Robotic bollards to take control

Grok Headline matches for Robotic bollards to take control

PNI Sponsors Local Robotic Vehicle Team:
Desert Field Test of Robotic Vehicles
Offers $2 Million Prize

PNI Sponsors Local Robotic Vehicle Team:
Desert Field Test of Robotic Vehicles
Offers $2 Million Prize 12/17/2004 06:40 PM
Cobalt Horizons announced that PNI Corporation will support its efforts to win a $2 million prize in a Defense Department research and development initiative aimed at advancing robotics technologies for future military use. The initiative, known as the DARPA Grand Challenge, is a field test of fully autonomous ground vehicles to be conducted in the Mojave Desert on October 8, 2005. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is offering the $2 million to the vehicle that completes the course the fastest within a 10-hour period. [PRWEB Oct 20, 2004]

Photonics Control Announces Optical
Control Breakthrough

Photonics Control Announces Optical
Control Breakthrough 06/26/2004 02:40 AM
Intelligent Photonics Control Corp. (Photonics Control), the world leader in providing embedded control solutions for optical devices, announced today that it has reached a significant milestone. The Company has integrated its solutions into 50 different customer platforms including Optical Amplifiers, VMUXes, OPMs, DGEs, and Tunable Lasers. [PRWEB Jun 26, 2004]

You Control: iTunes puts control in OS X
menu bar (MacCentral)

You Control: iTunes puts control in OS X
menu bar (MacCentral) 08/31/2004 07:26 PM
MacCentral - You Software Inc. announced on Tuesday the availability of You Control: iTunes, a free download that places iTunes controls in the Mac OS X menu bar. Without leaving the current application, you can pause, play, rewind or skip songs, as well as control iTunes' volume and even browse your entire music library by album, artist or genre. Each time a new song plays, You Control: iTunes also pops up a window that displays the artist and song name and the album artwork, if it's in the library. System requirements call for Mac OS X v10.2.6 and 10MB free hard drive space. ...

You Control: iTunes puts control in OS X
menu bar

You Control: iTunes puts control in OS X
menu bar 08/31/2004 01:50 PM
You Software Inc. announced on Tuesday the availability of You Control: iTunes, a free download that places iTunes controls in the Mac OS X menu bar. Without leaving the current application, you can pause, play, rewind or skip songs, as well as control iTunes' volume and even browse your entire music library by album, artist or genre. Each time a new song plays, You Control: iTunes also pops up a window that displays the artist and song name and the album artwork, if it's in the library. System requirements call for Mac OS X v10.2.6 and 10MB free hard drive space.

Robotic wheelchairs

Robotic wheelchairs 05/27/2004 11:02 AM
BoingBoing reader Roland Piquepaille says,

Traditional wheelchairs used by the elderly and people with severe disabilities have some limited functions and flexibility. Their users often need help from nurses or relatives. Several teams are currently at work to develop robotic wheelchairs to overcome these limitations. For example, researchers from the University of Essex and the Institute of Automation at Beijing are developing the RoboChair.

RoboChair will be equipped with a vision system and a 3G wireless communication system. It will be able to avoid collisions and to plan a path. Meanwhile, Professor Ray Jarvis of Monash University’s Intelligent Robotics Centre in Australia, is building another robotic wheelchair which will help people to travel off the beaten track (PDF format, 1 page, 131 KB). His prototype system combines robotic navigation with a four-wheel drive. It automatically ad apts itself to the user’s capabilities and takes control when needed. You'll find more details and a picture in this overview. Keep in mind that there are still major issues to solve, such as security and costs, before these robotic wheelchairs become available.

Link

Robotic skin

Robotic skin 07/03/2004 04:42 PM
Interesting article about a new design for "electronic skin" as sensitive to touch as our own:

"Recognition of tactile information will be very important for future generations of robots," says Takao Someya at the University of Tokyo who developed the skin. A sense of touch would help them to identify objects, carry out delicate tasks and avoid collisions. But while a lot of effort has gone into vision and voice recognition for robots, touch sensitivity is still fairly rudimentary.

Our own skin contains a battery of touch receptors that produce nerve signals when pressed. For gentle pressures, the main sensors are tiny bulbs of layered tissue called Meissner's corpuscles. Their behaviour is mimicked in plastics such as polyvinylidene fluoride, which generate an electric field when squeezed and are used to make pressure-sensitive pads for computer keyboards and other touch-triggered devices.

Link (via Beverly)

Nothing Robotic About Robo-Art

Nothing Robotic About Robo-Art 09/21/2004 06:37 AM
The ArtBots show in New York this past weekend proved that robots can wax artistic, too -- or at least carry out the instructions of their artistic creators. Cyrus Farivar reports from New York.

DIY Robotic Exoskeleton

DIY Robotic Exoskeleton 12/24/2004 12:54 PM
CNET, Slashdot, and Boing Boing are reporting on Carlos Owens, a 26 year old steelworking in Anchorage, Alaska who is building an 18 foot, hydraulic exoskeleton. The soon to be finished unit, named NMX04-1A, will be equipped with a flame thrower and other fun accessories. The CNET article mentions several other exoskeletons both real and fictional that have been inspired since Robert Heinlein invented them in his novel Starship Troopers. Photos of NMX04-1A and a log of construction progress can be found on the builder's website. CNET also has a photo gallery of giant robots in a sidebar.

Robotic Librarian

Robotic Librarian 02/17/2004 10:26 PM
The new Librarian at the Valparaiso University in Valparaiso Indiana will be a Robotic Librarian. The books will put in specially designed metal bins and the students can select any of the obscure books from the internet that they want then the robotic crane device goes fetches selections and drop them to an accessible location for the students to pick up at their convenience. The school hopes to eventually have about 600,000 books in their system for check out. (Other colleges also have installed simlar devices.) The high tech library building will cost about $33 million. I don't think they have such a cool robotic librarian at my old alma matter. :-/

Robotic Scientist

Robotic Scientist 01/16/2004 11:02 AM
Robotic Scientist - Scientists created a closed, automated system to conduct simple labor intensive scientific experiments in molecular genetics. The robot creates hypothesis and tests them. Supposedly it works more efficiently (picks less expensive experiments, and fewer of them) then its human counterparts (graduate students in biology and comp sci.). More detailed article in Nature here (institutional access / subscription required). I for one, welcome our new robot overlords.

Erotic Robotic

Erotic Robotic 05/16/2004 03:40 AM
JANE PINCKARD -- It's interesting that so many seem to find cold shiny steel arousing. I mean, robots and sex? Robots are, like, the antithesis of the best sex - messy, sweaty, sweet and tasty. BUT - and maybe this is something for Fleshbot to grapple with - there is...

"Robotic Dance"

"Robotic Dance" 12/20/2003 09:47 PM

Ask the Robotic Psychiatrist

Ask the Robotic Psychiatrist 04/19/2004 12:20 PM

Homebrew Robotic Lawmower

Homebrew Robotic Lawmower 06/24/2004 06:09 PM
Slashdot posted an "ask Slashdot" article yesterday asking for advice on building a homebrew robotic lawmower. As you might expect, reader advice is all over the place from "buy a sheep" to building a complex vision-based robot utilizing low-kinetic-energy cutting attachments for safety.

Robotic Segway soccer

Robotic Segway soccer 01/11/2004 01:30 PM
We're pretty sure that this wouldn't qualify for the upcoming Robocup, but researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have been keeping themselves busy lately by playing...

The CIA's robotic menagerie

The CIA's robotic menagerie 10/29/2003 11:23 AM
For its 40th anniversarty the CIA is showing off some of its more unusual spy gear at an exhibit that sadly is not open to the public. And apparently they built some crazy gadgets back in the day, like a mechanical dragonfly with a listening device for eavesdropping and some sort of robotic catfish. Read [Via TechDirt]...

Robotic Traffic Cones

Robotic Traffic Cones 04/30/2004 12:10 PM
NewScientist published an article Wednesday on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln project to develop self-propelled, robotic highway safety markers. Developed by the UNL Robotics and Mechatronics Lab, the robots are designed to improve safety by assuring correct work zone shapes. The robots can quickly deploy and reconfigure when needed to adjust the shape and size of the work zone. The work was done as part of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program's IDEA project. The story has been picked up by Slashdot, the BBC (includes photos), and from there has been turning up in local papers everywhere.

Mitsubishi's Robotic Carp

Mitsubishi's Robotic Carp 11/10/2003 10:56 PM
The Washington Times says that a robotic carp was invented for some reason. It seems that Japanese researchers at Mitsubishi have spent over $1 million to create a life-size robotic carp. The robotic fish is about 3 feet long and moves about 12 inches per hour. Except for the eyes, this fish looks like the real thing. One possible use might be to catch Koi Carp Poachers which are rumored to bring in $80k each. Mitisubish also plans to create a fish tank (virtual aquarium) filled with robotic replica long extinct marine creatures "just for fun".

Fly Over Mars... in a Robotic Balloon

Fly Over Mars... in a Robotic Balloon 02/12/2004 01:24 AM

Robotic Wheelchairs of the Future

Robotic Wheelchairs of the Future 05/27/2004 12:27 PM
From Roland Piquepaille's blog comes news on the future of robot wheelchairs. Traditional wheelchairs have limited functions and flexibility. Their users often need help from nurses or relatives. Several teams are working on robotic wheelchairs to overcome these limitations. For example, researchers from the University of Essex Human Centred Robotics Group and the Institute of Automation in Beijing are developing RoboChair, which is equipped with vision and 3G wireless communication. It will be able to avoid collisions and plan a path. Meanwhile, Professor Ray Jarvis of Monash University's Intelligent Robotics Centre in Australia, is building another robotic wheelchair (PDF format) which will help people to travel off the beaten track. His prototype combines robotic navigation with four-wheel drive. It automatically adapts itself to the user's capabilities and takes control when needed. And we can't forget to mention Dean Kamen's iBOT.

Robotic walking chair

Robotic walking chair 12/03/2003 03:50 PM
Japanese researchers at Waseda University and manufacturer Tmsuk have built a prototype two-legged robotic walking chair which can carry a person and walk up and down stairs. Sort of reminds us of the iBot 3000, that motorized wheelchair invented by Dean Kamen (i.e. Mr. Segway) that can also climb up and down stairs. Though without the wheels, obviously. Anyway, a working model of the WL-16 could hit the market within a few years. Read [Via The Red Ferret Journal]...

L.A. Zoo goes Jurassic with robotic
Dinosaur Den

L.A. Zoo goes Jurassic with robotic
Dinosaur Den 05/25/2004 02:15 AM
USA Today May 25 2004 6:17AM GMT

The Navy's robotic ship

The Navy's robotic ship 12/18/2003 02:16 PM
The US Navy is deploying an experimental robotic ship to the Persian Gulf. The 23 foot long Spartan Scout class unmanned sea going vehicle is...

Army Looks at Robotic Dogs

Army Looks at Robotic Dogs 01/08/2004 08:49 PM
Slashdot Jan 8 2004 10:32AM ET

AVRbased Robotic Modules

AVRbased Robotic Modules 04/12/2004 01:00 PM
Release of AVR ISP

More Segway-inspired robotic fun

More Segway-inspired robotic fun 11/13/2003 11:13 AM
BoingBoing buddy and robotics whiz John Wiseman says:

Regarding Segway robotics, I thought you might be interested to know that DARPA funded development of a Segway-based common robotics platform (the "RMP"): Link. A group at CMU is working on a Robocup robot soccer team using the Segway RMP: Link. One cool thing about their work is that it's the first robot soccer team (as far as I know) that can play with and against humans on the field. Unfortunately they don't seem to have any images/video of that online; I saw some video at a conference a few weeks ago.

Random thing #1: I hear there's an upcoming exhibit at the Center for Land Use Interpretation of video from cameras mounted on sheep, spiders, tumbleweeds, etc. Sounded cool. Link. Sheep stampede video: Link. Random thing #2: Origami folding robot at CMU: Link.

Robotic mating proposal

Robotic mating proposal 03/28/2005 01:17 PM
Xeni Jardin: Jason Striegel wrote an interesting post for Hackaday about a proposed sexual evolution mechanism for robots. He tells Boing Boing:

Using Lego Mindstorms, you can create simple robots that have the ability to mate (swap a simple software genome) and evolve (random chance of single point mutations). Mutations that make a robot unfit for traversing its environment or unable to mate will effectively drive it toward extinction as it cannot pass on its genes.

It's a pretty interesting experiment, as you can watch novel behaviors emerge with each generation. Even more interesting are the possible applications for an evolution based robotic platform. Two things that immediately come to mind are sex-based software upgrade mechanisms for distributed machines and distributed robot cultures that can adapt as a group to be optimized for communication in an environment, rather than being explicitly programmed for the task.

Now, I couldn't find any specific reference to fembots with gun-boobies in Jason's post, but any excuse to post this jpeg's a good one. Link

James P. Howard says:

This is ancient technology. Start with the Wikipedia article on genetic algorithms (Link) and for an excellent lay introduction, suggest "Artificial Life" by Steven Levy (Amazon Link)

Life on the Robotic Farm

Life on the Robotic Farm 12/30/2004 04:41 PM
The Swirling Brain sent a link to a CNN.com article that talks about the benefits of automation on the modern farm. The farmer sits in the air conditioned cab of his self-driving, GPS-guided tractor, checking stock prices and surfing the web. The tractor knows where it's going, and can continue in the dark. It even knows precisely where it left off yesterday so it can start in the right place today. The system also keeps maps of the fields to make sure this years plantings don't go over old root systems.

MIT and GM Develop Robotic Smart Car

MIT and GM Develop Robotic Smart Car 09/02/2004 09:34 PM
The MIT Media Lab and General Motors will be presenting a new, robotic concept car next week. The MIT smart car, which is still in development will have all sorts of futuristic properties such as a programmable exterior than can change appearance, embedded intelligence that can help the driver avoid impending danger, and automatic parallel parking. The car's AI will also learn the driving habits and city streets of the driver. For more info, see the Smart City Cars in the 21st Century exhibit info page.

$10 robotic floor cleaner

$10 robotic floor cleaner 04/04/2005 06:26 PM
Mark Frauenfelder: In the latest edition of Cool Tools, James Tierney reviews a $10 floor cleaner called the RoboMaid that looks a little like a Roomba.

Robomaid is a low tech, very cheap version of Roomba cleaner.  It doesn't clean rugs, but has done a great job on our wood, tile, and stone floors.   The design is wonderful in its elegance: a powered ball propelling a sweeping "hat".  Like Roomba it cleans along walls, under tables and desks, and in corners where it would be difficult to clean otherwise.  It uses no intelligence, so it randomly changes direction, but is surprisingly thorough.  Especially since I don't care how long it takes.

Link

Samsung's VC-RP30W Robotic Vacuum

Samsung's VC-RP30W Robotic Vacuum 12/02/2003 12:23 AM
Several News agencies such as MobileMag have declared: Samsung Unveils High-tech Robot Vacuum Cleaner Samsung's robotic vacuum cleaner, identified as VC-RP30W, vacuums your house the smart way: it makes a 3D map and knows which areas of your house needs cleaning. This is contrary to a recent article that says mapping less is better. This is also contrary to popular robotic vacuums that just bounce around your house unwittingly with hopes of eventually vacuuming all the floor. This robot is no dummy. The battery life lasts about 50 minutes a charge and when the battery gets low, it goes back automatically to the charging station for a recharge. You can program it to your desired start times to start when you're away, and you can even monitor the vacuum from work doing its work with an internet connection and its internal camera. With all this robotic intelligence and obvious great design and crafting, you can guess why there's no mention of price or availability yet, but with camera, internet connection, charging station, etc, I don't expect it to be as cheap as a Roomba but at least it's got to be some kind of world's first great vacuum cleaning robot for Samsung!

Tender: NHS in Sheffield needs robotic
systems

Tender: NHS in Sheffield needs robotic
systems 03/30/2005 02:11 AM
PublicTechnology.net Mar 30 2005 5:52AM GMT

Large Scale Robotic Aquaculture

Large Scale Robotic Aquaculture 04/28/2004 01:21 PM
Charles C. Mann has written a new Wired article that offers an intriguing overview of the latest research into automated, open ocean aquaculture. Robot caretakers would manage giant, floating fish farms that would drift between continents. This approach could eliminate problems of previous attempts at large-scale aquaculture which relied on fixed pens near the shoreline which produced huge amounts of pollution, lowered the values of shorefront real estate, and frequently failed due to overcrowding of the fish. For more information on this new project, visit the University of New Hampshire Open Ocean Aquaculture Project website.

Robotic Flies May Someday Buzz Around?

Robotic Flies May Someday Buzz Around? 02/18/2004 09:19 PM
The Register has an article about the shrinking surveillance plane! British scientists are developing micro planes with flapping wings for military reconnaissance and surveillance. The hope is to build 50 gram micro-planes that can stay aloft for about an hour and fly a few miles. These little guys will be fitted with video cameras to bug the baddies. The Bath University is being funded by BAE SYSTEMS, the British Ministry of Defense and the US Air Force. I'm sure there aren't any privacy concerns.

Asimo Shakes His Robotic Rump

Asimo Shakes His Robotic Rump 05/15/2004 05:45 AM
The dancing humanoid struts his stuff at Wired magazine's NextFest. See him dance. See him run. Find out if he's got a brain. A multimedia gallery.

DOD Developing Robotic Battlefield
Surgeon

DOD Developing Robotic Battlefield
Surgeon 03/28/2005 03:45 PM
Technocrat.net Mar 28 2005 8:17PM GMT

Comdex Hosts Robotic Petting Zoo

Comdex Hosts Robotic Petting Zoo 12/02/2003 12:25 AM
CNN reports that Comdex, the once popular computer convention, hosted a robotic petting zoo Thursday in which an assortment of consumer robots rolled around and showed off for potential buyers. Did anyone see it? The article mentions Robo Dynamics and Evolution Robotics but with only one photo, it's hard to tell what other robots were there.

Robotic Prosthetic Limb Update

Robotic Prosthetic Limb Update 06/23/2004 03:52 PM
A new Tornoto Star article presents a good overview of the latest developments in prosthetics including a $25,000 bionic leg made by Victhom Human Bionics that allows above-the-knee amputees to walk normally again. Another advanced prosthetic limb described is Otto-Bock's C-Leg which uses an intelligent microcontroller to adjust the leg's movements to compensate for rough terrain and even stairs. Also mentioned is Victhom's work on artificial exomuscles that could replace the electric motors now used in bionic limbs with power-saving active biomaterials.

NASA moots robotic Hubble fix

NASA moots robotic Hubble fix 04/26/2004 09:06 AM
Plans embryonic but optimism widespread
Grok Description matches for Robotic bollards to take control
GrokA matches for Robotic bollards to take control

Robotic bollards to take control

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