Eclectic Views

    
Catchall topic - everything from stupid robot tricks to news about 
important developments in robotics.
  

    
Here's a pair of more or less self-explanatory links from Engadget...

State of the art prosthetic arm
<http://www.engadget.com/2007/04/28/darpas-prosthetic-challenge-nets-first-prototype/>

Getting around by shaking your tail
<http://www.engadget.com/2007/04/28/sicksack-robotic-snake-slithers-through-robocup/>
  

    
Another new prosthetic, this time an ankle.  (Apparently it's been a good
year for ankles.)

<http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/03/sparky-the-prosthetic-ankle-set-to-revolutionize-prosthetics/>

New key phrase to keep an eye peeled for: regenerative kinetics.
  

    
How far can you go with LEGO's NXT kit?

<http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/01/lego-johnny-five-is-kinda-alive-needs-input/>
  

    
You might not agree with all of the selections, although it's a pretty
interesting collection...

http://www.newlaunches.com/archives/top_5_robots_of_2006.php

I particularly like the walkbot...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOoxa-W9afE
  

    
Robots racing around a city for real prize money...

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-6142278.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=zdnet
  

    
Boing Boing mentions the book "Almost Human: Making Robots Think",
by Lee Gutkind...

http://www.boingboing.net/2007/05/12/lee_gutkind_almost_h.html

My own take:  Making machines look like humans is trivial.  Making them 
capable of human-like movement is harder, but already happening.  Making 
them capable of trustworthy autonomous operation in an uncontrolled 
environment is the step that will transform robotics from a curiosity to 
an industry on the same scale as the automotive industry.  Making them 
think is the Holy Grail, but what might result is anyone's guess.
  

    
At the just completed Robo Business Conference & Expo, iRobis announced
that they are well along towards having a "complete cognitive software
system" for robots.

\<a href="http://www.roboevent.com/";>Robo Business\</a>
\<a href="http://www.irobis.com/";>iRobis (Institute of Robotics in Scandanavia AB)\</a>
\<a href="http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/17/irobis-touts-complete-cognitive-software-system-for-robots/";>via Engadget\</a>
  

    
At Bryn Mawr, all the young women in their Introduction to Computing
course gets a robot.

http://www.brynmawr.edu/news/2007-04-19/robots.shtml
  

    
Heard of Roomba and Scooba?  Well, here's the basic platform that you can
extend however you like, iRobot Create...

http://www.botmag.com/articles/irobot_create.shtml

Follow this link to see Honda's Asimo busting some moves at the Consumer
Electronics Show...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfaAiujrX_Y

And this one to get a glimpse of Dean Kamen's new robotic prosthetic arm...

http://www.boingboing.net/2007/05/17/a_closer_look_at_dea.html
  

    
Remember a couple of years ago, when tech publisher O'Reilly introduced
Make Magazine, which caters to hands-on hobbyists?

Well, Make has spawned the Maker Faire, about which Engadget has good things
to say, supported by a nice collection of photos.

Links follow in reverse order of reference...

<http://www.engadget.com/photos/maker-faire-2007-robots-lots-of-robots-and-other-fun-stuff/>

<http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/19/maker-faire-2007-robots-lots-of-robots-and-other-fun-stuff/>

<http://makerfaire.com/>

<http://makezine.com/>

<http://oreilly.com/>
  

    
Failure to assimilate the Terminator scenario...

<http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/24/firescout-robot-deathcopter-passes-engine-testing/>
  

    
You might not think of autonomous vehicles as robots - since they don't
have arms and legs, nor necessarily anything resembling a head - yet 
that's exactly what they are, robots, because they combine the essential
ingredients: sensory input, processing of that input, and flexible
behavior based on the results of that processing.

And, as already mentioned above, DARPA is so keen on advancing the state 
of the art of autonomous vehicles that they're offerring real money for 
the top three finishers in what will be the third in their Challenge 
series of competitions.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/02/darpas-grand-challenge-goes-urban/

The article at the following link describes one of the entrants in that 
competition...

<http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/28/self-driving-marvin-suv-gets-set-for-darpas-urban-challenge/>
  

    
In the Transformers movie preview, there's one particularly fabulous
transformer that, well transforms mightily, and a guy says, "Wow, that
must be a Japanese one."  Got the biggest laugh in the theater.
  

    
A robot named Hubo has become the first to ride a segway-like scooter.  

<http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/illegal-in-tennessee/hubo-the-first-robot-to-ride-a-segway-265301.php>

Strictly speaking, a Segway might also be considered a robot.

<http://www.segway.com/>
  

    
The Iconoclasts series on Sundance featured the creator of the Segway
with Isabella Rosselini.  I was amazed at the wonderful things this guy
has created, like super wheelchairs.
  

    
He's a bright guy with interesting dreams and a knack for making them come
true.  My kind of hero!
  

    
This might not be terribly practical in its current form, particularly 
considering the price, but it's a big step in an interesting direction,
robotic leg extenders...

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/15/matsushita-to-sell-power-pedal-robotic-legs/
  

    
RoboGames 2007 coming up...

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/15/robogames-2007-to-commence-in-san-francisco/
  

    
Lest we get too distracted by developments with entertainment value, here's
a link to the website of the Technical Committee on Service Robots of the 
Robitcs and Automation Society, which tracks the progress of utilitarian 
robitics...

http://www.service-robots.org/
  

    
From http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/21/congress-calls-for-robot-caucus/

> Congressmen Mike Doyle and Zach Wamp have called for the first robot
> caucus to convene in Washington. Spurred into action by the idea that
> "the robotics industry is developing in much the same way as the
> computer business did 30 years ago", Doyle hopes to promote robot
> awareness, work on robot policy, and educate Congress on issues in
> robotics to ensure "that our nation remains globally competitive".
> Wamp added that he looks forward to the caucus's first order of
> business: identifying which congresspeople are, in fact, robots
> themselves.

I have one message for that caucus:

While bringing to bear the benefits of robotics,
don't miss the oppotunity to improve over current practices -
for example in the field of agriculture,
where rising petroleum product costs are conspiring with soil depletion
to bring production down dramatically a decade or two from now -
remembering that robotics is essentially the infusion of technology
with a glimmer of intelligence.
  

    
>> identifying which congresspeople are, in fact, robots themselves

There's some that aren't?
  

    
RoboCup 2007 comes to Atlanta...

<http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/04/the-sights-and-sounds-of-robocup-2007/>

Includes these links:
<http://robocup.bowdoin.edu/blog/>
<http://www.flickr.com/groups/robocup/pool/>
<http://youtube.com/results?search_type=search_videos&search_query=RoboCup&search_sort=video_date_uploaded&search_category=0&search=Search&v=>
  

    
Engadget mentions a horticultural robot that does weeding...

<http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/05/hortibot-the-autonomous-gps-enabled-weed-eradicator/>

Here's the company's website...

http://www.hortibot.dk/
  

    
Once again, Engadget's got the story first -- new four-legged commercial 
robot that looks vaguely like a dog...

<http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/09/aibo-lives-meet-bj-without-the-sony-bugbear/>

I haven't even been able to locate a website for aXi, the maker of this 
pooch.
  

    
Another robopooch...

<http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/11/robudog-fetches-plays-dead-has-wifi/>

Vaguely humanform robot does useful work...

<http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/11/yaskawa-electric-puts-robot-on-package-sorting-duty/>

Three-armed handy-bot...

<http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/12/esas-three-armed-space-robot-passes-weightless-test/>