'The Shining' gets remade with WowWee bots, cybernetically invades your soul
Robot dragonfly gets outfitted with camera, plans to record uprising from every possible angle
The folks at the Technical University of Delft have already done their part for the robot cause by building a dragonfly-type bot, dubbed the DelFly Micro, with a wingspan of just four inches, but they've now gone one step further and strapped a tiny camera onto it. What's more, they've also developed some image recognition software that promises to let the bot recognize objects, which could potentially let it locate individuals in a disaster area, or sneak up behind you when you least suspect it. Of course, the researchers aren't satisfied with things just yet, and they're promising to make an even smaller DelFly Nano bot that'd have a two-inch wingspan and weigh just a single gram. Until then, you can check out the current model in action in the video after the break.
[Via Protein Feed]
[Via Protein Feed]
NAO humanoid robots gets a price tag, exhaustive overview
We've been keeping an eye on Aldebaran's NAO robot since before it even took its first steps, and it now looks like the little guy is finally set to try to make it on its own in the wild world of the commercial market. That word comes courtesy of an exhaustive white paper posted by Aldebaran on the arXiv website, which also includes the helpful little detail that the bot will cost interested laboratories about €10,000 (or roughly $15,600). Unfortunately, there's no indication as to exactly when the bot will be available, but those in the market for one can at least tide themselves a bit over by pouring over the details available in the PDF at the link below.
[Via Slashdot]
[Via Slashdot]
British border guards recruit robots to root out stowaways
It looks like attempts to sneak across the border into Britain could soon become a battle of humans versus the machines, as the country's border guards have now recruited some robots normally used in warzones to help root out folks trying to smuggle themselves into the country. Developed by BAE Systems, the so-called "Hero" bots are equipped with searchlights and high-resolution video cameras that let it search the inside and undersides of vehicles, and they could potentially be outfitted with heartbeat detectors as well, or even sensors to detect chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear materials being smuggled into the country. While it's apparently only been tested in one location so far, the Border Agency seems to be all but sold on the bot, and it's now looking at rolling 'em out to other locations in the country. No word if they have any plans to employ BAE's spider bots, though.
[Via Danger Room, image courtesy of BAE Systems]
[Via Danger Room, image courtesy of BAE Systems]
Disney's $249 remote-controlled Wall-E up for pre-order
[Thanks, Toadlet]
WowWee's Alive White Tiger Cub gets unboxed, showcased on video
Video: ReWalk exoskeleton helps paraplegics walk
[Via MedGadget]
Army seeking psychologically inspired object recognition system
[Via Wired, image courtesy of ACM]
Emotional robot has empathy, understands your frustration
Not that robots with emotions are anything new, but a project going on in Europe could perfect the art of crafting mechanical people that can "learn when a person is sad, happy or angry." The Feelix Growing project is getting even more advanced with software that gives robots the power to understand how a person is feeling based on feedback from cameras and sensors. The bots look at a human's facial expression and key in on their voice and proximity to determine what kind of mood they're in. As with the recently announced UMass Mobile Manipulator, this creature too learns from experience, and there's a video explaining just what we mean waiting for you in the read link.[Via Physorg]
Mars Phoenix lander saves itself with some quick thinking
The Phoenix lander has already proven its mettle by finding ice on Mars, and now it's gone and shown off its quick-thinking skills by shutting down its robotic arm after receiving a command that could have permanently damaged it. The lander apparently did it's best to find a workaround first, however, but ultimately determined that any further movement would have bent its wrist out of shape. That left NASA engineers scrambling yesterday to come up with some new instructions to send to the lander, and they're now simply waiting to see if they meet with the robot's approval.
[Via Slashdot]
[Via Slashdot]
Bomb disposal robots get new life sniffing out chemicals
It's not the first time a robot has been given fresh life with a new career, but it's always nice to see bots saved from the scrap heap, which is just what the Army's 95th Chemical Company has done with some PackBot-based bots that were once busy disposing of bombs in Iraq. Apparently, the bot was starting to show its shortcomings, so the Company decided to outfit it with some chemical-sniffing gear that lets it detect ammonia, chlorine, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds and all other sorts of bad things. Now, after some extensive testing, it seems that the robot (dubbed CUGV, for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Unmanned Ground Vehicle) is nearly ready to see some action, with it set to begin field testing in both Iraq and Afghanistan this fall.
[Via Danger Room]
[Via Danger Room]
DIY biped robot makes your desk a happier place
While some DIY bots understandably creep us out, there's just as many that bring a smile to our face, and this so-called BiPed robot V-3 from Alex V of Instructables definitely falls into the latter camp. Further adding to our appreciation is the fact that this one is built almost entirely from scratch, right down to the custom made framework cut by a CNC machine. You'd be hard pressed to pick it out from line-up of kit robots, however, with it boasting a full range of movement designed to mimic the human lower body which, as you can see above, even extends to it being able to stand on one leg with ease. Be sure to hit up the link below for a couple of videos and, of course, the instructions for building your own.
Crab Fu's Flapper fish bot creeps us the hell out
DeepNote Guitar Hero bot 'watches' the game, rocks you within an inch of your life
GEF robot stomps even the most prolific air hockey players
[Via Slashdot]
