Boston Dynamics unveiled its latest bio-inspired robots, the Cheetah, which has broken the legged-robot land speed record. The Cheetah is capable of galloping at 18 mph (30 kph)!
A more detailed article at ScaryBot.com shows a comparison with a real Cheetah running.
Posted under biomimetic, companies, locomotion, mobility, research, technology
This post was written by admin on March 9, 2012
Meet Nao from Aldebaran Robotics!
From the Aldebaran Robotics website:
NAO is a programmable, 57-cm tall humanoid robot with the following key components:
Body with 25 degrees of freedom (DOF) whose key elements are electric motors and actuators
Sensor network, including 2 cameras, 4 microphones, sonar rangefinder, 2 IR emitters and receivers, 1 inertial board, 9 tactile sensors, and 8 pressure sensors
Various communication devices, including voice synthesizer, LED lights, and 2 high-fidelity speakers
Intel ATOM 1.6 GHz CPU (located in the head) that runs a Linux kernel and supports Aldebaran’s proprietary middleware (NAOqi)
Second CPU (located in the torso)27.6-watt-hour battery that provides NAO with 1.5 or more hours of autonomy, depending on usage
Posted under humanoid, technology
This post was written by admin on February 24, 2012
Robonaut 2
NASA’s Robonaut 2 (R2) began operations on the International Space Station (ISS) by greeting Commander Dan Burbank with the first “man-robot” handshake in space.
First Robonaut-Astronaut Handshake
R2 is a telepresence droid and can be controlled either from Earth or from the ISS. R2 boasts 38 PowerPC processors and over 350 sensors.
Here is a video:
Posted under research, technology, telepresence
This post was written by admin on February 22, 2012
Researchers at the University of Chicago, Cornell University and iRobot who developed the Universal Jamming Gripper have recently taught their robot to throw things!
Why is this so cool?
The Universal Jamming Grippers consists of a balloon filled with sand or coffee grounds. When slightly inflated it can wrap itself around an object. Then when the air is removed the balloon tightens its grip and holds tight.
Universal Jamming Grippers in Action Picking up a Glass of Water
Posted under research, technology
This post was written by admin on February 22, 2012
Kilobots made by the Self-Organizing Systems Research Group
Kilobots are quarter-sized robots that move on three little legs designed to interact and coordinate their behavior. Created by the Self-Organizing Systems Research Group at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) these little robots can be used to experiment with swarming algorithms. They have recently teamed up with the K-Team Corporation, a Swiss manufacturer of high-quality mobile robots, to mass produce kilobots so that researchers and enthusiasts alike can experiment with their own robot swarms.
More information can be found at Science Daily.
Here is a video of Kilobots in action!
Posted under swarm robotics, technology
This post was written by admin on February 9, 2012
The General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception (GRASP) Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania is developing algorithms to control swarms of quadrotors
Their research group has some amazing videos of quadrotors
Here is a video of quadrotors
Here they perform a construction task:
The latter video was featured on The Colbert Report.
Amazing work (and a little creepy!)
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Posted under autonomous flight, quadcopters, swarm robotics, technology
This post was written by admin on February 4, 2012
An Israeli company Argo Medical Technologies has developed a human exoskeleton that can help people with lower limb paralysis to walk. The technology is called ReWalk and “enables wheelchair users with lower-limb disabilities to stand, walk, and even climb stairs.” It is a robotic suit that can be partially concealed by clothing. The users walk with crutches, and the suit senses changes in the center of mass and the limb position to detect and respond to user intentions.
A Reuters article on the topic can be found here.
Posted under companies, exoskeleton, locomotion, technology
This post was written by admin on September 19, 2008
An article by ComputerWorld notes that a recent study by finds that robotics represent a technology that promises to be disruptive in the sense that it has
the potential to causes a noticeable — even if temporary — degradation or enhancement in one of the elements of U.S. national power
according to a preliminary report released by the National Intelligence Council in April 2008. This report contains the following graph prepared by SRI Consulting Business Intelligence and projects robotic capabilities beyond 2020.
Technology Roadmap: Service Robotics
Posted under projection, technology
This post was written by admin on September 16, 2008
Mars Science Laboratory
On Thursday October 16th at 7pm PST, JPL will host a webcast of a lecture on the new Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Rover. This webcast will require RealPlayer—the free RealPlayer 8 Basic can be downloaded from RealPlayer.
More info can be found here at JPL.
This talk is part of the JPL von Kármán Lecture Series.
Here is the Summary from the JPL Website:
New Wheels on Mars: The Mars Science Laboratory
Dr. Richard Cook
Mars Science Laboratory Project Manager
Building on the success of the two rover geologists that arrived at Mars in January, 2004, NASA’s next rover mission will depart for the Red Planet in 2009. Twice as long and five times as heavy as the Mars Exploration Rovers, the Mars Science Laboratory will collect Martian soil and rock samples and analyze them for organic compounds and minerals which demonstrate that Mars can or did support life. This sophisticated science laboratory will be delivered to the Martian surface using an innovative new landing system. The spacecraft will start by steering itself through the Martian atmosphere in a fashion similar to the way the Apollo entry capsule controlled its entry through Earth’s upper atmosphere. This approach will allow the spacecraft to fly to a desired location above the surface of Mars before deploying its parachute for the final landing. Then, in the final minutes before touchdown, the spacecraft will activate its parachute and retro rockets before lowering the rover package to the surface on a tether.
If you are local, you may be able to attend the talk:
Thursday, October 16, 2008, 7p.m.
The von Kármán Auditorium at JPL
4800 Oak Grove Drive
Pasadena, CA
+Directions
Friday, October 17, 2008, 7p.m.
The Vosloh Forum at Pasadena City College
1570 East Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA
+Directions
Posted under exploration, research, technology
This post was written by admin on September 13, 2008
In April of 2008, Jeff Hawkins founder of Numenta presented their biology-inspired Hierarchical Temporal Memory as keynote speaker at the 2008 RSA Conference.
This link points to the start page. You will have to register to watch the 45 minute talk online, but the keynote talks are free.
Posted under companies, intelligence, research, technology
This post was written by admin on September 2, 2008
