Archives for June 2009

A Robot That Knows What You Are Going to do Next

RobotNext is always looking for that story that shows where the cutting edge of robotics is going next.  This is truly one of those stories.  A robot that can act on a person’s intentions would be capable of intelligent-like behavior in their relationship with a human.  In a sense, this is the ultimate model from nature for robots—a human.

The idea is to model human-human interactions in order to allow a robot to become more capable of developing a personal relationship with its human partner.  For many applications of consumer robotics, it will be necessary for the robot to be more than just a programmed machine.

Check out the article at the link below.

(PhysOrg.com) — European researchers in robotics, psychology and cognitive sciences have developed a robot that can predict the intentions of its human partner. This ability to anticipate (or question) actions could make human-robot interactions …

Predictive powers: a robot that reads your intention? (w/Video) – PhysOrg
Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:57:00 GMT

Robot Sub Reaches Challenger Deep

Robots travel on land and some of them fly in the air.  Other robots are exploring space.  Why not explore the deepest parts of the ocean?  Nereus is the next thing in autonomous submarine vehicles.  Designed to explore 100 percent of the ocean floor, this robot promises to revolutionize undersea exploration.  Read the news story from the BBC at the link below.

A robotic submersible called Nereus has reached the deepest-known part of the ocean.

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Robot sub reaches deepest ocean
(author unknown)
Wed, 03 Jun 2009 05:23:31 GMT

Robots That Can Walk on Water May Be Next

Once again nature provides a model for the next thing in robot development.  This time robots may do the miraculous and walk on water.  The technology is based on the surface structure of water strider’s legs.  By repelling water, the legs enable the insects to walk across the surface of water.  This property is called super-hydrophobia. 

For robots to achieve this feat, it seems to me that they would have to have some other properties.  Certainly, they would have to be very light weight.  Still, this is a fascinating idea.  Read the whole story at the link below.


Water Droplet on Super-Hydrophobic Surface: Xiao Cheng Zeng
Popular Science

Robots Borrow Hydro-Repelling Tech from Insect Legs to Walk on Water
Popular Science, NY
By Val Wang Posted 06.02.2009 at 11:19 am 0 Comments A robot that can walk on water: such a miracle is one step closer to reality, thanks to some new research that learns from the work nature has done with water striders. Walking on water may seem like

Robots Borrow Hydro-Repelling Tech from Insect Legs to Walk on Water – Popular Science
Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:35:01 GMT

Megasaurus is More Dragon Than Dinosaur

Irresistible is right.  Something about Megasuarus captured my attention.  This is not a new robot and maybe not the next thing in robots, but it is very large and very destructive, and it is new to RobotNext.  From the video I saw of this monster,  it can pick up a car in its giant claws and then incinerate the insides of the vehicle.  Other than the entertainment value of this beast, I saw it as yet another example of robots imitating nature.  Well, sort of.  In this case, a robot has supposedly been designed on the idea of a dinosaur.  To me this robot seems more like a mythical creature, namely a dragon, than a dinosaur.  However, in many ways, it does resemble a certain Japanese science fiction creature from the movies.  

Where as some robot builders are constructing robots to see how nature evolves, this robot is definately a case of robots devolving.  See this story below for the latest exploits of this robotic creature from the junkyard.

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Megasaurus was irresistible. Children, filled with wonder and awe, walked up to the robot-dinosaur hybrid. They studied it, asked questions and grinned wide. Adults balanced wide-eyed queries with their own inspection of the beast …

Megasaurus Brings Fire And Mayhem To Bristol Dragway – TriCities.com
Mon, 01 Jun 2009 07:03:00 GMT

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