Autonomous -- Engadget

autonomous posts

ZMP's RoboCar is Linux-based, cute as hell

by Joseph L. Flatley, posted Jun 17th 2009 at 10:07AM

It looks like ZMP, a Tokyo-based robotics company that's graced the (figurative) pages of Engadget from time to time, has just introduced a Linux-based RoboCar for testing autonomous auto technologies. Which only makes sense, we suppose -- better to test all of those autonomous algorithms you've been crankin' out on a six pound model before moving up to a three thousand pound family sedan (if a lot less fun). This guy is 17-inches long and packs an AMD Geode LX800 processor, WiFi 802.11b/g/n, stereo CCD cameras, eight IR sensors, three accelerometers, a gyroscope, and a laser range finder under the hood. Prices start at $7,000, but you have to jump on this -- according to Linux Devices, only two hundred units will be sold this year. Peep the video after the break.

Gallery: ZMP's RoboCar is Linux-based, cute as hell

[Via Linux Devices]

Continue reading ZMP's RoboCar is Linux-based, cute as hell

Solar-powered Trilobot takes wistful stroll outdoors

by Donald Melanson, posted May 28th 2009 at 6:38AM

A solar-powered robot that's fully autonomous and able to control it's own energy acquisition may seem like a frightening proposition to some. But set aside those preconceptions for a minute and take a look at the Trilobot's video debut after the break, and then try to tell us you don't want to get one, name it Buddy and love it forever.

Continue reading Solar-powered Trilobot takes wistful stroll outdoors

ACE robot asks for directions, purpose in life

by Donald Melanson, posted May 15th 2009 at 5:06PM

The Tweenbots project already demonstrated that at least some folks are willing to help a lost robot find its way, but this new ACE bot developed by researchers at the Technical University of Munich has now ramped things up in a fairly big way, with it actually asking passers-by for directions and developing a map as it moves through the city. Apparently, the robot uses a series of cameras to detect people nearby, and it then asks them to simply point towards the destination indicated on its screen, which it is able to recognize, although it does also asks them to confirm the direction on the screen just to be safe. In initial tests, that appears to have been relatively successful, with ACE (or Autonomous City Explorer) able to reach its destination 1.5 kilometers away in five hours after relying on directions from 38 people. But don't take our word for it. Head on past the break to check out its people skills for yourself.

[Via Coolest Gadgets]

Continue reading ACE robot asks for directions, purpose in life

Hawk WiFi robot is probably more fun to hang around with than your friends

by Laura June, posted May 12th 2009 at 11:47AM

Hawk is a humanoid, autonomous, wireless, and handsome robot made by Canadian company Dr. Robot. He's got WiFi, a GPS navigation system, dual cameras in his moveable, animated head, and a host of other cameras and sensors that keep him trucking along. Designed with education in mind, Hawk's skill set is a bit limited, but his hands are pretty impressive. Hawk is on sale now, and while there's no price listed for the bot, base parts of the robot are in the range of $5,000. Video of Hawk beating the skins after the break: yes, we're aware of the fact that he's not exactly John Bonham but, then again -- neither are any of your friends, right?

Continue reading Hawk WiFi robot is probably more fun to hang around with than your friends

Husqvarna's SMS-enabled Automower 260 ACX: ur lawnz mowed kk?

by Joseph L. Flatley, posted Apr 23rd 2009 at 3:23PM

Good news for unmanned lawnmower enthusiasts (we know there are at least two of you out there). Husqvarna's latest, the Automower 260 ACX, can be programmed to send you an SMS text message if something should interrupt the mow job -- because sometimes looking outside to see if your robot is still tending to the lawn is just too much to ask. This bad boy gets an hour on a single charge -- which should be plenty of time to take down about half an acre of lawn -- and upon returning to its docking station, the battery is recharged in roughly forty minutes. Recommended retail price: €4,000 (that's over $5,200). No word yet on a stateside release.

[Via News Market]

Robots star in Swiss play about a nerd

by Laura June, posted Apr 23rd 2009 at 11:43AM

We're not the biggest theatre-goers around here (though we've been known to take in the odd Phantom of the Opera performance), but this is one play we would jump at the chance to see. Called -- quite fittingly -- Robots, the musical stars three autonomous robots developed by Bluebotics, a company which specializes in service bots. The story revolves around a lonely human man who lives in isolation with just his robots, and what happens when a woman threatens to visit him in the not too distant future. Yeah, like we haven't heard this one a million times. The play opens on May 1st at the Barnabe Theatre in Servion, Switzerland, and will run until May 17th.

SmartMow mows the lawn but won't accept a glass of lemonade

by Joseph L. Flatley, posted Dec 22nd 2008 at 10:51AM

The unmanned lawnmower is nothing new, but we still think there's something downright iffy about arming a Roomba with sharp metal blades. That said, if you've been dying to get in on the action, SmartMow might be worth checking out. Set to hit the stores in Spring '09 for $749 (much cheaper than some other robo-mowers), the thing weighs 17 pounds, features three cutting blades, will cut around a sixth of an acre on a single charge (about 2-3 hours), and is auto-docking. As far as knowing where to mow, SmartMow eschews sci-fi grass detection algorithms and rudimentary artificial intelligence in favor of the tried but true method of marking off your mowable yard with an edge wire. The best thing about the bot, however, may be its educational value -- not only will it teach your kids about robotics, it will also show them how people with money can buy their way out of doing chores. Video after the break.

[Via Robot Stock News]

Continue reading SmartMow mows the lawn but won't accept a glass of lemonade

WowWee's Rovio gets reviewed: it's one awesome robotic sentry

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 5th 2008 at 5:04PM

WowWee goes out of its way to make one thing very clear about the Rovio: "this is not a toy." That being said, it doesn't make the patrolling sentry any less fantastic, as critics over at Robots-Dreams proclaimed that it was "intuitive and a pleasure to use from the moment you first open the box." From the painless setup process to the unparalleled mobility, reviewers sounded like they were grinning from ear-to-ear during the entire writeup process. It performed its robotic sentry duties with vigor and valor, and the review crew couldn't help but note that this bugger was "positioned to be the hottest robot for the upcoming holiday season, and for a long time to come." In other words, if you've been on the fence about dropping three bills on this thing, all your worries about it potentially sucking just got thrashed.

MIT developing autonomous wheelchair that listens when you speak

by Darren Murph, posted Sep 21st 2008 at 6:39AM

Oh MIT, do the wonders that come from your halls ever cease? Yet another remarkable development is emerging from the fabled institution, and this time it's an autonomous wheelchair that can remember important places in a given building (read: the hospital ward, your house, the local arcade, etc.) and then take you there on command. In other words, the voice recognizing chair could understand phrases of direction, such as "head to the kitchen," and it would take on the burden of navigating the halls while letting the rider chill. The researchers are implementing a system that can learn and adapt to the individual user, and in the future, they'd like to add in a collision-avoidance system and mechanical arms to help patients lift and move objects. Say, can regular joes / janes buy these? We're totally feeling this over the Segway.

[Via medGadget]

Cythbot Guitar Hero robot uncomfortably demonstrated on video

by Darren Murph, posted Sep 12th 2008 at 9:50AM

Not that we haven't seen robotic Guitar Hero masters before, but Cyth Systems' egotistically named Cythbot is just a full cut above the rest. Boasting some of the most advanced, high-dollar equipment known to mankind (okay, so maybe that's a stretch, but just barely), the creation uses a highly sophisticated viewing method to determine which notes to hit, and it can even decide whether slamming the whammy bar is a good idea or not. Too bad you'll be entirely too distracted by the introverted hosts to even notice how awesome this thing is, but the video's in the read link if you care to try.

Stanford's autonomous helicopters learn new tricks by watching

by Darren Murph, posted Sep 1st 2008 at 8:03PM

While a great many scientists are attempting to create autonomous bots for uses in surgery, a team of Stanford whiz-kids are having a bit more fun with it all. The crew in question has concocted an artificial intelligence system that "enables robotic helicopters to teach themselves to fly difficult stunts by watching other helicopters perform the same maneuvers." Dubbed a demonstration in "apprenticeship learning," the robots can actually learn by observing rather than having to be programmed, meaning that entire airshows could be reeled off by planes that simply keep an open mind when warm-ups are underway. Of course, they could also be used for more serious applications -- mapping out hot spots of California wildfires, finding land mines in war zones, etc. -- but even if none of that pans out, we're cool with inventions being used purely for entertainment.

Video: Orb Swarm gets a brain, going autonomous at Burning Man

by Thomas Ricker, posted Aug 6th 2008 at 5:46AM

Remember Orb Swarm, that merry band of rolling semi-autonomous spheres? Well, they've seen the open-source wizard and came back with a brain. In other words, they've gone autonomous, or mostly so as they are now capable of navigating within a pre-defined GPS course. Besides navigation, these orbs feature an embedded processor, accelerometer and ZigBee wireless communication all of which allow the rolling spheres to "flock , flirt, dance and interact," say their creators. They're set for release en masse onto the Burning Man playa at the end of this month where they're sure to punish chemically-influenced revelers with a sense of panic suitable to the uprising. Check the video after the break for a taste if participating in pagan festivals celebrating experimental living is a bit beyond your sense of sheltered sensibility.

[Via Hack A Day and BotJunkie]

Continue reading Video: Orb Swarm gets a brain, going autonomous at Burning Man

Intelligent space robots to dig around, throw raves on their own by 2020

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 27th 2008 at 6:38PM

Let's face it -- we owe a great deal of gratitude to the robots that get up each and every morning to explore far reaches of the universe that we humans are just incapable of landing on. But there's still the problem of we humans having to tell these things what to do from our humble laboratories here on Earth. The brilliantly named Wolfgang Fink, a physicist and senior researcher at the California Institute of Technology, has plans to remedy said quandary by creating autonomous spacecrafts "that will be able to analyze data about points of interest as it passes and then make quick decisions about what needs to be investigated." In essence, he's looking to remove the Earthlings from the equation, which would enable smart robots to explore on their own and possibly discover new pools of purified water, REEM-B's long lost siblings or the real most innovative NES-in-a-whatever mod. 2020 folks, mark it down.

[Image courtesy of NASA]

The Trons: self-playing robot band totally kills our self-esteem

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 18th 2008 at 10:25AM

We'll admit, we reckoned we were coming along alright with our bar chords, but now we're teetering on the edge of just giving up. Yeah, we've seen robotic mechanisms programmed to make meaningful sounds before, but The Trons are a bona fide band, man. We hear they're going on tour as well -- talk about a guaranteed sell out. Totally killer Sister Robot video after the jump.

Continue reading The Trons: self-playing robot band totally kills our self-esteem

Fruit fly flight simulator could smarten up robots

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 26th 2008 at 10:42AM

Wondering just how we mere mortals were going to even give a robot enough smarts to completely overtake our societies? Oddly enough, some of that artificial brain power could come from studying the way fruit flies, um, fly. A completely bizarre flight simulator at Caltech actually plays "scenes" that flys react to, and considering that the fly is constantly held, researchers can closely examine how the insect attempts to navigate away from lines, blobs and all manners of incoming obstacles. Those working with the installation suggest that these studies could one day help autonomous robots function better, potentially taking some of the load off of our human workforce. We know, you've got three bold letters and a question mark running through your noggin right now -- just hit the read link to see what it's all about.

[Thanks, Dave]