ReadyBot Robotic Housekeeper (2 of 2)

ReadyBot Robotic Housekeeper (2 of 2)

Author JoeDigital | 03.11.2008 | Category Robotics

ReadyBot is a boxier, smaller robotic housekeeper

The ReadyBot is a collaborative effort of several technologies, based in Silicon Valley. It is a much boxier design than the AR, which we mentioned previously, but incorporates some of teh same basic recognition features.  It is able to distinguish size and location of objects using a storied comparison, and do minor cleaning tasks.

While we have to admit that the AR was a more impressive unit, it is also important to consider that ReadyBot is much less expensive, making it more commercially feasible. Both robots employ touch sensitivity controls to prevent breaking items or harming people, but the ReadyBot has not yet progressed to the level of 3D stereoscopic vision used on the AR.

So while the features of the AR outpace the readyBot, let’s keep in mind that ReadyBot is also much more likely to go into mass production, with a lower overall cost.

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Robotic Housekeeper (1 of 2)

Author JoeDigital | 01.11.2008 | Category Japanese Technology, Robotics

This robotic assistant does the floors, the laundry, and serves breakfast in bed.

Japan, eager to find ways to cope with a growing ratio of elderly, has been actively pursuing robotics as one way to cope. The newly unveiled “AR”, as it is named, is intended to be a robotic maid, vacuuming, picking up, and doing the laundry.

The project is developed by the University of Tokyo and Toyota Motor Corp, among other major japanese electronics firms.  The protoype unit weighs in at 130Kg (286lbs), and is able to locate objects using prototype stereoscopic vision.

You can see a short video of the AR in operation. The robot is not yet available for use, but should be coming soon.

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Stereoscopic Computer Vision – Open Source Solution

Author JoeDigital | 30.10.2008 | Category Computers, Robotics, cameras

A plug in camera module and open source software and you've got stereo-vision!

Have you been considering building your own robot? Me neither. But Stanford University has a key device for doing it.. a plug in device to give stereovision to robotic contraptions.  The concept is really quite simple,, build a basic hardware configuration, and then create customizable software instead of building the vision system in an hard-wired mode.

So the controls reside in a PC, and all that’s left is to tie the coding to the device, which turns stereoscopic vision into little more than a conventional I/O routine. And to keep the idea going strong, the University has released the basic code as Open Source, which allows anyone to make the changes necessary to bend the stero vision hardware to their own needs.

Surveyor Corporation has even stepped in to make the hardware part of the combination, building a stereoscopic vision module that plugs into the robot, and is accessed wirelessly by the programmer/controller.

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Robotic Wheelchair Follows Voice Commands

Author JoeDigital | 21.10.2008 | Category Robotics, Technology

Powered wheelchairs are poised to enter the robotic world of tomorrow.

Powered wheelchairs are rolling into the robotic age!  Researchers at MIT are working on an autonomous robotic wheelchair that can be manuvered around the house with single spoken commands.  Because everyone has different speech patterns, the chairs are expected to be custom “fitted” to recognize the voice of their owners.

In order to work efficiently, these robotic chairs on wheels must be taken to each location, which is then identified by a spoken name, and stored in memory, along with a computerized map of how to get there.

If all goes well, the next step for autonomous wheelchairs is to equip then with robotic arms, allowing people with reduced grasping ability to “pick up” objects using the assitance of the chair they are using.  For the elderly and the severely disabled, these miraculous devices may be offering mobility and interaction in new ways that can broaden the scope of their daily lives.

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Japanese can rent HAL Robot Suits

Author JoeDigital | 13.10.2008 | Category Japanese Technology, Robotics

Robotic Assitive Mobility devices are now for rent in Japan.

You may recall an article posted here not long about the HAL robotic suits invented by Cyberdyne Systems, of Japan.  These exo-sketal attachment can multiply the flesh and blood force of legs or arms by an exponential factor.  And Japan is putting them to use.

The leg units will be available for rent in japan, and will be targeted at empowering the disabled.  For less than $3000 per month, a needy person can strap on the bio-assistive devices, and it becomes possible for even severely weakened legs to help their own walk again.  Cyberdyne says that the unit s can be rented individually also, at roughly half the cost of renting a pair.  But that brings up an interesting question.. would wearing only one give too much power to one side, and make navigating difficult?

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Japan Working on Robot Caregivers

Author JoeDigital | 07.08.2008 | Category Japanese Technology, Robotics

With 40% of the population expected to be elderly, by 2055, Japan is working on a solution that is science fiction come to reality.  The idea is to develop robots that are able to help a live-alone elderly person with their daily routines, ranging from talking notepads and calendars to able to help move objects or even furniture around the home.  This is a tall order to fill, but results are happening.  Techniques are being developed to increase a robot’s ability to deal with unexpected events, which has often been a stumbling block for AI development.  And let’s not forget developments announced this week on ASIMO, one of the first, and perhaps still the most advanced, humanoid robots.  Developed by Honda, ASIMO has learned a new trick recently, and is able to distinguish multiple voices speaking at once.  Currently, this technology is being used for such monumental tasks as playing referee for a game of paper, scissors, rock, but this is only the first step in being able to distinguish the words of a particular guest in a crowded room.

For home care, robots are being tactically trained, in a literal sense.  In order to interact in an evnironment where touching humans in unavoidal, robots must be able to respond to sudden occurences without causing harm to their human companions.  Additionally, robots of this sort could remind a patient to take their medicine, perhaps even deliver it for use, act as a mobile awareness unit that monitors the current vital statistics, and many other redundant but necessary tasks.

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DelFly Micro – Dragonfly Sized Ornithopter

Author JoeDigital | 30.07.2008 | Category Robotics, Science, Technology, cameras

This could be one of the coolest flying machines to come along since flying machines have been coming along.  It’s an ornithopter, which means that it flies the way a a bird would fly, with flapping wings.  What makes it especially interesting is that it is tiny, measuring only 10cm from wingtip to wingtip, and it weighs a whopping 3 grams.  It is remote controlled, and contains a miniature camera, and holds the title of the smallest flying machine with a camera in the world.  Mimicing flight has been a challenge for humanity for as long as we’ve been self-aware, and realized that we couldn’t do it it ourselves.  Greek mythology is credited with the first story of human flight, and inventors have taken stabs at flying machines doazens of times over the centuries, even such notable names as Leonardo DaVinci.  But no one has ever built a machine this small that could fly under it’s own power.

This one has quite a few traits in common with insects.  The Delfly Micro’s wings that actually resemble those of a dragonfly, which is credited with being one of the first flying animals to ever exist.   In fact, it has quite a few similarities to insects, including antennae and filmy wings.  It can fly forward at a rate of 15m/s, is able to compensate for light winds, and has the amazing ability to fly backward at the smail’s pace of .5m/s

As a scientific device, the DelFly promises to be a boon for areodynamics, and has already required the sciences of mechanics, areodynamics, and phototechnology to cooperate.  Plans are to use it for research in flight and micromechanics, but we can only wait to see how long it takes government powers to snatch it up and hide it away from the public eye.

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The LEGO Mindstorms NXT Robot Kit

Author JoeDigital | 24.07.2008 | Category Consumer Electronics, Robotics, Technology

The LEGO® is one of the most popular toys ever invented.  Robots have excited the minds of young and old alike, sparking images of futuristic toys and household helpers.  Combine the two, and you’ve got the the LEGO Mindstorms NXT.  With a 32-bit processor, support for USB 2.0 and Bluetooth, and programming software in both PC and Macintosh versions, this robot building kit is priced enticingly at US$249.

The LEGO NXT website boasts a Do-it-yourself robot that can be assembled in as little as 30 minutes, using “a highly versatile palette of LEGO Technic elements”, which combine “state of the art ultrasonic, sound, light, and touch sensors”.  Novices and experts alike can build humanoid, vehicular, and animalistic robots whichcan even be operated via Bluetooth equipped cellphones.

And if building a robot from a kit isn’t enough to satisfy your creative urges, the software is open source, with Software Development Kits (SDK) available so programmers can create their own software, develop new hardware, and modify existing applications to suit their own tastes.  Microsoft even got in on the fun with their own robotics development forum.

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