# Robots



## ekim68

Seems like robots are becoming a lot more prevalent and more sophisticated...

*Robot helps lost shoppers*

Next time you're all lost in the supermarket, you can count on Robovie to help you find your way.

In a series of demonstrations conducted from January 22 to 24, a souped-up version of ATRs Robovie humanoid robot monitored people as they passed through a 100 square meter (1,076 sq ft) section of the Universal Citywalk Osaka shopping center. Relying on data from 16 cameras, 6 laser range finders and 9 RFID tag readers installed in and around the area, the robot was able to watch up to 20 people at a time, pinpoint their locations to within a few centimeters, and classify each individuals behavior into one of 10 categories (waiting, wandering, walking fast, running, etc.).

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/01/25/robot-helps-lost-sho.html


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## ekim68

*Small military robots gain advanced "sight" for more challenging roles*

Intelligent robot vendor iRobot this week licensed Laser Radar or Ladar technology for use in its line of military robots, a move that could result in a new line of machines that can see and operate more effectively in dangerous situations. Such small, advanced robots could be deployed in less than a year, experts said.

Specifically the robot-maker is licensing Advanced Scientific Concepts' 3-D flash Ladar which uses laser beams to scan and process targets. The system has the ability to create a virtual 3D picture of an entire area.

http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/24348


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## ekim68

*Shape-shifting robot forms from magnetic swarm*

Swarms of robots that use electromagnetic forces to cling together and assume different shapes are being developed by US researchers.

The grand goal is to create swarms of microscopic robots capable of morphing into virtually any form by clinging together.

Seth Goldstein, who leads the research project at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, in the US, admits this is still a distant prospect.

However, his team is using simulations to develop control strategies for futuristic shape-shifting, or "claytronic", robots, which they are testing on small groups of more primitive, pocket-sized machines.

These prototype robots use electromagnetic forces to manoeuvre themselves, communicate, and even share power.

http://technology.newscientist.com/...shifting-robot-forms-from-magnetic-swarm.html


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## Gabriel

I have always wanted to build a robot, since I was about 6. Now they have some really great kits and projects

I'm not sure, but think this is the company that's been around since I can remember, with tons on science and project kits

http://scientificsonline.com/category.asp?c=424281&bhcd2=1201990753


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## ekim68

And, they've come a long way...

http://www.livescience.com/robots/


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## ekim68

*Dutch unveil robot to fill car gas tank*

EMMELOORD, Netherlands (Reuters) - Motorists nostalgic for the time they could sit tight while attendants braved windswept garage forecourts to fill their tanks may yet see those heady days return -- compliments of a Dutch robot.

Dutch inventors unveiled on Monday a 75,000 euro ($111,100) car-fuelling robot they say is the first of its kind, working by registering the car on arrival at the filling station and matching it to a database of fuel cap designs and fuel types.

A robotic arm fitted with multiple sensors extends from a regular gas pump, carefully opens the car's flap, unscrews the cap, picks up the fuel nozzle and directs it towards the tank opening, much as a human arm would, and as efficiently.

http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSL0448185920080204


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## ekim68

*"Green" robot self-propels through sea*

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A seagoing glider that uses heat energy from the ocean to propel itself is the first "green" robot to explore the undersea environment, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.

They said the glider had crisscrossed the 13,000-feet-(4,000-meter-)deep Virgin Islands Basin between St. Thomas and St. Croix more than 20 times since it was launched in December.

http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSN0739211620080207


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## Gabriel

Here is a cutie

http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology/spider_bot_030129.html


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## ekim68

Wow, that's cool..Thanks Gabriel...


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## ekim68

*Japanese robots enter daily life*

TOKYO - At a university lab in a Tokyo suburb, engineering students are wiring a rubbery robot face to simulate six basic expressions: anger, fear, sadness, happiness, surprise and disgust.

Hooked up to a database of words clustered by association, the robot - dubbed Kansei, or "sensibility" - responds to the word "war" by quivering in what looks like disgust and fear. It hears "love," and its pink lips smile.

PHOTO GALLERY: Japan embraces robots

"To live among people, robots need to handle complex social tasks," said project leader Junichi Takeno of Meiji University. "Robots will need to work with emotions, to understand and eventually feel them.

While robots are a long way from matching human emotional complexity, the country is perhaps the closest to a future - once the stuff of science fiction - where humans and intelligent robots routinely live side by side and interact socially.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/robotics/2008-03-01-robots_N.htm


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## Izme

Cool thread Ekim 

Thanks for sharing it with us


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## Gabriel

More on Japans robotic future

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23438322/wid/11915829?GT1=40000


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## Couriant

Speaking of robots, Disney/Pixar is making an animation that looks soo cute! It's called Wall-e


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## ekim68

*Snake robots* can use their many internal degrees of freedom to thread through tightly packed volumes accessing locations that people and machinery otherwise cannot use. Moreover, these highly articulated devices can coordinate their internal degrees of freedom to perform a variety of locomotion capabilities that go beyond the capabilities of conventional wheeled and the recently developed legged robots. The true power of these devices is that they are versatile, achieving behaviors limited to crawling, climbing, and swimming.

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~biorobotics/projects/modsnake/modsnake.html


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## ekim68

*BBQ-smoker-turned-'Robocop' chases off drug dealers*

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- It's midnight on the streets of Atlanta, and bar owner Rufus Terrill patrols his neighborhood with a rolling crime fighter of his own creation. Meet "Bum-bot," as Terrill describes it; others in his neighborhood call it simply, "Robocop."

It's a barbecue smoker mounted on a three-wheeled scooter, and armed with an infrared camera, spotlight, loudspeaker and aluminum water cannon that shoots a stream of icy water about 20 feet.

Operated by remote control, the robot spotlights trespassers on property down the street from his bar, O'Terrill's. Using a walkie-talkie, Terrill belts out through the robot's loudspeaker, "That's private property. You guys need to get out of here."

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/03/06/bum.bot/index.html


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## ekim68

*Images: Dextre the robot ready for space adventure*

On Tuesday, astronauts on the space shuttle Endeavour will have a special Canadian visitor when they rocket off on their trip to the International Space Station (ISS). Canadian Space Agency's Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, aka "Dextre," is scheduled to be installed by Endeavour astronauts to the ISS later this week. Dextre was built to do maintenance tasks that were previously done during long and sometimes dangerous space walks.

http://content.zdnet.com/2346-9595_22-191557.html


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## ekim68

*A robotic taxi named robuCAB*

According to ICT Results, a EU-funded project named Embounded 'has achieved the twin, and apparently contradictory goals, of making embedded systems both smarter and tougher.' One example is the robuCAB, a '4 seats automated people mover' developed by a French company and built from a 4 wheel-drive electric chassis with on-board PC. This autonomous vehicle follows the kerb and carries several embedded systems, with one camera on the path edge, another device tracking the angle and direction of the kerb, while others control the gearing and acceleration. robuCABs are not totally independent. They move over pre-defined circuits which contain a series of sensors below the ground. But read more…

http://blogs.zdnet.com/emergingtech/?p=861


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## Igboo

You have to wonder...
With all these new announcements into robotic technologies, it makes me ask, What aren't they telling us?

Its easy to understand (thanks to movies) that at least a few factions would be working on secret and probably military robotics. Americans are most llikely to be sectretly manufacturing new weapons of mass destruction or something similar. I'm not saying that Americans are the *only* faction likely to be doing this, any other country could be and are very likely to be as well.
It's just that it kind of freaks me out to be thinking about what might be going on in the scientific military bases of the world...


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## ekim68

You have a point. And, something like this is being funded by the DOD..

*New video of BigDog Quadruped robot is so stunning it's spooky*

http://gizmodo.com/368651/new-video-of-bigdog-quadruped-robot-is-so-stunning-its-spooky


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## Visionary2

Robotics is once again doing something amazing...this one writes the Bible.

http://www.tutztutz..com/2008/02/in...-the-entire-martin-luthor-bible-for-eternity/


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## ekim68

Link doesn't work for me Visionary2.


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## ekim68

A couple of more works in progress...

http://anybots.com/videos.html#walking_080302_title


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## ekim68

*Eye-controlled robot may make heart surgery safer*

British researchers are developing a medical robot which can work out the intentions of a surgeon performing an operation, making surgery easier and more precise.

They hope new software will lead to less invasive operations, for example when conducting a cardiac bypass or tumour removal, allowing patients to recover more quickly.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/mar/22/medicalresearch


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## ekim68

*Karate robot takes on pugnacious chicken*

TOKYO (Reuters) - One by one the fighters strut into the Korakuen stadium hall in Tokyo, accompanied by thunderous applause.

But this is no normal wrestling match -- the contenders are diminutive humanoid robots built and controlled by participants in the twice-yearly Robo-One Championships.

In the featherweight division, "Automo03-Sandan" -- a robot dressed in karate gear -- is no match for "Leghorn," a chicken-like robot known for its vicious "Chicken Chop" martial art moves.

http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUST35150620080324


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## JEBWrench

Igboo said:


> You have to wonder...
> With all these new announcements into robotic technologies, it makes me ask, What aren't they telling us?
> 
> Its easy to understand (thanks to movies) that at least a few factions would be working on secret and probably military robotics. Americans are most llikely to be sectretly manufacturing new weapons of mass destruction or something similar. I'm not saying that Americans are the *only* faction likely to be doing this, any other country could be and are very likely to be as well.
> It's just that it kind of freaks me out to be thinking about what might be going on in the scientific military bases of the world...


It's a good point, in theory, but the cost is too high for the use of military robots in practicality. More likely, you'd see reconnaisance robots than anything. Much like the OICW, which while really really cool, never saw genuine use, as its cost and its ammunition costs were simply too ridiculously high compared to an M-16A4 with an M-209 launcher.

And, would any military in their right mind risk such advanced technology getting into their adversaries hands? Of course not.


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## ekim68

*Cornell robot sets a record for distance walking*

We're not sure what brand of batteries it was using, but the Cornell Ranger robot just kept going and going April 3 when it set an unofficial world record by walking nonstop for 45 laps -- a little over 9 kilometers or 5.6 miles -- around the Barton Hall running track.

http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/April08/RangerGoes.ws.html

More photos:

http://ruina.tam.cornell.edu/research/topics/locomotion_and_robotics/papers/CornellRanger/index.html


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## ekim68

*Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years*

The army's machine-gun wielding, insurgent-slaying robot SWORDS is no longer spraying foes with hot doom in Iraq. Actually, it never got the chance to notch a single frag, and never will. Apparently, there was an incident where "the gun started moving when it was not intended to move," meaning it totally pointed somewhere it wasn't supposed to-like at friendlies, which resulted in recall from the field and might've set the program back 10-20 years, according to the Army's Program Executive Officer for Ground Forces, Kevin Fahey.

http://gizmodo.com/378523/combat-ro...sters-in-iraq-army-pulls-plug-for-10+20-years


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## ekim68

*Laser scanning robot 3D-R1 used to map mines*

A UK-based company, 3D Laser Mapping, has developed robots equipped with lasers to automatically scan mines. Its latest mission was to create a 3D map of the San Jose silver mine in Mexico. The remote survey vehicle (RSV) 3D-R1 weighs about 135 kilograms and is 0.6 meter high. It has a width of 0.9 meter and a length of 1.1 meter. For its Mexican mission, the RSV captured about 100 million data points in about 3 days. And it delivered a full 3D vision of the silver mine, including an accurate volumetric calculation of previously 'worked' areas. As wrote the 3D Laser Mapping's owner in a previous document, 'We already have laser scanners in aircraft, ground vehicles and even robots, what comes next could be down to you.'

http://blogs.zdnet.com/emergingtech/?p=888


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## ekim68

Reminds me of a Star Trek episode with Doctor Durnstrum, not sure of the last name, but he did the same thing...

*Japan's cyborg research enters the skull*

Researchers at Osaka University are stepping up efforts to develop robotic body parts controlled by thought, by placing electrode sheets directly on the surface of the brain. Led by Osaka University Medical School neurosurgery professor Toshiki Yoshimine, the research marks Japan's first foray into invasive (i.e. requiring open-skull surgery) brain-machine interface research on human test subjects. The aim of the research is to develop real-time mind-controlled robotic limbs for the disabled, according to an announcement made at an April 16 symposium in Aichi prefecture.

http://www.pinktentacle.com/2008/04/japan-cyborg-research-enters-the-skull/


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## ekim68

*Taking the plunge - Space robot headed for test in Antarctic lake*

First, a swim around an ice-covered lake in Antarctica. Next, through the frozen surface of Jupiter's moon Europa and possibly into a vast, liquid ocean that may host life as we've never known it.

Of course, some 20 or 30 years may separate the deployment of an autonomous robot to these disparate, watery realms. But the search for life on another world has to start on this one.

http://www.astrobiology.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=27735


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## ekim68

*Photos: 'Mobot' races test design skills*

PITTSBURGH--Carnegie Mellon University's 14th annual "mobot"--that is, mobile robot--races took place Friday on a downhill campus course that stretched from Doherty Hall to Wean Hall. Robotic contestants had to be small enough to squeeze through 14 gates that were 18 inches high by 18 inches wide.

http://content.zdnet.com/2346-9595_22-198291.html


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## Couriant

some light humour:


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## ekim68

*Robobug goes to war: Troops to use electronic insects to spot enemy 'by end of the year'*

It may have seemed like just another improbable scene from a Hollywood sci-fi flick - Tom Cruise battling against an army of robotic spiders intent on hunting him down.

But the storyline from Minority Report may not be quite as far fetched as it sounds.

British defence giant BAE Systems is creating a series of tiny electronic spiders, insects and snakes that could become the eyes and ears of soldiers on the battlefield, helping to save thousands of lives.

Prototypes could be on the front line by the end of the year, scuttling into potential danger areas such as booby-trapped buildings or enemy hideouts to relay images back to troops safely positioned nearby.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/li...ogy.html?in_article_id=563786&in_page_id=1965


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## ekim68

*Prepping Robots to Perform Surgery*

WHAT do you call a surgeon who operates without scalpels, stitching tools or a powerful headlamp to light the patient's insides? A better doctor, according to a growing number of surgeons who prefer to hand over much of the blood-and-guts portion of their work to medical robots controlled from computer consoles.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/business/04moll.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin


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## ekim68

*Pinta the robot sailing boat takes on Atlantic challenge*

Sir Francis Chichester, Robin Knox-Johnston, Dame Ellen McArthur and other great names from the history of sailing could be joined this year by Pinta the robot.

The unmanned boat is undergoing final preparations before setting sail in the hope of becoming the first robot to cross an ocean using the power of wind. By sailing non-stop and unassisted for an estimated three months it will prove the potential for robotic craft to undertake vital research in roles in dangerous and far-off waters.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article3904557.ece


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## ekim68

*A robotic chef for your kitchen?*

The European Commission has founded a project named 'Co-operative Human Robot Interaction Systems' (CHRIS) for a cost of €3.65 million. The project, which started in March 2008, will last 4 years. It is based at Bristol Robotics Lab (BRL) which will work with the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) and several other European institutions. At this time, the scientists are trying to answer a - not so - simple question: can you trust a robot to work safely with you in the kitchen? For example, a service robot might be stirring soup while you add cream. But how will it act if you get burned? Will it stop stirring if you ask it? As said one of the lead researcher, 'This project aims to develop the rules we need to introduce this level of sophistication into service robots who are working closely with people.'

http://blogs.zdnet.com/emergingtech/?p=923&tag=nl.e539


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## ekim68

Whoa, a good day for robots...

*A USF professor plans to add a heart to robot rescuers*

http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/college/article510986.ece

*Robot removes Calgary woman's brain tumour*

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=9d9e3053-9214-40d6-805f-c0b08fd29ba7


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## ekim68

*Scheme to Let Robot Take Over Brain-Computer Interface*

20 May 2008-A group of mechanical engineers at Caltech have come up with a way to guide miniature robots in the task of inserting and positioning electrode arrays in brain tissue. What they propose would be the first robotic approach to establishing an interface between computers and the brain by positioning electrodes in neural tissue. Researchers say that this could enhance the performance and longevity of emerging neural prosthetics, which allow paralyzed people to operate computers and robots with their minds.

http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/may08/6269


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## ekim68

*Robots go where scientists fear to tread*

ATLANTA (May 27, 2008) - Scientists are diligently working to understand how and why the world's ice shelves are melting. While most of the data they need (temperatures, wind speed, humidity, radiation) can be obtained by satellite, it isn't as accurate as good old-fashioned, on-site measurement and static ground-based weather stations don't allow scientists to collect info from as many locations as they'd like.

And unfortunately, the locations in question are volatile ice sheets, possibly cracking, shifting and filling with water - not exactly a safe environment for scientists.

To help scientists collect the more detailed data they need without risking scientists' safety, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, working with Pennsylvania State University, have created specially designed robots called SnoMotes to traverse these potentially dangerous ice environments. The SnoMotes work as a team, autonomously collaborating among themselves to cover all the necessary ground to gather assigned scientific measurements. Data gathered by the Snomotes could give scientists a better understanding of the important dynamics that influence the stability of ice sheets.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-05/giot-rgw052708.php


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## ekim68

*Monkey think, monkey do: with robotic arm*

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Using only its brainpower, a monkey can direct a robotic arm to pluck a marshmallow from a skewer and stuff it into its mouth, researchers said on Wednesday.

"They are using a motorized prosthetic arm to reach out, grab and bring the food back to their face," said Andrew Schwartz of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, whose study will appear in an upcoming issue of the journal Nature.

Schwartz said the technology behind this feat may lead to brain-powered prosthetic limbs for people with spinal cord injuries or disabling diseases that make such simple tasks impossible.

http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSN2832159720080529


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## ekim68

*Dancing microrobots waltz on a pin's head*

Waltzing microbots are all the rage at Duke University.

Researchers there today said they made microrobots shaped something like a spatula but with dimensions measuring just microns, or millionths of a meter pirouette to the music of a Strauss waltz on a dance floor just 1 millimeter across. In another sequence, the devices pivot in a precise fashion whenever their boom-like steering arms are drawn down to the surface by an electric charge. This response resembles the way dirt bikers turn by extending a boot heel, researchers said. The researchers said they have also been able to get five of the devices to group-maneuver in cooperation under the same control system.

http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/28328


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## ekim68

*NASA: 'Extreme programming' controls Mars Lander robot*

Engineers send code 170 million miles through space daily in search for life on Mars.

http://www.computerworld.com/action...ewArticleBasic&articleId=9094138&pageNumber=1


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## ekim68

*Underwater communication: Robofish are the ultimate in ocean robots, keeping in touch without scientists' help*

In the world of underwater robots, this is a team of pioneers. While most ocean robots require periodic communication with scientist or satellite intermediaries to share information, these can work cooperatively communicating only with each other.

http://uwnews.org/uweek/uweekarticle.asp?articleID=42313


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## ekim68

*Scandinavian scientists designing robotic snakes*

_With the ability to climb vertically, intelligent robots could inspect oil and water pipelines_

People are becoming accustomed to robots in space, robotic vacuum cleaners and even the notion of robotic friends and spouses. But robotic snakes?

It's true. The Sintef Group, a research company based in Trondheim, Norway, announced that it's designing a robot based on - well, snakes.

http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;1454124726


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## ekim68

*AI beats human poker champions*

PORTLAND, Ore. - Humanity was dealt a decisive blow by a poker-playing artificial intelligence program called Polaris during the Man-Machine Poker Competition in Las Vegas.

Poker champs fought the AI system to a draw, then won in the first two of four rounds (each round had Polaris playing 500 hands against two humans, whose points were averaged.) But in the final two rounds of the match, Polaris beat both human teams, two wins out of four, with one loss and one draw

http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=208802992


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## lotuseclat79

Terminator 0.0.1 (alpha).










-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

The Death of HAL -the Evolving Digital Ecosystem.

A scenario where Cylons take over the world is very unlikely, according to one Artificial Intelligence expert. A "collective" consciousness that helps humans is far more likely.









And so, the Borg begins...

-- Tom


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## valis

you guys seen the video yet for Beck's Hell Yes?

If not, I highly recommend hitting youtube for it. It's worth the watch; the robots are very real; it took the programmers a few months to program them for their dance moves, and the holographic display of Beck above them is also very real.

It was staged for the execs and designers of the robots. Quite the show. I'd post a link, but I can't get to youtube from work.


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## ekim68

Thanks Tim. Very cool...:up:


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## valis

thanks, backwards mike. 

it's a pretty cool clip. I would absolutely love to get my hands on one of those for an afternoon and just mystify my son and terrorize the dog.


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## ekim68

*Emotional Robots: Software Empowers Robots To Learn When A Person Is Sad, Happy Or Angry*

ScienceDaily (July 28, 2008) - A robot with empathy sounds like the stuff of sci-fi movies, but with the aid of neural networks European researchers are developing robots in tune with our emotions. Feelix Growing is developing software empowering robots that can learn when a person is sad, happy or angry.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080717225057.htm


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## ekim68

*US airforce to launch robotic Space Shuttle 2.0 this yea*

NASA may have given up on spaceplanes for now, with the Shuttle soon to be replaced by old-school rocket stacks and capsules. But the US Air Force, it seems, still sees a need for spacecraft which can re-enter atmosphere and make a runway landing. Reports indicate that the X-37B unmanned spaceplane demonstrator will make its first orbital launch in November under USAF auspices.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/07/31/us_spaceplane_demo_to_launch/


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## ekim68

*The Rise Of The Droids*

August 11, 2008: The U.S. Air Force is, for the first time, converting a fighter wing from manned (F-16) combat aircraft, to unmanned ones (the MQ-9 Reaper.) The conversion, for the 174th Fighter Wing, has been in the works for three years, and the last combat sorties in manned aircraft were flown last week, by members of the 174th serving in Iraq.
The air force has already converted several combat wings to fly Predators which, while armed (with two 107 pound Hellfire missiles), are considered reconnaissance aircraft. The Reaper is considered a combat aircraft, optimized for seeking out and destroying ground targets. Jet powered combat UAVs are in development. It's only a matter of time before UAVs take over air superiority, strategic bombing and suppression of enemy air defenses duties as well.

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htairfo/articles/20080811.aspx


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## ekim68

*A robot with a biological brain*

University of Reading scientists have developed a robot controlled by a biological brain formed from cultured neurons. And this is a world's premiere. Other research teams have tried to control robots with 'brains,' but there was always a computer in the loop. This new project is the first one to examine 'how memories manifest themselves in the brain, and how a brain stores specific pieces of data.' As life expectancy is increasing in most countries, this new research could provide insights into how the brain works and help aging people. In fact, the main goal of this project is to understand better the development of diseases and disorders which affect the brain such as Alzheimer or Parkinson diseases. It's interesting to note that this project is being led by Professor Kevin Warwick, who became famous in 1998 when a silicon chip was implanted in his arm to allow a computer to monitor him in order to assess the latest technology for use with the disabled.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/emergingtech/?p=1009&tag=nl.e550


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## ekim68

_Thirsty? Robot bartender pulls a fast pint_

TOKYO, Aug 18 (Reuters Life!) - He can pull a pint faster than you can shout for one, and there's no chance he's going to be distracted by the cute girl behind you in the queue: meet Mr. Asahi, the robot bartender.

Japan's top beer maker Asahi Breweries, known for its "Super Dry", is deploying the life-size Mr. Asahi to bars and clubs to pull pints, open beer bottles and pour them to customers -- quickly.

http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUST20322520080818


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## lotuseclat79

Robot tells human off for doing it wrong. (video)

The video below shows a scenario that is likely to become real as industrial robots improve: a human and a robot work together to assemble an object from its parts. But in the clip from the University of Minho, Portugal, not everything is going to plan. The human gets a stern warning from the robot that they are doing it wrong.

Just what humans need - an annoying robot!

-- Tom


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## ekim68

*Stanford's "autonomous" helicopters teach themselves to fly*

Stanford computer scientists have developed an artificial intelligence system that enables robotic helicopters to teach themselves to fly difficult stunts by watching other helicopters perform the same maneuvers.

The result is an autonomous helicopter than can perform a complete airshow of complex tricks on its own.

http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2008/september10/helicopter-091008.html


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## ekim68

* How Do You Make A Robot Fish? Copy Bluefin Tuna*

Move over, Michael Phelps, there's a new swimming king on the starting blocks.

It's a robotic fish that borrows design from the bluefin tuna, which can reach speeds up to 50 mph. Dubbed "RoboTuna," the robot is being developed by researchers in suburban Boston at the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering and the Boston Engineering Corp.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/supercomputers/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=210201309


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## ekim68

*Can robots become our 'phriends'?*

A friendly collaboration between humans and robots is not always easy. Either robots work efficiently and far from humans in controlled environments, or they're equipped with lots of sensors to work along humans and not harm them. Now, a EU-funded project, Phriends - short for 'Physical Human-Robot Interaction: DepENDability and Safety' - has started to force robots to respect Asimov's laws. In a nutshell, these laws say that robots cannot cause harm to humans and that they have to obey us. This 3-year project will end next year and has received € 2.16 million from the EU. The technology developed for the Phriends project will be used in industrial robots, but also in sports training and physical rehabilitation.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/emergingtech/?p=1032&tag=nl.e539


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## lotuseclat79

Thought you guys would like this article:
The Future: Open-Source Humanoid Robots.

The Willow Project is a seriously cool effort to bring robotics to the masses: think of it as Lego Mindstorms all grown up...

-- Tom


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## ekim68

> This is the goal of a EU-funded project called HISMAR (Hull Identification System for Marine Autonomous Robotics). European researchers and engineers are working on an automated robotic cleaning system that removes marine growth from the hull of a ship. By cleaning a ship's hull, this robot will allow ships to travel through the water more efficiently by cutting down on drag - and of course reducing fuel costs. The researchers said this robot acts like a vacuum cleaner - in or out of the water. A prototype will be shown next week at the Shipbuilding, Machinery and Marine Technology Conference in Hamburg, Germany (SMM 2008).


http://blogs.zdnet.com/emergingtech/?p=1040&tag=nl.e539


----------



## ekim68

The future of armies?

*TechX Contest Preps Non-Superpower Military Bots for Urban War*

Like DARPA's competitions in the U.S., Singapore's new robot showdown offers big bucks for smart bots, and these iRobot mods could lead the way for smaller countries to hand-build autonomous armies of their own. On hand for this weekend's stair-climbing, elevator-riding action, PM gets a sneak peek at the high-tech challenges ahead.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/robotics/4283639.html


----------



## ekim68

*MIT Submarine Is Most Autonomous Robot Ocean Researcher Yet*

On the heels of successful bot building by land and air, the all-new Odyssey IV explores the ocean's depths on its own while fighting strong currents and gathering crucial data.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/robotics/4285189.html


----------



## ekim68

_Little Seiko: Japanese company develops creepy kindergarten girl robot_

Tokyo-based electronics company Murata yesterday unveiled a small humanoid robot [JP] that can unicycle forward and backward and is also able to stop without falling over.

http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/09/2...pany-develops-creepy-kindergarten-girl-robot/


----------



## ekim68

*Robot suit for rent in Japan to help people walk*

TSUKUBA, Japan - A robotic suit that reads brain signals and helps people with mobility problems will be available to rent in Japan for $2,200 a month starting Friday - an invention that may have far-reaching benefits for the disabled and elderly.

HAL - short for "hybrid assistive limb" - is a computerized suit with sensors that read brain signals directing limb movement through the skin.

The 22-pound (10-kilogram) battery-operated computer system is belted to the waist. It captures the brain signals and relays them to mechanical leg braces strapped to the thighs and knees, which then provide robotic assistance to people as they walk.

http://www.mytelus.com/ncp_news/article.en.do?pn=tech&articleID=3010829


----------



## lotuseclat79

Machines Almost Pass Mass Turing Test.



> "Of the five computer finalists at this year's Loebner prize Turing Test, at least three managed to fool humans into thinking they were human conversationalists. Ready to speak about Eminem to Slaughterhouse Five and everything in between, these machines are showing they we're merely a clock cycle away from true AI. '...I was fooled. I mistook Eugene for a real human being. In fact, and perhaps this is worse, he was so convincing that I assumed that the human being with whom I was simultaneously conversing was a computer.' Another of the entrants, Jabberwacky, can apparently even woo the ladies: 'Some of its conversational partners confide in it every day; one conversation, with a teenaged girl, lasted 11 hours.' The winning submission this year, Elbot, fooled 25% of judges into thinking he was human. The threshold for the $100K prize is 30%. Maybe next year..."


-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

Wow, they're getting closer, aren't they Tom?


----------



## lotuseclat79

Hi Mike,

I think its time to change the testing standards - too close for comfort! 

OTOH, if they submitted a Sean Young-like fembot as in Blade Runner - well, now that would probably fool me!

-- Tom


----------



## BanditFlyer

lotuseclat79 said:


> Machines Almost Pass Mass Turing Test.
> 
> -- Tom


I actually found one of those on an internet forum once. It was pretty cool. Didn't take much effort to trip it up though.

Don't remember how or where I found it but I'll take a look at your link :up:


----------



## ekim68

*Flower robots for your home*

Flower robots are not new and some have already been developed in the U.S. Now, South Korean researchers have created a robotic plant which acts like real ones. This robot has humidifying, oxygen-producing, aroma-emitting, and kinetic functions. It is about 1.30 meter tall and 40 centimeters in diameter. The robotic plant can interact with people when they approach it and can 'dance' when music is played. The researchers don't say when a commercial version of their flowers will come to market. They also don't mention a retail price.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/emergingtech/?p=1066&tag=nl.e539


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## ekim68

*Operating inside a Beating Heart*

A new robotic system could let surgeons repair heart valves without shutting down the heart.

http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/21582/


----------



## ekim68

*Can a robot be in a good or in a bad mood?*

According to the Taranaki Daily News in New Zealand, the answer is yes. Engineers at Victoria University in Wellington have developed a robot which adapts its behavior according to its emotions. Marvin - short for 'Mobile Autonomous Robotic Vehicle for Indoor Navigation' - can express happiness, anger or frustration. As said the lead researcher, 'We've given Marvin the emotion of anger or frustration. If he finds that he's trapped and can't get out, he'll become more agitated and more frustrated in his movements.' This robot could act as a security guard, like it does at Victoria, or as a search-and-rescue agent. So far, the research team has no plans to commercialize it, but read more…

http://blogs.zdnet.com/emergingtech/?p=1075&tag=nl.e539


----------



## ekim68

*Robodoc: surgeon of the future in theaters now*

LONDON (Reuters) - A mechanical snake that can enter the body through natural orifices -- not an incision -- to perform operations is just one futuristic device researchers believe will transform traditional surgical techniques.

http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE4A307B20081104


----------



## ekim68

*Honda unveils wearable walking device*

Imagine a bicycle seat connected by mechanical frames to a pair of shoes for an idea of how the new wearable assisted-walking gadget from Honda works.

The experimental device, unveiled Friday in Tokyo, is designed to support body weight, reduce stress on the knees and help people get up steps and stay in crouching positions.

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/11/07/walk-assist.html

(Not quite robotic, but...)


----------



## help4me

hmmmm... interesting.


----------



## ekim68

*World's Largest Truck Goes Robotic*

Nov. 6, 2008 -- The largest truck in the world is about to become the largest robotic vehicle in the world. Computer scientists from Carnegie Mellon University have teamed up with engineers from Caterpillar to automate the 700-ton trucks, which are made to haul loads up to 240 tons from mines.

That's nearly two million pounds of metal, fuel and stone powered by a 3,550-horsepower, 24-valve engine moving at up to 42 miles per hour, with software and a robot at the wheel.

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/11/06/monster-robot-truck.html


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## lotuseclat79

Remember that long thought to be extinct wookpecker some ornithologists thought they saw in 2005 down in the swamps of Arkansas? It has been reported that there is now in place a robotic camera that photographs every bird that flys by - lots of geese, no woodpecker yet. It keeps 1 in 10,000 of the photos that it takes.

-- Tom


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## ekim68

*Flying robots based on birds and insects*

A team of engineers at the University of Maryland specializing in flight and navigation, is turning to biology for inspiration to protect troops as the military's role in international dealings has increased. According to the team leader, the key to ensuring troops' protection lies in the study of birds and insects. So they're developing robots that both look and behave like wild animals, "hoping one day these machines can be used to scout enemy territory and warn American soldiers of potential ambushes."

http://blogs.zdnet.com/emergingtech/?p=1088&tag=nl.e539


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## ekim68

*The fly who loved me? U.S. designing tiny 'spies'*

_Insect robot could be here in 2030_

DAYTON, Ohio -- If only we could be flies on the wall when our enemies are plotting to attack us. Better yet, what if that fly could record voices, transmit video and even fire tiny weapons?

That kind of James Bond-style fantasy is actually on the drawing board. U.S. military engineers are trying to design flying robots disguised as insects that could one day spy on enemies and conduct dangerous missions without risking lives.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/388978_bugspies22.html


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## ekim68

*Scientists add emotions to robotic head*

Claiming that service-class robots will one day be pervasive, researchers at the University of the West of England's Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL) have begun investigating ways to make robots seem more human.

Just as PCs are now common in households, workplaces, and parts of our environment, BRL expects "service-class" robotic devices to become "a pervasive element of our future society." This will represent a "huge opportunity for life enhancement and commercial exploitation," the lab adds.

Typical occupations for tomorrow's robotic underlings are expected to include:

* Aids for the elderly
* Domestic servants
* Tour guides
* Hotel porters
* Non beer-drinking "assistants" on construction sites
* Leisure/gaming robots
* Numerous military roles
* "…and so on"

http://www.deviceguru.com/scientists-add-emotions-to-robotic-head/


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## ekim68

*A Soldier, Taking Orders From Its Ethical Judgment Center *

ATLANTA - In the heat of battle, their minds clouded by fear, anger or vengefulness, even the best-trained soldiers can act in ways that violate the Geneva Conventions or battlefield rules of engagement. Now some researchers suggest that robots could do better.

"My research hypothesis is that intelligent robots can behave more ethically in the battlefield than humans currently can," said Ronald C. Arkin, a computer scientist at Georgia Tech, who is designing software for battlefield robots under contract with the Army. "That's the case I make."

Robot drones, mine detectors and sensing devices are already common on the battlefield but are controlled by humans. Many of the drones in Iraq and Afghanistan are operated from a command post in Nevada. Dr. Arkin is talking about true robots operating autonomously, on their own.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/25/science/25robots.html?_r=2&8dpc&oref=slogin


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## ekim68

*Household bot makes theatrical debut*

The Wakamaru is best known as a domestic robot that can greet guests and provide information like weather forecasts. But soon, it may be signing autographs and being trailed by paparazzi.

Tuesday marked the theatrical debut for the bot, which appeared onstage alongside real-life actors in a play that's being hailed as a first in robot-human artistic collaboration. Hataraku Watashi ("I, Worker"), by playwright Oriza Hirata, focuses on a couple who own two housekeeping robots, one of which loses its motivation to work.

http://news.cnet.com/8300-11386_3-76.html


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## ekim68

*A fully customizable home robot*

Imagine a completely customizable robot with selectable software options. Buy one component, and it will take care of your lawn. Buy another one and it will clean your toilets. With a third one, it will pick up UPS or FedEx deliveries on your porch. If you are taking some vacation, another piece of software will transform this robot into a personal guard. Prototypes of such a revolutionary robot, dubbed AgBot, have been developed by Louisiana State University (LSU). 'It is solar-powered and can move as fast as six miles per hour for a minimum time span of four hours. With artificial intelligence, Bluetooth, and advanced GPS systems, the AgBot is a problem-solving robot.' According to the LSU team, you might see a commercial version of this robot in about five years. Read more…

http://blogs.zdnet.com/emergingtech/?p=1102&tag=nl.e539


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## ekim68

*Mind-controlled robotic limbs become the ants-pants*

The innate intelligence of ants is helping Australian-based scientists develop prosthetic limbs that respond to brain signals in groundbreaking research that could change the lives of amputees.

The technology, created by a team of five researchers from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), mimics the myoelectric signals used by the central nervous system (CNS) to control muscle activity.

Complex algorithms model the so-called "swarm-intelligence" used by ant colonies to locate food. Artificial intelligence researchers have long used the complex interactions between ants to construct a pattern recognition formula to identify bioelectric signals, which can then be applied in live human trials.

http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/270449/mind-controlled_robotic_limbs_become_ants-pants


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## ekim68

*Service Robots*

Basil is designed as a functional indoor service robot. Presently under development, the initial release is targeted for late 2009.

The robot is capable of navigating in close quarters, and can detect and maneuver around both furniture and people. Basil is programmed to deliver canapes and drinks at parties, and can also take plates and dishes from the kitchen to the dining room and back. While Basil is not equipped with hands, the robot can be programmed to follow a person and act as a mobile support surface.

http://gamma-two.com/bsl.html


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## ekim68

*Cyberknife boost to cancer care*

_A robot radiotherapy machine to treat cancer is to be available in the UK for the first time from February._

Called the Cyberknife, it moves with a patient's breathing so tumours can be targeted with greater accuracy, and damage to healthy tissue is reduced.

The machine will be at the private Harley Street Clinic in London.

More than a dozen countries worldwide already use the machine, including France, which has three under clinical trial.

At first sight the Cyberknife looks like one of those robots used in the TV car commercials.

It is a compact linear accelerator mounted on a robot arm.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7791315.stm


----------



## ekim68

*Will bats inspire future micro unmanned aircraft?*

It's not the first time researchers have tried to emulate flapping as a way to fly aircraft, but US Air Force funded researchers are now looking at how bats move to develop future micro-aircraft.

According to USAF researchers, birds, bats and insects have some highly varied mechanical properties that researchers have not utilized in engineering flight vehicles. The idea is to reproduce bat mechanics and develop technology could lead to small, remote controlled aircraft that could move in places where fixed wing aircraft have a hard time like interiors of buildings, caves or tunnels, researchers said.

http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/37146


----------



## lotuseclat79

A Review of the Best Robots of 2008.

*Robot innovation continued its relentless advances during 2008. In this post we would like to showcase some of our favorite robots and robot videos of the last year or so.*

-- Tom :up:


----------



## ekim68

*How to move a boat without an engine, paddles or sails*

Researchers say technology they have developed would let boats or small aquatic robots glide through the water without the need for an engine, sails or paddles.

A University of Pittsburgh research team has designed a propulsion system that uses the natural surface tension that is present on the water's surface and an electric pulse to move the boat or robot, researchers said. The Pitt system has no moving parts and the low-energy electrode that emits the pulse could be powered by batteries, radio waves, or solar power, researchers said in a statement.

The system bio-mimics the propelling skill of some insects that float on the water and move by leaning one way or the other. For example, researchers said they were inspired by the way beetle larvae move on water. Like any floating object, larva resting in the water causes the surface tension to pull equally on both sides. To move forward, the larva bends its back downward to change the tension direction behind it. The forward tension then pulls the larva through the water, said Sung Kwon Cho, senior researcher and a professor of mechanical engineering and materials science in Pitt's Swanson School of Engineering.

http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/37596


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## ekim68

_After decades of limited application, artificial intelligence is everywhere. And it really works this time._

January 26, 2009 (Computerworld) "Stair, please fetch the stapler from the lab," says the man seated at a conference room table. The Stanford Artificial Intelligence Robot, standing nearby, replies in a nasal monotone, "I will get the stapler for you."

Stair pivots and wheels into the adjacent lab, avoiding a number of obstacles on the way. Its stereoscopic camera eyes swivel back and forth, taking in the contents of the room. It seems to think for a moment, then approaches a table for a closer look at an oblong metallic object. Its articulated arm reaches out, swivels here and there, and then gently picks up the stapler with long, rubber-clad fingers. It heads back to the conference room.

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=332273


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## ekim68

*Machine machinations: Smart robot capable of hunting for its own "food"*

Ok, maybe this is getting a little too close to bringing Terminator-like robots to life. For starters, eco-friendly engine builder Cyclone Power this week inked a contract from Robotic Technologies, Inc. (RTI) to develop what it calls a beta biomass engine system that will be the heart of RTI's Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot (EATR).

The purpose of EATR is to develop and demonstrate an autonomous robotic platform able to perform long-range, long-endurance missions without the need for manual or conventional re-fueling - in other words it needs to "eat."

According to researchers, the EATR system gets its energy by foraging, or what the firms describe as "engaging in biologically-inspired, organism-like, energy-harvesting behavior which is the equivalent of eating. It can find, ingest, and extract energy from biomass in the environment as well as use conventional and alternative fuels (such as gasoline, heavy fuel, kerosene, diesel, propane, coal, cooking oil, and solar) when suitable."

http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/37896


----------



## Gabriel

Interesting Robo-News

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/topic/robotics.html

Robo-clam is cool


----------



## ekim68

Thanks for the link, Gabriel...:up: Gonna bookmark it...


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## ekim68

*A Robomedic for the Battlefield*

A snakelike robotic arm may one day medically attend to soldiers as they are carried off the battlefield.

http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/22045/


----------



## ekim68

*Einstein robot smiles when you do*

LONG BEACH, California (Reuters) - Albert Einstein looked around, made eye contact and smiled.

Of course, the renowned scientist has been dead for more than 50 years but he was reincarnated this week in the form of a so-called empathetic robot that pushes the boundaries of automation by being able to interact with people using emotional nuances.

http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSTRE51474520090206


----------



## ekim68

_A surgical procedure allows intuitive control of a sophisticated robotic arm._

By surgically rearranging the nerves that normally connect to the lost limb, physicians have developed an intuitive way for amputee patients to control a robotic arm.

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/22730/


----------



## firestormer

Nice thread. I happen to be a Robotocist myself, we just got some new ones fitted with ultra sonic range sensors to play with.


----------



## ekim68

*Robot Playmates Monitor Emotional State Of Children With Autism*

ScienceDaily (Feb. 18, 2009) - The day that robot playmates help children with autism learn the social skills that they naturally lack has come a step closer with the development of a system that allows a robot to monitor a child's emotional state.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090217141544.htm


----------



## ekim68

*Small Robots Can Prepare Lunar Surface For NASA Outpost*

ScienceDaily (Mar. 2, 2009) - Small robots the size of riding mowers could prepare a safe landing site for NASA's Moon outpost, according to a NASA-sponsored study prepared by Astrobotic Technology Inc. with technical assistance from Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090225132353.htm


----------



## ekim68

*"I'm Here to Make You Feel Better"*

Robots can already perform surgery and track your meds. Now, new models aim to provide therapy and support.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/09/AR2009030902247.html?hpid=artslot


----------



## ekim68

(Oops, the dark side of robots.) 

*Robot Love Gone Awry*

_Japanese robot programmed to love...a little too much._

March 6, 2009 - Ever have a super needy girlfriend that demanded all of your love and attention and would freak whenever you would leave her alone? Irritating, right? Now imagine the same situation, only with an asexual third generation humanoid robot with 100kg arms. Basically you get Fatal Attraction with a terminator cast in the lead role. Such was the torture subjected upon Japanese researchers recently when their most advanced robot, capable of simulating human emotions, ditched its puppy love programming and switched over into stalker mode. LOVE…..KILL….LOVE….KILL!

http://gear.ign.com/articles/959/959790p1.html


----------



## ekim68

*Wag The Robot? Robot Responds To Human Gestures*



> So far, that autonomous, do-it-all robot is the stuff of science fiction or cartoons like "The Jetsons." But a Brown University-led robotics team has made an important advance: The group has demonstrated how a robot can follow nonverbal commands from a person in a variety of environments - indoors as well as outside - all without adjusting for lighting.


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090311085058.htm


----------



## Gabriel

Runway Robot

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/29720315#29720315


----------



## Gabriel

Good use for robotic fish

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090319/ts_afp/britainspainenvironmentpollutiontechnology

I will refer to them in my head as Dapper fish


----------



## ekim68

Imagine the look on a fisherman's face when he caught one of those...


----------



## Gabriel

ekim68 said:


> Imagine the look on a fisherman's face when he caught one of those...


He would either think he was being spied on, or alien fish were here


----------



## ekim68

*Robot scientists can think for themselves*

LONDON (Reuters) - Watch out scientists -- you may be replaced by a robot.

Two teams of researchers said on Thursday they had created machines that could reason, formulate theories and discover scientific knowledge on their own, marking a major advance in the field of artificial intelligence.

http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE53167K20090402


----------



## ekim68

*University of Waterloo students develop robotic defensive and offensive table-soccer players.*

When robots began doing menial jobs for us, who would have guessed they'd start playing our games for us, too? It turns out a group fourth-year electrical and computer-engineering students at the University of Waterloo did.

In January 2008, as their final-year project, the eight-man team constructed a robot-controlled, motor-and-actuator foosball table capable of playing against human opponents in a two-on-two fashion; one mechanical player controls two defensive rods (goalies and full-backs) and the other controls two offensive rods (half-backs and forwards).

http://www.canadianmanufacturing.co...trol/article.jsp?content=20090403_120621_9732


----------



## ekim68

> As North Korea preps a ballistic missile launch over Japan, the Japanese are grandstanding back with promises of robots walking on the moon by 2020.
> 
> A government task force charged with plotting Japans future space development said it wants a two-legged robot strolling on luna firma by the end of the next decade.


http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/04/03/japan_proposes_two_legged_robot_on_moon_by_2020/


----------



## ekim68

*I Am Ironman!*

_HAL (Hybrid Assistive Limb) Cybernetic Suit_

Cyberdyne Corporation of Japan, in conjunction with Daiwa House, has begun mass production of a cybernetic bodysuit that augments body movement and increases user strength by up to tenfold.

http://www.hplusmagazine.com/articles/robotics/i-am-ironman


----------



## ekim68

*MIT and the Constant Robotic Gardeners*

MIT continues to spin out awesome ideas and technology. Recently, Singularity Hub highlighted the creation of a new human interface. Now, MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) is pioneering the field of automated farming. During a semester long experiment, CSAIL's researchers created a laboratory farm: tomato plants in terra cotta pots with artificial turf for grass. The goal of the experiment: to see if these tomatoes could be grown, tended, and harvested by robot caretakers.

http://singularityhub.com/2009/04/14/mit-and-the-constant-robotic-gardeners/


----------



## ekim68

*Belgians develop cuddly robot to help sick children*

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgian scientists are developing a cuddly green robot to help ease the anxieties of children in hospital.

Probo the robot has a touchscreen on its stomach which is intended to explain operations to children. The robot also makes facial expressions intended to show how medical procedures will make the child feel.

http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE53K60920090421


----------



## ekim68

*Bionic penguins take to the water - and the skies*

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16996-bionic-penguins-take-to-the-water--and-the-skies.html


----------



## ekim68

_Chemical 'caterpillar' points to electronics-free robots_

A chemical gel that can walk like an inchworm, or looper caterpillar has been demonstrated in a Japanese robotics lab.

http://www.newscientist.com/article...ee-robots.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news


----------



## Gabriel

Military Robots

http://www.good.is/sections/video/video.php?tname=military-robots

The second one about the robots that sniff out mines is cool


----------



## lotuseclat79

Teleoperated Design Revealed for Assistant Robots.

*A system lets users manage a team of robots through cloud computing.*









Readybot operates autonomously or through remote control. (Courtesy of Readybot)

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

*Low Cost, Dexterous Robotic Hand Operated By Compressed Air*

ScienceDaily (May 7, 2009) - The Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa) of the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech has developed a unique robotic hand that can firmly hold objects as heavy as a can of food or as delicate as a raw egg, while dexterous enough to gesture for sign language.

Named RAPHaEL (Robotic Air Powered Hand with Elastic Ligaments), the fully articulated robotic hand is powered by a compressor air tank at 60 psi and a novel accordion type tube actuator. Microcontroller commands operate the movement to coordinate the motion of the fingers.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090504210641.htm


----------



## ekim68

Rules for robots?

*Robot warriors will get a guide to ethics*

When and what to fire will be part of hardware and software 'package'.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30810070/


----------



## ekim68

*Soccerbots learn how to fall gracefully*

DELIBERATELY taking a tumble to implicate another player might earn you a yellow card on the soccer pitch, but falling over safely is an essential skill for all soccer players, both human and humanoid.

Now soccerbots in Chile are learning to fall in a controlled way, reducing damage to themselves and their environment, letting them recover quickly and get on with the game- they can even fall over deliberately to save a shot on goal, for example (see gallery).

Javier Ruiz-del-Solar of the University of Chile in Santiago and his team are training two teams of soccerbots for the annual world RoboCup. The aim of the RoboCup project is to have a robotic team in place by 2050 that can beat the best human side - an impossible goal unless soccerbots can learn to fall over without damaging themselves.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227085.800


----------



## ekim68

*PARO: Therapeutic Baby Seal Robot!*



> Modeled after the extremely adorable Canadian baby harp seal, Paro was designed to be a vehicle of Animal Therapy for the elderly and hospital patients. Since it has been shown that having pets around can help humans by providing increased relaxation, decreased stress and, in some cases, better vital signs and decreased symptoms of illness, the concept of a healing robot is not at all far-fetched. And unlike a real pet, Paro does not need to be fed or cleaned so keeping it in a hospital is quite easy.


http://www.inhabitots.com/2009/05/21/paro-therapeutic-baby-seal-robot/


----------



## Gabriel

Insect cyborgs

http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/080204-cyborg-insect.html


----------



## lotuseclat79

Robots with fins, tails demonstrate evolution.

*Robots wag their tail fins and bob along like bathtub toys in a pool at a Vassar College lab. Their actions are dictated by microprocessors housed in round plastic containers, the sort you'd store soup in.*









In this April 3, 2009 photo, Vassar biology and cognitive science professor John Long poses with Madeleine, a swimming robot, in a lab at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Madeleine has four flippers sticking from its sides, and it was used to study a 45-ton marine reptile that patrolled the seas in the Jurassic Period. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

*Robot sub reaches deepest ocean*

_A robotic sub called Nereus has reached the deepest-known part of the ocean._

The dive to 10,902m (6.8 miles) took place on 31 May, at the Challenger Deep in the Marianas Trench, located in the western Pacific Ocean.

This makes Nereus the deepest-diving vehicle currently in service and the first vehicle to explore the Marianas Trench since 1998.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8080324.stm


----------



## Gabriel

More robot stuff

http://www.robots-dreams.com/2009/05/new-robots-dreams-articles-in-robot-magazine.html


----------



## lotuseclat79

New Technology Creates "Soft" Robots That Flow Like Mercury.

*Like something out of Terminator 1, researchers are developing techniques for warfare of the future to create materials that self-assemble or alter their shape, perform a function and then disassemble themselves.*

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Predictive powers: a robot that reads your intention? (w/Video).

*European researchers in robotics, psychology and cognitive sciences have developed a robot that can predict the intentions of its human partner. This ability to anticipate (or question) actions could make human-robot interactions more natural.*

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

The Tiny Robot that Can Crawl Through Your Veins-And Treat Your Tumors.

*The next big step in cancer treatment might be small enough to balance on a grain of salt.*









Blood Robot

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

Shades of Fantastic Voyage, Tom...


----------



## ekim68

*Army Mechanic's Garage Tinkering Yields 18-Foot Mecha Exoskeleton *

27 hydraulic cylinders bring the mechs to life, its movements matching those of the person inside it.

http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2009-05/man-machine


----------



## Gabriel

Whoa, how would you like to see that at a burning man festival


----------



## lotuseclat79

Hi Gabriel,

One of these days, I'd even like to attend the Burning Man Festival! Somewhere on or near the left coast, isn't it - like the Nevada dessert? Is it near Vegas? I need a good excuse to attend - wait a moment - no I don't - I went to the original Woodstock! That Army mechanic is one crazzzy guy!

$280 for Burning Man - no thanks! Firefly in VT looks more affordable.

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

*Robotic ferret to detect hidden drugs and weapons*

_The monumental task of inspecting containers that come in to and out of seaports and airports may get a bit easier with a new type of robot being developed to detect drugs, weapons, explosives and illegal immigrants concealed in cargo containers._



> When placed inside a steel freight container, the ferret will attach itself magnetically to the top, and then automatically move around and seek out contraband using a suite of sensors that are more comprehensive and more sensitive than any currently employed in conventional cargo scanners. It will send a steady stream of data back to its controller.


http://blogs.zdnet.com/emergingtech/?p=1588&tag=nl.e539


----------



## Gabriel

lotuseclat79 said:


> Hi Gabriel,
> 
> $280 for Burning Man - no thanks! Firefly in VT looks more affordable.
> 
> -- Tom


That is expensive


----------



## lotuseclat79

Space Robot Can Autonomously Reconfigure Itself.

*A robot designed to work in space should ideally be a Jack of all trades, with the ability to perform a wide variety of tasks by itself. By having one robot that can handle many jobs, astronauts can cut down on weight in order to reduce launch cost. As presented in a recent study, a new type of reconfigurable robot can perform diverse tasks by changing its configuration, such as lengthening and twisting its "arms," in a much simpler and more compact way than previous reconfigurable robots.*









Reconfigurable Robot: By connecting their endpoints, two reconfigurable robots autonomously change their configurations by altering the lengths of their arms and twisting their joints. Image credit: Aghili and Parsa. ©2009 IEEE.

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

Did you ever see "Iron Giant"? Talk about a special robot...


----------



## ekim68

*Robot warriors clash at RoboGames and Canadian champ lands gold - again*

The 6th annual RoboGames were held last weekend in San Francisco, and for the fourth year in a row, Canada's own Ziggy-one of the robotic combatants in the super-heavyweight division for 'bots weighing 340 pounds-took home the gold.

http://www.automationmag.com/roboti...-robogames-and-canadian-champ-lands-gold.html


----------



## lotuseclat79

A robot displaying human emotion has been unveiled. (Video on web page)

*Kobian, a "humanoid" robot, which can express seven human emotions, has been unveiled by researchers at Waseda University in Japan.*

It displays the following emotions: Happiness, Fear, Surprise, Sadness, Anger, and Disgust, Sorrow, but even though it is not yet ready for prime time human interaction - it will always be your friend ... as they say in the video.

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Smithsonian Magazine article: Robot Babies.

*Can scientists build a machine that learns as it goes and plays well with others? A new robot design draws on ways human babies learn about the world *









Building a robot that humans can love is pretty ambitious. But Javier Movellan (in his San Diego lab with RUBI) says he would like to develop a robot that loves humans.

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Build a Very Small Robot: Make The World's Smallest Wheeled Robot With A Gripper.

*Build a 1/20 cubic inch robot with a gripper that can pick up and move small objects. It is controlled by a Picaxe microcontroller. At this point in time, I believe this may be the world's smallest wheeled robot with a gripper. That will no doubt change, tomorrow or next week, when someone builds something smaller.*

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

*Company Denies its Robots Feed on the Dead*

POMPANO BEACH, Fla.- In response to rumors circulating the internet on sites such as FoxNews.com, FastCompany.com and CNET News about a "flesh eating" robot project, Cyclone Power Technologies Inc. (Pink Sheets:CYPW) and Robotic Technology Inc. (RTI) would like to set the record straight: This robot is strictly vegetarian.

On July 7, Cyclone announced that it had completed the first stage of development for a beta biomass engine system used to power RTI's Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot (EATR™), a Phase II SBIR project sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Defense Sciences Office. RTI's EATR is an autonomous robotic platform able to perform long-range, long-endurance missions without the need for manual or conventional re-fueling.

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/07/company-denies-its-robots-feed-on-the-dead/


----------



## lotuseclat79

Disturbingly Real Humanoid Robots [w/ VIDEO].

*If Disney's Hall of Presidents upset you, if Chuck E. Cheese and his friends frighten you, if the TV show Dinosaurs gave you nightmares then this will make you not sleep at night.*

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

*Scientists Worry Machines May Outsmart Man *

A robot that can open doors and find electrical outlets to recharge itself. Computer viruses that no one can stop. Predator drones, which, though still controlled remotely by humans, come close to a machine that can kill autonomously.

Impressed and alarmed by advances in artificial intelligence, a group of computer scientists is debating whether there should be limits on research that might lead to loss of human control over computer-based systems that carry a growing share of society's workload, from waging war to chatting with customers on the phone.

Their concern is that further advances could create profound social disruptions and even have dangerous consequences.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/science/26robot.html?hp


----------



## lotuseclat79

Baseball pitching and batting robots (Video).

-- Tom


----------



## Gabriel

Robot Gardners and many More

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/dis...-news-robot-gardeners-tend-tomatoes-video.htm


----------



## ekim68

*Teaching Robots the Rules of War*



> Ronald C. Arkin, director of the Mobile Robot Laboratory at Georgia Tech, may have the answer. He is designing ethical guidance software for battlefield robots under contract with the U.S. Army.
> 
> "My research hypothesis is that intelligent robots can behave more ethically in the battlefield than humans currently can," says Dr. Arkin. "That's the case I make."


http://hplusmagazine.com/articles/robotics/teaching-robots-rules-war


----------



## ekim68

*Drum roll for the first robotic gamelan orchestra*

NEW YORK (Reuters) - What do you get when you cross a cyborg with a set of ancient Indonesian musical instruments? GamelaTron, of course.

A love for music and a fascination for robotics prompted Brooklyn men Eric Singer and Taylor Kuffner to come up with the idea to build to the world's first fully robotic gamelan orchestra.

Modeled after traditional Balinese and Javanese gamelan orchestras, GamelaTron is the result of a collaboration between the Brooklyn-based League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots (LEMUR) and Kuffner, a composer.

http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE56U0AT20090731


----------



## lotuseclat79

Robotics insights through flies' eyes.

*Finding new models for vision processing in a flight simulator for flies*



> Common and clumsy-looking, the blow fly is a true artist of flight. Suddenly changing direction, standing still in the air, spinning lightning-fast around its own axis, and making precise, pinpoint landings - all these maneuvers are simply a matter of course. Extremely quick eyesight helps to keep it from losing orientation as it races to and fro. Still, how does its tiny brain process the multiplicity of images and signals so rapidly and efficiently?


-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

*Toyota's running humanoid robot*

We all know of Honda's ASIMO humanoid robot and its amazing walking and running capabilities. Other research labs though are not far behind developing robots just as capable. In fact, Toyota has an excellent and very advanced robot in the making even though they entered the game much later than Honda.

Toyota's most recent humanoid robot prototype (one of many partner robots the automotive giant is developing) stands 130cm tall and weighs 50Kgr. Its legs have 7 degrees of freedom and it can run at an average speed of 7 km/h. In contrast, ASIMO's maximum speed is 6km/h. The Toyota researchers had to develop new real-time methods for balance control. These methods make it possible for the robot to remain balanced when an external force such as a push from a human is applied when in motion.

http://smart-machines.blogspot.com/2009/07/toyotas-running-humanoid-robot.html


----------



## lotuseclat79

Solar Robot Kit.

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Robots cook ramen, fight with knives, threaten mankind (video).

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Robots 'Evolve' the Ability to Deceive.

*An experiment shows how "deceptive" behavior can emerge from simple rules.*









Robot Communication Courtesy of PNAS



> Researchers at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland have found that robots equipped with artificial neural networks and programmed to find "food" eventually learned to conceal their visual signals from other robots to keep the food for themselves. The results are detailed in a PNAS study published today.


-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

*Marines want lots of robots they can throw*

The US Marine Corp has a request - build and rapidly deploy more 10lb or under robots its personnel can throw into dangerous situations that can quickly gather information without endangering Marines.

The throwable robot is part of a family of robots that would range from the 10lb version, to one that would act as a central controlling device and weigh close to 300lbs. According to the C4ISRjournal.com site, Marine commanders are demanding ever lighter robots so that troops don't have to offload critical equipment from their rucksacks to accommodate them.

http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/44509


----------



## lotuseclat79

If an autonomous machine kills someone, who is responsible?.

*The Royal Academy of Engineering has published a report exploring the social, legal and ethical implications of ceding control to autonomous systems*









The supercomputer Hal in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey embodies our worst fears about autonomous machines. Photograph: RGA

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

*High-Speed Robot Hand Demonstrates Dexterity and Skillful Manipulation*

A few blogs are passing around videos of the Ishikawa Komuro Lab's high-speed robot hand performing impressive acts of dexterity and skillful manipulation. However, the video being passed around is slight on details. Meanwhile, their video presentation at ICRA 2009 (which took place in May in Kobe, Japan) has an informative narration and demonstrates additional capabilities. I have included this video below, which shows the manipulator dribbling a ping-pong ball, spinning a pen, throwing a ball, tying knots, grasping a grain of rice with tweezers, and tossing / re-grasping a cellphone!

http://www.hizook.com/blog/2009/08/...onstrates-dexterity-and-skillful-manipulation


----------



## aka Brett

ladies beware...a new kinda of woman is available....thats right..one that has an off switch


----------



## ekim68

*Tossable bots for US Navy SEALs*

The shortlived era of the throwable "camera grenade" may already be over, as beercan-sized, hurlable robots with infrared nightsight video are now being delivered to US troops. Tellingly, elite special-operations units have also decided to try the new kit out.

The gear in question is the "Recon Scout" minidroid from American firm Recon Robotics. The machine has an infrared see-in-the dark video system and can drive itself about very quietly on command from a remote human operator.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/27/recon_scout_navy_seals/


----------



## ekim68

*'Plasmobot': Scientists To Design First Robot Using Mould*

_Scientists at the University of the West of England are to design the first ever biological robot using mould._



> "This new plasmodium robot, called plasmobot, will sense objects, span them in the shortest and best way possible, and transport tiny objects along pre-programmed directions. The robots will have parallel inputs and outputs, a network of sensors and the number crunching power of super computers. The plasmobot will be controlled by spatial gradients of light, electro-magnetic fields and the characteristics of the substrate on which it is placed. It will be a fully controllable and programmable amorphous intelligent robot with an embedded massively parallel computer."


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090827073256.htm


----------



## ekim68

*Swarms of Solar Microbots May Revoluntionize Data Gathering*

Researchers are developing ways to mass-produce tiny robots the size of a fly that operate like swarms of insects to collect data to aid in surveillance, micromanufacturing, medicine, and more. Measuring in at under 4 mm square, the microbots have all the equipment necessary to move, communicate, and collect data, plus they generate all of their own power via solar panels.

http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/08/31...d-microbots-may-revolutionize-data-gathering/


----------



## lotuseclat79

This is about as smart as I would like a Robot to be:
How Wired.com Built Beer Robot, Our DIY Kegerator.

*This is the story of Beer Robot, an ugly old fridge that grew into a super geeky kegerator. It started out innocently enough. After work one day at the local brewpub, three Wired.com staffers had a revelation: "What our office really needs is a kegerator!"*

-- Tom :up: :up:


----------



## ekim68

*Scientists in Florida ask, where's Waldo? *

SARASOTA, Fla. - Scientists on Florida's Gulf Coast are trying to find an underwater robot that has mysteriously vanished.

The robot from the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota has been missing since Monday.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32702588/ns/us_news-weird_news/


----------



## ekim68

*iCub the robot helps scientists understand humans*

LYON, France (Reuters) - Robots that can make their own decisions have so far been confined to science fiction movies, but a child-sized figure with big eyes and a white face is trying hard to turn fiction into reality.

Its name is iCub and scientists are hoping it will learn how to adapt its behavior to changing circumstances, offering new insights into the development of human consciousness.

http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE5861RV20090907


----------



## lotuseclat79

Robots Reveal Insights into Evolution.

*In an ironic twist to our understanding of life, robots may offer a greater degree of realism for studying some of the intricacies of natural selection and evolution than real organisms offer. In a recent study, scientists have used evolutionary robots to investigate the evolution of social information. Their results mirror theoretical predictions more closely than results from experiments with real organisms, and may provide an explanation for some of the observed variation in animal species.*









(A) The robot used for the experiments, which has floor sensors to distinguish food and poison sources, and a ring of blue lights. (B) Robots emitting blue light near a food source. Image copyright: Sara Mitri, et al.

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

MIT Helps Little Dog Navigate Rough Terrain.

*Sometimes robot videos just make me laugh. CSAIL at MIT has been working with Boston Dynamics' robot Little Dog, helping it navigate rough terrain in novel ways.*









MIT is teaching Little Dog new tricks in navigation.

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Can Robots Make Ethical Decisions?.

*Robots and computers are often designed to act autonomously, that is, without human intervention. Is it possible for an autonomous machine to make moral judgments that are in line with human judgment?

This question has given rise to the issue of machine ethics and morality. As a practical matter, can a robot or computer be programmed to act in an ethical manner? Can a machine be designed to act morally?*

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

lotuseclat79 said:


> MIT Helps Little Dog Navigate Rough Terrain.
> 
> *Sometimes robot videos just make me laugh. CSAIL at MIT has been working with Boston Dynamics robot Little Dog, helping it navigate rough terrain in novel ways.*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> MIT is teaching Little Dog new tricks in navigation.
> 
> -- Tom


Wow, how cool...:up: I want one of those...


----------



## lotuseclat79

The Robot that can Turn Into a Car (w/VID).

*A Japanese inventor has designed a robot that can change from robot to vehicle in seconds - and can even offer 'piggy-backs' on its shoulders.*









Standing









Lap of honor around stage

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

So this is the beginning of the transformers....


----------



## lotuseclat79

Probing Question: Where are all the cool robots?.

*For the better part of a century, they've promised us robots. From Elektro, the 7-foot metal man of the 1939 World's Fair, to Rosie the robot maid on "The Jetsons" to the android lieutenant commander Data on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," American pop culture has shown a future where humans do little work, leaving the heavy labor to their robot friends. Yet here we are in the year 2009 without a mechanical maid or butler in sight. It may seem petty to ask, but where are all the cool robots?*









Westinghouse developed Elektro in the 1930s as a prototype of the future robot.

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Planet Robo: Population Will Exceed 10 Million Worldwide by 2010.

*The only legal framework applied to robotics is the usual "try not to build anything that actively kills people" boilerplate, and while that's a very good rule it hardly covers the complexity of human-robot interactions.*

Note: I changed the title (but not the link) to reflect information in the article that apparently misstated the number of robots in 2010 - if it is correct.

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

*Harvard's robotic bees generate high-tech buzz*

Harvard researchers recently got a $10 million grant to create a colony of flying robotic bees, or RoboBees to among other things, spur innovation in ultra-low-power computing and electronic "smart" sensors; and refine coordination algorithms to manage multiple, independent machines.

The 5-year, National Science Foundation-funded RoboBee project could lead to a better understanding of how to artificially mimic the unique collective behavior and intelligence of a bee colony; foster novel methods for designing and building an electronic surrogate nervous system able to deftly sense and adapt to changing environments; and advance work on the construction of small-scale flying mechanical devices, according to the Harvard RoboBee Web site.

http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/45971


----------



## ekim68

*Rogue satellites to be cleared from Earth's orbit by German robots*

German-built robots are to be sent into Earth's orbit to repair 'dead satellites' or push them into outer space.



> Their robots will dock with failing satellites to carry out repairs or push them into "graveyard orbits", freeing vital space in geostationary orbit. This is the narrow band 22,000 miles above the Earth in which orbiting objects appear fixed at the same point. More than 200 dead satellites litter this orbit. Within 10 years that number could increase fivefold, the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety has warned.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/oct/11/space-robots-clear-rogue-satellites


----------



## ekim68

*'Spider pill' offers new way to scan for diseases including colon cancer*

A new way to scan for diseases, including cancer of the stomach or colon, using a remote contol 'spider pill' camera with moving legs, has been hailed by scientists in Italy.

Here


----------



## lotuseclat79

iRobot Adds to a Shape-Shifting Robot Menagerie.

*Chembot is just the latest morphing robot to come rolling out of the lab.*

5 Videos!

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Digital Open Winner: teen creates a robot shop (Video) w/article.

*Institute for the Future teamed up with Sun Microsystems and Boing Boing Video to co-host the Digital Open, an online tech expo for teens 17 and under around the world.

In today's episode, you'll meet Brennon Williams, a teen from Hillsborough, CA, who created an online robotics store for beginners.*

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Skiing Robot Races Down Slope.

4 videos!

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Cheetah, Gecko and Spiders Inspire Robotic Designs.









Cheetah 








Sangbae Kim with Stickbot








Spinybot

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Is Your Microrobot Up for the (NIST) Challenge?.

*The scientists and engineers who introduced the world to tiny robots demonstrating soccer skills are creating the next level of friendly competition designed to advance microrobotics -- the field devoted to the construction and operations of useful robots whose dimensions are measured in micrometers.*









A microrobot used at the RoboCup 2009 nanosoccer competition by the team from Switzerland's ETH Zurich is compared in size to the head of a fruit fly. The robot, which is operated under a microscope, is 300 micrometers in length or slightly larger than a dust mite. Credit: ETH Zurich

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

Say hello to HAL....:up: 

*What's "HAL" (Hybrid Assistive Limb®)?*

# "Robot Suit HAL" is a cyborg-type robot that can expand and improve physical capability.
# When a person attempts to move, nerve signals are sent from the brain to the muscles via motoneuron, moving the musculoskeletal system as a consequence. At this moment, very weak biosignals can be detected on the surface of the skin. "HAL" catches these signals through a sensor attached on the skin of the wearer. Based on the signals obtained, the power unit is controlled to move the joint unitedly with the wearer's muscle movement, enabling to support the wearer's daily activities. This is what we call a 'voluntary control system' that provides movement interpreting the wearer's intention from the biosignals in advance of the actual movement. Not only a 'voluntary control system' "HAL" has, but also a 'robotic autonomous control system' that provides human-like movement based on a robotic system which integrally work together with the 'autonomous control system'. "HAL" is the world's first cyborg-type robot controlled by this unique Hybrid System.

http://www.cyberdyne.jp/English/robotsuithal/index.html


----------



## lotuseclat79

DASH Robot Can Fall Off a 28m Building and Keep Running (Video).








[/QUOTE]
Dash Robot

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Meet BigDog's Two-Legged Brother (Video: 1:15 m/s)

*Boston Dynamics shows off its new two-legged military robot.*

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

AIDA Robot Aims To Change The Way We Interact With Our Car (w/ Video).

*MIT researchers and designers are developing the Affective Intelligent Driving Agent (AIDA) - a new in-car personal robot that aims to change the way we interact with our car. The project is a collaboration between the Personal Robots Group at the MIT Media Lab, MIT's SENSEable City Lab and the Volkswagen Group of America's Electronics Research Lab.*









AIDA. Photo - Courtesy of the SENSEable City Lab

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

*NASA moon-excavation robot competition digs deep*

Student teams use automation and robotics technologies to design and build robotic machines to excavate simulated lunar soil (known as "regolith") last week. And the goal is leave your opponents in the dust - literally.

Excavating regolith, according to NASA, will be an important part of any construction projects or processing of natural resources on the Moon. The robots are tested in box containing eight tons of simulated lunar regolith that is about four metres square and about one-half-metre deep. In order to qualify for a prize, a robot must dig up and then dump at least 150 kilograms of regolith into a container in 30 minutes. The teams with the robots that move the most regolith will claim the three cash prizes.

http://www.automationmag.com/200910...n-excavation-robot-competition-digs-deep.html


----------



## lotuseclat79

Armada of Robots to Explore Saturn's Titan?.

*Wolfgang Fink, visiting associate in physics at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena says we are on the brink of a great paradigm shift in planetary exploration, and the next round of robotic explorers will be nothing like what we see today.*











> "The way we explore tomorrow will be unlike any cup of tea we've ever tasted," said Fink, who was recently appointed as the Edward and Maria Keonjian Distinguished Professor in Microelectronics at the University of Arizona, Tucson. "We are departing from traditional approaches of a single robotic spacecraft with no redundancy that is Earth-commanded to one that allows for having multiple, expendable low-cost robots that can command themselves or other robots at various locations at the same time."
> 
> "In the future, multiple robots will be in the driver's seat," Fink said. These robots would share information in almost real time. This type of exploration may one day be used on a mission to Titan, Mars and other planetary bodies. Current proposals for Titan would use an orbiter, an air balloon and rovers or lake landers.


-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

More on post #178:

*A glimpse of the future: Robots aid Japan's elderly residents*

TOKYO - It looks like a scene from Robocop or one of the Terminator movies: A human steps into a sleek robot suit and is miraculously transformed, suddenly capable of astonishing feats of strength.

But this is no sci-fi film - it's a promotional video by Cyberdyne, a Japanese electronics company. It shows an elderly male patient with Parkinson's disease being strapped into a robotic skeleton that, using sensors attached to the wearer's skin, reacts to nerve impulses and moves its "arms" and "legs" accordingly.

The robotic suit, known as the Hybrid Assisted Limb (or HAL), is designed to boost its wearer's strength by a multiple of 10. In July, it allowed the patient at the Seiko En nursing home in Tsurugashima, Japan, to walk for the first time in two years, Cyberdyne CEO Yoshiyuki Sankai says.

*"I was surprised," Sankai admits. "I expected him to stand up, but not to walk."*

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/robotics/2009-11-04-japan-robots_N.htm


----------



## Blackmirror

Until robots are equipped with a human brain then we are safe


----------



## lotuseclat79

Photos: International Robot Exhibition 2009.



> *Hundreds of robots have gathered at the International Robot Exhibition (IREX) now underway at Tokyo Big Sight. Here are a few photos from the event, which runs until November 28.*


-- Tom


----------



## Gabriel

Blackmirror said:


> Until robots are equipped with a human brain then we are safe


WhoaThat could be scary BM.


----------



## ekim68

As much as I am a fan of robots and robotics, I believe that could be a concern...They already respond to the commands programmed in. (And we have seen first hand on this site how damaging some software is...) Didn't Asimov propose the first law of robots was to not injure humans?


----------



## lotuseclat79

Download Your Own Robot Scientist.

*Ever wanted to have a robot to do your research for you? If you are a scientist, you have almost certainly had this dream. Now it's a real option: Eureqa, a program that distills scientific laws from raw data, is freely available to researchers.*

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Scientists, lawyers mull effects of home robots.

*Eric Horvitz illustrates the potential dilemmas of living with robots by telling the story of how he once got stuck in an elevator at Stanford Hospital with a droid the size of a washing machine.*

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

*Robots of future may need a good lawyer*



> Robots have been an increasingly familiar sight in recent years, disarming explosives in Iraq, delivering mail in industrial complexes or bringing drugs to nurses in hospitals. But the coming generation of robots will be cleaning houses, doing security work, helping in nursing homes and handling a widening variety of tasks as their capabilities grow.
> 
> As robots leave the factories and move into homes and businesses, there is going to be more and more interaction between regular people and increasingly more competent - and mobile - machines, said M. Ryan Calo, a residential fellow at the Stanford Center for Internet and Society. And more contact always means more problems, and the U.S. legal system better be prepared, he said.


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/12/07/BA691AVGGS.DTL


----------



## lotuseclat79

A new step forward for robots.

*Engineers decode human balance to build walking robots.*









M2V2 is a life-size bipedal robot. Sensors in its feet help it stand on one foot and shift sideways. Courtesy of The Institute for Human and Machine Cognition

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

The A-Team of Robots (Audio Slide Show).

*Researchers at University of Minnesota's Center for Distributed Robotics have built robots of diverse sizes, shapes, and specialties -- now can the bots work as a team?*

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

*On a Roll: Autonomous Navigation Lasers and Robotics Push "Smart" Wheelchair Technology to the Cutting Edge*

Engineers can build autonomous vehicles capable of cruising city streets without the aid of a human driver, as demonstrated two years ago in the DARPA Urban Challenge. A team of researchers is now looking to translate that success to the medical field by building so-called "smart wheelchairs" with artificial intelligence that uses lasers, sensors and mapping software to operate and navigate powered chairs for riders who cannot do so on their own.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=smart-wheelchair


----------



## lotuseclat79

The Robot Revolution: Robot Revolution Around the World (Videos).

*If science fiction is to believed, the world is a few steps away from an Artificial Intelligence revolution, a technological leap that will enable us to have robots in the home, helping us in our daily tasks and jobs... before they rise up against us. However before Judgement Day happens, we look at who is leading the market in robotics.*

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

*Submersible glider spent months collecting data on Atlantic waters*

She was at sea for 221 days. She was alone, often in dangerous places, and usually out of touch. Her predecessor had disappeared on a similar trip, probably killed by a shark. Yet she was always able to do what was asked, to head in a different direction on a moment's notice and report back without complaint.

So is it any surprise tears were shed when people could finally wrap their arms around her steel torso once more?

"She was a hero," said Rutgers University oceanographer Scott Glenn last week after retrieving an aquatic glider called the Scarlet Knight from the stormy Atlantic off western Spain. The 7-foot-9-inch submersible device, shaped like a large-winged torpedo, had just become the first robot to cross an ocean.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/14/AR2009121402861.html


----------



## ekim68

*Do Robots Need A Section 230-Style Safe Harbor?*

Forget Asimov's three laws of robotics. These days, there are questions about what human laws robots may need to follow. Michael Scott points us to an interesting, if highly speculative, article questioning legal issues related to robots, questioning whether or not a new arena of law will need to be developed to handle liability when it comes to actions done by robots. There are certain questions concerning who would be liable? Those who built the robot? Those who programed it? Those who operated it? Others? The robot itself?

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091208/0231387244.shtml


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## lotuseclat79

The Year in Robotics.

*During the past 12 months, robots got better at grasping, smiling, and avoiding angry humans.*

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

*Robot Hand from Shadow Continues to Impress*

Remote controls for robots can be big and bulky, they can be integrated into your phone, and occasionally they even fit like a glove. The Shadow Dextrous Hand is a robotic arm that allows for fine motor control and precise movements. It's accurate enough to pick up an egg, screw in a light bulb, or thread a needle. Even cooler, researchers can control it with a "Cyber glove", allowing for 24 distinct human movements that mimic the user's own hand.

http://singularityhub.com/2009/12/30/robot-hand-from-shadow-continues-to-impress-video/


----------



## lotuseclat79

Robotics' Wild Kingdom.

*An engineer looks to nature to make robots that slither through pipes and climb walls*









Animal wright: Israeli robot researcher Amir Shapiro [top] builds snakelike robots (like the one draped around his neck) that can twist like screws. He also makes robots that scale walls [bottom] by releasing tiny amounts of glue, much as a snail leaves a trail of mucus.

-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

Organized chaos gets robots going.

*Even simple insects can generate quite different movement patterns with their six legs. The animal uses various gaits depending on whether it crawls uphill or downhill, slowly or fast. Scientists from Gottingen have now developed a walking robot, which can flexibly and autonomously switch between different gaits. The success of their solution lies in its simplicity: a small and simple network with just a few connections can create very diverse movement patterns. To this end, the robot uses a mechanism for "chaos control."*

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

*Willow Garage Gives Away 10 Free Robots to Jumpstart Open Source Revolution*

Open source robotics received a huge boost in momentum last Friday. Willow Garage, one of the driving forces behind the Robot Operating System, announced that it would be giving away ten of its new and extraordinary PR2 Beta Robots. The PR2 line achieved wide-spread notoriety in 2009 with its ability to plug itself into a wall outlet and recharge itself. Each PR2 Beta is a highly valued and expensive machine that represents a unique entry point to world-class robotics research. Willow Garage has an open call for proposals, so that any research group on the planet can apply to receive one of the PR2 Betas completely free of charge. That's right, Willow Garage is giving these robots away for free. Applicants will have to release their research with the PR2 freely and under standard open source agreements. In this way, Willow Garage is accelerating the field of robotics, not just by making their PR2 Betas available, but by encouraging the shared development of robots and advocating the open source creed.



> If you were a robotics developer, why would you want to apply for Willow Garage's deal? For starters, the PR2 robot is a high quality machine. It has two sophisticated arms capable of grasping, lifting, and coordinated work. It can also see what it's doing. According to its specs, it has two laser scanners, half a dozen cameras, and arrays of other sensors. Just as important as the hardware, however, is the software. PR2 is fully compliant with ROS, and other open source robotics code supplied by a vast community robotics experts.


http://singularityhub.com/2010/01/1...s-robots-to-jumpstart-open-source-revolution/


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## lotuseclat79

The age of the killer robot is no longer a sci-fi fantasy.

*In the dark, in the silence, in a blink, the age of the autonomous killer robot has arrived. It is happening. They are deployed. And - at their current rate of acceleration - they will become the dominant method of war for rich countries in the 21st century.*

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

Scary isn't it Tom? Even Asimov realized what could happen...:down:


----------



## ekim68

*Military's robotic pack mule comes to life for $32M*

What kind of robot will automatically follow a leader, carry 400 lbs of military gear, walk 20 miles in all manner of weather and go 24 hours without refueling? Well, we might soon find out as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has awarded a $32 million contract to build its Legged Squad Support System (LS3) which uses sensors and a GPS to walk along with soldiers across all manner of terrain in any weather without pulling any muscles.

http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/56667


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## lotuseclat79

Robots shed more light on evolution (w/ Video).

*Swiss scientists have proposed that if robots could evolve through natural selection the result would be robots that would help each other, cooperate, and be capable of hunting. Their experiments follow on from earlier studies reported by PhysOrg, which used robots to shed light on evolutionary processes.*









A) Experimental setup with a Khepera robot moving in the direction of the nest (recharging station), located in front of the light tower. B) Trajectory of an evolved robot after 200 generations. The trajectory starts in the lower left corner and ends within the recharging nest in the top left corner. Each point corresponds to the recording of the robot's position using an external tracking device. The arena and the recharging nest were plotted by manually positioning the robot along their contours. Image credit: doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1000292.g003

-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

Flying Robot Penguins (FESTO AirPenguin).

-- Tom Very


----------



## ekim68

*Stanford's robotic Audi to brave Pikes Peak without a driver*

When the Pikes Peak race of Colorado Springs began in 1916, drivers ascended the dusty switchbacks hoping their car would not overheat or fall apart before reaching the 14,000-foot summit. This September, a new kind of car faces the peak: one without a driver.

A team of researchers at the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford (CARS) has filled the trunk of an Audi TTS with computers and GPS receivers, transforming it into a vehicle that drives itself. The car will attempt Pikes Peak without a driver at race speeds, something that's never been done.

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2010/february1/shelley-pikes-peak-020310.html


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## lotuseclat79

Student Builds Spider Robot From Spare Parts (w/ Video).

*Picture a spider-like robot that teaches itself to walk, can adapt when damaged and watches its maker as he moves around the room. That might sound terrifying.*










-- Tom


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## ekim68

> Cube Stormer is the latest creation from Mike Dobson, aka Robotics Solutions, and not only is it made entirely out of Legos, it can solve any 3×3x3 rubik's cube in less than twelves seconds. Often it can finish in less than five!


http://singularityhub.com/2010/02/1...ny-rubiks-cube-in-less-than-12-seconds-video/


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## ekim68

*Robots join hunt for Air France jet's data*

The hunt for the Air France jet that disappeared in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean last June will be one of the most sophisticated deep-water search attempts in history when it resumes this month, according to French accident investigators and oceanographers.

More than nine months after Air France Flight 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris went down after encountering storms, an armada of the world's most advanced underwater robots are being moved to the site near the equator between Brazil and Africa.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/robotics/2010-03-07-air-france_N.htm


----------



## lotuseclat79

How robots think: an introduction (5 web pages).

*Suddenly, the robotic future doesn't look so far off.*

Hint: Robots are not capable of thinking IMHO. Same goes for some humans! 



> Who knows-we might be closer to thinking machines than we thought.


-- Tom


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## ekim68

> *Robotic surgery is experiencing explosive growth in America's operating rooms, and the unquestioned industry leader in this field is the DaVinci robot, made by Intuitive Surgical. How pervasive has this robot become? Put it this way, only 14% of prostate surgeries in the US last year took place not using the DaVinci.* It has grown from 210 systems seven years ago to 1,395 today. Although typically used for smaller surgeries like prostate removal and hysterectomies, it was recently used for a kidney transplant, and more complicated procedures are expected in the future. The DaVinci is really just the first wave of robotic surgery as technology continues to push clumsy human hands out of the operating room.


http://singularityhub.com/2010/03/16/robot-surgery-thy-name-is-davinci/


----------



## lotuseclat79

The First Known Robot Was Created Around 400 BC and Was a Mechanical Bird.



> *...the first known robot was created around 400-350 BC by the mathematician Archytas and was a steam powered pigeon.
> 
> This bird was then suspended from a pivot bar and at one point the bird managed to fly as much as 200 meters before it ran out of steam. This is not only the first known robot, but was also one of the first recorded scientifically done studies of how birds fly.*


Also, at above link: Bonus factoids about robots and cybernetics, plus a Futurama w/Bender Robot Devil cartoon poster!

-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

Shelley, Stanford's robotic car, goes before the cameras (w/ Video).

*Shelley, Stanford's autonomous, self-driving car, did a workout at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds in San Jose on Thursday, and members of the media were there to watch.*

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Online e-expo features more than 100 university robotics labs.

*In an effort to bring together the top academic robotics labs under one roof, a project called EXPO21XX has created an online exhibition to showcase the diversity in today's robotics research. At one website, robotics researchers and enthusiasts can view the projects underway in more than 100 university robotics labs from around the world.*









One of the robots at EXPO21xx: ECCCEROBOT (Embodied Cognition in a Compliantly Engineered Robot), which was designed by researchers at the AI Lab at the University of Zurich. Credit: University of Zurich.

-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

Carnegie Mellon releases ROBOTC2.0 programming language for educational robots.

*Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Academy announces the release of ROBOTC2.0®, a programming language for robots and an accompanying suite of training tools that are easy enough for elementary students to use, but powerful enough for college-level engineering courses.*

-- Tom


----------



## Gabriel

This is awesome...watch this robot fold towels...

http://content.usatoday.com/communi...04/robot-folds-towel-but-does-it-do-windows/1


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## lotuseclat79

Bountiful 'bots: National Robotics Week arrives this weekend.

*The inaugural National Robotics Week , which kicks off Saturday and lasts through April 18 (apparently, a robot's week doesn't start on Sunday like ours does), aims to recognize the role that robots play worldwide in agriculture, healthcare, manufacturing, national defense and security , and transportation.*

-- Tom


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## ekim68

*Cocaine-hunting robot chopper in 60kg bust seizure*

Vid An unmanned kill-chopper operating from a US Navy warship has notched up its first drug bust while still in testing, according to reports.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/04/12/fire_scout_bust/


----------



## lotuseclat79

Dispatches from FIRST Robotics Championship (w/2 videos).

*If you can't go to FIRST, FIRST comes to you*

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Archive Gallery: Vintage Robots.

21 vintage robots! Original article link to "Mechanical Men Walk and Talk" in Popular Science Monthly, December 1928 issue.

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Programming Your Own Thought-Controlled Robot (9 web pages).

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

*Virginia Tech engineering students build CHARLI, a full-sized humanoid robot*

He is a 5-foot tall humanoid robot built by graduate and undergraduate students with the Virginia Tech College of Engineering's Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa).

After a long moment, CHARLI comes to a rest. An audible "Whew!" is heard from CHARLI's main architect, doctoral student Jeakweon ("J.K.") Han. Dennis Hong, associate professor of mechanical engineering and director of RoMeLa, can't resist a joke.

"One small step for a robot, one giant leap for robotics," he shouted.

http://www.vt.edu/spotlight/innovation/2010-04-26-charli/charli-robot.html


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## ekim68

*Eyes flashing, robot conducts wedding in Tokyo*

TOKYO -- Almost everyone stood when the bride walked down the aisle in her white gown, but not the wedding conductor, because she was bolted to her chair.

The nuptials at this ceremony were led by "I-Fairy," a 4-foot (1.5-meter) tall seated robot with flashing eyes and plastic pigtails. Sunday's wedding was the first time a marriage had been led by a robot, according to manufacturer Kokoro Co.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/16/AR2010051600741.html?hpid=artslot


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## ekim68

*Can't make that meeting? Send in a robot*

Here's a newfangled tech toy that'll turn heads in the office.

Today, Anybots introduced QB, a robotic stand-in for employees unable to attend meetings.

The 35-pound robotic unit, which is remote controlled via a WiFi network, includes a high-resolution video camera for its operator to see through. It comes with eight hours of battery life.

The unit, which is expandable from 32 inches to 5-foot-9, is available in the fall for $15,000.

"It's remote collaboration on steroids," says Bob Christopher, chief operating officer of Anybots. Deemed the first "mobile, proxy" robot, QB can be used as a stand-in receptionist and security sentry. But its main use is as the virtual eyes and ears of an employee who wants to sit in at an important meeting but can't make it. A built-in microphone and computer screen lets the QB's operator talk to, and share documents with, other people.

http://content.usatoday.com/communi...stands-in-for-you-at-meetings-you-cant-make/1


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## ekim68

> The Shanghai World Expo got a special treat this past week in the Japanese pavilion, when Toyota's famed violin-playing robot thrilled the crowd with a rendition of the Chinese folk song Mo Li Hua (jasmine flower). The bipedal artificial violinist hasn't been seen much since its debut back in 2007. It was one of several Toyota bots playing musical instruments at the 2010 Expo, but this line of "Partner Robots" is under development to eventually serve as personal assistants - being a musician is just a side line. You can see a great clip of the Toyota bot playing Mo Li Hua after the break, as well as its original rendition of Pomp and Circumstance from 2007.


http://singularityhub.com/2010/05/23/toyotas-robot-violinist-wows-crowd-at-shanghai-expo-2010-video/


----------



## lotuseclat79

The latest version of Little Dog Robot (Video/2:38 min).

Incredible robot locomotion over difficult terrain!

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Robots big and small showcase their skills at NIST Alaskan events (w/ Video) (4:01 min).

*Make room, Bender, Rosie and R2D2! Your newest mechanical colleagues are a few steps closer to reality, thanks to lessons learned during two robotics events hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) at the recent IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) in Anchorage, Alaska. The events-the Virtual Manufacturing Automation Competition (VMAC) and the Mobile Microrobotics Challenge (MMC)-were designed to prove the viability of advanced technologies for robotic automation of manufacturing and microrobotics.*

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

iRobot Demonstrates New Weaponized Robot



> iRobot released today new video of its Warrior robot, a beefed up version of the more well-known PackBot, demonstrating use of the APOBS (Anti-Personnel Obstacle Breaching System), an explosive line charge deployed by a rocket, with a small parachute holding back the end of the line. The APOBS, iRobot says, is designed for "deliberate breaching of anti-personnel minefields and multi-strand wire obstacles." Although it may concern those who don't like the arming of robots, it makes great eye candy for those who like robots, rockets, and explosions.


----------



## lotuseclat79

Computex 2010's display of robots, 3D tech and tablets.

-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

High-Wire Robot to Inspect the Grid.

*Researchers think the solar-powered device could survey aging electrical lines.*









This illustration shows a robot designed to inspect transmission infrastructure while crawling along power lines. The first robot prototype will be tested this month, with in-field testing expected in 2014.
Credit: Electric Power Research Institute

-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

Robot Self-Assembles, Then Flies (w/Video).

*Self-sufficient wheeled robots lock together to make a larger, flying robot.*

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

A Flying Robot that Perches, Flips and Dives (w/Video).

*The small flying robot could autonomously navigate tight spaces.*

-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

US soccer robots get new algorithm for RoboCup 2010 (w/ Video).

*The World Cup is gaining the most attention at the moment from soccer fans around the globe, but next week RoboCup, the annual world championship for soccer robots, gets underway in Singapore. RoboCup's goal is to develop autonomous humanoid soccer-playing robots capable of beating the best human players playing under FIFA rules by 2050, and American researchers think their new robots will take that aim a step closer.*

Gee, I can hardly wait for a robot the does a back-flip kick into the goal while the opposing robots say - what just happened? and reprogram themselves dynamically on the fly to incorporate the same skill into their algorithms!

-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

Robot martial arts fighters to face off in S.Korea.

*South Korea is planning to stage robot taekwondo bouts, blending the country's ancient martial art with cutting edge technology, officials said Tuesday.*









This file photo shows South Korean robot (right) fighting with Japanese robot during a 'humanoid robot fight competition' in Seoul, in 2004. S.Korea is planning to stage robot taekwondo bouts, blending the country's ancient martial art with cutting edge technology, according to officials.

-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

Willow Garage's PR2 robot learns to play pool (w/ Video).

*A Willow Garage "Poolshark" team has programmed one of its robots - in under a week - to play pool, and to play it quite impressively.*









Cheering on the Robot: Image credit: IEEE

-- Tom


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## ekim68

U.S. robot sets 14-mile 'walking' record

ITHACA, N.Y., July 20 (UPI) -- A robot designed by U.S. engineering students set an unofficial untethered walking record of 14.3 miles at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., the school says.


----------



## ekim68

Japan robots chat, play -- and help find lost specs



> Robots, such as the sound-sensitive Chapit, answer simple questions and even joke with people to help the solitary fight loneliness and stay alert in old age.
> 
> "Many older people in Japan live alone and have no one to talk to," said Kazuya Kitamura, a representative of the expo organizer. "Communication robots accompany people and don't mind listening to the same stories over and over again."


----------



## lotuseclat79

Robot climbs walls (w/ Video).

*Wielding two claws, a motor and a tail that swings like a grandfather clock's pendulum, a small robot named ROCR ("rocker") scrambles up a carpeted, 8-foot wall in just over 15 seconds - the first such robot designed to climb efficiently and move like human rock climbers or apes swinging through trees.*









The ROCR Oscillating Climbing Robot developed by University of Utah mechanical engineer William Provancher and colleagues can climb carpeted walls efficiently using two hook-like claws, a motor and a tail that swings like a grandfather clock's pendulum. Weighing only 1.2 pounds and measuring 12.2 inches wide by 18 inches long, it has potential uses for surveillance, inspection, maintenance, teaching engineering and even as a toy. Credit: William Provancher, University of Utah.

-- Tom Sooo,


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## ekim68

Wow, that's cool Tom, I can see how it works...:up:


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## Gabriel

Exploring robot
"Down where the sun can't reach, a robot finds amazing microbial diversity"

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38585035/ns/technology_and_science-science/


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## lotuseclat79

DLR's Cool Looking Upper Body and Lower Body Robots (video).

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

Panasonic unleashes 16-finger, hair washing robot



> Panasonic has developed a hair-washing robot that uses 16 electronically controlled fingers to give a perfect wash and rinse, the company said Friday.
> 
> The robot, images of which were distributed by Panasonic, appears to be about the size of a washing machine. Users sit in a reclining chair and lean back to place their head in the machine's open top.


----------



## lotuseclat79

A Robot Chair Makes You Sit Up Straight.

*After suffering back problems, a professor taught his chair to correct his posture.*









Robot enhanced chair

-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

Young Boy Becomes First Human to Live With a Permanent "Robot Heart" (w/Video).



> *Until now, all other artificial heart transplants were just temporary relief. A 15 year old boy from Italy became the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart, due to the Duchenne syndrome which was wasting his muscles away.*
> 
> It was this syndrome which meant he couldn't receive a heart transplant, causing doctors in Rome to insert the 4cm-long electrically-activated hydraulic pump "heart' (90g) in his left ventricle. A plug behind his left ear and battery attached to his belt powers the heart, which will gift him another 20 - 25 years of life that he wouldn't have had without this operation.
> 
> 
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> 
> First Artificial Heart circa 1969


-- Tom


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## ekim68

Videos of Robot Controlled By Rat Brain - Amazing Technology Still Moving Forward



> Some technologies are so cool they make you do a double take. Case in point: robots being controlled by rat brains. Kevin Warwick, once a cyborg and still a researcher in cybernetics at the University of Reading, has been working on creating neural networks that can control machines. He and his team have taken the brain cells from rats, cultured them, and used them as the guidance control circuit for simple wheeled robots. Electrical impulses from the bot enter the batch of neurons, and responses from the cells are turned into commands for the device. The cells can form new connections, making the system a true learning machine.


----------



## lotuseclat79

The Robots Podcast Interviews Futurama's David X. Cohen.

-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

Coolest Robots Quiz (19 questions).

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Introducing Japan's new singing robot (w/ Video).

*A new humanoid robot, the HRP-4, has been unveiled at the CEATEC Japan 2010 trade show. The robot, nicknammed "diva-bot," has learned to sing by mimicking a human singer, enabling it to sound natural and to sing with more expression than any previous robot.*









HRP-4: diva-bot

-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

Robot's space debut 'giant leap for tinmankind'.



> *Space is about to get its first humanoid from planet Earth. Robonaut 2 - affectionately known as R2 - is hitching a one-way ride to the International Space Station this week aboard the final flight of space shuttle Discovery.*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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> 
> 
> This July 28, 2009 picture provided by NASA shows two Robonaut 2 robots in Houston. Robonaut 2 is hitching a one-way ride to the International Space Station on the final flight of the space shuttle Discovery scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2010. NASA hopes one day the will assist flesh-and-bone astronauts in orbit. (AP Photo/NASA, Robert Markowitz)


-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

Micromouse robot runs maze in record-breaking five seconds (w/ Video).



> *The 31st All Japan Micromouse Robot annual competition is held in November each year to find the fastest robotic micromouse to navigate a maze, and this year's competition promises to be hotly contested, with the winner of the regional competition in Chubu, Japan, a firm favorite.*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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> 
> "Egg Torte" micromouse


-- Tom


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## ekim68

A Robot in Every Korean Kindergarten by 2013?



> If you want humans to fear and respect their robot overlords you have to start early. Elementary school children in Korea in the cities of Masan and Daegu are among the first to be exposed to robotic teachers. Among them is a robotic English instructor named EngKey developed by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST). EngKey can hold scripted conversations with students to help them improve their language skills, or a modified version can act as a telepresence tool to allow distant teachers to interact with children.


----------



## lotuseclat79

The ethical robot (w/ Video).



> *Philosopher Susan Anderson is teaching machines how to behave ethically.*
> 
> 
> 
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> 
> Susan and Michael Anderson have programmed a robot to behave ethically. Image by Bret Eckhardt


Oooooooo!

-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

ARMAR-III, the robot that learns via touch (w/ Video).



> *Researchers in Europe have created a robot that uses its body to learn how to think. It is able to learn how to interact with objects by touching them without needing to rely on a massive database of instructions for every object it might encounter.*
> 
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> 
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> ARMAR-III


-- Tom


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## ekim68

Hacked iRobot Uses XBox Kinect to See The World, Obey Your Commands



> Millions are drinking the Kinect Kool-aid, jumping around in front of their XBox and playing games by flailing their bodies. Now a student at MIT's Personal Robotics Group is going to put all that wild gyrating to a good use: controlling robots. Philipp Robbel has hacked together the Kinect 3D sensor with an iRobot Create platform and assembled a battery powered bot that can see its environment and obey your gestured commands. Tentatively named KinectBot, Robbel's creation can generate some beautifully detailed 3D maps of its surroundings and wirelessly send them to a host computer.


----------



## lotuseclat79

Seabird's morphing wings inspire design for robots that can both fly and swim.



> *There are robots that can fly, and there are robots that can swim, but so far a robot that can both fly and swim does not exist. With the goal to design an aerial/aquatic robotic vehicle, a team of researchers is investigating how nature achieves both aerial and aquatic motion in a single entity, particularly in a seabird called the common guillemot. They plan to use their calculations, models, and simulations to design a robotic vehicle with a morphing wing similar to the one used by the seabird.*
> 
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> 
> The common guillemot flies with straight wings and swims with bent wings, which reduces profile drag by up to 50%. This strategy is providing inspiration for the design of aerial/aquatic robotic vehicles. Image credit: Lock, et al. Adapted from unpublished BBC footage.)


-- Tom


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## ekim68

Battlefield Extraction-Assist Robot to ferry wounded to safety



> The U.S. Army is currently testing a robot designed to locate, lift and carry wounded soldiers out of harms way without risking additional lives. With feedback from its onboard sensors and cameras, the Battlefield Extraction-Assist Robot (BEAR) can be remotely controlled through the use of a special M-4 rifle grip controller or by hand gestures using an AnthroTronix iGlove motion glove. This equipment would allow a soldier to direct BEAR to a wounded soldier and transport them to safety where they can be assessed by a combat medic.


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## ekim68

More battle robots:

South Korea's autonomous robot gun turrets: deadly from kilometers away



> If there's one place you don't want to be caught wandering around right now, it's the demilitarized zone that separates North and South Korea. Especially since South Korean military hardware manufacturer DoDAMM used the recent Korea Robot World 2010 expo to display its new Super aEgis 2, an automated gun turret that can detect and lock onto human targets from kilometers away, day or night and in any weather conditions, and deliver some heavy firepower.


----------



## lotuseclat79

Athlete Robot Learning to Run Like Human.



>


-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

DoD Uses Budget Cuts To Replace Humans With Robots.



> *But automation is making the humans who still have jobs more productive.*


-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Autonomous Quadrotor Teams May Build Your Next House (w/Video. 2:07)



> *Back in July, we wrote about how UPenn's GRASP Lab had taught their quadrotors to work together to grasp and move things. The next step, it seems, is teaching the quadrotors to work together to grasp and move things and actually build buildings. The video above shows a team of quadrotors cooperating to construct the framework of a (rather small) building. The building's structure is held together with magnets, and the quadrotors are able to verify that the alignment is correct by attempting to wiggle the structural components around, which is pretty cool.*


This is 1 of 7 videos available at the above link.

-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

Thanks to RoboEarth the bots can learn on their own.



> *We tend to assume that robots need human input in order to understand the world around them. In the near future humans may not even be a part of the robotic-learning equation. Soon, robots will be able to search the web all on their own. Not from the web as we know it, but from a different web made exclusively for the robots.*


Note: embedded YouTube video was not found.

-- Tom


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## ekim68

You too can own a robot...:up:  The future is here folks...

The Bilibot Project is about affordable robots.


----------



## ekim68

X Prize $30 million private race to the moon is on



> The master competition masters at X Prize Foundation are at it again. Today the group announced the 29 international teams that will compete for the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize, the competition to put a robot on the moon by 2015.
> 
> To win the money, a privately-funded team must successfully place a robot on the Moon's surface that explores at least 500 meters and transmits high definition video and images back to Earth. The first team to do so will claim a $20 million Grand Prize, while the second team will earn a $5 million.


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## lotuseclat79

Robotic hand nearly identical to a human one (w/ Video).



> *When it comes to finding the single best tool for building, digging, grasping, drawing, writing, and many other tasks, nothing beats the human hand. Human hands have evolved over millions of years into four fingers and a thumb that can precisely manipulate a wide variety of objects. In a recent study, researchers have attempted to recreate the human hand by building a biomimetic robotic hand that they have optimized to achieve near-human appearance and performance.*
> 
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> (A) and (B) show the DART hand in comparison to a human hand. (C) shows the silicone skin covering the mechanical components. (D) shows the DART hand typing the letter 'L' at a computer keyboard. Image credit: Thayer, et al. ©2011 IOP Publishing Ltd


-- Tom


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## ekim68

AeroVironment Develops World's First Fully Operational Life-Size Hummingbird-Like Unmanned Aircraft for DARPA



> WASHINGTON, at AAAS Conference, Feb. 17, 2011 - AeroVironment, Inc. (AV)(NASDAQ: AVAV) today announced it has accomplished a technical milestone never before achieved - controlled precision hovering and fast-forward flight of a two-wing, flapping wing aircraft that carries its own energy source, and uses only the flapping wings for propulsion and control.


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## lotuseclat79

Robot hummingbird passes flight tests (w/ Video).



> *A prototype robot spy "ornithopter," the Nano-Hummingbird, has successfully completed flight trials in California. Developed by the company AeroVironment Inc., the miniature spybot looks like a hummingbird complete with flapping wings, and is only slightly larger and heavier than most hummingbirds, but smaller than the largest species.*
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> Nano Air Vehicle


-- Tom


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## ekim68

Robots compete in marathon



> The world's first full marathon for robots began on Thursday in Osaka, Japan.
> 
> Five participants are competing on a 100 metre indoor track. Successful entrants will finish over 400 laps for a total for 42.2 kilometres - the full distance of a human marathon - while only stopping to recharge batteries and make small repairs.


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## lotuseclat79

Engineering students design a lock picking robot.



> *Crimes are usually committed by humans. As it turns out, we are not only making crime happen on our own, but we are designing robots to help us in our extra-legal endeavors. I don't know what the students at the Olin College of Engineering are up to in their spare time, but they have taken the time to design a robot that picks locks for them. This robot can not only pick a lock, but it can find the combination to any Masterlock lock in under two hours, without resorting to a chisel and hammer. If you have one number things will go much quicker. You won't get to class in time, but you can do a stealthy pilfering with it, if you have at least half an hour of uninterrupted time to work with.*
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> Reference: The LockCracker can open any Masterlock whether you know the whole combination, some of it or nothing at all.
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> Project Team: Jessica Bethune, Aiswary Kolisetty, Jessica Noglows, Rob Sobecki (not in order left to right)


-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

Robotic arms: Rubbing elbows with robotics (w/ Video).



> *Brian Zenowich will sometimes spend his workdays doing a little arm-in-arm dancing. His dance partners manage to stay in step, duplicating his every move almost flawlessly. The "twist" here isn't the type of dance he's doing. It's the fact that Zenowich isn't dancing with humans. He's actually a robotics engineer for Barrett Technologies in Cambridge, Mass., where the company makes robotic arms and hands.*
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> Researchers at Intel Labs located on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh are figuring out a way to take the drudgery out of house work. Credit: Science Nation, National Science Foundation


-- Tom


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## ekim68

Surveillance robots know when to hide



> THE spy approaches the target building under cover of darkness, taking a zigzag path to avoid well-lit areas and sentries. He selects a handy vantage point next to a dumpster, taking cover behind it when he hears the footsteps of an unseen guard. Once the coast is clear, he is on the move again - trundling along on four small wheels.
> 
> This is no human spy but a machine, a prototype in the emerging field of covert robotics.


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## ekim68

Robots enlisted in Round 4 of search for Flight 447 wreckage



> A small fleet of deep-sea robots is crisscrossing the depths of the Atlantic Ocean in a final bid to solve one of the biggest mysteries in aviation: what caused Air France Flight 447 to disappear between Brazil and Africa nearly two years ago.
> 
> Three previous attempts to locate the Airbus A330 jet carrying 228 people on June 1, 2009, have failed. This time, the sophisticated robots will map every remaining square inch of the area around the jet's final known position.


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## lotuseclat79

Chameleon's ballistic tongue inspires robotic manipulators.



> *Although the lungless salamander and some frog species have developed ballistic tongues, the chameleon's ballistic tongue is the fastest, the longest, and the one that can catch the heaviest prey. A chameleon's tongue can elongate more than six times its rest length, zipping forward at speeds of 3.5-10.5 meters/second - faster than a human eye can follow. The tongue is called ballistic because, like all ballistic objects, it moves freely without any applied force during its forward motion. Once the chameleon's accordion-like tongue is ejected, it continues moving forward under its own inertia.*
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> When fully extended, a chameleon's tongue can reach twice the chameleon's body length. Image credit: G. A. Boulenger. Wikimedia Commons.


-- Tom


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## ekim68

Protei, Open Hardware Oil Spill Cleaning Sailing Robot

:up:


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## ekim68

Not your daddy's Boy Scout merit badge: Robots!



> Boy Scouts have a pretty good idea of what it takes to earn a merit badge: backpacking a mountain trail, snagging a trout at the local pond, or perhaps paddling down a stream in a wooden canoe.
> 
> But nowadays, heading into the great outdoors is the old way of getting yourself a badge.
> 
> Earlier this week, the Boy Scouts of America unveiled a new merit badge that's earned when scouts design and build a robot.
> 
> The new "robotics" merit badge was created through a collaboration between the Boy Scouts and NASA in order to help scouts develop skills that are relevant and needed in today's world, the groups said in a joint release.


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## lotuseclat79

Herding Swarms of Microrobots (2 web pages).



> *Tiny robots self-assemble with a single command.*
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> Tiny robots: This wafer holds many individual microrobots. Each robot consists of a body (about 100 micrometers long) and an arm that it uses to turn. Several of these robots can be controlled at once. Credit: Igor Paprotny


-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

Ball catching robot, 80% accuracy in 5 milliseconds (w/ video).



> *DLR, an aerospace agency based in German, has modified its flagship robot, known as the Rollin' Justin, in order to make it into a lean, mean, catching machine. The Rollin' Justin's modifications allow the machine to catch balls that are thrown in its direction with an accuracy rate of about 80%. The Rollin' Justin's robots accuracy rating is better than the average uncoordinated human. It is certainly better than this reporters accuracy rate. It is not as good as say, a Major League Baseball player, but then again most of us cannot say that we are as good as the pros either. Considering they also have near unlimited stamina, at least until the battery runs out, it may be a great partner for the standard game of catch, or for the position behind the batter.*


-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

Glimpse Our Robotic Future in China.



> *Disembodied robots arms, miniature humanoids, and a robotic conga line at the ICRA 2011 conference.*
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> Darwin OP Open Platform Humanoid Project.
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> Shanghai XPartner's robot.


-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

Can Robots Really Teach us About Altruism? (w/Video: 2:00 - Robots learning to share).



> *Swiss researchers use real and simulated robots to learn about on an enduring mystery of evolutionary biology.*
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> Altruism robot


-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

Little Rolling Robot Transforms Into Helicopter (w/Video: 1:22).



> *Designing a robot that can traverse variable terrain usually involves a number of unsatisfactory compromises. You can go with a flying robot, which will almost never get stuck, but is of limited use in detailed sensing and can't operate for very long. Or, you can go with a ground robot, which is much more efficient, but also much more likely to run into an obstacle that it can't get around.*
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> (a) The robot in its ground mode.
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What was the name of the Transformer?

-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

Robot uses supersonic air jets to climb on walls and ceilings (w/ video).



> *Instead of using sticky footpads to climb on walls and ceilings, a new robot takes advantage of fast-moving air that can generate an adhesion force on just about any kind of surface. The robot's grippers, which don't ever actually touch the surface as the robot climbs, operate on Bernoulli's principle of fluid dynamics.*
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> In this clip from the video below, the robot crawls up a wall using a non-contact vacuum grip, due to Bernoulli's principle. Image credit: University of Canterbury.


-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

A robot that can juggle five balls (w/ 2 videos).



> *You can add another check to the column of things that a robot can do that an average human can't. In this case the column we are getting beat out on is juggling. Students in the Department of Control Engineering at Prague's Czech Technical University have created a robot that can juggle up to five balls at once, a feat that many human jugglers have problems with mastering.*


Note: The first video is the robot juggling 5 balls - count them as they are introduced by focusing on the black rectangle where they seem to be tossed up to when they are first introduced in the middle of the image. I counted 5 balls.

The second video seems to be the robot calibrating itself.

-- Tom


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## ekim68

Just Months After Jeopardy!, Watson Wows Doctors With Medical Knowledge



> The trainee was sequentially presented the details of a fictitious patient: there's an eye problem; vision is blurred; the family, living in Connecticut, has a history of arthritis. The trainee's initial response was uveitis. More clues and the diagnosis was changed to Behcet's disease until finally the trainee settled on Lyme disease. How sure was this seemingly hasty student of medicine? Seventy-three percent sure.
> 
> Medical trainees and doctors are not typically in the habit of quantifying their assessments with such Commander Data-like precision, but this trainee happens to share more qualities with the Star Trek android than the rest of the medical staff. Following its resounding victory on Jeopardy!, IBM's Watson has been working hard to learn as much about medicine as it can with a steady diet of medical textbooks and healthcare journals. The mock case described above was part of a recent demonstration to the Associated Press showing just how much Watson has learned. The robot's diagnosis was correct and it identified a link between symptom and cause that was "not common," as one participating physician called it. After being told the patient was pregnant and allergic to penicillin, Watson suggested treating her with cefuroxine. Its human colleagues agreed. The demonstration was a success, and it is the hope of IBM and many medical professionals that Watson will one day soon lend doctors a helping hand as they perform their daily rounds.


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## lotuseclat79

Robots Playing Shuffleboard (w/ video).



> *Intense robot battles have, for the most part, been confined to the silver screen. Occasionally a robot comes by to trounce us at chess, but robot on robot competition has been fairly limited. In this case however the combat was not an epic fight to the death, it was a game of shuffleboard.*
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-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

How Robots Will Beat Humans at Billiards.



> *Pool makes chess and Jeopardy look like child's play. All the more reason to develop new technologies -- and further humiliate the human race -- by tackling this unique computational challenge*


-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

Meet a Flying, Juggling Robot (w/Video: 1:00).



> *Solving a problem we didn't know we had, researchers based out of Zurich build flying quadrocopters capable of an amazing feat.*


Wow! 

-- Tom


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## ekim68

Robot vacuum's cleaning ability will floor you



> The device uses a laser to identify walls, furniture, and other obstacles, and it creates a room map that's stored in its memory. As it moved through the room, it hugged walls and vertical barriers, threaded its way around floor lamps, chairs and table legs, backed up when it met an obstruction and determined a route around the roadblock. It moved easily from rugs to hardwood to tile and didn't get tangled in carpet fringe or power cords.


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## ekim68

I didn't even know there was a robot soccer tournament.....

http://www.robocup2011.org/en/


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## lotuseclat79

You've Never Seen a Robot Drive System Like This Before (w/Video: 3:29).



> *
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> What you're looking here is a hemispherical omnidirectional gimbaled wheel, or HOG wheel. It's nothing more than a black rubber hemisphere that rotates like a spinning top, with servos that can tilt it left and right and forwards and backwards. Powered by this simple drive system, the robot that it's attached to can scoot around the floor in ways that I would have to characterize as "alarmingly fast."*


-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

Robots Learn to Take Pictures Better Than You.



> *Humans would like to believe that artistry and creativity can't be distilled down into a set of rules that a robot can follow, but in some cases, it's possible to at least tentatively define some things that work and some things that don't. Raghudeep Gadde, a master's student in computer science at IIIT Hyderabad, in India, has been teaching his Nao robot some general photography rules that he says enable the robot to "capture professional photographs that are in accord with human professional photography."*
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-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

Robot Film Festival: Watch All the Films.

Vimeo channel link to view all the films.

-- Tom


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## ekim68

Flying robotic seagull attracts flock of birds 



> German engineering firm Festo has developed a robotic seagull that's so lifelike it appeared to fool real birds into thinking that it was part of the flock.


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## lotuseclat79

Robot Taught to Think for Itself (w/Video: 4:30).



> *A robot that uses its own reasoning when faced with a task it hasn't completed before has been unveiled by the Hasegawa Group at the Tokyo Institute of Technology.
> ...
> This new robot can. When it is faced with the unknown, the SOINN robot uses its past experiences to make an educated guess as to what to do. It does this by "self-organising the input data it is supplied with."
> 
> If it comes to a blank, it asks for help and can be taught how to do a new task, which it will then remember. Hasegawa adds that the system is also web-enabled and so this robot will be able to communicate with other robots to get help on how to complete a task.*


The beginning of SkyNet?

-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

National Geographic: Robots - Photo Gallery.



> *Robots are being created that can think, act, and relate to humans. Are we ready?*


-- Tom


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## ekim68

Robot teddy bear nurse helps move patients



> Summary: A robotic nurse/teddy-bear called the Riba II can transfer patients from a bed to a wheelchair and back.


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## ekim68

Army Fielding Robo Jeeps in A'Stan



> In case you didn't see this, Army is set to sent four Lockheed's Squad Mission Support System (SMSS) robot jeeps to Afghanistan where they'll haul supplies for troops. The trucks are being sent there as part of a test program to see just how useful robot cargo trucks can be. The 11-foot long trucks can carry a half a ton of supplies for up to 125 miles after being delivered to the field in a CH-47 or CH-53 helo.
> 
> The SMSS can either lock on to and follow the 3D profile of a soldier using its on-board sensors or it can use GPS to navigate along a pre-programmed route. Oh, and yes, there's still the option for a man to hop in and drive it.


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## lotuseclat79

Running robot: MABEL is now the world's fastest two-legged robot with knees (w/ video).



> *A robot in a University of Michigan lab can run like a human -- a feat that represents the height of agility and efficiency for a two-legged machine. With a peak pace of 6.8 miles per hour, MABEL is believed to be the world's fastest bipedal robot with knees.*
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-- Tom


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## ekim68

Space station's humanoid robot wakes up



> CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's humanoid robot has finally awakened in space.
> 
> Ground controllers turned Robonaut on Monday for the first time since it was delivered to the International Space Station in February. The test involved sending power to all of Robonaut's systems. The robot was not commanded to move; that will happen next week.





> Robonaut - the first humanoid robot in space - is being tested as a possible astronaut's helper.
> 
> The robot's handlers at Mission Control in Houston cheered as everything came alive. The main computers - buried inside Robonaut's stomach - kicked on, as did the more than 30 processors embedded in the arms for controlling the joints.


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## ekim68

Will Robots Steal Your Job?



> If you're taking a break from work to read this article, I've got one question for you: Are you crazy? I know you think no one will notice, and I know that everyone else does it. Perhaps your boss even approves of your Web surfing; maybe she's one of those new-age managers who believes the studies showing that short breaks improve workers' focus. But those studies shouldn't make you feel good about yourself. The fact that you need regular breaks only highlights how flawed you are as a worker. I don't mean to offend. It's just that I've seen your competition. Let me tell you: You are in peril.
> 
> At this moment, there's someone training for your job. He may not be as smart as you are-in fact, he could be quite stupid-but what he lacks in intelligence he makes up for in drive, reliability, consistency, and price. He's willing to work for longer hours, and he's capable of doing better work, at a much lower wage. He doesn't ask for health or retirement benefits, he doesn't take sick days, and he doesn't goof off when he's on the clock.
> 
> What's more, he keeps getting better at his job.


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## Blackmirror

I watched robotropolis the other night and the thought of robots running loose scares me .


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## ekim68

Boston Dynamics' AlphaDog Quadruped Robot Prototype on Video



> As cool as BigDog was (and is), its relatively limited payload, range, and awful noise kept it from being a realistically deployable system. AlphaDog, on the other hand, looks like it's getting very close to something that we could see out in the field, using GPS navigation and computer vision to follow soldiers while carrying their gear over any kind of terrain.


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## ekim68

Panasonic to unveil new helper robots



> With the aging of populations in many countries around the world, particularly Japan, there are ever increasing numbers of elderly to care for, but relatively fewer younger people to do the job. Robots have long been seen as a means of filling the gap and Panasonic is set to unveil its latest technology designed to do just that.


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## ekim68

Blackmirror said:


> I watched robotropolis the other night and the thought of robots running loose scares me .


As it should scare us all...:up: Remember Asimov's Rules.....:up: As much as I agree with robotic progression, we have to have regulations, eh?


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## ekim68

Brain linked to robotic hand; success hailed



> Mr. Hemmes' success in putting the robotic hand in the waiting hand of Ms. Schaffer, 27, of Philadelphia, represented the first time a person with quadriplegia has used his mind to control a robotic arm so masterfully.


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## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Brain linked to robotic hand; success hailed


Great!


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## lotuseclat79

A Sticky Solution for Grabbing Objects in Space.



> *A new robotic arm uses electroadhesion to clamp onto virtually anything it finds.*
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> Stickyboom: A new robotic arm could help clear space junk in Earth orbit. Credit: Altius Space Machines


Related article: Anticipating Collisions between Spacecraft and Space Junk.



> *With its sophisticated predictive model, NASA can peer hundreds of years into the future at Earth-orbiting objects that could crash into each other.*
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> Space Junk: This computer-generated image shows the vast amount of man-made junk in orbit. Credit: European Space Agency


-- Tom


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## poochee

lotuseclat79 said:


> A Sticky Solution for Grabbing Objects in Space.
> 
> Related article: Anticipating Collisions between Spacecraft and Space Junk.
> 
> -- Tom


:up:


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## lotuseclat79

Ping-pong robots debut in China (w/ video).



> *Last week some oohs and ahhs were in order as two ping-pong playing robots made their debut at Zhejiang University in China. The two robots played against each other and with humans. True, this was not the first time the world witnessed robots playing table tennis. There was Topio, a robot made by Vietnamese robotics firm, TOSY.*


-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

Winged Robot Is Time Machine to Origins of Flight (w/Video: 1:49 mm:ss)



> *Here's what we know about the evolution of flight: By about 150 million years ago, the forests were filled with flying - or perhaps just gliding - dinosaurs like Archaeopteryx, possibly similar to the ancestor of modern birds. What we don't know is what primitive wings were used for before bird ancestors could fly. A study published today in the journal Bioinspiration & Biomimetics provides some fresh data for this debate, not from fossils but a winged robot.*
> 
> There are two main theories for how avian flight evolved. According to the "trees-down" theory, primitive wings were used to glide down from heights. The "ground-up" theory holds that bird ancestors used their wings to "run flap" along the ground, making them faster and better able to scamper up steep inclines that got in their way. The problem with the ground-up theory is the huge speed required to achieve liftoff. By comparison, incremental improvements in gliding could have led to flight. The fossil evidence has been too scant to settle the matter.
> ...
> "This study is a beautiful example of how relatively simple bioinspired robots can address [questions] that are difficult or impossible to test in living organisms," says Brandon Jackson, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Montana, Missoula. The results support the gliding model, but it's still possible that ground-based bird ancestors ran fast enough to take off, Jackson says. "The question of avian flight origins is far from answered."
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-- Tom


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## ekim68

How Google's Self-Driving Car Works 



> Once a secret project, Google's autonomous vehicles are now out in the open, quite literally, with the company test-driving them on public roads and, on one occasion, even inviting people to ride inside one of the robot cars as it raced around a closed course.
> 
> Google's fleet of robotic Toyota Priuses has now logged more than 190,000 miles (about 300,000 kilometers), driving in city traffic, busy highways, and mountainous roads with only occasional human intervention.


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## ekim68

Hobby Humanoid robot KHR3HV rides bike at 10k/h



> The robot pedals with his feet at variable speed. The steering is done by the robot hands as with a normal bike, and remote controled by a human.
> 
> Stability is acheived by relying on the inertial centrifugal effect of the front wheel and on a gyro aided by a PID controller that takes over streering when driving in a straigh line. Seems like when the robot steers his arms he also bends the waist leaning a bit into the turn. Breaking is acheived by taking the feet off the pedals and pointing them down to the ground using the metal feet as friction breaks.


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## ekim68

BlueBiped: A human-like walking robot that requires no power source



> Today's groundbreaking entry into the Uncanny Valley is a pair of mechanical, robot legs that are propelled entirely by their own weight: they can walk with a human-like gait without motors or external control.


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## ekim68

PETMAN Humanoid Robot From Boston Dynamics 



> Boston Dynamics is building PETMAN, short for Protection Ensemble Test Mannequin, for the U.S. Army, which plans to use the robot to test chemical suits and other protective gear used by troops. It has to be capable of moving just like a soldier -- walking, running, bending, reaching, army crawling -- to test the suit's durability in a full range of motion.


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## ekim68

Army to deploy jumping robots in Afghanistan



> The US Army will be testing a new type of reconnaissance robot designed to jump over walls and through windows, without putting soldiers in the line of fire.
> 
> Dubbed the Sand Flea, the four wheeled device is about the size of a shoebox and weighs roughly ten pounds, and is capable of jumping up to 24 feet. The robot uses a piston built into its base, powered by an unspecified fuel oxidizer, to get airborne and can be aimed by changing the tilt angle and direction of thrust.


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## ekim68

Robot ostrich spy outpaces worlds fastest sprinters



> Researchers are building a prototype design that would enable a two-legged robot modeled on an ostrich to run at around 50mph. In simulations, it can already outpace human sprinters.


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## ekim68

Liquid Robotics' Wave Gliders Begin Historic Swim Across Pacific



> Yesterday, four Wave Gliders-self propelled robots, each about the size of a dolphin-left San Francisco for a 60,000 kilometer journey. Built by Liquid Robotics, the robots will travel together to Hawaii, then split into pairs, one pair heading to Japan, the other to Australia. Waves will power their propulsion systems and the sun will power the sensors that will be measuring things like water salinity, temperature, clarity, and oxygen content; collecting weather data, and gathering information on wave features and currents. It's not going to be an easy journey-the little robots will face rough weather and have to dodge big ships.


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## lotuseclat79

Structured English brings robots closer to everyday users.



> *Move over, Jetsons. A humanoid robot named Mae is traipsing around Cornell's Autonomous Systems Lab, guided by plain-English instructions and sometimes even appearing to get frustrated.*
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> Mae demonstrates her understanding of structured-English commands during a demo in Rhodes Hall. Background from left, graduate students Vasu Raman, Jim Jing and Cameron Finucane stand with Hadas Kress-Gazit. Photo: Lindsay France


-- Tom


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## ekim68

Robotic prison wardens to patrol South Korean prison



> Robot wardens are about to join the ranks of South Korea's prison service.


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## ekim68

Flying robots to build a 6-meter tower



> The FRAC Centre in Orléans, France will for the first time host an exhibition to be built entirely by flying robots. Titled "Flight Assembled Architecture," the six meter-high tower will be made up of 1,500 prefabricated polystyrene foam modules. The exhibition has been developed by Swiss architect Gramazio & Kohler and Italian robot designer Raffaello D'Andrea, to inspire new methods of thinking about architecture as a "physical process of dynamic formation."


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## lotuseclat79

Qbo Robot Passes Mirror Test, Is Therefore Self-Aware (w/Video).



> *Yes Qbo, you're looking in a mirror and this is you. Congratulations, you're now officially self aware! Okay, all us humans are gonna run for the hills now, see ya!*


-- Tom


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## ekim68

Marines in Afghanistan Execute the World's First Cargo Resupply with an Unmanned Helicopter



> In Afghanistan, supply convoys have been a favorite target of insurgent fighters, not only because they make warfighting possible for troops at forward operating bases but also because they are so very vulnerable to ambushes and IEDs. But on Saturday, NATO logisticians hit a major milestone in Afghanistan, reaching out and touching one of the holy grails of robotic warfare when an unmanned K-MAX helicopter successfully delivered a sling-load of beans, bullets, and band-aids to an unspecified base for the first time.


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## ekim68

EPFL Looks to Bats, Locusts for Jumping and Gliding Robots 



> Gliding is a very efficient way for getting from getting from point A to point B. Jumping is a very efficient way of getting into the air at point A, especially if there are a bunch of obstacles between point A and point B that it would be a good idea to be airborne to make it over. Grasshoppers have been doing this for, I dunno, probably like a hundred million years, and roboticists at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), in Switzerland, are starting to design their robots with the same kind of jumping talents and expandable wings as our orthopteran friends.


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## ekim68

Lovotics, an update on the science of human-robot love



> Six months ago we introduced you to the work of Hooman Samani, a researcher who has spent the last few years investigating the sphere of human-robot love; lovotics. Back then, he had just launched a furry, tribble-like robot that mimicked human psychological and hormonal states, and communicated using sounds and lights. Now he has two new inventions to show off: Kissenger and Mini-Surrogate.
> 
> Kissenger, as the name suggests, is all about transmitting a kiss over a distance. The basic concept is that you have two robots, both outfitted with an artificial pair of lips. The lips are highly touch-sensitive, but can also be manipulated by motors inside the robot. Then, when you want to kiss someone remotely, you both whip out your Kissenger robot… and kiss it. Your lip movements are transmitted to the other robot, and vice versa. The idea is that you could be half way around the world, but as long as you have your Kissenger with you, you can kiss your friends and family back home.


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## ekim68

A Swarm of Nano Quadrotors


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## ekim68

DARPA'S LEGGED SQUAD SUPPORT SYSTEM (LS3) TO LIGHTEN TROOPS' LOAD



> _Prototype robotic "pack mule" stands up, lies down and follows leader carrying 400 lbs. of squad's gear_
> 
> Today's dismounted warfighter can be saddled with more than 100 pounds of gear, resulting in physical strain, fatigue and degraded performance. Reducing the load on dismounted warfighters has become a major point of emphasis for defense research and development, because the increasing weight of individual equipment has a negative impact on warfighter readiness. The Army has identified physical overburden as one of its top five science and technology challenges. To help alleviate physical weight on troops, DARPA is developing a highly mobile, semi-autonomous legged robot, the Legged Squad Support System (LS3), to integrate with a squad of Marines or Soldiers.


----------



## ekim68

Robot Reconnoiters Uncharted Terrain



> ScienceDaily (Feb. 16, 2012) - Mobile robots have many uses. They serve as cleaners, carry out inspections and search for survivors of disasters. But often, there is no map to guide them through unknown territory. Researchers have now developed a mobile robot that can roam uncharted terrain and simultaneously map it -- all thanks to an algorithm toolbox.


----------



## ekim68

Robo-Cheetah sets new record as fastest robot on four legs



> Robo-Cheetah doesn't run, it gallops. And it doesn't have a head, because it doesn't need one. It was designed for speed, and it has got plenty of that.
> 
> Robo-Cheetah can go up to 18 mph, making it the fastest robot on four legs.
> 
> Robo-Cheetah has completely shattered the previous robotic quadripedal speed record, which was 13.1 mph, set at MIT in 1989, according to a news release on the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) website.


----------



## Knotbored

I have a hard time defining that "cheeta" as a robot.
Its a machine pure and simple. Its not self-contained, seems to have no method of steering itself, its just a machine that runs on hydraulic fluid pumed in through tubing, and is suspended on the track center by an external boom.


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## ekim68

Robotic jellyfish runs off renewable energy



> Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas and Virginia Tech are using the concept of biomimicry to experiment with a robot that could, in the future, provide a model for the design of undersea surveillance and rescue vehicles.
> 
> So far, researchers have applied their approach to a robotic jellyfish (see the video below for a demonstration). The robotic jellyfish uses hydrogen and oxygen gasses in water as its source of energy. The work is described in Smart Materials and Structures.
> 
> "We've created an underwater robot that doesn't need batteries or electricity," said Yonas Tadesse, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Texas, and one of the study's authors, in a statement about the research. "It feeds off hydrogen and oxygen gasses and the only waste released as it travels is water."


----------



## ekim68

Navy's Robot Helicopters Will Automatically Spot Pirates



> Helicopter drones that have already helped catch cocaine smugglers at sea could soon get much smarter about hunting modern-day pirates. The U.S. Navy plans to upgrade its robotic Fire Scouts with electronic "brains" that are able to automatically recognize small pirate boats spotted through 3D laser imaging.


----------



## ekim68

National Robotics Week, children and the future



> It's National Robotics Week, that time of year when we kneel before our digital overlords and appease them with offerings of batteries and memory chips. Organizations around the nation have planned more than 150 propitiation ceremonies in a desperate effort to gain favor with our mechanical masters - or at least avoid their fiery eye-beams.


----------



## ekim68

Robots guard S. Korea prison inmates



> Korea has begun testing the feasibility of using robots as prison guards by deploying them in an actual prison in Pohang, officials said.
> 
> The robots' initial duty is to patrol the halls between cells looking for signs of trouble, and if detected alert human guards who will take appropriate action, PhysOrg.com reported Wednesday.
> 
> Dubbed Robo-Guard by the press, the robots carry several cameras, including a 3D one, microphone, speaker and circuitry, and are programmed with software that allows them to move autonomously in predefined areas inside the prison.


----------



## ekim68

Ice prospecting robotic rover books a ticket for the Moon



> While the Moon may or may not contain life forms, precious metals or even green cheese, recent satellite missions have indicated that it does nonetheless contain something that could prove quite valuable - water ice. NASA has estimated that at least 650 million tons (600 million tonnes) of the stuff could be deposited in craters near the Moon's north pole alone. If mined, it could conceivably serve as a source of life support for future lunar bases, or it could be used to produce fuel for spacecraft stopping at a "lunar gas station." Before any mining can happen, however, we need to learn more about the ice. That's why NASA has contracted Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic Technology to determine if its Polaris rover robot could be used for ice prospecting.


----------



## ekim68

Robot Boats Survive Epic Voyage Across the Pacific - So Far



> HAWAII - Twenty-two feet below the surface, the robot glider towed me slowly through clear Hawaiian seas. The day before, a similar glider named Benjamin had arrived in these same waters. Benjamin and three companion gliders had traveled all the way from San Francisco - more than 3,000 miles - powered by only the motion of ocean waves.
> 
> Before they left California, Liquid Robotics VP of Operations Graham Hine blessed the gliders by smashing a bottle of champagne on one of their frames, asking nature for assistance: "Neptune, god of the seas, and Aeolus, god of the winds, we ask for your blessings upon these vessels that are going to transit from here to parts formerly unexplored by this kind of robot."
> 
> The gliders had endured an epic journey from California to Hawaii, but they were on a mere layover - they're in the middle of an attempt to cross the entire Pacific. There's a world record for "greatest distance by an autonomous wave-powered vehicle" at stake, and on Monday four of the gliders left Hawaii to resume their quest to cross the world's largest body of water on mostly wave power. The next leg of their trip will take them some 5,000 more nautical miles to the coasts of Australia and Japan.


----------



## ekim68

Japan robot lab readies second prototype for work at crippled nuclear reactor



> The robot, called "Rosemary," is about the size of a lawn mower and has four extended treaded feet that swivel up and down to help it climb over obstacles. It can ascend at angles over 60 degrees and can carry instruments and other payload weighing up to 60 kilograms (132 pounds).
> 
> "We tested the robot's various electronic components using an exposure test," said Takeshi Nishimura, a researcher at the Future Robotics Technology Center. "It can be used without any additional shielding or protection."
> 
> The robot will be sent to Fukushima in the next few months, he added


----------



## ekim68

Super sushi-bot churns out 2,500 rolls an hour



> Japanese boffins have unveiled their latest engineering masterpiece, a six speed sushi-making robot that can churn out 2,500 pieces of the stuff in just an hour.


----------



## ekim68

Robots Get a Feel for the World: Touch More Sensitve Than a Human's



> ScienceDaily (June 18, 2012) - What does a robot feel when it touches something? Little or nothing until now. But with the right sensors, actuators and software, robots can be given the sense of feel -- or at least the ability to identify different materials by touch.





> The robot was equipped with a new type of tactile sensor built to mimic the human fingertip. It also used a newly designed algorithm to make decisions about how to explore the outside world by imitating human strategies. Capable of other human sensations, the sensor can also tell where and in which direction forces are applied to the fingertip and even the thermal properties of an object being touched.


----------



## ekim68

Robots Join Hunt for Amelia Earhart's Plane



> U.S. Navy warships and aircraft failed to find Amelia Earhart when the pioneering female aviator vanished in the South Pacific during her second attempt to fly around the world in 1937. This summer, aviation archaeologists have enlisted the help of underwater robots to find the wreckage of Earhart's aircraft.
> 
> The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (or TIGHAR) suspects that Earhart's Lockheed Electra landed on a reef of the uninhabited coral atoll formerly known as Gardner Island and stayed there for several days before waves washed the aircraft over the reef's edge - perhaps enough time for the aviator and her navigator to have sent out radio distress calls. The expedition plans to deploy ship sonar and two robot submersibles to search the slope of the underwater reef for any aircraft parts.


----------



## ekim68

Robot Hand Beats You at Rock, Paper, Scissors 100% Of The Time 



> This robot hand will play a game of rock, paper, scissors with you. Sounds like fun, right? Not so much, because this particular robot wins every. Single. Time.
> 
> Here's a hint about what makes this robot (from the Ishikawa Oku Lab at the University of Toyko) so unbeatable: it's one of those high speed hands that works with a high speed vision system. And when we say 'high speed,' we mean fast enough that you can't really tell that the robot is cheating:


----------



## ekim68

The iRobot Doc Will See You Now: Roomba Maker Enters the ER



> Some of us complain their doctors are too stiff, lack warmth and are too robotic. But calling such doctors "robots" may be a disservice to RP-Vita - the latest telepresence, healthcare bot from InTouch Health and iRobot.
> 
> RP-VITA (Remote Presence Virtual + Independent Telemedicine Assistant), unveiled this week at the Clinical Innovations Forum in Santa Barbara, is a remote-controlled telepresence robot that combines InTouch's "telemedicine" technology and the autonomous navigation innovations introduced in iRobots' AVA robot at CES in 2011.
> 
> iRobot, which also makes the popular Roomba robot home vacuum, made a $6 million investment in InTouch in January of this year.
> 
> *It may be controlled via joystick, but RP-Vita does have some awareness of its environment. It employs a dazzling array of sensors that include PrimeSense Sensors (the same ones you find in the Kinect for Xbox 360), two cameras that together approximate normal human vision, sonar and a laser range finder. It also creates a map of the hospital and knows the location, for example, of its roll-into charging base.*


----------



## ekim68

Robots compete in their own 'Olympics' games



> 26 teams from around the world are currently competing in the FIRA RoboWorld Cup
> 
> They are taking part in a range of games, including football, basketball and weightlifting.
> 
> It is the first time that the event has been hosted in the UK and organisers say that they have had a record number of entries.
> 
> The robots have also smashed a few world records along the way.


----------



## ekim68

Robots to Go Spelunking in Martian Caves?



> Scientists are beginning to sketch out plans for NASA's new Mars rover Curiosity to climb Mount Sharp, but future robots may have a more direct way to access the planet's history books.
> 
> Recent discoveries of "skylights" (pictured here) and lava tubes on the surface of Mars, as well as the moon, are sparking the development of robotic probes that can descend into caves and explore tunnels.
> 
> "Geology works in layers, so how many layers can you see? Well, we know there are sinkholes on Mars. Those sinkholes expose potentially hundreds of feet of layers, so if you could lower something down and examine those layers and explore a tunnel underneath, or anything of that sort, the science that can be done with that is just phenomenal," Jason Derleth, senior technology analyst with NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts Program, told Discovery News.


----------



## ekim68

PackBots, Roombas, and Now, Healthcare: The iRobot Story



> After 22 years in operation-the last seven as a publicly traded company-iRobot's impact is all around us. The company's home robots (including the Roomba vacuum cleaner, which debuted in 2002) have sold more than 8 million units. The firm's military robots, such as the PackBot, are famous for aiding troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as for helping out in disaster sites such as Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant. The robot that first entered the Aurora, CO, shooter's booby-trapped apartment in July was a PackBot (this fact wasn't widely publicized). The robot that detected key underwater pools of oil in the Gulf of Mexico, thereby leading to a more comprehensive cleanup after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, was an iRobot Seaglider. And so on.


----------



## ekim68

Roomba Celebrates 10 Years of Cleaning Up After You



> Roomba, the world's first multi-million unit-selling home-helper robot, turns 10 today. iRobot has cooked up a self-congratulatory infographic filled with a collection of interesting and, occasionally bizarre facts to mark the occasion.


----------



## ekim68

Toyota unveils helpful Human Support Robot



> Toyota has unveiled a new assistant robot designed to help the disabled live more independently. Called the Human Support Robot (HSR), it represents the latest initiative in Toyota's Partner Robot program and is intended to help out around the home by fetching things, opening curtains, and picking up objects that have fallen to the floor.


----------



## ekim68

Robots join the fight against cancer



> A 30cm (1ft) snake slowly moves through the body of a man on a spotless table, advancing its way around the liver.
> 
> It stops, sniffs to the left, then turns to the right and slithers behind the ribcage.
> 
> This is a medical robot, guided by a skilled surgeon and designed to get to places doctors are unable to reach without opening a patient up.
> 
> It is still only a prototype and has not yet been used on real patients - only in the lab.


----------



## ekim68

These $10 Robots Will Change Robotics Education



> And the future of robotics education in Africa is ... Chupa Chups?
> 
> When the African Robotics Network announced their $10 robot design challenge this summer, co-founder Ken Goldberg was careful not to share too many expectations, lest he influence contestants' designs. But he never imagined one of the winning entries would prominently feature a pair of Spanish lollipops.
> 
> The challenge, hosted by AFRON co-founders Goldberg and Ayorkor Korsah, emphasized inexpensive designs to help bring robotics education to African classrooms. Goldberg announced AFRON's 10 winners in three categories today at Maker Faire, including the lollipop-laden Suckerbot and traditional (roaming) category first prize winner Kilobot, a Harvard-spawned three-legged, vibrating, swarming robot.


----------



## ekim68

Next generation military robots have minds of their own



> Think of advanced robotics, and it is easy to let your mind wander to the sentient beings depicted in Blade Runner, or the soulless, autonomous assassins in the Terminator franchise.
> 
> But, despite widespread press about armed drones hunting down terrorists and insurgents in Afghanistan and Pakistan and the increasing use of ground robots to fight roadside bombs, the truth is that most military robots are still pretty dumb. In fact, almost all unmanned systems involve humans in almost every aspect of their operations-it's just that instead of sitting in a cockpit or behind the wheel of a vehicle, humans are operating the systems from a joystick or computer often at a remote base far from the action.
> 
> Now that is slowly beginning to change.
> 
> Next week, one of the Pentagon's most commonly used robots will finally make baby steps toward greater autonomy. The PackBot, a tracked robot used by US troops to help clear bombs in Afghanistan, will get a number of upgrades that will allows it to operate autonomously in some situations, according to Tim Trainer, a vice president for product management at iRobot, which makes the pint-sized bots.


----------



## ekim68

Water-prospecting Polaris lunar rover prototype built



> Astrobotic Technology Inc., a spin-off company of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), has debuted its full-size flight prototype of its Polaris lunar water-prospecting robot. Polaris is specially designed to work in the permanently shadowed craters at the Moon's poles. Scheduled to be sent to the Moon using a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle, the solar-powered rover is a contender in the US$20 million Google Lunar X Prize and is tasked with seeking ice deposits that could be used by future colonists.


----------



## ekim68

Robots Using Tools: With New Grant, Researchers Aim to Create 'MacGyver' Robot



> Robots are increasingly being used in place of humans to explore hazardous and difficult-to-access environments, but they aren't yet able to interact with their environments as well as humans. If today's most sophisticated robot was trapped in a burning room by a jammed door, it would probably not know how to locate and use objects in the room to climb over any debris, pry open the door, and escape the building.
> 
> A research team led by Professor Mike Stilman at the Georgia Institute of Technology hopes to change that by giving robots the ability to use objects in their environments to accomplish high-level tasks. The team recently received a three-year, $900,000 grant from the Office of Naval Research to work on this project.


----------



## ekim68

New NASA robot could help paraplegics walk



> NASA said today it has helped develop a 57-lb robotic exoskeleton that a person could wear over his or her body either to assist or inhibit movement in leg joints.
> 
> The X1 was derived from NASA and General Motors Robonaut 2 project and the could find applications as an in-space exercise machine to supply resistance against leg movement more importantly as a way to help some individuals walk for the first time.


----------



## ekim68

Video: Navy's Humanoid Robot Dances Gangnam Style



> Meet CHARLI-2, Virginia Tech's skinny, five-foot tall humanoid robot. His balance is enviable: Jostle him, and he'll right himself - which is one of the reasons the Navy is using him for research on its firefighting robot of the future. Oh, and as the video above shows, he also dances Gangnam Style.


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## ekim68

CHARLI Robot Gangnam Style


----------



## ekim68

Robot Swarms Get Their Own Drones 



> How can a swarm of robots get a global picture of its environment? Easy it simply sends up a drone. We are used to thinking of drones as being used for surveillance by humans operating on the ground, but what is good for humans is good for robots too.
> 
> Swarms of robots don't all have to be of the same type and one of the best known attempts to build a heterogeneous swarm was the swarmanoid project. Originally the swarmanoid consisted of three types of robot - eyebots, footbots and handbots. Now we have to add a flying drone to provide an aerial overview to the swarm.


----------



## ekim68

Mind-controlled robot avatars inch towards reality



> Researchers at the CNRS-AIST Joint Robotics Laboratory (a collaboration between France's Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology) are developing software that allows a person to drive a robot with their thoughts alone. The technology could one day give a paralyzed patient greater autonomy through a robotic agent or avatar.


----------



## ekim68

Teaching robots new tricks without programming



> Don't believe what the sci-fi movies tell you. When it comes to understanding our world, robots are stupid. Like computers, robots only do what we program them to do. And that's a big problem if we're ever going to realize the dream of practical robot helpers for the masses. Wouldn't it be great if anyone could teach a robot to perform a task, like they would a child? Well, that's precisely what Maya Cakmak has been working on at Willow Garage.
> 
> Cakmak, a researcher from Georgia Tech, spent the summer creating a user-friendly system that teaches the PR2 robot simple tasks. The kicker is that it doesn't require any traditional programming skills whatsoever - it works by physically guiding the robot's arms while giving it verbal commands.


----------



## ekim68

Roaming robot may explore mysterious Moon caverns



> William 'Red' Whittaker often spends his Sundays lowering a robot into a recently blown up coal mine pit near his cattle ranch in Pennsylvania (see video). By 2015, he hopes that his robot, or something like it, will be rappelling down a much deeper hole, on the Moon.
> 
> The hole was discovered three years ago when Japanese researchers published images from the satellite SELENE1, but spacecraft orbiting the Moon have been unable to see into its shadowy recesses. A robot might be able to "go where the Sun doesn't shine", and send back the first-ever look beneath the Moon's skin, Whittaker told attendees at a meeting of the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) programme in Hampton, Virginia, this week.


----------



## ekim68

Disney Research robot can juggle, play catch



> With the aim of providing some physical interaction between entertainment robots and guests at its theme parks, while still maintaining a safe distance between the two, Disney Research has created an animatronic robot that can play catch and juggle balls with a human partner.
> 
> A Kalman filter algorithm is used to analyze video captured on an external camera system consisting of a Kinect-like ASUS Xtion PRO LIVE to track a colored ball in three-dimensional space and predict its destination and timing. The ball's predicted location is then relayed to the robot, which moves its hand accordingly.


----------



## ekim68

Swimming robot reaches Australia after record-breaking trip



> A self-controlled swimming robot has completed a journey from San Francisco to Australia.
> 
> The record-breaking 9,000 nautical mile (16,668km) trip took the PacX Wave Glider just over a year to achieve.
> 
> Liquid Robotics, the US company behind the project, collected data about the Pacific Ocean's temperature, salinity and ecosystem from the drone.


----------



## ekim68

Mind-controlled robotic arm gets closer than ever to human limb



> (Reuters) - Researchers in the United States have developed a robotic arm controlled directly by thought with a level of agility closer than ever to a normal human limb.
> 
> Jan Scheuermann, a 52 year-old woman who was diagnosed with a degenerative brain disorder 13 years ago and is paralyzed from the neck down, was able operate the robotic arm with a level of control and fluidity not seen before in this type of advanced prosthesis.


----------



## ekim68

Stanford researchers develop acrobatic space rovers to explore moons and asteroids



> Stanford researchers, in collaboration with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have designed a robotic platform that could take space exploration to new heights.
> 
> The mission proposed for the platform involves a mother spacecraft deploying one or several spiked, roughly spherical rovers to the Martian moon Phobos. Measuring about half a meter wide, each rover would hop, tumble and bound across the cratered, lopsided moon, relaying information about its origins, as well as its soil and other surface materials.


----------



## ekim68

Attack of the Telepresence Robots!



> The growing trend toward telecommuting and outsourcing has driven companies to seek ways for remote workers and teams to communicate and collaborate more efficiently and effectively. This need has inspired a handful of innovative high-tech startups to create a new market: remote telepresence robots.


----------



## ekim68

Robot Serves Up 360 Hamburgers Per Hour



> No longer will they say, "He's going to end up flipping burgers." Because now, robots are taking even these ignobly esteemed jobs. Alpha machine from Momentum Machines cooks up a tasty burger with all the fixins. And it does it with such quality and efficiency it'll produce "gourmet quality burgers at fast food prices."


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## ekim68

The Wildly Ambitious Quest to Build a Mind-Controlled Exoskeleton by 2014



> Neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis went on The Daily Show in 2011 and told Jon Stewart that he would develop a robotic body suit that would allow paralyzed people to walk again simply by thinking about it - and he'd do it in just 3 or 4 years.
> 
> It was an audacious, some might say reckless, claim. But two years later, Nicolelis insists he's on track. And he hopes to prove it in brazen fashion in front of billions of people during one of the world's most-watched events: the World Cup.
> 
> The tournament, which will be held in his native Brazil, is less than 16 months away. If all goes according to plan, during the opening ceremony, a young paralyzed person will step onto the field in a robotic exoskeleton operated by electrodes implanted in his or her brain, walk about 20 steps, and kick a soccer ball.


----------



## ekim68

BigDog grabs, lifts, and throws cinder blocks with its new arm



> Boston Dynamics' BigDog may have already been replaced by the beefier LS3, but that doesn't mean it's totally obsolete. Today the company unveiled a version of the quadruped equipped with an arm where a head (or tail) would go. As can be seen in the following video, it's powerful enough to lift and toss a heavy cinder block.


----------



## valis

ekim68 said:


> BigDog grabs, lifts, and throws cinder blocks with its new arm


Man, that thing gave me nightmares a freakin' decade ago. Now it's throwing bricks? 

anyone for skynet?


----------



## Bush Lady

I know someone that could use a Roboot. To do the cooking for her and bring her breakfast in bed. 
I always had to get up in the morning to feed my animals. It's funny, you know, the animals don't seem to know when it is Christmas or New Years. Or if I have a hang over and don't want to get up to feed them.


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## ekim68

Actually Bush Lady, if you peruse a few of the posts in this thread you'll see some robots taking care of people and I suppose that help could apply to taking care of the animals too, that is if the animals are comfortable with it...


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## ekim68

When are we going to learn to trust robots?



> A new robot unveiled this week highlights the psychological and technical challenges of designing a humanoid that people actually want to have around.
> 
> Like all little boys, Roboy likes to show off.
> 
> He can say a few words. He can shake hands and wave. He is learning to ride a tricycle. And - every parent's pride and joy - he has a functioning musculoskeletal anatomy.
> 
> But when Roboy is unveiled this Saturday at the Robots on Tour event in Zurich, he will be hoping to charm the crowd as well as wow them with his skills.


----------



## ekim68

Giant robot jellyfish reporting for recon duty, sir



> As if there weren't enough real jellyfish around to trigger our thalassophobia, researchers at Virginia Tech have created Cryo -- an eight-armed autonomous robot that mimics jelly movement with the help of a flexible silicone hat.


----------



## ekim68

Coral-repairing robots take a step closer to reality



> Since humans are responsible for much of the damage to coral reefs, it makes sense that we should try and help repair them. That's exactly what a team from the Herriot-Watt University's Centre for Marine Biodiversity and Biotechnology is attempting to do with the development of underwater "coralbots." Now anyone can add their support to this worthy effort with the launch of a Kickstarter campaign that will help make the robots a reality.
> 
> The research team has already built a couple of prototype coralbots that can be equipped with onboard camera, computer, and flexible arms and grippers. These would come together to allow the robot to reattach healthy pieces of coral back onto a reef to help speed up the healing process. This time-consuming task is currently performed by scuba divers - or not at all. It also makes repairing reefs at greater depths difficult or impossible.


----------



## ekim68

Willow Garage Spinoff IPI Is Building Robots That Can See, Think, and Act



> We often hear of robots forcing humans to learn new skills, but Willow Garage spinoff, Industrial Perception, Inc., (IPI) aims to do just the opposite. IPI is in the business of training robots for the real world. Step one: Give them eyes. Step two: Teach them to understand what they're seeing. Step three: Do something about it.
> 
> Combining environmental awareness with decision-making and ultimately action is something we take for granted. But in robotics, it is an incredibly difficult problem and only now beginning to show up in machines-which is why watching a robot look, analyze, and then choose a course of action is a touch unnerving.


----------



## ekim68

Robot Snake To The Rescue! 



> A video from Carnegie Mellon University Biorobotics Lab demonstrates how the snakelike robots developed by the lab can aid search and rescue operations in collapsed buildings.
> 
> It shows a snake robot exploring a pancaked building and demonstrate how effectively it can be deployed by an dog, described as a rescue canine.


----------



## ekim68

'The Point of No Return': Should Robots Be Able to Decide to Kill You On Their Own?



> A U.N. report released earlier this week called for a global moratorium on developing highly sophisticated robots that can select and kill targets without a human being directly issuing a command. These machines, known as Lethal Autonomous Robots (LARs), may sound like science fiction - but experts increasingly believe some version of them could be created in the near future. The report, released by Professor Chrisof Heyns, U.N. Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, also calls for the creation of "a high level panel on LARs to articulate a policy for the international community on the issue."


----------



## ekim68

Robotic Insects Make First Controlled Flight



> May 2, 2013 - In the very early hours of the morning, in a Harvard robotics laboratory last summer, an insect took flight. Half the size of a paperclip, weighing less than a tenth of a gram, it leapt a few inches, hovered for a moment on fragile, flapping wings, and then sped along a preset route through the air.


----------



## valis

Severely Allergic Boy Goes To School Through Remote Controlled Robot



> So while his condition prevents him from attending school in person, technology has supplied him with a workaround. Devon now goes to classes remotely through VGo, a four-foot-tall remote controlled telepresence robot, according to ABC News.


----------



## ekim68

Robotic bartender assembles personalized drinks, monitors alcohol consumption, and takes social mixing to a whole new level



> You're at a busy bar. You order your personalized cocktail through a smart phone app; a drink dispenser measures out the beverage according to your instructions and a Kuka robotic arm give it a shake (or stir), while another garnishes it with a slice of lemon; the made-to-order concoction is delivered to your waiting hand via a slick little ten-lane conveyor belt.
> 
> The 'mixology system' tracks your order from start to finish: a large display behind the bar shows you the number of drinks ahead of yours in the queue, the current wait time, and lets you know when your drink is ready to be picked up. It also shows you what's popular to drink tonight among both the ladies and the gents in the crowd, and lets you influence drinking trends in realtime by incorporating your suggested tweaks on popular recipes.


----------



## ekim68

Moshe Vardi: Robots Could Put Humans Out of Work by 2045



> Robots began replacing human brawn long ago-now they're poised to replace human brains. Moshe Vardi, a computer science professor at Rice University, thinks that by 2045 artificially intelligent machines may be capable of "if not any work that humans can do, then, at least, a very significant fraction of the work that humans can do."
> 
> So, he asks, what then will humans do?


----------



## ekim68

Matternet Building Quadcopter Drone Network To Transport Supplies



> Last summer, drones took to the skies over the Dominican Republic and Haiti. These flying bots weren't on a military mission, nor were they conducting police surveillance. They belonged to audacious Singularity University Labs startup, Matternet. Matternet wants to leapfrog road infrastructure in developing countries by building a futuristic Pony Express-with drones.
> 
> Whereas the internet is an information transporter, the "matternet" will transport…well, matter. These robotic "drones for good" will fly food, medicine, and other essentials to villages seasonally stranded by stormy weather and low quality road infrastructure.


----------



## ekim68

UN envoy urges end to plans for battle-field killing machines



> It's a scenario that could have emerged from the imagination of a science fiction writer - killing machines stalking future battlefields with heat-seeking weapons so that human soldiers do not have to risk their lives.
> 
> But these machines are not confined to books and blockbuster action films. They are all very real - either already in use in conflict areas, or in development - as governments seek ways of exploiting technology to give them the edge on the battlefield. The existence of such "killer robots" is worrying Christof Heyns, the United Nations envoy on extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary executions. Presenting a report in Geneva, he called for a ban on developing robots which could identify and kill without any human input.


----------



## ekim68

NASA Launches Second Robot Challenge



> NASA next week will kick off its second Sample Return Robot Challenge, where teams will compete for a chance to win $1.5 million. During the competition, participants will have to demonstrate a self-operated robot capable of locating and collecting geologic samples from diverse terrain.


----------



## ekim68

Helicopter Takes to the Skies With the Power of Human Thought



> June 5, 2013 - A remote controlled helicopter has been flown through a series of hoops around a college gymnasium in Minnesota.
> 
> It sounds like your everyday student project; however, there is one caveat -- *the helicopter was controlled using just the power of thought.*


----------



## Netghost56

Might be a bit off topic, but did you see the episode of Through the Wormhole about the cybernetic rat? Brain cells grown onto a chip, then hooked up to a robot.

http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/science-scope/scientists-grow-a-brain-like-network-in-the-lab/9046


----------



## ekim68

More on #383:

Not just fantasy: Control a flying robot with your brain



> The Nintendo Wii opened up the world of gaming without a traditional controller, and Microsoft went one step further with the Kinect. Although not mainstream, another company took yet another step by letting users play games with nothing but their eyes. So what's up next? Controling the world with your brain!
> 
> Sound far-fetched? Well, according to the University of Minnesota, the technology is already here. Researchers at the university have created a device that lays on top of your head and reads your brain waves. They've connected those readings to a flying "quadcoptor," and five people have successfully used their brains to fly the machine through an obstacle course in a gymnasium.


----------



## ekim68

Cat-like robot runs like the wind, on Linux



> Researchers at EPFL's Biorobotics Laboratory (Biorob) announced a cat-like robot that is claimed to be the fastest quadruped robot under 30 kilograms. The Cheetah-cub Robot, which runs real-time Xenomai Linux on an x86-based RoBoard control board, mimics the biomechanics of a cat to increase the speed and stability of it quadroped legs, helping it achieve speeds of 1.42m/s.


----------



## ekim68

Minimally-invasive eye-surgery on the horizon as magnetically-guided microbots move toward clinical trials



> Unlike larger robots, microrobots for applications in the body are too small to carry batteries and motors. To address this challenge, we power and control robots made of magnetic materials using external magnetic fields. Developed at ETH Zurich's Multi-Scale Robotics Lab (MSRL), the OctoMag is a magnetic manipulation system that uses electromagnetic coils to wirelessly guide microrobots for ophthalmic surgery.


----------



## ekim68

Cute Robots Will Be Launched Into Space



> This summer, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) plans to launch two amazingly cute yet advanced, white-helmeted robots into space. Then an astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) will attempt to converse with one of them.


----------



## ekim68

DARPA unveils new humanoid robot



> 1) The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) unveiled ATLAS Thursday, a humanoid robot created to assist in emergency situations. The robot weighs around 300 pounds, is six-feet-two-inches tall and an evolutionary step up from PETMAN, which, like ATLAS, was built by Boston Dynamics. ATLAS is at the center of the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC), which is focused on the development of robots able to operate in hazard zones.


----------



## ekim68

Paper-thin e-skin responds to touch, holds promise for sensory robotics and interactive environments



> BERKELEY -
> 
> A new milestone by engineers at UC Berkeley can help robots become more touchy-feely, literally.
> 
> A research team led by Ali Javey, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences, has created the first user-interactive sensor network on flexible plastic. The new electronic skin, or e-skin, responds to touch by instantly lighting up. The more intense the pressure, the brighter the light it emits.


----------



## ekim68

RHex robot shows off Parkour moves



> Parkour is all about hurling yourself quickly and efficiently past whatever obstacles are in your path while maintaining as much momentum as possible. It's a challenge for humans, so how would robots fare? In an effort to push the boundaries of robotic agility, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania decided to find out by teaching their RHex robot some Parkour moves.


Cool video....


----------



## valis

creepy.......ugh.....awesome, but definitely creepy......


----------



## ekim68

Canvas, Camera, Brush, and Algorithms Enable Robot Artist's Beautiful Paintings



> If there were a Turing test for artificial creativity (AC)-e-David might well be on its way to passing. The robotic system, built by researchers at the University of Konstanz in Germany, employs a variety of styles to produce paintings remarkably similar to their human counterparts.
> 
> However, although e-David's paintings look human, the system itself isn't remotely creative. There is, of course, a team of researchers in the background pulling the strings. E-David's robot arm is a standard assembly line welder; the computer is a standard computer; the camera a standard camera-the magic is in the software.
> 
> The robot sets down a series of brush strokes then takes a picture. E-David's software analyzes the picture, comparing it to the image it's trying to duplicate, and determines where to shade and color, then plans and executes a new set of brush strokes. Following each set, the system takes another picture and repeats the process, further refining the painting with each iteration.


Robotic Artists....


----------



## valis

more 'nope'...and this one is quasi-self aware.....

http://gizmodo.com/run-for-your-lives-self-aware-hexapod-is-self-aware-950951793


----------



## ekim68

Whoa, if you didn't like spiders before................


----------



## valis

and trust me, I didn't.....


----------



## valis

pretty solid read......and tons of vids.

http://gizmodo.com/how-nature-is-inspiring-a-new-breed-of-robotic-design-601144171


----------



## ekim68

Hmm, kind of Back to the Future.....

Testing the Future: Astronaut in Space Remote-Controls Robot in California



> MOUNTAIN VIEW, California - On a pebbled field built next to a parking lot, a small rover scoots forward and expels a long sheet of polyimide plastic from its backside, the third film the probe has deployed. The sheets are arranged in a Y-shaped formation that simulates a radio antenna on the moon.
> 
> No one is around to direct the seemingly autonomous robot. But the entire operation is being remote-controlled by Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano, who is flying 400 kilometers overhead in the International Space Station.


----------



## ekim68

Talking robot takes off for International Space Station



> When the Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata arrives at the International Space Station in November, a companion will be waiting for him whose eyes will light up in recognition - literally.
> 
> Kirobo, the world's first talking humanoid space robot, has already taken off - in the nattiest red Wellingtons since Paddington Bear - and should arrive at the space station by 9 August to await Wakata's arrival. It knows he is coming: it has been programmed to recognise his face, and greet him warmly in Japanese.


----------



## valis

monkey bot?

http://www.egr.msu.edu/~zhaojia1/doku.php?id=tailbot


----------



## valis

robots, eh? got yer bots here......and they are aiming to make some that can tackle stuff like fukushima.

http://www.theroboticschallenge.org/


----------



## ekim68

Cool.. Thanks for the link and I hope they send a bunch as *soon* as possible to Fukushima because that place needs help bad and fast...


----------



## ekim68

Harvest Automation Brings Affordable Robotics to Big Ag



> Harvest Automation has built a robot to do something that's neither difficult nor sexy: move potted plants around in nurseries and greenhouses. It's a task the Boston-based company decided to tackle with its first robot, dubbed Harvey, not because humans can't do it, but because they don't.
> 
> "It's often very difficult strenuous work, and increasingly it's harder and harder to find people to do that work," Harvest Automation CEO John Kawola told Singularity Hub.


----------



## ekim68

Emotional attachment to robots could affect outcome on battlefield



> Too busy to vacuum your living room? Let Roomba the robot do it. Don't want to risk a soldier's life to disable an explosive? Let a robot do it.
> 
> It's becoming more common to have robots sub in for humans to do dirty or sometimes dangerous work. But researchers are finding that in some cases, people have started to treat robots like pets, friends, or even as an extension of themselves. That raises the question, if a soldier attaches human or animal-like characteristics to a field robot, can it affect how they use the robot? What if they "care" too much about the robot to send it into a dangerous situation?


----------



## ekim68

Robotic Boat Hits 1000-Mile Mark in Transatlantic Crossing



> "Scout," a 4-meter-long autonomous boat built by a group of young DIYers, is attempting to cross the Atlantic Ocean. It is traveling from Rhode Island, where it launched on 24 August, to Spain, where all being well it will arrive in a few months' time.
> 
> Scout has now gone about 1000 miles (1600 kilometers) of its planned 3700-mile (5900 kilometer) journey. Should it complete this voyage successfully, its passage will arguably belong in the history books.


----------



## ekim68

'Terminator' self-assembling cube robots revealed by MIT



> Cube-shaped robots that can flip, jump and assemble themselves into different shapes have been unveiled by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
> 
> The small robots, known as M-Blocks, have no external parts but can move using an internal flywheel mechanism.
> 
> They stick together using magnets.
> 
> The scientists envisage miniaturised "swarmbot" versions self-assembling like the "liquid steel" androids in the Terminator films.


----------



## ekim68

'Terminator' Robots Kill Jellyfish



> Known and hated for their painful stings and ability to shut down a nuclear reactor and threaten seaside economies, jellyfish will soon be hunted by a "terminator" robot.
> 
> Scientists from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Daejeon, South Korea, have developed a "jellyfish terminator" robot to detect the marine coelenterate and kill it, The Telegraph reports.


----------



## ekim68

Boston Dynamics Announces New WildCat Quadruped Robot



> Boston Dynamics has just updated its YouTube channel with some new videos. One of them is an update on Atlas. Another is an update on LS3. And the third is this: WildCat, a totally new quadruped robot based on Cheetah, and out of nowhere, there's this video of it bounding and galloping around outdoors, *untethered*, at up to 25 km/h (16 mph). Whoa.


----------



## valis

more from teh nightmare factory........

http://gizmodo.com/the-pentagons-super-fast-robot-is-now-completely-wirel-1441049929/1441085189/

this one can chase you down in less than 10 seconds.


----------



## ekim68

Would make a great pet, eh?


----------



## valis

uh, maybe if you live in a very bad area, yes.......


----------



## ekim68

Could you imagine the looks when you took your 'pet' out for a walk?


----------



## valis

oh yeah.......I'd be looking at the bottom of a lot of shoes heading the other way rapidly.......


----------



## ekim68

Machine gun-toting robots may soon back up U.S. soldiers



> Computerworld - A robot, equipped with an M240 machine gun, moves through the darkness until it stops under a stand of trees 100 yards from its squad of U.S. troops. The robot uses thermal imaging to detect enemy combatants hiding up ahead and aims its gun at them.
> 
> With a single command from its human controller, who is with the squad 100 yards back, the robot opens fire and takes out the enemy, saving the troops from a potentially deadly attack.
> 
> A weaponized robot acting as a member of a squad of U.S. soldiers fighting on the battlefield is no longer science fiction.


----------



## valis

geah....


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Machine gun-toting robots may soon back up U.S. soldiers


----------



## valis

whew........they're fallible.

http://io9.com/atlas-robot-breaks-ankle-during-first-public-performanc-1447694597


----------



## ekim68

Robots at Work and Play

(Cool pictures... )


----------



## ekim68

Suncor Seeks Cost Cutting With Robot Trucks in Oil-Sands Mine



> As part of cost cuts at Suncor Energy Inc. (SU), Chief Executive Officer Steve Williams has scrapped items such as a C$11.6 billion ($11 billion) oil-sands plant. Now, he's looking at savings from mining with robot trucks.
> 
> Suncor, Canada's largest energy company by market value, is the first oil-sands operator to test haul trucks run by computers, said Gary Bunio, Suncor's general manager of technology development. The move follows steps by miners including Rio Tinto Plc (RIO) to replace human-operated trucks with driverless vehicles to lower the cost to produce ore.


----------



## ekim68

Bound to happen.....

International Construction Firm Balfour Beatty Considering Drone Workers



> Most people associate drones with military and counter-terrorism programs, but Balfour Beatty CIO Danny Reeves wants to use them for a rather different purpose. Speaking at the Fujitsu Forum, he told Techworld that unmanned aerial vehicles could be used to build walls, and improve project efficiency.
> 
> Balfour Beatty is a international construction and engineering firm that specializes in large-scale projects and building management. Their revenue for 2012 was approximately $17 billion, with an operating income of just under $500 million, so presumably they have the resources to commission a fleet of construction drones. Reeves also spoke of the potential for drones to monitor sprawling project sites, hopefully reducing communication errors and wasted labor on large sites.


----------



## ekim68

NASA's Robonaut gets its legs could a moonwalk be in its future?



> Robonaut, which has a torso, two arms, hands, and a head, has been operating on the International Space Station since 2011, acting as an extra crewman and a test subject for how robots and humans can cooperate in space. ABC News reported on November 8, 2013 that Robonaut's cousin, now being developed at the Johnson Spaceflight Center, is an eight foot tall machine that has legs.


----------



## ekim68

This has been coming....

U.S. military may have 10 robots per soldier by 2023



> American soldiers patrolling dangerous streets will soon be accompanied by autonomous robots programmed to scan the area with thermal imaging and send live images back to the command center.
> 
> Likewise, squads of infantrymen hiking through mountains will be helped by a wagon train of robots carrying extra water, ammo and protective gear.
> 
> Such scenarios are but a few years down the road, according to robotic researchers and U.S. military officials.


----------



## ekim68

Google Builds Robot Army for Battle With Amazon



> Google grows more and more like Amazon with each passing month, transforming itself into an honest-to-goodness online shopping company, and this evolution is increasingly overt. But things got really cool today with the news that the web giant is posed to challenge Amazon with an army of robots.


----------



## valis

starting to get a bit creepy here........

http://io9.com/freakishly-realistic-telemarketing-robots-are-denying-t-1481050295


----------



## ekim68

Well they're getting some good funding now....

Google acquires Boston Dynamics, a leading robotics company



> Boston Dynamics has typically done work for DARPA and the Pentagon. The company is mostly known for their noisey, 4-legged robots, with names like BigDog and AlphaDog. The robots can traverse difficult terrain like snow, muddy mountainside, and ice, and they can even stay upright after a surprise kick from a human.


----------



## valis

in other words, this is Google first step (get it?) towards SkyNet.


----------



## ekim68

Fully autonomous flapping-wing micro air vehicle weighs about as much as 4 sheets of A4 paper



> The DelFly Explorer is the first flapping wing Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) that is able to fly with complete autonomy in unknown environments. Weighing just 20 grams and with a wingspan of 28cm, it is equipped with an onboard stereo vision system. The DelFly Explorer can perform an autonomous take-off, keep its height, and avoid obstacles for as long as its battery lasts (~9 minutes). All sensing and processing is performed on board, so no human or offboard computer is in the loop.


----------



## ekim68

The Future Is All Robots. But Will We Even Notice?



> We've watched the rising interest in robotics for the past few years. It may have started with the birth of FIRST Robotics competitions, continued with the iRobot and the Roomba, and more recently with Google's driverless cars. But in the last few weeks, there has been a big change. Suddenly, everybody's talking about robots and robotics.


----------



## valis

anyone else taking notice of the fact that Google acquired Boston Dynamics (which, to my knowledge, has used zillions of taxpayer bucks on military apps), and be a bit bothered by it? 

Couple the BD acquisition with driverless cars and some mystery barge sitting of SanFran, starting to get a bit curious on this end......


----------



## valis

here ya go, Mike.....

http://gizmodo.com/on-site-at-the-machine-olympics-of-darpas-robotics-cha-1487282165


----------



## ekim68

There was a time when I wanted to build my own robot...Who knows, with the technology today I still might give it a go..


----------



## ekim68

An interesting read....

Robots of death, robots of love: The reality of android soldiers and why laws for robots are doomed to failure



> Judgement day may have just taken a step closer, for killer robots at least. Amidst concern about the deployment of intelligent robots on the battlefield, governments have agreed to look more closely at the issues that these weapons raise, the first step towards an outright ban before they've even been built.
> 
> In November, the governments that are part of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) agreed to meet in Geneva next year to discuss the issues related to so-called "lethal autonomous weapons systems," or what campaigners have dubbed "killer robots."
> 
> For the military, war robots can have many advantages: They don't need food or pay, they don't get tired or need to sleep, they follow orders automatically, and they don't feel fear, anger, or pain. And, few back home would mourn if robot soldiers were destroyed on the battlefield, either.


----------



## DaveBurnett

The first questions should be: 
How do you define a battlefield?
Who is "the enemy"? 


Since both those questions depend on one's point of view, the answer is indeterminate.


----------



## valis

a battlefield is where the battle takes place.

the enemy is the one shooting at _you._


----------



## DaveBurnett

"Democrats and Republicans are in a battle over Washington"

There are an awful lot of guns in the USA


----------



## valis

oh boy...........

http://themachines.gawker.com/a-ver...m-the-machines-1488607040/1489079153/@maxread


----------



## DaveBurnett

Well oiled?


----------



## valis

sure as heck hope not.....


----------



## DaveBurnett

The robots.


----------



## ekim68

Well it is the end of the year, eh? 

Eight ways robots stole our jobs in 2013


----------



## valis

here's the 8 finalists for DARPA's prize:

http://io9.com/meet-the-eight-astounding-finalists-of-darpas-robotics-1489520533


----------



## valis

yeesh......

http://sploid.gizmodo.com/spider-ro...g-us-one-step-closer-to-1491507101/@jesusdiaz


----------



## DaveBurnett

I've never been comfortable with blue-ray devices.....


----------



## ekim68

Of Her and Humanoids: The Year in Robotics



> Follow robotics closely enough, and every year seems like a big year. But these tipping points are often false, or at the very least over-reported, as dispatches from academic labs are confused with actual, historic deployments.
> 
> 2013 was another matter. Robots became synonymous with Google. Robots stole the show on 60 Minutes. Robots were mocked, and were the subject of more mock-terror, arguably, than in any other year in recent memory. And even when they weren't news, robots and their makers made surprising progress towards supplanting and supporting humans.


----------



## valis

AI just designed a game.....by itself.......

http://watchlist.kotaku.com/a-compu...-by-itself-well-thats-1494080189/@charliejane


----------



## ekim68

Well, kind of a robot...

World Cup to begin with mind-controlled exoskeleton kick



> Wearing a state-of-the-art exoskeleton, a paralyzed teenager will make the ceremonial first kick at the World Cup in Brazil this summer.


----------



## ekim68

Robots test their own world wide web, dubbed RoboEarth



> A world wide web for robots to learn from each other and share information is being shown off for the first time.
> 
> Scientists behind RoboEarth will put it through its paces at Eindhoven University in a mocked-up hospital room.
> 
> Four robots will use the system to complete a series of tasks, including serving drinks to patients.
> 
> It is the culmination of a four-year project, funded by the European Union.
> 
> The eventual aim is that both robots and humans will be able to upload information to the cloud-based database, which would act as a kind of common brain for machines.


----------



## ekim68

Robot tourism coming soon to Korea: Masan Robot Land project finally breaks ground



> With permission finally given to occupy lands that include an existing road and stream, the Masan Robot Land Project that went adrift for almost two years was officially launched on December 7, 2013 when initial engineering work began in the Gusan-myeon/Masan Happo-gu area of Changwon City. The project had been put on hold while environmental reviews were completed. Korea's Ministry of Commerce, Industry & Energy (currently the Ministry of Knowledge Economy) first presented the idea for Masan and its sister project - the robot theme park in Incheon (west of Seoul) - back in 2007, as part of a larger plan to stimulate Korea's robotic industry by generating public interest in consumer robots.


----------



## ekim68

The new bot on the block-
How robotics are changing everything 



> Fukushima changed robotics. More precisely, it changed the way the Japanese view robotics. And given the historic preeminence of the Japanese in robotic technology, that shift is resonating through the entire sector.
> 
> Before the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami of 2011, the Japanese were focused on "companion" robots, says Rodney Brooks, a former Panasonic Professor of Robotics at MIT, the founder and former technical officer of IRobot, and the founder, chairman and CTO of Rethink Robotics. The goal, says Brooks, was making robots that were analogues of human beings - constructs that could engage with people on a meaningful, emotional level. Cuteness was emphasized: a cybernetic, if much smarter, equivalent of Hello Kitty, seemed the paradigm.
> 
> But the multiple core meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex following the 2011 tsunami changed that focus abruptly.


(A long but good read.)


----------



## ekim68

There's a giant robot directing traffic in Congo



> While red light and speed cameras are increasingly common in the United States, we've yet to see machines enlisted that look like actual robots. In Kinshasa, the capital city of Congo, two large robots are being used in place of police officers to direct traffic and pedestrians.


----------



## valis

that's pretty neat.....wonder how they would fare over here......


----------



## ekim68

A Tumbleweed Robot to Stop the Spread of Deserts



> Desertification is a massive problem across the globe. We have a general idea of what causes it: unsustainable agricultural practices, mining, climate change, general land overuse. But much like climate change itself, desertification is a complex ecological issue that's difficult to totally understand, not in small part due to the difficulties of gathering quality data.
> 
> Shlomi Mir is familiar with the effects of desertification. Based in Jerusalem, the industrial designer has seen it firsthand. He's currently developing an autonomous system that could help scientists better understand what's happening in the depths of the desert.
> 
> His robot Tumbleweed, a nod to its round, spindly shape and wind-powered motion, would roll across the desert, gathering information along its path with the goal of delivering improved, uncovered data to scientist.


----------



## ekim68

Electronic tongue gets a taste for beer



> When we first covered the electronic tongue developed by a team led by Professor Manel Del Valle at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, it was enjoying a glass or two of cava wine. Now the researchers have turned to beer, and report that their electronic tongue can correctly identify different beer varieties with a success rate of almost 82 percent.
> 
> As its name suggests, the electronic tongue is based on the human sense of taste with an array of sensors serving as substitute taste buds. This sensor array is made up of 21 ion-selective electrodes, including some of which respond to ions with fewer electrons than protons known as cations (ammonium and sodium) and some of which respond to anions that have more electrons than protons (nitrate, chloride, etc.).


----------



## ekim68

Why Robot Trucks Could Be Headed To Afghanistan (And Everywhere Else)



> In Afghanistan, the shipments are about to hit the fan. Along with pulling all of its combat troops from the country by the end of this year, the Pentagon has to clean up after itself, hauling away most of the weapons, supplies and assorted infrastructure accumulated over 13 years of local war. Defense contractor Lockheed Martin is hoping that it can assist with the imminent scramble for the exit, by carrying a portion of that outgoing gear-some 20,000 containers' worth, according to U.S. Central Command-aboard self-guided robot trucks.


----------



## ekim68

Robot army 'to help alleviate future floods'



> Self-organising robots that mimic insect colonies have been shown off by computer scientists at Harvard University.
> 
> The robot construction crews could in future be used to help alleviate flooding, building up walls of sandbags or as the construction crew of choice for future building on Mars.
> 
> Unlike human construction crews, there is no foreman or central control unit.
> 
> Neither is there any need for the robots to communicate with each other.
> 
> Dubbed Termes after the termites that build mounds of soil to act as lungs for their underground nests, the robots can build towers and pyramids out of blocks, even constructing their own staircases to reach higher levels.


----------



## DaveBurnett

> Neither is there any need for the robots to communicate with each other.


?? How do they organise the colony then?


----------



## ekim68

Probably a Robotic Vulcan Mind Meld, eh?  However, the analogy of the Termite colony says a lot..


----------



## DaveBurnett

Isn't a mind meld communication? Termites do by smell (as far as we know). Who is to say that they aren't telepathic?


----------



## ekim68

Packbot: Serving the Military and World Cup Football



> PackBots will be deployed in Brazil during the 2014 World Cup Soccer season to bring a high-tech approach to security. The nation's government has secured a $7.2 million deal with PackBot's creators for 30 of the military bots. The robots will be stationed throughout Brazil's 12 host cities, during the soccer matches to boost security and help examine any suspicious objects.


----------



## ekim68

The Future of Sports Photography: Drones



> Drones are being used to film ski and snowboarding events at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, as you may have noticed. But the use of unmanned aerial vehicles for sports photography is far from a passing gimmick. In fact, you should expect more and more athletic events to be filmed by drone.


----------



## ekim68

3D-printing robot creates freestanding metal structures



> Although the world of 3D printing is hurtling through milestones at the moment, to a large extent the technology still remains in its infancy. If you thought it was all Etsy jewellery and plastic toys, though, think again. Joris Laarman has created a free-standing 3D printing robot that creates beautiful metal sculptures with the graceful brush strokes of an artist.


----------



## ekim68

Rolls-Royce Drone Ships Challenge $375 Billion Industry: Freight



> In an age of aerial drones and driver-less cars, Rolls-Royce (RR/) Holdings Plc is designing unmanned cargo ships.
> 
> Rolls-Royce's Blue Ocean development team has set up a virtual-reality prototype at its office in Alesund, Norway, that simulates 360-degree views from a vessel's bridge. Eventually, the London-based manufacturer of engines and turbines says, captains on dry land will use similar control centers to command hundreds of crewless ships.


----------



## ekim68

Packbot: Serving the Military and World Cup Football



> PackBots will be deployed in Brazil during the 2014 World Cup Soccer season to bring a high-tech approach to security. The nation's government has secured a $7.2 million deal with PackBot's creators for 30 of the military bots. The robots will be stationed throughout Brazil's 12 host cities, during the soccer matches to boost security and help examine any suspicious objects.


----------



## ekim68

Harsh wireless conditions? Send in the drone hot spot



> The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has moved along a project it says would use hot-spot enabled drones to bring bring wireless communications to even the most distant and harsh environment.
> 
> The project known as Fixed Wireless at a Distance is designed specifically to overcome the challenge inherent with cell communication in remote areas and this week the agency awarded L-3 $16.4 million to support the next iteration of the system.


----------



## NegativeKelvin

Well, here's a robot the local FRC team made:


----------



## ekim68

ARM-based Robot smashes Rubik's Cube world record by more than two seconds



> A specially designed robot known as Cubestormer 3 has been used to break the world record for solving a Rubik's Cube. The robot, which broke the previous record by more than two seconds, is powered by an octa-core Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone.
> 
> ARM principle engineer David Gilday and co-inventor Mike Dobson are responsible for the robot, which managed to solve the cube in an impressive 3.253 seconds. The pair worked on the project in their spare time, and were actually responsible for the previous record of 5.27 seconds, set back in 2011 by the Cubestormer 2 robot.


----------



## DaveBurnett

I wanted to see it do the really big cube!
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=h...%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fuk-26563414;640;360


----------



## ekim68

Wow, I didn't know there was a really big Rubik's Cube...


----------



## BulldogBen

I thought the 2nd version was amazing, but version CubeStormer 3 just looks mean!

I built a very simple Rubik's robot using ONLY a standard Lego Mindstorms EV3 kit a couple of weeks ago. It takes up to two minutes, but is still an amazing design. See it in action on my blog below...

https://www.bentristem.com/1/post/2014/03/lego-mindstorms-ev3-rubik-robot.html


----------



## ekim68

Robot writes LA Times earthquake breaking news article



> The Los Angeles Times was the first newspaper to publish a story about an earthquake on Monday - thanks to a robot writer.
> 
> Journalist and programmer Ken Schwencke created an algorithm that automatically generates a short article when an earthquake occurs.
> 
> Mr Schwencke told Slate magazine that it took around three minutes for the story to appear online.
> 
> "Robo-journalism" is increasingly being used in newsrooms worldwide.


----------



## ekim68

Soft-bodied robofish pulls off sharp turns like the real thing



> Anyone who has ever tried to grab a minnow out of the water knows that it's almost impossible. Not only can they swim forward very quickly, but they can also make near-instantaneous right-angle turns, unpredictably shooting off to one side or the other in mere milliseconds. Now, scientists at MIT have replicated that capability in a soft-bodied robotic fish.


----------



## ekim68

Why Asimov's Three Laws Of Robotics Can't Protect Us



> It's been 50 years since Isaac Asimov devised his famous Three Laws of Robotics - a set of rules designed to ensure friendly robot behavior. Though intended as a literary device, these laws are heralded by some as a ready-made prescription for avoiding the robopocalypse. We spoke to the experts to find out if Asimov's safeguards have stood the test of time - and they haven't.


----------



## DaveBurnett

Asimov even had them broken or at least severely bent it his own later stories.


----------



## ekim68

Mini robot space surgeon to climb inside astronauts



> It could one day answer the prayers of astronauts who need surgery in deep space. The miniature surgeon slides into the body through an incision in the belly button. Once inside the abdominal cavity - which has been filled with inert gas to make room for it to work - the robot can remove an ailing appendix, cut pieces from a diseased colon or perforate a gastric ulcer.
> 
> The fist-sized robot, a product of Virtual Incision in Lincoln, Nebraska, will have its first zero-gravity test - in an aircraft flying in parabolic arcs - in the next few months. While aloft, the surgery bot will perform a set of exercises to demonstrate its dexterity, such as manipulating rubber bands and other inanimate objects.


----------



## ekim68

US Navy tests robotic fire-fighters



> Fire-fighting robots designed to withstand intense heat are to be tested by the US Navy this summer.
> 
> The Shipboard Autonomous Fire-fighting Robot (SAFFiR) has been built by engineers at Virginia Tech and other US universities.
> 
> The robots are expected to perform a variety of tasks - balancing, turning valves, picking up and dragging a fire hose and jetting water on the fire.
> 
> They also have a vision system to search for survivors.


----------



## ekim68

Festo's BionicKangaroo gets the hop on energy-efficiency



> Festo's BionicKangaroo is yet another impressive addition to the company's already mind-blowing bionic zoo that includes, among other things, bionic seagulls, dragonflies, flying penguins, elephant trunks and a whole selection of robotic marine critters. Just like its animal cousin, the robo-marsupial developed by Fasto's Bionic Learning Network is able to store energy from the landing phase of a jump and reuse it efficiently on subsequent jumps. The technology developed for the BionicKangaroo may hold the key to more energy-efficient machines based on both pneumatic and electric drive technologies.


----------



## ekim68

As human laws grapple with robots, there are no easy answers



> There's been a lot of buzz about robots lately. Robotics has penetrated nearly every walk of life-from homes to hospitals, public spaces, and even the battlefield-and such technological developments have undoubtedly begun to affect our social, cultural, and corporate institutions.
> 
> As such, robots are also affecting our society, law, and culture. At the 2014 "We Robot" Conference at the University of Miami that just wrapped up (April 4 to 5, 2014), scholars gathered to discuss a number of legal, ethical, and moral questions related to emerging robotic technologies. Conference topics ranged from considerations of regulatory schemes for domestic drone oversight to an ethical guide to human/robot interactions.


----------



## ekim68

Meet Boomer


----------



## ekim68

Minesweepers International Outdoor Robotic Competition on Humanitarian Demining



> Detection and removal of antipersonnel landmines is, at present, a serious problem of political, economical, environmental and humanitarian dimensions in many countries across the world. It is estimated that there are 110 million landmines in the ground right now; one for every 52 inhabitants on the planet. These mines kill or maim more than 5,000 people annually. If demining efforts remain about the same as they are now, and no new mines are laid, it will still take 1100 years to get rid of all the world's active land mines because current conventional methods of removal are very slow, inefficient, dangerous and costly. Robotic systems can provide efficient, reliable, adaptive and cost effective solutions for the problem of landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) contamination.





> In this competition, each participating team constructs a teleoperated/autonomous unmanned ground/aerial vehicle that must be able to search for underground and aboveground anti-personnel landmines and UXOs. The position and the type of each detected object are visualized and overlaid on the minefield map. The robot must be able to navigate through rough terrain that mimics a real minefield.


----------



## ekim68

NASA developing unique robotic satellite refueling system



> Refueling aging satellites that were never meant to be refueled is the goal with a emerging NASA system that could save millions.
> 
> NASA this week said since April 2011, engineers have been working to build robotic satellite servicing technologies necessary to bring in-orbit inspection, repair, refueling, component replacement and assembly capabilities to spacecraft needing aid. The project could also lead to life extension or re-purposing in Earth orbit or Earth-bound application like robotically fuel satellites before they launch, keeping humans at a safe distance during an extremely hazardous operation., NASA said.


----------



## ekim68

The struggle to ban killer robots



> The Campaign to Stop Killer Robots was launched in April 2013 with the objective of achieving a ban on the development, production, and deployment of lethal autonomous weapons. The same month, Christof Heyns, the United Nations' special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, called for a moratorium on the development and deployment of such weapons while an international commission considered the issue. Within a remarkably short period of time, the campaign has achieved significant traction. Every month, a flurry of media reports, international conferences, and policy events are dedicated to the issue.





> One of the most contentious issues is likely to concern the threshold at which a weapon system is deemed to be "fully autonomous." The minimum level that is set would determine which systems are banned and which are allowed to continue in operation. Setting the threshold of autonomy is going to involve significant debate, because machine decision-making exists on a continuum. A key task for the campaign will be to create consensus on this issue among both nongovernmental organizations and the states that would have to negotiate and then implement a ban.


----------



## ekim68

Video:

Ultra-fast, the robotic arm can catch objects on the fly


----------



## ekim68

Scientists try to teach robots morality



> A group of researchers from Tufts University, Brown University and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are collaborating with the US Navy in a multi-year effort to explore how they might create robots endowed with their own sense of morality. If they are successful, they will create an artificial intelligence able to autonomously assess a difficult situation and then make complex ethical decisions that can override the rigid instructions it was given.
> 
> Seventy-two years ago, science fiction writer Isaac Asimov introduced "three laws of robotics" that could guide the moral compass of a highly advanced artificial intelligence. Sadly, given that today's most advanced AIs are still rather brittle and clueless about the world around them, one could argue that we are nowhere near building robots that are even able to understand these rules, let alone apply them.


----------



## ekim68

NASA's Space Station Robot Gets Legs



> Robonaut 2 (R2) is a humanoid robot NASA placed on the space station to automate tasks such as cleaning and routine maintenance. Until now, Robonaut navigated the ISS on wheels--but thanks to a brand-new pair of springy, bendy legs, the space station's helper robot will now be able to walk, climb, and perform a variety of new chores


----------



## ekim68

Mumbai eatery delivers pizza using a drone



> MUMBAI: The financial capital, notorious for its traffic snarls, has achieved a first in the country after a city-based pizza outlet used an unmanned drone to execute a delivery by taking the aerial route recently.
> 
> "All of us had read about (global e-commerce giant) Amazon's plans of using drones. We successfully carried out a test-delivery by sending a pizza to a customer located 1.5 km away from our outlet on May 11," Francesco's Pizzeria chief executive Mikhel Rajani told PTI today.
> 
> He stressed that this was only a test-flight but its results confirm that it can be used routinely in a few years.


----------



## ekim68

Robot Linda to meet the public at London's Natural History Museum



> Having a robot around the house might be nice, but not if it keeps stepping on the cat and tripping over the coffee table. This month, the public will get the chance to meet a robot at the Natural History Museum in London that may be a bit kinder to furniture and tabbies. The University of Lincoln's Linda robot, which will mingle with visitors, is designed to learn about its surroundings and make it easier to work human environments.


----------



## ekim68

Drones give farmers an eye in the sky to check on crop progress



> CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - This growing season, crop researchers at the University of Illinois are experimenting with the use of drones - unmanned aerial vehicles - on the university's South Farms.
> 
> Dennis Bowman, a crop sciences educator with U. of I. Extension, is using two drones to take aerial pictures of crops growing in research plots on the farms. He presented his findings to farmers and other researchers at the 2014 Ford / Iroquois County Agronomy Day meeting.
> 
> Bowman intentionally made mistakes on one test plot - "areas where we didn't apply enough nitrogen fertilizer, where we simulated mistakes in the applicator, where we shut the boom off for a short period of time or plugged it up and ran for a while," Bowman said. "As the crop gets up and going, we'll fly over it and see if we can detect those areas sooner than we could visually from the ground.


----------



## ekim68

Here's That Extra Pair of Robot Arms You've Always Wanted



> Supernumerary Robotic Limbs (SRLs) are robotic limbs that, when worn, give you more limbs than you'd normally have. In other words, they're not robotic limbs designed to replace biological limbs that you might be missing, but rather robotic limbs designed to augment the number of limbs that you have already.


----------



## ekim68

Hail cyborgs! The line between robots and humans is blurring



> As robotics quickly advance, scientists say the lines between robots and humans is beginning to blur.
> 
> That means one day with robotic prosthetics that work seamlessly with a human's muscles, with tiny robots that swim in our blood streams and fix medical problems and nano-scale robots implanted in our brains, we will become robotic humans.
> 
> As scary and sci-fi as that may sound, researchers say robotics will cure diseases, make amputees feel whole again and greatly extend our lives.


----------



## ekim68

Methane leak? Robot sniffer dog is on the case



> A LONE robot trundles through an old landfill in central Sweden, shooting out a laser beam. Nicknamed Gasbot, its job is to hunt down methane leaks in the vicinity. Machines like this one could one day be used to sniff out dangerous emissions in landfills, mines and even city streets.


----------



## valis

machine passes the turing test; humanity is toast.


----------



## ekim68

Not so fast.... More on this....

World to Captain Cyborg on 'Turing test' stunt: You're Rumbled



> Man who pretended to be a robot fooled by robot pretending to be a man.


----------



## ekim68

hitchBOT aims to be first robot to hitchhike across Canada



> In what is hailed as a world first for robots, a Canadian robot dubbed "hitchBOT" hopes to be the first to hitchhike across Canada this July. Wearing jaunty red boots and yellow garden gloves (with one in a permanent "thumbing a ride" gesture), hitchBOT is going to try to use his good looks and power of speech to convince people to pick him up and drive him from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Victoria, British Columbia.
> 
> According to his designers, hitchBOT boasts artificial intelligence (AI) and and has been endowed with speech recognition and speech processing capabilities so that he may understand and converse with those people that he may encounter on his journey.


(Ok my Canadian friends, how many of you would stop?)


----------



## ekim68

How Disney built and programmed an animatronic president



> Among the things Walt Disney was renowned for was bringing animatronics (or what he termed at the time Audio-Animatronics) to big stages at his company and elsewhere. But Disney didn't discover or invent animatronics for entertainment use; rather, he found it in a store.





> This led to the Disney engineers experimenting with what eventually became Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room, a building full of animatronic birds signing, flowers blooming, and tiki drummers drumming. Disney was able to make the birds work years before computer programming, engineering, sound, and movement came together in a useful way.


----------



## ekim68

Bird-inspired drones may be able to perch on power lines to recharge



> Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are currently being considered for many applications, although one factor that a lot of people tend to gloss over is the aircrafts' limited battery range - being able to stay airborne for only 10 to 30 minutes at a time definitely limits their usefulness. Researchers at MIT, however, are developing a possible solution. They're working on a fixed-wing UAV that can perch on power lines and use their emitted magnetic fields to recharge its battery, before continuing on its way.


----------



## ekim68

Are you ready for your first home robot? Meet Pepper



> The path to mainstream home robots is strewn with the battery-drained corpses of AIBO and lesser-known, Dalek-esque robots like Wakamaru. But now Japan's SoftBank, flush from the purchase of Sprint, has introduced its robot game changer, teaming up with Aldebaran Robotics (the team behind NAO) to make sure it gets it right. This is Pepper-kun. He's adorable... and a bit of a ditz. Is it finally time, like it was for the home PC, for the home robot revolution?


----------



## valis

queue the creepy valley comments......

http://www.cnet.com/news/worlds-first-android-newscasters-unveiled-in-japan/


----------



## ekim68

Clever copters developed at Sheffield can learn as they fly



> Using simple flying robots, called Quadcopters, the team, based in Sheffield's Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering (ACSE), has created software that enables the robot to learn about its surroundings using a forward facing camera mounted at the front of the machine.
> 
> The robot starts with no information about its environment and the objects within it. By overlaying different frames from the camera and selecting key reference points within the scene, it builds up a 3D map of the world around it. Other sensors pick up barometric and ultrasonic data, which give the robot additional clues about its environment. All this information is fed into autopilot software to allow the robot to navigate safely, but also to learn about the objects nearby and navigate to specific items.


----------



## ekim68

A Robot Valet Will Park Your Car at This German Airport



> Last week, Düsseldorf airport (DUS) introduced robot valets to take the hassle out of parking for travelers.
> 
> Travelers can leave their cars at the arrival level of the ParkingPLUS structure. As they leave, they confirm on a touch-screen that no one is in the car. The robot valet, nicknamed "Ray," takes it from there.
> 
> The robot measures the vehicle, picks it up with a forklift-like system, and takes it to the back area, where it will position it in one of the 249 parking spots reserved for automated valets. The machine is capable of carrying standard cars weighing up to 3.31 tons.


----------



## ekim68

Forget Turing, the Lovelace Test Has a Better Shot at Spotting AI



> When a chatbot called Eugene Goostman passed Alan Turing's famous measure of machine intelligence in June by posing as a Ukrainian teenager with questionable language skills, the world went nuts for about an hour before realizing that the bot, far from having achieved human-level intelligence, was actually pretty dumb.
> 
> Clearly, something is amiss here. If the Turing Test can be fooled by common trickery, it's time to consider we need a new standard. Enter the Lovelace Test.





> Until a machine can originate an idea that it wasn't designed to, Lovelace argued, it can't be considered intelligent in the same way humans are.


----------



## ekim68

Squishy robots



> Now a phase-changing material built from wax and foam, and capable of switching between hard and soft states, could allow even low-cost robots to perform the same feat.
> 
> The material - developed by Anette Hosoi, a professor of mechanical engineering and applied mathematics at MIT, and her former graduate student Nadia Cheng, alongside researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization and Stony Brook University - could be used to build deformable surgical robots. The robots could move through the body to reach a particular point without damaging any of the organs or vessels along the way.


----------



## ekim68

The Moral Hazards and Legal Conundrums of Our Robot-Filled Future



> The robots are coming, and they're getting smarter. They're evolving from single-task devices like Roomba and its floor-mopping, pool-cleaning cousins into machines that can make their own decisions and autonomously navigate public spaces. Thanks to artificial intelligence, machines are getting better at understanding our speech and detecting and reflecting our emotions. In many ways, they're becoming more like us.
> 
> Whether you find it exhilarating or terrifying (or both), progress in robotics and related fields like AI is raising new ethical quandaries and challenging legal codes that were created for a world in which a sharp line separates man from machine. Last week, roboticists, legal scholars, and other experts met at the University of California, Berkeley law school to talk through some of the social, moral, and legal hazards that are likely to arise as that line starts to blur.


----------



## ekim68

Tiddlybot robot encourages higher order thinking skills for kids



> The TiddlyBot can draw pre-programmed or freestyle. It can follow lines, output a live wireless video feed and be controlled from a web interface from a smart phone, tablet or any other PC with a browser.
> 
> It is intended to make the next generation of technology learning simple and fun, according to its creators.
> 
> The robot combines electronics, technology, construction, software development and creative skills. Both children and adults will find it really easy to use and engage with.


----------



## ekim68

Multifunctional hybrid robot shovels snow and mows your lawn



> Modern technology has given us many ways of delegating menial tasks to automatic equipment and robots, freeing up more time. Such devices can vacuum our floors, wash our windows, clean out the gutters and more. The latest automated housework companion is multifunctional, helping you complete two tasks that few relish: shoveling snow and mowing the lawn.


----------



## ekim68

Robot With Broken Leg Learns To Walk Again In 2 Minutes



> Today, Antoine Cully at the Sorbonne University in Paris and a couple of pals say they've developed a technique that allows a damaged robot to learn how to walk again in just a few seconds. They say their work has important consequences for the reliability and robustness of future robots and may also provide some insight into the way that animals adapt to injury as well.


----------



## ekim68

Cheering robots replace real fans at Korean baseball



> A struggling Korean baseball team have invented a novel way to improve atmosphere at their matches - by bringing in a crowd of robot fans.
> 
> Hanwha Eagles supporters not able to get to the stadium can control the robot over the internet.
> 
> The bots can cheer, chant and perform a Mexican wave - but presumably not invade the pitch.


----------



## ekim68

ekim68 said:


> hitchBOT aims to be first robot to hitchhike across Canada
> 
> (Ok my Canadian friends, how many of you would stop?)


More on this: 

Hitchbot thumbs rides across Canada, makes human friends



> Hitchbot, the yellow glove- and Wellies-wearing robot, has started bumming rides across Canada, and by the looks of it, its hosts are having a blast ferrying it to its next drop-off point. The machine with a perpetual LED smile began its journey in Halifax, and it'll travel 4,000 miles until it reaches Victoria, British Columbia. People who pick up Hitchbot are pointed to a website where they can find instructions on how to handle it and where to drop it off. On the way, Hitchbot chats with its host, thanks to its speech recognition capability, or chatters away on its own in case its tablet-and-Arduino brain can't parse what its companion's saying. It also takes pictures every 30 minutes or so to send back to headquarters and upload to its social media accounts.


----------



## ekim68

Robotic suit gives shipyard workers super strength



> AT A sprawling shipyard in South Korea, workers dressed in wearable robotics were hefting large hunks of metal, pipes and other objects as if they were nothing.
> 
> It was all part of a test last year by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, at their facility in Okpo-dong. The company, one of the largest shipbuilders in the world, wants to take production to the next level by outfitting staff with robot exoskeletons that give them superhuman strength.


----------



## ekim68

Robotic Refueling Mission



> The Robotic Refueling Mission is a multi-phased International Space Station technology demonstration that is testing tools, technologies and techniques to refuel and repair satellites in orbit - especially satellites not designed to be serviced.
> 
> RRM gives NASA and the emerging commercial satellite servicing industry the confidence to robotically refuel, repair and maintain satellites in both near and distant orbits - well beyond the reach of where humans can go today.


----------



## ekim68

Scientists Program Largest Swarm of Robots Ever



> Alone, the simple little robot can't do much, shuffling around on three vibrating tooth-pick legs. But working with 1,000 or more like-minded fellow bots, it becomes part of a swarm that can self-assemble into any two-dimensional shape.
> 
> These are some of the first steps toward creating huge herds of tiny robots that form larger structures-including bigger robots. Building swarming robots can also help scientists understand collective behavior seen in nature, from bird flocks and fish schools to networks of cells and neurons.


----------



## ekim68

'Robot Printer' Autonomously Moves Around Lounge



> Fuji Xerox Co Ltd tested a printer that not only prints documents on paper but autonomously moves around a room like the Roomba robot cleaner for delivering it.
> 
> Fuji Xerox used a prototype of the robot in a building located in Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo, in July and August 2014 in cooperation with Tokyu Land Corp for operation tests. Visitors to the lounge of the building used it for free.


----------



## ekim68

One man and his droid: could robots replace sheep dogs?



> Scientists at the University of Swansea have discovered the algorithm for herding sheep which they claim could be used to programme robots to move livestock or control crowds .


----------



## DaveBurnett

In their dreams!




It seems the dogs may be more intelligent than the scientists !


----------



## ekim68

Robotic raptors that look and fly like the real thing



> Birds that stray into the paths of aircraft, eat crops, or spread disease from foraging in large numbers at landfills are, at best, a nuisance and, at worst, downright dangerous. Over the years people have tried everything from scaring them away with loud noises to trapping them - all with varying results. Now a designer from the Netherlands has come up with robotic birds of prey that look and fly exactly like the real thing.


----------



## ekim68

Panasonic Revives Hospital Delivery Robot



> Panasonic has been working on its Hospi hospital delivery robot since back in 2004. When it was first introduced a decade ago, it was too expensive and not capable enough to effectively compete with existing hospital infrastructure, and Panasonic managed to sell a total of two (yes, two) robots.
> 
> But it's now 2014, robots are way better, and healthcare is way more expensive than it used to be. After a reintroduction at IREX in 2013, the newest version of the Hospi robots have been successful enough in hospital trials that Panasonic is actually starting to sell them again.


----------



## ekim68

Galway to host World Robotic Sailing Championship



> Fully autonomous and unmanned sailing boats will be racing across Galway Harbour from 9-13 September, when Galway City hosts the seventh World Robotic Sailing Championship (WRSC).
> 
> The boats, up to 2.5 metres in length, will compete over a series of short-distance races, navigation and autonomy challenges, such as accuracy, endurance, co-operation, obstacle avoidance, target tracking, and speed in different conditions.


----------



## ekim68

Mechanical horse dragon in France


----------



## valis

here ya go, Mike......

http://gizmodo.com/watch-this-robot-get-burnt-frozen-and-run-over-by-a-ca-1633379572


----------



## ekim68

'Boris' the robot can load up dishwasher



> A robot unveiled today at the British Science Festival will be loading dishwashers next year, its developers claim.
> 
> "Boris" is one of the first robots in the world capable of intelligently manipulating unfamiliar objects with a humanlike grasp.
> 
> It was developed by scientists at the University of Birmingham.


----------



## valis

MIT's Cheetah robot now free....

http://io9.com/mits-robotic-cheetah-can-now-run-and-jump-while-untethe-1634799433


----------



## ekim68

Wow, now they're untethered....They could be used in a Horror movie....


----------



## DaveBurnett

Will it be spending its time hunting wireless mice??


----------



## ekim68

I've seen this series of Robots from earlier stages for a few years now and I think they're impressive. One of the earlier posts in this Thread had a person kicking the Robot in the side and it did not topple, but it did compensate... And in another post in this Thread this Robot threw a huge brick.....And now it's escaped the Tether....


----------



## valis

ekim68 said:


> I've seen this series of Robots from earlier stages for a few years now and I think they're impressive. One of the earlier posts in this Thread had a person *kicking the Robot in the side and it did not topple*, but it did compensate... And in another post in this Thread this Robot threw a huge brick.....And now it's escaped the Tether....


that would be Big Dog, a.k.a. the stuff of my nightmares. hit 1:25 or so at


----------



## ekim68

Thanks Tim. I got them mixed together....

Who should pay when your robot breaks the law?



> Robots are unquestioningly getting more sophisticated by the year, and as a result, are becoming an indelible part of our daily lives. But as we start to increase our interactions and dependance on robots, an important question needs to be asked: What would happen if a robot actually committed a crime, or even hurt someone - either deliberately or by mistake?


----------



## ekim68

Scrobby the autonomous solar panel-scrubbing robot



> Solar panels need regular cleaning to ensure they are working at their optimum efficiency, and spraying them with the hose from the ground or relying on a heavy downpour won't necessarily get the job done. Like the windows on your house, they need to be scrubbed and polished for maximum effect. Enter Scrobby, a solar-powered, autonomous robot prototype designed to keep domestic solar panels clean and clear.


----------



## ekim68

Unicycle Riding Robot Unveiled 

(Short video..)


----------



## ekim68

Hull-clinging robots could perform secret searches of smugglers' boats



> Maritime smugglers will often hide contraband in false hulls or propeller shafts within their boats. While there are ways in which port authorities can search for such stashes, the smugglers often have time to ditch their illicit goods before those searches can be performed. However, what if there were stealthy, inexpensive, underwater hull-hugging robots that could check the boats out, without the crews even knowing they were there? That's just what a team at MIT is developing.
> 
> The current prototype robot was designed by mechanical engineering grad student Sampriti Bhattacharyya and her advisor, Prof. Harry Asada. Built mainly using a 3D printer, it's oval in shape (but with a flat bottom), and is described as being a little smaller than a football.


----------



## ekim68

One in three jobs will be taken by software or robots by 2025



> ORLANDO - Gartner sees things like robots and drones replacing a third of all workers by 2025, and whether you want to believe it or not, is entirely your business.
> 
> This is Gartner being provocative, as it typically is, at the start of its major U.S. conference, the Symposium/ITxpo.
> 
> Take drones, for instance.
> 
> "One day, a drone may be your eyes and ears," said Peter Sondergaard, Gartner's research director. In five years, drones will be a standard part of operations in many industries, used in agriculture, geographical surveys and oil and gas pipeline inspections.


----------



## ekim68

Robot snake learns secrets of sidewinders



> With the help of a robot, US researchers have described for the first time precisely how "sidewinder" rattlesnakes climb up sand dunes.
> 
> By observing snakes on an artificial dune, they found that on steeper slopes the animals flatten themselves to increase their contact with the sand.
> 
> They then tested the new insights with a robotic snake and calculated the best strategy for snakes - and robots - to scale sandy slopes without slipping.


----------



## ekim68

Robotic device helps paralyzed groom walk aisle



> New York resident Matt Ficarra has been paralyzed from the chest down since an accident three years ago, but that didn't stop him from walking down the aisle.
> 
> Ficarra was able to stand and walk during the wedding ceremony in suburban Syracuse on Saturday with the help of a battery-powered robotic exoskeleton called an Ekso.


----------



## ekim68

ABB Robots Katana Fight


----------



## ekim68

Boston Dynamics' Atlas robot weighs 330 pounds, but it can now balance on one leg



> Atlas is back. While the robot itself may be from Google-owned Boston Dynamics, the balance algorithm is from IHMC (Institute for Human and Machine Cognition) who's worked with the robotics company to get the six foot two biped walking better.


----------



## ekim68

This Is Everywhere We've Landed A Robot



> So far, the places we've landed are all within our solar system. But this list keeps on getting longer, and the compiled image keeps getting wider.


----------



## ekim68

Robots put to work on e-waste



> UNSW researchers have programmed industrial robots to tackle the vast array of e-waste thrown out by Australians every year.
> 
> The research shows robots can learn and memorise how various electronic products are designed, enabling them to be disassembled for recycling at ever-increasing speeds.


----------



## ekim68

Coming soon: Slow, heavy, shrieking, autonomous robot rent-a-cops



> After being teased in a profile in last week's MIT Technology Review, Knightscope's patrolling robot product received a public video unveiling on San Francisco CBS affiliate KPIX on Tuesday. The squat K5 model, shown wheeling around the company's Mountain View, CA parking lot, looked more like a Dalek or a Star Wars droid than Robocop's Peter Weller. The five-foot-tall K5 comes equipped with four cameras spread at 90 degree angles from each other, along with a weather sensor, a microphone array, a separate "license plate camera," a GPS sensor, and a Wi-Fi-enabled system to transmit live video and keep track of other nearby K5s.


----------



## valis

wow.......a LOT more robots out there than I'd heard of....some pretty cool.....

http://io9.com/the-most-uncanny-robotic-animals-that-humankind-has-eve-1661055008


----------



## valis

Cheetah outperforms itself......serves it right for being so dang creepy.

http://jalopnik.com/mit-robot-cheetah-jumps-so-hard-it-snaps-its-own-leg-1665444104


----------



## ekim68

Ocean-going robot fleet successfully completes fish-tracking mission



> The second phase of an ambitious project to gather valuable information on ocean processes and marine life using a fleet of innovative marine robots has just reached its conclusion. Co-ordinated by the National Oceanography Centre (NOC), the Exploring Ocean Fronts project took place off southwest England and saw the largest deployment of robotic vehicles ever attempted in UK waters .
> 
> The marine robots, which are powered by a combination of wave, wind and solar power, are controlled by satellite communications and can cover hundreds of kilometres in a single mission.


----------



## ekim68

Robots sell themselves in this California store



> What better way to sell telepresence technologies than having the store employees themselves appear via robot? At the Beam store in Palo Alto, Calif., no human salespeople physically appear, only robots, IEEE Spectrum reports.
> 
> This Beam store is the only one of its kind. Visitors who walk in will be greeted with a whirring sound, as the machines roll up and their hosts say hello. Behind each screen is a Beam employee, ready to answer any questions from the comfort of their own homes-which can be anywhere from Honolulu to New York to Los Angeles.


----------



## valis

Heyya Mike, were you aware of this?

http://sploid.gizmodo.com/the-cute-rolling-ball-droid-in-the-new-star-wars-is-a-r-1671499959


----------



## ekim68

Wow, now that's just cool... As an aside, my Grandson and I are big Star Wars fans and are eagerly awaiting the next movie....:up:


----------



## valis

not my grandson, but Le Twit is extremely stoked about it, to say the least........


----------



## ekim68

These Kinetic Bird Sculptures Will Leave You Completely Mesmerized



> Some of these moving, biomechanical bird sculptures look like they're about to take flight, while others resemble bizarre Muppets made over in metal. But one thing that they all have in common is that they are deeply satisfying to watch, with possibilities for special effects and industrial design alike.


----------



## ekim68

Tis the season.....

Autonomous Christmas Lab 2014


----------



## ekim68

NASA robot dives into old lava crater



> Exploring a volcano's innards is definitely a task that man isn't up to. So researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, have invented a robot that will be able to dive inside and explore its fissures.


----------



## ekim68

Elon Musk Donates $10M to Keep AI From Turning Evil



> Elon Musk is worried that artificial intelligence research could go wrong-very wrong.
> 
> This may seem unexpected, coming as it does from the architect of the conceptual high-speed transportation system Hyperloop, and the CEO of such moonshot-seeking companies as SpaceX and Tesla Motors. But Musk is so committed to this point of view that on Thursday, he announced a donation of $10 million to the Future of Life Institute (FLI), which will run a global research program aimed at keeping AI "beneficial to humanity." In other words, Musk wants to keep AI from running loose and growing into something that's a real danger to humans, a fear he's expressed before.


----------



## ekim68

DALER: A bio-inspired robot that can both fly and walk



> The issue of how to use one robot across multiple terrains is an ongoing question in robotics research. In a paper published in Bioinspiration and Biomimetics today, a team from LIS, EPFL and NCCR Robotics propose a new kind of flying robot that can also walk. Called the DALER (Deployable Air-Land Exploration Robot), the robot uses adaptive morphology inspired by the common vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus, meaning that the wings have been actuated using a foldable skeleton mechanism covered with a soft fabric so that they can be used both as wings and as legs (whegs).
> 
> The DALER is being designed to be used in search and rescue operations, and its dual modes of locomotion will enable it to fly long distances to survey large spaces in a short timespan, and then to walk into dangerous or inaccessible areas.


----------



## valis

ekim68 said:


> Elon Musk Donates $10M to Keep AI From Turning Evil


so......you are afraid something is going to become evil, so you create an affinity for money in it?

hmmm......pretty sure I know how this one turns out....


----------



## ekim68

I've been thinking about this AI thing lately and I think I've climbed up on a fence.....I'm all for Robotics Everything just to see what could be made, including self repairing types like this but I'm now thinking there must be some restrictions...I think AI would be very good in deep space exploration and some other specifically targeted missions such as supercomputing, but I am not sure I like AI to control whole systems. I suspect that this is what Asimov had in mind, eh?


----------



## ekim68

Military-funded robots can learn by watching YouTube



> Those fearing the rise of an all-powerful artificial intelligence like Skynet, take note: Robots are now learning by watching YouTube.
> 
> Depending on your views of the video-sharing service, that can be hilarious or frightening. But so far, the machines are just watching cooking videos, according to researchers backed by the U.S. Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency (DARPA).
> 
> The computer scientists from the University of Maryland have succeeded in getting humanoid robots to reproduce what they see in a set of YouTube cooking clips, including recognizing, grabbing and using the right kitchen tools.


----------



## ekim68

US Navy's firefighting robot finally appears



> SAFFiR, the humanoid firefighting robot that the US Navy and Virginia Tech engineers have been developing for years, is now more than just a blueprint. In fact, the military division has already demonstrated what the biped can do aboard one of its decommissioned ships. During a series of tests conducted in November 2014, it worked well enough to navigate uneven floors (extremely difficult for humanoid machines), identify equipment using thermal imaging and handle a hose to put out small fires. The Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting Robot did need a bit of help from a sidekick, though. No, not the firefighting snakebot Anna Konda (which is unfortunate, if you think they're the perfect pair), but a small drone created by Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute.


----------



## ekim68

We Can Now Build Autonomous Killing Machines. And That's a Very, Very Bad Idea



> Clearpath Robotics was founded six years ago by three college buddies with a passion for building stuff. Its 80 employees specialize in all-terrain test rigs like the Husky, a stout four-wheeled robot vehicle used by researchers within the Department of Defense. They make drones too, and have even built a robotic boat called the Kingfisher. But there is one thing they will never, ever build: a robot that can kill.
> 
> Clearpath is the first and, so far as we can tell, only robotics company to pledge not to build killer robots. The decision, made last year, was simple, says co-founder and CTO Ryan Gariepy, and in fact it's even helped the company recruit robot experts who've been drawn to Clearpath's unique ethical stance. That's because ethical questions are becoming a pressing matter for companies that build robotics systems. You see, we're already at the dawn of the age of killer robots. And we're completely unprepared for them.


----------



## ekim68

"Robot scientist" Eve to save time and money in drug development



> Modern pharmaceuticals are a wonder of our age, but they also take years to develop at incredible cost. To shorten development time and increase economy, scientists at the Universities of Cambridge and Manchester have built Eve, an artificially-intelligent "robot scientist" that is not only faster and cheaper than its human counterparts, but has already identified a compound that could be used to fight malaria.


:up:


----------



## ekim68

The Creepy Collective Behavior of Boston Dynamics' New Robot Dog



> Robotics company Boston Dynamics has a new four-legged addition to its family: a 160-pound quadruped named Spot-and dude is impressive. In a short video posted yesterday, the Google-owned company shows Spot gallivanting with a weird equestrian hop through office corridors, up concrete stairs, and along rocky hills with little trouble. Spot even keeps his balance after being kicked by one of its human overlords. You can almost hear the canine whimper over the drone of his hydraulics.


----------



## ekim68

The US Military Is Officially Developing Prosthetic Limbs With A Sense Of Touch



> Prosthetic limb technology has been advancing by leaps and bounds recently, but what would really push everything to the next level and take us into science fiction territory would be prosthetics that could actually feel things like a regular human limb. Well, US military research agency DARPA is working on exactly that.


----------



## brettmurray

Google are going to take over the world with their financial dominance and armies of robot soldiers.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/video/2013/dec/17/google-robot-maker-boston-dynamics-video










Imagine like 30 of these all armed with guns hunting you down. Skynet Begins


----------



## ekim68

Stopping killer robots and other future threats



> Only twice in history have nations come together to ban a weapon before it was ever used. In 1868, the Great Powers agreed under the Saint Petersburg Declaration to ban exploding bullets, which by spreading metal fragments inside a victim's body could cause more suffering than the regular kind. And the 1995 Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons now has 104 signatories, who have agreed to ban the weapons on the grounds that they could cause excessive suffering to soldiers in the form of permanent blindness.
> 
> Today a group of non-governmental organizations is working to outlaw another yet-to-be used device, the fully autonomous weapon or killer robot.


----------



## DaveBurnett

They need to be quick about that and also be very specific about the level of control.
Drones come to mind. The ban needs to be very carefully thought out. Does a missile, once launched, fit that description??
It would be nice if it did!!!


----------



## ekim68

Should a carebot bring an alcoholic a drink? Poll says, It depends on who owns the robot



> In a care scenario, a robot may have been purchased by the patient, by the doctor or hospital (which sent it home with the patient to monitor their health), or by a concerned family member who wants to monitor their relative. In the latest ORi poll we looked at people's attitudes about whether a care robot should prioritize its owner's wishes over those of the patient. Here are the results.


----------



## ekim68

Tiny robotic hand-like grippers dissolve in the body after performing task



> Creating swarms of soft, robotic hands that can safely dissolve within a living body once they've performed surgical procedures or delivered drugs just got a step closer thanks to work done by John Hopkins University scientists. They've created minute biodegradable microgrippers by adding stiff polymers containing magnetic nanoparticles to soft hydrogels, allowing them be magnetically guided to any location in the body.


----------



## ekim68

Foxconn expects robots to take over more factory work



> The electronics industry may still be reliant on human workers to assemble products, but Apple supplier Foxconn Technology Group is hopeful that robots will take over more of the workload soon.
> 
> In three years, Foxconn will probably use robots and automation to complete 70 percent of its assembly line work, said company CEO Terry Gou on Thursday in news footage circulated online.


----------



## ekim68

Bring On The Boring Robots



> Sometimes, people would see the robot coming down the hotel hallway, and do exactly what you'd expect-fast-draw their phones, and snap some pictures. Kids were also pretty predictable, spotting the three-foot-tall cylindrical SaviOne and "following it like it's the Pied Piper" says Steve Cousins, CEO of Savioke. Cousins' favorite response was one he witnessed in person. At the start of the service bot's 6-month pilot in a pair of California hotels, employees from Cousins would shadow SaviOne on its rounds. They didn't intervene, allowing the largely self-sufficent robot to call the elevator on its own (using a special WiFi connection), navigate to a given room, and deliver toothbrushes, snacks and other service items by popping the lid on its storage compartment.


----------



## ekim68

Robobug: Scientists clad bacterium with graphene to make a working cytobot



> By cladding a living cell with graphene quantum dots, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) claim to have created a nanoscale biomicrorobot (or cytobot) that responds electrically to changes in its environment. This work promises to lay the foundations for future generations of bio-derived nanobots, biomicrorobotic-mechanisms, and micromechanical actuation for a wide range of applications.


----------



## ekim68

Transforming robot gets stuck in Fukushima nuclear reactor

 Bye bye Robot...


----------



## DaveBurnett

I'm not going to crack a joke about an Ibot........ muuuusssssttttt avoid.


----------



## ekim68

This Tiny Robot Can Pull Weights 2,000 Times Heavier Than It



> Scientists from Stanford have developed a series of super-small, super strong robots-including this one, that can haul up to 52 pounds, despite weighing less than half an ounce. That's like you pulling a blue whale.


----------



## ekim68

Fetch Unveils Robot Duo to Adapt Warehouses for Quick-Delivery Era



> Consumers are getting spoiled-not only do they want movies on demand via digital networks, they also want physical things like books and diapers delivered almost as fast.
> 
> Amazon, which has fueled these consumer expectations, uses colonies of Kiva robots in automated warehouses to help achieve its fast shipping times. Modest-sized retailers and distribution centers can't afford that kind of technology, so last summer San Jose, CA-based Fetch Robotics set out to create human-scale robot workers to help those smaller companies compete in the on-demand era. While Amazon can afford to rebuild its warehouses to accommodate the extensive Kiva system, Fetch decided to make robots that would work in existing buildings with a minimum of retrofitting.


----------



## ekim68

Good so far..... 

Human Pros Dominating Poker AI



> At the halfway point of the "Brains Vs. Artificial Intelligence" poker competition between software developed at Carnegie Mellon University and four of the world's best players, the nod unquestionably goes to the humans.
> 
> The CMU computer program, Claudico, is playing a total of 80,000 hands of Heads-Up No-limit Texas Hold'em against Doug Polk, Dong Kim, Bjorn Li and Jason Les. And after 42,100 hands, the humans had a cumulative lead of 626,892 chips.


----------



## ekim68

The Future Of "Killer" Robots: Helping People



> A robonaut performs chores for astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Google speeds ahead with self-driving cars. A robot has learned to cook from watching YouTube videos. Some are telling jokes and dancing for our entertainment; others are consoling us.
> 
> Robots are already moving out of the research lab, off the factory floor, and into our everyday lives. But how will those robots evolve-and how will we see them-in the next five years? I asked some of the humans who build them, leaders at the robotics companies Fast Company selected as the year's most innovative.


----------



## valis

nope nope nope

http://io9.com/watch-the-atrias-bipedal-robot-take-a-stroll-in-the-par-1701982353


----------



## ekim68

I'd like to have one and take it for a walk just to see the look in people's eyes as we stroll.....


----------



## valis

Those things are smack dab in the middle of the uncanny valley for me. They aren't as bad as Big Dog (that thing just shouldn't exist) but they are sure up there......


----------



## ekim68

A New Zealand-based company says it's building a very, very angry robot to help companies deal with angry customers.



> It's almost a religious question: in whose image are we making robots?
> 
> Will we only make clever, efficient robots who will do what they're told -- built, naturally, in the image of your average middle management functionary?
> 
> Or will we attempt to build monsters -- just because we like to put our fingers in the fire occasionally?
> 
> A New Zealand company called Touchpoint Group says it's building a robot that will be the worst of us.
> 
> It will be angry all the time. Angrier than a motorist trying to tolerate yet another cyclist who goes straight through a stop sign. Angrier than Kanye when he sees a paparazzo. And, yes, angrier than any Comcast customer that ever lived.
> 
> The idea, in fact, is to help organizations deal with angry customers.


----------



## ekim68

Thought-controlled robotic arm reacts faster and more smoothly than its predecessors



> Although we've definitely seen a number of thought-controlled prosthetic arms before, most of those have been activated by implants in the user's motor cortex, which is the brain's movement-control center. The arms' resulting movements have been somewhat jerky, plus there's typically been a delay between the user thinking about moving the arm, and the actual movement taking place. Now, however, a team of researchers has announced the results of an experiment in which those limitations were greatly reduced.


----------



## ekim68

One robot launching another one....

Coordinated Launching of H2Bird with VelociRoACH


----------



## ekim68

Adaptable robots 'on their way' to the home



> Researchers have developed robots that learn to live with damaged parts in less than a minute, instead of the many hours needed by traditional self-learning systems.
> 
> The system paves the way for robots to be used in a wide variety of settings, coping with damage that occurs in the real world.
> 
> Possible applications include robots looking after the elderly, rescuing earthquake victims or doing housework.


----------



## ekim68

Teaching a robot to jump...

MIT cheetah robot lands the running jump 

(Sorry Tim, a YouTube thing.)


----------



## ekim68

Terapio autonomous robot designed to replace medical carts



> Doctors and nurses in Japan  or in other countries, for that matter  may soon have some robotic company when making their rounds. That's because researchers at Toyohashi University of Technology are developing an omnidirectional robot named Terapio, that's designed to take the place of a traditional medical cart.


----------



## ekim68

Team KAIST Wins DARPA Robotics Challenge



> It was a nail-biting final round as the top teams of the DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals tried to catch up with Team KAIST, which earlier today had completed a perfect run, scoring the maximum 8 points in 44:28 minutes. Two teams also scored 8 points, but Team KAIST, from South Korea, had the best time, winning the top spot and the US $2 million grand prize.
> 
> KAISTs robot, called DRC-HUBO, was a bipedal humanoid. But unlike other humanoids, like the ATLAS robot used by several other teams, DRC-HUBO had modifications, including wheels on its knees, that allowed it to perform tasks faster and, perhaps more importantly, avoid falls.


----------



## ekim68

DARPA Robotics Challenge leaves brilliant PR legacy



> With this robotics Grand Challenge, DARPA has advanced both the science of robotics and the story. Real robots did useful things, like operate power tools, drive cars and climb stairs far more successfully than we anticipated. But at the same time, the world saw that it was incredibly difficult for them to perform simple human tasks like opening a door. Anyone who is worried about robots stealing their jobs, or killing us in our sleep, can sleep a little sounder tonight.


----------



## ekim68

Soft robot tentacle can lasso an ant without harming it



> The soft robot, developed by Jaeyoun Kim from Iowa State University and colleagues, can curl itself into a circle with a radius of just 200 micrometres. This is thanks to its microtube structure, fabricated from a kind of polymer called an elastomer. Existing robots inspired by animal tentaclesMovie Camera are larger, since it can be tricky to reproduce the spiralling motion at a small scale. The smallest designs are currently centimetre-sized.


----------



## ekim68

Artificial Intelligence Will Put Us Out Of Work



> The worst case scenario for artificial intelligence run amok isn't killer robots. It's widespread unemployment.





> Ng, a veteran of Google and Coursera, said he doesn't see a path from the state of current technology to the sort of super-intelligence necessary for malevolent cyborgs. But he does see reason to worry about the economic impact of advances in computer learning and expert systems.
> 
> "If we succeed in building self-driving cars, that's 3.5 million truck drivers who might have to find a new job," he said.
> 
> During the industrial revolution, Ng said, the population had 200 years to shift from 98% farmers to 2% farmers. The transformation brought about by computer technology "will be much faster."


----------



## valis

snakebot?

snakebot.

http://gizmodo.com/these-slithering-modular-snakebots-are-the-future-of-ro-1711749321


----------



## ekim68

Emotional robot Pepper goes on sale, first run sells out



> The first run of Softbank's 'emotional' robot Pepper has sold out, the company has said.
> 
> One thousand of the four-foot-tall humanoid robots went on sale at the weekend and all sold within a minute, it said. The company now plans to build 1,000 a month, according to reports. SoftBank also said that in the autumn it plans to launch 'Pepper for Biz '- a version of the robot built for enterprise use.
> 
> While there are various humanoid robots - from toys to firefighters - Pepper is interesting because it has been designed to respond to and display emotions."This robot has been created to make people happy to interact with," said the developers.


----------



## ekim68

Cockroach-inspired robot can squeeze through tight spaces



> Researchers at UC Berkeley have developed a robotic cockroach that can crawl through the tightest of gaps. The team began by studying actual cockroaches, observing how they moved through the densely packed rainforest floor. While some obstacles are pushed past or climbed over, the cockroaches frequently rolled their body at an almost-90-degree angle to scamper through openings.


----------



## ekim68

Brick-laying robot can build a full-sized house in two days



> As robots get smarter, cheaper and more versatile, they're taking on a growing number of challenges  and bricklaying can now be added to the list. Engineers in Perth, Australia, have created a fully working house-building machine that can create the brick framework of a property in just two days, working about 20 times faster than a human bricklayer.


----------



## valis

here ya go, Mike........

http://jalopnik.com/u-s-builds-first-giant-robo-suit-immediately-challeng-1715147181


----------



## valis

yikes! another one.

https://www.google.com/search?q=A+r...er+in+a+VW+plant+in+Germany&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8


----------



## ekim68

valis said:


> here ya go, Mike........
> 
> http://jalopnik.com/u-s-builds-first-giant-robo-suit-immediately-challeng-1715147181


Kind of reminds me of that contraption that the soldiers used in Avatar...


----------



## valis

Pacific Rim, here we come.


----------



## ekim68

Army researcher's interest in robotics leads to innovative device



> Dan Baechle, a mechanical engineer, is testing MAXFAS, a mechatronic arm exoskeleton, which is designed so that it could be used to train new Soldiers to reach shooting proficiency faster.


----------



## valis

valis said:


> here ya go, Mike........
> 
> http://jalopnik.com/u-s-builds-first-giant-robo-suit-immediately-challeng-1715147181


aaaaaand they've accepted. 

http://jalopnik.com/its-on-japan-accepts-us-giant-robot-fight-challenge-1716089346


----------



## ekim68

This is just Fantastic....:up: The Little Rover That Could...


----------



## ekim68

Solar powered day/night autonomous flight achieved: Airborne for 28 hours without fuel!



> The AtlantikSolar Unmanned Aerial Vehicle took off on June 30th, 2015 at 11:14 oclock to attempt the holy grail of solar-powered flight: the crossing of a full day-night cycle on solar power alone. More than 28 hours later, on July 1st at 15:35, the aircraft landed safely and with fully recharged batteries, thus showing AtlantikSolars long-endurance flight capability. This is of significant interest for large-scale disaster support, industrial inspection or meteorological observation missions, especially in the compact form of a hand-launchable 7kg UAV such as AtlantikSolar.


----------



## ekim68

Estimating the impact of robots on productivity and employment



> To discover the impact of robots on the average manufacturing worker, we analysed their effect in 14 industries across 17 developed countries from 1993 to 2007. We found that industrial robots increase labour productivity, total factor productivity and wages. While they dont significantly change total hours worked, they may be a threat to low- and middle-skilled workers.


----------



## ekim68

Macon-Bibb considering drones for emergency management



> On Tuesday, Macon-Bibb County officials are expected to discuss whether to employ drones for emergency management across the county.
> 
> It's part of a proposed deal with companies Olaeris and Haeco to better respond to emergencies and disasters.


----------



## ekim68

ReWalk Robotics's New Exoskeleton Lets Paraplegic Stroll the Streets of NYC



> Yesterday, a paralyzed man strapped on a pair of robotic legs and stepped out a hotel door, joining the flow of rushing pedestrians on a sidewalk in midtown Manhattan.
> 
> The user, Robert Woo, was demonstrating a new exoskeleton unveiled this week, the ReWalk Personal 6.0 from Israels ReWalk Robotics. He got a few curious looks as he strode forward in his sleek black gear, but the fast-walking New Yorkers didnt slow down or clear space for him.


----------



## ekim68

Craving machine companionship? Japan's robot hotel is for you



> Welcome to the Henn-na Hotel near Nagasaki, where the main staff are machines. The name means strange in Japanese, and the facility is a bizarre combination of a no-frills business hotel and an amusement park.
> 
> At least part of that makes sense, as its located in Huis Ten Bosch, a Holland-themed amusement park in Sasebo, north of Nagasaki City. As youd expect, it has a range of gimmicks to entertain guests.
> 
> At the entrance, a giant industrial robot arm supplied by Yaskawa Electric acts as a mechanized cloak room attendant for guests who want to see the theme park before or after their stay. When luggage is deposited into a receptacle in the wall, it whirls into action, picking it up and placing it in one of about 30 cubbyholes.


----------



## ekim68

RoboCup: Training robots to play football



> The whistle blows and the beautiful game begins, but this is no ordinary football match - it is a training session for a team of robots, which on 19 July will compete at the RoboCup World Championships, hosted this year in the Chinese city of Hefei.


----------



## ekim68

Object recognition for robots



> Last week, at the Robotics Science and Systems conference, members of Leonards group presented a new paper demonstrating how SLAM can be used to improve object-recognition systems, which will be a vital component of future robots that have to manipulate the objects around them in arbitrary ways.
> 
> The system uses SLAM information to augment existing object-recognition algorithms. Its performance should thus continue to improve as computer-vision researchers develop better recognition software, and roboticists develop better SLAM software.


----------



## ekim68

The robots who will outnumber us must be compassionate, says SoftBank CEO



> The head of Japanese multinational telco SoftBank has called for the development of compassionate robots as essential to the evolution of robotics in the next forty years  particularly considering his estimate that robot population is likely to exceed humans within 25 years.


----------



## ekim68

Watch This Human-Controlled Robot Crush Cans And Punch Through Drywall



> Its a two part formula: on one end, youve got the robot; its stronger than most humans, capable of picking up objects, and more than happy to run into a burning building. On the other, youve got a human wearing an exoskeleton style suit that captures their motions and a pair of goggles that beams back whatever the robot is seeing.


----------



## ekim68

I suppose this was inevitable.....

Developer Stephen Rosss RSE Ventures Invests in Drone Racing 



> Developer Stephen Ross is renowned in real estate for high-profile projects around the country and in sports for his ownership of the Miami Dolphins.
> 
> Now he is looking to make a name for himself in a new niche: drone racing.


----------



## ekim68

*[URL='http://io9.com/robot-simulations-show-mass-extinctions-may-accelerate-1724107663']Robot Simulations Show Mass Extinctions May Accelerate Evolution*[/url]



> By simulating a mass extinction on a population of virtual robots, researchers have shown that these cataclysmic events are an important contributor to an organism's ability to evolve, a finding that has implications to evolutionary biology, the business sector-and even artificial intelligence.
> 
> It's no surprise that mass extinctions exert a tremendous influence on evolution. If it hadn't been for the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event, for example, mammals would likely have never supplanted dinosaurs in many ecological niches.


----------



## ekim68

Don't Expect Too Much from This Robot, Buddy




> A robot might seem like a useful thing to have around the house, but is the reality up to the hype?


----------



## ekim68

Robots Are Coming For Our Jobs. Just Not All of Them.




> There is a lot to be said for replacing certain kinds of jobs with robots. Most people would agree that replacing physical human labor with automation is a good thing. It's especially good to automate the dangerous kinds of labor like some facets of factory work. What about automation in fields that require more mental labor, where physical strain isn't the concern? Is replacing humans really the best course of action? A year ago, a video called





> _Humans Need Not Apply _set forth an explanation of how robots will inevitably replace us. But that narrative is a tough sell.


----------



## ekim68

Open Bionics robotic hand for amputees wins Dyson Award




> A prototype 3D-printed robotic hand that can be made faster and more cheaply than current alternatives is this year's UK winner of the James Dyson Award.
> 
> The Bristol-raised creator of the Open Bionics project says he can 3D-scan an amputee and build them a custom-fitted socket and hand in less than two days.


----------



## ekim68

Finally! A Robot That Serves Beer



> Good news, everybody: The future has arrived. A group of mad geniuses at MIT have unveiled a team of robots that can take orders and retrieve drinks-including, yes, beer. The research was recently presented at the recent Robotics Systems and Science Conference in Rome.
> 
> I know what you're probably thinking: "Okay, so what? Wasn't there a toy robot in the 80s that could do the exact same thing?"
> 
> But these robots aren't toys-they're actually better at serving up cold ones than their human equivalents. The real breakthrough here is in how the robots are able to work together to complete tasks.


----------



## ekim68

Smooth robot movements reduce energy consumption by up to 40 percent




> By minimizing the acceleration of industrial robots, energy consumption can be reduced by up to 40 percent - while retaining the given production time. This is the result of a new optimization algorithm that was developed by researchers at Chalmers University of Technology.


----------



## ekim68

Aquatic robot seeks and destroys reef-killing starfish




> On Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the Crown-of-thorns starfish is the scourge of the deep as it eats and destroys large swathes of coral and threatens the overall health of the reef. This starfish is proving difficult to find and eradicate with conventional methods, so Queensland University of Technology researchers have created a hunter-killer robot - dubbed the COTSbot - that's designed to automatically search out and destroy these aquatic pests.


----------



## ekim68

Robot ships controlled by satellite are on the horizon




> Today self-driving cars and lorries are taking to the roads, and soon self-sailing ships will be steaming over the horizon: Inmarsat is the latest company to joined a project aimed at autonomous shipping.
> 
> The €6.6m Advanced Autonomous Waterborne Applications Initiative (AAWA) is funded by the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, and brings together tech companies, universities, research institutes, and ship owners to work on the legal, regulatory, and technology factors that need to be addressed in order to make autonomous ships a reality.


----------



## ekim68

Robots to the Rescue: Five Lessons From Hurricane Katrina (and 22 Subsequent Emergency Robot Deployments)




> As director of Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue (CRASAR) at Texas A&M University, Murphy has played an active role in these and more than 20 other disasters, but she's first and foremost a researcher.
> 
> Using her experiences in these hot zones as a starting point, she returns to Disaster City, the state-of-the-art disaster reconstruction site at Texas A&M, and probes what works and what doesn't in order to determine how to most effectively use robots to hasten rescue and recovery efforts.


----------



## ekim68

A Japanese Robot Is Learning the American Way




> Developed for cute-centric Japan, a robot called Pepper is getting a personality adjustment for its launch in the United States.


----------



## ekim68

Volvo wants robots to help collect your garbage




> To call garbage collection an inglorious job would be an understatement -- it typically involves early mornings, monotony and (of course) lots of smelly trash. It's the perfect sort of job for a robot, don't you think? Volvo agrees.


----------



## ekim68

Marines give Google's latest robot a tryout as "working dog"




> In a series of drills this week, the Marine Corps tested whether a new four-legged companion had what it takes to work with infantrymen in a variety of situations. The subject of the tests was Boston Dynamics' Spot robot, a 160-pound, hydraulicly actuated quadruped robot first revealed by the Google (soon to be Alphabet) subsidiary in February.


----------



## ekim68

Building a rope bridge with flying machines

A Video.....


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://gizmodo.com/to-make-robot-hands-more-like-ours-mit-built-these-sof-1733727246']To Make Robot Hands More Like Ours, MIT Built These Softer, Smarter Fingers[/URL]




> It's easy to forget how amazing the dexterity and anatomy of our own hands are-until you learn how difficult they are to replicate for machines. MIT has made big strides in robotic hands this year, and now it's published a new one.


----------



## ekim68

Deep Learning Machine Teaches Itself Chess in 72 Hours, Plays at International Master Level




> In a world first, a machine plays chess by evaluating the board rather than using brute force to work out every possible move.


----------



## ekim68

Only in Japan: the robot that's a smartphone that's a robot




> RoboHon ("Robot Phone") is the cutest smartphone ever: a (familiar looking) robot frame that fits in your pocket. It can take calls, dance, project photos, display maps and more. It's a 'bot with a smartphone inside. Yes, some will snort at the idea of a phone with a 2-inch touchscreen, but it's certainly an original notion -- unashamedly so. That said, is it innovative? Is there a point to it all? Does it really fit in your pocket? We'll know better when it launches here in Japan early next year. For now, here's a closer look in person, answering at least one of those questions.


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://gizmodo.com/this-spherical-robot-can-unfurl-its-four-legs-after-bei-1736909960']This Spherical Robot Can Unfurl Its Four Legs After Being Tossed[/URL]




> Researchers in Japan have developed a remarkable new robot that bears a startling resemblance to the Droideka of _Star Wars_. Called QRoSS, this throwable, sphere-shaped robot can move around either by rolling or walking on all fours. Mercifully, it's not capable of firing lasers or engaging force fields...at least not yet.


----------



## ekim68

Insect-sized RoboBee robot can now fly and swim




> Usually, when you dunk a tiny flying robot in the water you end up with a tiny sinking robot. Engineers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) want to change that with the RoboBee, which has claimed the title of the first insect-insect sized robot that can swim as well as fly.


----------



## ekim68

Blueberry picking robot could win $250,000 prize




> Here's an interesting robotics challenge - a coalition of blueberry farmers are offering a $250,000 prize for automation solutions that improve blueberry picking. The deadline for entries in the competition has been extended to December 4, 2015. Apparently farmers can't keep up with the record high demand for blueberries.


----------



## ekim68

Hacked Amazon Echo Controls a Wheelchair




> Amazon Echo





> is a voice-activated, cloud-connected wireless speaker that can be your personal assistant. Think of Echo as Siri for your home.
> 
> Echo, which is designed around your voice, answers to "Alexa" and can tell you the scores to the game, read your book, play your music, or check your calendar. And if you have a smart home, Echo can turn off your lights and integrate with other smart technology.
> 
> Bob Paradiso, however, wondered if he "could push Echo's utility a little further." He certainly did.


----------



## ekim68

Row-bot cleans dirty water and powers itself by eating microbes




> Inspired by the water boatman bug, a team at the University of Bristol has created the Row-bot, a robot prototype that is designed to punt itself across the top of the water in dirty ponds or lakes, and "eat" the microbes it scoops up. It then breaks these down in its artificial stomach to create energy to power itself. In this way, it generates enough power to continuously impel itself about to seek out more bacteria to feed upon.


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://toyland.gizmodo.com/hasbro-now-has-a-toy-line-for-seniors-starting-with-a-l-1743122884']Hasbro Now Has a Toy Line For Seniors Starting With a Lifelike Robotic Cat[/URL]




> After already conquering demographics including kids, teenagers, and those technically considered adults, Hasbro is reaching out to that last frontier of consumers: seniors, with a new toy line featuring lifelike robotic companion pets that only need affection, not feeding or bathroom breaks.


----------



## ekim68

Swarm robotics breakthrough brings pheromone communication to AI




> Computer scientists at the University of Lincoln have invented a reliable, low-cost system which replicates in robots the pheromone-based communication behind insect swarms.
> 
> Using off-the-shelf equipment including an LCD screen and a USB camera, the team has proposed what they call COS-phi, or Communication System via Pheromone. The artificial pheromone trails are traced visually onto the screen. As displayed in the video below, as soon as a bot picks up on the path, it is forced to follow the leader.


----------



## ekim68

Meet Lenore, My Radiosurgeon




> On June 3rd, I had brain surgery to treat a benign tumor called a meningioma. I knew ahead of time that the surgeon wouldn't be able to remove the entire tumor - its geography extended from my cavernous sinus to the pituitary gland to the left hemisphere of the brain and to my brain stem.
> 
> The surgery helped preserve the sight in my left eye, cull the tumor and may protect my quality of life for the future. But I also needed highly targeted radiation therapy, also known as radiosurgery, to attempt to mutate the tumor's DNA to stop its growth.
> 
> After getting your skull sawed open, the prospect of radiation treatment can seem anticlimactic, but it's not simple or easy or risk-free. Fortunately, I was in good hands. Let me introduce you to Lenore, one of the key members of my radiosurgery team.


----------



## ekim68

Half of Japan's jobs could soon be filled by robots (and that's good news)




> Robots taking jobs is usually cause for panic. So why is the world's third largest economy celebrating the latest findings?


----------



## ekim68

Robot looks after residents at Italian care home - in pictures




> A care home in Florence is pioneering the use of a robot as a carer for its 20 elderly residents. Robot-Era is coordinated by the Robotics Institute of the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna di Pisa as part of the world's largest experiment ever carried out using service robots, which involves 160 people in real-world environments over four years.


----------



## ekim68

VertiGo - A Wall-Climbing Robot including Ground-Wall Transition




> VertiGo is a wall-climbing robot that is capable of transitioning from the ground to the wall, created in collaboration between Disney Research Zurich and ETH. The robot has two tiltable propellers that provide thrust onto the wall, and four wheels.


----------



## ekim68

New Segway transforms into a cute robot companion when you're not riding it




> Intel and Ninebot partner to create a self-balancing object which becomes a voice-recognising pal at the touch of a button


----------



## ekim68

A Robot Life Preserver Goes to Work in the Greek Refugee Crisis




> The European refugee crisis isn't so much a crisis as it is a catastrophe. Fleeing violence in Africa and the Middle East, particularly Syria, more than a million migrants crossed by sea into Europe in 2015. Almost 4,000 of them lost their lives in the journey. The sea crossings can be especially dire, as leaky, unsafe boats capsize or break apart in rough water. In Greece the danger has proven massive, particularly off the island of Lesvos, which takes in an average of 2,000 refugees _daily_.
> 
> Every day around Lesvos the Coast Guard must rescue boats that have capsized, run out of fuel, or simply broken down. Which is why the Coast Guard invited a team from Texas A&M University's Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue to launch a pilot project this week for a very special robot-Emily, the Emergency Integrated Lifesaving Lanyard.


----------



## ekim68

Drone-catching hexacopter fires a large net to reel in suspicious aircraft




> Shotguns, radio beams and firmware updates are just a few of the ways being floated to stop dangerous drones in their tracks. Another appraoach that's starting to gain a bit of traction is drone-catching nets carried by drones themselves. Following the lead of Tokyo police last month, a team of mechanical engineers has devised a retrieval system that captures small drones and carries them unharmed to desired location.


----------



## 2twenty2

...


----------



## ekim68

Even your academic advisor might one day be a robot




> We Google things we're too lazy to remember or ask another human. We've become accustomed to asking Siri and Cortana about the weather. The current generation of artificial intelligence can pull facts from the web, keep track of your appointments and even crack jokes. What if there were a virtual assistant to help you make real-life decisions, like whether you should start a brewery or go to business school? Project Sapphire, a collaboration between IBM and the University of Michigan, is aimed at building an artificially intelligent academic advisor that guides undergraduate students through their course options, helps pick extracurricular activities and eventually dishes out advice on their careers.


----------



## ekim68

This motorcycle-riding robot is trying to set a speed record




> It's an exquisite challenge. Yamaha and SRI have teamed up to create an autonomous motorcycle-riding robot. Soon they'll pit it against the best human rider on the planet.


----------



## ekim68

Meet the drone that already delivers your packages, Kiva robot teardown




> There's been a lot of talk about package delivery via flying drones. While this is an interesting vision of the future, current economics make this an unlikely substitute for base-load ground delivery for the next 5-10 years. Flying delivery drones can make a compelling marketing tool or ultra-premium feature, but their current hype doesn't mesh with immediate reality.
> 
> Meanwhile, the robotic systems powering warehouse distribution centers are an engineering marvel far more elegant than flying drones. Tens of thousands of mobile (ground-based) drones are already in operation and helping deliver your packages today.


----------



## ekim68

World's first robot-run farm to churn out 11 million heads of lettuce per year




> A Japanese company is preparing to open the world's first robot-controlled farm. The facility is designed to produce 11 million heads of lettuce each year, and it's expected to ship its first crop in Fall 2017. Relying on lessons learned from their first farm in Kameoka, SPREAD says their new business model will cut labor costs by 50 percent. The company claims sustainability is at the heart of what they do, and that the new 47,300 square feet Vegetable Factory in Kansai Science City will also reduce construction costs by 25 percent and energy demand by 30 percent.


----------



## ekim68

Harnessing artificial intelligence to build an army of virtual analysts



> Enterprises of all types and sizes are continually probed and targeted by cyber attackers. It doesn't matter whether they are after the company's or their customers' information, or are trying to find ways in so that they can commit fraud, what matters is that many are succeeding.
> 
> So far, the security industry's attempts to stop them have not been enough, but maybe this situation will finally change.


----------



## ekim68

Meet the soft, cuddly robots of the future




> In 2007, Cecilia Laschi asked her father to catch a live octopus for her seaside lab in Livorno, Italy. He thought she was crazy: as a recreational fisherman, he considered the octopus so easy to catch that it must be a very stupid animal. And what did a robotics researcher who worked with metal and microprocessors want with a squishy cephalopod anyway?
> 
> Nevertheless, the elder Laschi caught an octopus off the Tuscan coast and gave it to his daughter, who works for the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, Italy. She and her students placed the creature in a saltwater tank where they could study how it grasped titbits of anchovy and crab. The team then set about building robots that could mimic those motions.
> 
> Prototype by prototype, they created an artificial tentacle with internal springs and wires that mirrored an octopus's muscles, until the device could undulate, elongate, shrink, stiffen and curl in a lifelike manner1. "It's a completely different way of building robots," says Laschi.


----------



## ekim68

Robots Learning Judo Techniques to Fall Down Without Exploding




> The best and worst part of the DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals was watching all of those huge expensive humanoids topple over in a series of epic faceplants. Faceplants are called faceplants because you're planting your face into the ground as a means of breaking your fall, which usually also breaks your face, among other things. This tends to happen when you're unprepared for falling, which with most robots, is 100 percent of the time. Now researchers at Georgia Tech want to teach humanoid robots to fall more safely with techniques adapted from judo, which might protect them enough to actually be able to get up again.


----------



## charlilou

Wow, a lot of robot activity going!  Hard to keep up with it all


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://gizmodo.com/this-insanely-detailed-robotic-hand-works-just-like-th-1759830712']This Insanely Detailed Robotic Hand Works Just Like the Real Thing[/URL]




> Robots are becoming more dextrous than ever. This incredibly detailed robotic hand is one of the most accurate mechanical devices modelled on the human body that we've ever seen-because it simply swaps bones and tissue for exact mechanical replicas.


----------



## ekim68

Robots could learn human values by reading stories, research suggests




> Scientists have been running tests where artificial intelligences cultivate appropriate social behaviour by responding to simple narratives


----------



## ekim68

A 19-year-old made a free robot lawyer that has appealed $3 million in parking tickets




> Hiring a lawyer for a parking-ticket appeal is not only a headache, but it can also cost more than the ticket itself. Depending on the case and the lawyer, an appeal - a legal process where you argue out of paying the fine - can cost between $400 to $900.
> 
> But with the help of a robot made by British programmer Joshua Browder, 19, it costs nothing. Browder's bot handles questions about parking-ticket appeals in the UK. Since launching in late 2015, *it has successfully appealed $3 million worth of tickets.*


----------



## charlilou

Anyone think robots will become sentient?


----------



## DaveBurnett

Define sentient to everyone's satisfaction and you might just answer your own question.


----------



## ekim68

At the rate they're going, I believe they will become sentient...


----------



## charlilou

A bit frightening! Ever see that documentary called The Matrix


----------



## ekim68

I never saw The Matrix but I did see The Day the Earth Stood Still and Gort seemed to do the right thing. But in a different perspective, how about looking at Self-driving Cars. They at least follow the Rules of the Road whereas Humans manage to kill a hundred thousand people a year in Traffic accidents...


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/the-new-atlas-robot-is-incredible-and-its-definitely-go-1760908062']Watch the Next Generation Atlas Robot Get Bullied By A Mean Human (And Stay On His Feet)[/URL]




> Boston Dynamics has a new video showing off the latest version of Atlas-the badass humanoid robot. And it's pretty incredible. The most striking thing about this new version is the amazing balance Atlas achieves.


----------



## ekim68

Fido vs Spot - Animal vs Robot


----------



## ekim68

Skype's co-creator wants this cute six-wheeled robot to deliver your shopping




> Self-driving delivery robots are set to take to the streets of London in what's claimed to be a world first for autonomous vehicles being let loose without supervision or a backup safety driver.
> 
> That bold claim comes from Ahti Heinla, one of the co-founders of Skype and now CEO and CTO of Starship Technologies, a robotics company he launched alongside Janus Friss with the aim of revolutionising the local delivery of goods.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Skype's co-creator wants this cute six-wheeled robot to deliver your shopping


Interesting!


----------



## 2twenty2

*Modeled After Ants, Teams of Tiny Robots Can Move 2-Ton Car*

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/14/t...s-of-tiny-robots-can-move-2-ton-car.html?_r=0


----------



## ekim68

Could you fall in love with this robot?




> Humanlike robots may seem creepy, but some roboticists are betting they are the key to unlocking a future in which humans and superintelligent computers coexist, work alongside each other and even develop relationships.


----------



## Brigham

fall in love with a robot? "Satisfaction Guaranteed" Asimov


----------



## ekim68

In a humorous kind of way, it reminds me of this....


Kirk, Spock, Scotty, and McCoy outwit the Androids


----------



## ekim68

Apple just unveiled a blazing fast iPhone recycling robot




> There are around one billion Apple devices in use, and with that comes "significant responsibility," according to Apple CEO Tim Cook. That's why Apple just unveiled Liam, a robot that quickly and efficiently disassembles old iPhones so that their components can be reused for other products (like solar panels). Apple's VP of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives Lisa Jackson unveiled Liam and announced plans to relaunch Apple's recycling initiative during today's keynote presentation.


----------



## ekim68

Sneaky new drone can hide under water for months, then float to the surface to take off




> After months of analysis and experimentation, a team of researchers from Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Lab announced the successful development of a reliable sea-to-air UAV. Dubbed the Corrosion Resistant Aerial Covert Unmanned Nautical System - or CRACUNS for short - Johns Hopkins' drone has the ability to reside for months underwater without deteriorating or decaying. Once given the signal, the CRACUNS would then rise to the water's surface and begin flight, capable of undertaking a variety of missions.


----------



## ekim68

Man builds 'Scarlett Johansson' robot from scratch to 'fulfil childhood dream' - and it's scarily lifelike




> A humanoid obsessive has built an incredibly realistic female robot from scratch - and it's got more than a passing resemblance to Avengers star Scarlett Johansson.
> 
> Ricky Ma, a 42-year-old product and graphic designer, has spent more than $50,000 (£34,000) and a year and a half creating the female robot prototype, Mark 1.
> 
> The designer confirmed the scarily lifelike humanoid had been modelled on a Hollywood star, but wanted to keep her name under wraps.


----------



## ekim68

IBM's Watson Cognitive AI Platform Evolves, Senses Feelings And Dances Gangnam Style At NVIDIA GTC




> Artificial intelligence





> is sort of the holy grail of computing, and while we may never reproduce the human brain or it's capabilities in their entirety in electronic form, the world's brightest minds are now capable of creating rather convincing systems that are beginning to learn more sophisticated concepts and even learn on their own. IBM is proving that with its constantly improving Watson cognitive computing technology, which one day might have us struggling to perceive the line between artificial and organic intelligence.


----------



## ekim68

Video...


SNEAK PEEK: Schaft "bi-pedal" Walking Robot by Google


----------



## ekim68

Kind of thought this would happen.....


Drone racing to hit ESPN this year




> With a number of semi-professional leagues popping up around the world, drone racing has teetered on the edge of mainstream sport for a little while now. And a new broadcast deal signed between the International Drone Racing Association (IDRA) and ESPN certainly won't do its popularity any harm, with a series of cashed-up race events to be showcased on the network later in the year.


----------



## ekim68

Zero Zero's Camera Drone Could Be a Robot Command Center in the Future




> Startup Zero Zero Robotics just took the wraps off its eye in the sky, the Hover Camera. The company hasn't set a price but expects the lightweight drone (it weighs in at 240 grams) to cost under US $600.


----------



## ekim68

Navy Puts First Drone Command On An Aircraft Carrier




> Robots are going to take all the boring jobs first. This extends even to the military, where the Navy wants to keep humans flying fighter jets in attack missions, but switch over the less exciting scouting and refueling missions to drones. Looking toward that future, the U.S. Navy has outfitted the supercarrier USS _Carl Vinson_ with a drone control room.


----------



## ekim68

Meet Ross, the World's First Robot Lawyer




> Ross, the first artificially intelligent attorney, just got a job.
> 
> Global law firm Baker & Hostetler, one of the nation's largest, recently announced that it has hired a robot lawyer created by ROSS Intelligence, _Futurism_ reports. Ross will be employed in the law firm's bankruptcy practice which currently employs close to 50 lawyers.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Meet Ross, the World's First Robot Lawyer


Very interesting!!


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://gizmodo.com/disneys-new-telepresence-robot-is-so-precise-it-can-be-1776272736']Disney's New Telepresence Robot Is So Precise it Can Be Used to Thread a Needle[/URL]




> The easiest way to make a robot as dexterous and capable as a human being is to simply let a human control it. That's how Disney Research's new telepresence robot works, but with improved hydraulics on board, it's now capable of duplicating a human's motions with remarkable precision-to the point where it can even be used to remotely thread a needle.


----------



## ekim68

Robot ranchers monitor animals on giant Australian farms




> Farmers, put your feet up. Autonomous robots are already being used to inspect crops, count yields and dig up weeds - now they are shepherds too.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Robot ranchers monitor animals on giant Australian farms


...


----------



## ekim68




----------



## ekim68

Asus unveils Zenbo, a cute robot for the home priced at $599




> Called Zenbo, Asus pitched it as a personal assistant that can help look after elderly relatives or read stories to the kids, but that might be selling it a bit short.
> 
> The robot is about two feet high and rolls around on wheels, with a display that can show its animated face or be used for other things like making video calls and streaming movies.


----------



## ekim68

Robotic librarians hit the books




> Computer systems have helped catalogue libraries for decades, but if some reckless reader has put a book back in the wrong spot, it's a daunting task for librarians to search the entire building for it - but not for robotic librarians. Researchers at A*STAR's Institute for Infocomm Research are designing robots that can self-navigate through libraries at night, scanning spines and shelves to report back on missing or out-of-place books.


----------



## ekim68

Amazon is just beginning to use robots in its warehouses and they're already making a huge difference



> Amazon acquired Kiva for $775 million in 2012 but only started using the orange robots in its warehouses in late 2014. The deal was expected to make inventory management more efficient. It's now beginning to become clear by how much.
> 
> The "click to ship" cycle used to be around 60-75 minutes when employees had manually to sift through the stacks, pick the product, pack it, and ship it. Now, robots handle the same job in 15 minutes, according to a Deutsche Bank note published Tuesday (June 14) based on Amazon's metrics.


----------



## ekim68

It's happening: A robot escaped a lab in Russia and made a dash for freedom



> With every passing day, it feels like the robot uprising is getting a little closer. Robots are being beaten down by their human overlords, even as we teach them to get stronger. Now, they're starting to break free.
> 
> A robot in Russia escaped from a research lab in the town of Perm yesterday, June 15, reports the BBC. An engineer at robotics company Promobot had forgotten to close a gate, and the runaway bot caused a traffic jam as it bolted out into the world.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> It's happening: A robot escaped a lab in Russia and made a dash for freedom


...


----------



## ekim68




----------



## ekim68

Europe's robots to become 'electronic persons' under draft plan



> MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) - Europe's growing army of robot workers could be classed as "electronic persons" and their owners liable to paying social security for them if the European Union adopts a draft plan to address the realities of a new industrial revolution.
> 
> Robots are being deployed in ever-greater numbers in factories and also taking on tasks such as personal care or surgery, raising fears over unemployment, wealth inequality and alienation.


----------



## ekim68

Robots can drive and fly. This is why they're not great swimmers.



> First robots took over the land. Then, thanks to the drone revolution, they went airborne. It stands to reason that the next environment where we'll see a proliferation of autonomous machines will be the sea.
> 
> But it's an environment where robots have struggled, primarily because of the difficulties of underwater communications, the prevalence of unpredictable occurrences, and the difficulty of precise positioning underwater, where GPS is ineffective.


----------



## ekim68

Spot Is Boston Dynamics' Nimble New Quadruped Robot



> Boston Dynamics is infuriatingly cool. They have to be the only robotics company out there that can just post a YouTube video of an incredibly agile autonomous quadruped named "Spot" with a four sentence description, and that's that-no info on their site, no press release, no interviews. Because they _know_ that everybody is going to watch it and think it's awesome anyway.


----------



## ekim68

Inside Silicon Valley's Robot Pizzeria



> In the back kitchen of Mountain View's newest pizzeria, Marta works tirelessly, spreading marinara sauce on uncooked pies. She doesn't complain, takes no breaks, and has never needed a sick day. She works for free.
> 
> Marta is one of two robots working at Zume Pizza, a secretive food delivery startup trying to make a more profitable pizza through machines. It's also created special delivery trucks that will finish cooking pizzas during the journey to hungry customers if approved by the Santa Clara County Department of Environmental Health. Right now Zume is only feeding people in Mountain View, California, but it has ambitions to dominate the $9.7 billion pizza delivery industry.


----------



## ekim68

Uber hired a robot to patrol its parking lot and it's way cheaper than a security guard



> Uber drivers who pay a visit to the company's inspection lot near Mission Bay in San Francisco will be met with a rather strange sight: a five-foot-tall, white, egg-shaped robot wheeling around the lot, on the look-out for trouble.


----------



## ekim68

Robotic glove tech developed for space station finds use on terra firma



> A robotic glove that was originally designed for use on the International Space Station (ISS) has been licensed for use back home, where it could be put to work helping manufacturing workers. Developed in partnership between General Motors (GM) and NASA, the RoboGlove is designed to provide the user with extra gripping strength.


----------



## Brigham

ekim68 said:


> Uber hired a robot to patrol its parking lot and it's way cheaper than a security guard


Which type is he? Robocop or three laws Asimov.


----------



## 2twenty2

A Cyborg Stingray Made of Rat Muscles and Gold


----------



## 2twenty2

Parents upset after Stanford Shopping Center security robot injures child


----------



## 2twenty2

Walk like a man: Engineers create first two-legged robot that can stroll for five hours unplugged


----------



## ekim68

Forget Iron Man: skintight suits are the future of robotic exoskeletons



> Children with a rare neurological disease were recently given the chance to walk for the first time thanks to a new robotic exoskeleton. These devices - which are essentially robotic suits that give artificial movement to a user's limbs - are set to become an increasingly common way of helping people who've lost the use of their legs to walk. But while today's exoskeletons are mostly clumsy, heavy devices, new technology could make them much easier and more natural to use by creating a robotic skin.


----------



## ekim68

Obi robot arm gives disabled diners a helping hand



> Robotic cooking aids are gaining traction in the modern kitchen, but the team behind Obi has a goal more noble than just cooking up a gourmet storm. This little robot arm is designed to empower people afflicted with physical disabilities, giving them back the dignity of feeding themselves.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Obi robot arm gives disabled diners a helping hand


----------



## ekim68

BuzzFeed and Washington Post turn to robots for RNC coverage




> But don't worry, they're not putting anyone out of a job... yet.


----------



## poochee

...


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://gizmodo.com/that-homeless-person-you-just-helped-might-actually-be-1784036392']That Homeless Person You Just Helped Might Actually Be a Robot[/URL]



> This doesn't mean you should stop being helpful or charitable to homeless people you encounter on the street-but if you see this guy, there's something about him you should know. At a recent Maker Faire in Nantes, France, a man wearing worn clothing and pushing a shopping cart actually turned out to be a lifelike robotic hobo, or _robo_, as they prefer to be called.


----------



## ekim68

Humans can now use mind control to direct swarms of robots



> There have been some amazing breakthroughs that enable humans to control a single machine with their thoughts. The next step is figuring out how to operate an entire fleet of robots with mind control.
> 
> A team of researchers at Arizona State University's (ASU) Human-Oriented Robotics and Control Lab have developed a system for managing swarms of robots with brain power.


----------



## poochee

Will the robots take over someday!


----------



## ekim68

Roborace reveals what's under the skin of its enigmatic self-driving race car



> Anyone who thinks car racing is all about the drivers is about to come in for a rude shock -self-driving race cars are set to hit the track soon. Roborace is planning to run alongside Formula E in the 2016/17 season with a futuristic car designed by Daniel Simon, but details about how the car would actually work have been hard to come by. Thanks to a new image from Roborace, we finally have a bit more info about what will make it tick.


----------



## ekim68

Video.....


Most robots dancing simultaneously - Guinness World Records


----------



## ekim68

Fathom One lets adventurers explore underwater without getting wet




> Drones





> have opened the door to some incredible footage from (well) above sea level, but their talents run much deeper than that for underwater photographers and explorers. The Fathom One is designed to make amateur photography beneath the waves a bit more accessible, with a modular design and an HD camera for adventurers taking the plunge into underwater exploration.


----------



## ekim68

Researchers unveil light-powered caterpillar robot



> WARSAW, Poland, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Researchers in Poland recently unveiled a light-powered micro-robot capable of mimicking the slow, steady crawl of an inchworm or small caterpillar.
> 
> The 15-millimeter-long soft robot can scoot along flat surfaces, as well as climb moderate slopes. The caterpillar-like bot can also squeeze through small openings and carry a light load.


----------



## ekim68

'Octobot' is the world's first soft-bodied robot



> Octopuses are notorious escape artists, able to squeeze and squish themselves into and around nearly any obstacle they encounter. In an ode to these crafty cephalopods, researchers have created the first completely soft-bodied robot, dubbed the "octobot." The palm-sized machine's exterior is made of silicone. And whereas other soft robots have had at least a few hard parts, such as batteries or wires, the octobot uses a small reservoir of hydrogen peroxide as fuel.


----------



## ekim68

Tree-planting drones to speed up reforestation efforts



> Planting trees in remote forest locations is a slow, laborious process that still relies on humans with shovels to do all the work. DroneSeed, a company based in the Pacific Northwest, wants to drastically modernize that process by employing squadrons of drones to plant seeds, spray for invasive species, and monitor the tree growth process.


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://gizmodo.com/scientists-create-robotic-terminator-to-hunt-darwins-ni-1786175940']Scientists Create Robotic Terminator To Hunt 'Darwin's Nightmare' Fish[/URL]



> Hordes of lionfish have been roaming the Atlantic for several decades now, and their voracious appetite-and lack of natural predators-has seriously upset the ecological balance of those waters. Now there's a new foundation devoted to building robots to hunt them down-a Terminator for lionfish.
> 
> The prototypes under development are technically cousins to robotic vacuum cleaners, because iRobot CEO Colin Angle is one of the founders of Robots in the Service of the Environment (RISE). He and his wife, biochemist Erika Ebbel, were visiting friends in Bermuda, and the group went diving one day, along with a marine specimen collector named Chris Flook. It was Flook who regaled the group with stories of the invasive lionfish, and RISE was born.


----------



## ekim68

Royal Navy's self-driving speedboat takes to the Thames



> The Royal Navy's latest seagoing robot took to the waves today in the heart of London. Accompanied by patrol boat HMS Archer, the unmanned 32-ft (9.7-m) Maritime Autonomy Surface Testbed (MAST) autonomous speedboat negotiated traffic on the Thames estuary between Tower Bridge and Westminster bridge as part of the run-up to the Unmanned Warrior naval exercises.


----------



## ekim68

Robot sews a shirt automatically using stiffened fabric



> Garments have been sewed together by humans since time immemorial, but a company called Sewbo wants to replace us with automatons. It has developed a robot that can assemble a T-shirt by simply stiffening the fabric so that it's more like a piece of cardboard. The arm then picks up the pre-cut pieces using suction and feeds them into a sewing machine. When its finished making the shirt, the bot simply drops it into hot water to remove the non-toxic polymer stiffener.


----------



## ekim68

Surgeons use robot to operate inside eye in world first



> British surgeons have successfully performed the world's first robotic operation inside the eye, potentially revolutionising the way such conditions are treated.
> 
> The procedure was carried out at John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford, where surgeons welcomed its success.
> 
> On completing the operation, Professor Robert MacLaren said: "There is no doubt in my mind that we have just witnessed a vision of eye surgery in the future.


----------



## poochee

...


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## ekim68

Grasping drone brings new meaning to "armed aircraft"



> It's no secret that flying drones are becoming increasingly useful, with most of their applications tending to involve either obtaining aerial video footage, or being loaded up with cargo by human ground crews. Imagine, however, if they could _grab things_. While we've already seen experimental "armed" drones, Japan's Prodrone has just unveiled a model that's actually in production.


----------



## ekim68

xCraft's 100-mph drone is about as fast as they come



> American drone company xCraft previously impressed the TV sharks on _Shark Tank_ with PhoneDrone, a quadcopter rig that turns a smartphone into a flying cockpit and camera. Now the startup is looking to impress drone racers with the beta version of its "Rogue" model, one of the fastest flyers we've seen.
> 
> The xCraft packs what the company calls a rear "booster" motor that allows the quadcopter to exceed speeds of 100 mph (160 km/h). The extra boost of power is activated with the flip of a switch that kicks the drone into high gear from regular racing mode.


----------



## 2twenty2

Robot arrested by Russian police at political rally in Moscow

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-...n-police-at-political-rally-in-moscow/7854764


----------



## ekim68

Man vs. machine: L.A. sheriff's deputies use robot to snatch rifle from barricaded suspect, end standoff



> An hours-long standoff in the darkness of the high desert came to a novel end when Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies used a robot to stealthily snatch a rifle from an attempted murder suspect, authorities said Thursday.


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## poochee

...


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## ekim68

Forget Asimov's Three Laws, the U.K. issues official ethics guidance on robots



> The catchily-named BS 8611 guidelines start by echoing Asimov's Three Laws in stating that: "Robots should not be designed solely or primarily to kill or harm humans."
> 
> However, it also takes aim at more complex issues of transparency by noting that: "It should be possible to find out who is responsible for any robot and its behavior." There's even discussion about whether it's desirable for a robot to form an emotional bond with its users, an awareness of the possibility robots could be racist and/or sexist in their conduct, and other contentious gray areas.


----------



## ekim68

Chronically ill kids attend school via telepresence robots



> Mobile robots can help chronically ill children regain part of the normal school experience. Some kids are unable to attend school for months or even years due to symptoms, treatments, or recovery from serious illness. These homebound children typically continue their education by having make-up work sent home and (depending on resources) studying with tutors for a few hours each week. But they miss out on a key aspect of school: socialization.
> 
> With today's technology, the definition of face time has changed. Now, students can use live video chats to see and hear what's going on in the classroom, chat with their friends, join in classroom discussions, or even join extracurricular clubs and go on field trips.


----------



## poochee

...


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## ekim68

This robot runs, climbs, and opens doors -- without a gearbox



> A patent-pending design makes this robot nimble enough to crawl through rough terrain. The Ghost Minitaur's creators say it can be used for search and rescue missions or as a platform for testing sensors for autonomous vehicles.


----------



## ekim68

This was only a matter of time....


UPS is starting to test drone deliveries in the US



> Instead of waiting impatiently for a large brown truck to drop off your latest online orders, you might soon have to turn your attention to the sky.
> 
> UPS announced Sept. 23 that it has begun testing drone deliveries in the US with drone manufacturer CyPhy Works. The two companies yesterday completed a test of delivering medicine from the coastal town of Beverly, Massachusetts, to Children's Island, a small island about three miles into the Atlantic Ocean.


----------



## ekim68

Komatsu's robotic mining truck completely dumps the driver



> Komatsu's latest autonomous truck fully embraces the notion of unmanned operation by ditching the cabin and adopting a design that optimizes load distribution and doesn't distinguish between forwards and backwards.


----------



## ekim68

Robotic surgery tech provides users with a sense of touch



> A new system called HeroSurg, developed by researchers at Deakin and Harvard Universities, is set to increase what surgeons can achieve via robotic surgery, using a haptic feedback system to provide a sense of touch. It also brings other improvements over existing tech, such as collision avoidance, to make robotic surgery safer and more accurate.


----------



## ekim68

Space drone learns how to see with one eye in zero-G



> One of the small drones aboard the ISS taught itself how to go around station with just one eye, and it was a lot harder than you might think. For starters, the SPHERE drone (that's short for Synchronized Position Hold Engage and Reorient Experimental Satellite) learned on its own by using machine learning. That method isn't typically used for space applications, because if it fails, it could result in a costly catastrophe. This is the first time a drone in space employed the technique to teach itself. Robots also still can't judge distances between objects using just one camera. Plus, the drone was operating in microgravity, floating around in a place where there's no up or down.
> 
> Here's how the SPHERE drone did it despite all those difficulties: first, it zoomed around the station's Japanese module using its 12 gas thrusters, recording everything in sight with two cameras. Once it was done learning distances between objects after that two-eyed run, it was able to navigate on its own without bumping into things with only a single camera open. Before all these, though, the team tested their learning software on a quadcopter in sets they built at the Delft University of Technology.


----------



## ekim68

Toyota begins commercial sales of $400 Kirobo Mini companion robot



> A potentially significant moment in history will occur in the first few months of 2017 as Toyota's Kirobo Mini companion robot is released commercially. To be fully unveiled to the world tomorrow at CEATEC in Tokyo, the Kirobo Mini is the first really big scale personal robotics roll-out and given Toyota's first mover advantage in the potentially massive consumer robotics arena and its status as the world's largest auto maker (with a global showroom, sales and service infrastructure), this moment in time will be regarded in the future as a milestone in consumer robotics.


----------



## ekim68

Watch Charlie Rose Interview a Robot



> Charlie Rose has interviewed the most important people in the world, from Vladimir Putin and Larry David. But last week, he did something unprecedented: he interviewed a robot.
> 
> On his 60 Minutes report on artificial intelligence, Charlie Rose interviewed Sophia, who is made by David Hanson, head of Hanson Robotics in Hong Kong. The robot is made to look like a real person, modeled after its creator's wife, as well as Audrey Hepburn, with natural skin tones and a realistic face, though its gadget brain is exposed, and the eyes are glazed over in that creepy robotic detachment.


----------



## ekim68

Don't try talking to the driver: In Nokia city Espoo, robot buses now cruise the streets



> It looks like a minibus and moves like a minibus. But a closer look reveals why this vehicle is turning heads on the streets of Espoo, Finland: there's no driver.
> 
> The presence of these electric vehicles in Espoo is because it's the location for one of the first pilot projects in the world to trial the use of self-driving buses on open public roads, offering passengers free transport.


----------



## ekim68

Drones are delivering blood to hospitals in Rwanda



> In Rwanda, transporting critical medicine and blood can be difficult if the patient is in a remote location. Heavy downpours can wash out the roads, and local hospitals are often too small to stock everything their doctors might need. Now, the Rwandan government is side-stepping the problem with a drone delivery program. In the western half of the country, 21 transfusion clinics can request batches of blood via text. The order will be picked up by Zipline, a California-based robotics firm, at its "nest" base in Muhanga. A small drone will then be deployed and, upon arrival, swoop down low to drop the package off at a designated "mailbox" area.


----------



## poochee

It's amazing the things that can be done by robots!


----------



## ekim68

EXCLUSIVE: US army 'will have more ROBOT SOLDIERS than humans' by 2025



> The US Army has long mooted plans for a robotic revolution and has rolled out autonomous warships as it attempts to stay ahead of competitors such as China and Russia.
> 
> John Bassett, who worked for the British spy agency GCHQ for almost two decades, said the US was considering plans to employ thousands of robots by 2025.
> 
> The security consultant told a meeting of police and counter-terrorism officials in London: "Intelligent robotic weapons - they are a reality, and they will be much more of a reality by 2030.


----------



## poochee

WOW!!!


----------



## ekim68

Robotics, driverless tech are taking over mining jobs



> In the next decade, the mining industry may lose more than half of its jobs to automation, according to a new report. That's not based on future technologies, but on automated equipment being deployed today.
> 
> The mining industry is primed for automation. It's capital intensive, buys expensive equipment and pays relatively well.
> 
> This industry is adopting self-driving trucks, automated loaders and automated drilling and tunnel-boring systems.


----------



## ekim68

China's policing robot: Cattle prod meets supercomputer



> China's fastest supercomputers have some clear goals, namely development of its artificial intelligence, robotics industries and military capability, says the U.S.
> 
> But some of the early iterations of this effort seem a little weird.
> 
> China recently deployed what it calls a "security robot" in a Shenzhen airport. It's named AnBot and patrols around the clock. Here's what AnBot looks like, according to a Chinese government newspaper, _The People's Daily online_. And here is AnBot with its electric cattle prod-like device deployed and operational.
> 
> AnBot may seem like a _Saturday Night Live_ prop, but it's far from it. The back end of this "intelligent security robot" is linked to China's Tianhe-2 supercomputer, where it has access to cloud services. AnBot conducts patrols, recognizes threats and has multiple cameras that use facial recognition.


----------



## ekim68

The first ship designed to take autonomous operations offshore



> More and more autonomous boats are taking to the water, with the Royal Navy's surveillance craft tested in the Thames, Roboats roaming Amsterdam's canals, and the Solar Voyager's (unfortunately unsuccessful) attempt at crossing the Atlantic. Now the UK's Automated Ships Ltd and Norway's Kongsberg Maritime have announced plans to construct what they claim will be the world's first autonomous ship for offshore operations.


----------



## ekim68

This new home security system is centered around a flying camera drone



> The military has been using drones for surveillance abroad for years, and now Sunflower Labs is looking to bring the same approach to home security. The Sunflower Home Awareness System makes use of solar-powered "smart lights" that work in concert with a flying camera drone to keep an eye on your property.


----------



## ekim68

Future enterprise companies will be run by robots

*



LISBON, PORTUGAL:

Click to expand...

*


> Artificial intelligence (AI) will one day take on decision making and planning, freeing up enterprise employees for more creative roles.
> 
> That's according to Martin Hofmann, chief information officer at Volkswagen. Speaking at the Web Summit 2016 technology conference in Lisbon, Portugal on Tuesday, the executive said that the "robotic enterprise" is closer than we think -- with some roles already well on the way to being ran almost exclusively by machine learning (ML), AI and algorithms
> 
> The German automaker already utilizes AI in business. Volkswagen has a total of three centers and research labs dedicated to researching AI applications and "taking AI into a completely different environment," according to the CIO. Each of these centers is working not only in the creation of connected car solutions, but also in developing AI systems for speeding up corporate processes -- all of which eventually becomes public domain.


----------



## ekim68

New Record! Robot Solves Rubik's Cube in Less Than a Second



> Solving a Rubik's Cube is an impressive feat by itself, but now, a robot can do it in record time, cracking the 3D puzzle about 10 times faster than the human who holds the world record.
> 
> In just over half of a second (0.637 seconds), the Sub1 Reloaded robot made each side of the Rubik's Cube show a single color. This breaks the previous record of 0.887 seconds achieved by an earlier version of the same machine using a different processor.


----------



## ekim68

suitX's modular exoskeleton can prevent work-related injuries



> suitX, a robotics company out of University of California, Berkeley's Human Engineering Lab, launched an exoskeleton that can help people walk again earlier this year. Now, the company has officially launched another product: one that can prevent people from needing that exoskeleton in the first place. suitX's latest product is called MAX, or Modular Agile eXoskeleton, and it supports a person's body parts prone to getting injured while doing heavy physical work.


----------



## ekim68

Robot flying taxi takes its first autonomous flight



> Nine years ago, the Air Mule was an almost-believable concept: a flying robot taxi that could get people out of dangerous battlefields without endangering a pilot or crew. It was the exact sort of gizmo one expects from _Popular Science_: an amazing machine of the future, almost like a flying car, that seemed plausible but just out of reach.
> 
> Not anymore. In January of this year, the Air Mule took its first flight: a short, wobbly hop from the side of a parking lot to a space a modest distance away. On Tuesday, Air Mule makers Urban Aeronautics announced two major feats for the Air Mule program. The first is a new name: Cormorant, after the family of coastal birds. The second is a full, autonomous flight on a preplanned route:


----------



## ekim68

Panasonic invests $60m in world's first laundry-folding robot



> Panasonic has invested tens of millions of dollars in a robot that can reduce the time it takes to wash clothes by sorting clean items and folding them into neat piles.


----------



## ekim68

Autonomous droid makes first fast-food delivery



> Just Eat claims to have made the world's first ever online food delivery using a self-driving robot. As part of the takeaway food firm's pilot with Starship Technologies, a robot delivery droid was dispatched to autonomously deliver a customer's order in London.


----------



## ekim68

Scientists develop robotic hand for people with quadriplegia



> Scientists have developed a mind-controlled robotic hand that allows people with certain types of spinal injuries to perform everyday tasks such as using a fork or drinking from a cup.
> 
> The low-cost device was tested in Spain on six people with quadriplegia affecting their ability to grasp or manipulate objects.
> 
> By wearing a cap that measures electric brain activity and eye movement the users were able to send signals to a tablet computer that controlled the glove-like device attached to their hand.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Scientists develop robotic hand for people with quadriplegia


...


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## ekim68

Optical tech gives prosthesis a more human-like sense of touch



> "Soft" and "gentle" are two words not often used to describe the grasp of a robot, but thanks to the work of a team of researchers at Cornell University, future androids may well have an especially delicate touch. Using extra-sensitive optical detectors built into a soft prosthetic hand, the researchers have demonstrated a prototype that is able to tell by touch whether fruit is ripe, or to modify the pressure exerted on a material simply in response to the way it feels.


----------



## ekim68

Drone dives like a seabird, bursts skyward like a flying fish



> We have seen a few aerial drones capable of venturing underwater, but none that can enter and exit the marine environment quite like the so-called AquaMav. Built by engineers at Imperial College London, the drone uses collapsible wings to dive like a fish-hunting seabird and scoop up water samples from beneath the surface, and then launch like a flying fish when it's time to return to the skies.


----------



## ekim68

UN: Key Action on 'Killer Robots'



> (Geneva) - An agreement on December 16, 2016, at an international disarmament conference in Geneva could set the course toward a ban on "killer robots," fully autonomous weapons that would strike without human intervention, Human Rights Watch said today.


----------



## ekim68

France Becomes First Federal Postal Service to Use Drones to Deliver Mail



> Who needs mailmen when you've got drones? That's what France thinks, anyway.
> 
> The French postal service is beginning an experimental drone delivery program to deliver parcels on a nine mile route once a week. After the program gets approval from the French aviation regulatory authority, the federal postal service will be the first to ever use drone delivery on a regular route.


----------



## ekim68

Drones steer wandering elephants away from danger



> Drones are already playing a role in the conservation of Africa's wildlife, with a number of trials underway exploring how the aircraft can be used as surveillance tools to catch and deter poachers. But a new study suggests that drones can help save elephants not by scaring away would-be hunters, but by scaring away the elephants themselves.


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## poochee

...


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## ekim68

Avatar-Like Korean Manned Robot Takes First Baby Steps



> A robot designed by a veteran of science fiction blockbusters which bear a striking resemblance to the military robots seen in the movie _Avatar_ has taken its first baby steps. The robot standing in a room on the outskirts of Seoul, South Korea stands four meters (13 feet) tall and weighs 1.5 tons.


----------



## ekim68

Mining 24 Hours a Day with Robots



> Mining companies are rolling out autonomous trucks, drills, and trains, which will boost efficiency but also reduce the need for human employees.
> 
> Each of these trucks is the size of a small two-story house. None has a driver or anyone else on board.
> 
> Mining company Rio Tinto has 73 of these titans hauling iron ore 24 hours a day at four mines in Australia's Mars-red northwest corner. At this one, known as West Angelas, the vehicles work alongside robotic rock drilling rigs. The company is also upgrading the locomotives that haul ore hundreds of miles to port-the upgrades will allow the trains to drive themselves, and be loaded and unloaded automatically.


----------



## ekim68

Amazon's robot workforce grows by 50pc in just one year



> E-commerce and cloud giant Amazon has revealed that it now has 45,000 robots across 20 fulfilment centres around the world.
> 
> This is a 50pc increase on the same time last year, when the company said that it employed 30,000 robots alongside its 306,000 people.


----------



## ekim68

In 2017 drones are getting faster, more fun and easy to fix



> Drones aren't new to CES, but it's only the last year or two that they got their own dedicated area in the convention hall. But, drones are meant to fly free, and not behind netting, so some bright spark invented the Drone Rodeo: an annual off-site event where the latest and greatest in UAVs could do their thing as nature intended. The event is back this year, and once again, it was a pretty good snapshot of what's going to be hot in the drone world in 2017.


----------



## ekim68

Autonomous truck platoons to roll into Singapore's ports



> Singapore seems to be embracing autonomous driving technologies as well as anyone, conducting the world's first public trials of self-driving taxis in August and testing the software on closed circuits well before that. Now it is looking to bring the benefits of autonomy to its busy shipping ports, with the Ministry of Transport announcing a partnership with Toyota and Scania to develop and test a truck platooning system that hauls loads from one terminal to another.


----------



## ekim68

Europe calls for mandatory 'kill switches' on robots



> European lawmakers have proposed that robots be equipped with emergency "kill switches" to prevent them from causing excessive damage. Legislators have also suggested that robots be insured and even be made to pay taxes.


----------



## ekim68

The Tiny Robots Revolutionizing Eye Surgery



> Last September, Robert MacLaren, an ophthalmologist and professor at Oxford University, plunged a tiny robotic arm into William Beaver's eye. A membrane had recently contracted on the 70-year-old priest's retina, pinching it into an uneven shape and causing him to see the world as if reflected in a hall of mirrors.
> 
> Using a joystick and a camera feed, MacLaren guided the arm of the Robotic Retinal Dissection Device, or R2D2 for short, through a tiny incision in the eye, before lifting the wrinkled membrane, no more than a hundredth of a millimeter thick, from the retina, and reversing Beaver's vision problems.


----------



## poochee

So many great things happening with the use of robots!


----------



## ekim68

CMU AI Is Tough Poker Player



> As the "Brains vs. Artificial Intelligence: Upping the Ante" poker competition nears its halfway point, Carnegie Mellon University's AI program, Libratus, is opening a lead over its human opponents - four of the world's best professional poker players.
> 
> One of the pros, Jimmy Chou, said he and his colleagues initially underestimated Libratus, but have come to regard it as one tough player.
> 
> "The bot gets better and better every day," Chou said. "It's like a tougher version of us."


----------



## ekim68

Come for this Einstein robot's facial expressions, stay for his smarts



> "I had the worst dream," said Professor Einstein. "My vast intellect had been downloaded into a prosthetic body. I was then made to present the world of science to perfect strangers."
> 
> Within moments of being activated, the 14-inch robotic replica of Albert Einstein made a meta comment about being trapped in a knowledge-dispensing machine. It shook its head from side to side and slowly blinked its eyes as if it were contemplating his situation. As it continued to speak, it held up its right arm, pointing a finger at me while casually making a point about the theory of relativity.
> 
> The mechanical professor from Hanson Robotics is designed to be your favorite teacher. It's loaded with tons of knowledge, funny anecdotes and exaggerated expressions.


----------



## ekim68

uArm Swift home robot designed not to cost an arm and a leg



> Robotic arms are moving out of large-scale factories and into homes or small businesses, and are increasingly used to help disabled people feed themselves and perform other tasks. Price is a problem though, so outside of some very specific use cases, they generally aren't worth it for interested tinkerers. But now, Ufactory has unveiled new versions of its consumer-level robot arms, the uArm Swift and Swift Pro, that are aimed at being cheap enough to splash out on, even if all you ever program it to do is stir your coffee for you.


[/URL]


----------



## 2twenty2

Leaked video shows new 'nightmare-inducing' wheeled robot from Boston Dynamics

Boston Dynamics is best known for its bipedal and quadrupedal robots, but it turns out the company has also been experimenting with some radical new tech: the wheel.

The company's new wheeled, upright robot is named Handle ("because it's supposed to handle objects") and looks like a cross between a Segway and the two-legged Atlas bot. Handle hasn't been officially unveiled, but was shown off by company founder Marc Raibert in a presentation to investors. Footage of the presentation was uploaded to YouTube by venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson.


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## ekim68

Wow, that thing is quick....!


----------



## valis

Asimov's three laws of robotics, 2017 version.

http://gizmodo.com/these-23-principles-could-help-us-avoid-an-ai-apocalyps-1791920321


----------



## ekim68

The Future IRL: Everyone gets an R2D2



> If you've spent any time on Kickstarter, you've already seen those questionable rolling trashcan bots mixed among promising pieces of tech. You might even start thinking truly useful home-based robots have arrived. And, hey, it's about time! The first domestic robots started cropping up in the '80s. But, while the Hero-1 might have inspired a generation of roboticists, public perception of robots in the home hasn't changed much since the Reagan era.
> 
> Now a whole slew of bots, like Jibo, Pepper and Kuri are trying to worm their way into our hearts. Nearly all have the ability to broadcast what their on-board camera sees to a companion app.


----------



## ekim68

Roam Robotics' lightweight, inexpensive exoskeleton for the masses



> If the vision of San Francisco startup Roam Robotics and its co-founder Tim Swift are fully realized, we could be buying commercial lightweight exoskeletons to run faster, hike further and lift more with less effort in the coming years. While still in early stages, the company has developed a lightweight and inexpensive design to give a boost to the limitations of the human body that might finally push such bionics beyond science fiction and on to store shelves.


----------



## ekim68

Robotic bee could help pollinate crops as real bees decline



> A drone that can pollinate flowers may one day work side by side with bees to improve crop yields.
> 
> About three-quarters of global crop species, from apples to almonds, rely on pollination by bees and other insects. But pesticides, land clearing and climate change have caused declines in many of these creatures, creating problems for farmers.


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## poochee

...


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## ekim68

Cassie - Next Generation Robot


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## ekim68

Underwater bomb-defusing robot arms to make a splash with the US Navy



> While plenty of people might worry about losing their jobs to technology, there's one job no one will complain about handing off to robots: bomb disposal. These machines are good in dangerous situations on dry land, but what if a would-be bomber hides their explosives under a bridge, or stuck to the bottom of a ship? In the future, the US Navy might send in a submarine drone endowed with a pair of inflatable robot arms that are currently being developed by RE2 Robotics.


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://gizmodo.com/these-21-teams-will-battle-for-7-million-in-a-race-to-1792407309']These Wild Robots Will Compete to Explore the Last Frontier on Earth[/URL]



> We know very little about our planet's seafloor, but that's poised to change as autonomous underwater scouting technology gets better and better. To that end, nearly two dozen teams are racing to develop robots that can investigate, map, and conduct science at extreme depths, and under serious time constraints. They're also competing for $7 million in prize money.


----------



## ekim68

The robot that takes your job should pay taxes, says Bill Gates



> Robots are taking human jobs. But Bill Gates believes that governments should tax companies' use of them, as a way to at least temporarily slow the spread of automation and to fund other types of employment.


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## poochee

...


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## ekim68

[URL='http://gizmodo.com/power-company-sends-fire-spewing-drone-to-burn-trash-of-1792482517']Power Company Sends Fire-Spewing Drone to Burn Trash Off High-Voltage Wires[/URL]



> What happens when your power lines get all kinds of trash hanging from them and it's not safe to send up a human? In Xiangyang, China, you send in the drones. Specifically, the drones that shoot fire.


----------



## ekim68

UPS Tries Arming Its Brown-Clad Drivers With an Octocopter Drone



> United Parcel Service Inc. sees a day when your latest purchase may be dropped off not by a brown-clad delivery driver, but by an octocopter drone.
> 
> The world's largest courier took a step closer to that future on Monday, launching an unmanned aerial vehicle from the roof of a UPS truck about a quarter-mile to a blueberry farm outside Tampa, Florida. The drone dropped off a package at a home on the property, and returned to the truck, which had moved about 2,000 feet.


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## ekim68

The next big thing: Drones supplying U.S. troops



> BEALETON, Va. - Standing next to a grass airstrip in this town southwest of Washington, D.C., a defense contractor keys a supply request into a small tablet computer and hits send.
> 
> Within seconds, a Huey helicopter lifts off from a field a couple miles away and heads toward the airstrip. It has a pilot onboard, but he's following instructions from a computer that will replace him in the next phase of testing.


----------



## poochee

WOW!!


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## ekim68




----------



## ekim68

Agricultural robot scrutinizes plants so that we don't have to



> Phenotyping is the process of observing the physical characteristics of a plant in order to assess its health. Although a necessary part of crop breeding, it's also a very tedious and time-consuming task, particularly when you've got a whole field full of plants to inspect … it's exactly the sort of job that it would be good to get a robot to do. Led by Prof. Stephen P. Long, a team at the University of Illinois has created just such a beast.
> 
> The semi-autonomous device is guided by a combination of GPS and a human-operated laptop, as it moves between rows of plants on its all-terrain tank-like treads.


----------



## ekim68

Skin deep? Robots to wear real human tissue



> Robots could "wear" tissue grafts before transplantation, researchers Pierre-Alexis Mouthuy and Andrew Carr propose in the latest issue of _Science Robotics_.
> 
> Today sheets of cells are grown in stagnant tanks, but these "fail to mimic the real mechanical environment for cells," say the scientists.
> 
> The resulting tissues aren't used to moving, stretching and straining, which make them problematic for use by patients.


----------



## poochee

With all this interesting robot stuff, wonder what it will be like in a 100 years!


----------



## 2twenty2

poochee said:


> With all this interesting robot stuff, wonder what it will be like in a 100 years!


Terminator


----------



## poochee

knucklehead said:


> Terminator


----------



## ekim68

ICYMI: Roving robots measure health vitals



> Today on In Case You Missed It: Belgian company BeWell has created an automated roving kiosk that assists doctors and nurses in admitting and testing patients. The robot kiosk, called the Wellpoint system, can measure a patients weight, pulse and pulse oximetry four minutes faster than a human can -- and it will automatically update digital medical records once the tests have been performed. It can also guide patients through standard intake questions via a touchscreen interface, to help make admissions go faster. BeWell is looking into the possibilities of also connecting blood sugar monitors to the kiosk, to allow diabetic patients to share their testing data to the records.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> ICYMI: Roving robots measure health vitals


...


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## ekim68

Video....


FLIPPY | Miso Robotics


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## poochee

...


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## ekim68

[URL='http://gizmodo.com/you-will-want-nasas-miniature-alien-rover-as-your-perso-1793264167']You Will Want NASA's Miniature Alien Rover As Your Personal Sidekick[/URL]



> NASA is getting ready to melt some space nerd hearts with an adorable little robot named PUFFER-which stands for Pop-Up Flat Folding Explorer Robots-designed to explore alien worlds like Mars and Europa. The "origami-inspired" rover can fold itself to become as small as a smartphone, but will take on an enormous task once it's ready for use.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> You Will Want NASA's Miniature Alien Rover As Your Personal Sidekick


...


----------



## ekim68

Japan pushes forward with countrywide drone delivery services



> Rakuten and AirMap have formed a joint venture to propel drone usage for Japanese delivery services forward.
> 
> The country has a long history with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and has used the devices for land surveys, farming, security, construction, and even town mascots.


----------



## ekim68

Yamaha's Water Strider is ready for the rice paddy



> Last year, Yamaha unveiled its Breeze10 autonomous, radar-equipped boat for inspecting dams. Today, the company announced that the robot boat's little sibling, the Water Strider, goes on market next month as a remote-controlled, herbicide-spreading vessel to reduce the labor costs of rice paddy cultivation.


----------



## ekim68

Oxford's lip-reading AI outperforms humans



> Lip-reading is an inexact science, with motoring mouths making it hard to attribute sounds to each individual movement. Computer scientists at Oxford University have teamed up with Google's DeepMind to develop artificial intelligence that might give the hearing impaired a helping hand, with their so-called Watch, Attend and Spell (WAS) software outperforming a lip-reading expert in early testing.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Oxford's lip-reading AI outperforms humans


...


----------



## ekim68

This robot paints and cleans high-rise buildings



> Painting a skyscraper is hard work. The contractors who paint high-rise buildings need knowledge of painting as well as scaffolding, rigging, and suspended access equipment. The job is specialized, dangerous, and full of risk. So, researchers in Singapore have developed a robot that cleans and paints high-rise buildings. Singapore is the perfect location for the project, since there are 5,656 high-rise buildings and 242 skyscrapers, according to real estate data mining company Emporis.


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## poochee

ekim68 said:


> This robot paints and cleans high-rise buildings


----------



## ekim68

Researchers develop a drone that swoops and lands like a bird



> Watch out, birds. The drones are coming for your jobs. Researchers at BMT Defence Services (BMT) and the University of Bristol in Britain have built a fixed-wing UAV that can land as well as its avian counterparts, reports _Popular Mechanics_. Although BMT's project is currently part of a wider defense program called Autonomous Systems Underpinning Research, the team believes their drone could one day be used for other tasks like putting out fires or delivering packages.


----------



## ekim68

Who's liable for decisions AI and robotics make?



> Reuters news agency reported on February 2017 16 that "European lawmakers called [...] for EU-wide legislation to regulate the rise of robots, including an ethical framework for their development and deployment and the establishment of liability for the actions of robots including self-driving cars."
> 
> The question of determining "liability" for decision making achieved by robots or artificial intelligence is an interesting and important subject as the implementation of this technology increases in industry, and starts to more directly impact our day to day lives.


----------



## ekim68

Skip the complex tracking software, DJI says, and give drones an "invisible" license plate



> Drones could someday have a sort of invisible license plate that allows local authorities to determine who the unmanned aerial system (UAS) belongs too. Pitched by Chinese drone manufacturer DJI, the concept for an electronic identification system for small drones is just one of many ideas as the Federal Aviation Administration looks into potential ways of identifying drone users.


----------



## ekim68

Domino's to deploy pizza delivery robots in Europe



> Aerial drones get a lot of the fanfare, but ground-based robots could form an important part of our autonomous delivery future, too. At least that's the way Domino's sees it, having enlisted rovers from startup Starship Technologies to deliver pizzas to select European cities.


----------



## ekim68

Fetch Robotics unveils small but mighty autonomous mobile robot



> "Fetch is actually a software company that just happens to build robots," says Fetch Robotics CEO Melonee Wise. We spoke with Wise to learn more about two new robots that Fetch has added to its line of Freight robots.
> 
> Just like the first Freight, the new Freight500 and Freight1500 are autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) that use mapping algorithms to navigate without the help of humans or infrastructure changes. They carry heavy loads in manufacturing and warehouse environments. Fetch's robots have a low profile -- just 14 inches tall -- but while the original version could only carry 220-pound loads, the new robots can support as much as 3,300 pounds.


----------



## ekim68

GM Hooking 30,000 Robots to Internet to Keep Factories Humming




> General Motors Co.





> has connected about a quarter of its 30,000 factory robots to the internet, and the largest U.S. automaker already is reaping the benefits of less down time.
> 
> In the last two years, GM has avoided 100 potential failures of vehicle-assembling robots by analyzing data they sent to external servers in the cloud, Mark Franks, director of global automation, said at a conference in Chicago on Monday. Connectivity is preventing assembly line interruptions and robot replacements that can take as long as eight hours.


----------



## ekim68

Tarzan the swinging robot could be the future of farming



> Some farmers already use drones to monitor their crops, but a team of researchers from Georgia Tech have created a far more interesting alternative. Instead of designing yet another drone, they created a robot inspired by Kristen Bell's favorite animal: the sloth. However, they named it "Tarzan" after the most recognizable character who moves by swinging from vine to vine. You see, their machine was designed to move like the fictional jungle dweller. Tarzan will be able to swing over crops using its 3D-printed claws and parallel guy-wires stretched over fields. It will then take measurements and pictures of each plant with its built-in camera while suspended.


----------



## ekim68

Japan automakers look to robots to keep elderly on the move



> Japanese automakers are looking beyond the industry trend to develop self-driving cars and turning their attention to robots to help keep the country's rapidly graying society on the move.
> 
> Toyota Motor Corp said it saw the possibility of becoming a mass producer of robots to help the elderly in a country whose population is ageing faster than the rest of the world as the birthrate decreases.


----------



## ekim68

The Air Force just demonstrated an autonomous F-16 that can fly and take out a target all by itself



> In its quest to meet and exceed the challenges of the future, the US Air Force has been increasingly looking to unmanned systems - and a recent test proved that an unmanned F-16 can now think and fight on its own.
> 
> The US has used F-16 drones before as realistic targets for the F-35 to blow up in training, but on Monday it announced fully autonomous air-to-air and ground strike capabilities as a new capability thanks to joint research between the service and Lockheed Martin's legendary Skunkworks.


----------



## ekim68

AI wins $290,000 in Chinese poker competition



> An artificial intelligence program has beaten a team of six poker players at a series of exhibition matches in China.
> 
> The AI system, called Lengpudashi, won a landslide victory and $290,000 (£230,000) in the five-day competition.
> 
> It is the second time this year that an AI program has beaten competitive poker players.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> The Air Force just demonstrated an autonomous F-16 that can fly and take out a target all by itself


...


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## ekim68

Japan's volleyball team test their spikes against robot blockers



> In a bid to give its national volleyball team an edge, Japan has enlisted the help of high-tech training robots. According to _New Scientist_, these bizarre-looking bots are used to mimic the opposing team's defense and are made up of three pairs of hands attached to a mobile torso. Mounted to a track, these new digital defense droids slide up and down to pre-set positions, allowing players to test out their spike shots against many different team formations.


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## ekim68

Robotic cheetah moves almost as efficiently as the real thing



> The fastest land animal on Earth, the cheetah, has inspired a number of swift-footed robots. The latest has cropped up at the University of Twente, where doctoral candidate Geert Folkertsma has spent four years developing a scale robotic cheetah that is not only capable of replicating many of the real animal's movements, but in doing so uses only 15 percent more energy than the real thing.
> 
> According to Folkertsma, the design of his 30 cm (1 ft)-long robot is based on an extensive study of cheetah videos and digital analysis of their movement.


----------



## ekim68

Lyrebird claims it can recreate any voice using just one minute of sample audio



> Artificial intelligence is making human speech as malleable and replicable as pixels. Today, a Canadian AI startup named Lyrebird unveiled its first product: a set of algorithms the company claims can clone anyone's voice by listening to just a single minute of sample audio.


----------



## ekim68

A robot that picks apples? Washington state's orchards could see a 'game-changer'



> Harvesting Washington's vast fruit orchards requires thousands of farmworkers, and many of them work illegally in the United States. That system eventually could change dramatically as at least two companies are rushing to get robotic fruit-picking machines to market.


----------



## ekim68

San Francisco is considering a once unthinkable measure to offset the threat of job-killing robots



> Supervisor Jane Kim is exploring a tax on robots as one solution to offset the economic devastation a robot-powered workforce might bring. Companies that use robots to perform tasks previously done by humans would pay the city. Those public funds might be used to help retrain workers who lose their jobs to robots or to finance a basic income initiative.


----------



## ekim68

MIT is working on a fully autonomous robo-builder that designs and prints homes



> This MIT robot, rolling on tank tracks, can already 3D-print a concrete dome structure in 14 hours. But the development team has plans to have it roaming the land on its own, selecting and clearing building sites, designing homes, gathering building materials and completing construction without any human intervention.


----------



## ekim68

New world record set for longest drone delivery



> A future where drones drop off your online orders is another step closer this week after a new record was set for the world's longest drone delivery. On May 5, a fixed-wing HQ-40 UAV carried a package more than 97 miles (156 km), under the watchful eye of the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems (NIAS).
> 
> Drones from companies like Amazon, 7-Eleven, Domino's and UPS have already taken to the skies to deliver packages and pizza to customers, but those trips are usually short, last-mile trials. The record-breaking UAV journey covered 97 miles from a location in central Texas to carry a pneumatic part to the city of Austin.


----------



## ekim68

3D-printed robot has first soft legs to tackle tough terrain



> In the world of robotics, researchers are going soft - in their designs at least. Soft robots have some advantages over their more rigid brethren but till now, they've not been able to do much other than wriggle around. An advance from UC San Diego has changed that by creating a bot with a firm body and soft legs that can wander over difficult ground like sand or pebbles.


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## ekim68

Stan the robotic valet parks your car, no human required



> Creeping through cavernous parking structures looking for an empty space and maneuvering the vehicle into a tight spot when you find one isn't up there on anyone's fun list. Once again, the robots are coming to free us from such chores. Audi has already turned to autonomous parking robots developed by Ray, and Dokk1 is a fully automated car park in Denmark. Now, Stanley Robotics' automated valet is being put into service at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris to provide people-free parking.


----------



## ekim68

Robot police officer goes on duty in Dubai



> Dubai Police have revealed their first robot officer, giving it the task of patrolling the city's malls and tourist attractions.
> 
> People will be able to use it to report crimes, pay fines and get information by tapping a touchscreen on its chest.
> 
> Data collected by the robot will also be shared with the transport and traffic authorities.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Robot police officer goes on duty in Dubai


If it works.


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## ekim68

:up:


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## ekim68

Roomba creator wants to do for gardens what he did for your floors



> Let's be honest: while planting your garden can be fun, weeding it usually isn't. Not unless you enjoy crouching down for long stretches, anyway. You might not have to endure the drudgery for too much longer, though. Roomba co-creator Joe Jones and Franklin Robotics are launching Tertill, a robot that weeds your garden all by itself. The machine automatically roams the soil, using sensors to identify small plants (you use collars to protect young crops) and chop them down. It's solar-powered, so you don't have to dock it -- you can even leave it out in the rain.


----------



## ekim68

Japan to launch self-navigating cargo ships 'by 2025'



> Japanese shipping companies are working with shipbuilders to develop self-piloting cargo ships.
> 
> The "smart ships" will use artificial intelligence to plot the safest, shortest, most fuel-efficient routes, and could be in service by 2025.
> 
> The AI will also be used to predict malfunctions and other problems, which could help reduce the number of maritime incidents.


----------



## poochee

Amazing, what is developing in the robot world!


----------



## ekim68

Nvidia's autonomous drone keeps on track without GPS



> GPS can be a useful inclusion in a drone's navigational toolkit, but despite (pretty much) blanket coverage, there are areas where the technology just doesn't cut it. Researchers from GPU maker Nvidia are currently working on a navigation system that relies on visual recognition and computer learning to make sure drones don't get lost in the woods.


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## ekim68

Marimba-playing robot composes and hammers out its own tunes



> Robot band Compressorhead has already proven itself more than capable of rocking festival crowds, but its players merely pound out pre-programmed cover songs. Maybe it's time to add a marimba playing bot to the line up, one that uses deep learning to create its own compositions and then bash them out on the wooden blocks. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed just such a robot, and its name is Shimon.


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## ekim68

Rosie the robot is finally on her way



> The race for automation is well underway, with millions of robots doing the heavy lifting in industrial settings . Robots have recently become cheaper, safer, and more efficient, which makes it easier for businesses to justify the initial investment, because they know it will save labor costs. Consumers, on the other hand, still don't have robots to handle a variety of chores around the house.
> 
> In fact, we've been waiting for robots to do our household chores ever since the Jetsons introduced us to Rosie the robot maid in the 1960s. A new company called Misty Robotics, Inc., however, will focus specifically on building personal robots.


----------



## ekim68

Boaty McBoatface conquers the Antarctic depths



> This class of robot explorer, known as an Autosub Long Range submersible, is designed to operate autonomously without a tether, to follow out a pre-programmed route and set of observational tasks. Boaty's first mission saw the battery-powered, propeller-driven explorer venture nearly 4,000 m (13,000 ft) below sea level, roughly 500 miles (800 km) off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula.


----------



## ekim68

Robotic charger seeks out and tops up VW Gen.E automatically



> Volkswagen hasn't revealed a huge amount of detail about the Gen.E launched at the VW Group Future Mobility Day, but the tidbits on offer provide a glimpse at some of the technologies the VW Group wants to integrate into its upcoming electric vehicles. For one, the car can be charged with a mobile robot that comes to the car. Rather than forcing owners to find a plug, park in that spot and get their hands dirty, the robot scans multi-story carparks or underground garages and automatically tops them up.
> 
> Tesla captured the world's attention with a prototype robo-charger back in 2015, but Elon Musk's twitter-teaser was fixed to a wall. The robot being used to charge the VW Research Vehicle looks similar to the serpentine Tesla prototype, but it's mounted to a cooler-sized box with wheels on it. The car can be charged through a plug on its flanks, or using a connector behind the front badge.


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## ekim68

UK's first public autonomous taxi trial to begin soon



> STEP into a taxi in south London later this year and you might not have to think about paying a tip. The UK's first fully public trial of autonomous vehicles will soon be under way.
> 
> For four weeks, a fleet of driverless shuttles will each ferry up to five passengers and a "safety warden" along a 2-kilometre route in Greenwich. Previous trials there and in the town of Milton Keynes required participants to register in advance. This time the vehicles will pick up anyone wanting a ride.
> 
> The four-stop route will connect a hotel close to the O2 Arena concert venue with the Millennium Village housing development. En route, the shuttles will also call at a river-bus stop and a cable car terminal.


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## ekim68

'World's first robot lawyer' now available in all 50 states



> A chatbot that provides free legal counsel using AI is now available in all 50 states starting today. This is following its success in New York, Seattle, and the UK, where it was invented by British entrepreneur Joshua Browder. Browder, who calls his invention "the world's first robot lawyer," estimates the bot has helped defeat 375,000 parking tickets in a span of two years.


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## ekim68

Artificial intelligence has race, gender biases



> The ACLU has begun to worry that artificial intelligence is discriminatory based on race, gender and age. So it teamed up with computer science researchers to launch a program to promote applications of AI that protect rights and lead to equitable outcomes.
> 
> MIT Technology Review reports that the initiative is the latest to illustrate general concern that the increasing reliance on algorithms to make decisions in the areas of hiring, criminal justice, and financial services will reinforce racial and gender biases.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Artificial intelligence has race, gender biases


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## ekim68

What happens when automation comes for highly paid doctors




> Automation has plenty of blue-collar jobs in its crosshairs. But it's not just impacting the average worker.





> Radiologists, who receive years of training and are some of the highest paid doctors, are among the first physicians who will have to adapt as artificial intelligence expands into health care.


----------



## ekim68

World's fastest drone clocked at 163 mph



> While the more familiar consumer drones can reach perfectly respectable speeds of 40 mph (64 km/h) plus, racing drones are another matter entirely. These rapid quadcopters are built purely for speed, and none more so than the RacerX which just claimed a Guinness World Record for the fastest ground speed by a remote controlled drone.


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## ekim68

[URL='https://www.fastcodesign.com/90132632/ai-is-inventing-its-own-perfect-languages-should-we-let-it']AI Is Inventing Languages Humans Can't Understand. Should We Stop It?




> Researchers at Facebook realized their bots were chattering in a new language. Then they stopped it.


 
[/URL]


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## ekim68

Google's Verily robots release millions of mosquitos in California



> Verily has begun releasing sterile mosquitos into the wild as a way of reducing population numbers and the spread of disease.
> 
> Verily, Alphabet's life biotech division formerly known as Google Life Sciences, said last week that the Debug Project, an initiative to reduce the volume of disease-carrying mosquitos worldwide, is now ready for a test in the field.
> 
> The field trial, Debug Fresno, is taking place in the Californian county. In collaboration with MosquitoMate and Fresno County's Consolidated Mosquito Abatement District (CMAD), the trial, starting now, aims to test methods to reduce the population of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which carries diseases including Zika, dengue, and chikungunya.


----------



## ekim68

"Empowering" robots could replace the Three Laws of Robotics



> Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics are versatile and simple enough that they still persist 75 years after he first coined them. But our current world, where robots and AI agents are cleaning our houses, driving our cars and working alongside us, is vastly different than even the most forward-thinking sci-fi writers could imagine. To make sure the guidelines for programming artificial intelligence cast as wide a net as possible, experts from the University of Hertfordshire have detailed a new system they call "Empowerment."
> 
> Originally created as a safety feature of the robots in Asimov's speculative stories, the Three Laws are elegant in their simplicity. 1) A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 2) A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3) A robot must protect its own existence so long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.


----------



## ekim68

A recycling robot named Clarke could be the key to reducing waste



> Admit it - you're not entirely sure how to recycle. It's understandable, really. With so many different materials now in play, how are you supposed to know what needs to be thrown into a landfill and what can be reused? Luckily, while humans might not be the best at practicing the Three R's (reduce, reuse, and recycle, of course), another "R" is here to save us. It's a robot, and it's been affectionately named Clarke.


----------



## ekim68

U.K. to Require Registration and Safety Tests for Drone Owners



> Drones will have to be registered and their users required to pass safety tests under new rules to be announced by the U.K.'s Department for Transport on Saturday.
> 
> Registration will be mandated for owners of drones 250 grams (8.8 ounces) or larger after research found that drones as small as 400 grams (14 ounces) could damage the windscreens of helicopters. Other security measures like "geo-fencing" -- GPS-based technology programmed into drones to prevent them from flying into sensitive areas such as prisons and airports -- are also under consideration, according to a statement from the department.


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## poochee

ekim68 said:


> U.K. to Require Registration and Safety Tests for Drone Owners


...


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## ekim68

[URL='http://gizmodo.com/roombas-next-big-step-is-selling-maps-of-your-home-to-t-1797187829']Roomba's Next Big Step Is Selling Maps of Your Home to the Highest Bidder[/URL]



> The Roomba is generally regarded as a cute little robot friend that no one but dogs would consider to be a potential menace. But for the last couple of years, the robovacs have been quietly mapping homes to maximize efficiency. Now, the device's makers plan to sell that data to smart home device manufacturers, turning the friendly robot into a creeping, creepy little spy.


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## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Roomba's Next Big Step Is Selling Maps of Your Home to the Highest Bidder


...


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## ekim68

Robot cracks open safe live on Def Con's stage



> Using a cheap robot, a team of hackers has cracked open a leading-brand combination safe, live on stage in Las Vegas.


----------



## ekim68

[URL='https://www.neowin.net/news/the-volocopter-will-debut-as-the-worlds-first-autonomous-flying-taxi-late-in-2017-in-dubai']The Volocopter will debut as the world's first autonomous flying taxi, late in 2017 in Dubai[/URL]



> Volocopter has been developing its aircraft since 2010, and if you were cruising at 70 km/h in the latest Volocopter 2X, you would be able to travel to a maximum distance of 27km. It is all electric and can be fully recharged in less than 2 hours, and it is an impressive machine, but it kind of looks like a whole bunch of drone engines strapped to the top of a tiny helicopter cockpit.
> 
> Nonetheless, later this year the Volocopter will debut as the first autonomous air-taxi in a collaboration with the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority. Dubai appears to be committed to a whole range of new technologies, such as its tiny robot police car that will also be debuting later this year.


----------



## ekim68

MegaBots is finally going to take on Japan in the world's first giant robot duel



> Two summers ago, a group of American roboticists formed a company called Megabots, and released a video challenging a Japanese collective to a giant robot fight. About a week later, the Japanese group, Suidobashi Heavy Industry, agreed to clash robots.
> 
> After over two years of robot-building and excessive YouTubing of the process-and a year after MegaBots originally said they would fight-the two teams are nearly ready to engage. MegaBots' co-founders, Matt Oehrlein and Gui Cavalcanti, announced today that its battle against Suidobashi's robot will take place in September.


----------



## ekim68

Robotic suit now has Amazon Echo integration




> Bionik Laboratories





> , a Toronto- and Boston-based maker of robotic suits, just announced Amazon Echo integration into its lower-body exoskeleton, which it calls ARKE.
> 
> Users of the ARKE, who typically have spinal cord injuries or have mobility issues stemming from stroke, initiate actions like walking and standing by making subtle movements with their upper body. Sensors in the feet and joints register changes in the way weight is distributed, and the system makes inferences about the user's intentions, prompting the suit to take a step, for example, or to sit.
> 
> With the new integration, users will be able to give verbal commands, as well.


----------



## ekim68

[URL='https://www.fastcompany.com/3067414/robo-foremen-could-direct-human-and-robot-factory-workers-alike']This AI Factory Boss Tells Robots And Humans How To Work Together[/URL]



> Robots are consistent, indefatigable workers, but they don't improvise well. Changes on the assembly line require painstaking reprogramming by humans, making it hard to switch up what a factory produces. Now researchers at German industrial giant Siemens say they have a solution: a factory that uses AI to orchestrate the factory of the future, by both programming factory robots and handing out assignments to the humans working alongside them.


----------



## ekim68

The Future IRL: Robot farmers do the dirty work




> Blue River Technology





> in Sunnyvale, California is testing "See and Spray"-- machine learning and AI software inside a robotic tractor attachment that aims to change the chemical game. The program can recognize the difference between crops and weeds, then sprays herbicide only on the unwanted plant.
> 
> Traditionally, farmers applying herbicide and other chemicals spray the entire field. CEO and co-founder Jorge Heraud says using his AI and machine learning sprayer would cut chemical costs a tenth of the cost. If a mid-sized operation is about 700 acres, only spraying the weeds on a farmer's fields could knock herbicide costs down from about $100,000 to $10,000.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> The Future IRL: Robot farmers do the dirty work


...


----------



## ekim68

Tiny robots crawl through mouse's stomach to heal ulcers




> Tiny robotic drug deliveries





> could soon be treating diseases inside your body. For the first time, micromotors - autonomous vehicles the width of a human hair - have cured bacterial infections in the stomachs of mice, using bubbles to power the transport of antibiotics.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Tiny robots crawl through mouse's stomach to heal ulcers


Amazing!


----------



## ekim68

This Autonomous Forklift Wants to Eat Up Warehouse Jobs



> It may look much like a regular pallet truck, but this is one of a growing number of autonomous warehouse vehicles looking to take over from inefficient humans. Its maker, Seegrid, a provider of material-handling equipment, takes the kinds of forklifts that move 8,000-pound loads around warehouses and makes them autonomous. It does that by popping five stereo cameras on top of the vehicles, having a human drive them around to map a space, and then using image recognition systems similar to those in autonomous cars to navigate the facilities. (Unlike autonomous cars that use sensors like radar and lidar, Seegrid can use just cameras, because lighting conditions in warehouses are more consistent than those on the open road.)


----------



## ekim68

SprayPrinter's latest graffiti robot hits new heights




> SprayPrinter hit the scene in early 2016





> with its innovative app-controlled device that can sit on the head of any can of spray paint and allow even the most inept artist to create wall-sized works of art. Now the company has taken things to a new level, developing a prototype that can climb up and down walls to create large-scale murals.


----------



## ekim68

Dragonfly is the quadcopter proposed to explore Saturn's moon Titan



> With drones taking over a multitude of tasks here on Earth, it was only a matter of time before we started sending them to other worlds. Now a team at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory has developed a concept mission called Dragonfly. The program proposes a radioisotope powered, dual-quadcopter that could embark upon multiple missions on Saturn's largest moon Titan.


----------



## ekim68

MIT is teaching robots to better move among us



> A team of scientists at MIT has developed an autonomous robot that uses a suite of sensors and an advanced machine learning technique to navigate crowded areas while adhering to (human) social norms. The wheeled automaton could be another step towards fully automated delivery bots, or even smart personal mobility devices capable of navigating a busy street.


----------



## ekim68

Robotic bees could take the sting out of Colony Collapse Disorder



> America's agricultural sector faces an unprecedented crisis. Native honeybees, one of the most prolific pollinators in the animal kingdom, are dying off at an unprecedented rate from Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and threatening an ecosystem service worth about $15 billion.
> 
> Supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the RoboBees project looks to minimize the loss of this critical resource with new microbots that can mimic the pollinating role of a honeybee. But the project has a number of challenges to overcome before these robots can take to the skies.


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://www.odditycentral.com/technology/japanese-company-to-sell-robot-dog-that-faints-if-your-feet-smell-bad.html']Japanese Company to Sell Robot Dog That Faints If Your Feet Smell Bad[/URL]



> A Japanese company has created an adorable robot dog that can tell you how bad your feet smell, by using a powerful sensor embedded in its nose. If your feet don't have bad odor, "Hana-chan" will happily wag its tale, if it detects moderately smelly feet, it will start to bark, and if they really stink, it will just fall over like the smell caused it to faint.


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## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Japanese Company to Sell Robot Dog That Faints If Your Feet Smell Bad


...


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## ekim68

Robots elect leader and join forces to create a larger robot



> A team from the Free University of Brussels has made a robot capable of working together with its siblings to make a larger robot.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Robots elect leader and join forces to create a larger robot


...


----------



## ekim68

10 cool robots at this year's RoboBusiness Conference



> This year's conference in Santa Clara is all about empowering businesses to develop a better robotics strategy. More than 2000 attendees will mingle with industry experts. But the real draw, of course, will be the bots.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> 10 cool robots at this year's RoboBusiness Conference
> 
> 
> View attachment 259686


...


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## ekim68

Pacific Drone Challenge lays down 4,500-mile gauntlet across the open ocean



> Around 4,500 miles (7,300 km) separate the Pacific coasts of Japan and Silicon Valley, a distance beyond the reach of current non-military drones. But a new event called the Pacific Drone Challenge has thrown down the gauntlet to those in the business of driving the technology forward, tasking competing teams with making the massive crossing using an unmanned aircraft without stopping to re-fuel.


----------



## ekim68

OMRON's updated ping pong robot can serve and take smashes



> FORPHEUS, now at its fourth generation, features improved AI to boost its responsiveness -- so much that it can now predict and attempt to deal with smashes. Compared to the earlier versions which went easy on me, I found this one to be far more enjoyable with faster rallies. Better yet, there's now a companion robot arm that throws a ball up and lets FORPHEUS serve, thus making the robot a more realistic trainer or opponent.


----------



## ekim68

It's on: Giant robot battle to be streamed live this week



> A colossal battle two years in the making is about to be joined, with the USA vs Japan giant robot duel to take place on Tuesday, Pacific Time. Sci-fi lovers have waited patiently since the folks behind the MegaBot and Kuratas robots confirmed they'd be putting their metal-shredding, 15-foot robo-death machines to the test, where giant fists and projectiles will be swung and flung until one reaches its brutal end.


----------



## ekim68

Walmart tests shelf-scanning robots in 50-plus stores



> You may have seen stores deploy shelf-scanning robots before, but they're about to get one of their largest real-world tests to date. Walmart is expanding a shelf-scanning robot trial run to 50 additional stores, including some in its home state of Arkansas. Machines from Bossa Nova Robotics will roam the aisles to check for stock levels, pricing and misplaced items, saving human staffers the hassle of checking everything themselves. There will be technicians on-site just in case, but the bots are fully autonomous.


----------



## ekim68

The original Robby the Robot goes up for auction



> It's common to see auctions of actor's memorabilia, but Bonhams is going one better by auctioning the actor himself. Part of next month's Out of this World Sale, the auction house is accepting bids for the original Robby the Robot prop/costume from the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) 1956 sci-fi feature _Forbidden Planet_, along with his futuristic hover car, control panel, and assorted accessories.


----------



## ekim68

Vanilla VA001 sets new drone endurance record after five days aloft



> Last January, Vanilla Aircraft's VA001 set the world record for the longest unmanned internal combustion powered flight in history. Now the 36-ft (11-m) wingspan, diesel-powered drone has broken that record by staying aloft for 5 days, 1 hour and 24 minutes. After flying in a circular orbit for over 7,000 mi (11,265 km), it touched down with three days of fuel still in its tanks.


----------



## ekim68

Spine surgery faster and safer with a robot, according to study



> A form of robotic-guided spine surgery results in a five-fold reduction in surgical complications and a seven-fold reduction in revision surgeries compared to freehand methods.
> 
> That's according to investigators presenting interim results of a multi-center prospective study that includes 379 spine surgery patients. Prospective studies track cohorts over time.
> 
> The results are welcome news for medical device companies specializing in robotics.


----------



## ekim68

Robot "secret agent" infiltrates and influences schools of fish



> A humanoid robot may have just been granted citizenship status for the first time, but we're still a long way from crossing the uncanny valley to where they blend seamlessly into our society. But apparently fish are easier to fool, since a team from EPFL has successfully integrated a robotic impostor into schools of zebrafish, to the point where the robot could guide the group's behavior.


----------



## ekim68

What's new, Atlas?



(Sorry Tim, a YouTube thing.)


----------



## valis

No worries. Is that the BD one? Thought about posting that here, but didn't want to steal your thunder.


----------



## ekim68

Yep, Boston Dynamics....


----------



## ekim68

Toyota's latest humanoid robot aces operator mimicry



> Toyota has unveiled an assistive robot test bed that builds on previous work undertaken by its Partner Robot wing, which examined specific robot limb joints and pre-programmed movements - including robots that played musical instruments. A human operator strapped into a remote maneuvering system and wearing a VR headset controls movement in real time, with the T-HR3 busting moves like performing Tai Chi and building Lego-like structures with precision.


----------



## ekim68

Robby the Robot sells for $5.3 million - second most valuable movie prop in history



> It is a sign of the times that one of the earliest and best known robots in movie history should move to the top of the list of the most expensive movie props ever sold. Now that robots have progressed from science fiction to reality, it isn't all that surprising that Robby the Robot's price has surpassed all but one of the most iconic movie props in history.


----------



## ekim68

Google billionaire Eric Schmidt: People want dish-washing robots to clean up the kitchen more than any other kind



> There is nothing that people want robots to be able to do more than to wash the dishes, according to Alphabet Chairman and former CEO Eric Schmidt.
> 
> "When you ask a person what they would like a robot to do, the thing that they would like more than anyone else, is clean up the dishes in the kitchen," the billionaire Google executive says speaking at the  Halifax International Security Forum on Saturday.


----------



## ekim68

Ocado's grocery robot can pick up more than 50,000 items



> Robots are very good at doing prescribed tasks over and over--welding the same joint, for example, or hanging a car door on a manufacturing line. But when you introduce variability, things get a lot more complicated.
> 
> That's the challenge grocery fulfillment giant Ocado faced when trying to design a robot that could pick up every unit in its 50,000 item catalog.
> 
> It's an important hurdle. Object-agnostic picking and placing robots will be necessary to move to truly lights-out autonomous fulfillment warehouses, which is the goal of just about every e-commerce fulfillment company in the post-Amazon world.


----------



## ekim68

Sophia the robot is crowdfunding her brain



> Sophia, the eerily realistic humanoid robot by Hanson Robotics, is asking the public to help fund her Artificial Intelligence (AI). In a video released today, Sophia announced the details of an upcoming token sale for SingularityNET, an open source platform for AI and machine learning that powers her "brain" and endless other robots. Blockchain technology will manage transactions on this open AI ecosystem.


----------



## ekim68

This robot secret agent can change the behavior of a school of fish



> Researchers at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, a Swiss university, have created a miniature robot that can swim with fish.
> 
> No biggie, right? Well, this robot also learns how fish in the school it's infiltrated communicate with each other. It then mimics that communication and movement, allowing it to influence the school's behavior.


----------



## ekim68

Robots Will Transform Fast Food



> Visitors to Henn-na, a restaurant outside Nagasaki, Japan, are greeted by a peculiar sight: their food being prepared by a row of humanoid robots that bear a passing resemblance to the Terminator. The "head chef," incongruously named Andrew, specializes in _okonomiyaki_, a Japanese pancake. Using his two long arms, he stirs batter in a metal bowl, then pours it onto a hot grill. While he waits for the batter to cook, he talks cheerily in Japanese about how much he enjoys his job. His robot colleagues, meanwhile, fry donuts, layer soft-serve ice cream into cones, and mix drinks. One made me a gin and tonic.


----------



## ekim68

Robots are being used to shoo away homeless people in San Francisco



> The San Francisco branch the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) has been ordered by the city to stop using a robot to patrol the sidewalks outside its office, the San Francisco Business Times reported Dec. 8.
> 
> The robot, produced by Silicon Valley startup Knightscope, was used to ensure that homeless people didn't set up camps outside of the nonprofit's office. It autonomously patrols a set area using a combination of Lidar and other sensors, and can alert security services of potentially criminal activity.


----------



## ekim68

Robot carries the Olympic torch in South Korea



> In what may be a preview of the future of athletics, Hubo, a humanoid robot, carried the Olympic torch in Daejeon, South Korea as part of the relay leading up to the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Hubo, who was built by a team at the KAIST public research university and took out the DARPA Robotics Challenge in 2015, had to perform a disaster rescue operation to hand off the torch to the next runner.


----------



## ekim68

Robotic wheelchair gives you a piggyback ride



> Most wheelchairs, even the most advanced ones, have conventional seats. They're basically furniture on wheels. And that creates problems. It can be hard to sit in the chair if you're getting out of bed, while you're stuck in a position that puts many things out of reach. That's where Tmsuk's long-in-the-making Rodem might just come to the rescue. The robotic wheelchair gives you a piggyback ride that not only makes it easier to climb aboard, but puts you in a high, forward-mounted position. It's easier to brush your teeth, make breakfast or just hold face-to-face conversations.


----------



## ekim68

The humanoid robot that can exercise and even perspire when it gets hot



> A team of Japanese roboticists has built a new "human mimetic humanoid" that anatomically resembles the musculoskeletal intricacy of a human boy. Called Kengoro, the robot demonstrated its human-like abilities by completing a series of exercises including push-ups and sit-ups.
> 
> The JSK lab at the University of Tokyo has been developing these humanoid robots for several years now. The Kengoro is the most advanced iteration of a series that began in 2001 with a bot named Kenta.


----------



## ekim68

Roombas will soon be able to build a WiFi coverage map of your house



> iRobot CEO Colin Angle has talked a lot about his company's plans to make its popular robotic vacuum and integral part of the connected home. Honestly though, those plans have been pretty vague. Today's announcement of indoor WiFi mapping does offer a bit of insight into where the company is headed, however.
> 
> The feature is arriving later this month on the iRobot app, making it possible for WiFi-enabled Roombas to create a map of indoor signals. The map exists alongside the existing Clean Map feature, letting users toggle between the two, like they would, say, satellite and standard imagery in Google Maps.


----------



## ekim68

Pentagon Seeks Laser-Powered Bat Drones. Really.



> Tired: multi-rotor copters and fixed-wing drones. Wired: flying robots that move like living animals, are crafted of next-generation materials, and draw their power not from batteries but energy beamed from nearby aircraft.
> 
> On Wednesday, the the Defense Enterprise Science Initiative, or DESI, announced a competition for basic science grants to build "new paradigms for autonomous flight, with a focus on highly-maneuverable platforms and algorithms for flight control and decision making." An accompanying Broad Agency Announcement gets more specific: basically, they're looking for bat-like drones that can be powered with directed-energy beams.


----------



## ekim68

The Search for Aliens Starts Now-in Antarctica



> This week, Schmidt and her team of researchers are leaving the Antarctic after a busy three months at the far end of the Earth. They are testing Icefin, a drone built to explore the extreme ecosystems lurking beneath thick ice. The waters beneath our planet's ice sheet are fascinating, turning up species few people have ever laid eyes on. But they are not the final target of this chase.
> 
> Icefin is meant to search for alien life-a "bug hunt," as some scientists cheerfully call it. It is bound for the icy waters of Jupiter's moon, Europa, possibly as soon as 2030.


----------



## ekim68

Segway-based security bot patrols looking for trouble



> It might not have taken off with the general public like its creators hoped, but the Segway did find fans in the security industry. The Nimbo unveiled at CES this week stretches this relationship into the era of autonomous robots, using artificial intelligence to nip threats in the bud and take security staff for a ride if need be.
> 
> The Nimbo is based on Segway's Robotics mobility platform, which uses the company's gearbox, motor and battery but incorporates sensors and vision systems to enable some degree of autonomy. In adapting the platform for its purposes, robotic security firm Turing Video used Intel's RealSense sensors to create a robot that can roll around autonomously collecting HD video of nefarious activity.


----------



## ekim68

Harvard's tiny robot arm picks, packs and performs surgery on the micro scale



> Thanks to their speed and dexterity, Delta robots are commonly used on assembly lines, but they do need a lot of space to work in. Now, Harvard engineers have developed the world's smallest version of the ubiquitous bot, dubbed the MilliDelta. As its name suggests, the new robot measures just a few millimeters, and could lend a hand in precise picking, packing, manufacturing and even surgery on the micro scale.


----------



## ekim68

Robot Delivery Vans Are Arriving Before Self-Driving Cars



> The future of driverless driving looks like a giant toaster with a funny hat.
> 
> That's an approximation of a new autonomous vehicle unveiled Tuesday by Nuro, a Silicon Valley startup that's been cryptic about its business plan since it launched about 18 months ago. Nuro's shiny, minimalist appliance on wheels doesn't have doors or windows to speak of, because it will be carrying packages-not people.


----------



## ekim68

Delivery Robots Find Work in Hotels, Hospitals and Beyond



> Room service has taken on a new twist at several hotels around the globe. When a guest calls for extra towels or food, the one making the delivery to the room may be a robot.
> 
> Many hotels have given their delivery robots names. The Renaissance Las Vegas Hotel calls its two delivery robots Elvis and Priscilla after the "King of Rock and Roll" Elvis Presley and his former wife.


----------



## ekim68

Behold, the self-driving suitcase



> We have officially reached peak "self-driving"


----------



## ekim68

Boston Dynamics' newest robot learns to open doors



> We knew this day would come sooner or later. Like the cloned velociraptors before it, Boston Dynamics' newly redesigned Spot Mini has figured out how to open doors - with either its arm or face, depending on how you look at it.


----------



## ekim68

Self-driving cars: This robot driver cruises through snow and ice



> Self-driving cars can already cruise relatively comfortably in sunny, dry conditions. But would you trust a robot driver in snow and extreme cold? Researchers at Finland's Technical Research Centre (VTT) believe we can.
> 
> They've tested out their robot car, Martti, in wintry conditions on a 10km (six-mile) stretch of public road in Muonio, Finnish Lapland.
> 
> It is a part of the world where temperatures can plunge to -40C/-40F and where snow often obscures road markings, making driving a challenge even for humans. But Martti proved it can safely navigate the snowy terrain, even at its top speed of 40km/h, or 25mph.


----------



## ekim68

New firefighting robot gets put to the test



> Remotely controlled by a human operator wearing a sensor-equipped suit, WALK-MAN is intended to enter a building, find a fire, then put it out with an extinguisher. The robot's head incorporates a 3D laser scanner and microphones, along with video cameras that transmit live video to the operator.
> 
> Thirty-two motors and control boards are used to control its body, along with four force and torque sensors located at its hands and feet, and two accelerometers that allow it to keep its balance.


----------



## ekim68

Robots could replace human crop pickers in the UK



> The GummiArm soft robot could be the solution to the lack of laborers in the United Kingdom.


----------



## ekim68

'Flippy,' the fast food robot, turned off for being too slow



> He was supposed to revolutionize a California fast food kitchen, churning out 150 burgers per hour without requiring a paycheck or benefits.
> 
> But after a single day of working as a cook at a Caliburger location in Pasadena this week, Flippy the burger-flipping robot has stopped flipping.
> 
> In some ways, Flippy was a victim of his own success.
> 
> Inundated with customers eager to see the machine in action this week, Cali Group, which runs the fast food chain, quickly realized the robot couldn't keep up with the demand.


----------



## 2twenty2

> Flippy the fast food robot, *turned off for being too slow*


LOL


----------



## ekim68

Self-Driving Robots Collect Water Samples to Create Snapshots of Ocean Microbes



> For the first time, scientists from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa (UH Mānoa) and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) will deploy a small fleet of long-range autonomous underwater vehicles (LRAUVs) that have the ability to collect and archive seawater samples automatically.
> 
> These new robots will allow researchers to track and study ocean microbes in unprecedented detail.


----------



## ekim68

Eliport delivery robots won't need us humans



> When you think about all the logistical challenges involved, perhaps the use of aerial drones to deliver goods to peoples' homes just isn't feasible. That's why several groups are now developing ground-based delivery drones. One of the latest, Barcelona-based Eliport, envisions a system in which people don't even need to be involved.
> 
> In the Eliport setup, autonomous four-wheeled robots will start by loading themselves up with 30 to 40 kg (66 to 88 lb) of cargo at a centrally-located warehouse/logistics hub.
> 
> Guided by GPS and a 3D map of the neighborhood in which they're operating, they will then proceed to their destination by travelling along sidewalks at walking speed. Once they get there, they will automatically transfer their cargo into a secure pre-installed "trunk" container, from which the recipient can later retrieve their delivery.


----------



## ekim68

A robot shoots a basketball with 100 percent accuracy



> Its name is Cue, and if it challenges you to a game of H-O-R-S-E, you'd be wise to decline.
> 
> Built by a team of Toyota engineers in their spare time, the 6'3" humanoid has reportedly taken more than 200,000 basketball shots with near-perfect accuracy.


----------



## ekim68

Trash-collecting river robot can be controlled by anyone via the web



> A new Kickstarer project aims to remove trash from the Chicago River by creating a remote-controlled floating garbage collector. Named Trash Robot, the machine can be controlled a web browser, so potentially anyone can take a turn doing their bit to clean up the river from anywhere in the world.


----------



## ekim68

Autonomous snowplows debut at Norwegian airport



> Keeping airports clear of snow is a surprisingly expensive job intended to minimize even more expensive flight delays. To make the process more efficient, Swedish tech company Semcon is developing the Yeti - an autonomous snowplow that is the first to clear snow from an operating airport. The demonstration took place at Fagernes Airport in Leirin, Norway, 200 km (125 mi) north of Oslo and involved a pair of the self-driving plows working as a team.


----------



## ekim68

Autonomous boat gets around under wave power



> We're seeing many examples of auto manufacturers aiming to remove the human element from the driving experience, but there are also moves to get robot boats on the water, too. Dutch researchers have been looking into using autonomous vessels for cargo and people transport, the US Navy has demonstrated harbor patrols using unmanned swarmboats and the first electric container ship is due to transition from manned to remotely-operated over the coming years. Meanwhile hobbyists have been busying themselves developing long-haul unmanned surface vehicles powered by the sun, such as the Solar Charger and SeaCharger. Most of the autonomous watercraft we've seen so far follow traditional hull and propulsion designs. The AutoNaut is a little different, packing solar-powered sensors for monitoring marine wildlife and ocean conditions and getting to where it needs to be using energy harvested from the waves it rides on.


----------



## ekim68

Robot will crawl through pipes to help decommission nuclear facility



> There are miles of pipes at a closed uranium enrichment plant in Piketon, Ohio, that no living creature can safely enter.
> 
> So DOE will use a couple custom robots.
> 
> Robots have found an important calling working in radioactive environments. In the wake of the Fukushima disaster, teams of Japanese roboticists have created a small army of robots capable of surviving, if only for a few minutes, inside the compromised reactor cores.


----------



## ekim68

Roam's robotic ski exoskeleton can help you ski better for longer



> Roam Robotics is on a mission to develop exoskeletons for all kinds of activities, but its first prototype product is aimed at skiers. The new ski exoskeleton Roam is showing off can help bolster your technique and give you more time out on the slopes, without getting in the way of your fun.
> 
> The suit has two parts, a backpack that provides power and processing, and two strap-on exoskeleton parts for the legs, intended to offer support to your knees and quads.


----------



## jane21august

Drones are getting more advanced by the day and it's really cool to see how commercial drones but also private racing and other drones move ahead. Better tech and amazing miniaturization each year, I love it. There was an article posted recently that showed some of the more cutting-edge home drones for photography and filming and I was really blown away. *https://www.geekwrapped.com/guides/best-affordable-drones-with-camera* 
Just a year ago there were about 70% fewer options, so the industry is really growing rapidly. I bought an FPV and a beginner camera drone and both are amazing. I hope some of NASA's drone tech will "trickle down" to consumer level quadcopters. Any thoughts on that?


----------



## ekim68

"First-ever" use of a robot in a military breaching exercise



> Robots cleared obstacles and breached barriers for manned tanks in a joint U.S.-British training exercise and demonstration in Germany on Friday.
> 
> It's the first time robots have been used for that purpose.
> 
> "We did a robotic breach today, which has never been done before," 1st Lt. Cody Rothschild, an officer with the 1st Infantry Division's 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, told the military organ Stars & Stripes. "This is a great step forward for the Army, and for robotics."


----------



## ekim68

This swarm of robot submersibles can be controlled as a single entity



> Aquabotix, which makes unmanned underwater vehicles, is commercializing swarm robots.
> 
> The company's latest offering is a small vessel that operates on the surface or underwater. Paired with additional units, the robots can be controlled in a swarm by a single operator as if they were an individual entity.
> 
> Swarm robotics has long been a promising field of research in robotics labs. That's because swarms offer a number of potential advantages over individual robots.
> 
> Sensors distributed across a swarm could cover more territory than an individual robot. Damage to one portion of a swarm doesn't drastically reduce operational ability, making swarms an attractive alternative to expensive robot platforms that would need to be pulled out of the field when they sustain damage.


----------



## ekim68

Video.... 


Festo - BionicFlyingFox


----------



## ekim68

Apple has a new iPhone recycling robot named 'Daisy'



> Daisy was developed in-house by Apple engineers, using some of Liam's parts - a recycling of sorts. The industrial robot is able to disassemble nine different versions of the iPhone, sorting all of their reusable components in the process. In all, Daisy is capable of taking apart a full 200 iPhones in a given hour, proving a solid alternative to traditional methods that can destroy valuable components in the process.


----------



## ekim68

This robot is designed to clear the court



> In a typical tennis practise session, a _lot_ of balls end up strewn about the court. Bending over and picking them all up is just part of the deal - but perhaps it doesn't have to be, if the ball-collecting Tennibot reaches production.
> 
> According to its Boston-based creators, Tennibot uses computer vision and artificial intelligence (along with a wide-angle camera) to autonomously roam the court, locating and sucking up tennis balls, then depositing them in its removable 80-ball-capacity rear bucket. Along with using its own onboard sensors to find its way around, it also wirelessly communicates with an included net-post-mounted "Tennibot station," which is a camera that continuously tracks the robot's location.


----------



## ekim68

Criminals Used a Fleet of Drones to Disrupt an FBI Hostage Operation



> Criminals have discovered another use for drones-to distract and spy on law enforcement.
> 
> They recently tried to thwart an FBI hostage rescue, Joe Mazel, chief of the FBI's operational technology law unit, said this week, according to a report by news site Defense One.
> 
> Mazel, speaking at the AUVSI Xponential drone conference in Denver, said that criminals launched a swarm of drones at an FBI rescue team during an unspecified hostage situation near a large U.S. city, confusing law enforcement. The criminals flew the drones at high speed over the heads of FBI agents to drive them away while also shooting video that they then uploaded to YouTube as a way to alert other nearby criminal members about law enforcement's location.


----------



## ekim68

Boston Dynamics' SpotMini robot dog goes on sale in 2019




> SpotMini, Boston Dynamics' agile four-legged robot





> , will go on sale next year for companies that want a mechanical quadruped to get to places a wheeled device can't reach.
> 
> Boston Dynamics has 10 SpotMini prototypes now and will work with manufacturing partners to build 100 this year, company co-founder and President Marc Raibert said at a TechCrunch robotics conference Friday. "That's a prelude to getting into a higher rate of production" in anticipation of sales next year, he said.


----------



## 2twenty2

*https://newatlas.com/robofly-tetherless-flying-insect-robot/54621/*



> RoboFly is first flying-insect micro-robot to go tetherless
> 
> You might remember RoboBee, an insect-sized robot that flies by flapping its wings. Unfortunately, though, it has to be hard-wired to a power source. Well, one of RoboBee's creators has now helped develop RoboFly, which flies without a tether.


----------



## ekim68

Michelin-starred chef's new restaurant replaces chefs with robots



> The debate about whether cooking is more art or science is a never-ending one.
> 
> But at Spyce, the latest culinary experiment in automation, that debate feels pretty well settled.
> 
> Started by a group of 20-something robotics engineers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology who partnered with Michelin-starred chef Daniel Boulud, the new restaurant in downtown Boston is founded on the idea that a fulfilling meal can be more science than spontaneity.


----------



## ekim68

AACUS-equipped autonomous helicopter makes first cargo delivery to US Marines



> Aurora Flight Services' Autonomous Aerial Cargo Utility System (AACUS) took another step forward as an AACUS-enabled UH-1H helicopter autonomously delivered 520 lb (236 kg) of water, gasoline, MREs, communications gear, and a cooler capable of carrying urgent supplies such as blood to US Marines in the field.


----------



## ekim68

Construction is embracing automation as legacy players team up with tech innovators



> Caterpillar, for example, recently invested in Sarcos, a robotics company with a line of exoskeletons that augment human strength.


----------



## ekim68

Autonomous robotic window cleaner takes first place at Intel ISEF



> Intel's International Science and Engineering Fair has been running for a number of years, with previous winners developing an inexpensive self-driving vehicle system, a cancer-detecting software tool, and a system for improving air quality in airplane cabins. It's billed as the world's largest international pre-college science competition, this year seeing nearly 1,800 participants from 420 associated fairs in 81 countries, regions and territories taking part, all innovating for their chance to grab a slice of the US$5 million awards and scholarships prize pot. There can be only one winner though, and that honor went to 19 year-old Oliver Nicholls of Sydney, Australia, for his prototype automated robotic window cleaner for commercial buildings.


----------



## ekim68

UK military fears robots learning war from video games



> Robots that train themselves in battle tactics by playing video games could be used to mount cyber-attacks, the UK military fears.
> 
> The warning is in a Ministry of Defence report on artificial intelligence.
> 
> Researchers in Silicon Valley are using strategy games, such as Starcraft II, to teach systems how to solve complex problems on their own.
> 
> But artificial intelligence (AI) programs can then "be readily adapted" to wage cyber-warfare, the MoD says.


----------



## ekim68

Robots fight weeds in challenge to agrochemical giants



> YVERDON-LES-BAINS, Switzerland/CHICAGO (Reuters) - In a field of sugar beet in Switzerland, a solar-powered robot that looks like a table on wheels scans the rows of crops with its camera, identifies weeds and zaps them with jets of blue liquid from its mechanical tentacles.
> 
> Undergoing final tests before the liquid is replaced with weedkiller, the Swiss robot is one of new breed of AI weeders that investors say could disrupt the $100 billion pesticides and seeds industry by reducing the need for universal herbicides and the genetically modified (GM) crops that tolerate them.


----------



## ekim68

Nissan shows off self-driving clout with a robot that draws up soccer pitches



> Nissan's Propilot technology is at the heart of its self-driving efforts, but for its latest demonstration it is working on a much smaller scale. Over the weekend, the company unveiled a roving robot that uses the autonomous driving technology to draw up different soccer pitches to exact dimensions, whether that be for five-a-side pickup games or larger fields for professionals to ply their trade.


----------



## ekim68

DJI drones help free whales from ocean debris



> It's not just domestic plastic waste that's threatening marine life across the globe, discarded fishing gear and other marine debris can be just as deadly. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has been using small boats full of specialists to help free entangled whales at a Hawaiian sanctuary, but it's dangerous work for the trained teams. DJI has joined forces with NOAA and Oceans Unmanned to explore safer whale rescue - using drones.


----------



## ekim68

Are you scared yet? Meet Norman, the psychopathic AI



> Norman is an algorithm trained to understand pictures but, like its namesake Hitchcock's Norman Bates, it does not have an optimistic view of the world.


----------



## 2twenty2

https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/tech/new-ibm-robot-holds-its-own-debate-human-ncna884536



> New IBM robot holds its own in a debate with a human
> 
> Project Debater gets its knowledge from hundreds of millions of journal articles, but humans still have one key advantage.


----------



## ekim68

Humans Can Now Correct Robots With Brainwaves



> Even robots make mistakes sometimes. That's why researchers from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) have built a system while allows robots to be corrected through thought and hand gestures.
> 
> The system monitors brain activity, determining if a person has noticed an error in the machine's work. If an error is detected, the system reverts over to human control. From that point, all it takes is a flick of the wrist to get the robot back on the right course.


----------



## ekim68

Look, up in the sky! It's Disney's new autonomous acrobatic robot



> Disney's animatronics are coming a long way from drunken pirates waving flagons of ale or hippos that wiggle their ears. In the (relatively) near future, robotic versions of Iron Man or Buzz Lightyear could be performing autonomous acrobatics overhead in Disney theme parks, thanks to the newly-unveiled Stuntronics robot.


----------



## ekim68

This robotic insect walks on water



> Engineers designed the robotic cockroach with special foot pads that morph from paddles to feet


----------



## ekim68

Dropcopter's drones boost crop pollination by up to 60% in bad bee years



> A large percentage of the world's food production relies on bee pollination, but what do we do when the bees can't be relied on? US startup Dropcopter has just demonstrated that it can deliver a 25 to 60 percent boost in pollination rates using autonomous drones to pick up where the bees left off.


----------



## ekim68

Cheetah 3 robot overcomes obstacles while galloping blind



> It's one thing to make a robot that can run around, but what about one that can do it blind? MIT's new Cheetah 3 quadrupedal robot answers that question by covering rough terrain in leaps, pounces and gallops, and even navigating stairs - all without sight. Instead, the dog-sized, 90-lb (41 kg) automaton relies on internal sensors and algorithms to produce what the engineering team call "blind locomotion."


----------



## ekim68

The robots helping NHS surgeons perform better, faster - and for longer



> It is the most exacting of surgical skills: tying a knot deep inside a patient's abdomen, pivoting long graspers through keyhole incisions with no direct view of the thread.
> 
> Trainee surgeons typically require 60 to 80 hours of practice, but in a mock-up operating theatre outside Cambridge, a non-medic with just a few hours of experience is expertly wielding a hook-shaped needle - in this case stitching a square of pink sponge rather than an artery or appendix.
> 
> The feat is performed with the assistance of Versius, the world's smallest surgical robot, which could be used in NHS operating theatres for the first time later this year if approved for clinical use.


----------



## ekim68

Representatives from 150 tech companies sign pledge against 'killer robots'



> A pledge has been signed by over 2,400 individuals working in artificial intelligence and robotics against the use of the technology for lethal reasons.


----------



## ekim68

Rolls-Royce is developing tiny 'cockroach' robots to crawl in and fix airplane engines



> Rolls-Royce said Tuesday it is developing tiny "cockroach" robots that can crawl inside aircraft engines to spot and fix problems.
> 
> The U.K. engineer said the miniature technology can improve the way maintenance is carried out by speeding up inspections and eliminating the need to remove an engine from an aircraft for repair work to take place.


----------



## ekim68

Boston Dynamics Is Gearing Up to Produce Thousands of Robot Dogs



> Boston Dynamics, maker of uncannily agile robots, is poised to bring its first commercial product to market - a small, dog-like robot called the SpotMini.
> 
> The launch was announced in May, and founder Marc Raibert recently said that by July of next year, Boston Dynamics will be producing the SpotMini at the rate of around 1,000 units per year.


----------



## ekim68

OpenAI's 'state-of-the-art' system gives robots humanlike dexterity




> OpenAI





> , a nonprofit, San Francisco-based AI research company backed by Elon Musk, Reid Hoffman, and Peter Thiel, among other titans of industry, made headlines in June when it announced that the latest version of its Dota 2-playing AI - dubbed OpenAI Five - managed to beat amateur players. Today, it unveiled another first: a robotics system that can manipulate objects with humanlike dexterity.
> 
> In a forthcoming paper ("Dexterous In-Hand Manipulation"), OpenAI researchers describe a system that uses a reinforcement model, where the AI learns through trial and error, to direct robot hands in grasping and manipulating objects with state-of-the-art precision. All the more impressive, it was trained entirely digitally, in a computer simulation, and wasn't provided any human demonstrations by which to learn.


----------



## ekim68

Uptight robots that suddenly beg to stay alive are less likely to be switched off by humans

*



Poll

Click to expand...

*


> People are more likely to comply with a robot's impassioned pleas to keep it switched on when the droid has previously been impersonal, than when it's been overly friendly.
> 
> You might think folks would be less willing to pull the plug on a happy chatty bot begging to stay powered up, but you'd be wrong, much to the relief of us cold-hearted cynics. And this is all according to a study recently published in PLOS ONE.


----------



## ekim68

Hands-on with Vector, Anki's new emotive home assistant robot



> Sci-fi has long promised that robots would be living in our houses someday, helping us out and basically becoming a member of the family. But that hasn't really happened yet - after all, it's hard to really get attached to your Roomba or Alexa. Now robotics company Anki is unveiling Vector, an emotive little fella who's basically a cross between a smart home assistant and a pet. New Atlas got a hands-on demo, and found Vector to be a versatile home robot that's a real charmer and might actually chip in around the house.


----------



## ekim68

A miniature robot army (from the people who brought you the Internet)



> When the big one hits, robots will play a crucial role in recovery. DARPA thinks they may be more effective if they're tiny.


----------



## ekim68

This happy robot helps kids with autism



> A little bot named QTrobot from LuxAI could be the link between therapists, parents, and autistic children. The robot, which features an LCD face and robotic arms, allows kids who are overwhelmed by human contact to become more comfortable in a therapeutic setting.
> 
> The project comes from LuxAI, a spin-off of the University of Luxembourg. They will present their findings at the RO-MAN 2018 conference at the end of this month.
> 
> "The robot has the ability to create a triangular interaction between the human therapist, the robot, and the child," co-founder Aida Nazarikhorram told IEEE. "Immediately the child starts interacting with the educator or therapist to ask questions about the robot or give feedback about its behavior."


----------



## ekim68

LG takes a load off with AI-controlled exoskeleton



> At the IFA in Berlin next week, LG is set to unveil a "wearable robot" exoskeleton designed to help workers take the load off their legs.
> 
> LG has been pushing the robot angle hard lately. Last year the electronics company released robots to help out at home and in public places like airports, and earlier this year it followed up with the CLOi lineup to serve visitors in hotels and supermarkets.
> 
> The new lower-body exoskeleton also bears the CLOi brand. The LG CLOi SuitBot consists of a pair of robotic legs that a user can step into to augment their own, making it easier to stand, walk and work. The aim is to reduce physical strain and risk of injury for people who are on their feet all day at work.


----------



## ekim68

Autonomous underwater robot hunts and harvests massively invasive lionfish



> Students at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) are helping to combat a major environmental threat by designing an autonomous underwater robot that can hunt for invasive lionfish. Using a combination of floating spears and machine learning, the robot is able to track down and harvest lionfish safely without the need for a human operator.


----------



## ekim68

Laundroid: A home robot that folds and sorts clothes



> Engineers at Tokyo-based company Seven Dreamers started developing a laundry-folding robot called Laundroid in 2005, and now, there is finally a robot to show off at CES 2018.


----------



## ekim68

Underwater drone watches over reefs - and kills coral-destroying starfish



> It's no secret that the world's coral reefs are in trouble, and unfortunately scuba divers can only do so much in the way of monitoring or protecting them. Scientists in Australia, however, have developed an autonomous underwater drone that could be of great help.


----------



## ekim68

'My robot makes me feel like I haven't been forgotten'



> Internet-connected robots that can stream audio and video are increasingly helping housebound sick children and elderly people keep in touch with teachers, family and friends, combating the scourge of isolation and loneliness.


----------



## ekim68

Robot boat sails into history by finishing Atlantic crossing



> SOUTHAMPTON, England (AP) - All summer, the small boat drifted steadily eastward across the churning North Atlantic until it neared the Irish coast, where it made history by becoming the first unmanned sailboat to cross the Atlantic.
> 
> The SB Met, built by Norwegian company Offshore Sensing AS, reached the finish line of the Microtransat Challenge for robotic boats on Aug. 26, two and a half months after setting off from Newfoundland, according to preliminary data.


----------



## ekim68

[URL='https://www.fastcompany.com/90232363/this-leak-seeking-robot-just-won-the-u-s-james-dyson-award']This little robot swims through pipes and finds out if they're leaking[/URL]



> In the U.K., where some reservoirs ran dry this summer after heat waves and a lack of rain, more than 3 billion liters of water leaks from pipes every day. In Delhi, India, as much as 40% of water is lost to leaks. In California, where residents tried to cut water use at the height of a six-year drought, around 10% of water in cities leaks before it ever reaches homes.
> 
> A new low-cost robot, the U.S. winner of the 2018 James Dyson Award, is designed to find leaks in pipes early, both to save water and to avoid bigger damage later from bursting water mains. Called Lighthouse, the robot looks a little like a badminton birdie. A soft "skirt" on the device is covered with sensors. As it travels through pipes, propelled by the flowing water, suction tugs at the device when there's a leak, and it records the location, making a map of critical leaks to fix.


----------



## ekim68

MIT's DON the robot is a master of dexterity



> When we think of robots manipulating objects, we tend to think of endless banks of robot arms in some high-tech assembly line, dancing their mechanical dance in perfect synchronization. They grab an object, turn it round a bit, and put it down again, before repeating the action with an identical object time and again. But what if a robot could look at any item, and decide how best to pick it up, and perform tasks with it, all by itself? That's the aim of DON - a new neural network and robotic hand at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL).


----------



## ekim68

25,000 robots and counting: Welcome to the fastest-growing segment of industrial automation



> Collaborative robots, usually called _cobots_, are now the fastest growing segment of industrial automation and are expected to make up 34% of all industrial robot sales (a ten-fold increase) by 2025. Universal Robots  (UR), the company that helped pioneer the market -- one that was largely nonexistent a decade ago -- just announced its 25,000th cobot sale.


----------



## ekim68

MIT machine vision system figures out what it's looking at by itself



> Robotic vision is already pretty good, assuming that it's being used within the narrow bounds of the application for which it's been designed. That's fine for machines that perform a specific movement over and over, such as picking an object off of an assembly line and placing it into a bin. However for robots to become useful enough to not just pack boxes in warehouses but actually help out around our own homes, they'll have to stop being so myopic. And that's where the MIT's "DON" system comes in.


----------



## ekim68

MEPs vote to ban 'killer robots' on battlefield



> The European Parliament has passed a resolution calling for an international ban on so-called killer robots.
> 
> It aims to pre-empt the development and use of autonomous weapon systems that can kill without human intervention.


----------



## ekim68

In-flight charging gives drones unlimited autonomous range



> Global Energy Transmission (GET) has pioneered a mid-air inductive recharging system that can charge up several drones at once without requiring them to land. Build enough of these stations, and you can have an army of drones in the air that never need to land.


----------



## ekim68

Soft wearable exosuit automatically tunes its assistance levels on the fly



> Exosuits are basically robots that you can wear, and when it comes to a large number of early prototypes, they're about as comfortable and cumbersome as that sounds. But researchers are working towards more mobile solutions for the everyday user that are based on soft fabrics instead of hard components. Among them is a team of scientists at Harvard's Wyss Institute that has just presented its latest creation, a fully wearable soft exosuit that automatically tweaks its level of assistance on the fly.


----------



## ekim68

New-and-improved agri-robot hits the vineyards



> Back in 2015, we heard about a prototype vineyard-monitoring robot known appropriately enough as VineRobot. Now, its successor has been unveiled in Portugal. Developed via a European Union research consortium, it's called VineScout.
> 
> The idea behind both robots is that they can autonomously move up and down the rows of a vineyard, checking the wellbeing and harvest-readiness of the grapes.


----------



## ekim68

Robotic gliders train themselves to soar on thermals



> Researchers from the University of California San Diego have created robotic gliders that literally fly like an eagle. Using a form of machine intelligence called reinforcement learning the gliders learned through experience how to exploit updrafts of warm air to soar to altitudes of up to 2,300 ft (700 m).


----------



## ekim68

Tiny soft robot with multilegs paves way for drugs delivery in human body



> A novel tiny, soft robot with caterpillar-like legs capable of carrying heavy loads and adaptable to adverse environment has just been developed. This mini delivery-robot could pave way for medical technology advancement such as drugs delivery in human body.


----------



## ekim68

AI security camera detects guns and identifies shooters



> Athena Security, a San Francisco-based AI company that utilizes computer vision for security applications, has announced implementation of an AI camera system it says can identify guns in crowds. The system is one of a growing number of technologies aimed at preventing gun crime.
> 
> In addition to detection, Athena's cameras can also alert police to the presence of an active shooter, potentially increasing response time, according to the company.


----------



## ekim68

Opinion: Killer robots are on the way, and they're a threat to humanity



> Imagine an artificial-intelligence-driven military drone capable of autonomously patrolling the perimeter of a country or region and deciding who lives and who dies, without a human operator.
> 
> Now do the same with tanks, helicopters and biped/quadruped robots. Welcome to the not-so-distant future of LAWs, or lethal autonomous weapon systems. A conclusion reached at the UN conference on regulating LAWs in warfare that took place this August in Geneva was that, instead of outright banning them, the topic should be revisited in November. The stall was initiated by the U.S., Russia, Israel, South Korea and Australia. Until the revision meeting one thing is sure - AI-controlled robotic warfare isn't too far off.


----------



## ekim68

Japanese construction robot demonstrates the future of building



> A new video from AIST, Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, shows a prototype robot designed to work on construction sites in situations where there is a shortage of human workers. The robot in undeniably slow but also strikingly accurate, suggesting a future where humanoid robots could replace even more human jobs.


----------



## ekim68

New autonomous farm wants to produce food without human workers



> Iron Ox isn't like most robotics companies. Instead of trying to flog you its technology, it wants to sell you food.
> 
> As the firm's cofounder Brandon Alexander puts it: "We are a farm and will always be a farm."
> 
> But it's no ordinary farm. For starters, the company's 15 human employees share their work space with robots who quietly go about the business of tending rows and rows of leafy greens.


----------



## ekim68

Soft robotic arm opens the door to doing science under the sea



> Wyss Institute's forays into soft robots and robotics have borne more ripe fruit in the shape of a soft robotic arm fit for use on submarines to handle delicate marine life like coral, jellyfish and octopuses. This isn't the Harvard institute's first, but its latest iteration moves with "unprecedented dexterity."


----------



## ekim68

Technique could enable robots to navigate pushy crowds, congested streets



> In a paper entitled "Deep sequential models for sampling-based planning," the researchers outline a method of robot navigation that utilizes traditional path planning algorithms, which analyze a number of options in real time and select the optimal choice, with a neural network that learns over time by observing and interacting with people.


----------



## ekim68

Uniqlo replaced 90% of staff at its newly automated warehouse with robots



> At a warehouse in Tokyo's Ariake district once mainly staffed by people, robots are now doing the work of inspecting and sorting the clothing housed there by Japanese retailer Uniqlo.
> 
> The company recently remodeled the existing warehouse with an automated system created in partnership with Daifuku, a provider of material handling systems. Now that the system is running, the company revealed during a walkthrough of the new facility, Uniqlo has been able to cut staff at the warehouse by 90%. The warehouse can now also operate 24 hours a day.


----------



## ekim68

Boston Dynamics' robot went from a drunk baby to a nimble ninja in a matter of years



> Boston Dynamics, the SoftBank robotics company that's looking to mass-produce robot dogs, has posted another video of its humanoid Atlas robot performing previously unthinkable feats today (Oct. 11).
> 
> In previous videos, the robot did a backflip-now it's leaping over obstacles and climbing up large, uneven stairs with fleet-footed ease.


----------



## ekim68

Uh oh...
From Boston Dynamics....


Parkour Atlas


----------



## ekim68

The Cow-Milking Robots Keeping Small Farms in Business



> Around the country, dairy farms are struggling to stay open, embracing technology may be one way to make them more efficient.


----------



## ekim68

Boston Dynamics' Spot can now dance, twerk, and do the running man



> Boston Dynamics is having a busy week, hot on the heels of its video reveals showing Atlas mastering parkour, and its four-legged Spot wandering construction sites, the company has released yet another video. This one unveils a lighter, more playful side to its robots, with Spot dropping some impressive dance moves to a cover of Uptown Funk.


----------



## ekim68

The big picture: Even scientists are being automated



> New advances are taking automation to the highest end of human endeavors, offering scientists a shot at some of the most intractable problems that have confounded them - and along the way tipping a global balance to give upstarts like China a more level playing field in the lab.
> 
> *What's going on:* A combination of artificial intelligence and nimble robots are allowing scientists to do more, and be faster, than they ever could with mere human hands and brains.


----------



## ekim68

Robots to play "stork" and plant coral larvae around the Great Barrier Reef



> That Australia's Great Barrier Reef is in serious trouble is no longer subject to debate, but the best way to deal with the problem very much is. An all-out assault on coral predators, giant fans to combat rising sea temperatures and recycling dead corals are all proposals being put on the table. The latest to emerge involves robots playing the role of "the stork" and distributing coral larvae across the Reef to promote new growth.


----------



## ekim68

Hovermap drones dive underground to autonomously map mines and tunnels



> The imaging and mapping potential of drones flying through the sky is well documented, but they also hold great potential for environments deep beneath the Earth's surface. Australian-based startup Emesant is taking an underground approach to drone technology, developing specialized software for the autonomous mapping of mines and tunnels.


----------



## ekim68

Killer AI robots must be outlawed, says UN chief



> Weapons using artificial intelligence (AI) to identify and kill humans should be banned under international law, United Nations general secretary António Guterres has warned.
> 
> He sees the weaponization of AI as "a serious danger".
> 
> "The prospect of machines that have the capacity by themselves to select and destroy targets will create enormous difficulties to avoid escalation in conflict and to guarantee that humanitarian law and human rights law are respected in the battlefield," he said.


----------



## ekim68

The British Army is carrying out a massive test of military robots and drones



> The British Army is testing out over 70 new technologies, including unmanned vehicles and surveillance drones, in a four-week experiment on one of its biggest training grounds.


----------



## ekim68

International Space Station's spherical flying robot speaks up for the first time



> A first-of-its-kind robotic helper has completed its first day on the job at the International Space Station, with ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst powering up the CIMON assistance system and putting its conversational skills to the test.
> 
> CIMON, which stands for Crew Interactive Mobile CompanioN, is a medicine-ball-sized plastic sphere that was 3D printed and equipped with software by IBM Watson for AI capabilities. Built by Airbus for the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the free-flying robot is made to float around the ISS and provide its astronauts with support for routine tasks, as well as companionship and a form of stress relief.


----------



## ekim68

Robot Janitors Are Coming to Mop Floors at a Walmart Near You



> Robots are coming to a Walmart Inc. near you, and not just as a gimmick.
> 
> The world's largest retailer is rolling out 360 autonomous floor-scrubbing robots in some of its stores in the U.S. by the end of the January, it said in a joint statement with Brain Corp., which makes the machines. The autonomous janitors can clean floors on their own even when customers are around, according to the San Diego-based startup.


----------



## ekim68

Creepy Velox robot uses undulating fins to skate over solid ice



> We've seen quite a few interesting robot designs over the years that allow adventurous machines to negotiate difficult terrain, but few with the distinct style of the Velox robot from New York engineering firm Pliant Energy Systems. Using a novel undulating propulsion system, the bot is able to efficiently glide through the water, over rough land and has recently become adept at the art of ice-skating.


----------



## ekim68

British supermarket chain to trial robot farmers in the field



> Supermarket meets robotic farmers as the Waitrose & Partners supermarket chain's parent company, the John Lewis Partnership, enters into an agreement with the Small Robot Company to begin a three-year trial to test out a trio of miniature farmbots on Lewis' Leckford Estate, which grows produce for Waitrose & Partners. The trio of robots, called Tom, Dick, and Harry, will operate on a one-hectare (2.5 acre) wheat field to test ways in which automation can increase agricultural efficiency.


----------



## ekim68

Honda tests self-driving, off-road "Autonomous Work Vehicles"



> They're almost cute, these little seatless quadbikes, and they can be programmed to autonomously perform a bunch of handy tasks outdoors. Honda has been testing prototypes in search and rescue, firefighting, construction, agriculture, landscaping and snow removal applications, and is looking for partners to come on board to further the technology.
> 
> The rugged little autonomous work vehicle (AWV) platform is basically a Honda agricultural 4WD quad bike with the top half removed and replaced with a bunch of sensors, self driving equipment and whatever else might be required for the specific task laid out for it.


----------



## ekim68

Autonomous rice transplanter set to head for the paddies



> It was just this July that Japan's Yanmar Agri Corporation unveiled a line of driverless agricultural tractors. Now, as part of the same Smartpilot system, the company has announced an autonomous rice seedling-transplanter.


----------



## ekim68

[URL='https://gizmodo.com/this-was-the-year-the-robot-takeover-of-service-jobs-be-1831233632']This Was the Year the Robot Takeover of Service Jobs Began[/URL]



> Out of the three major sectors of the economy-agriculture, manufacturing, and service-two are already largely automated. Farm labor, which about half the American workforce used to do, now comprises around 2 percent of American jobs. And we all know the rust belt song and dance, beat out to outsourcing and mechanization. Which is largely why some 80 percent of all American jobs are service jobs. And this year, quietly but in the open, the robots and their investors came for them, too.
> 
> There's a case to be made that 2018 is the year automation took its biggest lunge forward toward our largest pool of human labor: Amazon opened five cashier-less stores; three in Seattle, one in Chicago, and one in San Francisco. Self-ordering kiosks invaded fast food and franchise restaurants in a big way. Smaller robot-centric outfits like the long-awaited auto-burger joint Creator opened, too, and so did a number of others.


----------



## ekim68

LG helps warehouse workers with the bends



> Consumer electronics giant LG will be taking a refreshed version of its CLOi SuitBot to CES 2019 next month, as it inches closer to commercial availability. Updated versions of the company's PorterBot, ServeBot and CartBot service robots will also be on show.
> 
> The CLOi SuitBot was unveiled last year at the IFA tech expo in Berlin. It's a lower body exoskeleton designed to help factory workers keep lifting and lowering heavy loads for longer, reducing fatigue and the risk of injury.


----------



## ekim68

'World's largest robot' operational as Pilbara driverless rail goes live



> The miner got approval from the national rail safety regulator to test "the world's largest robot" in May and conducted its first fully loaded automated mine-to-port rail journey in July.
> 
> It has gradually stepped up the number of heavy-haul journeys, with more than 1 million kilometres now travelled autonomously.


----------



## ekim68

PepsiCo's Hello Goodness Snackbot Is A Cure-All For College Campus Munchies



> To snack or not to snack? That used to be the question. Now college students do not need to choose between grabbing a treat and breaking up a study session. The PepsiCo Hello Goodness Snackbot, a self-driving robot, will now deliver snacks on select college campuses.
> 
> Students, staff and faculty at the University of Pacific in Stockton, California can now order snacks from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through the Snackbot app. The robot will deliver goods at 50 designated areas across the campus. The Snackbot can go more than 20 miles on a single charge and includes a camera, headlights, and all-wheel drive to help it navigate.


----------



## ekim68

DoorDash and GM's Cruise team up to pilot food delivery via self-driving cars



> General Motors (GM) is partnering with DoorDash to enable on-demand food deliveries via driverless cars.
> 
> The duo announced that a pilot delivery program will kick off in San Francisco in "early 2019," and will involve both meals from restaurants and groceries.


----------



## ekim68

Hyundai's Elevate robotic walking car steps out of the shadows



> Imagine if an emergency vehicle could not only bring the team of responders to the edge of the disaster zone but actually step right in, striding over top flaming rubble to get responders exactly where they need to be. Forget last mile, that's last 100 yards. And that's the all-new Hyundai Elevate concept, moving through the world on fully articulated wheeled legs that let it climb vertical walls, hop over crevasses, crawl like a reptile and quietly cruise the highway on a sunny day.


----------



## ekim68

Robotic ElliQ system is made to engage seniors



> It's an unfortunate fact that many seniors end up becoming socially isolated and mentally unstimulated. Israel-based tech firm Intuition Robotics has set out to address that problem, with its artificially-intelligent ElliQ system. The technology was on display this week at CES 2019.





> Utilizing its AI system, cameras and mics, ElliQ is reportedly capable of reading the room, seeing/hearing if its user is talking to someone, watching TV, or is otherwise occupied. If it determines that they're sitting idle, it will proceed to verbally engage them - this could consist of suggesting they get some exercise, telling them jokes or trivia, offering to play music which it's learned that they like, or playing them a TED Talk video on a subject in which they're interested.


----------



## ekim68

Ten of the most innovative robotics developments of the past year



> Guang-Zhong Yang, an editor at _Science Robotics_, with help from an international team of contributors, has highlighted ten notable robotics developments that occurred over the past year in the journal's most recent issue.


----------



## ekim68

Berkeley's two-armed robot hints at a new future for warehouses



> Pick up a glass of water, then lift a fork: Without thinking, you chose the best way to grasp each object. Researchers at UC Berkeley have developed a robot that makes the same calculation, choosing on the fly whether to grab an object with pincers or lift it with a suction cup.
> 
> *Why it matters:* Reliable robot grabbers are the just-out-of-reach holy grail for e-commerce outfits like Amazon and Walmart, who still rely mainly on human hands for the job. Smart picker-uppers would clear a serious bottleneck in shipping and could change the nature of warehouses entirely.


----------



## ekim68

Medical micro-robots automatically change shape to swim through the body



> It's looking more and more likely that tiny robots could one day be swimming and crawling through your body, delivering drugs or scrubbing out your arteries. But the human body is full of wildly different environments, so any robots exploring them need to be able to adapt on the fly. Now, researchers at EPFL and ETH Zurich have developed micro-robots that can automatically morph in response to their surroundings.
> 
> The micro-robots are made of layers of biocompatible hydrogel folded up like origami - a strategy seen in many other tiny robots designed for use in the body. Tiny magnetic particles are embedded into the material, so it can be driven from outside the body using a varying electromagnetic field.


----------



## ekim68

Meet Leonardo, the walking, jumping, flying robot



> Traditionally, robots are either airborne or landlubbers - there's not much crossover. But researchers at Northeastern University have now built a robot that can do both, walking around on two legs before jumping and flying short distances to get over obstacles in its path.
> 
> The first clue to how nimble the robot is may just be its name. The Northwestern team calls the little guy "LEONARDO," in one of the biggest stretches ever made for an acronym - apparently it stands for LEg ON Aerial Robotic DrOne.


----------



## ekim68

World's first tendril-like soft robot can curl and climb



> Jan. 24 (UPI) -- Engineers in Italy have designed the world's first tendril-like soft robot.
> 
> Like vines and other climbing plants, the slender, soft-bodied robot wraps itself around objects to pull itself higher and higher. The similarities are both external and internal. To hoist itself upward, the new robot relies on the same physical principles that govern water transport in plants.


----------



## ekim68

Amazon's titchy robots hit the streets, Waymo starts a self-driving car factory...



> Autonomous delivery robots are coming: Amazon is testing out an autonomous delivery service using a small, six-wheeled robot called Scout.
> 
> Scout relies on electrical power and preprogrammed instructions to autonomously deliver Amazon packages to their rightful owners. The service is currently being rolled out in a neighborhood in Snohomish County, Washington State.


----------



## ekim68

Robot combines vision and touch to learn the game of Jenga



> In the basement of MIT's Building 3, a robot is carefully contemplating its next move. It gently pokes at a tower of blocks, looking for the best block to extract without toppling the tower, in a solitary, slow-moving, yet surprisingly agile game of Jenga.
> 
> The robot, developed by MIT engineers, is equipped with a soft-pronged gripper, a force-sensing wrist cuff, and an external camera, all of which it uses to see and feel the tower and its individual blocks.


----------



## ekim68

Robots dismantle and neutralize 100,000 mustard agent chemical weapons



> The Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant, or PCAPP, in Colorado is celebrating the successful destruction of 100,000 munitions from a U.S. stockpile. Destruction of the munitions is required under the Chemical Weapons Convention, an arms control treaty signed by more than 165 countries globally, including the U.S. in 1997.
> 
> Until recently, chemical weapons were disposed of in a decidedly low-tech manner. In the late 1960s, under a program un-ironically named Operation Cut Holes & Sink 'Em (CHASE), thousands of tons of chemical weapons were dumped in the ocean. Many of those stockpiles are too fragile to be moved now, and shortly after the large-scale dumping of the '60s congress passed legislation prohibiting ocean dumping.
> 
> But that meant people had to do the dangerous work of dismantling and neutralizing aging chemical weapons. Until recently that was true, but it turns out the job has (thankfully) been outsourced to robots.


----------



## ekim68

The robot that learned how to skate on ice



> Robots can walk, climb, and even open doors. But can they iceskate?
> 
> Well, it seems now they can.
> 
> Stelian Coros, a professor at the Computational Robotics Lab at ETH Zurich, says the only thing his team did was to tell the robot how one skate behaved on the ice, and that it was free to move in the direction of the blade.


----------



## ekim68

An insect-bot mimics desert ants by looking at the sky to navigate



> A new robot can navigate without GPS, using the same light-sensing abilities as desert ants.


----------



## ekim68

Boeing wins US$43 million contract to build four Orca robotic super subs



> The US Navy has awarded Boeing a US$43 million contract to build four of its Orca Extra Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicles (XLUUVs) and support gear. Built in partnership with Huntington Ingalls Industries, the 51-ft (15.5 m) long unmanned submarines will operate in blue water environments thanks to autonomous navigation systems and a fuel module providing a range of 6,500 nm (7,480 mi / 12,038 km).
> 
> Unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) have been around for come time and are becoming increasingly common in naval and civilian marine operations, but so far they have been small, short range, and restricted to their host vessels. Blue water underwater operations have been the reserve of large, manned submarines, but the purchase of the Orca indicates that the US Navy recognizes the growing importance of robotic submarines to the fleet.


----------



## ekim68

Farmworker vs Robot



> Both human and machine have 10 seconds per plant. They must find the ripe strawberries in the leaves, gently twist them off the stems and tuck them into a plastic clamshell. Repeat, repeat, repeat, before the fruit spoils.
> 
> One February afternoon, they work about an acre apart on a farm the size of 454 football fields: dozens of pickers collecting produce the way people have for centuries - and a robot that engineers say could replace most of them as soon as next year.
> 
> The future of agricultural work has arrived here in Florida, promising to ease labor shortages and reduce the cost of food, or so says the team behind Harv, a nickname for the latest model from automation company Harvest CROO Robotics.


----------



## ekim68

Robots decommission 700,000 munitions for recycling



> A team of nine robots developed by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) has disassembled or "demilitarized" 700,000 submunitions at the US Army's Anniston Munitions Center Multiple Launch Rocket System Recycle Facility in Alabama. The new system not only makes such decommissioning faster and safer, but it also allows the Army to recycle the components for the first time.


----------



## ekim68

U.S. companies put record number of robots to work in 2018



> (Reuters) - U.S. companies installed more robots last year than ever before, as cheaper and more flexible machines put them within reach of businesses of all sizes and in more corners of the economy beyond their traditional foothold in car plants.
> 
> Shipments hit 28,478, nearly 16 percent more than in 2017, according to data seen by Reuters that was set for release on Thursday by the Association for Advancing Automation, an industry group based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.


----------



## ekim68

Cool stuff.. 


Backflipping MIT Mini Cheetah


----------



## ekim68

Robots Built This Futuristic House That Generates More Energy Than it Needs



> Step inside the newly completed DFAB House in Dübendorf, Switzerland, and you'll be whisked away to a world of science fiction. From the swirling grooves on the 3D-printed ceiling panels to the networked household appliances (like an intelligent teapot that can seemingly be brought to a boil by itself), this experimental building is a snapshot of what our future homes could be-digitally planned and built by giant robots.


----------



## ekim68

Meet BookBot: Mountain View library's newest robot helper



> MOUNTAIN VIEW - Only in Silicon Valley will a robot return your library books for you.
> 
> Residents in downtown Mountain View have gotten their first peek at the future with the debut of BookBot, the library's newest non-human helper. A creation of Google's Area 120 - an experimental division of the technology juggernaut - the bot is the company's first personal delivery robot to hit the streets and begin interacting with the public, said Christian Bersch, the project's team lead.


----------



## ekim68

Robots on the gridiron: Bots are painting lines on sports fields



> Any Little League parent will be familiar with the chore of chalking lines on a baseball diamond before a weekend game. Now there's robot for that, and it's an excellent example of how automation is sneaking into the real world without much fanfare.
> 
> Founded in 2015 by Anders Ulrik Sørensen and Andreas Ydesen as a high school project, Intelligent Marking is the Danish startup behind what the company says is the world's first autonomous line marking robot. The primary application is sports fields.


----------



## ekim68

MIT's robotic system can pick up items it has never encountered before



> One thing robots are pretty good at doing is, well, one thing over and over again. Confront them with objects of different shapes and sizes, and with different actions to perform and that's another story entirely. Looking to expand these possibilities, scientists at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) have developed a versatile new robotic machine they say can learn to pick up and put down all kinds of things, even ones it has never seen before.


----------



## ekim68

Autonomous Firefighting Robot System includes Water Cannon and Hose Extension robots



> Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is no stranger to the development of disaster relief robots - having created a plant inspection bot and a long-necked bot to help with cleanup operations at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant a few years ago and a remotely-operated anti-explosive robot for working in gas-filled environments, for example. Now the firm has come up with a pair of firefighting robots that work together in situations deemed too hazardous for human crews. Along with a third recon robot and a command system, the Water Cannon Robot and Hose Extension Robot form part of a Firefighting Robot System.


----------



## ekim68

Google's banana throwing robot is highly accurate



> Machine precision enables this robot to throw objects through the air with the greatest of ease.


----------



## cwwozniak

Some interesting robots from Boston Dynamics in action.

https://www.youtube.com/user/BostonDynamics


----------



## ekim68

Lego Education's newest Spike Prime programmable robots aim for the classroom



> Colorful dancing robot men and weird Lego robot creatures are coming... but not to Lego stores. Lego Education's new Spike Prime is a kit aimed at classrooms looking to incorporate Lego into lesson plans, targeting kids aged 11 to 14. The new STEAM robotics kit was announced today at an event in New York City.
> 
> Lego Mindstorms have been around for years. The Mindstorms EV3 robotics kit remains a staple of many learning centers and robotics classrooms.


----------



## ekim68

Robot bees to help astronauts on space station



> Robot bees in space. Sounds like a throwaway premise to a B sci-fi flick, but it'll soon be a reality as NASA prepares to send three Astrobee cube robots into space to join crew on the International Space Station (ISS).
> 
> The Astrobees were developed at NASA's Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. The ruggedized robotic cubes will float around the International Space Station and perform routine tasks, such as system inspections, basic housekeeping, and serving as on-call camera-bot.


----------



## ekim68

Robot news presenter causes a stir on Russian TV



> Russian state news channel Rossiya 24 has introduced a robot presenter for some of its bulletins.
> 
> 'Alex' has already caused a stir, with some viewers complaining about his appearance and accusing him of peddling political propaganda.
> 
> The robot was developed by Promobot in the city of Perm. His silicon head is modelled on the face of the company's co-founder Alexei Yuzhakov.


----------



## ekim68

Narwal robot can both mop and vacuum, and replace its own dirty water



> The robot cleaners we have tidying up our houses in the 21st century continue to get smarter and more efficient - such as the Narwal, which combines both vacuuming and mopping in one device, and can even replenish its own water tanks when it's done.


----------



## ekim68

Emergency responders drop this squishy robot from 600 feet



> Robots are seeing increased use in the direct aftermath of natural disasters. They can weave beneath rubble and spend time in radioactive environments that would fry a human. One of the most important functions a robot can perform in a disaster scenario is beaming vital sensor data to first responders.
> 
> But getting robots on the scene isn't easy. Debris can make ground transportation difficult, and thick smoke can impede an aerial approach. A company out of the vaunted California accelerator Berkley SkyDeck has a solution: Drop the robots from drones or helicopters.
> 
> Of course, most hardware isn't going to survive a fall. But with a name like Squishy Robotics, this company is clearly not making run-of-the-mill hardware.


----------



## ekim68

Leech-like climbing robot a world first in free movement



> Combining, among other things, suction cups and shower hoses, robotics researchers have created a flexible-bodied wall-climbing robot said to be inspired by one of nature's congenital suckers: the leech. Said robot, dubbed LEeCH for reasons we shall explore presently, can climb vertical surfaces in any direction and - notably - make the transition from one side of the wall to the other. The researchers are calling it a "world's first achievement in developing soft and flexible robot that is capable of free movement on a wall."


----------



## ekim68

Drone uses swiveling propellor arms to become a robotic car when it hits the ground



> We've seen a few versatile drones that can adapt themselves to different modes of transport, with the AquaMav that dives in and out of the water like a seabird turned flying fish being one particularly impressive example. Equally so is a new quadcopter developed at Israel's Ben-Gurion University, which flies like a regular quadcopter but turns its propellor arms into wheels to keep moving once it hits the ground.


----------



## ekim68

With a hop, a skip and a jump, high-flying robot leaps over obstacles with ease



> Topping out at less than a foot, Salto the robot looks like a Star Wars imperial walker in miniature. But don't be fooled by its size-this little robot has a mighty spring in its step. Salto can vault over three times its height in a single bound.
> 
> Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, first unveiled Salto's high-flying capabilities in 2016. Now, they've equipped the robot with a slew of new skills, giving it the ability to bounce in place like a pogo stick and jump through obstacle courses like an agility dog. Salto can even take short jaunts around campus, powered by a radio controller.


----------



## ekim68

Repairing dead satellites with robots



> There are more than 8,000 manmade objects orbiting earth, and a large portion of those no longer perform any function. Space debris is of increasing concern as barriers to launching satellites continue to fall, and the problem is only getting worse.
> 
> Rehabilitating and updating dead satellites could slow the space debris problem. The only catch is that working on satellites in space is prohibitively expense.
> 
> But robots could help. A company called Olis Robotics has announced receipt of a grant from the U.S. Air Force to streamline the control systems of robots that could operate in space to make satellite rehab practical.


----------



## ekim68

HyQReal four-legged robot tows a three-ton passenger plane



> Last time we wrote about the HyQ robot, it had just mastered walking and begun venturing into rough terrain. Now, its successor has do so with a three-ton passenger airplane in tow. Granted seven years of research and development have played out since, it is an impressive show of strength for hydraulically actuated robot not much bigger than a dog.


----------



## ekim68

Combat robot with over-the-horizon control put through its paces in live-fire exercise



> At a recent live-fire exercise in Tapa, Estonia, the latest version of Milrem Robotics and ST Engineering's ground combat robot showed off its ability to operate under Beyond Line Of Sight (BLVOS) control. In the April tests, the THeMIS Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) equipped with the ADDER DM Remote Weapon Station was armed with a 40mm Automatic Grenade Launcher and a 12.7mm Heavy Machine Gun.


----------



## ekim68

Raspberry-picking robot completes first field trials



> Fieldwork Robotics - a spinout company from the University of Plymouth in the UK - has announced the successful completion of early field trials of a raspberry-harvesting robot. If commercialized, the system could help make up for a shortage of human fruit pickers in the country.


----------



## ekim68

GEBCO-NF Alumni robots win ocean-mapping XPRIZE



> A robotic boat and submersible have won the XPRIZE to find the best new technologies to map the seafloor.
> 
> The surface and underwater combo demonstrated their capabilities in a timed test in the Mediterranean, surveying depths down to 4km.


----------



## ekim68

Bad knees? Lockheed is working on a bionic brace



> A new bionic knee brace is in the works from a team that includes experts from defense contractor Lockheed Martin. Building on advances in rigid exoskeleton suits, the new brace uses soft robotic actuators and compliant materials, making it lightweight and, the researchers hope, practical to wear in certain real world use cases.


----------



## ekim68

Seven eerily lifelike robot maneuvers that will have you eyeing the off switch



> Advances in robotics are a constant, but every now and then the ingenuity of researchers crystallizes in lifelike maneuvers that are as awe-inspiring as they are terrifying. Here we take a look at seven recent examples that will do the sleeping habits of those fearing a robotic apocalypse more harm than good.


----------



## ekim68

Domino's plans self-driving pizza deliveries for Houston



> In its ongoing bid to automate its pizza operations in every which way possible, Domino's has announced a new partnership with robotics startup Nuro. The agreement will see Nuro's self-driving pods bring some customers in Houston their pizzas without the aid of a delivery person, and is another example of how the pizza giant is exploring the ways its business can be streamlined through autonomous technologies.


----------



## ekim68

Robo-fish is powered by blood-like battery fluid



> A team of engineers at Cornell's Organic Robotics Lab has built a soft-bodied robotic lionfish powered by electric blood, which not only serves as an energy source, but acts hydraulically to create propulsion as well. This bio-inspired approach addresses one of the great challenges for small, untethered robots - mass vs. power.
> 
> Batteries add significant weight to robots, and this weight impacts range, maneuverability, speed and size. So, if engineers can store energy in a component which also serves a secondary purpose, then that, as they say, is a problem halved.


----------



## ekim68

Travelers kinda hate robots at airports



> Ever seen a robot at an airport? LaGuardia has one. Munich's is called (wait for it) ... Josie Pepper. From Amsterdam to Adelaide, they're cropping up to help give travelers a more seamless flying experience.
> 
> In fact, automation of all sorts is popping up at airports. Automated ticket counters has given way to high tech autonomous security and robots that park cars, an approach that's being tested in London and France.
> 
> Only it turns out travelers may not really want that much automation in their airport experience.


----------



## ekim68

Robot security guard gets boost to fight crime




> Cobalt Robotics





> , which makes indoors autonomous security robots, just got a significant boost to give human guards a hand. Following a $13 million Series A last March, the company just closed a $35 million Series B.
> 
> Like its better known competitor Knightscope, Cobalt's security guards rove around security sensitive locations to monitor facilities utilizing an onboard sensor package. Cobalt's five-foot blue robots have 60 sensors in all, including video, RGB, infrared, thermal, ultrasonic, and lidar.
> 
> Robots are quickly breaking into (pun intended) the physical security space, a global sector that could exceed $119 billion by 2023. Robots can help bridge the gap between traditional security measures, such as cameras and access control, and manned guards.


----------



## ekim68

The rise of robots-as-a-service



> Robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) is about to eat the world of work. While much of the attention in the world of automation technology has been focused on self-driving cars, many other markets traditionally dominated by human-in-the-loop solutions are reaching a point of inflection, enabling RaaS solutions to take over.


----------



## ekim68

"Jellyfishbot" could shed light on ocean environments and deliver drugs inside the body



> A team of engineers in Germany has created a tiny jellyfish-inspired robot, which can not only swim, but transport objects, mix fluids and even bury itself. It's hoped the five-millimeter tetherless "Jellyfishbot" could help us understand the survivability of baby jellyfish in changing environments. A worthy challenge, but the potential applications for the tiny aquatic bot goes far beyond that.
> 
> Led by Dr Metin Sitti, the team from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS) in Stuttgart, Germany, was inspired by _scyphomedusae_ ephyra, the juvenile of the most widely distributed jellyfish, which - despite their small size and simple body structure - are able to control fluidic flow around their bodies to perform a range of complex tasks.


----------



## ekim68

UPS is launching a drone delivery service in the US



> What can brown fly for you?
> 
> UPS announced it has submitted an application to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to operate commercial delivery drones in the US, through a new subsidiary called UPS Flight Forward.
> 
> The company has been working closely with the FAA over the last year; in 2018, the agency launched a program to test out drones in a range of autonomous flying situations, and UPS was one of the accepted applicants.


----------



## ekim68

America is drowning in garbage. Now robots are being put on duty to help solve the recycling crisis



> To tackle this environmental catastrophe, U.S. companies and researchers are developing AI-assisted robotic technology that can work with humans in processing plants and improve quality control. The goal is to have robots do a better job at sorting garbage and reduce the contamination and health hazards human workers face in recycling plants every day. Sorting trash is a dirty and dangerous job. Recycling workers are more than twice as likely as other workers to be injured on the job, according to a report at the University of Illinois School of Public Health. The profession also has high fatality rates.


----------



## ekim68

Surprisingly Speedy Soft Robot Survives Being Stepped On




> Soft robots





> are getting more and more popular for some very good reasons. Their relative simplicity is one. Their relative low cost is another. And for their simplicity and low cost, they're generally able to perform very impressively, leveraging the unique features inherent to their design and construction to move themselves and interact with their environment.


----------



## ekim68

Robot to study the marine twilight region completes sea trials



> A new type of underwater robot has completed sea trials in Monterey Bay, California. Developed by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and partners, the Mesobot is a semi-autonomous robotic submersible designed to study the marine twilight zone of the mesopelagic region.
> 
> The mesopelagic zone is sort of the middle ground of the ocean. Located between 200 and 1,000 m (660 to 3,300 ft) in depth, it's a region where only one percent of the ambient light reaches down. There isn't enough light to support photosynthesis, but it's still home to a surprising variety of life, including bristlemouths, blobfish, bioluminescent jellyfish, and giant squid.


----------



## ekim68

"MacGyver" robots learn to build new tools from everyday objects on hand



> Robot arms are getting smarter and smarter all the time, and now a team from Georgia Tech has taught them how to make their own tools. These resourceful robots are first taught to match form and function, then let loose on a series of everyday objects to build what they need to complete a given job.


----------



## ekim68

Watch NASA's 'Lemur' Robot Climb a Cliff in Death Valley as Practice for Mars



> JPL's Limbed Excursion Mechanical Utility Robot (LEMUR) was originally designed to do repairs on the International Space Station. And, while that repair program is no longer around, engineers continue to test the robot and use their experiences with LEMUR to derive exploration robots for future missions on Mars or on far-off moons.
> 
> In early 2019, LEMUR made it up steep walls during a field test in Death Valley, California. It scaled a cliff using tiny fishhooks embedded in each of its 16 "fingers." While en route, the robot also searched for ancient fossils to simulate searching for life on distant worlds.


----------



## ekim68

Autonomous watercraft to search the sea for Amelia Earhart's airplane



> Famed American aviator Amelia Earhart disappeared in 1937, while attempting to fly around the world in a Lockheed Model 10E Electra. Now, a high-tech unmanned boat has been enlisted to help search for that plane, near an island where Earhart may have crash-landed.


----------



## ekim68

Bell's eVTOL cargo drone makes first autonomous flight



> Drones buzzing overheard delivering small packages or medical supplies from A to B seems to be in our immediate future. Now Bell has joined the cargo drone race with the APT 70, which has just nailed its first autonomous test flight.
> 
> Bell Textron's Autonomous Pod Transport (APT) 70 cargo drone is being designed for everything from package delivery to medical transport missions to disaster relief. And the company has partnered with Japan's Yamato to integrate package handling systems into the drone for on-demand logistics.


----------



## ekim68

The robo racing cars accelerating driverless tech



> Johannes Betz is not your typical racing car driver.
> 
> For a start, he doesn't get in the vehicle - it's driverless. As a post-doctoral researcher, he is in charge of the Technical University of Munich's entry in the Roborace motorsport competition, now in its first competitive season.


----------



## ekim68

Robot pilot that can grab the flight controls gets its plane licence



> A robot pilot is learning to fly. It has passed its pilot's test and flown its first plane, but it has also had its first mishap too.
> 
> Unlike a traditional autopilot, the ROBOpilot Unmanned Aircraft Conversion System literally takes the controls, pressing on foot pedals and handling the yoke using robotic arms. It reads the dials and meters with a computer vision system.


----------



## ekim68

MIT's Roboats become shapeshifting floating platforms



> An ambitious initiative to breathe new life into Amsterdam's abundant but underused canals has taken another step forward, with the researchers behind a set of autonomous boats showing off some promising new capabilities. MIT's Roboats, as they're called, have now been demonstrated arranging themselves into different shapes that could one day act as pop-up bridges or stages on the surface of the city's waterways.
> 
> The canals of Amsterdam cover around a quarter of the Dutch city's surface area, but these days their practicality is limited. The Roboat project is a collaboration between MIT and the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions aimed at reinvigorating the waterways, by using autonomous boats that come together to form floating bridges, food markets and stages, and also to transport people and goods.


----------



## ekim68

Transforming robot will mow fields, shovel snow



> In a world increasingly full of robots developed with dubious claims of solving actual problems, it's worth celebrating novel bots of a more quotidian nature. Recently, Left Hand Robotics, a company that makes an autonomous mobile robot for cutting grass on large fields, such as baseball diamonds, and that transforms into a snow clearing robot in winter, has raised $3.6 million.
> 
> "We looked at labor-intensive industries to see where robots could dramatically reduce the workload and where labor was scarce," says Left Hand Robotics CEO and Co-founder Terry Olkin. "The landscaping industry is second only to construction in terms of the high demand for workers that's unmet. Now workers can focus on complex tasks and offload the most repetitive, labor-intensive tasks to a robot. One of the most physically taxing chores is snow shoveling - a robot can clear snow much faster with no risk of worker injury."


----------



## ekim68

First long-distance heart surgery performed via robot



> A doctor in India has performed a series of five percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures on patients who were 20 miles away from him. The feat was pulled off using a precision vascular robot developed by Corindus. The results of the surgeries, which were successful, have just been published in _EClinicalMedicine_, a spin-off of medical journal _The Lancet_.


----------



## ekim68

Starship Technologies food delivery robots take on their biggest college campus yet



> The robotic food couriers of Starship Technologies have taken on quite a few jobs since the startup first broke cover in 2015, delivering pizzas for Domino's and taking part in pilots across Europe. As part of the company's delivery service for college and corporate campuses, the roaming six-wheelers are now taking to the grounds of Purdue University, where they will serve their largest customer base to date.


----------



## ekim68

BAE to integrate robotic boat with Royal Navy warship



> This week at London's Docklands, BAE Systems will demonstrate an Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) that can fully integrate with the combat systems of a Royal Navy warship. Part of the DSEI 2019 international defense and security event, a robotic Pacific 24 Rigid Inflatable Boat (P24 RIB) will link to the combat management and sensor system of the Type 26 frigate HMS Argyl to show how such a craft can extend the ship's capabilities.


----------



## ekim68

Robot priests can bless you, advise you, and even perform your funeral



> A new priest named Mindar is holding forth at Kodaiji, a 400-year-old Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. Like other clergy members, this priest can deliver sermons and move around to interface with worshippers. But Mindar comes with some ... unusual traits. A body made of aluminum and silicone, for starters.
> 
> Mindar is a robot.


----------



## ekim68

Robotic tuna swims as fast as the real thing



> If you're trying to develop new-and-improved forms of underwater propulsion, you could do worse than copying one of the fastest fish in the sea - the tuna. That's what American scientists have done, and they claim that the resulting "Tunabot" can match the swimming speed of the genuine article.


----------



## ekim68

Social robots are flopping. What makes this one different?



> No one's figured out the right recipe for social robots, but this company thinks it has the secret sauce.


----------



## ekim68

(Video)


More Parkour Atlas


----------



## ekim68

Secretive Seattle startup Picnic unveils pizza-making robot - here's how it delivers 300 pies/hour



> After three years of quietly toiling away on a robotic food system, Seattle startup Picnic has emerged from stealth mode with a system that assembles custom pizzas with little human intervention.
> 
> Picnic - previously known as Otto Robotics and Vivid Robotics - is the latest entrant in a cohort of startups and industry giants trying to find ways to automate restaurant kitchens in the face of slim margins and labor shortages.


----------



## ekim68

Flying batteries add charge to drones in mid-air



> Quadcopters have quite a few strengths as aircraft, but battery life is not one of them. The very best models can operate for around 30 minutes at a time, and in the past we've looked at technologies that could stretch these flight times by wirelessly powering them during flight or incorporating extra battery cells into the airframe. The latest interesting development comes from scientists at the University of California (UC) Berkeley, who have designed an inflight docking system that can keep quadcopters flying for far longer.


----------



## ekim68

Drones deliver life-saving emergency defibrillators in Canada



> In trials, drones arrived a full seven minutes before paramedics.


----------



## ekim68

Robot arms building in space



> A rocket launches into space. It escapes the Earth's atmosphere and falls away from the payload. The nose cone peels away. The main payload, a 15,000-pound satellite, deploys.
> 
> In the space between the satellite and the rocket, a big ring holds smaller payloads. They're components for something larger - a solar array or a radio antenna perhaps. One by one they're ejected off the ring into space. Sometime later, another rocket delivers a set of cubesats - spacecraft the size of a large shoebox.
> 
> These cubesats have small arms, about the length of a 6-year-old child's. They orient themselves in space, spot the floating components and begin assembling them.
> 
> The arm is a creation from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the arm's task of locating and reaching out for components is being developed in a joint project between JPL and Arizona State University.


----------



## ekim68

Sensitive synthetic skin makes for hug-safe humanoid robot



> Back in 2011 we looked at an array of small hexagonal plates created to serve as an electronic skin that endows robots with a sense of touch. The team responsible had placed 31 of these hexagonal "skin cells" on a small robot, but now they've gone a lot further, equipping a human-sized robot with 1,260 cells to create what they claim is the first autonomous humanoid robot with artificial skin covering its entire body - even the soles of its feet.


----------



## ekim68

Piaggio wheels out its grocery-carrying Gita robot



> After showing off an early developmental version back in 2017, Piaggio Fast Forward has wheeled out a consumer-ready courier robot built to carry everyday items for folks on foot. Gita can be loaded up with 40 lb (18 kg) of cargo and will trail its owner as they go about their lives, though such a luxury won't come cheap.


----------



## ekim68

RoboBee is first soft-muscled microrobot to achieve controlled flight



> Harvard's RoboBee project has been at the forefront of microrobot technology for years. We've watched with interest as subsequent developments have allowed the tiny machine to fly, swim, hover, perch and lose its tether. In a new development, RoboBee has become the first microrobot to achieve controlled flight using soft actuators - the artificial muscles that let the machine move.
> 
> The main benefit of soft actuators is improved resilience - already a strength of microrobots thanks to their low mass. Having soft artificial muscles lets the RoboBee avoid damage when crashing into walls, falling to the floor or bumping into other RoboBees.


----------



## ekim68

US Marine Corps developing robotic CRAB to clear beach mines



> The US Marine Corps is working on a prototype disposable robot designed to clear mines from the surf zones of beaches. The Crawling Remotely Operated Amphibious Breacher (CRAB) is a submersible machine that can operate by remote control or autonomously while using a mine flail, tiller, and rake to detonate or remove explosives or man-made submerged obstacles.


----------



## ekim68

Pocketable ElectroSkin robot crawls and clings to walls



> Taking a little inspiration from the slimy world of slugs and snails and mixing in some modern-day robotics, scientists at the University of Bristol have built a small, stretchy machine that can shuffle across surfaces and be stuffed into a pocket. The team imagines a host of applications for its so-called ElectroSkin, including deploying it in dangerous areas or even as an automated wall cleaner.
> 
> Soft robots are showing a lot of promise as machines that can use their more forgiving form to grip onto surfaces and grasp delicate objects. These types of robots often do so through electro-adhesion, relying on electrostatic forces to perch on overhanging surfaces, pick up an egg or climb up walls.


----------



## ekim68

[URL='https://gizmodo.com/u-s-police-already-using-spot-robot-from-boston-dynami-1840029868']U.S. Police Already Using 'Spot' Robot From Boston Dynamics in the Real World[/URL]



> Massachusetts State Police (MSP) has been quietly testing ways to use the four-legged Boston Dynamics robot known as Spot, according to new documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts. And while Spot isn't equipped with a weapon just yet, the documents provide a terrifying peek at our RoboCop future.


----------



## ekim68

Built by robots: This Swiss company could change the construction industry forever



> Erecting a new building ranks among the most inefficient, polluting activities humans undertake. The construction sector is responsible for nearly 40% of the world's total energy consumption and CO2 emissions, according to a UN global survey (pdf).
> 
> A consortium of Swiss researchers has one answer to the problem: working with robots. The proof of concept comes in the form of the DFAB House, celebrated as the first habitable building designed and planned using a choreography of digital fabrication methods.


----------



## ekim68

Amazon proposes a home robot that asks you questions when it's confused



> AI models invariably encounter ambiguous situations that they struggle to respond to with instructions alone. That's problematic for autonomous agents tasked with, say, navigating an apartment, because they run the risk of becoming stuck when presented with several paths.
> 
> To solve this, researchers at Amazon's Alexa AI division developed a framework that endows agents with the ability to ask for help in certain situations. Using what's called a model-confusion-based method, the agents ask questions based on their level of confusion as determined by a predefined confidence threshold, which the researchers claim boosts the agents' success by at least 15%.


----------



## ekim68

Smart farming: This weed-hunting robot is taking to the fields




> Small Robot Company





> (SRC) is a pioneering UK-based agri-tech startup whose Farming-as-a-Service offering is based around a trio of lightweight robots - Tom, Dick and Harry - that respectively monitor, feed/weed and seed arable crops, directed by an AI system called Wilma. The idea is to create high-resolution crop maps, enabling precision husbandry with minimal environmental impact.


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## ekim68

Robotic exoskeletons: Coming to a factory, warehouse or army near you, soon



> Exoskeletons have been a staple of the sci-fi imagination for decades: think Tony Stark's Iron Man outfit or Aliens' Ripley suiting up to shift containers (and battle the xenomorph queen). But those visions are becoming today's industrial reality, as robotic exoskeletons start to make their way into factories and building sites.


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## ekim68

Badger will deploy robots to nearly 500 Giant, Martin's, and Stop and Shop stores in the U.S.



> Fleets of robots will head to grocery store aisles later this year, thanks to a partnership between Kentucky-based Badger Technologies and Retail Business Services (RBS), the division of Ahold Delhaize that provides services to Food Lion, Hannaford, and other brick-and-mortar brands. The two today announced that Badger's roving Marty bots, which identify potential safety hazards and perform other labor-saving tasks, will come to nearly 500 Giant, Martin's, and Stop and Stop stores, following successful pilots.


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## ekim68

Stairs are no obstacle for flying robovac



> If your busy lifestyle leaves little time for housework, robot vacuum cleaners can help. Though models can employ some pretty advanced tech to autonomously tackle dirt in the living space, they're pretty much limited to one story. If you want your robovac to clean upstairs, you'll have to carry it up and set it off. Peter Sripol wasn't happy with that situation so made his Roomba fly.


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## ekim68

Next on California's roads: Autonomous pizza delivery trucks



> California has said it will now allow companies to test light-duty autonomous delivery vehicles on the state's public roads.


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## ekim68

VW's roving robot concept brings "battery wagons" to electric vehicles



> A couple of years ago at its Future Mobility Day, Volkswagen Group showed a mobile robot concept that could autonomously charge up EVs by bringing the battery to the vehicle. Now the automotive giant has unveiled an updated version that is no longer an all-in-one unit, but allows the robot to tend to multiple vehicles at once.


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## ekim68

US Navy wants to teach robotic ships to talk



> The US Navy is not only developing robotic warships, but it also wants to teach them how to speak. In a request for proposals, the Navy has outlined how it wants its autonomous surface vessels to be able to have back-and-forth verbal radio communications with the crew of other ships to avoid collisions.


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## ekim68

CES 2020: Robotic super suit brings strength to airport apron



> Sarcos' suit, called the Guardian XO, is essentially a robot that workers wear. It enables average people to lift and expertly manipulate loads well in excess of 100 pounds using natural body movements. For many years, the weight and capacity of batteries has limited the potential for an untethered, all-electric industrial suit, but Sarcos engineers seem to have cracked that nut with novel control and power management techniques.


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## ekim68

A man diagnosed with Wuhan coronavirus near Seattle is being treated largely by a robot



> The first person diagnosed with the Wuhan coronavirus in the United States is being treated by a few medical workers and a robot.
> 
> The robot, equipped with a stethoscope, is helping doctors take the man's vitals and communicate with him through a large screen, said Dr. George Diaz, chief of the infectious disease division at the Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, Washington.


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## ekim68

Robotic kayaks reveal glaciers are melting much faster underwater



> Glaciers don't just melt from the top, where they're exposed to air - some are melting from the bottom, where seawater is lapping away at them. This type of melting can be hard to study, since scientists can't exactly get down there. But now, researchers have used robotic kayaks to monitor plumes of freshwater coming from beneath glaciers, and found that they're melting much faster than we thought.


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## ekim68

Spot the robot goes to work on a Norwegian oil rig



> Spot, along with a number of other robots and drones, will be put to the test on an off-shore rig in the Norwegian Sea later this year. Aker BP will use the trials to assess how these types of machines and their autonomous capabilities can improve its inspection processes.
> 
> So far as Spot is concerned, Aker BP imagines the robot using its stereo camera system, obstacle avoidance systems and onboard sensors to detect and respond to gas leaks and provide onshore operators with a telepresence out at sea. The company has tested these abilities in simulated oil and gas environments and says the robot proved capable of reaching locations that humans cannot, reducing the risks to its workers and the overall safety of its facilities.


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## ekim68

Smarter robot swarms offer traffic-free blueprint for autonomous cars



> One of a number of benefits promised by a future in which cars drive themselves is less congestion, with advanced autonomous vehicles being so adept at navigating the streets that they not only avoid slamming into each other, but keep traffic flowing much more smoothly than humans ever could. Researchers at Northwestern University have come up with a novel control algorithm they say offers this type of traffic-free guarantee, demonstrating its capabilities via a swarm of tiny robots that can safely and swiftly assemble into desired shapes within 60 seconds.
> 
> The Northwestern University scientists describe their new control software as the first decentralized algorithm with a collision- and deadlock-free guarantee. This leverages the benefits of working with swarms of small robots where there is no centralized control, rather than a pack with a lead robot or a single larger robot, spreading the risk of failure across the entire fleet and shoring up the dependability of the system.


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## ekim68

DARPA teams with Northrop Grumman to build robotic service satellite



> DARPA has entered into a partnership with Northrop Grumman subsidiary Space Logistics LLC to develop robotic technologies for servicing and extending the service lives of orbital satellites. Based on the Mission Extension Vehicle-1 (MEV-1), which recently docked with a communication satellite in geosynchronous orbit, the technology will be used by the agency's Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) program to develop a dexterous robotic servicer that would be operated by private companies.


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## ekim68

Aquatic robot crawls hulls to brush off barnacles



> As ships travel the seas, an assortment of barnacles, mussels, algae and other greeblies accumulate on their hulls. This is definitely troublesome, which is why a new robot-based system has been developed as a possible solution.
> 
> The growth of marine organisms on ship hulls is known as biofouling, and it poses a couple of key problems.
> 
> First and foremost, by adding a rough living coating to the hull, it keeps ships from smoothly cutting through the water. This means that their engines have to work harder in order to maintain a given speed, thus using more fuel and producing more exhaust. Additionally, the introduction of invasive, non-native species may occur if organisms latch on in one geographical location and then reproduce in another.
> 
> With these issues in mind, Norwegian company Jotun has collaborated with Swedish tech firm Semcon - along with other partners - to develop its Hull Skating Solutions system.


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## ekim68

Shape-changing inflatable robot can nab objects and roam on its own



> Researchers working in the field of soft robotics hope to bring about a new generation of machines that are far safer for humans to work with, and one way they hope to do that is through supple, inflatable components. Scientists at Stanford University and the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) have put forward a particularly interesting solution, showing off an inflatable robot that can change shape, grab onto objects and roll in controllable directions while untethered.


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## ekim68

Drone plays dodgeball to demo fast new obstacle detection system



> Obstacle avoidance is a crucial piece of technology for drones, but commercially-available systems just aren't fast enough for some situations. Now, engineers at the University of Zurich have developed a new system that gives drones such fast reflexes that they can play - and win at - dodgeball.


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## ekim68

Robotic sea turtle shows promise as fish farm inspector



> Marine aquaculture pens have to be regularly checked for holes, plus the fish need to be inspected for disease or parasites. And although the job is typically performed by human divers, it turns out that a robotic sea turtle may be a better choice for the task.


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## ekim68

Meet the Xenobots



> MEDFORD, Mass. - If the last few decades of progress in artificial intelligence and in molecular biology hooked up, their love child - a class of life unlike anything that has ever lived - might resemble the dark specks doing lazy laps around a petri dish in a laboratory at Tufts University.
> 
> Douglas Blackiston, a biologist, pointed to one just a little wider than a human hair; squint, and you could just tell it was moving. But under a microscope, the blob was racing up and to the left. "He's a lighter -," Dr. Blackiston said, then caught himself. "It's a lighter color."


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## ekim68

Drones Take Italians' Temperature and Issue Fines



> It is now one of several European nations using police drones to an extent that would have seemed unimaginable -- and almost certainly unacceptable -- just a month ago.
> 
> Drones keep people off Paris's river quays and monitor water consumption in Spain.
> 
> In Italy, they try to figure out who has COVID-19.


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## valis

okay....that is not a good thing....in my view of course...


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## ekim68

In what way?


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## valis

Orwell and 1984 for starters...


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## valis

taking temperature is a good thing, dont get me wrong...but issuing fines, IMO, is a bit excessive...facial reco tech isnt there yet...


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## ekim68

I think the drone technology is good and getting better and can be in all kinds of places. As with all technology it comes with the good and the bad. 
In our area the police dept. is underfunded and if this technology was available here they would have more tools.

If Humanity doesn't kill itself off within the next few months/years, we'll have to eventually have to deal with 4 billion more people on this Earth in the next 30 to 50 years. Imagine policing that many..


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## ekim68

Robots welcome to take over, as pandemic accelerates automation



> The recycling industry was already struggling before the pandemic. Now, an increasing number of cities are suspending recycling services, partly out of fear that workers might contract the coronavirus from one another while sorting through used water bottles, food containers and boxes.
> 
> One solution: Let robots do the job.
> 
> Since the coronavirus took hold in the United States last month, AMP Robotics has seen a "significant" increase in orders for its robots that use artificial intelligence to sift through recycled material, weeding out trash.


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## ekim68

New foam-shooting robots to keep firefighters out of harm's way 



> Milrem Robotics and InnoVfoam have teamed up to create a new family of foam-shooting firefighting robots to help or replace human firefighters in dangerous situations. Based on Milrem's Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) Multiscope Rescue robot, the system incorporates some of InnoVfoam's firefighting systems, including fire monitors and foam proportioners.


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## ekim68

Boston Dynamics sends Spot robot to help doctors treat COVID-19 patients



> For years we have witnessed Boston Dynamics develop increasingly sophisticated robots, and while they are undoubtedly impressive engineering marvels, the question of what could they be used for was often raised. Now, the company has revealed its Spot robot is being deployed in hospitals to protect frontline healthcare workers from COVID-19.
> 
> For well over a decade Boston Dynamics has been refining its dog-like Spot robot, occasionally releasing cute videos showing it dancing or pulling trucks. As the company moves towards commercializing its robots, we have seen several potential uses recently demonstrated, from inspecting building sites to working on oil rigs.
> 
> Now the company has revealed that over the past couple of months it has been working on turning Spot into a mobile healthcare worker. And, it has already been interfacing between doctors and patients in a Boston hospital for several weeks.


----------



## ekim68

Roaming 'robodog' politely tells Singapore park goers to keep apart



> SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Far from barking its orders, a robot dog enlisted by Singapore authorities to help curb coronavirus infections in the city-state politely asks joggers and cyclists to stay apart.


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## ekim68

Soft-bodied robot channels the cheetah to move fast



> When we think of soft-bodied robots, we tend to picture things that slowly crawl like caterpillars. A new one is able to move much quicker, though, by leaping like a cheetah.
> 
> The world's fastest land animal, cheetahs run by rapidly flexing their spines between two stable states. A consortium of American scientists recently set out to replicate that motion in a soft robot. The resulting device is known as LEAP, which stands for "Leveraging Elastic instabilities for Amplified Performance."


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## ekim68

The robot assistant that can guess what you want



> Thomas Roszak was working as a maintenance technician at Ocado's giant warehouse in Hatfield when he received a very unusual assignment.
> 
> His regular job involved repairing and maintaining the online supermarket's automated sorting and packing system, which puts together grocery orders from customers.
> 
> It can be physically demanding work, manipulating heavy panels and working with other pieces of bulky machinery.
> 
> In a project designed to ease that burden, Ocado Technology, had been developing a robot that can recognise when a technician might need help and step in with either the right tool or help with lifting.


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## ekim68

Remotely operated Spot robot herds sheep in New Zealand 



> Boston Dynamics' dog-like Spot robot can now be remotely controlled from anywhere in the world thanks to a partnership with cloud-based software platform Rocos. To demonstrate its new capabilities the US team remotely monitored the robot working on an isolated farm in New Zealand.


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## ekim68

The robots that can pick kiwi-fruit



> Unable to find the seasonal labour they rely upon to harvest fruit and vegetables, many farmers have been faced with leaving their crops to rot in the fields during lockdown. But one New Zealand company is working on a solution.


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## ekim68

MIT builds robot hand that can 'see and feel' objects as fragile as a crisp in major breakthrough



> Robotic hands capable of picking up objects as fragile as a crisp by "sensing" objects have been developed by researchers.
> Two new tools built by MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) offer a breakthrough in the emerging field of soft robotics - a new generation of robots that use squishy, flexible materials rather than traditional rigid equipment.


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## ekim68

Hadrian X brick-laying robot ups the ante to 200 blocks an hour 



> Back in 2015 we looked at an interesting approach to automated construction in the form of a brick-laying robot, capable of putting together full-sized homes in just two days. The engineers behind the Hadrian X have continued making software improvements and have now announced a new record brick-laying speed, which they say makes the robot commercially competitive with manual workers around much of the world.


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## ekim68

Salto the jumping robot can now execute stylish precision landings 



> This cute, one-legged hopping robot out of UC Berkeley's Biomimetics lab has been capable of doing sweet parkour-style double-jumps off walls since 2016. By 2018, it was hopping continuously to heights up to a meter (3.3 ft) or so, with pretty decent accuracy, and autonomously bouncing its way up obstacles, using chairs as stepping stones to bounce up onto a table, for example.
> 
> What it couldn't do, oddly enough, was land.


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## ekim68

Two-wheeled, two-legged robot rolls and jumps



> While legged robots are able to perform feats such as climbing stairs, their wheeled counterparts are faster and less complex. The Ascento robot offers the best of both worlds, as it has two jumping legs - each one with a wheel on the bottom.


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## ekim68

Slow-moving SlothBot begins life as a long-term environmental observer



> A sloth-inspired robot has swung into action in Atlanta's Botanical Garden, albeit at a very slow pace. The SlothBot built by engineers at Georgia Tech is designed to choose its movements wisely, operating in a highly energy-efficient manner to hang around the canopy monitoring animals, plants and environmental conditions, with an eye on assisting conservation efforts around the world.


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## ekim68

Production line-cleaning robot learns on the job



> If you're preparing food on an automated production line, then that line had better be clean. A new autonomous robot was designed with this in mind, as it actually learns how to clean _better_ over time.


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## ekim68

Graceful robotic swifts take flight in latest Festo demo

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## ekim68

Video... 


Boston Dynamics "Spot" and Softbank Robotics "Pepper" Collaborative Robot dance


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## ekim68

Hadrian X bricklaying robot puts up its first walls 



> We've been following the progress of the Hadrian X bricklaying robot since it first started flexing its giant telescopic arm back in 2015, and have seen the team behind it make a few notable improvements since. We are now seeing what this type of machine can bring to the real world, with the robot completing the walls of its first display home as part of residential development in Western Australia.


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## ekim68

Coral polyp-inspired robot cleans up using magnets and light



> Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands have drawn inspiration from a tiny tentacled marine creature to produce a centimeter-scale robot that is powered by magnets and light. With the ability to grab and release objects underwater, the team imagines a range of applications for its new machine including collecting contaminants with its tentacles or even capturing cells as a tool in biomedicine.


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## ekim68

Meet White Castle's New Robot Chef, Flippy



> Move over human grill cooks, White Castle is teaming up with Miso Robotics to test an automated sous-chef. The aptly named Flippy-an AI-enabled kitchen assistant-is set to join the staff at a Chicago-area burger joint for a trial run that could usher in a new era of robot hash slingers.


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## ekim68

Ford recruits Spot robotic dogs to laser scan its plants for retooling



> Boston Dynamics' Spot robots are eye-catching machines with some very useful capabilities - beyond just towing trucks and twerking. The versatility of these four-legged robotic dogs has seen them find use on farms in New Zealand and oil rigs in Norway, and now Ford is getting in on the act by enlisting a pair of the quadrupeds to perform laser scanning at one of its plants to aid in retooling.


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## ekim68

A 60-Foot Robot Just Took Its First Steps



> No, you're not watching _Pacific Rim_ or an insane anime - this is an actual 18-meter (60-foot) robot taking its first steps (at least, sort of).
> 
> Designed after the popular Gundam robot from multiple TV series and manga, this is by far the largest robot ever created - and it looks just as awesome as we imagined. The massive robot, currently in construction in Gundam Factory Yokohama, Japan, is seen lifting and lowering its legs in preparation for its debut in October 2020, although that may be postponed due to the ongoing pandemic.


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## ekim68

US$1,515 will let you drive the beastly Prosthesis mech suit 

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## ekim68

Robot research vessel to set off on epic ocean voyage of discovery  



> On the 400th anniversary of the start of an epic voyage from England to the New World aboard the Mayflower, an autonomous, solar-powered marine research vessel is due to launch on a mission to gather environmental data about the ocean.
> 
> Two years in the making, the Mayflower Autonomous Ship sets off from Plymouth in Devon today on six months of sea trials ahead of an Atlantic crossing attempt next year, a voyage based on the route taken by the Pilgrims in 1620.


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## ekim68

Ellen Ochoa Shakes Hands with First Humanoid Robot to Head to Station


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## ekim68

α-WaLTR robot will have wheels that double as legs



> When it comes to methods of locomotion for robots, wheels are good for some things, while legs are better for others. Scientists are now working on a bot that combines the best of both worlds, with wheels that _become_ legs.


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## ekim68

MIT's autonomous "Roboats" are now big enough to be canal-bound Ubers



> The world's first fleet of autonomous boats is growing - literally. After years of tests and upgrades, MIT's self-driving Roboat has now doubled in size, allowing it to carry two people at a time. The boats have also had an intelligence upgrade and can now move in coordinated groups.


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## ekim68

These drones will plant 40,000 trees in a month. By 2028, they'll have planted 1 billion


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## ekim68

Spot the robot dog adopts role as construction site inspector



> Boston Dynamics' Spot is a versatile little robot. Able to pull trucks, work on oil rigs, and even herd sheep, the dog-like bot has now learned a new trick and has been helping Foster + Partners with its ongoing Battersea Roof Gardens project in London, England.


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## ekim68

This Robot Can Rap-Really



> What if your digital assistant could battle rap? That may sound far-fetched, but Gil Weinberg, a music technologist at the Georgia Institute of Technology, has adapted a musical robot called Shimon to compose lyrics and perform in real time. That means it can engage in rap "conversations" with humans, and maybe even help them compose their own lyrics. Shimon, which was intentionally designed to sound machinelike (listen here), is meant to be a one-of-a-kind musical collaborator-or an inhuman rap-battle opponent.


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## ekim68

VW's mobile EV-charging robot concept becomes a reality



> 'Tis the season … for Volkswagen to bring us up to speed on its efforts to make charging electric vehicles a completely autonomous operation. A year ago, almost to the day, the automaker unveiled its mobile charging robot concept, and now, having spent the the past 12 months making the concept a reality, it has given us the first glimpse of the robot in prototype form.


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## ekim68

Entire Boston Dynamics robot line-up dances in the new year



> Boston Dynamics is sending off 2020 with its most impressive robot video to date - showing off its entire range dancing to the classic song "Do You Love Me?". The fun video offers the first glimpse at two Atlas robots working together while also highlighting just how quickly this technology is developing.


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## ekim68

Robotic paddlewheeler skims debris from swimming pools



> Swimming in pools may be fun, but using a dip net to skim leaves off of them can be a tedious chore. That's why the solar-powered Ariel robot was created, as it autonomously does the job for you.


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## ekim68

Tiny schooling aquatic robots inspired by fish  



> We've already heard about small flying or wheeled robots that cooperate on tasks by working in collaborative "swarms." Harvard University researchers have now gone a step further, by developing tiny underwater robots that school together like fish.
> 
> Known as Bluebots, the fish-inspired robots each incorporate two wide-angle cameras and three high-visibility blue LEDs. They swim by flapping their tails and moving their fins.


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## ekim68

Jellyfish-inspired robot moves like nature's most efficient swimmer



> When it comes to developing robots that can move efficiently through water, scientists regularly turn to creature's like squid and jellyfish for inspiration, and a UK research team has just produced one that can swim with the best of them. The soft and flexible robot uses a novel propulsion method to move much like the most efficient swimmer found in nature, and carries a set of attributes its creators say are well suited to operating near fragile and sensitive underwater environments.
> 
> The robot was created by a team of engineers from the University of Southampton and the University of Edinburgh, who sought inspiration from what is considered nature's most efficient swimmer, _Aurelia aurita, _or moon jellyfish. The robot mimics the locomotion of this marine creature with the help of what the engineers call a "propulsive bell."


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## ekim68

Spot the robot dog can now reach out and grab you (and other stuff)



> Spot, the robot dog from Boston Dynamics, is now outfitted with an arm and gripper. From the company:
> 
> It finds and picks up objects (trash), tidies up the living room, opens doors, operates switches and valves, tends the garden, and generally has fun. Motion of the hand, arm and body are automatically coordinated to simplify manipulation tasks and expand the arm's workspace, making its reach essentially unbounded.


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## ekim68

Hyundai's wild robot-car-on-legs gets an unmanned, air-liftable cousin



> So the TIGER adapts the skateboard chassis of the Elevate to unmanned mission purposes, moving to a lightweight, carbon composite structure designed to be 3D-printed. It retains the four eye-popping wheels on legs, each offering six degrees of movement freedom thanks to a swiveling, bending hip, a bending knee, a bending ankle, a rotating wheel mount, and the wheels themselves, with their electric hub motors capable of rolling in either direction. And it retains the sensor suite and on-board computing required to read and respond to terrain and drive the thing.
> 
> It ditches the cabin on top, though, and replaces it with a mount ready to accept more or less any mission module. You could stick a cargo module on top, or a disaster relief package, or a stretcher, or a module capable of mapping, mining, seeding, inspecting or exploring anything from a nuclear leak to a hostile planet. What's on top doesn't really matter; the platform works with or without it.


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## ekim68

Air-powered robot needs no electronics to walk like a turtle



> Soft robots are gaining a lot of attention in research circles, largely due to the safety benefits for humans who might need to work in their vicinity, and from an engineering lab at the University of California, San Diego comes an interesting new example of this technology in the form of a robot that is powered by pressurized air and can move without any electronics.


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## ekim68

Sidewalk robots get legal rights as "pedestrians"



> As small robots proliferate on sidewalks and city streets, so does legislation that grants them generous access rights and even classifies them, in the case of Pennsylvania, as "pedestrians."


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## ekim68

Adaptive robot changes leg length in response to different terrain



> Robots these days are equipped with locomotion systems to overcome all types of terrain, but tend to favor one type of environment in particular. Scientists at Norway's University of Oslo have instead developed a four-legged robot that can adjust its leg length and walking gait on the fly as it encounters different surfaces, an ability they say improves its energy efficiency and performance in unpredictable settings.


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## ekim68

Robotic fish learns to match its swimming speed to the current



> Fish have a sensory system known as the lateral line, which allows them to detect movements, vibrations and pressure gradients in the water. Scientists have now given a robotic fish its own version of that system, letting it determine the best swimming speed.
> 
> The study involved researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (Germany), Seoul National University and Harvard University. They created a soft-bodied fish-inspired robot, which was able to swim in place against a water current passing through a tank.


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## ekim68

Spherical spelunker robot designed to roll around in lunar caves



> ESA has unveiled a spherical robot that may one day be used to explore caves on the Moon. Called the Descent And Exploration in Deep Autonomy of Lunar Underground Structures (DAEDALUS) robot, the spelunking rover is being designed as part of the Lunar Caves-System Study by the space agency's Concurrent Design Facility at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in the Netherlands.


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## ekim68

Robotic dragonfly skims across water to detect oil spills and acidity



> From slow-moving machines inspired by sloths to others that burst from the water and soar through the air like flying fish, robots that mimic the behavior of real-world creatures have exciting potential when it comes to environmental monitoring. A new creation out of Duke University is yet another interesting example, taking after a dragonfly to skim across water and check for oil spills, high acidity and other abnormalities, and doing so without any electronics onboard.
> 
> The DraBot, as it has been named, follows a number of other air-powered robots inspired by nature, including ones the run like a cheetah, walk like a turtle and swim like a jellyfish.


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## ekim68

Royal Navy takes delivery of new robotic Madfox boat



> The Royal Navy has officially received a new autonomous vessel. The Maritime Demonstrator For Operational eXperimentation (Madfox) will go through a year of testing by the Royal Navy's Autonomy and Lethality Accelerator, NavyX, before entering regular service.
> 
> The announcement comes on the heels of a major review by the Ministry of Defence, which will be the greatest shakeup in a generation of all branches of the British military services. The new strategy will see a serious expansion of the fleet and an emphasis in all branches on rapid reaction forces, cyberwarfare, expanded nuclear forces, and increased use of robotic and autonomous systems.


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## ekim68

Boston Dynamics' New Robot Doesn't Dance. It Has a Warehouse Job



> Called Stretch, the machine may look wildly different than its famous cousins Spot and Atlas, but it shares a ton of their DNA.


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## ekim68

Swiss robots use UV light to zap viruses aboard passenger planes



> ZURICH (Reuters) - A robot armed with virus-killing ultraviolet light is being tested on Swiss airplanes, yet another idea aiming to restore passenger confidence and spare the travel industry more pandemic pain.


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## ekim68

MIT researchers use radio waves to help robots find hidden objects



> Back in 2019, a team of scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) used a combination of tactile sensors and AI to allow a robot to identify objects by touch.
> 
> A separate group of scientists from MIT has now built a machine that can find things it can't see initially. The aptly named RF Grasp depends on a wrist-mounted camera and an RF reader to hone in and pick up an object. As long an item has an RF tag on it, the robot can find it, even if it's hidden behind things like wrapping paper.


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## ekim68

Isilon founder lifts the hood on farming startup Carbon Robotics and its weed zapping machine



> Carbon Robotics, a Seattle company led by Isilon Systems co-founder Paul Mikesell, is unveiling its self-driving robot that uses artificial intelligence to identify weeds growing in fields of vegetables, then zaps them with precision thermal bursts from lasers.


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## ekim68

No Human Can Match This High-Speed Box-Unloading Robot Named After a Pickle



> Able to move 1,600 boxes per hour using just one arm, Dill relies on humans to keep it operating efficiently


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## ekim68

DNA robots designed in minutes instead of days



> Someday, scientists believe, tiny DNA-based robots and other nanodevices will deliver medicine inside our bodies, detect the presence of deadly pathogens, and help manufacture increasingly smaller electronics.
> 
> Researchers took a big step toward that future by developing a new tool that can design much more complex DNA robots and nanodevices than were ever possible before in a fraction of the time.


----------



## ekim68

Latest ANYmal walking robot gets ready for inspection 

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## ekim68

Researchers develop a robotic guide dog to assist blind individuals



> Guide dogs, dogs that are trained to help humans move through their environments, have played a critical role in society for many decades. These highly trained animals, in fact, have proved to be valuable assistants for visually impaired individuals, allowing them to safely navigate indoor and outdoor environments.
> 
> Researchers at the University of California Berkeley's Hybrid Robotics Group have recently created a quadrupedal robot with a leash that could take on the role of a guide dog. This robot, presented in a paper pre-published on arXiv, can help humans to safely navigate indoor environments without crashing into objects, walls and other obstacles.


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## ekim68

Autonomous Weeder robot uses lasers to take out 100,000 plants an hour 



> Whether you're a farmer tending to expansive crops that you depend on for your livelihood or a hobbyist gardener trying to keep your tomatoes in check, weeds can be a time-consuming and relentless problem. Startup Carbon Robotics has wheeled out an autonomous machine that has these pesky plants in its cross hairs, using a combination of computer vision and high-powered lasers to comb fields and take out thousands of weeds an hour.


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## ekim68

RAI's certification process aims to prevent AIs from turning into HALs



> Now, the Responsible Artificial Intelligence Institute (RAI) - a non-profit developing governance tools to help usher in a new generation of trustworthy, safe, Responsible AIs - hopes to offer a more standardized means of certifying that our next HAL won't murder the entire crew. In short they want to build "the world's first independent, accredited certification program of its kind." Think of the LEED green building certification system used in construction but with AI instead.


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## ekim68

Robots and artificial intelligence to guide Australia's first fully automated farm



> Robots and artificial intelligence will replace workers on Australia's first fully automated farm created at a cost of $20 million.
> 
> Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga will create the "hands-free farm" on a 1,900-hectare property to demonstrate what robots and artificial intelligence can do without workers in the paddock.


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## ekim68

EVA robot identifies and copies people's facial expressions



> If you smiled at someone and they didn't smile back, you'd probably find it off-putting. Well, that's what usually happens if you smile at a humanoid robot … but not in the case of the expression-mirroring EVA.
> 
> Developed by a team of engineering researchers at New York City's Columbia University, EVA is in fact a humanoid robotic _head_. It's designed to explore the dynamics of human/robot interactions, and consists of a 3D-printed adult-human-sized synthetic skull with a soft rubber face on the front.


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## ekim68

Sidewalk-traveling robots are here, aiming to deliver restaurant meals on the cheap, while being cute



> The 18-inch tall robots on four wheels zipping across city sidewalks stopped people in their tracks as they whipped out their camera phones.


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## ekim68

McDonald's is testing automated drive-thru ordering at 10 Chicago restaurants



> At 10 McDonald's locations in Chicago, workers aren't taking down customers' drive-thru orders for McNuggets and french fries - a computer is, CEO Chris Kempczinski said Wednesday.


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## ekim68

WomBot robot used to explore and analyze wombat burrows



> Besides being known for their cube-shaped droppings, wombats are unfortunately also subject to the disease sarcoptic mange. In order to better understand how the mange-causing mites are able to spread between wombats, scientists have developed a burrow-exploring robot.


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## ekim68

Tunneling snake robot takes cues from nature to keep its head in the sand 



> Robots are great at exploring land, sea, sky and space, but one environment that's trickier for them to navigate is through the ground. Now, engineers at UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) and Georgia Tech have developed a snake-like robot that uses a range of methods to burrow through soft sand or soil.


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## ekim68

Smart foam material gives robotic hand the ability to self-repair



> SINGAPORE, July 6 (Reuters) - Singapore researchers have developed a smart foam material that allows robots to sense nearby objects, and repairs itself when damaged, just like human skin.
> 
> Artificially innervated foam, or AiFoam, is a highly elastic polymer created by mixing fluoropolymer with a compound that lowers surface tension.


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## ekim68

Grubhub will use Russian-made robots to deliver food on college campuses



> Grubhub and Russian self-driving startup Yandex are teaming up to use robots to deliver food on US college campuses. It represents the latest deal that envisions hundreds of six-wheeled self-driving robots that essentially act as roving lunchboxes in cities across the country.
> 
> The robot-powered delivery service won't kick off until this fall when college students return to campus. Yandex, which is often described as Russia's Google, will operate the robots, as well as handle the entire food delivery process. Grubhub, which has partnerships with over 250 college campuses in the US, will serve as the platform for the delivery transactions.


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## renegade600

doubt they will last on college campus but at least, it will be a good testing ground.


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## ekim68

Wearable robotic system could help rehabilitate stroke victims



> When someone has suffered a stroke, they often have difficulty relaying commands from their brain to other parts of their body, such as their limbs. A new robotic system, known as NCyborg, may one day help them regain the ability to do so.
> 
> NCyborg is currently being developed via a collaboration between China's Tongji Hospital (which is affiliated with the Huazhong University of Science and Technology) and Harvard-affiliated brain-computer interface company BrainCo.


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## ekim68

A Former NASA Engineer Set a New World Record With His Domino-Laying Robot



> As Nerdist reports, this record-breaking robot is the creation of NASA engineer Mark Rober. Rober's YouTube channel is filled with videos of him applying his science expertise to creative challenges. For this project, he designed a robot to lay down as many dominos as possible as quickly as possible. He enlisted three engineering students to help him with the effort.


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## ekim68

Beach-cleaning BeBot sifts through sand to gather small pieces of trash 



> Despite the efforts of good-hearted folks that sweep beaches for trash others have left behind, such is the magnitude of our plastic pollution problem that it can be hard to collect it all, particularly the smaller debris. The BeBot is a robot designed to tackle this problem, mechanically sifting through sand to gather up waste while leaving behind a minimal footprint on the environment.


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## ekim68

Xiaomi joins the pack with $1,500 CyberDog robot that does backflips



> Chinese electronics giant Xiaomi has unveiled its first commercial quadruped robot, and its design might be one that keen watchers of the space are familiar with. The newly introduced CyberDog is a quadruped robot inspired by our four-legged friends, and it bears a lot of similarities with the impressive Spot developed by Boston Dynamics, though costs just a fraction of that robot's US$75,000 price.


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## ekim68

Robotic tuna uses variable-stiffness tail for more efficient swimming 



> Given that they're such naturally proficient swimmers, the physical structure of fish is increasingly being copied in the design of underwater robots. Scientists have now discovered that by adjusting the stiffness of their tails, those bots can swim much more efficiently.


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## ekim68

Royal Navy trials robotic boat for surveying sea bottom 



> The Royal Navy is testing a robotic boat designed to survey uncharted waters as part of an investigation into the use of uncrewed vessels for military surveying operations. The Otter Pro boat was tested on Horsea Lake at the Defence Diving School, Portsmouth by the Navy's Project Hecla team and used a range of sensors to chart the lake bottom.


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## ekim68

Boston Dynamics Teaches Atlas Robot Parkour



> Boston Dynamics taught its robots to dance last year, now one of them can complete a parkour course.
> 
> The robot company, which is owned by Hyundai, has released two new videos today. The first shows off how well the Atlas robot can perform parkour, while the second video takes us behind the scenes and explains how Atlas works. It's actually the first time Atlas has managed to complete the complex obstacle course flawlessly, and Boston wants to celebrate that.


----------



## ekim68

Robotic system dismantles EV batteries for recycling 10x faster 



> As electric vehicles continue to gain in popularity, one thing we'll have to deal with down the road is mounting piles of batteries that have reached the end of their lives. Casting their eye toward this future, scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a new robotic system that automatically disassembles spent electric vehicle batteries with great efficiency and safety, making them easier to recycle.
> 
> The issue of spent electric vehicle batteries is something that's on the radar of not just research groups, but big name automakers, too. Nissan has repurposed Leaf batteries to power data centers, Renault has turned its electric vehicle batteries into energy storage systems for the home and chargers at highway rest stops, while Ford is building a US$185-million facility to focus on next-gen batteries, including how they can best be recycled once their job is done.


----------



## ekim68

Elon Musk announces the Tesla Bot, a humanoid, AI robot worker



> At Tesla's AI Day presentation, Elon Musk has revealed that the company is working on its own AI-driven humanoid robot. According to Musk, the Tesla Bot is designed to "navigate through a world built for humans, and eliminate dangerous, repetitive, boring tasks."


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## ekim68

Segway's first robotic lawn mower uses GPS to stay on course 



> Segway-Ninebot has rolled on into the autonomous lawn mower space with a robotic gardening solution that goes a little further than most, using GPS to navigate gardens with a high degree of precision. Low noise levels and easy cleaning are other noteworthy features of the newly introduced Navimow, which will arrive in a number of variants to suit lawns of different sizes.


----------



## ekim68

M2NS tech will use robotic arms to autonomously neutralize sea mines 



> It goes without saying that the neutralizing of underwater mines is a dangerous task - definitely one that you'd avoid sending a scuba diver to do, if at all possible. That's why Pittsburgh-based RE2 Robotics is designing a robotic system to do the job.


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## ekim68

Boston Dynamics' Spot becomes robotic watchdog for Hyundai



> Spot is on the job. Well, that's actually "Factory Safety Service Robot," which is a safety-oriented version of Spot that's ready to help with operations at Hyundai Motor plants in South Korea. The automaker, which recently purchased a controlling stake in Spot's creators, Boston Dynamics, said on Friday the new robot will work in a local Kia plant to survey industrial areas remotely and help identify issues before they happen.


----------



## ekim68

Flying Microchips The Size Of A Sand Grain Could Be Used For Population Surveillance



> It's neither a bird nor a plane, but a winged microchip as small as a grain of sand that can be carried by the wind as it monitors such things as pollution levels or the spread of airborne diseases.
> 
> The tiny microfliers, whose development by engineers at Northwestern University was detailed in an article published by _Nature_ this week, are being billed as the smallest-ever human-made flying structures.


----------



## ekim68

Bipedal robot/drone hybrid can walk, fly and skateboard 

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## ekim68

Robot dogs don't look as cute with night-vision sniper rifles on board



> You've seen Spot run. You've seen Spot jump. You've seen Spot do cute little booty-shaking dance routines. Now, see Spot fire lethal weapons. Sword Defense Systems has presented a precision rifle for robot dogs, capable of nailing targets 1.2 km (0.75 miles) away.


----------



## ekim68

Ant-inspired quadruped robots link together to overcome obstacles



> If a foraging ant encounters a gap too wide for it to cross on its own, the insect will sometimes signal other ants to form a bridge of their linked bodies. Such behaviour has now been copied in a small four-legged robot, that may someday inspire better search-and-rescue bots.


----------



## ekim68

Robotic water strider is propelled by surface tension - and alcohol 



> The Maragoni effect is defined as "the mass transfer along an interface between two fluids due to a gradient of the surface tension." Water striders harness it by secreting water-insoluble compounds called lipids, creating a surface tension imbalance that pulls them forward. Led by Asst. Prof. Hassan Masoud, a team at Michigan Technological University built a small robot that works in the same fashion.


----------



## ekim68

MIT deploys first full-scale autonomous Roboat on canals of Amsterdam 



> Back in 2016, we caught wind of an interesting research project looking to make use of Amsterdam's famously abundant waterways by deploying autonomous vessels to transport people and goods. These so-called Roboats have undergone a number of redesigns in the years since, and their creators have now landed on their final version, a full-scale, self-navigating watercraft they say is ready to be put to work.


----------



## ekim68

Flippy 2 kitchen robot can singlehandedly work a fast food fry station 



> Flippy the burger-flipping robot has received an upgrade as Miso Robotics rolls out its Flippy 2 model. Taking on board feedback from a pilot program with the White Castle hamburger chain that started in Chicago in September 2020, the new cybernetic chef boasts twice the food prep capabilities and can operate a fry station on its own.


----------



## ekim68

Tracked bottom-crawling robot gathers valuable deep-sea data



> Although the deep ocean floor may seem isolated from life on the rest of the planet, it actually plays a vital role in the global carbon cycle. Scientists are now gaining a better understanding _of_ that role, thanks to a tracked robotic underwater rover.


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## valis

My first immediate thought?

'Who lives in a pineapple under the sea'.....

Dunno what that says about me but its not good.


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## ekim68

"I'd like to live, under the sea , in an octopuses' garden"


----------



## ekim68

America is hiring a record number of robots



> Companies in North America added a record number of robots in the first nine months of this year as they rushed to speed up assembly lines and struggled to add human workers.
> 
> Factories and other industrial users ordered 29,000 robots, 37% more than during the same period last year, valued at $1.48 billion, according to data compiled by the industry group the Association for Advancing Automation.


----------



## ekim68

NTT Docomo balloon drone gets around using ultrasonic propulsion



> As handy as multicopter drones are, the endlessly spinning blades are noisy, energy-intensive and potentially dangerous. Balloons could be a good alternative to do at least a few jobs other drones can do - namely, shoot video and look cool - and now Japanese company NTT Docomo has unveiled bouncy blimp-like drones that get around using an ultrasonic propulsion system.


----------



## ekim68

The Pentagon's $82 Million Super Bowl of Robots



> One afternoon in late September, a yellow four-legged robot called Spot pranced and pirouetted on a replica of a dingy subway platform that had been constructed inside a vast limestone cavern burrowed beneath the Louisville Zoo. Spot snooped around the platform, inhaling data through cameras and sensors arrayed on its vacuum-cleaner-size torso. The robot's little feet kept darting perilously close to the edge of the platform, then back to safety. Finally, apparently satisfied by what it had learned, Spot nimbly descended a staircase to make further investigations on the track bed. Back on the now-deserted platform, a poster on the wall declared: "The Future Is Now."


----------



## ekim68

Test subjects show surprising ability to play piano with a third thumb



> Could an existing piano player adapt to playing the instrument with an extra, robotic thumb? A new study suggests that the answer is yes, and interestingly enough, even people who are new to the piano are equally adept at using the added appendage.


----------



## ekim68

Grover robot does the heavy lifting in high-tech greenhouses



> With large high-tech sustainable farming facilities located in Northern California and Texas, Silicon Valley-based startup Iron Ox relies heavily on robots to help shoulder the workload. The company's latest bot, named Grover, can lift over 1,000 lb (454 kg).
> 
> Not to be confused with NASA's polar exploration robot of the same name, Grover was designed in-house by Iron Ox's team of engineers.


----------



## ekim68

World's first living robots can now reproduce, scientists say



> The US scientists who created the first living robots say the life forms, known as xenobots, can now reproduce -- and in a way not seen in plants and animals.
> 
> Formed from the stem cells of the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) from which it takes its name, xenobots are less than a millimeter (0.04 inches) wide. The tiny blobs were first unveiled in 2020 after experiments showed that they could move, work together in groups and self-heal.


----------



## ekim68

Falcon-inspired drone uses claws to perch and grab objects



> Nature is an endless source of inspiration for robot design, so of course flying robots will borrow heavily from birds. Engineers at Stanford have now developed robotic claws inspired by the talons of a falcon that let drones perch on many different surfaces, as well as grabbing or catching objects.


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## ekim68

AMU-Bot robot kills weeds as it makes its way through crops 



> While manually hoeing weeds out of crops can be very time- and labor-intensive, spraying those crops with herbicides is definitely not eco-friendly. A German consortium is developing a third choice, in the form of the AMU-Bot weed-killing robot.
> 
> Moving along on caterpillar-type treads, the bot is capable of autonomously travelling up and down the rows of plants in orchards, vegetable fields or tree nurseries. It utilizes onboard LiDAR scanners to stay between those rows, and to see where each row ends so it can turn around and head down the next one.


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## ekim68

Wheeled, legged quadruped robot is now set to stand and deliver



> ETH Zurich's ANYmal robot was already impressive back when it simply walked on four legs. It got more interesting when wheels were added _to_ those legs, letting it both walk and roll. That wheeled version is now also able to stand up, and could soon be used for urban deliveries.


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## ekim68

Water-strider-inspired robot may one day clean up oil spills



> It's possible that someday in the future, sunlight-powered robots may be able to swim across marine oil spills, soaking up the oil as they go. A tiny functioning prototype has already been created, and it was inspired by both the steam engine and an insect.
> 
> Currently in development at the University of California - Riverside, the "Neusbot" device is named after the neuston category of animals. One of those animals is the water strider, an insect which utilizes pulsating movements to scoot across the water's surface.


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## ekim68

Hopping, rolling, balancing Ascento robot now available in Pro form



> It was just last year that we heard about the Ascento 2, a self-balancing, two-legged, wheeled, hopping robot. Well, as if it wasn't already impressive enough, its designers have now unveiled the even more capable Ascento Pro.


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## ekim68

Wall-climbing HB1 robot could find work in high places 



> The HB1 clings to walls, pillars, ceilings or just about anything else using two integrated electric fans. These draw air from beneath the front and rear of the robot, expelling that air straight out the back of the bot to create downforce. This setup allows the device to move across flat or curved, rough or smooth surfaces, and to roll over small obstacles such as electrical conduits which may be present on those surfaces.


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## ekim68

Robo-bass used to protect native tadpoles from invasive mosquitofish 



> The mosquitofish is a harmful invasive species in much of the world, outcompeting and overwhelming native fish and other aquatic life. Scientists are now working on a solution to the problem, in the form of a robotic bass.


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## ekim68

Snowbot S1 could be your own snow-blowing robot



> Although using a snow blower may be easier than shovelling, even pushing a blower around can be tiring if you have a large area to clear. That's where the Snowbot S1 comes in - it's a snow-blowing robot that's designed to do the job all on its own.
> 
> Not related to the prototype SnowBot that we covered in 2019, the Snowbot S1 is a battery-powered, rubber-tracked autonomous vehicle which is about to enter the beta testing phase. Although you _could_ use it on your sidewalk, it's intended more for large spaces such as parking lots.


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## ekim68

A Robot for the Worst Job in the Warehouse



> Stretch's design is somewhat of a departure from the humanoid and quadrupedal robots that Boston Dynamics is best known for, such as Atlas and Spot. With its single massive arm, a gripper packed with sensors and an array of suction cups, and an omnidirectional mobile base, Stretch can transfer boxes that weigh as much as 50 pounds (23 kilograms) from the back of a truck to a conveyor belt at a rate of 800 boxes per hour. An experienced human worker can move boxes at a similar rate, but not all day long, whereas Stretch can go for 16 hours before recharging. And this kind of work is punishing on the human body, especially when heavy boxes have to be moved from near a trailer's ceiling or floor.


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## ekim68

Unitree quadruped robots get a helping hand - a whole arm, in fact 



> Chinese company Unitree's quadruped robots are clearly influenced by the SpotMini bot, which can be equipped with a rather creepy-looking manipulator arm. Not to be outdone, Unitree has now announced an arm of its own, which will allow its robots to perform a variety of new tasks.


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## MisterEd51

Self-Driving Cars And Asimov's Three Laws About Robots
https://www.forbes.com/sites/lancee...movs-three-laws-about-robots/?sh=1bb253624768


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## ekim68

Robot uses bending legs and pivoting wheels to traverse city streets

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## ekim68

Petra's remarkable thermal bore cuts through undrillable rock 



> San Francisco startup Petra says its new contactless thermal drilling robot can make steady progress through the hardest rock on Earth - stuff that would normally destroy drilling equipment - so quickly and cheaply that it could make a lot of underground infrastructure projects economically feasible.
> 
> The semi-autonomous "Swifty" robotic system can create 18-60 inch (46-152 cm) diameter tunnels through any geology, blasting the rock with an extremely hot, high-pressure spallation head such that it glows, chars and flings away.


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## ekim68

Surgical robot performs world-first autonomous laparoscopic procedure



> While robotic laparoscopic surgical systems _do_ make certain procedures safer and less invasive, those systems are still operated by human surgeons. Now, however, a surgical robot has performed a delicate operation entirely on its own.


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## ekim68

Police use robot dogs to test unhoused people for Covid

_



Vice

Click to expand...

_


> reports that the Honolulu Police Department spent $150,000 on a Robot Dog from Boston Dynamics, plus $11 on a thermometer, to go around to encampments of unhoused people and take their temperatures to see if they might have COVID-19.


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## ekim68

Fruit-picking drones may be heading for an orchard near you 

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## ekim68

FiFish V6 Expert improves on an already-improved underwater drone



> Manufactured by Chinese company Qysea, the Expert shares many of its key features with the base version of the V6. These include six thrusters for 360-degree omni-directional maneuverability, a maximum depth rating of 100 m (328 ft), a top forward speed of 1.5 meters per second (4.9 ft/s) and an LED-spotlight-aided 4K/30fps camera.


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## ekim68

Robot dogs to patrol U.S. border



> A recent press release from the Department of Homeland Security announced plans to employ more robot dogs to aid CBP at the US-Mexico border. If that alone doesn't sound dystopian enough, their reasoning will help: it's mostly due to climate change.


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## ekim68

Mighty morphing melting metal robot switches from driving to flying drone


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## ekim68

Echo SAR turns cell phones into drone-detected rescue beacons



> When arriving at a disaster site, one of the most crucial tasks is to locate any survivors who may be trapped in the debris. A new module is designed to let drones do so, by detecting the radio signals of victims' mobile phones.
> 
> Designed by Canadian firm Robotics Centre and manufactured by Teledyne FLIR Defense, the Echo SAR (search and rescue) module incorporates the Artemis mobile phone detection system, which is made by British cellular tech company Smith Myers.


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## ekim68

HUUVER drone rolls along the ground and flies through the air



> While aerial drones have many uses, there are some situations where ground-based drones are a better choice - they certainly use less battery power. The HUUVER combines aspects of the two in one vehicle, as it features both propellers and tank-like treads.


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## ekim68

White Castle to hire 100 robots to flip burgers



> The robotics program will take place in nearly one-third of the company's locations.


----------



## ekim68

Arcimoto trials driverless delivery pod based on three-wheeled electric FUV 



> Eugene-based electric mobility company Arcimoto has teamed up with Silicon Valley autonomous driving startup Faction Technology to transform its three-wheeled electric Fun Utility Vehicle into a "driverless" pod for last-mile deliveries.


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## ekim68

Black Hornet PRS



> The Black Hornet PRS equips the non-specialist dismounted soldier with immediate covert situational awareness (SA). Game-changing EO and IR technology bridges the gap between aerial and ground-based sensors, with the same SA as a larger UAV and threat location capabilities of UGVs. Extremely light, nearly silent, and with a flight time up to 25 minutes, the combat-proven, pocket-sized Black Hornet PRS transmits live video and HD still images back to the operator.


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## ekim68

Exclusive: Lawmakers express "extreme concern" over border robot dog plan



> A small group of Latino U.S. House members recently expressed "extreme concern" about a plan to potentially dispatch robot dogs along the U.S.-Mexico border.


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## ekim68

Automated solar-panel-cleaning system doubles down on drones



> In order to keep running at peak efficiency, solar panels regularly have to be cleaned of accumulated dust and other debris. Such panels can often be difficult to reach, though, which is why the Helios system uses not one but _two_ drones to get the job done.


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## ekim68

Kawasaki presents the pinnacles of its robot developments at iREX 2022 



> Kawasaki Heavy Industries has plenty of experience mass-producing industrial robots, and now we get to see some of its early progress into service robots, multi-purpose humanoids, and, for some reason, a very silly-looking ride-on robot ibex.


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## renegade600

ekim68 said:


> Kawasaki presents the pinnacles of its robot developments at iREX 2022
> 
> *
> View attachment 295198
> *


I would only be impress with it if it bucked the rider off


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## ekim68

New iCub 3 biped robot used as a long-distance avatar for its operator



> For the demo - which took place on Nov. 8th, 2021 - the robot was located at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition's Italian Pavilion in Venice, while its operator was 300 km (186 mi) away at an IIT lab in the city of Genova. A standard fiber optic connection was used to link the two.
> 
> The operator utilized a suite of wearable devices, which is known as the iFeel system. These gadgets include multiple IMUs (inertial measurement units) placed at various locations on a body suit; "gloves" that both track the user's finger movements and relay tactile sensations from the robot's finger pads; and a VR headset - the latter tracks the user's facial expressions, eyelids and eye movements, picks up their voice, plus it allows them to see what the robot is seeing, and to hear what it's hearing.


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## Brigham

renegade600 said:


> I would only be impress with it if it bucked the rider off


Or if it said "Buck off"


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## ekim68

MIT's mini cheetah sets new speed PB by learning from experience



> MIT's mini cheetah robot has broken its own personal best (PB) speed, hitting 8.72 mph (14.04 km/h) thanks to a new model-free reinforcement learning system that allows the robot to figure out on its own the best way to run and allows it to adapt to different terrain, without relying on human analysis.


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## ekim68

Tentacle-like robot weaves through the lungs to tackle cancer



> The innovative use of magnetic fields has opened up some exciting possibilities in cancer treatment, with scientists demonstrating how they can be used to steer tumor-killing particles into cancer tissue or wires into veins in search of blood cancers, to list a couple of examples. A thin new robot developed at the University of Leeds follows in these footsteps, taking the shape of a tentacle that can be guided into the depths of the lungs to inspect suspicious lesions or deliver drugs.


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## ekim68

Watch a robot peel a banana without crushing it into oblivion



> Handling soft fruit is challenging for robots, but a machine-learning system was able to conquer the task by imitating how a person does it


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## ekim68

Walgreens turns to robots to fill prescriptions, as pharmacists take on more responsibilities



> NORTHLAKE, Texas - Bright yellow robotic arms are becoming a bigger part of Walgreens' workforce.
> 
> Inside of a large facility in the Dallas area, they fill thousands of prescriptions for customers who take medications to manage or treat high blood pressure, diabetes or other conditions. Each robot can fill 300 prescriptions in an hour, the company said - roughly the same number that a typical Walgreens pharmacy with a handful of staff may do in a day.


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## ekim68

Spot goes to Pompeii: Why a robot dog is patrolling ancient ruins



> Boston Dynamics' robot dog Spot has been tasked with a new job - patrolling the ancient ruins of Pompeii. The robot will be used to inspect the site for safety issues and record structural changes over time to better manage the historic ruins.


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## ekim68

Video...


Robotic dog equipped with a loudspeaker broadcasts anti-pandemic measures in eastern China


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## ekim68

Artificial fingertip gives robots nearly humanlike touch



> Robots can be programmed to lift a car and even help perform some surgeries, but when it comes to picking up an object they have not touched before, such as an egg, they often fail miserably. Now, engineers have come up with an artificial fingertip that overcomes that limitation. The advance enables machines to sense the textures of these surfaces a lot like a human fingertip does.


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## ekim68

MIT surgical robot could let surgeons remotely treat stroke victims



> When someone has experienced a stroke or aneurysm, they may require a surgical procedure known as an endovascular intervention. A new MIT-designed robotic system could ensure that they receive the treatment quickly, even if the physician is nowhere nearby.


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## ekim68

Robotic rat may one day search for survivors at disaster sites



> While scientists have already created tight-space-exploring robots based on snakes and cockroaches, _rats_ are also highly adept at squeezing through narrow openings and traversing uneven terrain. They now have a robotic equivalent of their own, in the form of the SQuRo.


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## ekim68

Japanese rail company rolls out VR-piloted Gundam robot worker



> The West Japan Rail Company has released video of its new humanoid heavy equipment robot. Mounted on the end of a crane, this gundam-style robot torso mimics the arm and head motions of a human pilot, who sees through the robot's eyes via VR goggles.
> 
> The key objectives here, according to the company, are "to improve productivity and safety," enabling workers to lift and naturally manipulate heavy equipment around the rail system without exposing them to the risk of electric shocks or falling.


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## ekim68

Springy robot jumps higher than any other robot or animal


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## ekim68

Robotic marine trash collector starts making waves in Hong Kong



> Back in November 2020, startup Open Ocean Engineering launched an autonomous trash collector aimed at clearing plastic waste from harbors, lakes and canals. After partnering with games titan Razer last year for a radical redesign, a sleeker Clearbot has now started patrolling Hong Kong waters.


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## ekim68

Hyundai is actually building those wild unstoppable 4x4s on robot legs



> We see a lot of wacky concept vehicles, but few as nutty as Hyundai's Ultimate Utility Vehicles with their robotic stilt legs. And the company is dead serious about building them, too, with a new development and test facility to be built in Montana.


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## ekim68

Willow X outdoor robot designed to help tend your garden



> We've already seen a number of attempts to realize a sci-fi vision of the future and put robot helpers in the home to make our lives easier. Belgium-based startup Eeve is also developing a personal robot pal, but Willow X's job is to help you keep your garden tidy.


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## ekim68

China Is 3D Printing a Massive 590-Foot-Tall Dam ... And Constructing It With Without Humans



> Chinese engineers will take the ideas of a research paper and turn it into the world's largest 3D-printed project. Within two years, officials behind this project want to fully automate the unmanned construction of a 590-foot-tall dam on the Tibetan Plateau to build the Yangqu hydropower plant-completely with robots.


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## ekim68

Dyson's been secretly working on robots that do household chores



> They can map out your home, move dishes around and vacuum out seat cushions.


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## ekim68

Tiny robotic crab is smallest-ever remote-controlled walking robot



> Northwestern University engineers have developed the smallest-ever remote-controlled walking robot - and it comes in the form of a tiny, adorable peekytoe crab.
> 
> Just a half-millimeter wide, the tiny crabs can bend, twist, crawl, walk, turn and even jump. The researchers also developed millimeter-sized robots resembling inchworms, crickets and beetles. Although the research is exploratory at this point, the researchers believe their technology might bring the field closer to realizing micro-sized robots that can perform practical tasks inside tightly confined spaces.


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## ekim68

Robot orders increase 40% in first quarter as desperate employers seek relief from labor shortages, report says



> While pivoting to automation is certainly not a new phenomenon, it's become a salve for companies struggling to meet demand in a recent tight market, the Wall Street Journal reported. Robot orders increased 40% in the first quarter of 2022, and were up 21% overall in 2021, according to the Association for Advancing Automation, driving the industry to an estimated value of $1.6 billion.


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## ekim68

Screw-drive amphibious robot could be coming to a tailings pond near you



> As the Neptune travels onto and across the ponds - either autonomously or by remote control - it uses onboard sensors to gather water data such as chemical and oxygen content, along with turbidity and salinity. If it's determined that enough of the pollutants have settled to the bottom of the pond (forming a sludge), some of the remaining water could be reclaimed for reuse in the mine.


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## ekim68

Crop-monitoring Solix agri-bot headed for field trials 



> Farmers could be spared a lot of work and expense - plus the environment could be spared a lot of harmful chemicals - if crops didn't have to be sprayed indiscriminately. The new plant-inspecting Solix robot was designed with those facts in mind.


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## ekim68

Pizzaiola aims to robotize the humble pizzeria



> Opening a pizzeria could soon be as simple as leasing a small business space, then sticking a robot in there. That's the idea behind the Pizzaiola system, which takes human cooks and other kitchen staff out of the equation.
> 
> Manufactured by Illinois-based Nala Robotics, Pizzaiola is essentially a 12 x 12-foot (3.7 x 3.7-m) self-contained kitchen that incorporates food storage/preparation areas, ovens, and last but not least, a 7-axis robotic arm that moves throughout the space.


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## ekim68

Ziggy the robotic EV charger will save you a park and blast ads at you



> This clever robotic EV charger will find a parking spot, reserve it for you, then sit behind you to charge your EV, cheerfully displaying ads all the way as another revenue stream for carpark operators. It's a nifty idea, but we do wonder how Ziggy will cope with the brutally competitive, openly hostile environment of a crowded mall car park on Christmas Eve.


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## ekim68

Robotic fireflies light up with every flap of their wings



> Engineers at MIT have added a new ability to existing flying robots - they can now glow when they flap their wings. Inspired by fireflies, this fluorescence could help with communication or tracking of the tiny, lightweight robots.


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## ekim68

Scientists unveil bionic robo-fish to remove microplastics from seas



> Tiny self-propelled robo-fish can swim around, latch on to free-floating microplastics and fix itself if it gets damaged


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## ekim68

NASA concept proposes swarm of swimming robots to explore alien oceans



> Subsurface oceans on gas giant moons are some of the most promising places to look for life beyond Earth. NASA has now awarded funding for a project to develop a swarm of small swimming robots that would explore these alien oceans for signs of extraterrestrial life.


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## ekim68

This robot dog just taught itself to walk


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## ekim68

Allowing social robots to learn relations between users' routines and their mood



> Social robots, robots that can interact with humans and assist them in their daily lives, are gradually being introduced in numerous real-world settings. These robots could be particularly valuable for helping older adults to complete everyday tasks more autonomously, thus potentially enhancing their independence and well-being.


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## ekim68

US Navy robotic minesweeper ship declared operational



> Robotic ships have officially joined the US Navy. The Program Executive Office, Unmanned and Small Combatants (PEO USC) announced on July 22 that the Navy's Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS) uncrewed minesweeper has been awarded Initial Operating Capability (IOC).


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## ekim68

A bartending robot that can engage in personalized interactions with humans



> Researchers at University of Naples Federico II in Italy have recently developed a new interactive robotic system called BRILLO, which is specifically designed for bartending. In a recent paper published in UMAP '22 Adjunct: Adjunct Proceedings of the 30th ACM Conference on User Modeling, Adaptation and Personalization, they introduced a new approach that could allow their robot to have personalized interactions with regular customers.


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## ekim68

Hyundai launches $400-million Boston Dynamics AI institute



> The Hyundai Motor Group bought a controlling share in Boston Dynamics for US$800 million back in 2020, impressed by the potential of its array of world-leading humanoid, quadrupedal and other robots. Now it's investing half that again to develop AI.


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## ekim68

This Restaurant Is Run Entirely By Robots



> MezliMezli isn't the first automated restaurant to roll out in San Francisco, but, at least according to its three co-founders, it's the first to remove humans entirely from the on-site operation equation. The fully robot-run restaurant begins taking orders and sliding out Mediterranean grain bowls by the end of this week with plans to celebrate a grand opening on August 28 at Spark Social.


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## ekim68

This robot quarterback could be the future of football practice



> When the Green Bay Packers walked onto the practice field this week, they were greeted by an unusual new teammate: a robot.


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## ekim68

Solix Sprayer agricultural robot autonomously seeks and destroys weeds



> Along with being costly, herbicides can also harm the environment … so why apply them to a whole crop, instead of just the areas where weeds are growing? That's the thinking behind the Solix Sprayer robot, which spots and sprays weeds in farmers' fields.


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## ekim68

Yarbo modular yard robot mows grass, clears snow and blows leaves



> There are already several autonomous robots that mow grass, and even a few that clear snow. The modular Yarbo robot, however, can tend to both grass and snow, plus it can blow away dead leaves or other debris.


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## ekim68

Scientists try to teach robot to laugh at the right time



> Laughter comes in many forms, from a polite chuckle to a contagious howl of mirth. Scientists are now developing an AI system that aims to recreate these nuances of humour by laughing in the right way at the right time.
> 
> The team behind the laughing robot, which is called Erica, say that the system could improve natural conversations between people and AI systems.


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## ekim68

Almost Half of Industrial Robots Are in China



> A 5-year plan aims to have robots compensate for the country’s decreasing workforce.


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## ekim68

Bipedal Cassie sets Guinness World Record for robotic 100-meter sprint 



> If the thought of a two-legged robot chasing you down in the streets keeps you up at night, then you can sleep easy … for now. A droid named Cassie has set a Guinness World Record for the 100-meter dash by a bipedal robot, and while it’s far from the blistering pace of the world’s best athletes, it is an impressive demonstration of robotics and engineering.
> 
> Cassie is the brainchild of Agility Robotics, a spin-off company from Oregon State University, and was introduced in 2017 as a type of developmental platform for robotics research. And Cassie has continued to come along in leaps and bounds since then, in 2021 demonstrating some impressive progress by completing a 5-km (3.1-mile) jog in just over 53 minutes.


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## ekim68

Robots are making French fries faster, better than humans



> PASADENA, Calif., Oct 4 (Reuters) - Fast-food French fries and onion rings are going high-tech, thanks to a company in Southern California.
> 
> Miso Robotics Inc in Pasadena has started rolling out its Flippy 2 robot, which automates the process of deep frying potatoes, onions and other foods.


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## ekim68

Exclusive: Boston Dynamics pledges not to weaponize its robots



> Several robotics companies, including Boston Dynamics, are pledging not to support the weaponization of their products and are calling for others in the industry to do the same, according to a letter shared first with Axios.


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## renegade600

The courier company FedEx is abandoning a project to develop last-mile delivery robots. In 2019, 









FedEx abandons its last-mile delivery robot program


A human in a FedEx uniform will deliver those packages for the foreseeable future.




arstechnica.com





They are the second company that abandoned their delivery robot. Amazon also abandoned theirs a couple of weeks ago.









Amazon abandons live tests of Scout home delivery robot


Amazon.com Inc will stop live tests of its automated delivery robot "Amazon Scout", a company spokesperson said in an emailed statement on Thursday, after the U.S. retailer realized the program did not completely meet its customers' needs.




www.reuters.com





Guess the world is not ready for them at this time. Easy pickins??? People "accidentally" tripping over them for lawsuits. Wonder what the real reason is since you cannot always believe what they say the reason was.


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## ekim68

Crab-inspired robot uses fabric-stretching legs to bury itself



> The tiny Pacific mole crab (_Emerita analoga_) has a unique talent, in that it can burrow straight down into the sand using its flexible legs. An experimental new robot copies that capability, and it could actually have some practical applications.


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## ekim68

Robots Are Really Bad At Folding Towels



> Seven years ago, Pieter Abbeel set out on a quest: to teach a robot how to fold laundry. This proved to be a remarkably difficult task — and the difficulty of the task illuminates some key things about the limits of machines.


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## ekim68

Robot tackles the knotty problem of grasping delicate objects



> Folks blessed with a soft touch seem to have no problem getting to grips with delicate objects, but it can be a tough ask for robots. Researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have taken a strength-in-numbers approach with a gripper that curls multiple thin tubes around a fragile object.


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## ekim68

Mini Pupper 2 makes a bid to be your new hackable robo-dog pal



> As before, the tinkerer-friendly robot pooch features a flat upper surface for mounting such optional add-ons such as LiDAR and 3D camera modules, but benefits from an increased the payload capacity from 150 g (5 oz) to 200 g (7 oz).


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## ekim68

Tiny solid-state LiDAR device can 3D-map a full 180-degree field of view



> Researchers in South Korea have developed an ultra-small, ultra-thin LiDAR device that splits a single laser beam into 10,000 points covering an unprecedented 180-degree field of view. It's capable of 3D depth-mapping an entire hemisphere of vision in a single shot.
> 
> Autonomous cars and robots need to be able to perceive the world around them incredibly accurately if they're going to be safe and useful in real-world conditions. In humans, and other autonomous biological entities, this requires a range of different senses and some pretty extraordinary real-time data processing, and the same will likely be true for our technological offspring.


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## renegade600

Researchers Spin up Terrifying Hacker Drone That Can 'See Through Walls' With Wifi



https://gizmodo.com/drone-see-through-walls-wifi-wi-peep-waterloo-research-1849744061


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## ekim68

Amazon introduces ‘Sparrow’ robotic arm that can do repetitive warehouse tasks



> Amazon says Sparrow uses computer vision and artificial intelligence to move products before they’re packaged. A video of Sparrow shows the robotic arm picking up a board game, a bottle of vitamins and a set of sheets — all the kinds of items that might flow through one of the company’s warehouses — and deftly placing them in crates.


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## ekim68

Robotic microfingers allow scientists to get a feel for tiny objects



> If you were trying to gauge the reaction force of an insect's leg, you couldn't just push it with your finger – the size difference between the two would be too great to do so with enough sensitivity. A set of hand-controlled soft robotic microfingers, however, can now get the job done.


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## ekim68

Swimming robot performs butterfly to move with unmatched speed



> Scientists regularly draw ideas from the natural world in a bid to improve robotic performance, and when it comes to soft robots that swim, motion in the ocean is a rich source of inspiration. The latest creation to emerge in this space is a soft robot modeled on the manta ray that mimics butterfly stroke in humans to move through the water with unparalleled speed.


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## 2twenty2

*San Francisco police seek permission for its robots to use deadly force*



https://www.engadget.com/san-francisco-police-seek-permission-for-its-robots-to-use-deadly-force-183514906.html


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## ekim68

Quick soft-bodied robots move at the speed of a hair clip



> In order for a soft-bodied robot to be practical, it has to be simple, light and energy-efficient, yet still reasonably quick. A newly developed mechanism fits the bill, and it's inspired by the humble hair clip.
> 
> If you've ever messed around with a hair clip, you may have noticed that it can be popped back and forth between two stable configurations – essentially concave and convex states. Very much inspired by that functionality, a team of scientists from Columbia University has developed what is known as the Hair Clip Mechanism (HCM).


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## ekim68

2twenty2 said:


> *San Francisco police seek permission for its robots to use deadly force*
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.engadget.com/san-francisco-police-seek-permission-for-its-robots-to-use-deadly-force-183514906.html


More on this:


S.F. halts ‘killer robots’ police policy after huge backlash — for now


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## ekim68

NASA's COLDArm robot limb can handle seriously cool science



> NASA is testing a new robotic arm that could revolutionize exoplanetary science for a reason most of us have probably never even considered: It doesn't need to be kept warm in order to work.
> 
> The Cold Operable Lunar Deployable Arm, or COLDArm, is being designed to operate on the south pole of the Moon, a focus of future lunar research and where future Artemis missions are expected to touchdown at some point this decade.


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## ekim68

Forabot robot searches through tiny shells from prehistoric times



> Imagine if you were tasked with sorting and separating thousands of tiny fossils, most of them less than a millimeter wide. It would quite a tedious, time-consuming task … which is why scientists have recently created a robot to do the job.


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## ekim68

Cake developing semi-autonomous electric ATV for sustainable farming



> Swedish electric moto maker Cake is aiming to help clean up large-scale farming operations by replacing polluting machinery with the Kibb, an electric four-wheeler that can ride like an all-terrain vehicle or serve as an autonomous cargo hauler.


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## ekim68

Uber Eats launches robot delivery service in Miami 



> The next time you order a meal from Uber Eats, it may be delivered by a robot – at least if you live in Miami.
> 
> Starting on Thursday, some Miami residents can order their Uber Eats takeout to be delivered via autonomous, sidewalk-trotting robots thanks to a new partnership between the ride-hailing company and robotics firm Cartken.


 

T


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## ekim68

Should we tax robots?



> Study suggests a robot levy — but only a modest one — could help combat the effects of automation on income inequality in the U.S.


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## ekim68

How artificial intelligence is helping us explore the solar system



> Let's be honest — it's much easier for robots to explore space than us humans. Robots don't need fresh air and water, or to lug around a bunch of food to keep themselves alive. They do, however, require humans to steer them and make decisions. Advances in machine learning technology may change that, making computers a more active collaborator in planetary science.


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## ekim68

3D-Printed Self-Balancing Robot Brings Control Theory To Life



> Stabilizing an inverted pendulum is a classic problem in control theory, and if you’ve ever taken a control systems class you might remember seeing pages full of differential equations and bode diagrams just to describe its basic operation. Although this might make such a system seem terribly complicated, actually implementing all of that theory doesn’t have to be difficult at all, as [Limenitis Reducta] demonstrates in his latest project. All you need is a 3D printer, some basic electronic skills and knowledge of Python.


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## ekim68

MARVEL quadruped robot uses magnetic feet to walk up metal walls 



> Many people are already creeped out by quadruped robots, which walk on four legs instead of rolling on wheels or tracks. Well, the MARVEL robot likely won't do much to change such feelings, as it can walk straight up ferromagnetic metal walls.


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## ekim68

Self-balancing evoBOT grasps and carries cargo



> We've seen fast, nimble, self-balancing wheeled robots, plus we've also seen robots that can grasp and carry objects. The evoBOT could prove to be particularly useful, however, as it combines both traits in one clever machine.


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## ekim68

Pepper-picking robot moves through crops on overhead wires



> According to Japanese robotics firm Agrist, there's a shortage of farm workers in that country, resulting in lower yields than would otherwise be possible. The company is offering a partial solution to the problem, though, in the form of a pepper-picking robot.
> 
> Known simply as L, the bot is the recipient of an Innovation Award at CES.


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