Robots are becoming an important part of the United States military.  Here is an article that explores some of the issues surrounding the use of robots in the armed forces.

Wired for war – robot soldiers more fact than fiction
Brisbane Times, Australia – Deborah Snow
THE world is on the brink of a "robotics revolution" in military combat that will have profound social, psychological, political and ethical effects, says a leading US defence analyst. Peter Singer, who headed Barack Obama’s defence policy team during …

Wired for war – robot soldiers more fact than fiction – Brisbane Times
Wed, 06 May 2009 14:10:00 GMT

https://robotnext.com/2009/04/my-entry/.html

Programs such as FIRST and BEST have provided elementary, middle, and high school students with opportunities in robotics.  Close to 40,000 high school students participate in FIRST Robotics, but there is a lack of college level programs to absorb all these students.  Although this article is specific to Massachusetts, I suspect the story is the same for other states.  Read the article below for more details.

Robotics is booming, but education lags
Mass High Tech,  USA
By Brendan Lynch.

Massachusetts’ robotics cluster is thriving despite the recession — but the state is in danger of losing its edge due to the scarcity of collegiate robotics programs. Colleges like MIT, Harvard University, the Franklin W. Olin College …

Robotics is booming, but education lags – Mass High Tech
Fri, 10 Apr 2009 04:18:34 GMT

No, this is not the sequel to a recent action film from Hollywood.  It is a proposal for a new type of robot that can be used on constructions sites for tall buildings.  The snakebot is one of the latest proposals for robots to assist humans in work that is too dangerous or difficult for humans to perform.

Nature continues to provide the model for many types of robots.  Although I would not have thought of a robot based on a snake, obviously some very creative people have seen a snake as a great model.  This article explores the application for the robot modeled on a snake.

 

Snakebots could take over construction sites
IT Examiner, India – 2 hours ago
By Nick Farrell @ Tuesday, January 20, 2009 7:27 AM A new robot design could help build tall buildings where humans are in danger of falling. …

Note:  This post has been edited from the original to update links to photos.

                   NEw cRIO Controller                      VS.                Old FRC Controller

As in an earlier blog entry, I gave you a preview of the two control systems of FRC. One is the C RIO which will be used this year for the first time in USFIRST history. The other was the control system that has been use since at least 2000 until last year.

Now I'm going to go over some of the features of the two control systems and let you decide whether the new system or old system is best for you.

The first system I will be discussing in the post is between the robot and the driver station.

In the old system communication was accomplished by radio modem or with a direct connection by a serial cable also known as a tether. To program the robot you had to tether the robot, which sometimes caused problems. If you didn't have the right tether you couldn't do anything. Also, it caused some safety issues at the competition and back home in the shop. First of all, you could trip over the wire and potentially damage your operator interface. We did this at a competition once and ripped-off the connection to the power input. We very nearly couldn't compete if it hadn't been for a team to give us some epoxy and we glued it back on. Luckily, it still worked. Altough you can have some safety issues, it was a pretty solid system of signal between the operator and robot.

Now, in the new system, the whole thing runs off wireless 802.11. Although you don't have to wire it up to program the system it still poses some problems. One that I can see is if you dont secure your system you could get hacked and someone could mess with your programming. Another problem I can see if you dont have a good laptop or a good singal you can't compete. Although it poses some problems I think this is the better system of the two.

Next week I'll discuss another sub system of the two control system and compare them.

Edited By: Brittany, Daniel

30 December 2008, Tuesday GMT 1:08

Good Afternoon everyone, Happy New Year! I would like you to meet Jules. Jules is a fascinating character who has a lot of potential. Thanks to Hanson Robotics and Frubber™, 

"the elastic polymer that makes realistic facial movement and speech possible while being stronger, more elastic and using only a fraction of the power required for existing materials. Frubber™ has potential to become the future of prosthetics applications, facial reconstruction and many other uses". 

Jules surpasses the I' Robot look to a humanoid robot. Check this video of Jules and Jules isn't the only thing they have been working on. Meet the rest of the gang.

Editors: Rudy, Daniel