Posts Tagged robot gadgets

Tree Planting Robot

Posted by admin in Future Concepts on August 21st, 2010

Imagine living in a world where all the trees are slowly dying, and all animals must be replaced with robotic couterparts. This would be the giraffe.

Actually, this particular robot is designed to prevent an environmental apocalypse. You see, this is a Tree Planting Robot, designed for reforestation projects.

The Tree Planting Robot is good for carrying 320 seedlings, with each one in a biodegradable plastic protective barrier that protects it from plant-eating insects.

Not only can this thing plant, but it can also weed. Apparently, it has hot steam to destroy “competing vegetation, such as choking vines that can affect other plants”. It can also plant in patterns, just in case you want some sort of landscaping done.

Yeah, this is a concept project for now. I suppose it could be used for cases where a volcano like Mount St. Helens blows away the forest area.

However, why should we limit this guy on just Earth? Isn’t there a way to put this on Mars, and have it plant all sorts of vegetation. Then we could have some serious atmosphere by the time we land there, if ever. Of course, I could be wrong about the science here. Still, we are talking about a robot that plants here. We’re sort of in the science-fiction realm.

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WASP seeks out Wi-Fi and gives it back

Posted by admin in Future Concepts on August 18th, 2010

If you were to take a look at this thing, you might think it was a giant wasp.

It actually is a WASP, also known as a Wi-Fi Aerial Surveillance Platform It is actually a modified US Army gunnery target drone, and it does fly.

The purpose of this flying guy is to be a Wi-Fi sniffer. It is guided by an open source auto pilot, and it has a lot of equipment to seek out a stable Wi-Fi signal. From there, it can beam it back to its operators via Wi-Fi, RF, or 3G connections. It was recently presented at Defcon 18, a hacker’s convention at Las Vegas.

Okay, I want to see if I’m getting this right. Someone has invented a flying device that will sniff out a Wi-Fi signal, and then can beam it to you. Man, I would get something like this in a second if it could really guarantee me a signal every time. Instead of opening up my laptop and hoping that a signal is there, I could just let the WASP seek it out.

Except wouldn’t this WASP eventually lose power, and fall? Maybe if it was solar powered, or working like a kite, then we would have something. Yes, I’ve got to come back down to Earth for this one. Somebody might want to correct me with a comment if I am misinterpreting the use of the WASP.

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Robotic Wheelchair to Follow You

Posted by admin in Future Concepts on August 12th, 2010

I’m not certain what comes to your mind when you read the words “robotic wheelchair” in the headline. Perhaps a normal wheelchair that is pushed by a robot like C3PO, or one that runs on completely on automation (like an R2-D2 wheelchair, if we can extend the Star Wars metaphor).

Actually, this is a concept project from the Saitama University Human and Robot Interaction Center. As you can see from the picture, there is no separate robot doing the pushing, but the wheelchair behind the person in the photo is automated, to some degree.

The wheelchair has a built-in distance sensor and camera system that can track the position of someone in front of them, and follow them. It can also follow someone who is on the side of them, which is easier for conversation.

This robotic wheelchair is definitely handy for temporarily alleviating wheelchair controls, which can be clumsy and awkward at times. It also comes in handy in rest homes and hospitals, where understaffed facilities can lead to one person pushing two wheelchairs at a time. If robotic wheelchairs are used, then it is possible that a train of wheelchairs can follow one person.

I guess this is the future, and I suppose it won’t be long before we see it being used all over. For now, it is still a concept.

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Rock’Em Sock ‘Em Robots done wirelessly

Posted by admin in DIY Gadgets, Games Gadgets on August 9th, 2010

I am sure that you don’t really need an introduction to the game that these people are playing.

I’m sure all of us have played Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em robots at some point in our lives. I’m also sure that you have noticed that the people playing this game are not using their hands.

That is because Zachery Shivers and Anne Flichbaugh have made Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em robots motion controlled. There is a video here if you want to see how they did it. Be warned, there is a lot of technical jargon that the layman may not understand.

All you need to know is that the wrists can detect punching motion and other movement, and it transmits to the figures so one player can knock the other player’s block off. The rest is a lot of specifics that make it look like you could build a motion controlled version of this game for yourself.

Just to let you know, this is not something that a toy maker is working on at this present time. This is a part of a Texas Instruments’ Co-op Design Challenge. So do we have a winner? Well, if you like to watch different people say “Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em robots”, then at least this video is a hit.

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And Now the Award for Best Use of a Giant Robotic Arm

Posted by admin in Games Gadgets on August 9th, 2010

My source called this photo the “image of the day”, and I have to agree. You might wonder this is. Just to let you know, it has nothing to do with Neo and his friends aboard the Nebuchadnezzar getting plugged into the Matrix.

It is about creating a virtual simulation. Believe it or not, the purple section that you see in the photo is part of a gigantic robotic arm. I don’t know what this mammoth robot arm was originally used for, but it is now a vital part of a racing simulator. You can watch the video after the jump if you don’t believe me.

I guess what you don’t see here in the picture is the video screen that is certainly in front of the user in the video. You will notice how the arm will lean back as the speed increases, and it shifts back and forth with the turns. I’m pretty certain that this is how Disneyland’s Star Tours works.

This robot arm/racing simulator is part of a study by Paolo Robuffo Giordano at Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, researching the way our bodies experience motion. I don’t think it is made for home use like the SimCraft, but I suppose if I had a giant robot arm, a TV screen, a racing game, then this is definitely the best combination that I could think of.

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ROCR robot can climb walls like a monkey

Posted by admin in Future Concepts on August 7th, 2010

We have covered robots that climb before, two of them on one day, actually. This ROCR from the University of Utah can actually climb walls like a spider. It’s more like a monkey, honestly. Let’s just say it’s like a spider monkey.

I’m not certain what ROCR is an abbreviation for, but I have a video of it after the jump. As you can see, it has a tail that swings like a pendulum with every climb, which apparently holds the batteries.

It can only climb carpeted walls for now, but it goes at a speed of six inches per second. The creators of the ROCR boast of its efficiency to be twenty percent, a number derived by the ratio of work done to energy consumed.

Apparently, the next (and most obvious) step is higher climbing efficiencies and extended battery life. I’m sure there are plans to make certain that certain that it can climb more than just carpeted walls. Soon it will give Spider-man a run for his money.

Of course, I can think of more practical uses for this technology other than cool spider-bots. For example, just think of a window washer on a large skyscraper with one of these things on his back. No more of those cable and scaffolding jobs. I can’t think of anything else for this, but give it time.

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FedEX CEO envisions a future of robot planes

Posted by admin in Future Concepts on July 28th, 2010

I’m sure that most of you have seen all the Fed Ex airplanes at the “Hub” in the film Cast Away. Yes, they really do need all those planes to get all of our stuff to the proper place, and FedEX CEO Fred Smith sees a better way.

His vision is simple: robot planes. Yes, I know, there are many safety concerns with these. What Fred Smith envisions are not these autonomous planes that fly on their own to select locations, but rather an idea where one plane with a real human pilot leads a fleet of robotic planes around the world and makes certain they land properly at their proper destination. In other words, robot planes that fly in V formation like geese, with a human plane in the lead.

Yes, this sounds like something like science fiction, but you know that there are several UAV robot drones that work for the military. However, you should also know that UAVs are not supposed to fly over residential areas. Therefore, FedEx is going to have to get a lot of clearance to pull off something like this.

In a related story, some researchers at Ohio’s Wright-Patterson Air Force Base want to build some robots that can load and unload planes. I suppose that we’re on our way to completely removing the human from the shipping equation. This might not be a good thing in the longrun.

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Driverless vehicles to go from Italy to China

Posted by admin in Car Gadgets on July 23rd, 2010

Imagine a long drive that starts from Parma, Italy and ends in China. Now imagine this drive happening without drivers.

This is exactly the project that is planned to take place. This proposed trip wouldn’t be about sending a Knight Rider type car to make the trip all by its lonesome, but with four vans. One van will be in front, with the two robot vans in the middle, followed by a normally driven van in case of maintenance issues.

The plan is to see how these vehicles will react to stimuli. I am assuming that he is referring to traffic signals, pedestrians, and other highway hazards. Yes, that is very dangerous, and these robot vans are not going to be completely driverless. There will be people behind the wheel that will take over at the push of a button if it looks like there will be trouble.

As project leader Alberto Broggi says:

What we are trying to do is stress our systems and see if they can work in a real environment, with real weather, real traffic and crazy people who cross the road in front of you and a vehicle that cuts you off.

I look forward to hearing about this particular trip. I also can’t wait to hear about the first time we will send a lone driverless vehicle on the road. I wonder if that is the next step, should this trip prove successful.

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Autom robot helps you lose weight

Posted by admin in Future Concepts on July 22nd, 2010

As someone who is trying to lose weight, I have quickly learned how tough a fight it is going to be.

I believe the Autom robot was designed to help out the user with their diet. It is up to the user to enter in the details of their diet, such has their fitness level. Just think of it as a WiiFit, except the white rectangle talks to you.

The Autom has some sort of databank, and then it can carry on some conversations. I can only assume that these conversations are pretty one-sided, and Autom will tell you to “stick to your workout, fattie”. Okay, I added the “fattie” on the end there, but I think you see what is going on here. I have a video of it if you want to see it in action.

This is kind of a spoiler, but the video says that Autom is going to be featured in the film Astro Boy. I seem to recall seeing that film last year, and I didn’t see it.

Personally, I think this thing should make an appearance on The Biggest Loser. Apparently, there are plans to get this thing out soon. They will probably advertise it on The Biggest Loser along with all the other health products they sell.

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Robot Bina48 gets interviewed by the New York Times

Posted by admin in Future Concepts on July 13th, 2010

When I first saw this picture, I thought it was a female version of Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite, but with a blond wig. It is actually a robot.

Needless to say, it could “make your wildest dreams come true” about sentient robots. This is Bina48, a robot that is not at MIT or some major university, but the Terasem Movement Foundation in some small town in Bristol, Vermont.

I have included a video of the interview after the jump so you can see the “Interview with a Robot” for yourself. As you might have guessed, Bina48 did not understand some of the questions.

In fact, when the reporter mentioned “cool”, Bina 48 thought that she was referring to the weather or sickness. Robot misunderstandings like that are fodder for really bad science fiction.

As for Bina48’s appearance, that is modeled after Bina (Martine) Rothblatt, and she apparently spent a lot of time with this project. The robot’s “mental programming” is derived from her, and Bina48 seems to want to know more of the human Bina.

Okay, do we want to speculate where this is going? Do I even need to give you the whole: “should we make robots more human” essay? All I can tell you is that Bina48 could be the breakthrough that we have been waiting for, because it certainly is more advanced then a chatbot.

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