Engadget http://www.engadget.com Engadget http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif Engadget http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Robot uses semantic search to get a Subway sandwich, do Jared's evil bidding (video)]]>http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/06/robot-uses-semantic-search-to-get-a-subway-sandwich-do-jareds/http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/06/robot-uses-semantic-search-to-get-a-subway-sandwich-do-jareds/http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/06/robot-uses-semantic-search-to-get-a-subway-sandwich-do-jareds/#comments Old PR2 can already fold towels, play pool and grab an ice cold beer -- really, the Willow Garage robot is just one task of short of mastering the day-to-day activities of your average college student. What's that? It can get a sandwich, too? Never mind. And this isn't just any "get me a sandwich" command -- the stout white 'bot uses semantic search to infer possible locations for sandwich, using knowledge of similar objects and environmental models. In the below video, you'll see PR2 make its way to a refrigerator, in search of sustenance, only to come up empty-clawed. Undaunted, it hops on an elevator and makes its way to a Subway sandwich shop. The joint project from the University of Tokyo and University of Munich was recently shown off at recent robotics conference. No word on when PR2 will be programmed to hold the onions.

Continue reading Robot uses semantic search to get a Subway sandwich, do Jared's evil bidding (video)

Robot uses semantic search to get a Subway sandwich, do Jared's evil bidding (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Oct 2011 01:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>pr2robotroboticsrobotssandwichsubwaysubway sandwichSubwaySandwichuniversity of munichuniversity of tokyoUniversityOfMunichUniversityOfTokyovideowillow garageWillowGarageThu, 06 Oct 2011 01:54:00 EST<![CDATA[Willow Garage slashes price, arm with PR2 SE robot]]>http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/11/willow-garage-slashes-price-arm-with-pr2-se-robot/http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/11/willow-garage-slashes-price-arm-with-pr2-se-robot/http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/11/willow-garage-slashes-price-arm-with-pr2-se-robot/#comments
Looking to build your own Bakebot using Willow Garage's PR2 robot development platform but can't quite scrape together the necessary $400k? Then we've got some good news for you. The company's now offering a modified version dubbed the PR2 SE for a mere $285,000 (or less if you meet the requirements for a 30 percent discount). The bad news? You'll have to make do with just one arm. As seen previously with the aforementioned Bakebot, both the existing PR2 and the new PR2 SE also now come equipped with an updated sensor system that includes a Microsoft Kinect, and you'll be glad to know that the SE model can indeed be upgraded to two arms at any time. Press release is after the break.

Continue reading Willow Garage slashes price, arm with PR2 SE robot

Willow Garage slashes price, arm with PR2 SE robot originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Aug 2011 03:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>pr2pr2 sePr2Serobotrobot development platformrobot platformRobotDevelopmentPlatformRobotPlatformwillow garageWillowGarageThu, 11 Aug 2011 03:55:00 EST<![CDATA[Robots for Humanity help around the house, scratch your itch (video)]]>http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/14/robots-for-humanity-help-around-the-house-scratch-your-itch-vi/http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/14/robots-for-humanity-help-around-the-house-scratch-your-itch-vi/http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/14/robots-for-humanity-help-around-the-house-scratch-your-itch-vi/#comments Robots for Humanity? That certainly doesn't jibe with our notion of the upcoming cyborg apocalypse. And it shouldn't, considering this joint effort's noble aim is to assist the disabled with the everyday household chores most of us take for granted. The project, a collaboration between Willow Garage and Georgia Tech's Healthcare Robotics Lab, has been working with stroke victim Henry Evans to develop custom UIs that give him mastery of the human-assistive PR2 robot. These tailor-made, head-tracking interfaces have allowed the mute quadriplegic to partially shave his face and even scratch a previously unreachable ten-year itch -- all with the helping claw of the friendly bot. It's a compassionate use of cybernetic tech we're used to seeing come out of Japan, and a welcome assist for disabled communities everywhere. Click past the break for a video demo of Henry and his robotic pal.

Continue reading Robots for Humanity help around the house, scratch your itch (video)

Robots for Humanity help around the house, scratch your itch (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Jul 2011 23:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>disabledGeorgia TechGeorgiaTechHealthcare Robotics LabHealthcareRoboticsLabHenry EvansHenryEvanshuman assistive robotHumanAssistiveRobotparalyzedPR2robotvideoWillow GarageWillow Garage PR2WillowGarageWillowGaragePr2Thu, 14 Jul 2011 23:59:00 EST<![CDATA[Qbo, the open-source robot, interacts with people, makes adorable mistakes (video)]]>http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/05/qbo-the-open-source-robot-interacts-with-people-makes-adorabl/http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/05/qbo-the-open-source-robot-interacts-with-people-makes-adorabl/http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/05/qbo-the-open-source-robot-interacts-with-people-makes-adorabl/#commentsA while back we got a detailed look at the innards of Qbo, TheCorpora's open-source robot. But we haven't gotten to see the little guy in action -- until now. His handlers recently let him loose to run autonomously, guided by a pair of webcam eyes and voice recognition courtesy of Willow Garage's ROS software. The team soon noticed some unexpected behavior, though. Despite being programmed to follow humans at a specific distance, Qbo trailed uncomfortably near with taller people -- probably the first example of a robotic "close walker." Poring over the log files revealed why: proximity was calculated based on faces. The faces of taller people were farther away from the ground-hugging robot, which adjusted accordingly. Roll your way down the page to see more of our cute mechanized friend, and over to the source link for more musings on programming him.

Continue reading Qbo, the open-source robot, interacts with people, makes adorable mistakes (video)

Qbo, the open-source robot, interacts with people, makes adorable mistakes (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jul 2011 16:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>linuxopen sourceOpenSourceqborobotrosthecorporaThecorpora qboThecorporaQbovideowillow garageWillowGarageTue, 05 Jul 2011 16:25:00 EST<![CDATA[DIY telepresence robot uses PrimeSense Kinect drivers for extremely awkward push-ups (video)]]>http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/03/diy-telepresence-robot-uses-primesense-kinect-drivers-for-extrem/http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/03/diy-telepresence-robot-uses-primesense-kinect-drivers-for-extrem/http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/03/diy-telepresence-robot-uses-primesense-kinect-drivers-for-extrem/#comments
From enhancing your WoW game to putting you in Tom Hanks's shoes, DIYers the world o'er really do seem to love Kinect. And what do we have here? Taylor Veltrop's Veltrobot remote telepresence 'bot uses the PrimeSense open source Kinect drivers for tracking the user's skeleton, with a modified Kondo KHR-1HV mirroring the operator's movements (which are received via 802.11n WiFi). Right now he is only controlling the arms, but with any luck we should be seeing complete control over all the robot's movements soon enough. Once the thing is finalized, Veltrop plans on releasing an open source development kit. And then? That's right: robot avatars for everyone!

Continue reading DIY telepresence robot uses PrimeSense Kinect drivers for extremely awkward push-ups (video)

DIY telepresence robot uses PrimeSense Kinect drivers for extremely awkward push-ups (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 14:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>diydriverhackhacksKHR-1HVkinectKondoKondo KHR-1HVKondoKhr-1hvmodopen sourceopenniOpenSourceprimesenseproject natalProjectNatalrobotrosside kickside-kickSideKickTaylor VeltropTaylorVeltroptelepresenceveltrobotvideowillow garageWillowGarageMon, 03 Jan 2011 14:16:00 EST<![CDATA[PrimeSense's OpenNI provides the best Kinect drivers yet, from someone who would know]]>http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/15/primesenses-openni-provides-the-best-kinect-drivers-yet-from-s/http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/15/primesenses-openni-provides-the-best-kinect-drivers-yet-from-s/http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/15/primesenses-openni-provides-the-best-kinect-drivers-yet-from-s/#comments We've been so wrapped up in Kinect hacks lately that we actually missed a Kinect non-hack that emerged last week. PrimeSense, who built the initial Project Natal reference hardware for Microsoft, has released its own open source drivers for the Kinect. PrimeSense is working with Willow Garage (best known for its open source ROS robot operating system), and Side-Kick (a motion gaming startup) through a new OpenNI organization it set up, and the trio will be combining their powers for good. The OpenNI framework will cover low-level hardware support (drivers for actual cameras and other sensors), and high-level visual tracking (turning your body into a 3D avatar that kicks ass in a virtual world). This should be a boon to an already vibrant Kinect hacking community, and if the video above is any indication, we aren't far from Kinect-level interaction and gameplay on our lowly PCs.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

PrimeSense's OpenNI provides the best Kinect drivers yet, from someone who would know originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 13:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>driverhackhackskinectopen sourceopenniOpenSourceprimesenseproject natalProjectNatalrosside kickside-kickSideKickvideowillow garageWillowGarageWed, 15 Dec 2010 13:14:00 EST<![CDATA[Kinect sensor bolted to an iRobot Create, starts looking for trouble]]>http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/17/kinect-sensor-bolted-to-an-irobot-create-starts-looking-for-tro/http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/17/kinect-sensor-bolted-to-an-irobot-create-starts-looking-for-tro/http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/17/kinect-sensor-bolted-to-an-irobot-create-starts-looking-for-tro/#comments While there have already been a lot of great proof-of-concepts for the Kinect, what we're really excited for are the actual applications that will come from it. On the top of our list? Robots. The Personal Robots Group at MIT has put a battery-powered Kinect sensor on top of the iRobot Create platform, and is beaming the camera and depth sensor data to a remote computer for processing into a 3D map -- which in turn can be used for navigation by the bot. They're also using the data for human recognition, which allows for controlling the bot using natural gestures. Looking to do something similar with your own robot? Well, the ROS folks have a Kinect driver in the works that will presumably allow you to feed all that great Kinect data into ROS's already impressive libraries for machine vision. Tie in the Kinect's multi-array microphones, accelerometer, and tilt motor and you've got a highly aware, semi-anthropomorphic "three-eyed" robot just waiting to happen. We hope it will be friends with us. Video of the ROS experimentation is after the break.

Continue reading Kinect sensor bolted to an iRobot Create, starts looking for trouble

Kinect sensor bolted to an iRobot Create, starts looking for trouble originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Nov 2010 21:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>3d mapping3dMappingdepth sensorDepthSensorhackirobotirobot createIrobotCreatekinectkinect hackKinectHackmachine visionMachineVisionmitmit personal robots groupMitPersonalRobotsGrouppersonal robots groupPersonalRobotsGrouprobotsrosvideowillow garageWillowGarageWed, 17 Nov 2010 21:38:00 EST<![CDATA[Screen Grabs: Willow Garage's telepresence bot guest stars on The Big Bang Theory]]>http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/04/screen-grabs-willow-garages-telepresence-bot-guest-stars-on-th/http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/04/screen-grabs-willow-garages-telepresence-bot-guest-stars-on-th/http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/04/screen-grabs-willow-garages-telepresence-bot-guest-stars-on-th/#commentsScreen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dot com.
CBS's The Big Bang Theory is the super popular sitcom about brilliant nerds. If you've been watching, you've undoubtedly seen Steve Wozniak's recent guest spot -- but there have been other notable presences, too. Willow Garage's Texai telepresence robot recently made an appearance as "Shel-bot" -- a stand in for the character Sheldon. While we didn't get to see the hilarious high jinks ourselves, we can tell from the screen shots that it was a pretty good time. Hit up the coverage link to learn more about Willow Garage's Texai.

Screen Grabs: Willow Garage's telepresence bot guest stars on The Big Bang Theory originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Oct 2010 02:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>big bang theoryBigBangTheoryrobotrobotsscreen grabsscreengrabstelepresencetexaiwillow garageWillowGarageMon, 04 Oct 2010 02:02:00 EST<![CDATA[Willow Garage now selling the PR2 for $400k a pop]]>http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/08/willow-garage-now-selling-the-pr2-for-400k-a-pop/http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/08/willow-garage-now-selling-the-pr2-for-400k-a-pop/http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/08/willow-garage-now-selling-the-pr2-for-400k-a-pop/#comments While it was fun while it lasted, it was obvious that Willow Garage couldn't keep giving away its ultra-high-end development platform PR2 bots forever. After shipping 11 of the bots to research institutes, Willow Garage is now selling the PR2 to all comers -- as long as they've got 400 grand in their back pocket. We've covered the specs before (oodles of CPU power, two highly articulated pincer arms, and high-end vision systems), along with some of PR2's recent hijinks, and hopefully we see more of that sort of stuff now that the rugged, ready-for-adventure PR2 is on the market. If you can't scrap together all the cash, Willow Garage will also be offering a discount $280k version to people and institutions that can demonstrate "past performance and leadership" in open source robotics software -- a topic obviously near and dear to Willow Garage's heart with ROS, the OS that powers PR2 and is slowly spreading throughout much of the world of higher-end personal robotics.

As for the high price and its generally opaque business model, Willow Garage compares the current state of its industry to high end workstations in the 70s, back when researchers were spending more money and time figuring out what their computers could do than actually accomplishing anything with them. Willow Garage isn't planning on making any sort of killing in the business yet -- they'd just be happy to have the PR2 project at a self sustaining level -- but they're working toward what they see as the "next radical shift" in productivity, a personal robotics follow-up to the personal computer revolution. This is a future similar to the one Bill Gates was talking up back in 2006, but of course Willow Garage wants its open source ROS platform to be the "Microsoft" this time around. They certainly don't plan to corner the hardware market in the process, however: the company hopes the quasi-followup to the PR2 will actually be built by multiple companies.

Gallery: Willow Garage PR2 press shots

Willow Garage now selling the PR2 for $400k a pop originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>open sourceOpenSourcepr2robot osRobotOsroswillow garagewillow garage pr2WillowGarageWillowGaragePr2Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Open source Qbo bot makes the jump to ROS, the open source robot OS]]>http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/23/open-source-qbo-bot-makes-the-jump-to-ros-the-open-source-robot/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/23/open-source-qbo-bot-makes-the-jump-to-ros-the-open-source-robot/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/23/open-source-qbo-bot-makes-the-jump-to-ros-the-open-source-robot/#comments While the Willow Garage-initiated ROS is designed to consolidate and accelerate robotics innovation for the long term, it's still a long ways from powering your robotic butler / life coach / best friend, so it's exciting to see it put to use in the here and now. The folks at Thecorpora, responsible for the Qbo open source robot project, have been busy converting Qbo's original Java API into ROS, and just announced they're at 99.9 percent completion of that task. That means the Qbo gets instant access to some of the fun development going on in ROS, like stacking all its cameras and ultrasonic sensors into a system for machine vision, or controlling the bot with a Wiimote or a PS3 controller. (There's a video after the break of the Wiimote in action). Don't think Qbo will be powerful enough for you? Willow Garage just announced that it's about to put its own ROS-powered PR2 bot on sale soon, after a few months of its (highly successful) PR2 Beta Program.

Continue reading Open source Qbo bot makes the jump to ROS, the open source robot OS

Open source Qbo bot makes the jump to ROS, the open source robot OS originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 22:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>open sourceOpenSourceqboroswillow garageWillowGarageMon, 23 Aug 2010 22:45:00 EST<![CDATA[Willow Garage PR2 robot learns to sort socks for $10k prize (video)]]>http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/21/willow-garage-pr2-robot-learns-to-sort-socks-for-10k-prize-vid/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/21/willow-garage-pr2-robot-learns-to-sort-socks-for-10k-prize-vid/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/21/willow-garage-pr2-robot-learns-to-sort-socks-for-10k-prize-vid/#commentsWillow Garage PR2 robot learns to sort socks for $10k prize (video) We've been following the evolution of the Willow Garage PR2 robot for a little over a year now, watching as it learned to mooch electricity and hustle pool sharks. That, as it turns out, was only the beginning. The robots are now up for general pre-order should anyone want one (priced well into the "if you have to ask" range, surely), and to celebrate that Willow Garage founder Scott Hassan put up $10k to sponsor a video contest of the PR2 robot doing some impressive things. The winner is a video called "Sockification" from a crew at UC Berkeley in which the PR2 shows some... enthusiastic sock sorting skills. You can see that one embedded below, along with our personal favorite: an ode to StrongBad and his lightswitch rave.

Continue reading Willow Garage PR2 robot learns to sort socks for $10k prize (video)

Willow Garage PR2 robot learns to sort socks for $10k prize (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Aug 2010 17:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>competitioncontestfoldfoldinglaundrypr2raverobotsocksock foldingSockFoldingsocksstrongbadvideowillow garageWillowGarageSat, 21 Aug 2010 17:14:00 EST<![CDATA[Beer-fetching robot promises to make your significant other obsolete]]>http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/08/beer-fetching-robot-promises-to-make-your-significant-other-obso/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/08/beer-fetching-robot-promises-to-make-your-significant-other-obso/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/08/beer-fetching-robot-promises-to-make-your-significant-other-obso/#comments The thing about the future is this: we'll still have to do menial things like answer the door, or take out the trash, or get up off our couches to get our own brews after a long, hard day at the office... unless we're smart enough to invent robots to do such menial things, that is. Well, Willow Garage has spent some time building a "Beer Me" application for its PR2 robot which gets at least one of these tasks under its belt. They added a four-holed foam block placed behind the robot's navigation laser so that it can safely carry four bottles across the terrain, and equipped their refrigerator with a tilted "self-stocking" shelf. Check out its operation in the video below.

Continue reading Beer-fetching robot promises to make your significant other obsolete

Beer-fetching robot promises to make your significant other obsolete originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Jul 2010 14:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>beerpr2robotrobotsthe futureTheFuturewillow garageWillowGarageThu, 08 Jul 2010 14:34:00 EST<![CDATA[Willow Garage PR2 robot plays pool, gives Fast Eddie a run for his money (video)]]>http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/17/willow-garage-pr2-robot-plays-pool-gives-fast-eddie-a-run-for-h/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/17/willow-garage-pr2-robot-plays-pool-gives-fast-eddie-a-run-for-h/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/17/willow-garage-pr2-robot-plays-pool-gives-fast-eddie-a-run-for-h/#comments
We're pretty big fans of Willow Garage, and its generous support of the open source Robot Operating System (ROS). For its latest trick, the company has developed a system to teach its PR3 robot billiards. Unlike projects we've seen in the past, Poolshark doesn't rely on overhead cameras to calculate moves. Rather, it's forced to conform to standard rules: it can only shoot from where the cue ball lay, and it sights shots from the same vantage point as human player would. And, you know what? While not perfect, the robot does pretty well. Not bad for a week's work, eh? Video after the break.

Continue reading Willow Garage PR2 robot plays pool, gives Fast Eddie a run for his money (video)

Willow Garage PR2 robot plays pool, gives Fast Eddie a run for his money (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Jun 2010 02:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>billiardshackathonpoolpoolsharkpr2robotrosvideowillow garageWillowGarageThu, 17 Jun 2010 02:19:00 EST<![CDATA[Willow Garage starts shipping its PR2 Beta Program bots: get ready for ROS-powered hijinks]]>http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/willow-garage-starts-shipping-its-pr2-beta-program-bots-get-rea/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/willow-garage-starts-shipping-its-pr2-beta-program-bots-get-rea/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/willow-garage-starts-shipping-its-pr2-beta-program-bots-get-rea/#comments It isn't hard to get behind a company like Willow Garage, who not only has enough funding to invest heavily in building on ROS, an open source Robotics Operating System that's gaining traction in the robotics community, but also managed to dig up enough spare change to give away $4.4 million in robots to a few lucky research institutions. There were 11 schools selected to receive the Willow Garage-developed PR2 Beta, which stuffs some very high end sensors, two articulated arms, and sixteen CPU cores on top of a rolling base -- providing a lot of leg room for advanced functionality. Of course, in the world of robots, "advanced" means stuff like opening doors and not running over your cat, but with a common code base to work from and all this fancy hardware, hopefully these schools will manage to push the industry along a bit during the next two years that the PR2 Beta Program lasts.

Willow Garage starts shipping its PR2 Beta Program bots: get ready for ROS-powered hijinks originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 May 2010 20:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>pr2pr2 betapr2 beta programPr2BetaPr2BetaProgramrobotroswillow garageWillowGarageFri, 28 May 2010 20:10:00 EST<![CDATA[UC Berkeley researchers teach PR2 robot to fold towels]]>http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/05/uc-berkeley-researchers-teach-pr2-robot-to-fold-towels/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/05/uc-berkeley-researchers-teach-pr2-robot-to-fold-towels/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/05/uc-berkeley-researchers-teach-pr2-robot-to-fold-towels/#comments
We've already seen Willow Garage's PR2 robot learn to roam offices in search of a power outlet, and it looks like some researchers at UC Berkeley have now helped it pull off its most impressive feat yet: folding towels. That may not sound like too hard a task, but it's actually proven to be quite a conundrum for robotic laundry researchers, since robots need to first pick up a towel from a pile and then somehow determine that this previously unseen shape is, in fact, a towel that can be folded. While it's still a long way from being the Roomba of laundry, the JR2 bot is now able to fold at the blistering speed of 25 minutes per towel, and the researchers are hopeful that the same computer vision-based approach can also be applied to a range of other tasks that have previously stumped robots. Head on past the break for the video -- don't worry, it's sped up.

Continue reading UC Berkeley researchers teach PR2 robot to fold towels

UC Berkeley researchers teach PR2 robot to fold towels originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Apr 2010 22:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>berkeleyjr2laundrylaundry robotlaundry roboticsLaundryRobotLaundryRoboticstowel-foldingUC berkeleyUcBerkeleyvideowillow garageWillowGarageMon, 05 Apr 2010 22:21:00 EST<![CDATA[Willow Garage's PR2 robot breaks, enters, steals electricity]]>http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/15/willow-garages-pr2-robot-breaks-enters-steals-electricity/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/15/willow-garages-pr2-robot-breaks-enters-steals-electricity/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/15/willow-garages-pr2-robot-breaks-enters-steals-electricity/#commentsWillow Garage's PR2 robot breaks, enters, steals electricity Robots may be impressive and occasionally frightening things that will some day rule our lives and societies, but right now they're rather co-dependent, unable to even recharge themselves without a helping hand. The latest from robo-startup Willow Garage is different, a bot called PR2 that's capable of maneuvering through a crowded office, opening (non-locked) doors, and pilfering a little taste of that good, good, alternating current juice. What's more, he's sensitive to your time constraints, so the demonstration video below has been thoughtfully edited to minimize footage of aimless wandering, spinning, and general confusion. Next step: learning to knock.

[Via Robots.net]

Continue reading Willow Garage's PR2 robot breaks, enters, steals electricity

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Willow Garage's PR2 robot breaks, enters, steals electricity originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Jun 2009 08:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>chargeplugplug inPlugInpr2rechargewillow garagewillow garage pr2WillowGarageWillowGaragePr2Mon, 15 Jun 2009 08:41:00 EST