Robot’s Best Friend?

May 25, 2009 by · Leave a Comment

If robot’s are to truly become more human-like in their behaviors, then maybe they need pets.  So the next thing is the Robo Dog.  The mechanical beast is a project of an electrical engineering student and a university lecturer at the University of Bradford in the UK.

How interesting would it be to see if the human-acting robots mentioned in yesterday’s post could give the robo dog commands of sit or fetch.  This is something I would like to see.

See the university media release for the whole story.  Below is the story from The Telegraph and Argus newspaper article.

A Robo Dog capable of appearing happy, hungry or even bored was showcased at a university open day to give employers the chance to see work from this year’s engineering students.

Walkies? Robo Dog can get bored of that
Mon, 25 May 2009 10:42:02 GMT

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Making Robots More Like Humans

May 24, 2009 by · Leave a Comment

Researchers are working to develop robots that are capable of more human-like behavior.  In this report by Dan Simmons of the BBC, he explores what scientists are doing to give robots more human-like abilities.  This is a follow-up to the post from yesterday on robots that show human emotions.

Some robots have been developed from models in nature.  Some of those robots actually perform functions in a way that are superior to what humans can do.  For example, robots can accomplish repetitive tasks with precision and without tiring.  Robots can go places that humans cannot easily go or maybe not reach at all.

Now the challenge is to make robots that can interact with humans in a way that puts the humans at ease and allows a more personal interaction.  See the article below for the report on how this is being done right now.

Simple tasks such as walking and picking up objects are part of everyday life for people, but such mundane tasks still present major challenges for today's robots.

Researchers are using sensors, cameras and recognition to teach the machines to interact in a way that people will be comfortable with.

Man machine (BBC News)
Sun, 24 May 2009 16:27:49 GMT

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This Robot Shows Emotions With Body Language

May 23, 2009 by · Leave a Comment

So, we have robots that imitate snakes, beavers, cockroaches, and ants.  Why not humans too?  This robot can simulate human emotions with movements and poses.  See the example below and click to see the picture from the Robot Watch website.  There are other photos of this robot doing its thing on the site. 

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Credit:  Robot Watch

Robots that can show emotions would be more likely to have successful interactions with humans and this is a step towards a more personal service robot.  One thing about this robot:  It does look like it got into its mother’s cosmetics drawer.  Those red lips look like my two-year old niece’s after she did her make-up for the first time.

Check out the article below at Topix and also look at the video posted on robots.net.

Robots have been made capable of doing almost anything humans can do except expressing emotions.

Humanoid robot overcomes emotional hurdle
Sat, 23 May 2009 20:02:20 GMT

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Flying Insect-sized Robots Get Eyes

May 22, 2009 by · Leave a Comment

So I guess this fits with the theme of recent posts on RobotNext.  Only this one combines the themes of military robots and nature inspired machines.  This article on spying roboflies is about tiny cameras that can be integrated with flying robots that are no larger than an insect.  Of course, there are many other possible applications for this miniature camera.  One of the uses could be for robotic spacecraft where size and weight are critical.  Another area where these devices could make an impact is in small observatories for use in border security.  It is thought that the robots or machines with these cameras would be cheap enough to be dropped by aircraft over a large area.  See the complete article by clicking on the title below.

It is light enough to be carried by these tiny surveillance drones and also uses very little power.

Spying roboflies to get minicam eyes
Fri, 22 May 2009 20:59:44 GMT

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Band of Brothers and Bots?

May 21, 2009 by · Leave a Comment

Military personnel become so attached to their fighting robots that they actually give them names and mourn their loss.  This phenomenon is documented in the article at MSNBC.com.  I have written several posts about military robots in RobotNext that may have a dark side, but there is no doubt that they save lives and that the soldiers that fight along side them develop close ties with the machines. In one case, even an inspired father sought to develop a robot in honor of his son.


MTV.com

Real soldiers love their robot brethren
msnbc.com
Thousands of robots now fight with humans on modern battlefields that resemble scenes from science fiction movies such as "Terminator Salvation ." But the real world poses a more complex situation than humans versus robots, and has added new twists to …
Welcome The Robot Apocalypse With Our 'Terminator: Salvation … MTV.com
Real Soldiers Love Their Robot Brethren LiveScience.com
6 real robots that are Terminators in the making DVICE
Houston Press
all 5 news articles

Real soldiers love their robot brethren – msnbc.com
Thu, 21 May 2009 16:25:40 GMT

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Beaver-tailed robot mimics tree-climbing insects

May 20, 2009 by · Leave a Comment

image

Photo Credit: University of Pennsylvania and Boston Dynamics

Once again nature provides the model for a robot.  I have written several posts on this topic in RobotNext.  See Nature Inspired Robots and Snakebots in a Building! just to name two. 

This machine is a cross between a beaver and a cockroach, and it climbs like a koala.  It is called the RiSE V3.  See the excerpt below from the post at CNET News by Mark Rutherford.

Here's another offering from Boston Dynamics' zoomorphic line: the RiSE V3, a multi-legged, beaver-tailed robot that can skitter along the ground, shimmy up a pole, and then quietly cling there and stare at you.

The research by Haynes et al was published by the University of Pennsylvania and Boston Dynamics in a paper (PDF) titled Rapid Pole Climbing with a Quadrupedal Robot.  Rutherford summarizes the research nicely as follows:

The development team's aim was to reproduce movements they had observed in climbing insects. This is something else that sets this wall climber apart. Most other climbing robots have generally relied on "surface-specific attachment mechanisms," i.e. magnets and suction devices.

Beaver-tailed robot mimics tree-climbing insects
Wed, 20 May 2009 22:32:00 GMT

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F-35 Assembly by Robots

May 18, 2009 by · Leave a Comment

Aircraft manufacturers are moving ahead with the use of robotics in the construction of the newest armed forces jets.  This article from Robotics & Automation details how the new F-35 will use robotics to speed-up the manufacturing process for aircraft.  What follows is some selected quotes from the article.  I think what is especially important is the possibility of drastically reducing the manufacturing times on the aircraft and the movement of these technologies to the commercial aviation field.   Follow the links above or at the bottom of this post to see the entire article and all the photos.


“The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL, Dayton, OH) has been spearheading an effort to use commercial six-axis robots in the F-35 production process.”

Northrop Grumman “…made significant investments in using robotics to speed the flow of center fuselage assembly. Installation of robotic drilling machines during low-rate initial production is expected to reduce drilling times on key assemblies by up to 70 percent.”


“By using articulated robots, we’ll go from a 50-hour manual process to a 15-hour automated process,” says Scott Gillette, a manufacturing technology development engineer who’s working on the project.

“Many observers believe the F-35 applications will eventually trickle down to the commercial aviation sector and spur widespread use of robots. Robotic drilling is a growing area that has major benefits for the entire aerospace industry.”

F-35 Assembly by Robots
Youngester (noreply@blogger.com)
Sat, 16 May 2009 13:50:00 GMT

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iRobot Ember Ushers in Era of Military Microbots

May 17, 2009 by · Leave a Comment

Check out the following article from Robot Stock News on a new small and potentially disposable robot for use by the military.  This continues the development of military robots that will be partners with soldiers on the battlefield.  An excerpt from the article follows below and there is a link to the full article at the bottom of the page.


iRobot Corp. has developed a new microbot for military applications — the paperback-sized iRobot Ember!  This hot new bot, still in the prototype stage, is featured on iRobot's new Facebook page for its PackBot family. As you can tell from the photos iRobot posted on the page, Ember resembles a miniaturized PackBot, complete with iRobot's flipper technology allowing it to right itself and climb over obstacles.

The iRobot Ember was developed under DARPA's LANdroids program, which is intended to create teams of tiny robots for military applications, including, as the name implies, setting up an ad-hoc network of hotspots. The robots are intended to be about 1 pound each, be smart enough to detect and navigate around obstacles and ultimately cheap enough to be considered disposable.

 iRobot Ember Ushers in Era of Military Microbots
thorn_stevens (noreply@blogger.com)
Sun, 17 May 2009 11:36:00 GMT

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Nature Inspired Robots

May 16, 2009 by · Leave a Comment

This has been a recurring theme of post here on RobotNext.  See Snakebots in a Building  as an example of robot design from nature.  Also, take a look at a more recent post that deals with a futuristic application from the world of spiders.

Robotics researchers are increasingly turning to nature for inspiration. Watch a robotic salamander that moves from water to land, a water strider robot, mechanical cockroaches, and some cool self-configuring robots.
TFOT – The Future Of Things – http://thefutureofthings.com/

Nature Inspired Robots
Sarah Gingichashvili
Sat, 16 May 2009 22:53:53 GMT

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Inspired by Soldier Son, Father Develops Military Robots

May 15, 2009 by · Leave a Comment

A robot is a machine.  It can be programmed to accomplish many tasks.  These tasks can be for good or evil.  Several previous posts here have detailed military-tasked robots.  Now, you can think what you want about these robots, but they do have one major purpose—to save human lives. 

Here is an inspirational story of someone who is motivated to do something to save soldiers on the battlefield.


NewsHour

Inspired by Soldier Son, Father Develops Military Robots
NewsHour
TOM BEARDEN: Black-I Robotics, with just two employees besides Hart, are building robots that can defuse IEDs. They can also use TV cameras and other sensors to act as sentries, warning troops of imminent danger. Military weapons designer Pierre Sprey …

Inspired by Soldier Son, Father Develops Military Robots – NewsHour
Fri, 15 May 2009 15:11:15 GMT

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