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Posts with tag umass

UMass Mobile Manipulator pushes things around, learns ways of the world

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 2nd 2008 at 2:29PM


Robots teaching robots? Check. Robots teaching humans? Check. Robots learning things on their own accord? Um, terrifying? All kidding aside, the UMass Mobile Manipulator is one smart cookie. Put simply, this intelligent robot pushes objects around in order to identify how they move, and once that's accomplish, it begins "manipulating them to perform tasks." If this sounds awfully similar to something your infant does, that's because the two are indeed very much related. UMan, as it's so eloquently dubbed, packs its own wheels, battery pack, one-meter arm, three-fingered hand and webcam in order to interact with the world, and sure enough, one researcher even mentioned the potential of it learning to operate a pair of scissors. Great, what's next -- a BFG?

[Via CrunchGear]

GPS-enabled helmet calls for help post-accident

by Darren Murph, posted Feb 11th 2008 at 2:09AM

We've seen some pretty well equipped helmets in our day, but UMass Amherst student Brycen Spencer seems a touch more interested in safety advancements than integrated speakers. His concoction, dubbed the Wireless Impact Guardian (WIG), looks like your average helmet at first glance, but a quick look inside reveals electronics designed to sense an impact, judge if you're conscious and dial for help if necessary. Essentially, an alarm is triggered upon impact, and if you're not cohesive enough to disable it after 60 seconds, it automatically rings up 911 and beams out your location via GPS so that medical personnel can get moving. Currently, the device is quite a ways from going commercial, but considering that Mr. Spencer has already invested in a provisional patent, we'd say it's well on its way.

[Via textually]

Turtles don solar-powered communicators in the name of science

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 6th 2007 at 2:41PM


For biologists who aren't down with tracking blazing fast cheetahs and computer engineers who aren't keen on their hardware just galloping away, strapping solar-powered communicators on none other than a 40-pound turtle was a no-brainer. Dubbed M16, the giant snapper commandeered by scientists from the University of Massachusetts is now sporting a "postcard-sized waterproof computer" that tracks and records data about the endangered species and beams it back to the campus when the creature moseys on by a base station. Much like a few military applications we've seen, the idea here is to "create a network of constantly moving devices (or animals) that record and store information, transmit data from one device to another," and finally upload it into a database. No word on whether webcams or high-powered lasers will get added in to the second wave of shell-bound rigs.
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