I know some of us never want robots to ever have emotions, but I suppose that no one has any qualms about creating a robot that could show emotions. This is the desktop robot known as REETI, and I am not certain what it stands for, but it is a communication robot and a multi-media tool that could be used to convey a very particular type of message. You can watch the video after the jump if you want to get an idea of how this works. The software for REETI allows the user to program emotions and the facial expressions, for the motions of the eyes, ears, and mouth. This can even be done from the iPhone or the iPad. It even has three touch sensors, which allows for the colors in the face to change. I honestly think that this is pretty incredible, as I think we all know that the plain text from an email or text message can be of questionable as far as emotion is concerned. Have you ever read a message and thought someone was angry when they weren’t? I am assuming this is why emotic...
Sometimes it is the simple things in life that you appreciate the most. For example, something that can clean up a ketchup or mayonnaise stain without leaving any trace evidence (for lack of a better word). This is the Furukawa Kikou SWITL robot hand, and I have a video of it after the jump removing an ugly stain. What makes it really interesting is how that it is able to put the stain back, as if the stain was never removed in the first place. Yes, I don’t really see the value of a robotic hand spatula that can move a stain. Especially when I couldn’t help but notice that it looks like the stain was put on some Teflon coated surface. If this is just your ordinary kitchen counter, then it is worth building the rest of this robot’s body to go with the hand if it can do these speedy clean-ups. This is assuming that the robot hasn’t already been built just yet. Apparently, the purpose of this robot arm is to create a robot arm for bakeries who want to handle sof...
I remember seeing pictures from DaVinci’s manuscripts of flying machines. Many of them were ornithopters, flying machines that use the flapping power that birds use to defy gravity. I remember even reading a short story once called “DaVinci Rising” that depicts the Renaissance great actually succeeding in his accomplishment. Festo’s SmartBird is able to replicate the process, and has created a gigantic herring gull that can take off by flapping its wings, and can also land as well. There is no propeller or jet engine required, just the same natural power that sets birds to flight. It is all part of the Bionic Learning Network, adapting natural principles to technology to make things work. As you can see, the SmartBird is about the size of a large Albatross, and has a massive 6.5 foot wingspan. However, it is made of carbon fiber and a polyurethane foam, so it weighs in at about 1 pound. It is powered by a lithium polymer battery, and it has sensors to relay da...
While I was at CES last January, I passed a booth for Cyberdyne. I saw that and wondered: “don’t they know that this is the organization that ended the world in the Terminator movies?” Just to let you know, this company isn’t making Skynet, but it is making some serious exoskeletons that you see here known as the HAL-5. Cyberdyne isn’t stealing from another science fiction film with the name HAL-5. HAL stands for Hybrid Assistive Limb, and the company demonstrated a lower-body suit that is meant for use by health care professionals and factory workers to help with heavy lifting. You can watch the video after the jump. It reminds me of the Equipois X-Ar that we reported on last week to help with repetitive motion working. As I recall, I suggested just making a robot to do the repetitive work. As I also recall, this is the mistake Cyberdyne made in the Terminator films. It looks like this HAL-5 could allow machines to work with us and not dominate us. It ...
Even though I am based in the United States, I am constantly thinking about Japan after the tsunami and earthquake. A while ago, we reported on a snake-like robot known as the Omnitread that is essentially a train of treaded cars that can got through rubble. It is a design that I have seen before in the Firegard, and this model here. This particular device is a self-propelled snakebot developed by Satoshi Tadokoro, and it also has the ability to burrow through collapsed buildings. A light and a camera will show what is buried underneath. There are no treads on this particular thing, but it uses motorized nylon bristles to make it crawl through tight places. It can take very tight turns, and I would imagine that it can return with information needed to perform a rescue. It looks like the designer used a caterpillar for inspiration, and this looks like what a caterpillar would look like if it had legs all over its body instead of just its underbelly. I completely agree with my Sourc...
This is the x-Ar exoskeletal arm from Equipois, and it is designed for lifting. You might think that this thing is designed to be one limb from a Power Loader like in Aliens, but it is not designed to be a strong arm to give you superhuman strength. The purpose of the x-Ar exoskeletal arm is to make repetitious tasks easier. So, if you have the job of moving things from one conveyor belt to another conveyor belt, this will come in handy. It will reduce the strength that your arm normally uses, and I would imagine reduce all the arm-strain that would come from such a job. This is what my Source says, but having a device like this raises a question of why it is needed. After all, if you are trying to use a machine to help a human do a repetitious task, why not simply create a machine to do the repetitious task? I realize that is a huge oversimplification, but I think we are looking at an era where machines are replacing humans at jobs where thinking is not a requirement. Okay, this is...
We have reported on a lot of interesting Power Loader suits before, you know, like the type that were used in Aliens. I still can’t figure out how they did that effect without computer generated effects. I believe that the reason for creating exo-suits is so that you can lift really heavy objects, but the Skeletonics exoskeleton just seems to be made so you can walk around in an exo-suit. I mean, who wouldn’t want that? I definitely think that as far as speed goes, this Skeletonics exoskeleton is for you. You can watch the video after the jump if you want to see a man-robot run. Man, I hope he doesn’t trip. This Skeletonics exoskeleton is also good if you want to flick an empty soda can. There seems to be this option of launching some sort of rocket as well. Clearly, this man was inspired by Aliens, because I remember the Power Loader had a weapon. Actually, it was a blowtorch, and I couldn’t figure out why a Power Loader would have a blowtorch on it. Well, I...