Evolution of Robotics

Project Hexapod- Catch a Ride on a Six legged Robot

2012-08-07T00:27:00.000-07:00

A team of engineers came together and decided they wanted to build and ride a giant robot. Stompy is an open-source, 18ft wide, 4,000 pound, ride-able 6-legged hydraulic robot. At an estimated cost of 65k the team is looking for volunteer donations. These will receive their fair reward. With small amounts you can receive stickers, photos and T-shirts of this beast. For $200 Stompy will live up to his name and crush any inanimate, non-volatile object of your choosing. Project Hexapod will even post a video of the destruction on YouTube for the world to enjoy. But, wait, it gets better. Cough up $300, and you'll get to ride the 18-foot wide steel beast. Jump to a cool grand and they'll let you man the controls.

Transforming Car into Walking Robot

2012-08-04T08:52:00.000-07:00

After watching so many transformers movies on the big screen, you have to wonder; does any thing like this exist in real-life? At full size, displaying that much energy output on such a massive scale would certainly have to be powered by radio active fusion. With plutonium and uranium being just out of reach, hobbyists stick to servos and battery packs. With a design similar to Bumble Bee, Kenji Ishida of JS Robotics built is own toy transformer. This is his 7th of 9 different models. Here's to hoping a crazed billionaire crosses his path and funds a full size mech they can sit inside of.

Fully Automatic Butchers

2012-07-11T18:29:00.001-07:00

Industrial robots have fulfilled their calling with automating production of cars and other consumer technology. What about tearing into a new flock of chores like cutting meat. Not a perfect science, but it can be done. Watch as a machine debones chickens 10x's faster than human speed and another decapitates hogs at a jaw dropping rate. These videos are graphic and I apologize before hand if you can no longer eat sausage.

Mech Warrior Goes BIG Online

2012-06-17T00:11:00.003-07:00

Thought you could use a taste of the elaborate imagination of Mechwarrior. With Mechs, size does count. For now, only a video game can take you there.

Origami + Robotics = Oribotics

2012-06-13T12:33:00.002-07:00

Matthew Gardiner of Austria Germany has created a new form of artwork he terms Oribotics. Meshing his pleated origami flower with servo base, he's been able to animate his artwork. Using a light sensitive resistor the flower opens and closes with exposure. Surprising the Japanese didn't come up with this first. Another one of Matthew's great works is a life size house folded from a 1 kilometer sheet of paper.

Chip Shooters- The Robots that Make Computers

2012-06-12T18:29:00.001-07:00

Chip Shooter Turret with Rotary Nozzle

My curiosity with 3D printers has led to a fascination with PCB's or printed circuit boards. Besides motherboards and electronics are the brains behind the operation or robots. Future 3D printers should be capable of printing complete circuits all spit from the same head without a tool change. Adrian Bowyer the inventor of Rep Rap has gone into printing with solder on a very basic level. There is much to be desired in this area.

The pinacle in this area of technology rests with the chip shooters. SMT or surface mount technology is taking the chips and placing them in the perfect spot on the board, and in preferably the least amount of time. Fuji and Siemens seem to be the front runners here, just as Ford and Chevy are to trucks, or Honda and Toro are to commercial lawn mowers.

Here to demonstrate this speed of this technology, the Fuji CP-643 laying it down at 40,000 chips per hour:

The Amazing World of Animatronics

2012-05-30T17:52:00.002-07:00

If this image is shocking, it has served it's purpose. Behind the most thrilling movies are the great minds who pull the stings, the puppeteers, the animatronic artisans. With GC continuing to push the illusion of reality, it doesn't yet compare to this physical medium.

I'm huge fan of Dub Step music. It seem to go so seamlessly with animatronics. And so it should. This is an eclectic artwork. There is no one right way to build these bots. Mold some plastic, strap on some servos, grab the remote, and a make a baby come to life... I digress.

I imagine lifetimes of labor that go into building these electronic lifeforms. Here is presented amongst others, some of the outstanding works of John Nolan

Keep your Eye On Myon the Intelligent Interactive Robot

2012-05-29T11:53:00.001-07:00

The Myon project is aimed at understanding how robots could gain and develop language skills. For that, it needs to interact easily with human partners and so it’s been given the rough size and shape of a young child.

Myon is completely modular. Each limb is self powered and controlled. This comes in extremely handy when swapping out parts for repairs. It uses multiple cross-links amid the body parts that keep it from malfunctioning despite any damage to its system. and is able to behave normally even when a cable or some electronic part refuses to function.

The name Myon is derived from Makrolon®, the polycarbonate newly discovered by Bayer. The robot is surrounded by this material to protect the electronics inside.

Swumanoid The Swimming Humanoid Robot

2012-05-25T13:44:00.000-07:00

Researchers Chung Changhyun and Motomu Nakashima at the Tokyo Institute Technology have developed a robot that can faithfully reproduce a swimmer’s body motion while measuring water resistance. SWUMANOID (Swimming Humanoid), is to be presented at the Aero Aqua-Biomechanisms Symposium (ISABMEC 2012) in Taiwan this August.Although swimming is a popular sport, there’s still much to be discovered.

Normally researchers analyze video footage of a real swimmer, but the problem is repeatability. The SWUMANOID can perform exactly how the researchers want it to, allowing them to repeat tests or make slight adjustments to better understand water resistance and propulsion. Furthermore, the robot can wear a swimsuit to determine its impact – facilitating the development of performance-enhancing swimwear.

To create the robot, the researchers first performed a 3D body scan of a real person. A 1/2 scale model was built using 3D printed parts. The robot was then outfitted with 20 water-proof motors, and programmed with the necessary motions to reproduce realistic crawl, breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly, and even dog paddling for treading water.Due to its smaller size, the robot is slower than a real person. It takes 2 minutes 36 seconds to swim a hundred meters. In the future, the team would like to build a life-sized robot that will have even more degrees of freedom to better model a swimming human.

How to Survive a Robot Apocalypse!

2012-05-24T23:04:00.002-07:00

When my search for the newest in robot technology has gotten way too serious I come right back to this video.

As the following explains; everyone is expecting zombies to spread and take over the world. What about robots? They are the much more likely assassin here.

Daniel H. Wilson was interviewed to find out exactly how to survive a robot uprising. Daniel is the world's foremost authority on the subject and NY Times bestselling author of the book, "Robopocalypse."

Reconstruction of Brain Signal Activity

2012-05-21T15:33:00.001-07:00

Ever thought it would be sweet to relive a perfect dream. Woken up from that moment that would have been perfect to go back to. Or even just play a video game using your brain alone. Ideas like this sound like something contrived from the matrix. Plug your mind into the system. Nothing's real here.

Well the first thing science has to figure out is how to interpret thought. Your brain is like a circuit board switching connections with electrical activity. Why can't we tap in, and see what's going on. A breakthrough has taken place where subjects were made to watch a series of Youtube videos and their thoughts or the electrical impulses were recorded. The averages of this group was run through a program and interpreted back into video. While somewhat blurred, they give a clear image as to how far the technology has come.

PR2 Picasso Paints a Self Portrait

2012-05-21T14:43:00.003-07:00

I never cease to be impressed with the updates coming from PR2. Playing Pool, Plugging itself in, Folding clothes, Scanning and Bagging groceries, and now a self portrait. Asimo has nothing on you bro! PR2 is a boss with ROS (robotic operating system). G Code was used to control the position of the marker. It's the same code I interpret my STL files into for my RepRap 3D printer with Skeinforge. Sorry for Nerding out with the Jargon. Robots are my drug.

Google Pushing to Legalize Self Driving Vehicles

2012-05-15T21:18:00.001-07:00

Car accidents cause nearly 50,000 deaths each year in the US. Whether impaired, reckless youth, or even skilled veteran, we must admit no human is the perfect driver. Subject to distraction, emotion, delusion, inebriation, etc. There is too much room for error and precious lives to lose. For this reason our future is slowly being placed into the hands of the more precise and automated controls of computers and robots. Google, at the forefront of technology, has already logged hundreds of thousands of unmanned driving miles on the road ahead. They've helped to legalize Self-Driving cars in Nevada and are lobbying to do the same in other states.

Imagine the conversations you'll enjoy with the drivers seat flipped around facing your passengers, allowing your car to chauffeur you to your next destination. All the more time to be spent on social networking and youtube. The future is bright indeed.

Your Lawn Mower is a Robot! -He Just hasen't told you yet.

2012-05-10T11:36:00.003-07:00

A robot is a machine that is capable of completing and aiding in tasks that would otherwise be preformed by humans. Lawn mowers and other gas powered yard equipment are close cousins of the common robot. Rather than being electronically controlled, these machines are purely mechanical.These one cylinder engines are controlled by a carburetor that monitors RPMs and feeds fuel accordingly.

Robots generally use a variety of sensors to get feed back from the environment. They use the information to interact in a favorable manner. A Lawnmower's speed is determined by a governor. In earlier models it consisted of a fin placed alongside the flywheel that's blown outward, throttling the carburetor as the mower accelerates. Newer models do this by determining the internal speed of the engine through centripetal force exerted on an internal component in the crankcase.

In order to cut grass efficiently the lawn mower must maintain RPMs or Rotations (of the blade) Per Minute. Going through high or thicker grass produces more resistance, slowing the engine. Linkage attached to the governor opens the entrance to the carburetor allowing more air and fuel to enter the cylinder to be consumed. The RPMs are stabilized through the load presented by the grass, and the mower pushes through cutting without much hesitation.

5 years experience with lawn mowers has shown me that 90% of repair work consists of cleaning out the carburetor. With holes much less than a millimeter in diameter routing gas, the carb becomes an easy target for any amount of debris. Following a general maintenance procedure will address many issues:

Remove and disassemble the carburetor.
Clean and spray Carb Cleaner through every channel.
Push a staple or wire though smaller holes to ensure they are clear.
Blow out every hole with compressed air.
Reassemble and replace carburetor on engine.

Real robotic mowers exist, but because of costs are a little less popular than your normal push. If you have 2K to drop and are tired of running though the grass of your lawn, check out the Robomow. Much like the Roomba it can be programed to work at a certain hour of the day and stay within your set boundaries.

Rep Rap Prusa Mendel 3D Printer Robot

2012-05-10T10:25:00.000-07:00

This blog of bots has been put on the back burner for a bit, but all for good reason. After 6 months of building and waiting for parts to arrive, I have finally completed building a Mendel Prusa 3D Printer. I've wanted one of these since I writing my first article about them. Do you know what this means? I can print what ever I want out of plastic. Go to Thingiverse.com and you'll find thousands of things you can have in your hands by simply downloading and printing. I've been designing a custom robot for over 5 years now with Solid Works, and I finally have the chance to see it built. This guy printed his own robot hand, so it may not be as much of a challenge.

Taking an engineering class I started earlier this simester and I brought my half way finished printer in. With my poor attendance I didn't have much of a chance of passing. I showed my teacher my printer and asked if I could use it for extra credit. His response- Finish that and I'll give you an A. Last week I presented it printing a simple calibration piece and the class loved it.

The beauty of this machine is printer itself is made from another printer- Hence the nick name Rep Rap or Rapid Replicator. All the black plastic parts you see below are PLA plastic printed by another printer just like this one. You can build one of your own for around $750. I found simple instructions to building a Prusa Mendel 3D Printer. I also found a friend to print the plastic parts for me and bought the chips and stepper motors from Ultimachine. All the threaded and smooth rods, bolts and nuts can be found at Mcmaster. I recommend buying 6' foot rods and cutting them down to the shorter lengths to save money. The next few blogs will include tips and tricks to building one of these yourself, so subscribe and keep posted.

Ramps 1.4 with an Arduino board- The Electronics to control the Printer

Cheetah- The Fastest Quadruped Mammal and Robot

2012-04-13T17:15:00.000-07:00

Boston Dynamics, the same company that introduced the Justin Robot and Pet Man, are now setting a new speed record. The Cheetah was green backed by the US Military and DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency).

While quadrupeds have been notoriously slow, this new Cheetah robot has been clocked at 18 mph land speed. At this pace it may be outrun a human, but not live chetah who are clocked at 70- 75mph in the wild.

Don't be Shrewd toward the Shrewbot

2012-04-11T16:54:00.000-07:00

Many robots operate through sensors of vision and sound. Navigating through a burning building filled with smoke would be nearly impossible relying on sight alone. The Bristol Robotics Laboratory has developed a robot much like the shrew with sensors resembling whiskers. Exploring the world through touch alone this blind might just find a soft spot in your heart.

US Spends 40 Billon on Robotic War Drones

2011-12-29T06:54:00.000-08:00

Where has our supposed utopian robotic future gone? Research and advances in technology cost more than they're worth. That's why the reason to spend must be incredibly clear. There is no more noble of a cause than to save lives. That's a perfect reason to spend 40 Billion dollars on unmanned killer drones. Let's follow the money trail to the owner of the deepest pockets. Please watch this video and learn.

Virginia Tech's CHARLI Takes RoboCup 2011

2011-12-19T08:17:00.000-08:00

The Robocup started in 1997 with 37 teams in Japan and now caters to over 500 teams from around the globe. Robots are separated into size categories including small, teen, kid, and adult. Classifying in the adult category this year was Virginia Tech's CHARLI (short for Cognitive Humanoid Autonomous Robot with Learning Intelligence). CHARLI Weighs in at 27 pounds, and is powered by 29 motors, and assembled with only 276 parts. CHARLI won the RoboCup 2011 adult class for the US. Watching the tournament, his gait was steady and stride twice as fast as competitors. Also taking home a US win was team Darwin-OP kid class robots.

Quadrocopters Take on Blind Juggling

2011-12-18T08:02:00.000-08:00

From the same research that brought you Flight Assembled Architecture, ETH Zurich turns out a few clowns that like to juggle. These flying machines are restricted to a netted circus tent to test their fast-paced motions. Inside these safety nets are eight high precision Vicon cameras mounted on the ceiling to provide millimeter accuracy to pinpoint the robot's exact location. As soon as they start saving babies from burning brick buildings, Give me a call.

Ping Pong Playing Robots

2011-12-06T10:15:00.001-08:00

The skills of China’s table tennis players are virtually unmatched. However, they may soon face competition in the form of two humanoid robots that have been programmed to serve, return and score. They made their debut on Sunday at east China’s Zhejiang University, where they played games of table tennis with each other and with human players.

“Wu” and “Kong” are 1.6 meters tall and weigh 55 kg each. The robots track tennis table balls using eye-mounted cameras, predicting the movement of the balls and responding accordingly. Human players rely on experience and intuition to track the balls and return them to their opponents. The robots, on the other hand, use a complicated identification and positioning system to perform, according to Xiong Rong, chief designer at the university’s robot lab.

The cameras capture 120 images per second, transmitting the images to the robots’ processors and allowing them to respond appropriately after calculating the ball’s position, speed, angle, landing position and path. It takes just 50 to 100 milliseconds for the robots to respond. Their ability to predict the ball’s landing position is quite accurate, with a margin of error of just 2.5 cm.

2011's Hugo and His Automaton

2011-12-05T14:53:00.000-08:00

Da Vinci's Robotic Knight

Earlier medieval robots are referred to as Automatons. Working more like mechanical wind up clocks than todays circuited bots, they still bring a since of nostalgia of ancient technology. In the 2011's Hugo the a repairs his automaton who then draws out a hidden message from his grandfather. This movie illustrates the passion one might have for an automated machine especially in one's own likeness.

The story relates to Leonardo Da Vinci, who at 12 years old made his own robotic knight. The knight could be either windmill or water powered to play a beat on the drum.

Hugo winding his Automaton

Hugo with Automaton like a young Frankenstein

Have a Ball with this Spherical Robot

2011-12-05T12:57:00.000-08:00

Lets get the ball rolling (or walking in this case) into the future. Dancing it way open and close Zenta's MorpHex gives a new meaning to walk a roll. Designed by Norwegian engineer Kare Halvorsen (aka Zenta) He was able to bring the hexapod to life using 25 servos and device that provides power assistance to operate a control. For now, the MorpHex can crawl and retract back into a ball, but Halvorsen says he'll have to work on the roll.

Robot Mechs Guerrilla Warfare

2011-12-05T12:06:00.001-08:00

Firing plastic balls at each other with automatic airsoft guns, these boys rule the city. Of course the city is a 1/24 scale, but whose counting? It's a game they call Mech Warfare. Check out their Mech Site and hopefully we'll see more of these killer bots.

Flight Assembled Architecture

2011-12-05T10:12:00.001-08:00

Presently viewed as art in an exhibit these quadrocopters could prove the future of building construction. Seen in the video below these copters are laying 1500 foam bricks for a 6 meter (20 foot) twisting tower.

Roboticist Raffaello D'Andrea and architects Fabio Gramazio and Matthias Kohler use four flying robots at the same time.First, the robots grab foam bricks from a special brick dispenser on the ground.

Next the quadcopters receive the exact coordinates of where the bricks should go based on a detailed digital blueprint of the tower. Then they fly off.Their vision is to use the technique to construct a vertical building 100 times it's size.

Such a building would be able to house 30,000 people. So in the future when you hear someone say the sky is falling, you can calmly respond- No it's just a flight assembly bot accidentally dropping it's brick. Come to think of it, these could be really dangerous in bad weather. It makes sense they decided to build indoors.