Hasta La Gadget!

Pancakes? No problem. Cookies? You got it! Sandwich? …is there a Subway near by? Why robots have such a hard time slapping meat and cheese on bread is beyond us, but we’re glad the crack team at the Technical University of Munich has finally figured out how to teach them. The dynamic duo of James and Rosie don’t exactly blaze through their task of making a sandwich and some popcorn, but at least they’re nice enough to toast the bread for your salami- and cheese-based chow. As usual, the moves here are not preprogrammed, the two bots make decisions on the fly based on a complex “reasoning” mechanism and data it can cull from a Kinect. Check out the videos below to watch two carefully construct a simple, layered lunch.

Continue reading Robots finally able to follow ‘make me a sandwich’ command (video)

Robots finally able to follow ‘make me a sandwich’ command (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It seems impossible, but we live in age when robots can clean our floors for us. You don’t have to be Donald Trump or Emperor of Mars—this is science fact. But which floor-bot is dominant? We have answers. More »

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

Just in time for All Hallow’s Eve shenanigans, scientists at MIT’s DARPA and Boeing funded Chembots program have just introduced an uber creepy self-propelling robot quite capable of leading the robot apocalypse single-handedly. The automaton moves with the help of a pneumatic battery — a power source that utilizes a hydrogen peroxide catalyst to inflate a soft silicone pod, in turn forcing the bot forward. With electropermanent magnets to regulate built-in valves, all it takes is a small current to activate the bot, which can regulate just how much H202 it will employ for a completely solo and super creepy zombie-like C-walk. Jump past the break to check out the video… if you dare.

Continue reading Self-moving robot leads automatons in impending robot apocalypse (video)

Self-moving robot leads automatons in impending robot apocalypse (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Oct 2011 18:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We already know that Siri can send texts, check the weather or find you a restaurant, but did you know she can also fetch you a beer. Well, sort of… with a little hacking. The folks at Redpepper dreamed up Beeri, an RC truck that cracks open a can of brew whenever it receives a tweet instructing it to “pour.” Since you can text updates to Twitter (40404) and Siri can text, that means it’s perfectly simple to tell Beeri it’s Miller time. Whenever the Arduino embedded in the truck detects a mention with the word “pour,” it drives forward, slamming a beer can into a puncture wall that drips into a funnel, filling a cup beneath the table top. It’s a pretty ingenious system, and you can see it in action after the break. We just hope Beeri has a day job — looking at all that head, it’s clear she wouldn’t last a day as a bartender.

Continue reading Beeri: Siri’s new best friend cracks open a cold one (video)

Beeri: Siri’s new best friend cracks open a cold one (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Oct 2011 15:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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