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Boston Dynamics PETMAN portends the pending robot apocalypse
If the sight of Boston Dynamics' unstoppable Alpha Dog didn't convince you of the coming robot apocalypse, then perhaps a glimpse of its bipedal relative, PETMAN, will. Last time we saw the two-legged bot, It was walking well enough, but it lacked the humanoid visage needed to infiltrate and overthrow. In the time since, however, PETMAN has gotten a more anatomically-correct body and some arms -- giving it some push-up prowess to go with its jaunty gait. As the video below demonstrates, this robot isn't a T1000 just yet, but is seems certain PETMAN and its progeny will be running and leaping over us meatbags on the way to the top of the evolutionary food chain soon enough. So our anthropomorphic replacements are on the way, but there's no need for full-blown panic... yet.
Bipedal robots learn to shuffle, evolve toward doing the twist (video)
Yes, some robots are evolving to a point where they can play instruments and swing a hammer. Hilariously, though, bipedal robots are still awful at turning in a tight radius. Several presenters at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation have been working on a solution: instead of making them take steps, program robots to shuffle. This allows turning without complex weight-shifting -- every time your foot leaves the ground, you have to adjust your balance to remain upright. Keeping your feet on the ground avoids that fairly complicated process, and can make robot-turning quicker, and possible in confined spaces; most current bipedal bots require lots of time and space to turn. See the video after the break for an example from Japan's Osaka Electro-Communication University. It may look like a metal man shuffling his feet, but it's an important step toward our robot-dominated future. [Thanks, Henry]
fuRo Core bipedal robot can squat with a 100kg payload, puts your puny muscles to shame (video)
What's nearly two meters tall, weighs 230kg, and can lift the equivalent of a generously proportioned man? No, it isn't the ED-209 from RoboCop, but rather the latest robotic biped from Japan. The Core project that's being developed by the fuRo lab in Chiba's Institute of Technology may look and sound quite a bit like your favorite rogue drone, but its objective is rather more peaceful. The hope is to deliver increased mobility for handicapped people -- beyond what wheelchairs can provide, hence the bipedal locomotion system -- and things seem to have gotten off to a good start with the ability to safely balance a 100kg load while performing squats. See that feat, along with some clumsy first steps, after the break.
University of Michigan's MABEL robot hits a stride, breaks a leg (video)
We're going to warn you up front. This isn't easy to watch, but robotics research can sometimes be a nasty business, and some things just can't be left unseen. At the center of the disaster waiting to happen pictured above is MABEL, a bipedal robot that researchers at the University of Michigan have been working on for the past few years, and which, on an otherwise ordinary May 18th, made its first attempt at walking over rough ground. Things got off to a well enough start, with MABEL able to walk with a reasonably natural gait, and even recover after a small slip after a few boards where placed in her path. As the university itself points out, however, the whole point of the experiment was to "push her til she cracked" -- and crack she did, with a shin eventually giving way after one too many boards were added, resulting in one of the sadder sights we've seen in our years of robot watching. Head on past the break for the complete video, if you can handle it.
Boston Dynamics PETMAN predicts the future of man as pet (video)
At this stage of its development, PETMAN is here to assist mankind. However, it's clearly fated to be weaponized as an AT-ST walker in support of Imperial ground forces. For the time being anyway, this biped humanoid is being built by Boston Dynamics to test military suits used to protect soldiers in chemical warfare. As an evolutionary advance from its four-legged BigDog platform, PETMAN does the ol' heel-toe at a healthy 3.2 MPH (5.14 KPH) and packs enough balancing intelligence to remain upright even when given a shove from the side. Check out the action after the break. [Via Make]
DIY biped robot makes your desk a happier place
While some DIY bots understandably creep us out, there's just as many that bring a smile to our face, and this so-called BiPed robot V-3 from Alex V of Instructables definitely falls into the latter camp. Further adding to our appreciation is the fact that this one is built almost entirely from scratch, right down to the custom made framework cut by a CNC machine. You'd be hard pressed to pick it out from line-up of kit robots, however, with it boasting a full range of movement designed to mimic the human lower body which, as you can see above, even extends to it being able to stand on one leg with ease. Be sure to hit up the link below for a couple of videos and, of course, the instructions for building your own.
Robot walks independently with dynamic balancing
We're still chuckling about Asimo's sad little tumble last year, but Anybots' breakthrough dynamically balancing biped robot, Dexter, is no laughing matter. While he's sans arms for now, the 135-pound, 5'10" robot is being celebrated for the sole fact that he isn't pre-programmed and can support his own strut -- and supposedly, he'll soon be able to run. Dexter's partner in crime is Monty, a two-wheeled, two-armed bot with one fully articulated, 18-motor gripper hand. Driven by compressed air and controlled remotely by a human operator, both of these humanoid robots were developed with the intent to be of assistance in various household and industrial tasks. [Via Slashdot]Read - Anybots' Dexter and Monty humanoid robotsRead - Video of Dexter taking shoves from Monty
Takara Tomy's Omnibot2007 i-SOBOT, "the world's smallest robot"
We won't beat around the bush: there's just no way that Takara Tomy's claim of "the world's smallest robot" for its new Omnibot2007 i-SOBOT humanoid is even remotely true, but as far as fairly well-articulated humanoid biped toy bots that are about to be available for sale, we could see the 6.6-inch tall i-SOBOT taking that crown. Now that we've got the extravagant claims out of the way, there's a lot to love about the i-SOBOT, including an LCD-equipped remote for having the bot act out programmed motions, and voice control for dictating simple actions. The bot can play music, dance, and respond to applause and other user actions. The bot can also make its own punching and kicking sound effects, so we can imagine some entertaining robo-duels with a pair of these things. If that's not quite enough excitement for you, Takara Tomy is also prepping the Omnibot2007 i-SOBOT CAMVersion (pictured), which includes a camera that can beam pics to your PC or phone via WiFi, and whose head can swivel 60 degrees in each direction. The cam-free model should be out in July for 31,290 yen (about $258 US), while the CAMVersion bot will run you 41,790 yen ($344 US) when it debuts in October. Check a pic of the cheapo-version and his remote after the break.Read - Impress Watch formal announcementRead - Japanese handsize robot seeks to lure adults
WABIAN-2R swivels its hips for the public
There's a new humanoid bot in play named WABIAN-2R that's taking Japan by storm. Well, not really, but it is walking through Japan's malls at a blistering 1.24 miles per hour. The robot has plenty of familiar characteristics to its biped brethren: it stands 58-inches tall, weighs 149 pounds, and doesn't really do anything useful. What's new is that the WABIAN-2R comes with pelvis swiveling action, allowing it to walk more like a human, with heel-to-toe strides and full extension of the leg -- most bots keep their knees bent at all time for balance. The robot, which just did its first public walking yesterday, is powered by 1.6GHz Pentium M CPU, and has a nickel hydrogen battery good for a whole 15 minutes of juice. WABIAN-2R was developed by Waseda University, and took them two years to build, costing 20,000,000 yen ($171,762 US). Waseda sees the bot as a test bed for other robotic technologies, and if our Google Translate skills haven't completely failed us, it looks like they hope to be building full-on robots from the WABIAN core in about two years. Be sure to peep the read link for all sorts of video of the bot in action.
Hangood shows off HGR-3 humanoid bot
Nothing too incredibly fancy going on here, but this new humanoid HGR-3 bot from Hangood is decently limber compared to most of its peers. Along with walking around like any good biped should, the robot can do somersaults, shadow boxing, push-ups and kicks. We don't have much more info than that -- there's no word on when it's being released or for how much -- but it looks to be China-only all the same. Still, we see some definite world-domination potential in this aerobic powerhouse, especially once we've got the flame-throwers all hooked up. Keep reading for a viddo of the unit in action.
Robot Force busts out NeeBo biped bot
We can't really say this is the most exciting bot with two "legs" we've spotted recently, but the new "NeeBo" bot from Robot Force is well-priced kit for robot hobbyists on a budget. Beyond a bit of manic biped waddling, the robot can rotate and tilt its upper body for more effective knockout blows in the arena, but the functionality stops there. The unit runs on 4 AA batteries, and can be programmed over USB with a Windows XP computer, with an optional wireless control available. Be sure to peep the videos to find out exactly what we mean by "manic" waddling.[Via Impress]
