The DIY ‘bot pairs a PhantomX Hexapod kit and a custom MLI hexacopter, using carbon-fiber and aluminum components to keep the weight down. In total, the whole thing tips the scales at 10.8 pounds, and is strong enough to not only transport its own weight, but light objects it can grasp with its legs.

Possible future improvements could include the ability for the two sections to detach and be independently controlled, meaning Hexa could fly in, deposit the hexapod, and then fly back out again. That could eventually be useful for search & rescue operations, transporting Hexa-style hunting drones to a disaster area and then leaving them to rummage through the rubble for survivors.

The MLI team said back in December that, if demand was deemed sufficiently strong, it would consider Kickstarter for a Hexa kit. No word on what stage that project is up to, nor how much it might eventually cost.

Of course, right now there are human controllers in charge of Hexa, but AI research is doing its level best to cook up autonomous versions that are so ominous that even Google’s Eric Schmidt is calling for drone increased regulation. The situation is only likely to get more serious, however, with recent DARPA proposals suggesting potential funding for companies capable of delivering self-controlled flying gadgets.

[via Hack'n'Mod]

The image was tweeted by Idealab founder Bill Gross, along with a claim that the self-driving car collects almost 1GB of data every second (yes, every second). This data includes imagery of the cars surroundings in order to effectively and safely navigate roads. The image shows that the car sees its surroundings through an infrared-like camera sensor, and it even can pick out people walking on the sidewalk.

Of course, 1GB of data every second isn’t too surprising when you consider that the car has to get a 360-degree image of its surroundings at all times. The image we see above even distinguishes different objects by color and shape. For instance, pedestrians are in bright green, cars are shaped like boxes, and the road is in dark blue.

However, we’re not sure where this photo came from, so it could simply be a rendering of someone’s idea of what Google’s self-driving car sees. Either way, Google says that we could see self-driving cars make their way to public roads in the next five years or so, which actually isn’t that far off, and Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk is even interested in developing self-driving cars as well. However, they certainly don’t come without their problems, and we’re guessing that the first batch of self-driving cars probably won’t be in 100% tip-top shape.

[via BuzzFeed]

The robot only stands a couple feet tall, and it uses a giant flyswatter-like bat in order to make contact with the ball, so it essentially can’t hit like Alex Rodriguez, but maybe in the future the robot will give the all-star a run for his money. The robot features an artificial brain with the power of 100,000 neurons that allow the robot to learn and improve on its swing over time.

How the whole thing works is that when a ball is pitched to the robot, an accelerometer behind the robot records information about the flight and speed of the ball, and this data is sent to a separate machine off to the side that holds the robot’s brain. The data gets processed and it lets the robot know when to swing.

The impressive part is that if the speed of the ball changes, the robot can re-learn the swing all over again to try and hit the ball at the new speed. Hopefully the researchers will be able to soon give the robot a real bat instead of a giant flyswatter and be able to hit real baseballs, but that kind of technology probably won’t be on its way for several more years.

[via Wired]

For instance, we know how hard we can squeeze a fragile item, such as a glass, without breaking it. Without that sort of feedback, a robot could simply crush an item they are meant to handle safely. A group of scientists from the United States and China working together have created an experimental array that is able to sense pressure in the same range as the human fingertip.

The creation of the experimental array is a step forward in allowing robots and other machines to mimic the human sense of touch. The so-called “smart skin” is able to “feel” activity on its surface. The material is embedded with sensors that use bundles of vertical zinc oxide nano wires. The material also contains arrays consisting of about 8000 transistors.

Each of those 8000 transistors is capable of producing an electronic signal when placed under mechanical strain. These sensors are called taxels and promise sensitivity on par with the human fingertip. While there are other ways to give materials a sense of touch, the method developed by the researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology relies on a different physical phenomenon. These researchers use tiny polarization charges from piezoelectric materials, such as zinc oxide, that are produced when the material is moved or placed under a strain. The scientists believe that the technology could be used in robotics, human computer interfaces, and other areas where mechanical deformation is present.

[via BBC]

The robot is called the FlipperBot, and it features two motor-driven flippers with flexible wrists that are similar to sea turtle wrists. The robot is designed to travel through malleable surfaces like sand, just like sea turtles, and these kids of robots could help engineers further develop robot technology that will allow robots to swim through water, as well as walk on land.

The FlipperBot is quite small, measuring in at about 7.5 inches long and weighing only two pounds. Scientists are using these kinds of newly-developed robots to better understand how turtle flippers work, as well as help researchers understand how sea turtles evolved to be able to walk on land, especially with limbs that were designed for swimming rather than walking.

Daniel Goldman, a physicist at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, says that these kinds of experiments will also work with other animals who have a long history. He says that him and his team are “working with paleontologists on studying what the first animals moving on land were like with more paleontologically realistic robots.” He notes that most animals likely encountered sand and mud, rather than concrete and hard rock, bringing up the question of how animals moved through these malleable substances.

[via Tech News Daily]

The Lego Mindstorms sets are built to actively engage students and teach them about various fundamentals in the fields of science, technology, and engineering. The Lego sets come with digital workbooks, so teachers shouldn’t have a hard time learning about the new platform before handing them over the students.

We briefly got a look at the third-generation Mindstorms EV3 sets at CES 2013 back in January, and they essentially allow you to build different kinds of robots that you can control with an app on your iOS or Android device. The educational kits will come with software that will easily guide students through the process of building a Mindstorms robot.

Kits start at $340, and they’re available to pre-order right now. That may a bit on the expensive side, and to equip an entire classroom with these sets would be quite costly, but as with most other educational tools, they should be able to hold up for a few years and be able to go through hundreds of students hands.

Liquid Robotics is hailing the Wave Glider SV3 as a technology that will help in the scientific research of climate change, ocean conditions, and more. The robot is capable of taking on harsh conditions, including hurricanes and cyclones, doldrums, and high currents, to name a few. As the name indicates, this latest edition builds upon the previous Wave Glider SV2.

The Wave Glider SV3 offers on-board processing, offering a way to collect and process data that wasn’t previously available. The ocean robot has a hybrid propulsion system composed of both solar and wave-powered energy generation, as well as an adaptable modular power system that can handle energy-intensive resources, such as running sonar. No word on how much this beast will cost you.

Liquid Robotics CEO Bill Gliders said: “The SV3 is a tremendous step forward in terms of what we can accomplish in the ocean and gives customers a competitive advantage to capture data in the most challenging ocean conditions. By providing the ability to deploy Wave Gliders across most of the planet and deliver ocean data in a new and cost-effective way, we’re enabling broad access to affordable ocean exploration.”

[via Liquidr]

The device is known as the Raiju Coat, which translates to Fulfillment Coat. The jacket uses a pair of robotic pinchers and a pre-recorded voice to go along with the hugging experience. The jacket also uses motors that are attached to the back to operate the fake arms that are controlled by computer through a USB connection.

The person using the jacket wears headphones that transmit audio from the attached computer. The prerecorded sentences that the system says as it hugs you include “I’m sorry, were you waiting?”; “Watch your back!” (in a cute way); “Guess who?”; and “Blind side!” Apparently, it hugs you from behind.

The voice used for the sentences comes from Yu Shimotsuki, who is a Japanese voiceover artist known for work in adult-themed video games. The students have no plans to release The Girlfriend Coat commercially at this time. Check out the video below to see the hugging jacket in action.

[via Japan Daily Press]

As described, the flight of a dragonfly is unique over, for example, birds, making it an appealing – and relatively difficult – subject for robotics. A dragonfly can move its two pairs of wings independent of each other, can make sharp turns, go backwards, and speed up quickly. Festo undertook the challenge, and the result is the BionicOpter, which the company says is the first model capable of more flight conditions can a plane, glider, and helicopter all mixed together.

You can see all these flight conditions in action in the video above. Festo boasts that each wing is built with amplitude controllers, which allows it to operate independent of its counterpart wing and the other pair of wings, with both thrust intensity and direction being adjustable. There are adjustments for flight vibrations, and the robot is designed to be operational in both outdoor and indoor settings.

One of the most interesting aspects of the BionicOpter is that it can be controlled via a smartphone, with the controlling aspect being similar to flying a toy helicopter – only the direction needs to be changed. The software, sensors, and other hardware take care of the particulars, moving all four wings as necessary to achieve the direction needed in the environmental conditions where it is located.

[via Festo]

Boston Dynamics ended up recording a video of the robot throwing the cinder block across the testing field, and it’s quite impressive, but also extremely freaky and scary at the same time. You can watch as the robot grabs onto the cinder block and picks up while attempting to keep its balance. However, just as you think the robot might tip over, it flings its arm around and tosses the cinder block a good 30 feet or so.

Cinder blocks aren’t light by any means. They can weigh anywhere from 20 to 30 pounds, and most of us would have to use two hands to pick one up. After that, we’d probably only be able to throw one half the distant that the robot threw its cinder block. In any case, you now know that robots are capable of throwing heavy objects straight at you.

Of course, we’re not quite sure what the implications would be for a military robot that’s going to be used for carrying supplies. We’re guessing the arm could be used for moving small obstacles out of the way, or maybe hurling heavy objects (like cinder blocks) at enemies. Whatever the case, we now know what robots are capable of if they ever turn on us.

This week at CES 2013 we’ve gotten the opportunity to have a peek at both of iRobot’s newest creations, starting with the Looj 330 gutter-cleaning robot. This machine and the pool cleaning robot are made by the same folks who brought you the ever-lovable Roomba (and DJ Roomba, mind you), so you know you’ll be in for a treat. The Looj 330 gutter-cleaning robot is ready to enter brand new markets (outside the USA for the first time, a first for an outdoor robot from iRobot) with a selection of improved gutter-sweeping features.

This robot is able to work with its handle attached or remotely with the handle acting as wireless control over the beast from afar. Have a look at the video above to get an idea of what fun this otherwise arduous task could be for you rather soon. Scout out our original details post on both the gutter cleaning robot and the pool robot to see additional bits of details.

The Mirra 530 pool-cleaning robot is slightly more high-powered than the gutter cleaner, using iAdapt Nautiq technology to find the size of your pool on its own, automatically adjusting its cleaning method to most effectively take on the task. This machine cleans not only debris from your pool that you’d otherwise have to fish out with a net like leaves, dirt clumps, and hair, but smaller and even nearly invisible items as well – 70 gallons of water per minute filtering pollen, algae, and bacteria as small as two microns.

Take heed and see these machines above and below in the hands-on video and photos we’ve got prepped for you, and make sure to check our CES 2013 portal too for sweet up to the minute and hands-on action all week!

A main focus to the EV3 system is the central Intelligent Brick, which runs on Linux and an ARM9 processor, both of which make the system even faster and more easily hackable than its predecessor robotic systems. Aside from speed specs, the biggest change on the Brick is the addition of Bluetooth, which allows builders to control their robots via an Android or iOS app. There’s also a USB port and an SD card slot.

Another addition to the system is that the robots’ eyes are actually infrared sensors, which can detect motion, so whenever you wave your hand in front of the robot, it will detect it and either attack, flee, dance, whatever. One of the robots was a dragon, and whenever a person crosses its path, it will extend its body and open its fiery mouth to attack.

The EV3 robotic system from Lego will go on sale sometime this summer for a pretty penny — 35,000 of them, or $350. The Mindstorms EV3 will essentially replace the Mindstorms NXT 2.0 line, which came out in 2009. The programming software kit itself works on both Windows and Mac OS X.

The Mirra 530 deep cleans any type of in-ground pool, both the surface and the water. iRobot has engineered the machine to remove all of the pesky gunk from your pool, including leaves, hair, and dirt. However, it also tackles the things you can’t see, such as algae, pollen, and bacteria as small as two microns.

The pool-cleaning robot can go through up to 70 gallons of water per minute and filter out all the debris that makes its way through. Thanks to its iAdapt Nautiq system, it’ll even automatically figure out the size of your pool to determine which cleaning program is the most efficient.

Furthermore, the company is also unveiling the Looj 330 gutter-washer to those outside of the US, and it’s the first time that iRobot is selling an outdoor unit outside of the US. The Mirra 530 pool cleaner will set you back a cool $1,299 (€1,499 in Europe) and will launch in the spring. The Looj 330 will also arrive in the spring, costing €299.

The Legged Squad Support System (LS3) robot, as it’s called, has evolved into a quieter, and more robust machine compared to past DARPA robots, which were louder than anticipated. The latest LS3 version represents the US military’s best hope for a robotic assistant that can carry combat loads across rough terrain for soldiers.

The new robot can also play “follow the leader” of sorts and be trained to follow a specific person, similar to an actual trained mule or horse. And it can regain its balance if it accidentally tumbles over rough terrain. During field testing, the robot successfully navigated ditches, streams, wooded slopes, and other rough environments.

Aside from carrying precious cargo for the military, these robotic mules could also be used as mobile recharging station for US troops to recharge batteries used in radios, transmitters, and other handheld mobile devices. The US Marines have already experimented with using renewable energy sources such as portable solar panels, but a charging station for soldiers would be pretty convenient as well.

[via Live Science]

In addition to feeding herself, Ms. Scheuermann was also able to pick up and move various objects. In doing so, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC were able to show the first instance of someone who has had quadriplegia for an extended period of time controlling the robotic arm in seven dimensions.

The Department of Neurobiology’s senior investigator at Pitt School of Medicine Andrew Schwartz, Ph.D, offered this statement. “This is a spectacular leap toward greater function and independence for people who are unable to move their own arms. This technology, which interprets brain signals to guide a robot arm, has enormous potential that we are continuing to explore. Our study has shown us that it is technically feasible to restore ability; the participants have told us that BCI gives them hope for the future.”

This came about after Scheuermann was shown a video of a Pennsylvanian man with quadriplegia controlling a robotic arm and digital objects on a screen with his mind. The video called for volunteers, for which Scheuermann was more than happy to oblige. After going through the formalities, she underwent a surgery that put two 1/4th-inch electrodes on her brain that allow her to control the robot. The electrodes work by detecting firing neurons and interpreting patterns using computer algorithms.

Said Jennifer Collinger, Ph. D: “We could actually see the neurons fire on the computer screen when she thought about closing her hand. When she stopped, they stopped firing. So we thought, ‘This is really going to work.”

[via UPMC]

Engineers from the Chiba Institute of Technology in Japan have come up with a robotic wheelchair concept that gives physically-disabled individuals the ability to climb stairs without moving a single leg muscle. The wheelchair has five axes that it moves on. This allows the wheelchair to lift up off the ground and move in a walking fashion.

It can climb steps and move around various obstacles whilst remaining surprisingly stable. It can even turn 360 degrees around its center. The wheelchair also has a ton of sensors that detect incoming obstructions and automatically deals with them as they come, and if the sensors fail, wheel torque can be automatically adjusted to act as a backup.

The video shows the robotic wheelchair in action, and we have to say that it looks extremely advanced for just being a concept. Hopefully, this is just the beginning and we’ll see the wheelchair gain even more features in the future. The designer wants a lot of people to try it so that he can fine-tune the wheelchair as much as possible.

[via TechHive]

Facial recognition in robotics so far has generally been a compromise between power, accuracy, and speed. The open-source Qbo robot, for instance, uses a combination of local and cloud-based processing, able to learn and the recognize familiar faces and objects, as well as crowd-source identification of objects other Qbo ‘bots have been trained to identify.

However, early home robots – such as Sony’s Aibo – were altogether more humble in their capabilities; the robot dog, for instance, was able to spot and track a colorful ball, but its face recognition was rudimentary. Similarly, identification systems for phones and laptops, where systems can be unlocked after recognizing the user, have struggled to balance the responsiveness those users demand with the accuracy required for true biometric security.

NEC’s system could streamline that process, by reducing server load for tracking smaller numbers of people at any one time. The primary implementation is likely to be in security systems, however, where the more efficient monitoring will allow fewer staff to keep on top of greater numbers of potentially dangerous people.

The iRobot Scooba 390 uses a four-stage cleaning process that starts with preparation step, moves on to washing, follows up with a scub, and finishes it all off with some squeegee action. This unit is said by iRobot to remove up to 98% of your common household bacteria and is, in the end, the best item in your home to destroy your mop in a robot battle. You wont need a sweep with this device either, just set it down after you’ve added the necessary components inside (like clean water), and let it roll.

This interview filmed at Showstoppers during IFA 2012!

Next is the iRobot Scooba 230 which is, again, made much smaller to get in your smaller areas where the 390 never could. This unit is another floor washing robot that’s made to take the place of your mop. It’s able to clean around your toilet, under cabinets, and on tile, linoleum, or sealed hardwood floors. Like its bigger brother, the Scooba 230 uses a multi-stage cleaning process, this time just three required to take out 97% of common household bacteria. This time you DO have to sweep, mind you, but it’s just so cute!

The Scooba 230 will cost you $279.99 from iRobot’s online store, and the 390 will run you $499.99 USD – with free shipping, even! Also check the tail-end of the video out for the hero line of iRobot’s Roomba line – getting better all the time! Then make sure to head to our iRobot tag portal to see the rest of our iRobot coverage from the past and keep on picking up robots for your home!

Unlike helicopters, which can hover, rotate on the spot, easily travel in three-dimensions and go sideways, planes must keep moving and have reduced flexibility in where they can redirect themselves. MIT’s solution was a custom-designed aircraft with shorter, chunkier wings that combine tight turning, the possibility of relatively low speeds without stalling, and reasonable cargo capabilities for the AI smarts and camera equipment.

Inside, along with the cameras which allow for the bird’s-eye view in the video below, the plane has a laser rangefinder, accelerometers and gyroscopes to track whereabouts in the room it is, what speed it’s traveling, acceleration, and more. At any one moment in time, the plane is figuring out 15 different values, MIT says, and part of what makes the new system special is a duo of algorithms – one fast and rough, the other slow and accurate – to first filter out the most relevant data and then crunch only that.

It’s not all magic, at least not yet. The plane must be preloaded with a high-res digital map of the area, unlike helicopters which are capable of building their own maps. That’s next on the MIT team’s agenda, however, boosting the algorithms and building in more visual information to the other sensors.

Of course, an alternative approach might be pairing the best of helicopters and planes, using both in sequence. An autonomous helicopter could enter an unknown area and quickly gather reconnaissance data of the environment, taking advantage of the flexibility of movement to be more comprehensive, and then be followed by an autonomous plane using that fresh data but bringing greater flight time to the table.

[via Gizmodo]

This little beast uses muscles along the length of its body to move forward with contraction after contraction. The device uses two main muscle groups to move, one of them being circular muscle fibers that wrap around its body, the other being longitudinal muscle fibers that run along its length. The tubular body is made of a heat-sealed sheet of polymer mesh, the mesh made of interlacing polymer fibers.

With this body, the tube is able to stretch and contract, just like a spring. The artificial muscle that makes it all move is made of a nickel-titanium alloy fabricated into a wire. The wire was wound around the mesh tube, and a small battery and circuit board was fitted within the tube as well. The board tells the battery to generate a current that heats the wire at certain segments along the body.

As each segment is heated to a certain temperature, the wire contracts. When the wire contracts, the tube is squeezed and the robot is propelled forward – into the future! And it’s pretty darn versatile, too.

“You can throw it, and it won’t collapse. Most mechanical parts are rigid and fragile at small scale, but the parts in Meshworms are all fibrous and flexible. The muscles are soft, and the body is soft … we’re starting to show some body-morphing capability.” – Sangbae Kim

Kellar Autumn, professor of biology at Lewis and Clark College, studies the biomechanics of animal motion in designing soft robotics and also had a bit to say about the project and future projects using similar technologies. Specifically endoscopes, implants, and prosthetics are on the docket here with Autumn.

“Even though the robot’s body is much simpler than a real worm — it has only a few segments — it appears to have quite impressive performance. I predict that in the next decade we will see shape-changing artificial muscles in many products, such as mobile phones, portable computers and automobiles.” – Autumn

Researchers at MIT, Harvard University and Seoul National University are currently at work on this project as we speak. The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency supported this research as well.

[via MIT]

RP-VITA is designed to be used by a remote caregiver, able to hold video calls for around five hours via an included monitor and webcam. The robot can be controlled remotely using a laptop, desktop, or iPad, and is designed to be used in emergency situations so that doctors can get quick access to a patient. Information about patients can be pulled down over WiFi, and when not used for video calls the RP-VITA can access records via a medical cloud storage system. Just like the Roomba, it will return to a charging base when it needs more power.

The RP-VITA has all the sensors to navigate a hospital without any assistance, but it can’t be used unaided until it’s given the go-ahead by the FDA, which could happen by the end of the year. It isn’t InTouch’s first robot either: the company previously created the RP-7, reportedly at work in around 600 hospitals and serving 70,000 patients each year. RP-VITA, meanwhile, will cost hospitals between $4,000 and $6,000 a month to run.

[via Mashable]

This Robonaut 2 simulator comes with different Gazebo files that allow users to view the robot in three different areas: in an empty room, in the International Space Station, and in an empty room with a virtual version of the ISS task board, which is International Space Station talk for a board with different switches and buttons Robonaut 2 can manipulate. The brief tutorial found on ROS.org gives you all the information you need to get the simulation up and running and actually control Robonaut 2, but beyond that, you’re on your own as far as getting the robot to interact with the surrounding environment goes.

This simulator is still in beta and its makers freely admit that it can appear a little rough around the edges when compared to the actual robot, but if nothing else, this should give ROS-savvy folks a good look into how Robonaut 2 is controlled when it’s up in the International Space Station. Currently, NASA has no plans to return the real Robonaut 2 to Earth, instead leaving it at the ISS to not only help astronauts with their daily duties, but to also give NASA scientists an idea of how robots would fare during deep space missions. If you’ve got the know-how, you might as well give this R2 Simulator a go, seeing as how Robonaut 2 might one day change the way we explore space.

To learn more about Robonaut 2, check out our story timeline below!

The robot uses motors that push and pull on kevlar straps, which represent human leg muscles, allowing it to achieve nearly identical human-like movement. Even more amazing than that is the fact that the robot also has a computerized version of the central pattern generator (CPG), which is what humans use to collect information from their body. The CPG is what allows people to walk without thinking about walking, adjust strain on leg muscles, evaluate load patterns from each foot, and so on.

Additional enhancements to the robot are expected to be made in the future, including visual and tactile sensors as well as the ability to pick itself up again after falling down. And even though there have been robots that have previously replicated human movement before, this is the first one that has been able to accurately replicate the underlying human control mechanisms that actually drive the movement.

[via BBC]

It’s not just making more efficient motors. According to DARPA, successful teams might look at a combination of “low-loss power modulation, variable recruitment of parallel transducer elements, high-bandwidth variable impedance matching, adaptive inertial and gravitational load cancellation, and high-efficiency power transmission between joints.”

There will be two different tracks of work ongoing simultaneously, one with a more practical focus and another that will look more at the science and engineering behind actuation. The eye-candy is likely to show up in Track 1, where teams will be required to actually outfit physical robotics systems with their creations:

“Track 1 asks performer teams to develop and demonstrate high-efficiency actuation technology that will allow robots similar to the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) platform to have twenty times longer endurance than the DRC GFE when running on untethered battery power (currently only 10-20 minutes). Using Government Furnished Information about the GFE, M3 Actuation performers will have to build a robot that incorporates the new actuation technology” DARPA

DARPA is now inviting proposals from teams that believe they can put together something along those lines. The Maximum Mobility and Manipulation robotics program will culminate in a live competition in December 2013, followed by a second live final in December 2014.

The new Roomba comes with a remote control that will allow users to navigate the robot manually if they so choose. You can also order the robot to go back to its charging base, and set specific cleaning schedules. To top it all off, there’s a big, green “Clean” button just waiting to be pushed.

There’s also a room-to-room navigation feature called “Virtual Wall Lighthouses”. Using infrared sensors, the Roomba will work solely on a single room until it’s completely clean before moving on to the next rather than cleaning at random. Sound like the way of the future to you? Then be preapred to cough up $700 for the Roomba 790 starting from today.

[via Engadget]

The Omnibot i-SODOG features realistic movement through 15 custom servo motors. It also features voice recognition and motion sensors for understanding hand signals. It comes with a dedicated remote control but can also be controlled via a smartphone, likely through a Bluetooth connection.

Pricing for the i-SODOG hasn’t been revealed yet but it’s expected to arrive sometime in 2013. The i-SOBOT was priced at around 31,500 Japanese yen or close to $400 USD. The i-SODOG will likely be priced similarly.

[via Robot Dreams]

“We would like to use these robots for guiding fish away from danger. What we try to understand is how we can design visual features of the robot so that they can elicit attraction for the fish … We want to make sure first that we do have an attraction and that the fish are conditioned for the attraction” said Maurizio Porfiri, an engineer at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University where the study was conducted.

Because of their very predictable movements and easily replicated design, robotic fish have become a favorite experiment among researchers. There are even some bodies of water that already have robot fish swimming around for purposes like pollution tracking. This latest experiment furthers the proof that robots can perform the same functions as their living counterparts – if this can expand to other creatures that would be incredible.

[via MSNBC]

Yes, it’s called the “Joggobot” and it is programmed to stay ahead of the jogger to encourage him or her to keep going at it. Although, calling it a robotic jogging buddy is a bit disingenuous. It is actually a flying robot that is just designed to move alongside you. Obviously keeping a robotic creature to be moving its joints at a constant and frequent pace would be impractical.

So here’s how it works – users customize the robot with a smartphone app to tell it how high off the ground it wants it to be, and how fast it wants to go. The robot has a camera, and the jogger has to wear a special t-shirt that can be identified by the camera. Then, the robo companion can continue to keep an eye on the jogger’s progress. It’s not the most life-changing robot we’ve seen, but anything that expands robotics to applications beyond very high-end governmental and industrial purposes is cool to us.

[via Times of India]

“Rosemary” is said to be the size of a lawnmower and capable of traversing obstacles thanks to the four extended treaded feet, able to swivel up and down in order to navigate terrain. The robot is capable of climbing up angles of 60 degrees, and can carry a total weight of around 132 lbs. An onboard camera and laser rangefinder are used to determine surroundings, and the internals of the robot are also shielded to prevent damage from radiation and other elements.

All video data is sent back to a remote unit in real time, and the robot is controlled using a console gamepad for ease of use. The original prototype of the robot was originally meant to be used in collapsed subway tunnels, but eventually made its way to the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant in light of the disaster. The new prototype will be demonstrated by the Future Robotics Technology Center at the Tokyo Skytree broadcast tower in Tokyo before making its way to Fukushima in the next few months.

[via CIO]

What exactly are we talking about? That would be CSIRO, a company that, at a cost of 3.5 million Australian dollars (about $3.4 million), has developed a robotic museum patron. The robot can move freely about just like a human, and is just about as tall. The idea is that people who can’t physically be at the museum could control the robot remotely, and use the panoramic cameras installed to get a sense that they’re actually there.

So, think of Avatar except without the whole “being lifeless in a pod” thing. The program is being tested with students in Australia so that schools from throughout the nation can experience the Australian National Museum. The robot will in fact walk alongside regular museum guests, but it has sensors to prevent it from running into anyone. “It could change the way schools interact with institutions like the museum,” said CSIRO research director Jonathan Roberts. What’s next? Amusement parks for people who are too afraid to go on roller coasters?

[via Stuff.co.nz]

The company is also eyeing water utility companies as well as large-scale aquariums, researchers, and anyone else who might have a vested interest in cleaning up nature’s precious resource. They swim just like real fish but are equipped with sensors that can pick up pollutants, and then transmit relevant data up to a couple miles away. Although each fish swims independently and autonomously, they do communicate with one another to avoid redundancy.

“Chemical sensors fitted to the fish permit real-time, in-situ analysis, rather than the current method of sample collection and dispatch to a shore based laboratory,” said BMT Group scientist Luke Speller. Their release into a sea at Gijon marks the first time they have been taken out of a laboratory environment. Anyone curious in buying one will have to have deep pockets, though. An individual pollution-tracking robot fish costs $31,600.

[via lfpress]

So, if you’re thinking this is another way for humans to become even lazier than they already are, don’t fret. This product won’t see that kind of commercial application for a long time. Right now, its goal is to help patients with paralysis. Case in point – a video that demonstrates the technology shows a 58-year-old woman who has been physically paralyzed for 15 years. She has no control of her arms or legs.

And yet, with BrainGate’s robotic arm, she was able to grasp a thermos, raise it to her mouth, and drink. That’s the level of precision that the incredible contraption offers. According to BrainGate, this marked the first time in 15 years that the woman was able to have a sip of coffee without the help of another person. The implications are of course potentially vast. These are the kinds of stories we like to see.

[via Reuters]

The primary reason to move to robotically-assisted production is the reduction of labor costs, which is why it’s so popular in the automaker and appliance industries. But there’s a cultural element as well, according to Japan Daily Press. They report that part of Canon’s drive comes from keeping up Japan’s image as “a nation of technological advancement”. While other companies are taking up robotic assembly as a means of moving high-paying jobs to china and other nations, Canon says that it will train its employees for new types of work and avoid eliminating a single job.

The change should allow Canon to produce its cameras and lenses at a cheaper price point, something that every photographer should be happy with. The 5D Mark III retails for $3500 for just the body, a significant step up from the previous generation even considering its advances in features and specs. More options for more consumer and pro photographers should be welcome.

The mecha features four legs that are supported by wheels, allowing both support and ease of movement. Everything is controlled using a smartphone, master-slave control, and the Kinect sensor bar. The robot isn’t operational yet, but the group say they’re hoping to have everything up and running by the end of the year.

When it is finished, the group plan to sell the mech, which can be customized with weaponized water guns, a camo paint job, and other such luxuries depending on the buyer’s needs. It’s an impressive piece of kit, even if we’re not entirely sure what the practical purpose for it is. The two videos below show some of the behind the scenes work on the mech, so check them out.

[via Plastic Pals]

The bottom is comprised of a urethane skeleton an actuator that provides the muscle movement. Everything is then covered with a silicon skin in order to mimic human cheeks, although the real fun occurs once you start touching it. The silicon features a microphone that detects when the skin is being touched, with the actuator then adjusting the pressure.

So if you caress the bum gently, you’ll only feel a light response, but slapping it will result in a firm tense of the “muscles”. The project is a test of robotics technology, but also designed to gauge the response from those who “interact” with Shiri. Our first response? Creepy. Check out the video below to see everything in action.

[via Kotaku]

That means that the Google cars not only can’t be dispatched back to your parking space at home when they’re done dropping you off at the office, but that you’ll need to car-share on the journey if you don’t want to fall foul of Nevada laws. The person in the driver’s seat can override the robotic piloting by pressing the brake pedal or moving the steering wheel.

If the extra sensors studding the cars weren’t enough to help fellow travelers spot the extra-intelligent vehicles, the special license plate the Nevada DMV has come up with might do the trick. They feature a red background an an infinity symbol on the left side, something DMV Director Bruce Breslow believes “was the best way to represent the ‘car of the future’.”

Google will soon have to share the roads with other autonomous car projects, however. Nevada is already believed to be processing applications from rival manufacturers looking to test their own versions of self-driving systems among real world traffic.

The Head Care Robot has 24 mechanical fingertips and a series of nozzles and water jets. But since everyone’s head is slightly different, it uses sensors first to detect the shape of a customer’s head before it applies hot water and shampoo.

And before shampoo assistants panic about losing their jobs, the Head Care Robot isn’t aimed at replacing any of the salon workforce, at least not yet. Panasonic is developing the robot for individuals requiring special home care, such as the elderly or disabled.

[via Panasonic]

For her, being told she’d be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life was nothing more than a jolt to make sure that didn’t happen. It was in 2006 when her horse clipped its shoulder, causing him to move uncontrollably, flinging Lomas into a nearby tree. She was paralyzed from the chest down and also broke her neck, back, and ribs. She found out about a device called the ReWalk, a bionic walking contraption that she humorously compares to the “wrong trousers” episode of Wallace & Gromit.

She had such a desire to walk again, and with the help of friends and family managed to raise the £43,000 (~$70,000) needed to buy the ReWalk. And it worked. Despite all odds, she was walking again, albeit with a robotic assistance device. But even with that, even just a few weeks ago, she was only physically capable of taking about 30 steps. But her inspirational dedication has caused her to break those physical boundaries. She has been walking nonstop, staying at hotels along the way, to increase her speed and bring her back to some sense of normalcy. Isn’t it nice to see stories like this?

[via BBC]

The Qbo kit includes a basic chassis and mounting plates, the five open-source hardware controller boards TheCorpora has developers, webcams and the necessary cabling. However, buyers will have to provide everything else: the PC brain, servo motors, batteries, etc. There’s a full list of components here.

The Qbo Lite comes in at €1,699 ($2,220; again, a promotion), and is fitted with an Atom D2700 Mini-ITX board, 2GB of DDR3 memory, an HDD and WiFi b/g/n. It will begin shipping in Q4 2012.

Finally, the Qbo Pro is €2,299 ($3,005; a promo price), and comes with an Intel Core i3-2100T Mini-ITX computer with 2GB of ultra-low-profile memory and a 40GB Intel SSD. There are also various added extras on top of the Lite model, such as mechanical eyelids. It too will ship in Q4.

We’ve been huge fans of Qbo over the months, watching the robot learn how to use 3D cameras for environment mapping, take advantage of crowd-sourcing to recognize objects, and track gestures, among many other things. More details in the timeline below.

It’s called the Eccerobot, and right now it is a half-torso that is positioned on a mobile platform. It has arms that can moves flexibly like a human, and they can detect muscular strain. Part of the goal is to better understand human movements and figure out how to more accurately represent the way people truly move. In the future, it could lead to robotic creations that are able to have more complex tasks.

Artificial Intelligence Laboratory scientist Hugo Gravato was quoted as saying, “You can use the passive compliance to make it absorb the energy in the right way to allow for safe interaction and to store energy in the muscles to produce fast movement.” The more human-like robots become, the more powerful the implications are for the future. Combine this with the advancements in artificial intelligence and computers that can render and understand human speech, and it’s a pretty exciting time.

[via Mashable]