Category: Robot technology

The EU Joint-Action Science and Technology project (JAST) is developing robots that can engage in joint activities with humans or other robots, to complete tasks through teamwork. Their latest demonstration (see video above) shows their progress with a robot that observes and predicts a human working on a project. The robot identifies the components the human is using and the likely result of assembling the components. The robot then assists the human with the work, locating parts as they are needed, and providing them to the human. The idea is to give robot the capacity for "observation and mirroring (resonance)".

The ability to scale walls and hang off the ceiling with gecko-like ease may be within reach - for robots at least. Metin Sitti and Ozgur Unver of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, say their new robots - a sticky-tracked wall climber and a 16-legged ceiling walker - could tackle many jobs in the home including painting ceilings and clearing cobwebs. They could also play a part in exploration, inspection, repair and even search and rescue.

But Bilge Mutlu and colleague's team at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, have robots that "leak" non-verbal information through eye movements when interacting with humans. The eyes of a robot may not provide a window into its soul, but they can help humans guess the machine's intentions.

Humans constantly give off non-verbal cues and interpret the signals of others – but without realising it at a conscious level, says Mutlu. The trembling hands of a public speaker betray their nerves even before a word is uttered, while poker players leak subtle signs such as eye flickers or twitches that can be used to spot bluffers.

But when faced with a robot all our interpretive skills are irrelevant. Robots leak no information, so it is virtually impossible to read their intentions, which makes them hard to get along with.

Using magnetic fields to remotely power and control microscopic machines.

Steven Rainwater got to spend some time at Hanson Robotics and his photos will give you an idea what a typical day working at Hanson Robotics is like. The day he was there, everyone was preparing androids and other robots for an upcoming TED conference. In the photo above Bill Hicks is integrating an eye assembly into the head of Hanson's newest android, known as Bina. Lots more photos of crazy, creepy, android stuff on robots.net.

Petman is the name of a new bipedal humanoid robot by Boston Dynamics. The Protection Ensemble Test MANnequin will be "the first anthropomorphic robot that moves dynamically like a real person.” PETMAN is designed to test the suits used by soldiers to protect themselves against chemical warfare agents. It has to be capable of moving just like a soldier -- walking, running, bending, reaching, army crawling -- to test the suit's durability in a full range of motion. To really simulate humans as accurately as possible, PETMAN will even be able to "sweat". Additionally, PETMAN must be the same size and weight as an average human man,

This video demonstrates a robot creating an origami crane. Be sure to watch it all the way through for the last few seconds.

Researchers at Brown University have created a robot that recognizes human gestures such as 'stop' and 'follow'.

Researchers at Germany's Ilmenau University of Technology are developing flying quadcopter robots that can be used to form a self-assembling ad-hoc wireless network in the event of disaster. Built with off-the-shelf parts (including VIA's Pico-ITX hardware and a GPS unit) the robots are designed to provide both mobile phone and WiFi access -- and they can do it far more quickly than a technician on the ground might be able to.

The device comes in a kit for €300 (about $380), which includes all but the battery -- the batteries currently run around €1,000 (over $1200) and only offer up 20 minutes of flight time. Once the device has found a perch, however, it can operate for "several hours."

Kokoro, a Japanese firm, offers Actroids for rent to greet customers and provide information in up-market coffee shops, office complexes, and museums or "old houses". The Actroid series has been jointly developed by Japanese entertainment firm Kokoro and Hiroshi Ishiguro, well-known for building a robot doppelgänger of himself. The clip below shows a video of the actroid Repliee Q1 from April 2007.

Now for rent for events, in a five years more available in all countries and all languages, in ten years for consumers, and between 2020 and 2035 we will notice a steady increase of robots in our houses, at our work, in our streets.

This robot hand, developed by the BioRoboticsLab at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, has three fingers, each with two segments, and is controlled by cables attached to a motor in the wrist. The motor is delicate enough that it can even handle objects as fragile as eggs, tomatoes and wine glasses. The egg example is demonstrated halfway through the video.

Three fingers, it’s just the beginning. We will have artificial hands that will play violin, like no human can. Maybe not quite within ten years, but in 2035 it’ll be very normal that a robot can do what humans can.

This mechanical arm and hand uses no more energy than a couple of electric toothbrushes. The arm is supported by adjustable springs that counteract both its own weight and that of the object it is holding, so its motors need less power to hold and move objects. The smaller motors also make the arm lighter, and so less dangerous if it hits a worker.

The team at the BioRoboticsLab at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands that developed the device are now adapting their prototype for use in factories, and hope it could also improve artificial limbs.

We keep working on imitating real people. All components currently being developed in laboratories will finally add up and between 2020 and 2035 we’ll be shaking hands with humanoids like it’s the most normal thing in the world.

This 2 cm microrobot uses surface tension, just like small insects do. It's a hundred times more effective than propeller-driven vehicles.

This robot, the Armar of the Institute for Process Control and Robotics of the University of Karsruhe, puts cups in the dishwasher.

It’s very impressive to see how robots can copy our behaviour. However, dishwashers are designed to be used by humans. As soon as we can robotize this process we’ll start to design dishwasher differently, will they get a wholly different look. Perhaps there will be an installation below the ground, outside or in the attic. Or will everything be ‘blown clean’ piece by piece and cleared away immediately. Anything is possible, as long as we don’t see any dirty dishes and there is always a clean cup available. Maybe a nice design contest for Miele?