Hasta La Gadget!

Fujitsu’s robot bear designed to win over the elderly, but we’re on to it originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Apr 2010 11:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’ve made a Lego skull you’re ultimately going to need some appendages to go with it, and Polish Lego-mistrz Paul (who goes by the handle Sariel) is the man behind this fully-articulated right arm. It uses a combination of electric motors and pneumatic valves that enable it to move… slowly. In a video embedded below that’s overflowing with Marilyn Manson angst (turn down those speakers, office-bound readers) you can see it shambling from side to side and rotating at the wrist as the pneumatic fingers are actuated. The range of movement is impressive, but this thing looks about as easy to operate as a dockside crane and seems slightly less precise. Still, it’s an impressive feat of plastic engineering; that it was whipped up over a weekend makes it even more so.

Continue reading Lego arm moves slowly, rocks mightily (video)

Lego arm moves slowly, rocks mightily (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember Bioloid? How could you forget, right? Well, we had the pleasure of meeting his more expensive brother and Avatar-inspired-sister Bioloid Premium at the New York Toy Fair. Meant for hobbyist robot builders, the kit comes with everything you need to build and program the plastic and metal humanoid, including Robotis’ AX-12 servo actuator and ‘C’ programming software. But getting Bioloid to walk, run and dance to Lady Gaga is going to cost ya a whopping $1,199. That seems like a lot of dough for us non-robot builders, but this guy’s heartwarming demeanor and balancing act almost has us forking it over. You’ll see what we mean in the video just past the break.

Continue reading Building Bioloid Premium doesn’t look easy, even if you do have $1,199 to do it

Building Bioloid Premium doesn’t look easy, even if you do have $1,199 to do it originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lego’s programmable robotics set Mindstorms is a fun toy for computing enthusiasts but if you really want to take it to the next level, check out Mark Weller’s project.

Weller, a machinist and technician at the McCoy School of Engineering at Midwestern State University, combined milled plastic pieces with the basic Lego Mindstorms set to create a robotic spider that can crawl and turn.

“I wanted to open students’ minds to go beyond ‘let’s put the parts together and program the robot,’” he says. “This project is more than sticking the wheels on a Lego set.” The school uses Lego Mindstorms to introduce freshman students to robotics.

The spider robot’s legs are based on a concept called the Klann linkage. A single leg has a six-bar linkage with a frame, crank, two rockers and two couplers connected with pivot joints. This transforms rotating motion into linear motion.

Weller says he created the spider’s legs from 3/8-inch plastic sheet stock on a 3-axis CNC mill. But it can also be made by a 3-D printer such as Makerbot and RepRap.

As the video shows, the robotic spider moves with grace and turns around with flair, even on a smooth surface.  Weller has posted the details of his Lego spider project and says he hopes 3-D printing enthusiasts will try it out.

Photos: Mark Weller

See Also:

• DIY Robotics: The Rise of Open Source Hardware
• From High School Robotics to the White House
• Unloved and Overpriced, Consumer Robots Battle for Survival
• Beautiful Polaroid Camera Sculpted in Lego

Americans love gadgets and hate housework. Not surprisingly, Roomba, a robotic vacuum cleaner, has become a hit among consumers.

Now, a new home robot promises to offer some competition to iRobot’s Roomba.

Meet Neato, a vacuum cleaner that at the push of a button sucks up dirt and dust from floors and carpets quickly and efficiently. Neato has a “Room Positioning System” that lets the robot use laser vision to map your entire floor space and avoid most obstacles that systems like Roomba can only detect by impact.

Though millions of vacuum cleaners are sold in the United States every year, a very small percentage of them are robotic vacuums. IRobot has been the only company to offer a robotic cleaner that can pick up dirt without requiring someone to push it around.

IRobot introduced the first Roomba automated vacuum cleaner in 2002. Since then, the company has sold more than 3 million Roombas and the gadget has become a big hit among technophiles looking for a quick fix to daily chores. In 2005, iRobot launched a robotic floor mop called Scooba.

Despite a passionate community of users, Roomba has faced a few criticisms. The gadget uses a randomized algorithm to clean a room, which has led to complaints that it doesn’t always cover an area completely. Roomba has also suffered from a small bin that limits how much it can clean on a single battery charge. That also limits its ability to clean multiple rooms.

Neato can solve some of those problems, says the company, because it is smarter. The device has a mapping technology that allows it to get a 360-degree view of a room. When first powered up, Neato maps the details of the room such as the walls, furniture and doorways within a 4-meter range.

So instead of the zigzag pattern that the Roomba uses, the Neato cleans in a precise back-and-forth movement.

But like the Roomba, the Neato can work with both hardwood floors and carpets. Users can also schedule Neato to clean. The robot will automatically return to its docking station once it completes a cleaning cycle or if it needs to recharge its batteries.

The D-shaped Neato also has a low profile — it is about 4 inches high — so it can slide under beds, couches and other crevices easily.

But unlike the Roomba, the Neato comes in only one flavor and a single price tag. The Neato costs $400, while the cheapest version of the Roomba is $130. The Neato will start shipping in February.

See Also:

• Long Exposure Shows Weblike Roomba Light-Trail
• Roomba Tweak for Neat Freaks
• Hack: Control Roomba Vacuum Cleaner Using Wii Fit
• Roomba Maker Will Build Blob Bots
• Researchers Tweak Roomba to Respond to Emotions

Photo: Neato Robotics