autonomously and has a single leg, allowing it to jump over 25' fences. Imagine their surprise when the enemy, in its compound behind walls, gets startled by the PUH. The project should be completed by late 2010 and the Pentagon says it would like a third of all forces to be robotic by 2015.
Via New Scientist
September 15, 2009
Waldo No Longer Lost
Waldo, Mote Marine Labs' 115-pound autonomous underwater vehicle, went missing last week and its creators were literally asking "Where's Waldo?" A $500.00 reward was offered on the $100,000.00 AUV, but apparently he was only 50 ft. away from where he was lost. The sub resurfaced and signaled its position to his owners. Waldo has been trolling the Gulf near Venice since 2005, seeking phytoplankton, a single-celled algae that produces red tide.
Via Mote
September 9, 2009
Nao Works the MS Surface
Aldebaran Robotics' Nao was put to a test by playing with the Microsoft Surface. Watch as he zooms in and out on the tiger and shuffles around other photos. We have to admit that he is rather cute and doesn't seem to notice that he can play with the electronic table with no need of human intervention.
Via Technomaniac (translated)
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