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iRobot creates new business unit for healthcare robotics

by Donald Melanson posted Nov 5th 2009 at 9:12PM

Well, it doesn't have a Roomba that will check up on your vitals just yet, but it looks like iRobot is betting on healthcare robotics in a fairly big way, with it taking advantage of the recent TEDMED conference to announce that it's forming a new business unit focused solely on the still burgeoning industry. That unit will be headed up by Tod Loofbourrow, who says that he believes the business "has the potential to make a significant difference in the field of healthcare," and adds that he thinks "the long-term potential of robotics to extend independent living is profound." While he's just as light on specifics, iRobot CEO Colin Angle is no less ambitious about the company's goals, saying that iRobot's "healthcare mission is add a million years of independent living to our customers." And in case you're wondering, the image at right isn't an iRobot robot, but it is all too real.

[Via So, Where's My Robot?]

Robovie rescue bot hunts high and low for lost princesses (video)

by Vladislav Savov posted Nov 3rd 2009 at 9:04AM

If you've been feeling blue because you haven't got enough green to keep the old bank account in the black, we've got just the tonic for you, dear friend. There's nothing that gets us all perked up and cheerful quite like an adorable humanoid robot negotiating an obstacle course in the performance of a rescue mission. In fact, if you layer on your own "save the princess" narrative atop the on-screen events, the pep in your step should be back in no time. The smile-inducing video can be found after the break.

Continue reading Robovie rescue bot hunts high and low for lost princesses (video)

Fuji Heavy Industries outs friendless, autonomous farming robot

by Laura June posted Oct 29th 2009 at 1:17PM

Fuji Heavy Industries in Japan has announced what it's calling 'the first' autonomous farming robot. This bot, which is about six and a half feet long and runs on gas, sends and receives laser signals to orient itself by way of reflective plates placed every 30 feet, using them to judge distances. This bad boy can grow fruits and veggies all by its lonesome, and can even operate in a greenhouse. The farming robot -- which is expected early next year -- will run about $100,000, but we'd suggest you buy two so he can have a buddy.

Prosthetic, robotic 'Smart Hand' has feelings, too

by Laura June posted Oct 24th 2009 at 12:42PM

Researchers in Italy and Sweden have spent the last ten years developing what they call the "Smart Hand," a prosthetic hand which enables feeling in its fingertips. The hand -- which was recently wired up to a test patient through a surgical procedure -- has four motors and forty sensors which are linked directly to the brain. In the surgery, the nerve endings of the patient were linked up to receptors in the hand, which allows for feeling in the fingertips of the hand, even though the hand is not really a part of his body. In the video after the break, you can see the greater precision and dexterity this hand allows for. Though the research still needs to be refined before practical use, it looks pretty far along -- and pretty awesome -- to us.

Continue reading Prosthetic, robotic 'Smart Hand' has feelings, too

MIT takes the wrappers off autonomous, robotic helicopter with intelligent navigation

by Laura June posted Oct 16th 2009 at 1:01PM

Advances in autonomous helicopters have been many over the years, but as far as we can tell, there's essentially no limit to how awesome they can get. MIT's recently developed an autonomous, robotic helicopter which is also able to navigate itself intelligently through a changing environment. The helicopter, which is equipped with a dual-camera array and a laser scanner, maps its terrain in real time, identifying changes along the way. An integrated autonomous exploration module allows the heli to interact with the changing, unknown environment it is mapping. The helicopter was shown off at the AUVSI 2009 International Aerial Robotics Competition, completing five missions -- a feat not before seen in the 19-year history of the show. Check out the very educational video after the break.

Continue reading MIT takes the wrappers off autonomous, robotic helicopter with intelligent navigation

iRobot shape-shifting ChemBot is back, and it's bad (video)

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Oct 14th 2009 at 6:23AM

As you know, when iRobot isn't hard at work developing some adorable automated vacuum cleaners, it has a quite lucrative sideline in DARPA-funded research projects. On that front, it looks like we finally have some results to report back on that ChemBot project that first appeared on our radar early last year. Unveiled at the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) yesterday, this palm-sized troublemaker is being billed as "the first demonstration of a completely soft, mobile robot using jamming as an enabling technology." The "jamming" in question is something called "jamming skin enabled locomotion," which traps air and a collection of loosely packed particles in a package made of silicon rubber. When air is removed from the pocket, the silicon restricts and seems to solidify. The robot consists of several of these pockets, which can be inflated or deflated separately, giving the device the ability to perform simple actions. This is all pretty rudimentary at the moment, but who knows? We may see Flubber in our time, after all. Video after the break.

Continue reading iRobot shape-shifting ChemBot is back, and it's bad (video)

NSF awards Harvard $10 million for robot bees (video)

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Oct 9th 2009 at 3:14PM

When we heard that the National Science Foundation awarded $10 million to Harvard to make a swarm of robot bees, our first thought was: "We could do it for half the price." Then we remembered that the university has been down this path before, including its robot fly program (whatever happened to that thing?) and might be the better choice after all. What does the NSF and Harvard hope to get for all that time and money? Aside from insight into such areas as distributed intelligence, robotic flight, and energy storage, a swarm of these bad boys could be tasked to do anything from battlefield spying to pollination (which might be necessary, with the way that real bees are vanishing at such an alarming rate). The RoboBee project is slated to run for the next five years. Video after the break.

[Via Switched]

Continue reading NSF awards Harvard $10 million for robot bees (video)

Video: Takeshi Maeda's OmniZero.9 robot transforms, carries creator, blows minds

by Tim Stevens posted Sep 28th 2009 at 9:56AM

Remember the cartoon Turbo Teen where a kid could turn himself into that most desirable of '80s cars, a red Firebird? That was pretty terrible, but we promise the video below of a robot turning itself into a red car is rather more compelling. It's OmniZero.9, the latest creation from Takeshi Maeda who earlier brought us the OmniZero.4. The ninth iteration is a humanoid looking bot with wheeled shoulders and knees that allows it to motor along the ground. Its head also flips back to create a seat just big enough for its creator, who jumps on for a short ride around the demonstration stage. The bot competed at ROBO-ONE in a few different categories and was captured on video doing its stuff solo and also shamelessly knocking an under-sized competitor out of the ring. Go ahead, click on through. You won't want to miss this.

Continue reading Video: Takeshi Maeda's OmniZero.9 robot transforms, carries creator, blows minds

Miruko wearable gaming eyeball robot turns the creep factor up significantly

by Laura June posted Sep 27th 2009 at 11:28AM

Miruko is the creepiest gaming device we've seen in a while -- but it's also downright awesome. A robotic interface boasting WiFi and a built-in camera, it's designed to be worn and used in augmented reality, real life gaming situations, able to detect things -- like monsters -- that are invisible to the human eye. Once the robot detects the presence of said monster (or zombie), it fixes its gaze on the object, allowing the gamer to follow its line of sight and then.. you know, destroy it -- using an iPhone camera. It's also capable of locating and locking in on specific objects and faces, making it really useful in hunting down whatever imaginary creatures that have been following you lately. Check the coolness in the video after the break, but keep in mind -- we've been able to see the invisible monsters all along.

[Via Pink Tentacle]

Continue reading Miruko wearable gaming eyeball robot turns the creep factor up significantly

Murata Seiko unicycling robot gets an awesome upgrade

by Laura June posted Sep 27th 2009 at 1:24AM

It was almost exactly a year ago that our hearts were stolen by Murata Seiko (Japanese for Murata Girl), the balance-blessed, unicycling robot. Murata Seiko didn't perform surgery or serve cocktails at parties -- she was no service bot... unless you consider pure, unadulterated, awe-inspiring entertainment a service. And we must admit, we do. Well, Murata's going to be performing at CEATEC 2009, showing off her three-times increased speed, improved balance, and turning ratio. All of this culminates in her new-found ability to navigate a very thin balance beam. Check out the videos of her in action after the break.

Continue reading Murata Seiko unicycling robot gets an awesome upgrade

JingJing and PuiPui bots followup on the BHR tai chi bots, give a good interview

by Paul Miller posted Sep 21st 2009 at 11:03AM

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]

Continue reading JingJing and PuiPui bots followup on the BHR tai chi bots, give a good interview

Bloodbot draws blood, inspires fear

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Sep 16th 2009 at 2:06PM

We've seen our fair share of scary robots in these parts, and we're not going to mince words here: there is no way we are going anywhere near one that's armed with a hypodermic needle -- and we sure as hell aren't going to sit still and let it draw blood! Currently being developed by a team at Imperial College in London, the Bloodbot is designed to probe your arm for the presence of a vein, stick you with the needle, puncture the vein, and then stop short of rupture. The system, which has thus far only been tested on one patient (sounds like we're not the only ones with reservations regarding the device) has been accurate about 78 percent of the time, meaning it only resulted in screaming fits 22 percent of the time -- unlike your friendly neighborhood nurse or medical technician, who is accurate nearly 100 percent of the time (and still inspires the occasional fit, but that's another story).

[Via Switched]

Video: Taizo the robot teaches grandpa how to stretch, so you don't have to

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Sep 13th 2009 at 7:24AM

You know, maybe we were wrong-headed to keep harping on this 'evil robot' meme. Sure, there are some no-goodniks in the robot community (as opposed to the robotics community, which we assure you is full of hard-working, well-meaning people) but look at all the good robots have done for us: they build our cars, serve us hot drinks, teach our young children, and now they help our oldsters with the physical therapy. Taizo, pictured here, is a delightful chap with a bulbous visage and a fun, plushy space suit who stands just over 24-inches tall and weighs 15.5 pounds. Operating for about two hours on a single charge, the robot is designed to lead low-impact group exercise (mostly while sitting down) and features voice recognition and a library of thirty different exercises. With 26 joints in its body, it's a flexible fellow, for sure. We just hope that no one weaponizes the thing. Video after the break.

Gallery: Taizo the robot teaches grandpa how to stretch

[Via Engadget German]

Continue reading Video: Taizo the robot teaches grandpa how to stretch, so you don't have to

Nao humanoid robot gets its hands on Microsoft's Surface

by Laura June posted Sep 2nd 2009 at 8:54AM

We're no strangers to Aldebaran Robotics' little humanoid robot, Nao -- in fact, we've seen plenty of him over the years. We've also spied our fair share of Microsoft's Surface table, too -- but you know, we've definitely never seen the two together in the same room. Interacting. Sounds pretty interesting, right? It did to us too, so we popped some popcorn and sat back to enjoy a full minute's viewing bliss of these two -- and we have to say, it was well worth it. Nao demonstrates his dexterity at zooming in and out on a photograph of a tiger (which looks suspiciously exact to one we paint-by-numbered last year), and moves around a stack of various other photos, too. It's all great, impressive fun, and we have to say, the fact that Nao is spewing French makes it all the cuter, and though it's been a while since we cracked our college texts, we're fairly certain he says "Microsoft Surface is so awesome, but I'm holding out for Windows 7" at one point. Video is after the break.

Continue reading Nao humanoid robot gets its hands on Microsoft's Surface

English scientists set out to build first biological robot using mold

by Laura June posted Aug 31st 2009 at 4:18PM

Researchers at the University of the West of England have snagged a grant to fund the building of a whole new type of robot -- a non-silicon, biological plasmobot, built using plasmodium, a vegetative type of slime mold. The mold, which is commonly found living in forests and gardens, is, according to researcher Andy Adamatzky, a "naturally occurring substance with its own built in intelligence," which is capable of carrying out complex tasks, like figuring out the shortest path between two points -- all on its own. The aim for the plasmobot will be for it to sense objects, span them in the shortest way possible, and carry tiny objects along pre-determined routes, controlled by light and electromagnetic fields. The plasmobot should also be capable of complex "number crunching power," enabled by parallel inputs and outputs. Long-term uses could include using the bots within the human body to deliver drugs to specific targets. Though much of this is still purely theoretical (and extremely complicated), we look forward to the day when we're all covered in mold, don't you?