Top honchos of 3D Robotics, Willow Garage and Boston Dynamics (yes, of BigDog fame) join us — and some mechanical pals — to discuss the past, present and future of robotics.
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Filed under: Robots
Your local bartender might have a thing or two to say about the Bartendro robot mixologist, especially in these economically trying times, and to be made redundant at the workplace because of technology is definitely quite a bummer. The thing is, the Bartendro robot mixologist does not look as though it is going to replace the bald man behind the counter, wiping glasses, anytime soon, considering how one of the main draws of a local pub would be the bartender himself who lends a shoulder to cry on during times of trouble among its clientele, as well as offers some sagely advice from time to time.
Still, to see a robot function as a bartender is something else, but do not expect the Bartendro to be some sort of protocol droid like C3PO which you see in Star Wars. No sir, it will seem to be more of a contraption, but is a robot at the very base. Thanks to the presence of a Raspberry Pi processor, it is capable of crafting up a wide range of cocktails, as long as it carries the relevant information in its database.
The Bartendro robot is said to be able to handle up to 15 bottles of booze and mixers simultaneously, and is capable of dispensing precision cocktails in a swift turnaround time of under 10 seconds. Of course, the lack of a human touch will not see the Bartendro take over the human bartender duties anytime soon, but I suppose at clubs where folks just want to get a shot of their favorite poison without having to go through the motions of talking to other folks, will find some solace in the presence of the Bartendro.
Other than the Raspberry Pi processor, the Bartendro robot mixologist will also comprise of other parts such as peristaltic pumps, custom electronic dispenser boards, and food-grade tubing. Capable of churning out 200 cocktails in an evening, you can be sure that this is one robot which will not hit on your girlfriend, but neither is it capable of breaking up fights. Fancy getting the Bartendro? You will have to fork out a rather handsome $2,499 for it.
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[ Bartendro robot is an interesting mix, pardon the pun copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
You may already know about the four-legged robot from DARPA and Boston Dynamics; we’ve talked about it in the past and how it’s supposed to help out military troops by carrying supplies over rough terrain and beyond. Now, the BigDog robot can throw objects, including concrete cinder blocks. However, instead of using one of its four legs, it actually uses an extending arm (which looks to be the robot’s head and neck) to throw objects.
Boston Dynamics ended up recording a video of the robot throwing the cinder block across the testing field, and it’s quite impressive, but also extremely freaky and scary at the same time. You can watch as the robot grabs onto the cinder block and picks up while attempting to keep its balance. However, just as you think the robot might tip over, it flings its arm around and tosses the cinder block a good 30 feet or so.
Cinder blocks aren’t light by any means. They can weigh anywhere from 20 to 30 pounds, and most of us would have to use two hands to pick one up. After that, we’d probably only be able to throw one half the distant that the robot threw its cinder block. In any case, you now know that robots are capable of throwing heavy objects straight at you.
Of course, we’re not quite sure what the implications would be for a military robot that’s going to be used for carrying supplies. We’re guessing the arm could be used for moving small obstacles out of the way, or maybe hurling heavy objects (like cinder blocks) at enemies. Whatever the case, we now know what robots are capable of if they ever turn on us.
DARPA’s BigDog robot can throw cinder blocks farther than you is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Who doesn’t want real-life superpowers? Unfortunately, getting yourself bitten by some kind of radioactive spider isn’t really the best way to go about it. But thankfully, tech is here to resurrect your childhood hopes and dreams. University of Illinois’ Victor Mateevitsi, for instance, has managed to bring “spider-sense” to the real world with a haptic bodysuit. More »
Miguel Nicolelis is an ambitious man. For years he’s been decoding brain signals and trying to use them as electrical commands for robots—and now he’s at a stage where he can get a monkey to mentally control a robot which is 7,000 miles away. This is how he does it. More »
Often the stuff that gets press attention from Kickstarter tends to focus on the consumer market, but the Hydra is a new project on the crowdfunding site that could make big waves in everything from hobby electronics, to home robotics, to industrial manufacturing. It’s a compact power supply with three outputs, each with completely configurable voltage. Put simply, the Hydra is almost like a Raspberry Pi for the power supply industry: small, customizable, and relatively inexpensive at $200.
Power supplies are required for any electronic device that needs to plug into a wall outlet or battery pack in order to function. They’re responsible for converting electrical power from one form to another, and making sure that the voltage out to devices matches their requirements. The Hydra can handle voltage in of anywhere between 5V and 14V, and push it back out via its three outputs to a range of 3V and 12V, with each of the outputs individually configurable via USB, Bluetooth (and a smartphone app) or serial connection.
According to the Hydra project creators, the Hydra serves essentially as a full-featured replacement for a bench-top power supply, which, as you can see from the picture above, is a much, much larger device. It can be configured to work as a battery charger for most types of rechargeable batteries, and it can also power high-power LEDs, electronics and wireless transmitters. You can use it for mobile devices by connecting it to a battery pack, or build an entire industrial robot for a factory production line with it, depending on your needs.
The project is the brainchild of Caleb Chamberlain, who holds a Master’s degree in electrical engineering from BYU, and founded CH Robotics to design and create inertial and orientation sensors for different kinds of robots. The Hydra is already a functional prototype, and Chamberlain says there’s a production process in place to start creating them at volume once they get the startup capital, which is likely why he’s only looking for $10K to fund the product. The Hydra is available for $160 through pre-order, or $212 for a Bluetooth-enabled version, both of which have an estimated delivery date of April.
The Hydra may not be as consumer-friendly as an iPhone case or a Bluetooth speaker, but it’s a Kickstarter project that could have considerable impact in amateur, small business and industrial markets, and as such it’s definitely one to watch.
Before we saw the iRobot Mirra 530 pool-cleaning robot and the Looj 330 gutter-cleaning robot here in person at CES 2013, we never imagined we’d be considering work with either area of dirtiness to be an entertaining prospect. In fact now with these two robotic masterpieces ready for iRobot-level cleaning in the near future, it may be time to purchase a home with a pool and gutters just to make use of these fabulous home-friendly amalgamations of technical excellence.
This week at CES 2013 we’ve gotten the opportunity to have a peek at both of iRobot’s newest creations, starting with the Looj 330 gutter-cleaning robot. This machine and the pool cleaning robot are made by the same folks who brought you the ever-lovable Roomba (and DJ Roomba, mind you), so you know you’ll be in for a treat. The Looj 330 gutter-cleaning robot is ready to enter brand new markets (outside the USA for the first time, a first for an outdoor robot from iRobot) with a selection of improved gutter-sweeping features.
This robot is able to work with its handle attached or remotely with the handle acting as wireless control over the beast from afar. Have a look at the video above to get an idea of what fun this otherwise arduous task could be for you rather soon. Scout out our original details post on both the gutter cleaning robot and the pool robot to see additional bits of details.
The Mirra 530 pool-cleaning robot is slightly more high-powered than the gutter cleaner, using iAdapt Nautiq technology to find the size of your pool on its own, automatically adjusting its cleaning method to most effectively take on the task. This machine cleans not only debris from your pool that you’d otherwise have to fish out with a net like leaves, dirt clumps, and hair, but smaller and even nearly invisible items as well – 70 gallons of water per minute filtering pollen, algae, and bacteria as small as two microns.
Take heed and see these machines above and below in the hands-on video and photos we’ve got prepped for you, and make sure to check our CES 2013 portal too for sweet up to the minute and hands-on action all week!
iRobot Looj 330 and Mirra 530 hands-on: gutter and pool cleaning made fun is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Lego has been into robotics for quite some time now, but today at CES, the company unveiled the new Mindstorms EV3 robotic system, which is Lego’s first robotic system that comes with iOS and Android app support. The best part is, we got some hands-on time with a few of the robots on display at the company’s booth at Pepcom.
A main focus to the EV3 system is the central Intelligent Brick, which runs on Linux and an ARM9 processor, both of which make the system even faster and more easily hackable than its predecessor robotic systems. Aside from speed specs, the biggest change on the Brick is the addition of Bluetooth, which allows builders to control their robots via an Android or iOS app. There’s also a USB port and an SD card slot.
Another addition to the system is that the robots’ eyes are actually infrared sensors, which can detect motion, so whenever you wave your hand in front of the robot, it will detect it and either attack, flee, dance, whatever. One of the robots was a dragon, and whenever a person crosses its path, it will extend its body and open its fiery mouth to attack.
The EV3 robotic system from Lego will go on sale sometime this summer for a pretty penny — 35,000 of them, or $350. The Mindstorms EV3 will essentially replace the Mindstorms NXT 2.0 line, which came out in 2009. The programming software kit itself works on both Windows and Mac OS X.
Lego Mindstorms EV3 robots hands-on is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Out of the many head-turners that will show up at the pool this summer, one new gadget will certainly catch the eye of any geek getting his tan on. iRobot will be unveiling the Mirra 530 pool-cleaning robot at CES next week, along with the Looj 330 gutter-cleaning robot, both of which provide the same great robot-cleaning technology from the makers who brought you Roomba.
The Mirra 530 deep cleans any type of in-ground pool, both the surface and the water. iRobot has engineered the machine to remove all of the pesky gunk from your pool, including leaves, hair, and dirt. However, it also tackles the things you can’t see, such as algae, pollen, and bacteria as small as two microns.
The pool-cleaning robot can go through up to 70 gallons of water per minute and filter out all the debris that makes its way through. Thanks to its iAdapt Nautiq system, it’ll even automatically figure out the size of your pool to determine which cleaning program is the most efficient.
Furthermore, the company is also unveiling the Looj 330 gutter-washer to those outside of the US, and it’s the first time that iRobot is selling an outdoor unit outside of the US. The Mirra 530 pool cleaner will set you back a cool $1,299 (€1,499 in Europe) and will launch in the spring. The Looj 330 will also arrive in the spring, costing €299.
iRobot to unveil new cleaning robots at CES 2013 is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Do you think that our future will have robots that help mankind, such as those found in the science fiction movie I, Robot? How about droids that move around in the now Disney-owned Star Wars, those would definitely come in handy in solving the communications problem between different language groups, wouldn’t it? Sad to say, current technology is still far from achieving such high standards in robotics, but perhaps something like the Roboy is a good start.
Folks over at the University of Zurich’s Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (AI Lab) is currently working on building a robot toddler that they have dubbed “Roboy.” The implementation of “soft robotics” technology which will mimic the human body has resulted in this 1.2 meter (3 ft, 11 in) tall humanoid robot to be a solution down the road that will hopefully make people feel more comfortable in the presence of robots when it comes to day-to-day situations.
Granted, the Roboy is far from being the cutest thing in the market at the moment, as it resembles far more like a cyborg skeleton compared to a charming child whom you would like to cuddle, but bear in mind that this is because this is still a work in progress. The laboratory’s final goal would be to build an entire Roboy from scratch in a matter of nine months, and I find the parallel of the time required compared to carrying a baby to term cute.
Work on Roboy began last June, where 15 project partners and more than 40 engineers and scientists came together, and they intend to fund the development of Roboy by creative means, such as auctioning space on the robot for logos, while hiring it out for business functions when completed.
Roboy remains more of a research project than an engineering enterprise at this point in time, and the team has set their eyes on developing new technologies while engaging scalable production using CAD and 3D printing so that it takes a matter of days to fully roll out a robot.
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[ Roboy could be a robot for the future copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
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