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Kinect gets own set of wheels, drives a car, nothing can stop it now (video)
Yeah, we're a sucker for a good Kinect hack, and we're a sucker for anything involving RC cars, too. Happy day for us, then, as the two come together in blissful harmony with this project from Michael Schweitzer and Michael Himmelsbach at the University of Bundeswehr Munich. It's a 1:10 scale auto with Microsoft's fancy cam mounted up front and what looks to be a surplus Dell XPS M1330 riding in style on the back. The laptop is running a simplified version of the object-avoidance software used by the team to propel a full-sized and similarly autonomous VW, obviously shrunken down a bit for this application. This little 'un is a little shaky right now, but that's largely because they haven't managed to get an accurate odometer working yet. Still, it does avoid obstacles, as you can see, and now all it needs is some Lexan bodywork before it can look pimpin' when cruising the strip -- autonomously, of course. Update: This post was updated to clarify how the object avoidance software was used previously.
German army hosts military bot "competition"
In an effort to remind other countries developing fully automated combat forces -- like the US, India, and South Korea -- that "ve Germans are not all smiles and sunshine," the European powerhouse held its first Grand Challenge-like competition this week, where autonomous robots brought in from around the continent showed off their driving, surveillance, and urban warfare skillz. It's actually a bit misleading to call the first European Land Robot Trial (ELROB) -- which was hosted by the German army, or Bundeswehr. in the town of Hammelburg -- a competition, as participants were not eligible for any prizes or supply contracts, and even had to pay their own expenses, all in the hope that the 1,000-or-so venture capitalists and foreign military attaches on hand would take notice of their technology. Both amateur and professional roboticists entered their creations (which curiously, were required to house a small animal -- don't ask us) in one of two obstacle courses designed to simulate either combat driving or building infiltration -- tasks which were made even more difficult due to the fact that mission specifics were not revealed prior to the event. Although Germany has yet to even appropriate a portion of its budget to research in this area, military officials are optimistic that robotic support vehicles will be deployed to the armed forces within five years.[Via Hindustan Times]
