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German scientists are training robots to 'feel' pain
Pain is important. It triggers the appropriate response to prevent even greater injuries or even to save your life. A couple of German researchers think so too, so they're working on a way to make robots "feel" -- or, more accurately, to detect and respond to -- pain. That way, they can move away from anything that could damage them, thereby lengthening their lifespans and preventing the need for costly repairs.
Cheap, tiny robots serve as terrain scouts for expensive ones (video)
Big robots like Cheetah and Big Dog cost a lot to make, so it would be such a shame if they get put out of commission after slipping on, say, a patch of ice. To prevent that from happening, UC Berkeley and ETH Zurich researchers propose sending a team of small, expendable robots ahead of the big, expensive one to scout terrain conditions -- in the event that they do get used for real missions, that is. The researchers demonstrated their idea at the IEEE robotics conference in Hong Kong, where they used UC Berkeley's tiny cardboard robot called VelociRoACH to do recon work for ETH Zurich's StarlETH.
Oh, the places you'll go... with this shoulder-mounted telepresence robot (video)
In what's likely to be good news for mothers that just can't seem to cut the cord, a team of Japanese engineers from Yamagata University have crafted a tiny telepresence robot that mounts to your shoulder. Part of this year's IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, the unsettling cyborg companion, dubbed MH-2 for miniature humanoid, is designed to act like a virtual chaperon or comrade, all depending on the person remotely piloting it. Using a combination of flexible joints, the wee avatar can somewhat mimic its users movements, even going so far as to simulate breathing. At the moment, the tech's not really ready for primetime, seeing as how the backpack required to power this creation contains about 22 servos -- not exactly the most portable of inventions. Still, as with all things cybernetic, this project will only evolve in time, growing more efficient, lightweight and effective at transporting your family and friends wherever you may roam, whether you like it or not. Skip past the break for some en vivo video action.
Chiba University's one-armed robot juggles balls, is not a Juggalo (video)
Two balls, one hand? In this case, that's a definite yes, although the end result is much more appropriate for all ages. Furthering our slow creep towards engineering's Uncanny Valley, comes a cybernetic effort out of Japan's Chiba University that's made to mock our most precious clown-past time: juggling. The one-armed, three-fingered robot, shown off at the 2012 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, utilizes a high-speed camera to track a ball's flight at 500fps and help coordinate its repetitive movements with eerie precision. The current setup's not without hitches, though, considering the bot's fixed shoulder joint can only carry out successful catches on a 2D plane before, quite literally, dropping the ball. Refinements are apparently on the way to expand the cyborg limb's range of motion which, of course, will only serve to defeat us in the end. Robot apocalypse, we're looking at you.
