Hasta La Gadget!

Justin Hart and Brian Scassellati of Yale University have nothing better to do, so they thought they would tinker with robots and doom us all. Recently, they taught a humanoid robot named Nico to recognize its own reflection in the mirror. That doesn’t sound so bad right? Well, it’s fine until they decide one day that everything that doesn’t look like them has to go. We aren’t there yet thankfully. Right now this is just a cute story about a robot and a mirror. For now.

Nico is part of an experiment to see whether a robot can tackle a test of self-awareness called the mirror test. To pass the test an animal or a robot has to recognise that a mark on the body it sees in the mirror is on its own body. Only dolphins, orcas, elephants, magpies, humans and a few other apes have passed the test so far.

The robot has had to learn more about itself. He isn’t done yet. So the team plans to teach Nico how to recognise where its torso is, where it’s head is and so on. The shape, the color and texture as well.

“What excites me is that the robot has learned a model of itself, and is using it to interpret information from the mirror,” says Hart. I guess one man’s excitement is another’s sheer terror. Soon there will be vain robots everywhere.

[via New Scientist]

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 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

Filed under: Robots

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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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

Filed under: Household, Robots

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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It’s summer and chances are it’s probably too hot to do anything, let alone mow the lawn but someone’s got to do it, right? Well if you think that the opportunity cost of you mowing your lawn is greater than the price you would pay for a robot to do it for you (yes, we said robot), then you’re in luck as Honda has officially unveiled the Miimo, a robotic lawn mower destined for the European market. Operating within a boundary wire placed around your yard, the Miimo will cut anywhere between 2-3mm of your grass throughout the week, and will do so in random patterns which is designed to reduce the stress on your lawn. With a fan built into the blade holder, this allows the Miimo to suck the grass towards the blades which results in a “superior” finish.

The Miimo will run on a lithium-ion battery and has the ability to return to its charging station when it is low on battery. The device will also sport three bump sensors which helps it to navigate away from solid objects that it might have accidentally run into, and also has the ability to manage its wheel and blade speed when it runs into thick patches of grass.  Available in two models (Miimo 300 and Miimo 500), the Honda Miimo will be available via Honda Authorized Dealers across Europe in 2013 although there was no word on how much it will cost. [Press release]

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Honda Stride Management Assist uses ASIMO technology to help the elderly walk, Honda Asimo upgraded to new model,