humanoids
Latest
Meet the multilingual robot newscaster with a very human face
Pepper the robot looks like a robot, thanks to an almost-anime design. What then, of Kodomoroid (above, center) and Otonaroid (right)? Both androids have found employment at Japan's National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, as part of its new "Android: What is human?" exhibit. Kodomoroid ("child android") can recite news (and weather) reports from around the world in a variety of voices and languages. Meanwhile, Otonaroid ("adult android") is steered by a human nearby and will work as a guide for the exhibition. Museum visitors will be able to talk with the adult robot (as well as take control themselves), but will they be able to look either android in the eye?
Nao humanoid climbs spiral staircase, breakfast in bed is around the corner (video)
Robots can clean your pool and pick up after your lavish dinner parties, but what use is Mr. Nao when you're ringing for a nightcap from the comfort of your second-floor bedroom? Okay, so we've seen the odd bot take a journey up some stairs, but how many cyborgs are prepared to scale flights that twist and turn? Researchers from the University of Freiburg's Humanoid Robots Laboratory have demonstrated a Nao humanoid capable of climbing spiral staircases, which, of course, are more challenging to scale than their non-curving counterparts. A laser range scanner on the top of the robot's head provides a global estimation of the bot's position, and the humanoid uses a 3D model of the staircase to match up with the images it captures on each step. This system lets it get a good enough grip on its geography to successfully detect stair edges and make it to the top with nary a trip. Take a look for yourself in the video below.
Geminoids meet their human doppelgangers for a photo op you'll never forget (video)
Three of the well-dressed individuals above are humans (at least they say they are). The other three are Geminoids -- lifelike robots created by professors Hiroshi Ishiguro and Henrik Scharfe in their image and that of one other willing assistant, all of whom got together for a little photo op last month. Creepy? You should see what else has come out of their lab. Video after the break.
World's first robot marathon gets off to a slow start, will likely stay that way
It might take them a good 92 hours longer than the fastest human runners, but a group of five pint-sized humanoids have officially embarked on the world's first full-length robot marathon. The Robo Mara Full, put on by Japanese robotics company Vstone, kicked off this week in Osaka, Japan, and will see the mechanized competitors through a 42 kilometer (26 mile) race, estimated to last several days. During the marathon, entrants will circle a 100-meter indoor track a total of 422 times with little help from their human coaches -- contact is only permitted during battery and servo replacement. Vstone's Robovie-PC led the pack at the outset, but with three days left to go, it's still any robot's game. You can check out a live feed of all the, uh, slow and furious action at the coverage link below, and get a full overview of the race, complete with embarrassing translation, by following the source link.
DARwIn-OP humanoid revealed, ready to open source your robotics program
The next version of the RoboCup-famous DARwIn bot is about ready to give the Nao a run for its money. The new DARwIn-OP from Robotis and Virginia Tech's RoMeLa (led by Dr. Dennis Hong, who joined us on the Engadget Show earlier this year) is just about to land, and the first pictures of the finished thing have started to circulate. While the bot is designed to perform, with sensors and servos suitable for higher-end robotics, the main thrust of the design is the open source and modular nature of the hardware and software. The bot can be purchased as a product from Robotis, but the CAD files are publicly available, and its plastic parts can be fabricated by the end user to save money (you do have a 3D printer, right?). Rumor has it the robot will retail for around $8,000, around half the cost of its closed source Nao competition. The full unveil of the robot is due at the IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots a couple weeks from now.
Prototype of robot that develops emotions on interacting with humans officially complete
The first prototype of a Nao robot that can develop emotions as it interacts with a human caregiver has been completed. A team across Europe was led by Dr. Lola Cañamero of the University of Herefordshire in the UK to develop the bot, which differs in several significant ways from those that came before it. These robots develop over time in much the way that a child does, learning to interact with and respond to the human beings around them. Modeled after human and chimpanzee childhood development paths, they are programmed to be highly adaptable to the people around them, and to become attached to whatever person is most suited to its needs and 'personality' profile. Over time, the more they interact, the more they learn and bond to the human being. These little ones, moreover, are capable of expressing a wide range of emotions, including anger, frustration, fear and happiness. The next steps are to research the bots' emotional and non-linguistic behavior, and to move toward combining linguistic and non-linguistic communication to become further attached and adapted to them. Yes, we want one.
JingJing and PuiPui bots followup on the BHR tai chi bots, give a good interview
The fine folks at the Beijing Institute of Technology just unveiled a pair of new bots, dubbed JingJing and PuiPui. Back in 2003 BIT was showing off its BHR-1 and BHR-2 bots, life-sized humanoids that can do tai chi, and these new bots keep their predecessor's martial arts capabilities but add in some conversational skills. During what sounds to have been a charming unveiling, the bots answered questions from the audience, self-identifying themselves as humanoid robots to an enraptured crowd. Their creator claims we're entering a personal computer revolution-style era with robots, and while we've heard that claim before, boy do we want to believe it! Check out a video of the original BHR series performing their moves to an epic soundtrack after the break. [Via Plastic Pals]
SmartPal V robot, now with additional lumbar units!
Straight out of Japan comes the latest mobile robot to ease our daily lives while threatening our jobs, Yasukawa Electric Corporation's SmartPal V. The 1.3-meter tall rolling bot is loaded with all the proximity, speech recognition, and object-detecting sensors we've come to expect from today's modern mech, along with improved dexterity thanks to additional joints and lumbar units as compared to previous models. This latest SmartPal, which was introduced at the 2007 International Robot Exhibition, also rocks its own accessories, such as a head-mounted projector to push the world's last remaining tour guides into early retirement.[Via Engadget Chinese]
Lazy Hubo gets a Segway
What's the world coming to? It's bad enough that everyone moves from here to there in their cars, motorcycles, personal helicopters, and human transportation devices (except for us -- we sit in front of the computer for 15 hours a day), but now it seems that the sedentary lifestyle is so prevalent, even robots are demanding their own set of wheels. You may remember Professor Oh Jun-ho's Asimo-like humanoid bot Hubo (probably better known when he sports the head of Einstein and transforms into Albert Hubo); well now Hubo has apparently gotten tired of walking around all the time, and has tasked the professor with acquiring a Segway for him to zip around on. At this point Hubo is unable to board the Segway without some help (geez, how lazy can you get?), but a software upgrade will supposedly provide him with the necessary motivation. See, you thought that our future robotic overlords would be shuffling around slowly while they round us up to toil in the silicon mines; in fact, they'll be corralling all humans at several miles-per-hour from the comfort of their Kamen-built scooters.
