robots

DASH robot learns cockroach escape trick

Cockroaches are way faster than you and me. Relative to their body weight, they can flee at the equivalent of hundreds of miles per hour and are gone long before your newspaper hits the floor.

But researchers from the University of California at Berkeley recently described how cockroaches can also run toward a ledge and then flip around to its underside in the blink of an eye, effectively disappearing from predators. Now they're working on robots that can do the same. … Read more

Last Moment Robot: 'End of life detected'

As a woman lies on a mattress on the floor, a small white machine attached to her outstretched right arm offers the following words:

I am the Last Moment Robot. I am here to help you and guide you through your last moment on Earth. I am sorry that your family and friends can't be with you right now, but don't be afraid. I am here to comfort you. You are not alone, you are with me. Your family and friends love you very much, they will remember you after you are gone.

Jarred by the notion of someone dying in the company of a machine instead of loved ones (or at least other humans)? That's partly the point. … Read more

You won't be the life of the party with this shoulder robot

Got a chip on your shoulder, pal? Or is that just a 20-axis humanoid telepresence robot?

For cyber-boffins from Japan's Yamagata University, it's the latter. It seems this creepy little golem has been riding around on shoulders in northern Japan, probably freaking citizens out.

The project, dubbed the MH-2 wearable communication robot, was recently presented at the 2012 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) in St. Paul, Minn., where it turned some heads.

As IEEE Spectrum tells us, the MH-2 is a telepresence robot that acts as an avatar for your friends around the world. With its intricate parallel wire mechanisms and 20 axes of motion, it can reproduce their movements in a realistic fashion. … Read more

Sexy, six-legged robot Hexy wants to get friendly

You'd be surprised at the number of people who crave spider-like robots.

Boston-based ArcBotics is gathering funds for its Hexy kit robot, billed as a low-cost, completely open-source critter that is easy to program.

It has six legs instead of eight, but Hexy can walk, dance, bang some keyboard keys, and do whatever else you can imagine.

It comes with a few installed moves, too. It's so cool, it even plays electric guitar. … Read more

Meet Qumarion, an animation supermodel

Getting the hang of 3D animation would probably overwhelm most folks, but the foot-tall Qumarion mannequin could radically simplify the process of creating realistic movement in 3D computer-generated models.

The 67,800 yen ($850) Qumarion, set to debut in Japan in a few months, features a robust array of sensors to assist with creating realistic 3D animation. Developed by Japan's University of Tsukuba and University of Electro-communications, Qumarion can pose, flex, sit, stand, or assume nearly any other position imaginable. … Read more

'Textspresso' machine prints texts on your coffee foam

A tech company creates a robotic espresso machine that can be controlled by text messages and print bits of those messages on espresso foam. All in the name of duping gadget bloggers and others into spreading the company's name far and wide.

The blogosphere-manipulating company is called Zipwhip. And as you'll see in the video below, it has a product it would like everyone to know about. And, as we think we've mentioned, it also has a robotic espresso machine that can be controlled by text messages etcetera.

Now, this machine is not something that's on the market. Apparently it's a one-off created expressly for Zipwhip's offices (though Zipwhip has posted some info about it for those who might like to create their own).… Read more

Why does Clothbot want to climb up your pants?

Robots climbing up your leg -- are you cool with that? Chinese researchers certainly are, arguing they could become electronic pets, or even "mobile" phones.

Presented this week at the 2012 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) in St. Paul, Minn., Clothbot was developed by scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

As seen in the video below, the machine crawls up folds in clothing, slowing making its way up trouser legs or even the back of a shirt. It uses a pair of gripper wheels to create and … Read more

School buys telepresence robot to help sick student

Without machines, Zachary Thomason wouldn't live very long. The boy has been on a ventilator for all of his 12 years because he suffers from a rare muscle disorder that makes him extremely weak.

Until now, X-linked myotubular myopathy has prevented him from going to school regularly. But since the Paragould School District in Arkansas purchased a $5,000 VGo telepresence robot, chances are he'll become an avatar-style student soon.

Zach likes to play PlayStation, so he can remote-control the VGo, which is basically a Webcam on wheels. At 4 feet tall, it's designed to project the user's presence into a remote location with two-way audio and video, allowing for richer interaction than a phone call or stationary Webcam. … Read more

Robotic butt a very strange tail

The thrill of verbally abusing Siri had pretty much petered out, and we were really ready to roll up our sleeves and whip some actual robot booty.

Now, thanks to "Shiri" -- and the University of Electro-Comunications in Tokyo -- we can. Shiri, you see, is -- to put it bluntly -- a robutt. Or, perhaps, a robo-butt. The university itself calls it "a buttocks humanoid robot that expresses various emotions with organic movements of the artificial muscles."

And, according to the embedded video, the project's purpose is twofold: to advance the "innovative use of robotics technology and its purpose," and "to raise the argument as to what perceptions will be manifested in the minds of people who communicate with Shiri." … Read more

Do robots need a Linux or a Mac OS to thrive?

It would appear the robotics industry is having its Linux moment, which backers hope will unleash a torrent of creativity around robots. But not everyone's convinced that's a good thing.

Robotics company Willow Garage yesterday created an open-source body to shepherd the development of its ROS (Robot Operating System). Called the Open Source Robotics Foundation, the goal is get more people writing software for robots, particularly for commercial and consumer use, say its creators.

Everyone agrees robots need killer apps to graduate beyond curiosities and cool demos, much the way the spreadsheet helped catalyze the PC movement. And … Read more