Copora's Q.bo Daniel 123 has certainly been busy and can now identify himself in a mirror via his flashing nose. Because he is equipped with the Festival speech synthesizer and Julius recognition program, he can relate to people. Even more impressive, he recognizes another Q.bo (Jane 234) and the two have a brief, even flirty chat. As robots "approach consciousness" we are wondering if someday they be clever enough to perform experiments with humans.
A group of experts who come from Sydney University, have created a robot that is being used to test troops who may run into terrorists. Sent to a Marine base in Virginia's Quantico, The Marathon Targets are trained to "think" and because they are autonomous, flee as fast as a human if one of their group is shot. They even have enough smarts to seek shelter. The company received a $57 million contract with the USMC after showing its lifelike armored-plated T2 prototype. They also have another Terrorbot with four wheels for use in rough terrain.
Bless Willow Garage and their PR2s. The one that belongs to the University of Pennsylvania's GRASP lab will do one of the worst human jobs. He even has the telling name POOP SCOOP (Perception of Offensive Products and Sensorized Control of Object Pickup.) It identifies them based on color against a green field then heads on over there and grabs its prize.
PS is somewhat limited in his endeavors and can only manage high fiber scooping. They will soon be posting their ROS stack and you can assist and make it a super-scooper. With a success rate of about 95%, the $400,000 bot can practice in our backyard anytime.
The University of Tokyo has taught their PR2 to fetch a sandwich. If one is not available in the fridge, he goes to the Subway in another building. The bot is using "semantic search," the ability to use common sense when seeking an object. It can also add to the knowledge as it gains more experience. So, although he did have a bit of a bind at the elevator, we still call this a $5 footlong success.
Back in February, Watson beat out Jeopardy champs and his keepers decided his next move would be Med School. Teaming with the University of Maryland, software developer Nuance and Columbia UMC, the computer "learned' about anatomy, conditions and symptoms to help diagnose patients' illnesses. Dr. Eliot Siegel, the team's head, says they will use Watson as a sort of "safety check" to determine if proper care and medicines have been prescribed. Yeah, he ought to stay in the background as he probably doesn't have much of a bedside manner.
Note: If you are a Watson fan and watched him on Jeopardy, PBS' Nova presented "The Smartest Machine on Earth" this month. It discussed computer learning and how IBM prepared him for his TV debut, including auditions. This is a must see for anyone into A.I. and you can still watch it online.
The IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems takes place in San Francisco from September 25th - 30th. Tickets are still being sold for the 50th anniversary event that will feature robots from all over the planet and includes workshops, tours, and forums. Look for exhibits from Willow Garage, DARPA, iCub and many other robotics companies. Registration for the IROS includes almost everything, from the conference attendance to receptions to the special events.
Want to save a cool $115,000 on a great robot? Willow Garage is offering one-armed PR2 SEs for a mere $285,000.00 if you promise to contribute to their ROS community. A Microsoft Kinect motion sensor is included in the deal. Rather than thinking of the bot as half capable, think of 50% as being halfway there. Besides, you can buy another arm later, even if your one armed bandit bot can manage just the way it is.
A team from Cornell led by Ashutosh Saxena managed to program a robot to find shoes. The software contains an FECCM algorithm and data with characteristics of the footwear and the searchbot is trained to look for places, such as under a bed or sofa, that they might be hidden. The bot can also grasp the object without damaging it. It can be retrained to find other objects, so maybe it can discover socks that get eaten in the washing machine.
The team from the University of Penn.'s GRASP Lab have taken their PR2 and taught it to read the same way a human child learns. Graspy looks at the shapes of words then sounds them out. New ones are matched with known words as his vocabulary becomes more advanced. At this point, the bot has basic reading skills and is still working on different fonts, but we cannot wait to see what he can do in the near future. If you would like to download their ROS platform software you can get it free on their website.
South Korean school children are being given a robotic treat at the Daejon Museum this week. The 4 ft. tall Docent tells them about each exhibit as it leads them around. This bot is already a seasoned veteran as it has made the rounds at several museums. Nice tie.
One Small Step for Humans, One Giant Leap for Robotkind
Originally scheduled for today, two gas leaks have delayed the final launch of Discovery to Wednesday, Nov. 3 at 3:52 p.m. The space shuttle will deliver 6 NASA astronauts as well as Robonaut 2, who will become a permanent resident on the ISS. The Discovery will be carrying a Permanent Multipurpose Module that contains the bot, spare parts and supplies, and will be attached to the outside of the space station. While R2 is to be confined to a limited area after arrival, future plans include him assisting astronauts on space walks.
Thanks to NASA's ASTEP funding, an underwater robot is studying biology in a series of sinkholes in Zacatón in northeastern Mexico. So far the autonomous DEPTHX, guided by a team of several universities, has gathered 100 types of microbes, including three new phyla of bacteria. It will continue to seek the unknown in months to come.
Elenco's latest kit can create an Escape Robot that can process information and maneuver around objects autonomously. The kit has a microprocessor, three infrared emitting modules and on IR receiving module. Two different sets of legs can be used for different types of movement. Some soldering is required (iron and solder not included.)
Bristol Robotics Laboratory's Ecobot III's sole purpose in life is your basic eat, digest, poop. The bot has a digestive system that ingests biomass via microbial fuel cells and turns it into hydrogen atoms with the addition of water and then excretes. Because of the microbes, the robot can exist on waste. So far the team has found that it can maintain itself for up to a week but only utilizes 1% of the energy that is available.
Q.bo Daniel Meets Q.bo Jane
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