ATOM-7xp humanoid robot is indeed Atom-powered, Windows-based
By Donald Melanson 
posted January 4th 2010 8:22AM
posted January 4th 2010 8:22AM
Our enthusiasm for this particular walking robot is unfortunately a bit dampened by a lack of video, or any evidence of actual walking, but both of those are promised to be forthcoming, and the bot still has enough going for it to distinguish itself in the meantime. Proudly made in the USA by Futurebots, this so-called ATOM-7x robot is actually powered by not one but two Atom processors (a dual-core Atom 330 and an Atom 230), which themselves power two separate systems running Windows XP and Windows 7. Those, paired with slew of sensors, gyros and accelerometers, promises to give the bot a whole range of humanoid capabilities, including an advanced stereo vision system that its creators say will let it "take on real world problems." Complete details are otherwise still a bit light, but the bot can apparently operate autonomously in addition to being used as a telepresence robot, and it unsurprisingly wasn't cheap or easy to build ("2 mortgages and lots of sweat"). We'll be sure to keep an eye out for any sightings of this one in action.
OMG SKYNET ARE TAKING OVER!
@Level 5 Didn't you read? Windows XP. If it went to take over the world we could either infect it with a virus or wait until it bluescreened, either way we win.
@Level 5
As stoned as that robot looks, the only thing I can imagine it doing is looking for a White Castle.
@Level 5
Robot's like, get you're hand off me dude.
@Luke
Damn, your. Damn it!
So "BlueScreen Of Death" takes on a whole new meaning. (robot runs around and decapitates everyone)
@Level 5 I was just wondering, are you by chance a *pleasure* model?
@Level 5
Is that... robot... being lynched?
Do robots not get a fair trial?
Robots are hard to build. I'm not surprised it tooke 2 mortgages. We start FIRST Robotics competition this month, and the parts don't come cheap. (Atleast 3M pays for them).
Question is, how did they get 2 different OS's to work with each other? XP and 7 Don't play too well with each other.
@enoch
Yea good point but maybe the different OS's power completly different parts of it.
@enoch "Question is, how did they get 2 different OS's to work with each other? XP and 7 Don't play too well with each other."
Utter nonsense.
Opening a socket or something similar is trivial between any two operating systems made in the past two decades.
Sounds like a load of hype. Why base a robot on x86 and Windows? The whole point in using Linux/BSD/VxWorks or whatever is total control over the software. And why the Atom processor? ARM would be more than enough, and provide better battery life.
Most likely a "hobbie" project (as opposed to a serious robotics research project) with a lot of bad judgement in between.
@thoughtmonster
Agreed. Having Windows creates a lot of overhead for a device that has limited resources due to mobility. It would be fine if this Robot was always tethered to a workstation but where is the fun in that?
@thoughtmonster
Microsoft has a good framework for robotic research:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/robotics/default.aspx
It helps avoid reinventing the wheel on each robotic project. Maybe they are using it here.
They even have a framework to help create the robot behavior in a virtual 3d environment, so that it may help convince investors and help make better design decisions by seeing it running with virtual hardware at no cost:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb483076.aspx
@link83
I don't see this as an efficient use of resources. XP and 7 have many components that will not be able to be removed like a customized Linux kernel. Those components waste resources.
@glamajamma
The unused component in Windows 7 or XP are not slowing down the system.
They take a few MB/GB on the hard drive, but they don't take much ram (the user interface with aero disabled won't use more than a few MB, and explorer.exe can be prevented to start to avoid using 15mb). Unused services and app won't use CPU, even if they are started. If they are not used, they won't do anything. Thus, there is no sensible waste of power by using a consummer version of windows.
But if they thought the contrary, they could have used XP embedded or Windows Standard 2009 embedded (windows 7 based?) and could have chosen what component to include to reduce windows' footprint, as you would do with linux, but in a much more simple way.
This sounds like a Microsoft marketing ploy.
@Don Corleone He, or it, will appear in the next Mac-PC ad and will formulate quick and snappy responses to Mac unlike his human counterpart.
it's all fun and games until it BSOD's bringing me my coffee. Then the revolution starts.
@froggy
"Good Morning Sir"
WARNING! Microsoft™ Empathy Driver has encountered an error.
"Kill all humans!"
*Throws coffee at you*
"Those...promises to..."
I know, I'm picky.
what a lame robo, sadnesss
Can someone explain:
Why windows is used
Why two different versions are used
What the two separate atoms do?
Ideally this would be done by Don, but hey, he's a busy man.
How does a robot take a dump?..through his BOT-hole...*chuckles*
It looks drunk lol. Seriously, good accomplishment, though.
it looks like crap- this looks like one of those crappy robots from the 80s or at least the same designers: "hey guys we just need to get this robot to walk a little bit and talk in a robotic voice and then we're gold!"
Running on Windows, hahaha, that's just asking for trouble!
My linux based cable box crashes every 4 days.
On the other hand, my windows based hyper-v server has currently 72 days of uptime.
Maybe you have a bad experience of windows, but windows is very stable when it is not used by a moron who installs crap on it.
And linux can be unstable if the services and drivers running on top of it are poorly developed. That what happens on most linux based router/modem that endup crashing or slowing down after a few days of uptime...
Being "linux" based is not enough to be stable (drivers and software need to be stable too). And being windows based won't make a device perform poorly just because it is windows based.
@link83
Linux cable box?
@glamajamma
Many modem, cable blox, and tv set top box run Linux.
Some even run Windows CE.
But on the average, both OS have high chances to perform poorly because service providers who build these low end devices put crappy drivers and/or software running on top of them and do not support them well enough. There are exceptions, but most devices of that kind I've owned have required to be restarted at least once a month. Currently, my linux based cable modem needs to be restarted so that I can access the built-in web configuration interface, because the http server running inside crashes automatically after a few days of use.
My point was just to say that linux and windows are both very stable. So defining a device stability and performance by the OS they run is just stupid. That is software on top of the OS that makes the difference (and can make a device perform poorly or greatly). This is a same for a project such as this robot.
@link83
Which cable box runs linux?
@glamajamma
In france, every Internet Service Provider provides the user a modem that is linux based... I don't believe france is an exception.
And the TV box provided by these ISP are also linux based, except one that was Microsoft TV based (windows CE).
Every ISP I've subscribed to has stability issues with their modem (which ranges from a crash every 2 days, to the modem slowing down after a month with its web interface being slower each day).
If there was a big Linux logo on these devices, the average user would think that Linux is unstable. (But in fact, the problem lies in the fact that this is custom hardware with custom software running on top of linux, and this hardware/software is not tested enough and performs poorly)
That's the same for windows: people use OEM installs of windows with a load of crappy software preinstalled (poorly programmed toolbars and plugins that slow down IE or make it crash) and then install their own crap that add more problems.
As a result, they think Windows is crappy and unstable, and should not be used on servers or robots...
@link83
Sorry just want to clarify, what is the brand and the model #?
@glamajamma
most french ISPs build their modem internaly, (orange, free, neuf, ...), and they all use linux inside. One of them (free) is well known for breaking GPL rules by not releasing the source code of its modified version of linux running in its "freebox" modem. Another one is well known for having a revision of its modem freezing every few days, ...
I don't know why you want these kind of details... this isn't something new. Linux has been used in embedded devices for a long time. And having Linux inside doesn't make them automatically perfect devices. They run linux, and sometimes crash, linux has no magic inside preventing crashes in drivers and software when they have been poorly coded!
Articulating eyebrows!
With all these atom powered robots running around, does this mean we are going to get to see a Windows vs. Android Deathmatch (or Ubuntu, or OSX) that is *actually* a Deathmatch?! woohoo.
all of you overlooked the obvious:
with the Atom processor it is definitely male: it can only do one thing at a time and do it slowly
where is the EVE upgrade?
xp for the sympathetic neural net and 7 for the asympathetic neural net