Robots - RobotNext

Candy Sorting Robot Built From LEGO® Mindstorms® Kit

July 15, 2009 by Mike Henry · Leave a Comment

This makes me want to go out and buy a LEGO® Mindstorms® NXT Kit. And the book, "LEGO® NXT MINDSTORMS® One-Kit Wonders", to go with it! Right now! The original blog post comes from Matthias Paul Scholz at The NXT STEP – LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT Blog. You have to check out the video link to You Tube. This little bot sorts the chocolate coated peanuts by color and you can see it in action. The photo below is linked to Amazon.com if you want to see a larger version of the image and also some other examples of what you can build from the kit and the book.

Image Credit: Amazon.com and LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT One-Kit Wonders

On request by some readers of the "LEGO NXT MINDSTORMS One-Kit Wonders" book, I have created a video of my contribution to it:
M, the M&M's peanut candies sorter. The quality of the video is not optimal by far, as the movie snippets I made back then were meant for internal and transient purpose only. :( Nevertheless, it should provide some idea on the robot.

M, the candies sorter from "One-Kit Wonders"
Matthias Paul Scholz (noreply@blogger.com)
Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:38:00 GMT

Filed Under: Robots · Tagged With: LEGO, Mindstorms, robot, sorts

Robot Insects: Next Military Spies?

July 14, 2009 by Mike Henry · Leave a Comment

So, these are really not robots, they are cyborgs or more correctly, cybugs. RobotNext has posted articles on robot insects or robots modeled on insects in the past. Now, these newest robobugs are something else. These tiny hybrid insect machines combine mechanical and living materials to achieve their abilities. Microchips are implanted directly into the developing insects where, as the insect matures the electronics are integrated into the nervous system of the bug. This has actually been done with moths and the moths have exhibited controlled flight while still tethered. The next step will be independent flight. First, the problem of power generation must be solved. Check out the article below for more details on this intriguing project.

Photo Credit: DARPA

The HI-MEMS program at the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has to date invested $12 million into research since it began in 2006. It currently supports these cybug projects:

Roaches at Texas A&M.

Horned beetles at University of Michigan and the University of California at Berkeley.

Moths at an MIT-led team, and another moth project at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research.

Scientists can already control the flight of real moths using implanted devices.

Powerful Ideas: Military Develops 'Cybug' Spies
Wed, 15 Jul 2009 00:42:24 GMT

Filed Under: Military, Nature, Robots · Tagged With: cybugs, insects, microchips, robot

Monkey Uses Mind Control to Move Robot

July 13, 2009 by Mike Henry · Leave a Comment

Sometime ago I saw this story on several feeds that I monitor. I have listed some of the links to earlier stories below if anyone wants to see details of this interesting robotic application. Although I did not write about this remarkable project at the time, I thought this research showed exciting possibilities for medical applications. Stoke victims or people with spinal injuries could benefit from this work in robotic arm control. By implanting a chip in the monkey’s brain, the monkey is able to command the robotic arm to move in a very precise manner. The original paper on this is published in Nature (available with paid subscription, but you can see the abstract on-line). Originally, the purpose was to allow the monkey to feed using the robotic arm. That certainly requires exceptional control of the arm to accomplish that feat. Check out the links to other stories on this below.

Image Credit: Sky News – UK

Sky News

The chimp can operate the robot with such dexterity that it can reach out to grab, and turn a handle. The mechanical arm has an arm, elbow, wrist and simple …
See all stories on this topic

Monkey Moves Robot Using Mind Control
Sky News – UK
Mon, 13 Jul 2009 07:44:19 GMT

Cortical control of a prosthetic arm for self-feeding : Article …

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Monkey's brain controls robot arm

Study: Monkeys Control Robotic Arm with Brain : NPR

Monkeys Control a Mechanical Arm With Their Thoughts – NYTimes.com

Mind Over Matter: Monkey Feeds Itself Using Its Brain

Filed Under: Current Affairs, Robots · Tagged With: chip, control, robot, robotic arm

RobotNext Weekly Newswrap

July 12, 2009 by Mike Henry · Leave a Comment

This week's stories have no single theme, but there are several stories that appear in different versions on multiple days. The first story from today features a spherical robot based on the LEGO Mindstorms NXT. Check out the video of this robot moving around under the command of its builder, it is very interesting. In the next story on this same sphere-shaped robot, the author makes a more humorous approach to the subject. Again, check out the video. The other posts from the week cover a deep-diving robot, a real-life recycling robot (it is not quite WALL-E), and a robot cat. Take a look at these and see what did not make RobotNext this week. Let me know what you think of the weekly newswrap.

Spherical NXT-Based Robot

… it via Bluetooth. (Spherical robot uses Lego Mindstorms NXT) It uses the same form of locomotion as some other robots you may already know about; see the videos in these articles for more information and diagrams …

Spherical Robot Lego Mindstorms NXT-Based
Sun, 12 Jul 2009 05:07:23 GMT

Spherical robot would make for frustrating soccer games

As I watch this spherical robot roll around at the behest of its master, designer Nils Völker, I'm reminded of the old Dungeons & Dragons joke about the …
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Spherical robot would make for frustrating soccer games
DVICE – USA
Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:24:07 GMT

Hybrid robot vehicle undertakes record-breaking dive – Engineer Live

Hybrid robot vehicle undertakes record-breaking dive
Engineer Live
There is an underwater vehicle flavour to Jeremy Cresswell's look at what's fresh on the hydrographic front, notably a new type of hybrid robot vehicle for …
and more »

Hybrid robot vehicle undertakes record-breaking dive – Engineer Live
Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:56:29 GMT

Real-Life Wall-E Recycling Robot Takes to the Streets of Italy – Inhabitat

Inhabitat

Real-Life Wall-E Recycling Robot Takes to the Streets of Italy
Inhabitat
It may not be as tiny or nimble as Wall-E, but this real-life dustcart robot traversing the streets of Peccioli, Italy is just as cute. …
and more »

Real-Life Wall-E Recycling Robot Takes to the Streets of Italy – Inhabitat
Thu, 09 Jul 2009 05:01:53 GMT

on-demand trash robot DustCart : The Alternative Consumer

The robot is also outfitted with special sensors that monitor air temperature, as well as air pollutants, such as: nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, ozone, benzene, CO and CO2. dustcart3.jpg. DustCart avoids fixed obstacles, …
The Alternative Consumer – http://www.alternativeconsumer.com/

on-demand trash robot – DustCart : The Alternative Consumer
mr. happy
Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:32:56 GMT

Sega's Robot Cats Have Nine Lives

Sega Toys is rolling out yet another robot cat companion, though we're not exactly sure why they keep trying. Sega's latest robot feline From what we can tell by checking the stores here, polling shop clerks, and scanning our network of contacts in the business, the robot cats, and most of the other low cost companion robot products have been non-starters. Some similar product offerings, like the super cute infant…

Sega's Robot Cats Have Nine Lives
Lem
Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:57:11 GMT

Filed Under: Robots · Tagged With: cat, hybrid robot, LEGO, NXT, recycling, robot, spherical

Robot Cricket Has Keen Sense of Smell

July 11, 2009 by Mike Henry · Leave a Comment

The next biological model for robots is the cricket. You may associate crickets with the sounds that they make when it is very quiet. It turns out that these creatures have a very sensitive sense of smell. However, they are only able to detect a very narrow range of odors. This ability is being tapped to develop a robot that can be used to detect chemicals on the battlefield or the smell of survivors in a disaster situation. Read more in the two stories cited below.

Most crickets are active only at night, and they use their long antennae both to feel their way around in the dark and to smell things – so, their sense of smell is quite sensitive, but mostly to odors that come from food. You see, one of the tradeoffs in the sensory systems of organisms like insects is that they can be very sensitive to certain chemicals, but that there will be an even bigger number of things they *CAN'T* smell at all.

Entomology (Study of Bugs)-crickets

IF YOU'RE trapped under rubble after an earthquake, wondering if you'll see daylight again, the last thing you need is an insect buzzing around your face. But that insect could save your life, if a scheme funded by the Pentagon comes off.

The project aims to co-opt the way some insects communicate to give early warning of chemical attacks on the battlefield – the equivalent of the "canary in a coal mine". The researchers behind it say the technology could be put to good use in civilian life, from locating disaster victims to monitoring for pollution and gas leaks, or acting as smoke detectors.

Cyborg crickets could chirp at the smell of survivors
Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Filed Under: Nature, Robots · Tagged With: cricket, robot, sense of smell

Robot Can Make Faces at You

July 9, 2009 by Mike Henry · Leave a Comment

Robots that can make facial expressions are not new, but this one is by far the most realistic one yet. Over 30 artificial muscles, each controlled by a servo allow this robot to control facial movements to a degree not seen before. Einstein, as the robot is called, is capable of learning how to smile and make other faces by a process of self-guided learning. In humans, this would be called inquiry learning. During the experiments, the robot experienced a failure in one of the servos controlling a muscle, still it was able to learn to compensate for this by moving other servos to accomplish the desired facial response. You can read more about this at the links below. Also, check out the UCSD blog page. There is even a video that shows the robot in action. Admittedly, the video is somewhat creepy in that it is very realistic. Robots that look too human can be disconcerting, to say the least.

Photo Credit: Erik Jepsen/UC San Diego

ScienceDaily (July 8, 2009) — A hyper-realistic Einstein robot at the University of California, San Diego has learned to smile and make facial expressions through a process of self-guided learning. The UC San Diego researchers used machine learning to “empower” their robot to learn to make realistic facial expressions. “As far as we know, no other research group has used machine learning to teach a robot to make realistic facial expressions,” said Tingfan Wu, the computer science Ph.D. student from the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering who presented this advance on June 6 at the IEEE International Conference on Development and Learning.

While the primary goal of this work was to solve the engineering problem of how to approximate the appearance of human facial muscle movements with motors, the researchers say this kind of work could also lead to insights into how humans learn and develop facial expressions.

“Learning to Make Facial Expressions,” by Tingfan Wu, Nicholas J. Butko, Paul Ruvulo, Marian S. Bartlett, Javier R. Movellan from Machine Perception Laboratory, University of California San Diego. Presented on June 6 at the 2009 IEEE 8th International Conference On Development And Learning.
Adapted from materials provided by University of California – San Diego.

Electronics & Robotics,News & Press – A Blog by F.Intilla (WWW.OLOSCIENCE.COM)

A hyper-realistic Einstein robot at the University of California, San Diego has learned to smile and make facial expressions through a process of self-guided learning.

Robot Learns to Smile and Frown
Thu, 09 Jul 2009 08:25:28 GMT

Filed Under: Robots · Tagged With: Einstein, expressions, face, robot, servo

Robot Grazes for Power

July 8, 2009 by Mike Henry · Leave a Comment

This robot can find its own power by chomping on grass or other vegetation that it finds along its way. As a potential military application, this robot is currently in a testing stage. You can see more information in a story posted at Examiner.com. RobotNext had an earlier post on a robot that can eat bugs to produce its own power, so this concept of living off the land could extend to insects and vegetation. Make sure and check out the links to other stories on this interesting robot.

EATR(TM) concept drawing courtesy of Robotic Technology Inc. from Examiner.com

Cyclone Power Technologies Inc. announced that it has completed the first stage of its project with Robotic Technology Inc. (RTI), of Potomac, MD, to develop a beta-test biomass engine system which will be used to power RTI’s Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot (EATR™). This is part of a project sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Defense Sciences Office.

What more could one want in a robot? Hey! I think that thing is eating my lawn! Paul Fox is an Examiner from Portland. You can see Paul's articles on Paul's …

See all stories on this topic

There's a robot eating my lawn
Examiner.com – USA
Wed, 08 Jul 2009 07:27:57 GMT

Filed Under: Military, Robots · Tagged With: biomass, EATR, insects, robot

Robobats Could Be The Next Generation Of Remote Control Flyers

July 7, 2009 by Mike Henry · Leave a Comment

Nature strikes again with the next model for robots. These small robot flyers imitate bats which are nature’s small flyers. The potential uses for these little bots are surveillance and search and rescue. Using the potential for maneuverability and performance that a bat-like robot could provide, these bots have a potential for both military and civilian applications. Check out the story below for the complete details.

Image Credit: Science Daily

ScienceDaily (July 7, 2009) — Tiny flying machines can be used for everything from indoor surveillance to exploring collapsed buildings, but simply making smaller versions of planes and helicopters doesn't work very well. Instead, researchers at North Carolina State University are mimicking nature's small flyers – and developing robotic bats that offer increased maneuverability and performance.

Adapted from materials provided by North Carolina State University.

Robo-bats With Metal Muscles May Be Next Generation Of Remote Control Flyers
WWW.OLOSCIENCE.COM (f.intilla@bluewin.ch)
Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:21:00 GMT

Filed Under: Nature, Robots · Tagged With: bats, nature, robots

Robotic Grasshopper May Help Explore Mars Surface

July 6, 2009 by Mike Henry · Leave a Comment

This robot can jump like a grasshopper and roll like a tumbleweed. It is called Jollbot and it may be headed to Mars someday. Or it may help here on Earth in areas of rough terrain with jobs like surveying. Going back to an article posted in December, 2008 at PhysOrg.com, the researchers believe this is the first robot that can both jump and roll. This behavior can solve a problem that robotic explorers on other planets routinely face: objects that are too large to roll over. Nature again provides a model to solve a problem and create a new design in robotics.

Image Credit: Nic Delves-Broughton, University of Bath

The Jollbot was masterminded by Rhodri Armour, who spent a year building the robot with colleagues at the University of Bath. The robot, which can jump and roll, enjoys an edge over other machines due to its ability to launch itself over obstacles …

Robotic grasshopper to help explore Mars' rocky geography – New Kerala
Mon, 06 Jul 2009 08:44:00 GMT

Filed Under: Nature, Robots, Space · Tagged With: grasshopper, Jollbot, Mars, robot

RobotNext Weekly Newswrap

July 6, 2009 by Mike Henry · Leave a Comment

This week’s newswrap features stories that deal with exploration. Everything from underwater to climate in the arctic and beyond the Earth. One story from earlier in the week deals with robot navigation in different situations. Still, this story does cover an aspect of robotics that is important in exploration. I hope you enjoy looking over the articles linked to below. Let me know which ones you liked best.

Underwater robots to rapidly identify potential threats in murky … – Newstrack India

Washington, July 5 (ANI): A team of scientists is developing novel underwater laser networking and imaging technologies that will be used onboard a group of small, co-operating robots, which will be able to rapidly identify and communicate potential …

Underwater robots to rapidly identify potential threats in murky … – Newstrack India
Sun, 05 Jul 2009 06:15:00 GMT

NASA Suggests Nano Robots To Explore Mars (Slashdot)

"'We're going to have to do extensive robotic exploration,' says the director of NASA's Ames Research Center, suggesting nanotechnology to build self-replicating robots on Mars. Genetically engineering extraction and construction microbes could 'grow' electrical components, and eventually convert carbon dioxide on Mars into oxygen. 'If we really want to settle Mars, and we …

NASA Suggests Nano Robots To Explore Mars (Slashdot)
Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:36:25 GMT

Robots Monitor the Melting Arctic

Earlier this year NOAA warned that increased global warming was combining with natural variability in the Arctic and could result in an ice-free Arctic in as little as 30 years, rather than the end of the century as predict by earlier models. This has created a sense of urgency among organizations studying the changes. NOAA and NASA have combined forces with Northrop Grumman to create a specially modified Global Hawk UAV that will make 6 long duration mission over the Arctic and the Pacific ocean to collect data in troposphere and lower stratosphere. .

Meanwhile, Seaglider robots have been deployed off Greenland to make more accurate measurements of Arctic sea currents. Scientist believe the Arctic runoff is already altering the density of sea water in the Labrador Sea, driving critical ocean circulation that affect the global climate. Canada is also deploying two AUVs to scan the seabed to further their claims in the coming UN Convention that will determine which nations get sovereign rights to the new ocean areas forming as the Arctic melts.

Robots Monitor the Melting Arctic
Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:41:32 GMT

Human-like Vision Lets Robots Navigate Naturally

ScienceDaily (June 30, 2009) — A robotic vision system that mimics key visual functions of the human brain promises to let robots maneuver quickly and …
See all stories on this topic

Human-like Vision Lets Robots Navigate Naturally
Science Daily (press release) – USA
Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:48:20 GMT

Intelligent Robot Probes to Explore Beyond Mars

Caltech scientists are working on intelligent exploratory craft which could investigate alien worlds without human instruction. While missions to MARS can be remotely controlled, as we set our sights further afield the light speed …
The Daily Galaxy: Great Discoveries… – http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/

Intelligent Robot Probes to Explore Beyond Mars
Casey Kazan Daily Galaxy Editorial Staff
Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:11:52 GMT

Filed Under: Robots · Tagged With: arctic, Mars, Nano, navigation, ocean, robot, space, underwater

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Candy Sorting Robot Built From LEGO® Mindstorms® Kit

Robot Insects: Next Military Spies?

Monkey Uses Mind Control to Move Robot