Japan’s Robot Cars: Where’s this Road Going?


Optimus Prime, Hot Rod, and Ultra Magnus. These are all robot cars from the Transformers franchise rooted in early 1980s Japan. Somewhat disappointingly, here in realityland it looks like Japan’s real robot cars will have names like Nissan, Toyota, Fuji Heavy Industries, Honda, Mazda, and Hitachi.

Assume gravelly cowboy voice:
“Hitachibots, transform and roll out!”
Yeeaaah… umm, nope.

Okay, sadly Japan’s big automakers aren’t yet churning out sentient, anthropomorphized, purely good or purely evil all-male robot warriors. But they are very hip to developing and deploying practical versions of so-called robot cars in cooperation with domestic government agencies (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism – MLIT), one another, and given their global reach, international partners as well. Domestically, the current aim is to deploy highly autonomous, self-driving cars on freeways within 9-10 years. If the system proves successful, a global brand like Nissan or Toyota would surely find additional markets in other, much larger national freeway systems (ex: the massive national networks of China and the United States).

Concepts and proposals for robotic automobiles have been around for almost 80 years, and functional experimentation has been ongoing since the early 1980s. Actually, when breaking it down by individual features, 0ne can see that cars have been gradually roboticizing for a long time, e.g., power steering, power windows, power mirrors, anti-lock brakes, etc., etc.

So naturally, big J-Auto’s development of self-driving, partially autonomous, and arguably robotic feature sets isn’t novel. The 2003 Toyota Prius (Japan only), for example, was the first car available with a sonar-based Intelligent Parking Assist System (IPAS) wherein the driver operates the brake and the car calculates optimal steering angles for automated parallel parking (this option didn’t make it to the U.S. until 2009). Robotic features aren’t limited to driving, as here with the 2006 Mazda Miata’s Transformer-like power sunroof:

So what else is there with the Japan/robot car special connection situation? Well, geography, as it is so often want to do, must also insert itself into this macro-cultural equation. Insofar as: Japan’s approximately 130 million residents are shoehorned onto a mere 30% of the country’s land area – and not by choice, the other 70% is either too unstable, rugged, or topographically crazy to be inhabited. So, if one imagines all those people in contiguous urbanization on an island nation about the size of the U.S. state of Ohio, or just a bit larger than Portugal, one can appreciate the extreme population density and everyday challenge of very close-quarter driving and parking.

Another big deal for robotic cars here is the very long-term continuous habitation of the habitable areas. See, when one gets off the modern, 1st world-standard, highly developed roadways, in most cases one will quickly find oneself winding through very narrow streets with little if any standardized configuration. Human beings have been living along the same trails-that-became-roads-that-became-streets for many hundreds, if not thousands of years – long before there was much regard for large-scale municipal planning or an even vague anticipation of the motor vehicle. The analog compensation here is that nearly every non-arterial, non-grid-like intersection in Japan has an array of fish-eye mirrors at each corner, and drivers either use them or risk having no idea what’s coming. A networked robotic car, however, would be able to “see” around the corners, which would be nice when navigating this Tokyo neighborhood:

And then there’s the demographics. We mentioned assistive robots’ role in Japan’s aging society a few weeks back; this country has a big-deal labor shortage coming up in a generation and a half or so. In addition to the role robotics will very likely play in augmenting a dwindling human services labor force, a day spent in any Japanese city futilely looking for taxi or bus driver under 45 will clearly reveal another pending labor shortage. Who’s going to fill those jobs in 25 years? Yep.

Japan is approaching a perfect-storm state of necessity for practical robots, and if proven effective, reliable, and safe, increasingly robotic automobiles are likely to get an early foothold here. Besides, piloting a car in Japan is objectively difficult, licensing and compulsory driving schools are quite expensive, and despite its world-class public transportation system, Japan does experience considerable roadway congestion (networked, self-driving cars are anticipated to greatly reduce traffic jams and the effects of human error). Add in safety benefits, a potentially positive environmental impact, and POW: if it can, big J-Auto will put J-robots on the road ASAP.

Japan’s current repertoire doesn’t include anything ready for public consumption, but there are some very advanced and promising projects underway. Nissan’s modified Leaf, introduced last October as the NSC-2015, as in the year 2015, is an ambitious and innovative offering – complete with smartphone connectivity:

Toyota is also keeping pace with the Lexus-branded Advanced Active Safety Research Vehicle that debuted at CES in January:

Bringing things down to the personal, Hitachi recently unveiled their latest version of the Robot for Personal Intelligent Transport System – Ropits. This autonomous, obstacle-avoiding, user-friendly personal transport is intended to one day assist the elderly or disabled:

Japan’s MLIT was scheduled to produce an update to their ongoing robo-car feasibility studies by the end of last month. While not yet public, it’s safe to assume that their assessments and directives probably won’t result in big J-Auto’s production of a transforming robot car that will protect you, your family, and the galaxy from those other, eeeevil robots – but within a few decades, it’ll probably be reasonable to expect one’s very own private chauffeur to be… well, basically just software.

For now and the near future, think of robotic cars as you might think of powered robotic exoskeletons, i.e., they’ll help you do what you need to do with greater strength, precision, and efficiency, but they aren’t going to walk out to the driveway and help you up the stairs all by themselves.

The robots are coming, but for now and a while to come, humans are still going to have to push a few buttons.
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Reno J. Tibke is the founder and operator of Anthrobotic.com and a contributor at the non-profit Robohub.org.

Samsung Robot Comes With Siri-like Features

Samsung Robot Comes With Siri like FeaturesCome on now, I am quite sure that when one talks about robots, Samsung would not be the first name that pops into the mind. After all, the only thing about robots that I can remember from the South Korean conglomerate would be their robotic vacuum cleaners that do seem to do a pretty good job, actually. Well, here we are with a patent application from none other than Samsung themselves, although this one has nothing to do at all with a vacuum cleaner, but rather, will have plenty to do with the walking motions that can be found in next generation robots.

It does seem as though Samsung is working on a new generation of D-Copycat robots which surprise, surprise, will sport a Siri-like feature. There are rumors surrounding this particular patent filing, where it states that Samsung’s next generation robots could remain “educated” just to a certain level, as they are “stuck” on certain phrases at this point in time, which might require Samsung to call off the latest project altogether. This patent was filed in September last year Stateside, and a year earlier in Korea. Of course, after reading all of this, it adds up to nothing but an elaborate and late April Fool’s prank.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Meet Pars, The Aerial Rescue Robot , BionicOpter Robot Dragonfly,

Meet Pars, The Aerial Rescue Robot

Meet Pars, The Aerial Rescue Robot
RTS Lab
, based in Iran, has developed Pars, which is an aerial rescue robot designed and made for “saving human lives”. The purpose behind building Pars is to rescue people who are drowning near coastlines. The robot can quickly move towards people who’re drowning off the coastline by user guidance and then activate its savior system which releases life tubes. It can also be used for maritime monitoring, aid in firefighting, precise positioning and recording film from dangerous pathways for rescue missions. RTS Lab says that Pars uses new technologies that help guide and navigate it, these technologies include sound and image processing, autopilot, artificial intelligence and an array of sensors.

(more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Samsung Robot Comes With Siri-like Features, BionicOpter Robot Dragonfly,

Grizzly Robot Utility Vehicle: Watch Out, BigDog

A company called Clearpath Robotics Inc. recently unveiled its bot of burden, the Grizzly. The four-wheeled robot can go faster and carry much more load than its most famous counterparts, Boston Dynamics’ BigDog and Alpha Dog. Plus the Grizzly looks a lot friendlier than those alien-like robo-dogs.

grizzly robot utility vehicle by clearpath robotics

The Grizzly can carry up to 1320lbs. of cargo, although I’m not sure if that limit includes the modules that can be installed onto it. The robot can trudge along at up to 12mph for as long as 12 hours, thanks to its 80hp electric motor and two 200Ah batteries. To help it take on difficult terrain, the Grizzly comes standard with 26″ wheels, a bull-bar and a front axle with 16º of articulation. It also a clearance of 8″ to reduce the chance of getting stuck.

Then again, it may not be fair to compare DARPA’s dogs with the Grizzly. After all those ones are still in the prototype stage. Also to their credit they’ll probably be able to conquer more types of terrain because of their legs. But if you need a pack robot now, the Grizzly might be up to the task.

[Clearpath Robotics via DudeIWantThat]

ExtremeFliers Releases A Teeny-Tiny Quadcopter That Can Flip In Mid-Air

Screen Shot 2013-04-03 at 10.04.43 AM

We were lucky enough to meet with Vernon Kerswell at ExtremeFliers, a 20-something inventor with a passion for little flying things. His latest creation, the Microdrone 2.0, puts a surprisingly powerful brain inside a drone that is about as big as a baseball.

The Microdrone has built-in IR sensors as well as a six-axis gyroscope that stabilizes the copter immediately. Vernon was an effusive and effective presenter, running the drone through its paces as he described his trip to China to find the parts he needed to mass produce these little things.

Kerswell is the epitome of the start-up salesman and his excitement about his new product is palpable. I’m looking forward to trying it out in the harsh environment that is my home when it is launched in May for about $100.

LEGO Strandbeest: Walk Like a Crustacean

Despite the fact that I’m horribly allergic to shellfish, this LEGO creature that reminds me of some sort of crazy crab has still warmed its way into my heart.

lego strandbeest

The 12-legged little critter was created by Singapore LEGO fan Lee Ping Ng, based on the mechanisms that Theo Janssen created for his unbelievable walking strandbeests, using LEGO Technic parts. Though I have to say Lee’s walker is cuter – especially with those big bug eyes protruding from it’s head. Here, check it out in action:

See, isn’t it cute how he wanders about the tabletop? At least I don’t have to worry about going into anaphylactic shock by messing with this guy either.

Festo BionicOpter Robot Dragonfly Makes Quadcopters Look Clumsy

Automation company Festo loves showing off its technologies and expertise by creating robot versions of animals. We’ve featured the company’s SmartBird before, and you may have also seen its AirPenguin in action. Now the company has released information about its latest pet project, the BionicOpter.

festo bionicopter dragonfly robot

With the BionicOpter, Festo set out to replicate the flying capabilities of the dragonfly. The company says the insect is unique in that it can move in all directions, glide, hover, turn and accelerate quickly and even fly backwards. By replicating how dragonflies use their wings, the BionicOpter ends up being more versatile than a plane, helicopter or glider.

The robot has an aluminum body and carbon fiber wings. It has one external brushless motor and eight motors that handle the movement of its wings. Speaking of which, the robot can orient its wings vertically or horizontally as needed, just like the real deal. The BionicOpter can fly on its own but it can also be controlled remotely. All of that in a machine that weighs only 175g (approx. 0.39lbs.).

If you ask me the best feature of the BionicOpter is that it has a gracefulness to it that I previously thought could only be exhibited by a living creature. Check out Festo’s report (pdf file) if you want to learn more about the robot.

[via Slash Gear]

Watch DARPA’s Robot Arms Perform The World’s Slowest Pit Stop

Replacing fighter planes and reconnaissance aircraft with robotic drones turned out to be a far easier task for the military than replacing soldiers with bots. But DARPA remains determined to one day enlist robots for all military jobs, and among other research, it’s working hard to develop a relatively low-cost set of artificial arms and hands that can perform everyday mundane tasks. More »

XYZbot’s Fritz offers a cheaper robot head, free trips to the uncanny valley (video)

XYZbot's Fritz robot face provides a buildityourself trip to the uncanny valley video

It’s been relatively easy to get your hands on an expressive robot face… if you’re rich or a scientist, that is. XYZbot would like to give the rest of us a shot by crowdfunding Fritz, an Arduino-powered robot head. The build-it-yourself (and eerily human-proportioned) construction can react to pre-programmed actions, text-to-speech conversion or live control, ranging from basics like the eyes and jaw to the eyelids, eyebrows, lips and neck of an Advanced Fritz. Windows users should have relatively simple control through an app if they just want to play, but where Fritz may shine is its open source nature: the code and hardware schematics will be available for extending support, changing the look or building a larger robot where Fritz is just one part. The $125 minimum pledge required to set aside a Fritz ($199 for an Advanced Fritz) isn’t trivial, but it could be a relative bargain if XYZbot makes its $25,000 goal — and one of the quickest routes to not-quite-lifelike robotics outside of a research grant.

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Source: Kickstarter

Festo shows off BionicOpter robotic dragonfly in video demonstration

Festo has created a fascinating robotic BionicOpter dragonfly that has a semi-opaque blue body and four clear wings, which beat as it flies around the room, pausing as it glides and shifts direction, only to resume beating as the robot dives and rises. We have a video of the robotic dragonfly in action after the break, where you can see it demo’d in a large room.

Screenshot from 2013-04-01 21:30:14

As described, the flight of a dragonfly is unique over, for example, birds, making it an appealing – and relatively difficult – subject for robotics. A dragonfly can move its two pairs of wings independent of each other, can make sharp turns, go backwards, and speed up quickly. Festo undertook the challenge, and the result is the BionicOpter, which the company says is the first model capable of more flight conditions can a plane, glider, and helicopter all mixed together.

You can see all these flight conditions in action in the video above. Festo boasts that each wing is built with amplitude controllers, which allows it to operate independent of its counterpart wing and the other pair of wings, with both thrust intensity and direction being adjustable. There are adjustments for flight vibrations, and the robot is designed to be operational in both outdoor and indoor settings.

One of the most interesting aspects of the BionicOpter is that it can be controlled via a smartphone, with the controlling aspect being similar to flying a toy helicopter – only the direction needs to be changed. The software, sensors, and other hardware take care of the particulars, moving all four wings as necessary to achieve the direction needed in the environmental conditions where it is located.

[via Festo]


Festo shows off BionicOpter robotic dragonfly in video demonstration is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
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