A new type of consumer-tier robot has launched, and it is called Q.bo One. This model, unlike ones before it, is open source and designed for anyone to build. The robot utilizes a simple programming language called Scratch, while the hardware itself is based around Raspberry Pi and Arduino. Multiple cameras, microphones, lights and speakers, among other things, makes Q.bo One suitable for a variety of tasks.
University of California San Diego mechanical engineering professor Michael Tolley and a team of researchers have created what is said to be the first 'soft' robot that is able to handle traveling on rough terrain. The robot features a total of four legs that were made using 3D-printing, and with them the robot is able to walk across rough surfaces like sand, as well as crawling over larger objects. The company demonstrated the robot's walking capabilities in a video.
Hardware and home improvement store Lowe's is no stranger to innovative tech -- the company began testing robotic workers at some of its stores late last year, for example. Now the company is back with another development, this one made in conjunction with Virginia Tech -- robotic exosuits (eg, exoskeletons) for warehouse workers. The suits are designed to help workers lift and move heavy items without getting tired as quickly.
Intel recently took to the stage to introduce Loomo Go, an autonomous delivery robot created by Segway Robotics. The robot can be operated like an actual Segway, at least per the demonstration by Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, but it is much more than that. Using various technologies, Loomo is able to perceive the world around it and operate through it, doing so as part of an overall delivery process to bring humans objects.
Honda has teamed up with Japan's Kyoto University to help spur the development of artificial intelligence. This effort will see the two entities researching and developing such technologies, and doing so with particular goals in mind. Honda envisions a future were AI can collaborate with humans, being integrated into everyday life in a way that is beneficial and able to grow with humans. The company notes that humans would have the 'leading role' in this reality.
Mayfield Robotics' Kuri was the surprise hit of CES 2017, but the robot companion isn't relying solely on cutesy looks to charm users, with a new set of features announced today. Intended to bring domestic robotics into the mainstream, Kuri - which looks like a cross between a Roomba and a Wall-E character - is gaining a new set of behaviors that Mayfield calls "romojis" or robot emojis. Although they might look like they're just for entertainment, they're actually going to be pretty important for daily life with the 'bot.
The number of ways you can automate your home just by barking at it continues to grow, with Neato adding Google Home support to its connected robot vacuum range. Available as a new talent for the smart speaker today, the integration allows you to trigger a clean entirely hands-free. The functionality joins Neato's existing Amazon Alexa support.
Researchers with MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, more commonly called CSAIL, and Boston University have jointly created a robot that can read a human’s thoughts. Thanks to this ability, the robot doesn’t need to learn complex human languages or other ways to get orders from humans — those humans can instead command the robots using nothing more than thoughts and a special electrode cap.
Robots make the best and the worst security guards. On the one hand, they’re efficient, precise, and unswayed by emotions. On the other hand, they’re also cold, impersonal, and unyielding. They are best used for security-related tasks that require more attention to detail but not so much human interaction. That’s what Cobalt Robotics is attempting with its autonomous mobile robot that can navigate around the area, recognize people, read IDs, and report any suspicious activities, potential security issues, and possible hazards. All without looking like a Terminator set to kill.
Elon Musk has had quite a bit to say about artificial intelligence over past years, and he’s not done yet. Speaking today at the World Government Summit held in Dubai, Musk said that humans must learn to merge with machines in the future to address some big potential issues surrounding the rise of artificial intelligence. Among other things, the proliferation of machine intelligence that outpaces human intelligence may result in a ‘usefulness problem,’ not to mention concerns about whether humans will remain in control in the future.
Oregon State University’s robotics program has been spun off its own company, Agility Robotics, and it aims to ‘revolutionize’ the future of robotics mobility. The new company is based out of both Oregon and Pennsylvania, and it says it already has ‘several’ customers in the pipeline. The company’s current crowning achievement is ‘Cassie,’ a bipedal robot that is able to walk around untethered on its own two legs.
The UK online grocery store Ocado is testing a new technology that may trim the number of human warehouse workers it needs: a robotic arm/hand that both picks and packs vegetables and fruit. The robot has been developed in partnership with Disney Research and a number of other institutions, and the end result is the testing of two different types of robotic hands, both designed to accommodate the random sizes of fruits of vegetables, and to handle them without damage.
