Plasmobot: The First Organic Robot

August 31, 2009 by · Leave a Comment

The aim of these researchers is to create the first amorphous non-silicon biological robot, plasmobot, using plasmodium, the vegetative stage of the slime mold Physarum polycephalum, a commonly occurring mold.  Plasmodium respond to a variety of stimuli to move or grow in a certain direction.  The type of food that is supplied can also control the output of the mold.  For example, feeding the mold oat flakes cause them to grow tube-like structures.  Read the story at the PhysOrg link below.

Plasmobot

Photo Credit:  PhysOrg.com and University of the West of England

… span them in the shortest and best way possible, and transport tiny objects along pre-programmed directions. The robots will have parallel inputs and outputs, a network of sensors and the number crunching power of super computers. The plasmobot will …

Scientists design first robot using mould
Sun, 30 Aug 2009 22:40:16 GMT

Filed Under: Nature, Robots · Tagged With: , , ,

Phasma the Insect Robot

August 27, 2009 by · Leave a Comment

Here is a story about an insect-modeled robot that runs like a real bug.  It is a bot that mimics the gait of an insect, if not the appearance.  When you look at the motion of this machine on a video, you will be amazed at the realism of the movements.  Phasma is based on iSprawl developed at BDML, Stanford University, USA.  The two machines have very similar insectoid motions.  If you click on the link for iSprawl, you can see it in action.  If you want to read more, then go to the Takram link in the next sentence. The following from the Takram Design Engineering website explains the background of this robot’s development in a very succinct way:  “Phasma is a hexapedal running robot that can run dynamically like a living organism. It is an attempt to depict life purely through its motion rather than its shape, by extracting the physics of running from living things and implementing that to the artifact. Phasma uses compliant components such as stainless steel springs and rubber joints to reproduce smooth and efficient locomotion seen in animals. Another interesting biomimicry applied in Phasma is the alternating tripod gait as seen in insects that provides excellent stability.”  Visit the link below or click on the photograph for more details.

phasma_02

Photo credit:  Takashi Mochizuki

… insectile robot reminds me of the running motion made by the CGI-based spider surveillance assistant robots from Stephen Spielberg's 2002 movie Minority Report : ( Minority Report spider robot swarm ) Fans of Michael Crichton's 1985 movie Runaway …

Phasma Insect Robot Runs Like A Bug
Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:20:39 GMT

Filed Under: Nature, Robots · Tagged With: , , ,

Robot Grasshopper Now Has Wings

August 26, 2009 by · Leave a Comment

RobotNext posted a story on this microbot in October of 2008 as an example of robots that are modeled on biology.  This is a follow-up to that article.  Apparently, the original group developing this little grasshopper bot has now put wings on the mechanical grasshopper to give it the ability to glide after it jumps in the air.  The objective of this research is to develop a small robot that can leap into the air and then glide to a target.  I still find it amazing to watch the video of the robotic grasshopper jumping into the air.   Go to the post from October 2008 to find links to the French site that details the work being done on this.

Grasshopper Microbot with Wings

Credit: École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Last May, we wrote about a 7 gram robot grasshopper that is capable of jumping a distance of 1.4 meters, which is pretty huge for such a small robot.

Robot Grasshopper Grows Wings
Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:04:22 GMT

Filed Under: Nature, Robots · Tagged With: , , , ,

Robot With Bones is Modeled on Humans

August 25, 2009 by · Leave a Comment

The Eccerobot has been developed by a team of European researchers that are scattered across five centers.  Owen Holland at the University of Sussex, UK, is leading the project.  Joining the Sussex group on the project are researchers from the Technical University of Munich, Germany; University of Zurich, Switzerland; University of Belgrade, Serbia; and French firm The Robot Studio.  The robot has been designed to model exactly the way human bones, muscles and tendons work together. Tendons and muscles are replaced by kite line and elastic cord.  The objective of the project is to develop a robot that is better able to interact with its environment.

robot bones

Image Credit:  The Robot Studio via newscientist.com

YOU may have more in common with this robot than any other – it was designed using your anatomy as a blueprint.

Robot with bones moves like you do
Tue, 25 Aug 2009 01:17:43 GMT

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Fishbots: Robots Mimic Swimming Motions of Schools of Fish

August 25, 2009 by · Leave a Comment

Robotic fish that swim like a bass or trout are the latest crossover from biology to robotics.  Mechanical engineers Kamal Youcef-Toumi and Pablo Valdivia Y Alvarado of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)  have designed the elegant fishbots to maneuver deftly into areas where more conventional underwater remotely operated or autonomous vehicles are unable to reach. “Schools” of the new robot fish could be utilized to carry-out inspections of underwater structures such as oil and gas pipes; ship’s hulls; and perhaps help detect environmental hazards.  They could also find uses in patrolling ports, rivers, and lakes.  Unlike earlier robotic fish, these robots are much simpler in design and are much more like their natural models.  Read more about these amazing machines in the stories linked below.


Credit:  CNET News

New robots mimic fish's swimming
PhysOrg.com
As part of his doctoral thesis, Valdivia Y Alvarado created a model to calculate the optimal material properties distributions along the robot's body to …
Schools of Mini Robofish Swim Where Humans Can'tWired News
MIT dives into robo-fish poolCNET News
MIT researchers create robotic fish for underwater explorationVentureBeat
all 9 news articles »

New robots mimic fish's swimming – PhysOrg.com
Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:12:25 GMT

Filed Under: Nature, Robots · Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Pitsco Designing Robots for Education

August 24, 2009 by · Leave a Comment

LEGO Mindstorms has long been the robotics kit of choice for education.  Now, TETRIX, which uses metal parts in its kits, has joined with LEGO Education to produce kits at Pitsco that join metal and plastic together to make robots.  One of the first applications of this system has been the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC).  FTC is run by FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), which was co-founded by Dean Kamen.  The kit was used in the 2008 – 2009 season.  With a unique construction system, these robots are the basis for a coming revolution in educational robotics.  Check out the article link below.

Pitsco robots 

Credit:  Gatehouse Media, Inc

Forget about the clunky metal monsters from those science fiction movies. The latest robots are learning tools that can inspire students around the world to create and achieve. And they’re coming out of Pittsburg — from Pitsco, to be exact.

Pitsco robots designed to take over education (The Morning Sun)
Wed, 19 Aug 2009 05:53:03 GMT

* As a postscript to this article, I wished to explain why there is no Weekly Newswrap this week.  For three days this week, I have been on the road and spending my days (and some nights) in meetings.  Simply stated, I did not have the time to make as many posts as usual.  Furthermore, I did not have the opportunity to research enough stories to build up a backlog of potential stories for the newswrap.  Next week will bring a more normal schedule.  Thanks for reading RobotNext.

Filed Under: Current Affairs, Robots · Tagged With: , ,

Robot Cats Pet Companions for Elderly

August 21, 2009 by · Leave a Comment

Research has shown that pets are healthy.  Older people who have pets as companions have less stress, lower blood pressure, and a better quality of life overall.  So now, robot pets are possibly headed for homes.  This article from Live Science goes into detail on a robot cat by Sega Toys that could be the companion that older folks need.  The story is in several web posts including crunchgear.   Make sure and check out these stories.  At least you wouldn’t have to clean the litter box.

dream-cat-venus

Photo Credit: Sega Toys via Crunchgear via Livescience

A robotic feline may soon be a popular companion for seniors.

Robot Cats Purrrrfect for Elderly
Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:50:39 GMT

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Remotely Operated Vehicle Test in Lake

August 15, 2009 by · Leave a Comment

Today, I tested a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) in a local lake.  So this post is going to be something different for RobotNext.  I recommend this project for anyone who wants to try out an underwater robot. Technically speaking, this is not a robot as such.  It is a remotely operated vehicle controlled by a tether to a control box and power on the surface.  This vehicle was constructed in less than two days in a total of about twelve hours.  Using the ROV in a Box from !nventivity, our teachers’ group at Northwest Vista College in San Antonio, Texas built three of these machines.  All I can say is that it was a blast.  

In the video taken from my phone, you can see the robot powering around and then diving under the water.  There will be more testing of these ROVs in weeks to come.  Also, look at the photos of my ROV on the edge of the water.  Not bad for a two day effort. 

Video Credit:  Mike Henry

Here is a photo of the ROV on the edge of the lake.  Note the blue pool noodles used as flotation devices to keep the robot at neutral buoyancy.

Mike's Phone 169

Photo Credit:  Mike Henry

Note the black cylinder object at the back of the ROV.  That is a color camera and below it is a 10 led light to illuminate features in the water.  Images can be seen on a television screen.  The three motors have propellers and give power and control in 3 directions.

Mike's Phone 170

Photo Credit:  Mike Henry

Filed Under: Build It, Robots · Tagged With: , , , ,

LEGO NXT Money Counter

August 13, 2009 by · Leave a Comment

This is a nice project for the LEGO enthusiast.  You can check out the project and watch the You Tube video of the robot counting money.  Unfortunately, I did not see plans on how to build the robot on the The NXT Step blog.  It would be a fun build to try out.  Still, it is entertaining just to watch.

A nifty little money counter. It uses the size of each coin to determine it's value.
From the creator –

I made a little project with the aim to get an automatic money counting machine.
The Robot contains:
3 Motors
touch sensor
light sensor
The Robot decides which coin it has by the size of the coins, then he ads the values and displays the result.
When all coins are counted the robot recognizes this and gets itself back to starting position. ready for the next coins.
again its programmed with nxc , and took me 2 days. (works with euros and cents)

—
Damien Kee

Money Counter
Damien Kee (noreply@blogger.com)
Thu, 13 Aug 2009 09:51:00 GMT

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Robotic Hamster Ball Design for Google Lunar X Prize

August 12, 2009 by · Leave a Comment

New Scientist has an article on the contenders for the Google Lunar X Prize.  If you haven’t heard of this, it is a contest sponsored by Google to see who can land a rover on the Moon and accomplish a set of pre-assigned tasks.  Do this and your team gets a great deal of recognition and $20 million. 

The Google Lunar X Prize site details what the rovers need to accomplish:  “The Google Lunar X PRIZE is a $30 million international competition to safely land a robot on the surface of the Moon, travel 500 meters over the lunar surface, and send images and data back to the Earth. Teams must be at least 90% privately funded and must be registered to compete by December 31, 2010. The first team to land on the Moon and complete the mission objectives will be awarded $20 million; the full first prize is available until December 31, 2012. After that date, the first prize will drop to $15 million. The second team to do so will be awarded $5 million. Another $5 million will awarded in bonus prizes. The final deadline for winning the prize is December 31, 2014.” 

So, on the New Scientist site there photos of some of the more interesting and unique entries.  They cover the range of hoppers, wheeled rovers, and, in one case, a sphere-shaped robot reminiscent of a hamster ball.  You can see this planned lunar bot in the photo below.  Click on the photo to go to the page in the New Scientist article about this creation by Team Frednet, one of the Google X Prize entrants.  And look at the video on You Tube of the PicoRover, as it is called.  This innovative approach to a lunar rover is very intriguing because it weighs only 500 grams.  It certainly won’t need a Saturn 5 to get it to the Moon.  And besides, if this design doesn't make  it to the Moon, it certainly has a future as a cat toy.

Hamster Ball Moon Rover 

Image: Team Frednet/Joshua Tristancho

More than a dozen teams are racing to claim a $30 million prize for landing a robot rover on the moon – see the most advanced prototypes so far…

Hamster balls and lunar hoppers: meet the X Prize teams
Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:50:14 GMT

Filed Under: Robots, Space · Tagged With: , , , ,
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