Clipmarks | Robotics Clips

Robots are also elegant

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 20:09:47 GMT

clipped by: Duck-x
clipper's remarks: "HRP-2 is the final robotic platform for the Humanoid Robotics Project headed by the Manufacturing Science and Technology Center (MSTC)..."
http://www.kawada.co.jp/global/ams/hrp_2.html

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Tags: robotics, technology

Exoskeleton help humans walk again

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:44:17 GMT

clipped by: maquser
clipper's remarks: cool

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

Human exoskeleton suit helps paralyzed people walk

The device, called ReWalk, is the brainchild of engineer Amit Goffer, founder of Argo Medical Technologies, a small Israeli high-tech company.

Something of a mix between the exoskeleton of a crustacean and the suit worn by comic hero Iron Man, ReWalk helps paraplegics -- people paralyzed below the waist -- to stand, walk and climb stairs.

The ReWalk is now in clinical trials in Tel Aviv's Sheba Medical Centre and Goffer said it will soon be used in trials at the Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute in Pennsylvania.

Tags: biomedical engineering, robotics, walking

Components to A.I.

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 03:09:10 GMT

clipped by: jgisme11

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

AI research uses tools and insights from many fields, including computer science, psychology, philosophy, neuroscience, cognitive science, linguistics, ontology, operations research, economics, control theory, probability, optimization and logic.^[7] AI research also overlaps with tasks such as robotics, control systems, scheduling, data mining, logistics, speech recognition, facial recognition and many others.^[8]

Robots and Humans: Intel say equal by 2050

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 13:09:39 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: Robots: From the Factory Floor to Your Kitchen - Robots today are primarily used in the factory environment, designed to perform a single task repeatedly and bolted down. To make robotics personal, robots need to move and manipulate objects in cluttered and dynamic human environments, according to Rattner. They need to be cognizant of their surroundings by sensing and recognizing movement in a dynamic physical world, and learn to adapt to new scenarios. Rattner demonstrated two working personal robot prototypes developed at Intel’s research labs. One of the demonstrations showed electric field pre-touch that has been built into a robot hand. The technique is a novel sensing modality used by fish but not humans, so they can “feel” objects before they even touch them. The other demonstration was a complete autonomous mobile manipulation robot that can recognize faces and interpret and execute commands as generic as “please clean this mess” using state-of-the-art motion planning, manipula

Clip Source: www.product-reviews.net

The idea of Robots being as smart and lifelike as Humans is a scary one to some people, but also something very useful and exciting to others. Intel has said that the gap between robots and us will close by 2050.

Justin Rattner, during his keynote today at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, predicted big changes are ahead in social interactions, robotics and improvements in computer’s ability to sense the real world.

He said Intel’s research labs are already looking at human-machine interfaces and examining future implications to computing with some promising changes coming much sooner than expected.

Cutting the Last Cord, Wireless Power - Imagine being able to walk into an airport or room with your laptop and instead of consuming battery, it is recharged.

Programmable Matter: Computers that Change Shape - Intel researchers are also investigating how millions of tiny micro-robots, called catoms, could build shape-shifting materials.

Tags: robotics, technology, computing, intel

Robots Detect Behavioral Cues to Follow Humans

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:45:04 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: “As humans, we constantly incorporate other peoples' current actions as clues (cues) as to what they may do in the future,” Sanjay Joshi of the University of California, Davis, told PhysOrg.com. “For instance, we have a ‘sixth sense’ on the highway to know that a certain car will swerve into our lane soon, based on the driver's current driving patterns. Then, we may become more defensive in our own driving. In our work, we wanted to begin the process of allowing robots to use behavioral cues (of humans or other robots), to make the robot's mission more reliable and accurate. In social work environments populated by numerous people and robots, these types of cues should be abundant.”
The researchers explained that behavioral cues that robots might use could include any action or signal that the leader exhibits that hints at a future action. These might be intended behaviors, such as pointing or waving. Other cues might be unconscious, such as behaviors that indicate stress or sadness,

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

Robots can be ironic. Even though they might not have emotions of their own, they can still detect and respond to humans’ emotions. A recent study has shown that, by picking up on human emotional traits, as well as a variety of other conscious and unconscious behavioral cues, robots may be able to act more naturally and accurately with humans.

The researchers, from the University of California, Davis, have developed a system that allows follower robots to use behavioral cues from human leaders and other robots in order to track and follow them. The ability to follow will likely be essential as robots continue to work alongside people more and more, such as in office buildings, hospitals, and airports.

The researchers’ aim was to reduce the amount of instructions or technical expertise required from human leaders to robots. As the authors noted, robots may be accepted if they are helpful, but can easily be rejected if they are difficult to work with.

Tags: robots, robotics, behavior

Wacky Sci-Fi “Laws”

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 11:14:27 GMT

clipped by: haraya
clipper's remarks: If that’s not enough for you, check out Wikipedia’s list of eponymous laws.

Clip Source: www.mentalfloss.com

1. Hanlon’s Razor (aka Hanlon’s Law)

“Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.”

2. Sturgeon’s Law

“Ninety percent of everything is crap.”

3. O’Toole’s Corollary of Finagle’s Law

“The perversity of the Universe tends towards a maximum.”

4. Clarke’s Three Laws

The third is by far the most famous:

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

5. Asimov’s Laws of Robotics

First law: A robot may not harm a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
Second law: A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
Third law: A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

There’s also a Zeroth Law.

6. The Dilbert Principle

the most ineffective workers are systematically moved to the place where they can do the least damage: management.. (See also: the Peter principle

Tags: laws, science, science fiction, writers, humor, list, people, robots, work, life

Robo Chicken to the Rescue!

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 22:39:00 GMT

clipped by: rgrcabbage

Clip Source: www.thinkgeek.com

Before humanoid robots were ever made, and the now-famous three laws of robotics were written, robotic pets were created. Amongst the first were robotic barnyard animals. Their programming was simple:

1.	A robotic animal must not allow a human to think it is not cute, or, by inaction, cause a human to think it anything but adorable.
2.	A robotic animal must obey any human's orders, as long as those orders do not conflict with the first law.
3.	A robotic animal must not roll down the window shout out the surprise endings of movies while driving past a theater line.

That last law was controversial, but ultimately considered one of the most important laws.

This robotic chick comes straight from Japan, where they know and accept robots more than any other culture. This cute little guy sits happily on your hand and quietly chirps and cheeps and twitches its stubby little wings in response to your touch. It's life-size and pretty realistic - you know - for a robot.

A Robot Controlled by Self Organizing Biological Neural Net

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 22:08:56 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: "Within a week we get some spontaneous firings and brain-like activity" similar to what happens in a normal rat -- or human -- brain, he added.

But without external stimulation, the brain will wither and die within a couple of months.

"Now we are looking at how best to teach it to behave in certain ways," explained Warwick.

To some extent, Gordon learns by itself. When it hits a wall, for example, it gets an electrical stimulation from the robot's sensors. As it confronts similar situations, it learns by habit.

Clip Source: www.engadget.com

It looks like a group of researchers from the University of Reading are making a solid run at the title of mad scientists of the year (in the best sense, of course), with them now boasting that they've developed a robot that's controlled by a "biological brain."

That's not quite the sci-fi sight you may be imagining, however (though it's close), with it instead made up of some 300,000 neurons taken from the neural cortex of a rat fetus, which are contained in multi electrode array that packs 60 electrodes to pick up the signals generated by the cells and, in turn, control the robot.

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

Because the brain is living tissue, it must be housed in a special temperature-controlled unit -- it communicates with its "body" via a Bluetooth radio link.

The robot has no additional control from a human or computer.

From the very start, the neurons get busy. "Within about 24 hours, they start sending out feelers to each other and making connections,"

Tags: robotics, neural inteface

Handle With Care

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 13:21:45 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: "Last year, a private company proposed “fertilizing” parts of the ocean with iron, in hopes of encouraging carbon-absorbing blooms of plankton. Meanwhile, researchers elsewhere are talking about injecting chemicals into the atmosphere, launching sun-reflecting mirrors into stationary orbit above the earth or taking other steps to reset the thermostat of a warming planet.
This technology might be useful, even life-saving. But it would inevitably produce environmental effects impossible to predict and impossible to undo. So a growing number of experts say it is time for broad discussion of how and by whom it should be used, or if it should be tried at all."

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

There are even those who suggest humanity should collectively decide to turn away from some new technologies as inherently dangerous.

“The complexity of newly engineered systems coupled with their potential impact on lives, the environment, etc., raise a set of ethical issues that engineers had not been thinking about,” said William A. Wulf, a computer scientist who until last year headed the National Academy of Engineering.

Rachelle Hollander, a philosopher who directs the center, said the new technologies were so powerful that “our saving grace, our inability to affect things at a planetary level, is being lost to us,” as human-induced climate change is demonstrating.

“It leaves the door open for people to do something that is going to cause long-term problems.”

But he added that progress in robotics was so “insidious” that people might not realize they had ventured into ethically challenging territory until too late.

Diagnostic automation market research

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:41:54 GMT

clipped by: mbucherl
clipper's remarks: Searching for Roche things, found this

Clip Source: www.mindbranch.com

Lab Automation Markets Worldwide (Next-Generation Systems, Key Companies, Forecasts and Trends)

Published Date: August 2008

Published By: Kalorama Information

Page Count: 250

Order Code: R566-438

Current Market and Forecasts to 2012

Sample Transport Systems
Specimen Handling Systems
Storage and Retrieval Systems
Work stations
Plate Readers
Robotics
Dissolution Testing
Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS)

As a report with international focus, markets for North America, Europe and Asia are provided.

The information presented in this report is the result of data gathered from company product literature and other corporate brochures and documents, as well as information found in the scientific and trade press. In addition, interviews were conducted with company executives and researchers. Companies profiled in this report include:

What if Electricity Was FREE???

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:23:04 GMT

clipped by: sahara
clipper's remarks: The life story and work of Nikola Tesla. He invented AC electricity, Neon Lights, Radio transmission, The Electric motor, Wireless electricity transfer, Remote control, Hydraulics, Lasers, Space weapons, Robotics, and many, many more things.

As Tesla claimed to have invented a way to harness free energy from the voltage difference in the ionosphere that causes lightning, he was seen as a threat to the world energy economy and most of his inventions were classified for national security by the US government.

A lot of his discoveries in physics have not been released to the public, despite being invented nearly 100 years ago. In 2006 the first company publicly announced it could successfully power items by remote power without wires, (news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6129460. stm) something Tesla had invented nearly a century ago.

Clip Source: www.deepinfo.com

Tesla showed that gravity does not pull us to earth, but rather is a force gradient present everywhere, even in space. The earth acts as a shield from the push of the energy forces that would be under us. Newtonian physics was refined: 2 objects do not attract to the inverse square of their distances: they mutually shield from gravitational "push"
Tesla wanted everyone to have FREE ELECTRICITY, so he invented a FREE ENERGY machine to convert the high potential energy gradient (present everywhere) to electricity. Unfortunately, his notes disappeared when he died. Research based on his has produced different forms of a FREE ENERGY convertor . Tesla's convertor gave much more power than current re-creations.

Clip Source: www.tesla.org

Who was Nikola Tesla ? * Tesla's Inventions * The Tesla Timeline

More on TESLA * Tesla Society of New York * The Tesla Coil

Tesla Power Transmitter Tower * Tesla's Writings * Tesla Coil WebRing

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Tags: energy, greed, physics

THE BIG DOG - Next step in robotics

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 08:41:19 GMT

clipped by: thefoxalmighty
clipper's remarks: Thats amazing stuff... the balance that robot is capable of maintaining is really a great feat...

And DO NOT miss the video in the site.

Clip Source: www.bostondynamics.com

The Most Advanced Quadruped Robot on Earth
BigDog is the alpha male of the Boston Dynamics family of robots. It is a quadruped robot that walks, runs, and climbs on rough terrain and carries heavy loads. BigDog is powered by a gasoline engine that drives a hydraulic actuation system. BigDog's legs are articulated like an animal’s, and have compliant elements that absorb shock and recycle energy from one step to the next. BigDog is the size of a large dog or small mule, measuring 1 meter long, 0.7 meters tall and 75 kg weight.

BigDog has an on-board computer that controls locomotion, servos the legs and handles a wide variety of sensors. BigDog’s control system manages the dynamics of its behavior to keep it balanced, steer, navigate, and regulate energetics as conditions vary.

What's Next in Tech

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 03:47:17 GMT

clipped by: zalisan
clipper's remarks: If you can think it, your more than half way there.

Clip Source: www.ted.com

Computer scientist Jeff Han intends to reinvent computing by replacing traditional point-click user interfaces with dynamic touch screens. Robert Full wants to enhance transit and robotics by studying the motion of animals whose system of locomotion can adapt to nearly any surface. And Juan Enriquez discusses oil energy -- derived, ultimately, from ancient plants -- and wonders why we can't develop methods to "grow" energy as efficiently as we grow wheat.

Blaise Aguera y Arcas demonstrates his powerful new software, Photosynth, which fuses digital photographs from unrelated sources into fluid, three-dimensional tapestries of real environments. Alan Russell wants to use bioengineered tissue to regenerate damaged body parts. And Chris Anderson of WIRED discusses how emerging technologies -- matched with the right business model -- can make an impact of perhaps surprising magnitude.

A Tiny Robot to Peer into the Guts, and Heal

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 18:40:18 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver

Clip Source: www.technologyreview.com

For the past few years, medical researchers have been trying to develop ways to peer painlessly inside the human body, from a swallowable sensor to a magnetically controlled image-snapping capsule.

Now, a group at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) has shown that a tiny capsule robot is adhesive enough to anchor inside an intestine and yet gentle enough not to tear soft tissue

The anchoring robot would be swallowed like a normal pill and move through the body until it reached the gut. Then a doctor, using a wireless control, would tell the robot when to expand its legs and anchor.

It would be good not only for snapping images, but also potentially for biopsies, drug delivery, heat treatment, and other treatment applications.

The trick to making the robot was finding an adhesive that would "stick repeatedly to tissues like intestines, esophagus, stomach, heart, and kidney surfaces,"

Tags: medicine, robotics, nanomedicine

Europe, Japan join forces to map out future of intelligent robots

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:19:42 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

The field of robotics could be poised for a breakthrough, leading to a new generation of intelligent machines capable of taking on multiple tasks and moving out of the factory into the home and general workplace. The great success of robots so far has been in automating repetitive tasks in process control and assembly, yielding dramatic cuts in production, but the next step towards cognition and more human-like behaviour has proved elusive.

It has been difficult to make robots that can truly learn and adapt to unexpected situations in the way humans can, while it has been equally challenging trying to develop a machine capable of moving smoothly like any animal. There is still no robot capable of walking properly without jerky slightly unbalanced movements.

The future of cognitive robotics lies in combining the techniques discussed at the ESF/JSPS conference to develop true humanoid machines capable of assisting in homes, offices, and public places

Tags: europe, japan, future, intelligent, robots