Hasta La Gadget!

Last we saw Nissan’s crash-avoiding BR23C robot “car,” it was rolling along all by its lonesone, taking cues from the humble bumblebee in order to survive in the wilds of CEATEC Japan. Well, it’s almost time for CEATEC yet again, and it looks like Nissan has seen fit to give our robot buddy a new bag of tricks, and a proper name: Eporo. Perhaps the biggest news, however, is that it now models itself on fish, which not only gives it greater peripheral vision (courtesy of a pair of laser range finders) to avoid obstacles, but lets it travel in packs similar to a school of fish. The idea there being that these could one day carry passengers and stick close together to reduce congestion on city streets and, in turn, cut down on the number of accidents.

Filed under: Robots, Transportation

Nissan’s crash-avoiding robot ‘car’ gets upgrade, fresh new outlook on life originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Oct 2009 00:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve seen our fair share of useful but ugly and pretty but pointless robotic concoctions, but nothing quite like this. The Power Loader suit, which was directly inspired by the mech outfits in Aliens, is in our humble opinion an exoskeleton done right. With two massive protruding arms, capable of lifting 220 pounds without a sweat, direct force feedback for intuitive control, and even powered legs, we’re inclined to believe what we’re seeing here is a tiny glimpse of the awesome mech-dominated future we’ve been waiting so long for. Also known as the Dual-Arm Power Amplification Robot, this is produced by Activelink, a Panasonic subsidiary, and you might be shocked to discover that there are plans afoot to commercialize it by 2015. Entrancing video after the break.

Continue reading Video: Power Loader has giant freaking robot arms!

Filed under: Robots, Wearables

Video: Power Loader has giant freaking robot arms! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mmm, pancakes. While moms might be responsible for giving us our first taste, it’s the humble robot that makes these golden-brown discs of battered splendor available for mass market binging. A promotional video from ABB Robotics shows how its FlexPicker robots installed at a HoneyTop foods facility can accelerate production while simultaneously improving hygienic conditions. Four gigabit Ethernet cameras are mounted in front of each robot to locate the pancakes running down the conveyor belt. Software allows the bots to recognize and grab overlapping pancakes and then stack the ‘cakes for easy packing. A software reconfig allows for quick production changes from pancakes to pretty much anything the robot can grasp including Soylent Green ration wafers. The video starts slow, but delivers with an impressive 400 pancakes per minute sorting routine — see it after the break.

[Via Make:]

Continue reading Video: ABB FlexPicker replaces human pancake pickers with amazing effect

Filed under: Robots

Video: ABB FlexPicker replaces human pancake pickers with amazing effect originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 04:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember the cartoon Turbo Teen where a kid could turn himself into that most desirable of ’80s cars, a red Firebird? That was pretty terrible, but we promise the video below of a robot turning itself into a red car is rather more compelling. It’s OmniZero.9, the latest creation from Takeshi Maeda who earlier brought us the OmniZero.4. The ninth iteration is a humanoid looking bot with wheeled shoulders and knees that allows it to motor along the ground. Its head also flips back to create a seat just big enough for its creator, who jumps on for a short ride around the demonstration stage. The bot competed at ROBO-ONE in a few different categories and was captured on video doing its stuff solo and also shamelessly knocking an under-sized competitor out of the ring. Go ahead, click on through. You won’t want to miss this.

Continue reading Video: Takeshi Maeda’s OmniZero.9 robot transforms, carries creator, blows minds

Filed under: Robots

Video: Takeshi Maeda’s OmniZero.9 robot transforms, carries creator, blows minds originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 09:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It was almost exactly a year ago that our hearts were stolen by Murata Seiko (Japanese for Murata Girl), the balance-blessed, unicycling robot. Murata Seiko didn’t perform surgery or serve cocktails at parties — she was no service bot… unless you consider pure, unadulterated, awe-inspiring entertainment a service. And we must admit, we do. Well, Murata’s going to be performing at CEATEC 2009, showing off her three-times increased speed, improved balance, and turning ratio. All of this culminates in her new-found ability to navigate a very thin balance beam. Check out the videos of her in action after the break.

Continue reading Murata Seiko unicycling robot gets an awesome upgrade

Filed under: Robots

Murata Seiko unicycling robot gets an awesome upgrade originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 Sep 2009 01:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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