SnakeRobot
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Robot makes 'Snakes and Ladders' horrifyingly literal
Robots can't yet think for themselves, but if they ever do, you'll have nowhere to hide. Researchers from Kyoto University and the University of Electro-Communications unveiled a snake-like robot that can climb up a ladder in a terrifying version of the children's board game. It's not the first robot snake we've ever seen, but this latest model, unveiled at the 2018 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, looks like the most agile one yet.
ICYMI: Underwater robot snake, Earth's ocean saving and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-54715{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-54715, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-54715{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-54715").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Princeton researchers discovered ocean currents can move most anything around the globe within 10 years; which could help replenish dying ecosystems... and also spread around pollution. Norwegian engineers came up with a mechanical snake for underwater sea inspection and simple repair jobs near oil drills. And Harvard wants to encourage kid programming with a new robot that can be used by kindergartners to high schoolers. Once that's conquered, the answer is clearly to make the MIT open-source duckcar. As always, please share any great tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
ICYMI: Perfect temp mug, MIT's wiggly robot and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-621697{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-621697, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-621697{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-621697").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: MIT's Media Lab created the LineFORM out of a wiggly bit of robotics that can morph into different shapes, like a telephone or a data connecting cable. Meanwhile a $130 mug will let you set the perfect temperature for your java. And an Indiegogo campaign for a head-mounted camera that makes users look like waylaid super heros is well short of its funding goal, which is probably good because we would hate to see them out in the world.
Snake robot climbs sand dunes by mimicking sidewinders' slithering
Snakes can pretty much slither anywhere they want, inspiring many (and we mean many) military and educational institutions to try and recreate them in robotic form. Carnegie Mellon University, in particular, has been developing a robotic snake for years -- one that a team of researchers from various organizations recently tweaked to mimic the movements of a sidewinder. Why? Because prior to the update, it couldn't even climb sandy slopes inclined by about 10 degrees. The group, which has been observing snakes for a long time and has found out the secret behind sidewinders' ability to scale sand dunes, programmed the robot to replicate their unique slithering. Carnegie Mellon roboticist Hamid Marvi says it can now "climb on inclinations of up to 20 degrees on loose sand," all thanks to this upgrade.
OC Robotics debuts half-inch diameter snake-arm robot
As we've seen, snake-like robots have long since move beyond the realm of nightmares into a frightening reality, and they just seem to keep on getting more and more plentiful. This latest one comes to us from UK-based OC Robotics, and has the notable distinction of being just a half-inch in diameter and a full 24 inches long, which is apparently just the ticket the US Department of Defense was looking for (it's currently testing the bot). Like other similar bots, this one boasts a camera and tool on its tip, and it can be operated using a joystick, which actually controls each of the independant "vertebrae" that makes up the arm. As you might have guessed, the company is already hard at work on even longer versions of the bot, but if you're not willing to wait for that, you can apparently put in an order for one of its current models right now.[Via Crave]
