Baby-driven robots have a bright future

If you happen to have a typical five month old infant, or at least had one, you would realize that your infant might find it rather difficult to sit up at that age, while the crawling milestone is still months away, but a few babies already have an idea on how to get around by steering their very own mobile robots. These robots were specially designed to enable babies with disabilities to get around independently, so that parents need not worry about their little one falling behind in development compared to their peers. Well, with this baby-driven robot, kids with cerebral palsy or other movement disorders will not miss out on their mental development.

Carole Dennis, a professor occupational therapy at Ithaca College in New York, said, “We think that babies with disabilities are missing an opportunity for learning that typically developing babies have.”

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Solar-powered Wave Glider robot tracks down sharks, Desperate Debra simulator for budding doctors to train with,

iRobot’s AIRarm prototype bot has an inflatable arm for manipulating objects, was built at DARPA’s behest

iRobot's AIRarm prototype bot has an inflatable arm for manipulating objects, was built at DARPA's behest

iRobot may be best known for its household automatons, but the company’s expertise goes far beyond circular bots built for sweeping and scrubbing floors. Its Warrior and 110 FirstLook bots are built for the military, and now the Advanced Inflatable Robot (AIR) arm model is joining its armed forces brethren. The AIRarm prototype is essentially a Packbot whose metal arm’s been replaced with an inflatable version able to lift four times its own half-pound weight. That might not seem like much, but considering most rigid robot arms can only lift a fraction of their own weight, it represents a sizable gain in strength-to-weight ratio. Plus, the arm can get stronger by simply dialing up the air pressure. As an inflatable limb, it can also operate delicately around meatbags — just as the air pressure is increased for strength, it can be decreased when in close proximity to people so as not to injure them. For its prototype effort, iRobot’s going to get a $625,000 contract from DARPA to continue the AIRarm’s development, and you can see a bit of what that money will buy in the video after the break.

Continue reading iRobot’s AIRarm prototype bot has an inflatable arm for manipulating objects, was built at DARPA’s behest

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iRobot’s AIRarm prototype bot has an inflatable arm for manipulating objects, was built at DARPA’s behest originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 07:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Honda’s Miimo robotic lawn mower beats the heat, won’t pour your lemonade

Honda's Miimo robotic lawn mower beats the heat, won't pour your lemonade

If you’re looking to plan ahead for next summer’s grueling yard chores, Honda has something that will help you sweat a bit less. The company has unveiled Miimo, a robotic lawn mower that trims 2-3mm of grass in several shifts during the course of a week. The green-thumbed robot navigates with a combination of controls, timers and sensors while working inside the constraints of a buried boundary wire. As you might expect, you’ll be able to ditch the gas can as well thanks to a lithium-ion battery and docking station (similar to a Roomba). If you’re worried about adjustments, cutting height can be set between 20mm (0.79 inches) and 60mm (2.36 inches) with three operation modes will suite the size of each job. When the unit arrives in Europe in early 2013, 300 and 500 models will be available sporting monikers that indicate their respective maximum cut perimeter in meters (about 328 yard for the former and 547 yards for the latter). For a few more details, head on past the break for the full PR.

Continue reading Honda’s Miimo robotic lawn mower beats the heat, won’t pour your lemonade

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Honda’s Miimo robotic lawn mower beats the heat, won’t pour your lemonade originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 21:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Asimo got a new friend with Miimo, a new Robotic Lawn Mower from Honda

Sure you must be disappointed that Honda spent all it resources and brain matter in developing the next gen Lawn Mower instead of a nice little Robot butler. Still, I for once welcome this move! Why? Well simply because as a Kid I spent most my weekends mowing my parents lawn, which by the way took me a full afternoon despite having a small kart like lawn mower.
Anyway Honda’s new is the perfect solution for those wanting a beautiful lawn but would rather not or can’t mow it …

Chef Cui Robot Slices Noodles in China, Noodle Slicers Union Revolts

It’s a tough job, but somebody has to slice all of those noodles in China, and Chef Cui is taking on the task. This noodle-slicing robot was developed by Cui Runguan, a Chinese restaurateur and it is now being mass-produced and sold in China.
chinese noodle robot
He slices noodles into boiling water and that’s it. The robot has no fancy bells and whistles. Although it does light up for some reason. Maybe to slice noodles at night. This might actually be cheaper for restaurants to purchase instead of employing humans – assuming that there’s some worker standing around whose only job is to cut up noodles all day.

These robots cost about $2,000(USD), while the average worker makes about $4,700 a year. Too bad for the workers. There goes another job that humans used to do.

[via Eater via Geekosystem]


Double Telepresence Robot Debuts on the Cheap

Telepresence robots let you remotely interact with others and their environments using a robotic avatar. Sadly, for most geeks telepresence robots are typically far from cheap. A company called Double Robotics has unveiled a new telepresence robot that is relatively inexpensive for the market, even if it still costs nearly $2000. The robot is aimed at companies who utilize video conferencing frequently, and could even be used by museums to allow remote visitors to explore exhibits.

double 1

The 15 pound Double robot has two wheels and a battery-powered and uses an iPad as the display and camera on the robot itself. An adjustable arm that holds the iPad so the remote operator can look other people in the eye. The system is controlled by an app running on a second iPad held by the remote operator.

The robot will sell at a pre-order price of $1999(USD). The standard MSRP for the Double robot will be $2499. Keep in mind, that price doesn’t include an iPad.

[via DigitalTrends]


Virtual and Terrestrial Battling Robots

Have you watched Real Steel yet? This movie which stars Hugh Jackman who is down and out on his luck, only to have his son’s faith in a battle hardened albeit retro fighting robot help him get his life back on track, is certainly awe inspiring. You too, might want to find your fair share of fighting robots, but such a high tech sport does not yet exist in this part of the century, leaving you to settle for something less imposing like the $99.99 Virtual and Terrestrial Battling Robots.

These are remote controlled robots which are fully well capable of engaging in intergalactic combat – regardless of whether you are at home, or over the Internet. These two-wheeled robots will rely on radio frequency waves in order to “strike” their opponents from up to a range of 49′ away, while the remote controls will enable rapid forward movement and hairpin turning so that enemy fire can be avoided.

Expect explosive sounds to be generated whenever an attack is launched for that added bit of realism, where each direct hit is logged by LEDs located on the remotes. The robots will also be able to hook up to a computer thanks to the included USB cable, while a website is there that creates robot avatars so that users can resume their battle with an online video game. More virtual “weaponry” downloaded to the robot itself are made available for the victors of the battles, and these robots will run on a quartet of AAA batteries each, while the remote controls consume one less battery each.

[ Virtual and Terrestrial Battling Robots copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]


Double telepresence robot uses an iPad and costs under $2000

Double Robotics from California has created an impressive telepresence robot that would make Sheldon Cooper happy. This robot kit uses an iPad for the telepresence robot’s “face” and uses a minimalist design to take up little space and help it stay out of the way in the environment it operates within. The kit is called Double.

The Double robot uses a pair of wheels, a battery-powered motor, adjustable pole, and an iPad holder. The robot is controlled by an operator in a remote location using the Double app on another iPad. Using the app the operator of the robot can move around the remote location and the adjustable pole Double uses is to allow the iPad on the bot to put the operators face on level with workers in the remote facility.

Double weighs in at 15 pounds making it light enough to prevent damage to equipment or merchandise in the remote location or injury to any real workers Double’s remote operator might accidentally run into. The company behind Double season is a way for companies who communicate with remote workers or school campuses to allow more interactivity.

The real hallmark of the Double telepresence robot is the price. Its standard MSRP will be $2499. Buyers who pre-order now can get the robot for $1999. Neither of those prices includes the iPad that needs to be installed on the Double or the iPad used to control the Double remotely. The first batch of robots is expected to ship in December with pre-orders placed this week going out in early 2013.

[via DigitalTrends]


Double telepresence robot uses an iPad and costs under $2000 is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Solar-powered Wave Glider robot tracks down sharks

The hunter becomes the hunted – but in a good way, of course. I am referring to this solar-powered robot created by scientists, where it will harness the power of the sun to keep it going, while it will do its job to track down sharks in order to keep tabs on their travel patterns as well as remaining numbers in the wild. Teams of scientists from Stanford University and Hopkins Marine Station in Monterey Bay have spent the better part of their lives tagging and tracking sharks so that they can better figure out these magnificent beasts’ mysterious migration patterns. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Desperate Debra simulator for budding doctors to train with, Squishy robot changes color for camouflage purposes,

Autonomous Wave Glider bot launched to track sharks, beam real-time data to your iPhone and iPad

Autonomous Wave Glider bot launched to track sharks, beam real-time data to your iPhone and iPad

When they’re not breaking world records, fuel-hating Wave Glider seabots like to indulge in other hobbies, like shark tracking. One of the vessels has just been launched off the coast near San Francisco (vid after the break), adding a mobile worker to the existing local network of buoy-mounted receivers. They monitor the movements of electronically tagged sea life, including the fearsome Great White, picking up signals within a 1,000-foot range while researchers from Stanford University analyze the data from the safety of the shore. Better still, the free Shark Net iOS app gives anyone the chance to track these things, and activity should increase as the monitoring network (hopefully) expands along the west coast and more bots are introduced. You didn’t think the world’s fascination sharks was limited to only a single single week, did you?

Continue reading Autonomous Wave Glider bot launched to track sharks, beam real-time data to your iPhone and iPad

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Autonomous Wave Glider bot launched to track sharks, beam real-time data to your iPhone and iPad originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Aug 2012 19:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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