Hasta La Gadget!

Two arms, two legs, two wheels and one diabolical, merciless robot brain

It would seem that putting a robot onto a bike would be a pointless exercise akin to putting gas-powered horses before a carriage. But the impracticalities of this little Japanese bike-bots are easily outweighed by its charm.

Lest you think that this is just a remote controlled bike with a dummy perched on top, watch until the 45-second mark. Here you’ll see the little fellow take his hand off the bars to wave, and put both feet down on the floor.

The robot is called PRIMER-V2, and was built by Dr. Guero of the website AI & Robot. He pedals to move forwards, and he balances like a human rider, by turning into any falls. The balance in this case is provided by a PID (proportional integral derivative) controller which uses feedback loops to adjust for error.

However the PRIMER manages to stay upright, Dr. Guero has given us a valuable insight into how the robot apocalypse will inevitably unfold. It will come from Japan, and it will come — unstoppably — on two wheels.

Biped robot riding a bicycle [AI2000 via Kottke]

See Also:

• Old Hard Drives Get Sculpted Into Cars, Bikes, Robots … – Wired
• Choose Your Gift: A Bike Blender Or a Robot Maid?
• Terrifying Robot Bicycle Shed Can Eat Over 9000 Bikes

Somewhere in an underground ice lair, Jack Frost’s prepping to nip at noses and keep covered hands from touch devices. But SMK Corp’s got a capacitive solution set to thwart old man winter’s digitus interruptus. On display at this year’s FPD International in Japan, the company’s touchscreen innovation incorporates a specialized chip capable of highly-sensitive pressure detection that works in conjunction with a noise-filtering sensor to make your gloved gestures readable. It’s good news for those of us subject to occasional bouts of frostbitten weather, but don’t clap just yet — these panels will initially be headed to in-car navigation systems. Still, with the displays workable on screens up to 8-inches in size, it’s possible we could be seeing this tech extend to smartphones in the near future. So, there’s a remedy out there folks, but while you wait for it, it’s best to keep those glittens close at hand.

SMK’s touchscreen registers your gloved swipes, won’t acknowledge the bad touch originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Oct 2011 19:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The robots; they’re walking — and this one’s doing it under its own steam. This passive robotic frame requires no energy input, and is instead powered by its own weight and a gentle slope. The BlueBiped can be adjusted to match the proportions of any user, and researchers plan to use it to assist people who find it difficult to walk and transport unwieldy sports equipment. It already holds the Guinness world record for the longest distance walked by a bi-pedal robot, plodding 15 kilometers (9.32 miles) in a single 13-hour stroll. Those fearing the impending Robopocalypse can at least breathe a sigh of relief that — like some other homocidal robots — stairs still remain out of bounds.

Continue reading BlueBiped robot needs no power to walk for miles, as long as it’s downhill (video)

BlueBiped robot needs no power to walk for miles, as long as it’s downhill (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Oct 2011 15:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Things are looking pretty rosy for Canon these days, though there may be some difficulty on the horizon. Today, the camera maker published a rather strong Q3 earnings report, just a few months after posting relatively ho-hum Q2 results. According to the company, operating profit grew by 17.4 percent to ¥122.55 billion ($1.6 billion) this quarter, compared with ¥104.42 billion ($1.37 billion) a year ago. Net profit, meanwhile, increased by 14.2 percent over the year, reaching ¥77.9 billion ($1.02 billion) during the quarter, versus ¥68.20 billion during Q3 2010. These results come at a time when the yen is strong, and therefore detrimental to Japanese exporters, though Canon attributed much of its success to strong growth in emerging markets, including China and India. For the year, however, Canon lowered its net-profit outlook to ¥230 billion ($3.02 billion) from ¥260 billion ($3.4 billion), on assumptions that the yen will maintain its strength, and on fears that recent flooding in Thailand may impact production. In fact, the manufacturer said the flooding may cut annual sales by ¥50 billion ($657 million) and operating profit by ¥20 billion. Check out the full report, at the source link below.

Canon posts higher profits in Q3 earnings report, lowers outlook over Thai flood concerns originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Oct 2011 04:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Case in point: the guy on the right. Sure, he’s probably a mild-mannered, law-abiding citizen, but with NEC‘s Tele Scouter strapped to his spectacles, he looks just a wee bit sinister, doesn’t he? The system he’s wearing consists of a paperback-sized computer powered by an ARM 500MHz CPU and an AirScouter display mounted atop a pair of glasses. The display, manufactured by Brother, projects images upon the naked eye, but NEC insists that it won’t completely block a user’s field of vision. To the viewer, in fact, these projections appear as if they were displayed on a 16-inch, 800 x 600 screen standing one meter away. According to NEC, the idea is to allow employees to view manuals or other important documents while working with their hands, though that kind of multi-task wizardry certainly won’t come for cheap. The Tele Scouter will begin shipping on December 26th, with the device priced at ¥400,000 (about $5,200) and the software sitting at ¥1.9 million (around $25,000).

NEC’s Tele Scouter head-mounted display makes it really hard to not look evil originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Oct 2011 15:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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