We’ve seen a lot of robots that can dance, but I’ve never seen one with moves as complicated and lifelike as this maid robot made by YouTuber Dr. GIY. It’ll only be a matter of time before Dr. GIY makes 90 more of her and takes over the world with a robo-pop girl group.
Watch her dance to Heavy Rotation from – who else? – the ultra popular AKB48.
Nice moves there, robo-maid. You can check out more pictures of the robot and the programming process on Dr. GIY’s blog[JP].
[via Hack A Day]
iRobot makes robots for all sorts of needs in the military and other business areas. In the consumer space, the company is probably best known for its line of robotic vacuum cleaners, including the Roomba and Scooba. Last year, iRobot started trials of a robot designed to work in hospitals – called the RP-Vita, or Remote Presence Virtual Independent Telemedicine Assistant.
Developed by iRobot and InTouch Health, the robot is a telepresence device that stands about as tall as your typical human. It’s fitted with dual screens, a video camera, Wi-Fi and other sensors and even has its own stethoscope allowing doctors to perform patient examinations remotely. It uses an iPad to control communications, and the robot is able to use sensors to map its environment and navigate autonomously.
iRobot has announced that the RP-VITA has now been approved by the FDA to be used for active patient monitoring in pre-operative, peri-operative, and post-surgical settings. It can work in several areas of the hospital including cardiovascular, neurological, prenatal, psychological, and critical care. These robots are far from cheap and are estimated to cost as much as $4000 per month to purchase and operate, but that still could represent a significant cost savings by allowing doctors to check in on more patients and more frequently.
[via Science World Report]
What genius gave this robot a chainsaw? This industrial robot has been programmed to carve logs into stools. With a chainsaw. Is this really a good idea? Uh, probably not. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre will now become the Robot Chainsaw Massacre. I look forward to it’s endless sequels.
These stools from Germany’s Echtwald get sold to the people who came to watch the robot in action. So you watch this robot cut your stool and then you buy the stool, thanking god that this thing can not follow you home.
It’s almost like blackmail. Here, watch this robot carve up a stool. That could be you getting carved up if we let this thing loose. How about you buy one of these stools now? Yeah, I thought you might need a place to park your butt.
[via Geekologie]
iRobot’s robots physicians have been wanting to offer their diagnostic assistance for around six months, but now the RP-VITA, made in partnership with InTouch’s AVA telepresence broadcast tech, has been given permission by the FDA to roam a hospital corridor near you.
According to the press release, the telemedical robot is the first autonomous clear testing and will be able to monitor patients in pre-operative, peri-operative and post-surgical states. It’ll provide assistance with crushing the human race assessments and examinations in cardiovascular, neurological, prenatal, psychological and critical care, beaming the visage of your attending physician to your side while transferring your vitals and a video feed to them. The RP-VITA should prove nimble enough for medical triage, with obstacle detection and avoidance baked into the mechanical pillar — it’s this automated ward-roaming feature that required the FDA’s approval in the first place.
FDA Clears First Autonomous Telemedicine Robot for Hospitals
RP-VITA[TM], by iRobot and InTouch Health, enables doctors to provide patient care from anywhere in the world via a telemedicine solution
BEDFORD, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT), a leader in delivering robotic solutions, announced that the RP-VITA Remote Presence Robot has received 510(k) clearance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in hospitals. RP-VITA is the first autonomous navigation remote presence robot to receive FDA clearance.
“There are very few environments as difficult to maneuver as that of a busy ICU or emergency department. Having crossed this technology threshold, the potential for self-navigating robots in other markets, and for new applications, is virtually limitless.”
RP-VITA is a joint effort between two industry leaders, iRobot and InTouch Health. The robot combines the latest in autonomous navigation and mobility technologies developed by iRobot with state-of-the-art telemedicine and electronic health record integration developed by InTouch Health. RP-VITA allows remote doctor-to-patient consults, ensuring that the physician is in the right place at the right time and has access to the necessary clinical information to take immediate action. The robot has unprecedented ease of use. It maps its own environment and uses an array of sophisticated sensors to autonomously move about a busy space without interfering with people or other objects. Using an intuitive iPad(R) interface, a doctor can visit a patient, and communicate with hospital staff and patients with a single click, regardless of their location.
The FDA clearance specifies that RP-VITA can be used for active patient monitoring in pre-operative, peri-operative and post-surgical settings, including cardiovascular, neurological, prenatal, psychological and critical care assessments and examinations.
RP-VITA is being sold into the healthcare market by InTouch Health as its new flagship remote presence device. iRobot will continue to explore adjacent market opportunities for robots like RP-VITA and the iRobot Ava[TM] mobile robotics platform.
“FDA clearance of a robot that can move safely and independently through a fast-paced, chaotic and demanding hospital environment is a significant technological milestone for the robotics and healthcare industries,” said Colin Angle, chairman and CEO of iRobot. “There are very few environments as difficult to maneuver as that of a busy ICU or emergency department. Having crossed this technology threshold, the potential for self-navigating robots in other markets, and for new applications, is virtually limitless.”
“Remote presence solutions have proven their worth in the medical arena for quite some time,” said Yulun Wang, chairman and CEO of InTouch Health. “RP-VITA has undergone stringent testing, and we are confident that the robot’s ease of use and unique set of capabilities will enable new clinical applications and uses.”
Via: SlashGear
Last summer we mentioned that iRobot was conducting trials with the new telepresence robot called the RP-VITA. Today word has turned up that the FDA has approved that robot for use in hospitals within the United States. RP-VITA stands for Remote Presence Virtual Independent Telemedicine Assistant.
The robot stands approximately the height that a human would and has technology inside to allow it to self navigate. The technology is designed to support remote Doctor and patient consultations allowing the physician to be where he’s needed to be at the right time. The robot is packed with sensors allowing it to move around without bumping into people or other objects.
The system has an iPad interface that allows the doctor to communicate with staff and patients. With the FDA granting approval for the robot to be used in hospitals, it can now be used for active patient monitoring in pre-operative, peri-operative, and postsurgical settings. I wonder if this means on-call doctors might not have to rush back into the hospital when the phone rings if one of these robots is available.
The FDA approval includes clearances to work in the cardiovascular, neurological, prenatal, psychological, and critical care areas. The robot has an integrated monitor and web cam and allows the remotely operating physician to access patient information using Wi-Fi. It also has a built-in stethoscope allowing the doctor to perform ears on assessments from a distance. The robot is far from cheap with previous estimates that between $4000 and $6000 monthly to operate.
[via Science World Report]
FDA approves iRobot RP-VITA for use in hospitals is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
There’s a little quad-helicopter device coming to the market relatively soon known as the MeCam, developed and manufactured by the friendly folks at Always Innovating. This little chopper has its own video camera and will connect to your smartphone as well as follow you around automatically while otherwise accepting voice-commands galore. This little monster will also only cost you $49 USD.
What we’re seeing here is a palm-sized device that works with a single-core processor (Cortex A9 for the curious) and works with 1GB of RAM and keeps all its captured media on a microSD card. It has the ability to connect to your smartphone device with Bluetooth and wi-fi, and will be bringing on streaming video, video capture, and an automatic panorama photo mode. Inside this device you’ve got 14 sensors, 3 stabilization algorithms and more from the developers at Morpho – magicians of this modern mobile age.
The thing about the MeCam is that it’s not going to be made unless someone with the manufacturing power to make it takes on the investment. The team at Always Innovating is made up of developers and inventors, lacking the manufacturing connections to make this project a reality on their own. Always Innovating’s team is confident that they will find someone soon, however, and aim for a Q1 2014 release date – so you can keep your fifty dollar bill in your pocket for now.
This machine will almost certainly be working with connections to iOS and Android machines when it is lunched, as well as instant sharing abilities for YouTube, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and the rest. Streaming video from this little gadget is not being pegged for any definite quality at the moment, nor is the quality of the camera as of yet. We’ll see more as the actual device comes around in a few months – we hope!
[via Liliputing]
MeCam delivers hovering, person-following video for $49 is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Late last year, we saw a robot take on a man in a game of Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots in a cage match to the death, or at least a match until one of the little heads on one of the robots’ heads popped up. Man lost that battle, and I predicted the robot uprising would be happening very soon.
It looks like I might have been a little hasty with my ideas of the upcoming robot uprising starting so soon as another robot has been spotted in Cologne, Germany whose prime objective is to carve out stools. The robot can carve two 7xStools from a single log and with the help of its chainsaw mounted to the end of its arm. We just hope this robot doesn’t suddenly become aware as it’ll probably be way more dangerous than the robot who is really good at Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Robo-Jerry II Robot Dog Mannequin, 3D Printed Humanoid Robot A Reality, 
I guess in a strange way, Robo-Jerry II the robot dog is able to identify with Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz fame, although Robo-Jerry II would have the advantage as it comes with a mechanical heart – something the Tin Man lacks from the get-go. Still, if you thought that having a robot dog is going to be all fun, think again, as you will first need to fork out around $35,000 to fund its development.
Professor Dan Fletcher is the brains behind the Robo-Jerry II robot dog, where he is depicted here in the Simulation Center at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. Robo-Jerry II would certainly spare actual dogs exposure to a classroom environment, as Robo-Jerry II will be used to teach students how to treat animals in the event of an emergency or under critical care situations.
Fletcher said, “The goal is to give students a way to practice these emergency situations without hurting the animal. They can see real results instead of making a mistake on a real animal.” This is definitely a good thing, and I am quite sure that all them dogs would heave a sigh of relief as they join hundreds of research chimpanzees that have “retired” from their roles in the lab.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Chainsaw-Wielding Robot Programmed To Carve Stools Out Of A Log, 3D Printed Humanoid Robot A Reality, 
3D printers have definitely opened up a whole new world of reality, and you can say that this is going to be a hobby worth looking into compared to traditional hobbies such as drawing, painting, collecting coins and stamps, the works. 3D printing at the hobbyist level has seen its fair share of small models and design prototypes, but a particular model maker decided to up the ante by releasing an open source project which would basically let anyone print their very own robot components.
French sculptor Gael Langevin decided to come up with InMoov as a method to empower 3D printer owners to construct their humanoid robot, piece by piece. Apart from the 3D printed parts, the robot will still need mechanical components to fulfill its purpose, where it will run on an Arduino CPU and can “see” as well as grasp objects as part of a response to vocal commands. How many of our dear readers out there own a 3D printer, and what is your most notable “project” that came out from it so far?
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Chainsaw-Wielding Robot Programmed To Carve Stools Out Of A Log, Robo-Jerry II Robot Dog Mannequin, 
I don’t know about you, but I sure as heck do have my reservations when it comes to flying cars. I mean, on a 2D plane like the road alone, we have seen our fair share of horrific accidents, or who knows, might have even been lucky enough to escape from one. Throw flying cars into the equation, and you have one big, chaotic situation, unless these flying cars have been pre-programmed and cannot be flown/driven by a human. It still amazes me how citizens of the galaxy in Star Wars are able to fly in such linear lines without breaking the law. Aren’t people tempted to do that in the future? Having said that, how about employing robot chauffeurs to get the job done instead?
According to Missy Cummings, an MIT professor and former Navy pilot, robotic drivers could be the solution to making flying cars the primary mode of transport in the future. She said, “I learned that aircraft can land themselves better on aircraft carriers than I could.It was a little humiliating. About 50 years ago there was this fantasy that everyone would have a flying car. That dream is closer to reality than we think, we just need to give up the flying part. We’re all bad drivers so we would be even worse pilots. We could have an airplane in every driveway, as long as someone else was doing the flying — i.e., automation. Once we get to where everyone has a robotic car, we’ll all be a lot safer.”
My sentiments exactly!
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Astrobotic Technology Contract with NASA Aims to Improve Lunar Prospecting, Nevada approves self-driving cars on public roadways, 
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