And it’s all powered by an Xbox controller. Microsoft’s ergonomics were apparently just right for the process of carrying out tasks remotely. With the controller, users can navigate the Warrior and send basic functions to it, such as smashing windows or transporting heavy material. It can zoom by at up to eight miles per hour. The biggest advantage is its small footprint.

iRobot VP of operations for military and industrial robots Tim Trainer was quoted as saying, “With the small robots, you really have to optimize them for specific missions. With the Warrior, you can provide more flexibility.” Warrior prototypes have already been deployed, including two that were sent to navigate damage at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan after last year’s earthquake and tsunami.

[via Mashable]

The original Seaglider has a payload of 2kg and the new version has a 4kg payload. The volume for the payload bay has greatly expanded too with 650% more than the original at 21,000 cubic centimeters. That gives the new version more space for sensors and larger sensors than previous versions.

The robot has five sensor payload ports that facilitate range of capabilities. There are new sensor options with a pumped sensor that can measure conductivity, temperature, and pressure with an optional pumped dissolved oxygen sensor. It also has a radiation sensor, echo sounder, and a current profiler sensor in development. The Seaglider can operate at 20 meter depths to as much as 1,000 meters. It can go on missions lasting 9 months without needing to replace batteries.

Earth day was this week, so we have featured some green concepts and innovations. We always like seeing more efficient ways of doing things, and a road that powers its own lighting and traffic systems is a great example of that. But first, the world’s first hybrid car.

World’s First Hybrid Car

If you had to quickly think of a hybrid car, the Prius would probably be the first vehicle that would come to mind. But the very first functional hybrid car was the Porsche Semper Vivus, built way back in 1900. Back then, the battle between electric and combustion engines had not yet been won, and nobody knew for sure which way things would go.

Porsche has rolled out an exact replica of the very first hybrid car, which was painstakingly recreated by a dedicated hobbyist, and gave some journalists a ride around in it. The Semper Vivus had two electric motors, one on each front wheel, and two combustion motors which power the car and also charge the electric motors. Pretty cool! You can check out the action in the videos below.

Solar magnetic energy, the future of solar?

Researchers at the University of Michigan have discovered a new property of light that allows them to harness its magnetic attributes.

Electromagnetism is a classically unified force, the relationship between light and magnetism is well known, but the magnetic component was thought to be weak enough that it could be safely ignored. Stephen Rand, a professor at UMich, said, “You could stare at the equations of motion all day and you will not see this possibility. We’ve all been taught that this doesn’t happen. It’s a very odd interaction. That’s why it’s been overlooked for more than 100 years.”

This could lead to a new kind of solar cell without semiconductors and without absorption to produce charge separation,” Rand said. “In solar cells, the light goes into a material, gets absorbed and creates heat. Here, we expect to have a very low heat load. Instead of the light being absorbed, energy is stored in the magnetic moment. Intense magnetization can be induced by intense light and then it is ultimately capable of providing a capacitive power source.”

Using this magnetic property of light would only require glass, for lenses to focus the light and fiber to guide it. Transparent ceramics are also a possibility. This would be much cheaper than solar cells which are expensive to produce. This could be the breakthrough that makes solar power cheap enough for widespread adoption.

Sidewalk, Heal Thyself

We use concrete for so many things, and it is a great building material: inexpensive, durable, easy to shape. But it can develop micro cracks very quickly when under tension, sometimes in a matter of weeks. Once that happens, water can seep in and the deterioration process begins.

Researchers in Belgium at Delft University have a great solution to this problem: bacteria. They say that they will be able to commercialize a “biological concrete” within two to four years that can heal itself in much the same way our bodies do.

The concrete uses a specially selected bacteria from the genus Bacillus, with a combination of calcium lactate, nitrogen and phosphorus to create a healing agent inside the concrete. If these agents are not exposed to water, they can remain dormant inside the concrete for centuries. But as soon as water seeps in, the bacteria spores germinate and feed on the calcium lactate. This process consumes oxygen, which converts the calcium lactate into limestone that solidifies and seals the surface. As the oxygen is removed, this also protects the steel reinforcement.

’We use clay pellets that are around 2-4mm wide to make sure that the agents are not activated during the mixing process,’ said Dr Henk Jonkers. ’The problem with this is we have to use relatively high volumes of this porous aggregate within the concrete mix. As a result, you gain self-healing but you lose the strength of the concrete.’

In fact, the concrete becomes about 25 percent weaker, which is far too much for applications that require high compressive strength. Jonkers is working on using a compressed powder rather than the pellets, that will hold the self-healing agent in less than one percent of the volume of the concrete.

Researchers at Ghent University are taking a different approach, using a hollow glass capsule to contain the healing agents, which they make out of Bacillus sphaericus and urea. The capsules range from 0.8 to 4mm in diameter. If the concrete cracks, the capsules break, releasing the healing agent. This method retains the strength of the concrete, but sounds more expensive.

Bacteria struggle to fill cracks larger than 300mm. Synthetic agents can fill larger cracks, but they can also make the concrete brittle, and are not sustainable. The scientists hope to find a way to improve their organic healing method, and are already working on a new solution that would make the cost of the self-healing concrete (which now is double the cost of traditional material) on par with regular concrete.

If this material is able to be made commercially, it could save huge amounts of money on road and other infrastructure repairs. 50 percent of Europe’s annual construction budget is spent on rehabilitation and repair of existing structures.

It’s a very green concept, as it is sustainable and also would prolong the life of a building material, so that less would be chucked into landfills.

Solar Roads

And in another case of the Dutch doing crazy things with concrete, how about road with solar panels built in?

The project is called the Solaroad, and was developed by the Dutch research firm TNO. Here’s the idea: a layer of concrete forms the road, a centimeter thick layer of crystalline silicon solar cells is laid on top, and then the whole thing is covered by a layer of toughened glass. Sounds slippery, and expensive. But let’s continue.

The road could produce as much as 50kWh per square meter per year, which could power street lighting, traffic systems, and households. The idea is still in development, and it would be first applied to bike lanes. The first Solaroad is scheduled for installation next year, and then they hope to study it and expand the roads throughout the country. Would this ever make it to the US? Who knows, but probably not in the near future. It will be interesting to see how it works out for the Dutch.

Medical Innovations: Artificial Pancreas, Hand Transplant, Bionic Leg, and an App for Knee Surgery

Artificial pancreas

The pancreas is such an incredibly complex organ, producing needed horomones for the body such as insulin, and also aiding in digestion. It is part of both the endocrine and digestive system. The thought of actually producing an artificial pancreas is staggering. So it isn’t too surprising that this artificial pancreas really isn’t one. It doesn’t actually replace a person’s pancreas. It only fulfills one of the pancreas’ functions, supplying insulin.

The system has three parts: a small subcutaneous patch to monitor blood glucose levels, sending the results via radio frequency to a small computer that calculates the correct insulin dose, and an insulin pump that delivers the dosage.

“The system has the potential to improve the safety and effectiveness of insulin delivery and may allow more flexible lifestyles in the future,” said Dr Roman Hovorka of Cambridge University, who led the study. He said that the system could be exceptionally useful at night, when dangerous blood sugar drops often happen.

There are currently systems that allow a patient to wear a patch that monitors their blood sugar, and a small, cell phone size insulin pump to deliver a steady dose throughout the day. But these still require input from a clinician or a patient. This system is closed-loop, intended to be completely autonomous, just like an organ. It was tested by 12 diabetics overnight, after consuming a large meal with carbohydrates and alcohol (sounds like a joke: 12 diabetics walk into a bar…). The patients had a 22 percent improvement in keeping blood-glucose levels in a safe range, and the incidence of low blood-glucose levels was cut in half.

This technology would be a great improvement in the quality of life for many diabetics. Now, to make it widely available, and affordable.

Hand Transplant

In another amazing medical accomplishment, a woman from Yuba City, California recieved a hand transplant. Emily Fennell is a single mom, and lost her right hand in a car accident in 2006. She had adapted to using her left hand for daily tasks, and had a prosthesis, but it was less than satisfactory. So, in an amazing 14 1/2 hour operation at UCLA Medical Center, which required a team of 20, her bones, blood vessels, nerves and tendons were connected to the donated hand.

This is the 13th such transplant in the US, and the first at UCLA. Fennell will have to take medication for the rest of her life to prevent rejection of the hand, but with some intensive rehabilitation (she is spending more than 8 hours a day in therapy now), she will be able to regain significant use of the hand. It will never be fully functional but she will regain 60 percent of function. She was able to move her new fingers soon after the surgery, but still has no feeling in the hand. The surgery cost $800,000, but it was experimental, so she did not have to pay.

A surgeon who has performed the transplant surgery on another patient, Dr. Linda Cendales, described the function of a transplanted hand this way, “They will never have a normal hand. But they do recover enough sensation to differentiate between temperatures, and rough and smooth surfaces.” They can open doors, tie shoes and turn pages. Not a bad deal, all things considered.

Bionic Leg

There have been great advances in the use of prosthetic limbs, making them lighter, more comfortable, and easier to move. But many of the current prosthetics are operated manually, by the person swinging their leg out to step forward. Scientists at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago’s Center for Bionic Medicine are working on a project to create a robotic prosthesis that would be controlled by the person’s own nervous system, and powered so that it can move on its own.

One patient that is testing the new technology is Hailey Daniswicz, 20, who lost her lower leg to bone cancer in 2005. Daniswicz is training a computer avatar to recognize slight movements in her thigh. She has electrodes attached to nine different muscles in her thigh, and can see her progress on the screen as she flexes and moves her muscles. The computer begins to recognize the intent of the user over time.

She is participating in a clinical trial sponsored by the U.S. Army using electromyography (electrical signals produced by muscles) and pattern recognition computer software to control the next generation of robotic limbs. She will eventually be fitted with a robotic limb.

“We’re really integrating the machine with the person,” said Levi Hargrove, a research scientist at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago’s Center for Bionic Medicine who is leading the project. The researchers have already developed prosthetic arms that use nerve impulses to operate. A leg is the next step. It is too early to say now when these would be available, but we are closer than we’ve ever been before.

Knee Surgery? There’s an app for that.

Is there anything you can’t do with an app? There’s even an app that assists with knee surgery. The app is called DASH and is developed to work on an iPod touch to aid doctors through complex knee and hip replacement surgery. There’s of course more equipment needed than just the iPod touch, but the device is an integral part of the system.

Doctors at Breach Candy hospital in Mumbai successfully performed three knee replacement surgeries using the new technology. The system involves slipping the iPod touch into a case that has precision measuring instruments attached to it. The surgeon then positions the iPod touch to read the data from the high-resolution screen to accurately mark spots to cut and properly align new components into the joint.

“Accuracy in positioning the new joint is what decides how well the patient walks post-surgery, how much the knee bends, and even how long it lasts,” said Dr. Arun Mullaji, who demoed the new system.

There are already precision technologies that help with the complexity of knee surgery, but they are bulky and complicated to operate. The DASH software along with the use of an iPod touch makes the process more portable, intuitive, and affordable. The system was developed by Smith & Nephew along with Brainlab and already has a CE certification for Europe. It is waiting for approval in the U.S. A free demo of the app is available for download called DASH Learn.

See the video of how it is done here:

And Now For The Robots…

SARCOS: A robot you can push around

The Sarcos is a full body humanoid robot that stands and balances on its own two feet with movements that are fluid thanks to the use of hydraulic actuators. Ben Stephens, a Ph.D. research student at Carnegie Mellon, works with Sarcos to develop its balancing abilities. In the first video below you will see him demonstrating Sarcos by having it perform a dance that was programmed from recording human movement via motion capture.

The second video actually shows Sarcos getting pushed with a stick and being able to step forward to adjust its balance without falling over. That’s a good skill to have considering Sarcos is probably not cheap nor lightweight and could cause both monetary and physical damage. What’s interesting in both videos is that Sarcos is not just playing back programmed joint movements, but is actively adjusting balance throughout each movement.

Now, if they can make him cordless, and give him some skin, that guy is going to be really freaky.

iRobots in Fukushima

On Sunday April 17th, iRobot packbots entered the Fukushima Daiichi reactor building 3 to explore parts of the plant that have been closed to people since the facility was evacuated. Japanese nuclear workers were entering some locations in the plant just after the disaster, but now they’ve mostly pulled back to safe locations. The shorter term radiation doses were relatively safe, but at sustained elevated levels the threat of damage grows. The repair efforts continue with support from a number of robotic helpers.

The packbots had the important job of taking radiation and temperature readings from inside the rooms that had been sealed since the disaster. TEPco has not released these findings to the public yet, but rest assured, you don’t want to go in there. The bots also feature a video camera with a live-feed to operators at a safe location. The iRobot packbots are notable for their use in US Military operations in Iraq and Afganistan as bomb defusal bots.

See the video of the packbots entering the plant:

That’s a wrap for SlashGear Science week in review. Thanks for reading, and see you next week. We always appreciate your feedback, so feel free to send in your suggestions, or leave them in the comments.

The packbots had the important job of taking radiation and temperature readings from inside the rooms that had been sealed since the disaster. TEPco has not released these finding to the public just yet. Rest assured, you don’t want to go in there. The bots also feature a video camera with a live-feed to operators at a safe location. The iRobot packbots are notable for their use in US Military operations in Iraq and Afganistan as bomb defusal bots.

There are a number of remote controlled robots in use for the repair operations in the Fukushima Daiichi reactor. TEPco started with remote controlled helicopter drones to get sustained closer looks at the damage throughout the reactor complex. They’ve also been using remotely controlled excavators and transporters. Much of the debris and rubble left from the disaster is too radioactive to safely deal with directly.

[via Technology Review]

The little bot rides on tank treads that are rubber and the one you see in the pics here is the first of its kind. The bot is waterproof to depths of up to three feet and it is strong enough that it can survive 15-foot drops. I guess that means you could just throw this thing over a fence to see what’s on the other side. It has a pair of outriggers that can flip it back over in the event it crashes.

The controller is a wrist wearable box that has a LCD screen on it that allows the driver to view the video generated by the four cameras that are on the machine. The device itself is quite small with a weight of five pounds and ten inches in length. It also has full audio so you can hear what the bad people are saying. It runs on internal batteries that are good for six hours of eavesdropping per charge.

[via Technabob]

Johnny Chung Lee made this creation due to having to leave his partner temporarily due to work relocation. This was a simple way–for hackers at least–to maintain a presence at home. Using a netbook on top provided a nice large screen and made it easy to use the freely available Skype video conferencing software.

The base is a hack of an iRobot so it probably wont be able to traverse anywhere beyond the house. But compared to the telepresence robots in the thousands of dollars, this hack alternative is an awesome way of putting together affordable and existing technologies to achieve similar functionality. Now wouldn’t be neat if it could still vacuum at the same time?

[Via Make]

The bot is called the iRobot Scooba 230 and the thing is a floor washing bot that is tiny enough to fit into the tight spaces around bathroom fixtures. The company is also unveiled the new iRobot 700 series as well that are the smartest and most effective vacuuming bots the company has made. Both the 230 and the new 700 series bots use iAdapt tech inside that senses and monitors the environment and uses different behaviors to ensure that your floors are clean. The tech allows the robots to go under and around furniture and make multiple passes over areas that need it the most.

The Scooba 230 is a cool little bot that is 3.5-inches tall and 6.5-inches around and has a 3-stage cleaning system that washes, scrubs, and squeegees the floors. It can hold enough cleaning solution for 150 square feet of flooring in a single clean session and it comes with virtual wall tech to be sure the bot doesn’t end up on your carpet. The 700-series has all sorts of features as well including touchpad control and dual HEPA filters. Pricing on both of the units is unknown with launch set for the spring on both offerings.

The company has announced that it has shipped its 3,000th iRobot PackBot tactical robot. The robot rides on tank treads and has an articulating arm with a camera attached to the end to let a remote operator see what the robot is doing. The PackBot can be outfitted for different mission types.

One of the most important mission types that the PackBot undertakes for the US military is bomb disposal. In addition to explosive ordinance disposal, the robot can also be used to survey locations with hostile troops to keep soldiers safer. The robot is controlled by a game-style hand controller for faster training and easier operation.

Inspirations for the project were a spatula and a dustpan. According to the people from the project, the robotic arm they created was able to pick various items off different floor types 95% of the time. It picked up things like the TV remote, a bottle of pills, and various other things we are apt to drop.

The robot arm was even able to pick up a single pill, which can be hard for some of us to do ourselves. Once the arm pushes the items into the tray, it lifts the items up to the height where a seated person can reach it. The point of the robot is to help the elderly or disabled pick things up from the floor, which can be a huge challenge.

Check out the video of Readybot in action, after the cut!

Taking the DARPA concept as their starting point, the team have challenged themselves to come up with a prototype capable of 50-percent of the usual cleaning tasks by the end of the year, topping out at 80-percent in its final form.  They’re also claiming that, based on current progress, a “solid engineering and design team” could produce a shippable product in just two years.

Perhaps I’ve watched too many of those 50s “The Home of the Future!” clips, telling us that by the turn of the 21st century we’d all have robotic servants doing our bidding, but I can’t take this thing seriously.  If it works out, fantastic – I’d love one! – but I’m reserving the right to be dubious.

Press Release:

Readybot Kitchen-Cleaning Robot Takes on Family Room – With Help From Friendly Vacuum

PLEASANTON, Calif. –(Business Wire)– Jun. 23, 2008 The Readybot Robot Challenge, a non-profit research group that earlier in the year released a video of their kitchen-cleaning robot prototype, announces a second video. This time Readybot cleans a family room full of toys and clutter. Video available at http://www.readybot.com or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtP1zFZM0Zo.

The Readybot prototype, which designers say “looks like a dishwasher, but with arms,” is shown rolling into action. It uses a carpet rake attachment to scrape toys into plastic bins, moving sideways and diagonally to reach tight spots. It stores the bins in a cabinet, closes the door, and empties the trash. “As always, we’re just showing a few key skills, to give viewers a feel for what robots can do,” says Readybot Director Tom Benson. “We can think of ten new ideas, for every one that we have time to write into the application software.”

In a surprise move, the video shows Readybot deploying one of the popular off-the-shelf cleaning robots, which scoots out to vacuum the carpet. Why didn’t the Readybot team build their own? “Vacuum robots are inexpensive, extremely well engineered, and available anywhere,” says Benson. “Why should we re-invent something that already works great?”

Benson explains how this fits their view of the future of robotics. “We believe the next and largest wave of the robotics industry will be similar to personal computers. With PCs, the disk drives, motherboards, and other components are made by different vendors and assembled into an easy-to-upgrade final product. This approach has led to fast growth and innovation in the PC market. We believe robots will be the same – robot arms, bases, video systems could be made by different vendors and plugged together. So it makes perfect sense to use an existing vacuum robot as a peripheral.”

This echoes views of other articles in the press, including a June 2006 Scientific American article by Microsoft founder Bill Gates. “It’s an international phenomenon,” said Benson, “with researchers all over the world, including here in Silicon Valley, developing the technology. The challenge is to assemble that into a practical platform, and fill in a few missing pieces.”

Readybot plans to announce “Phase II” of their robot challenge in the Fall of 2008.

Obviously completely devoid of any laurels altogether, Tom over at Botmag has already got his hands on the Create and has knocked up a few entertaining prototypes that range from the school science lab (a robot arm) to the obscure (some sort of robotic hamster?!)  It’s an entertaining enough review simply for the photos, but if you’re in any way tech-minded then I imagine you’re already drooling a little at the possibilities iRobot have opened up.

Botmag [via MAKE]