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Dan — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 00:31:55 +0000

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Google Car Drives by Itself In the City, humanless for 1000 Miles.

Dan — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 01:59:50 +0000

Google’s autonomous car, which is a highly modified Toyota Prius, has logged over 1000 miles of humanless driving!

Several DARPA challenges, in the desert, and in an urban environment, have showcased autonomous vehicles which navigate harsh and complex terrain with zero human interaction. It appears that Google’s foray into this emerging field has produced a formidable opponent to the DARPA challenge’s winning teams.

The car might be able to run autonomously most of the time, but the times it cannot… That scares me!

Apparently the only accident so far was when someone rear ended the Google car while stopped at a stoplight! Robots will end up replacing us .

Check out this infographic from NYT:

Google's Autonomous Toyota Prius

Robot Surgery Is Safe, But No Better Than Regular Surgery for Children, Says Report.

Dan — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:30:40 +0000

According to a study published in Pediatrics, using robots for surgery is safe, but provides no better outcomes for child patients in some cases. Robotic surgery systems, such as the Da Vinci allow surgeons to more easily do less invasive surgeries, as well as reduce human error like shaking hands.

Garbage Robot, ‘Dustbot’, Will Take Your Trash Away

Dan — Fri, 29 May 2009 21:00:09 +0000

This unique Italian grown robot has no problem taking out the trash. “Dustbot,” as the trash bot is called, provides a garbage disposal solution for older cities built with narrow streets that modern garbage trucks cannot navigate. The user calls a Dustbot over a telephone when they have trash. The robot navigates to the person’s location using GPS, where the user then places their garbage in the robot’s slide-out garbage bin.

Solving the problems of trash disposal in cities with narrow streets….
[Dustbot Project Presentation PDF]
[found at Botropolis]

Obama Robot, ‘Robobama’, to be Unveiled by Disney on July 4th.

Dan — Tue, 26 May 2009 10:21:55 +0000

President Obama’s likeness will be represented at the Disney Hall of Presidents. The life-size, audio-animatronic model of Obama will join the ranks of all presidents past with his spot at the attraction.

The Hall of Presidents is one of the oldest Disney attractions, opening in 1971 along with the Magic Kingdom park.

Disney's Hall of Presidents attraction. Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/caniswolfie/

The “Robobama” will be the third talking president with original voice at the attraction, alongside robotics representations of President Clinton and President George W. Bush.

The new attraction renovations will include President Lincoln giving the full Gettysburg Address, and a speech by George Washington.

The Hall of Presidents is an inspirational Audio-Animatronic tribute to every American president, located in Liberty Square at Magic Kingdom theme park.

[NY Times]

“Scratch” Teaches Programming Concepts to Kids

Dan — Sat, 23 May 2009 21:36:53 +0000

It’s important to inspire the next generation to get interested in programming. In 2007, MIT’s Media Lab launched Scratch. Scratch is an educational programming language intended to teach kids programming concepts and allow them to easily create and share “interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art.”

With Scratch, it is easy to see how your program works and runs.

Scratch's ease of use makes it easy for anyone to begin programming.

Scratch is designed to help young people (ages 8 and up) develop 21st century learning skills. As they create and share Scratch projects, young people learn important mathematical and computational ideas, while also learning to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively.

If you know of a young person who is interested in learning how to program, consider introducing them to Scratch. Or, try it out for yourself! It’s free! Scratch.

Mars Rover Stuck in Deep Sand, says NASA

Dan — Sat, 16 May 2009 22:20:27 +0000

Earlier this month, Spirit, one of NASA's Mars rovers, became stuck in deep sand. NASA engineers are working to find the best method of freeing the aging rover.

iPhone Controlled R2D2 Robot!

Dan — Wed, 13 May 2009 15:15:52 +0000

Check out this awesome R2D2 robot! This robot can move around and has a rotating dome head which is controlled by either the accelerometers in the iPhone, or the touch screen sliders on the iPhone.

The first video is newer footage of the iPhone controlled R2D2 dome via accelerometers and touch pad, while the second video shows the R2D2 robot using a IFI robotics Isaac16 Robot Controller to control the robot’s movement.

iPhone Controlled R2D2 Robot

Firefighting, Riotcontrolling, Bomb Defusing Robots with Video

Dan — Sun, 10 May 2009 16:33:44 +0000

These little robots can be equipt for firefighting, riot control, bomb defusing, and more! Watch the video below to see them in action.

Robotic Fish Swim the Seas and Monitor Pollution.

Dan — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 09:52:37 +0000

Robot Fish Photo Credit: http://cswww.essex.ac.uk/staff/hhu/HCR-Group.html

Five robotics fish are set to deploy to waters off the coast of Spain in 18-months time.

The robots were built as part of a three-year joint project by a team at Essex University, lead by Professor Huosheng Hu, and BMT Group, a British engineering consultancy company. Each robot costs nearly 30,000 USD ( 20,000 GBP).

At about five feet in length these robots certainly are not small, and boast a range of sensors used to detect pollutants in the water. The ‘fish’, designed to detect water pollution, can operate for only eight-hours using an on-board battery, but are otherwise autonomous.

Insides of the Robotic Fish, Credit: http://cswww.essex.ac.uk/staff/hhu/jliua/index.htm

The battery-supply appears to be a major limitation to these fishes effectiveness. Perhaps in future, these fish will become more autonomous and operate for longer periods of time “in the wild” by having power generation devices on-board. The robotic fish could surface, charge its battery using a solar panel, communicate with the research center, then resume its work.