Archives for December 8, 2009

Festo Shows RoboKites

This post came across my robotics feed today from Adam Flaherty at MAKE Magazine and I thought it was worth a look.  In the video on BotJunkie, you can see the Festo kite in action.  And yes, the applications of this might not seem obvious at first, but the concept could be used for wind power production.  As the cable moves back and forth, it would make the generation of electricity possible.  Also, the process could be used for a high tech sail to pull ships across the ocean as shown in this link from BotJunkie.  (Although, in this link, I do not believe this is a Festo kite.)

Festo has produced many elegant robotic applications over the years and this is just more of those elegant projects with futuristic applications that could work now.  Check out the links below for more on this story. 

Via BotJunkie

Windmill of the future? The latest advancement in kite fighting? Kitesurfing robots? The Festo CyberKite deftly controls the graceful movements of a rather large kite with relative ease. [via BotJunkie]

Read more 

Festo CyberKite
Adam Flaherty
Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Sky_liner_10382c_3_500px

Photo Credit:  Festo

Why? Because robot penguin, that’s why!

But seriously, I have no idea, besides that it’s an interesting project to tackle… Although come to think of it, I suppose it could have some commercial applications, too.

Festo CyberKite

http://www.botjunkie.com/2009/12/07/festo-cyberkite/

iRobot Shows Off Educational Program

iRobot is demonstrating it is serious about its education outreach program.  SPARK or Starter Programs for the Advancement of Robotics Knowledge, as the program is known, is out to show students and teachers how robots work.  Previously, this effort was detailed in a post from September 8, 2009 here on RobotNext.  It would be nice to see iRobot use its iCreate platform to greater effect.  Read the article at the link below.

iRobot launches educational program
Boston Globe
The object of the initiative is to help educators, parents and students use "the wonder and genius of robots" to inspire students in K-12 schools.
iRobot Launches New Initiative to 'SPARK' STEM Education in the Classroom Business Wire (press release)
all 12 news articles »

iRobot launches educational program – Boston Globe
(author unknown)
Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:56:09 GMT

Verified by MonsterInsights