Monday, December 29, 2014

FAA Issues Tips for New Drone Owners



Published on Dec 22, 2014
Did you get a new unmanned aircraft for the holidays? Stay off the naughty list! Learn more: http://www.knowbeforeyoufly.org/ #KnowB4UFly

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Kodomoroid and Otonaroid: Professor Ishiguro's new androids at Miraikan



Published on Jun 24, 2014
From June 25, Miraikan in Odaiba will present an exhibition showcasing the latest innovations in humanoid robotics. The exhibition features a number of robots, including Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro's newest androids.

related story on our website: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014...

Meet Pepper, the Friendly Humanoid Robot



Published on Dec 26, 2014
Pepper is a social humanoid robot designed as a companion for the home. It was created by Aldebaran Robotics and SoftBank. Aldebaran's chief marketing officer Laura Bokobza explains Pepper's capabilities and possibilities.

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Introducing WildCat



Published on Jun 14, 2014
WildCat is a four-legged robot being developed to run fast on all types of terrain. So far WildCat has run at about 16 mph on flat terrain using bounding and.

WildCat is a four-legged robot being developed to run fast on all types of terrain. So far WildCat has run at about 16 mph on flat terrain using bounding and.

US robotics company Boston Dynamics releases new footage of WildCat, its quadruped robot. WildCat is being developed to run fast on all types of terrain. So .

Robot makers at Boston Dynamics have unveiled their latest military-funded creation: a four-legged machine called WildCat that bounds and gallops across the .

Amputee Makes History with APL’s Modular Prosthetic Limb



Published on Dec 16, 2014
A Colorado man made history at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) this summer when he became the first bilateral shoulder-level amputee to wear and simultaneously control two of the Laboratory’s Modular Prosthetic Limbs. Most importantly, Les Baugh, who lost both arms in an electrical accident 40 years ago, was able to operate the system by simply thinking about moving his limbs, performing a variety of tasks during a short training period.

Learn more: http://www.jhuapl.edu/newscenter/pres...

Media contact: Paulette Campbell, (240) 228-6792, paulette.campbell@jhuapl.edu

Credit: JHUAPL

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Navy Develops Shark Shaped Underwater Drone



US Navy GhostSwimmer Shark-Like Unmanned Underwater Vehicle UUV Silent NEMO project


Published on Dec 13, 2014
http://www.navyrecognition.com/index....
The Ghost Swimmer vehicle developed by the Chief of Naval Operations' Rapid Innovation Cell project Silent NEMO undergoes testing during an event at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek - Fort Story. Project Silent NEMO is an experiment to explore the possible uses for a biomimetic device developed by the Office of Naval Research.

Sunday, December 14, 2014

The iRobot Create 2 Programmable Robot is Here!



Published on Dec 12, 2014
From beginner developers to advanced robotics students, Create 2 allows for a variety of programming methods and is totally compatible with your computer or microcontroller. Want to build on to Create and make a whole new robot? We provide you with some starter ideas to do just that. What you do with Create is limited only by your imagination.
www.irobot.com/create

Sunday, December 7, 2014

MIT Builds Robot Cheetah with new Bounding Algorithm



Published on Sep 15, 2014
MIT researchers have developed an algorithm for bounding that they've successfully implemented in a robotic cheetah. (Learn more:http://mitsha.re/1uHoltW)

The key to the bounding algorithm is in programming each of the robot's legs to exert a certain amount of force in the split second during which it hits the ground, in order to maintain a given speed: In general, the faster the desired speed, the more force must be applied to propel the robot forward. In experiments the robot sprinted up to 10 mph and MIT researchers estimate the robot may eventually reach speeds of up to 30 mph.

The MIT Cheetah 2 contains the custom electric motor designed by Jeffrey Lang, the Vitesse Professor of Electrical Engineering at MIT and the amplifier designed by David Otten, a principal research engineer in MIT’s Research Laboratory of Electronics.

This work was supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

MIT Cheetah robot 2 run fast and jump high
http://youtu.be/vUmLwKGiyf8

Sangbae Kim: Inspired by Nature - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSWAb...

Video: Melanie Gonick, MIT News
Additional footage: Hae-Won Park and José-Luis Olivares
Music sampled from "Spooky" by Alastair Cameron
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ala...
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...

Video of the MOSS Robot Construction Advanced Kit



Published on Jun 2, 2014
Designs that give back, see advanced robot kit here: http://bit.ly/1jXFquM

Every purchase supports The Museum of Modern Art.

Bring your very own robots to life with MOSS, a fun, all-ages robot construction system that requires no coding or wires, just your creativity. Power and data are sent through an elegant single button contact, while the ground passes through the steel spheres that connect using the powerful rare earth magnets embedded into the ABS plastic shells. With just one sphere, you make a ball joint; with two spheres, you make a hinge; and with three or four, you create a rigid structure. The function of your design is determined by a simple color-coded system. The green face conducts power; red and brown faces conduct data, red is output, brown is input; the blue pass-through face can pass any signal, either power or data. MOSS creations are powered with a rechargeable lithium polymer battery, rechargeable via micro-USB cable (included). Ages 8 years and up. Made in Colorado, USA.

Zombonitorn 1600 Basic Kit: Includes 16 modules blocks, 56 carbon steel spheres, light sensor, distance sensor, two motors, and a variety of connection pieces and support braces.

Exofabulatronixx 5200 Advanced Kit: Includes 52 modules blocks, 140 carbon steel spheres, two motors, two pivots, two flashlights, two light sensors, two distance sensors, microphone sensor, and a variety of connection pieces and support braces. Also includes the Double Brain Block, which lets you connect your smartphone using Bluetooth so you can play with your robots using a suite of free apps. iOS and Android compatible.

MOSS Robot Construction Kits are featured in the Kickstarter@MoMA Design Store presentation, and were brought to life by 1,578 backers on Kickstarter.

View more Kickstarter items at
http://www.momastore.org/kickstarter

For the love of good design, discover more at
http://www.momastore.org

Become a MoMA Member at
http://www.momastore.org/membership

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Amazon Uses Kiva Robots To Run its Eighth Generation Fulfillment Center




Published on Nov 30, 2014
Mirrored from http://www.businesswire.com/multimedi...

"Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) today unveiled its eighth generation fulfillment center, which utilizes robotics, Kiva technology, vision systems and almost 20 years’ worth of software and mechanical innovations to fulfill holiday orders. The company is currently operating 10 of this new generation of fulfillment centers across the U.S.

“The Amazon fulfillment teams are dedicated to innovating in our fulfillment centers to increase speed of delivery while enabling greater local selection at lower costs for our customers. The advancements in our latest fulfillment centers hit all three of these customer desires while continuing to provide a work environment that is great for employees,” said Dave Clark, Amazon’s senior vice president of worldwide operations and customer service.

Some features of Amazon’s eighth generation fulfillment center include:

* Kiva robots of which Amazon currently has more than 15,000 operating across the U.S.;
* Robo-Stow, one of Earth’s largest robotic arms moving large quantities of inventory for customer order fulfillment;
* New vision systems enabling the unloading and receipt of an entire trailer of inventory in as little as 30 minutes instead of hours; and
* New, high-end graphically oriented computer systems for employees to use while fulfilling orders for customers.

Amazon recently announced it will hire 80,000 seasonal employees to fulfill customer orders this holiday, a 14 percent increase over last year. The company expects that thousands of those employees will stay on in regular, full-time roles."