Hasta La Gadget!

iRobot may still be best known as the creator of the homely Roomba vacuum-cleaning drone, but savvy readers will know the company’s endeavors span a pretty broad range of robot-related activities. One of those has now borne fruit in the shape of a multiyear agreement with the US Navy for the provision of “portable robotic systems” that can identify and dispose of explosives while also performing a bit of reconnaissance work in their spare time. The announcement doesn’t tell us the particular model(s) or number of bots that will be provided, but there is clarification to say that iRobot will be responsible for providing spares, repairs, training, and accessories along with the hardware, with the total revenue for the company potentially swelling to $230 million over the full course of the contract, which lasts through 2015. Our guess is that the “throwable” robot shown off a couple of weeks back would be a good candidate for this task, though we doubt it’ll be thanking us for endorsing it for such perilous work.

iRobot agrees to provide US Navy with bomb disposal and recon bots in a deal worth up to $230 million originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Apr 2011 10:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yours truly knows exactly how determined one has to be to achieve the honor of Eagle Scout, but it’s getting a heck of a lot easier for the more modern offspring of this world. This month last year, we saw the Video Games belt loop sashay into the Cub Scout ranks and make all of the others seem inadequate, and now, there’s yet another award that’ll likely have your nerd-of-a-child clamoring to suit up in blue or brown. The Robotics merit badge was just made official within the Boy Scouts of America, falling nicely into a sect that promotes science, technology, engineering and math. Officials are purportedly expecting some 10,000 or so of the nation’s 2.7 million Scouts to earn this badge within the next dozen months, with those who choose to do so required to “design and build a robot while learning about robot movement, sensors and programming.” Thankfully for aspiring Ben Heckendorns, we’re told that “even some video game controllers can be considered robots,” proving that we’re just one leap of faith away from a bona fide Hacking badge. Hey, they want us to Be Prepared, right?

Robotics merit badge gets official within Boy Scouts of America, Wall-E approves emphatically originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 10 Apr 2011 08:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The latest in a long line of terrifying (and occasionally adorable) pseudo-arachnid robots, Kondo‘s upcoming KMR-M6 is doing more with less. Thanks to a unique spring supported linking leg joint, this hexapedal bug gives you the heebie-jeebies with only two servos per leg. The new leg design lowers build costs while improving performance and stability, and was developed for education, research, and hobbyist markets. The base kit hits Japan next month for about ¥76,000 (about $880) and comes with twelve servos, a control board, a 10.8V 800mAh NiMH battery, software, and a frame with extra space for adding optional, cameras, grippers, or other servo controlled fancies. Although it’s not as lovable as Kondo’s turtle-bot, watching this robo-bug scuttle and march (after the break, if you’re wondering) is far more awesome than it is creepy. It’s another sign of the robot apocalypse, sure, but are you seriously going to let that ruin your Friday, Friday, Friday, Friday?

Continue reading Kondo’s spring-loaded spider robot creeps on the cheap (video)

Kondo’s spring-loaded spider robot creeps on the cheap (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 14:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What happens when a robot with immaculate dexterity comes to grips with a notorious board game from our childhood? Just ask Johns Hopkins University students, who successfully removed the wish bone from an Operation board using the da Vinci Robot. If you’re familiar with the game, you’ll know how incredibly difficult it was to prevent that ear-piercing noise from occurring– even with our tiny fingers. Of course, we should have expected that a robot — especially one capable of folding a tiny paper airplane — would be able to accomplish this feat with such ease. Be sure to peep the pseudo-surgery in video form below the break.

Continue reading da Vinci Robot pwns Operation, deems our childhoods forlorn (video)

da Vinci Robot pwns Operation, deems our childhoods forlorn (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 09:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Even tiny robot hands have to have some fun sometimes–albeit of the tiny variety. The da Vinci surgical robot has taken some time out from its busy schedule of performing remote surgery demos to handcraft a little bit of simple origami. In order to show off the ‘bot’s true skills, Jim Porter, a surgeon based out of Seattle has used da Vinci to craft a paper airplane that’s less than the size of a penny.