Biz Buzz: Monkeys Make Machines Move With Their Minds 2011.02.17
Posted by fjackal in Biz Buzz.Tags: biz buzz, brain-machine interface, monkeys, robots
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A recent IEEE Spectrum article shows the amazing progress researchers have made lately with brain-machine interface technology. With two implants, one in the monkey’s arm and one in his motor cortex, the monkey is able to control a robotic arm with seven degrees of freedom! It is easy to see that this technology will carry over to humans for a broad range of applications. Most notably, quadriplegics and other disabled individuals will soon be able to walk again with robotic limbs they control with their minds. Yay!
Who’s Who: Jeff Hawkins 2010.12.20
Posted by fjackal in Who's Who: Roboticists.add a comment
Jeff Hawkins sits in front of a copy of his book, On Intelligence
One of the biggest innovators in artificial intelligence today is Jeff Hawkins. Inventor of the Palm Pilot and the Treo Smartphone, Jeff Hawkins decided to turn away from consumer electronics and turn his attention toward solving the problem of advancing machine learning. Hawkins founded a research company called Numenta in 2004 and published a book, “On Intelligence”, that same year. The book makes the case for studying neurobiology to build a model for intelligent systems. His Hierarchical Temporal Model (HTM) algorithm has the potential to revolutionize the computer and robotics industries. (more…)
Biz Buzz: Personal Robotics Industry To Reach $19 billion in 2017 2010.12.17
Posted by fjackal in Biz Buzz.Tags: personal robotics
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The personal robotics industry is currently growing at a rapid pace. Earlier reports pointed to the personal robotics industry reaching a market value of $5 billion by 2015. ABI Research has recently conducted a study which predicts that the Personal Robotics Industry will reach $19 billion within six years. Among the top applications of personal robotics which are growing the industry include security, telepresence, and home cleaning applications.
Biz Buzz: Motoman’s DA Is On the Case 2008.10.1
Posted by fjackal in Biz Buzz.Tags: industrial robotics, motoman, stir fry, yaskawa
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Humanoid industrial robot DA120
Motoman has been shaking up the industrial robotics industry with their latest humanoid offering, the DA120. This particular bot has 7 degrees of freedom per arm, and another additional degree of freedom at the base on a rotational axis. Since it is two-armed, compact, and molded after the human form, it is dynamic and can perform a huge, diverse set of tasks. Equipped with custom programming software, the robot can easily fill a slot on an assembly line that requires precision work, such as wiring cable, applying glue, or stir fry(yeah, I had to go there)…The arms are very agile, and are depicted playing the drums in a parade around Japan on YouTube.
Motoman, a subsidiary of the Yaskawa Electric Corporation, has had a long standing in the robotics industry, with patents in the field dating back to 1969. Many of their robotics have been used in the auto industry, and over 180,000 of their machines have been installed around the world.
Who’s Who: Rodney Brooks 2008.09.28
Posted by fjackal in Who's Who: Roboticists.Tags: heartland robotics, iRobot, rodney brooks
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Rodney Brooks is credited as being a major contributor and proponent of the Subsumption architecture that deals with the way in which robots handle tasks. Essentially, the architecture builds “layers” of small, simple tasks to perform autonomous behavior. This has allowed robotics to achieve fast speeds in performing tasks, but has been criticized for its lack of accuracy. Much of his research in robotics has been at MIT, where he has worked since the 1980′s. Recently, Rodney Brooks made headlines in the robotics industry by leaving iRobot, one of the world’s largest robotics corporations, as Chief Technical Officer to start his own venture dubbed Heartland Robotics. He is one of the most prominent roboticists around, and it will be interesting to see just what sort of projects and creations will be coming out of this newfound company.
America Falling Off the Flat Earth 2008.08.4
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We as a nation must wake up! I’m becoming increasingly aware of the tremendous shortcomings our educational system has and the impact it will continue to have on the American economy. I’ve just been privvy to a fantastic academic article published by the National Academies of Science and Engineering titled, “America Is Falling Off the Flat Earth”. (more…)
VEX: My First Bot? 2008.07.31
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A VEX intermediate kit bot
I’m exhaustively researching which hobby bot I should buy first to kickoff my career. There are a myriad of choices out there, with companies pawning robot kits pouring out of the woodwork to feed the high demand in this area. One of the leaders that has emerged, it seems, is VEX Robotics. They sponsor high school and middle school programs around the country and promote simple, educational kits that are great for beginners.
I was drawn to the company originally by their recently released ‘VEXPlorer’. The VEXplorer is a kit bot that contains six wheels, a gripping claw, and a wireless camera which can broadcast to any TV. This kit also includes stripped down “CAD” software called Softworks. Essentially, Softworks contains computerized models of all the parts that VEX produces…so you can design your robot in 3D on your computer before you even start to build it…That’s pretty powerful stuff! (more…)
Servo Slang: Linear Actuator 2008.07.31
Posted by fjackal in Servo Slang.Tags: components, glossary, linear actuator, robotics
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A linear actuator is a device that transfers rotational energy into linear motion. This is usually achieved by threading a round gear into a grooved shaft. Upon rotating the “handle”, energy is guided and forced into a linear motion. Examples include car jacks and jack screws. Their application in robotics should be apparent, as motion along a linear axis is often accomplished through a linear actuator.
Who’s Who: Takeo Kanade 2008.07.31
Posted by fjackal in Who's Who: Roboticists.add a comment
Takeo Kanade is a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. His official title is the Director of Quality of Life Technology Engineering and he has been an integral part of the campus since 1980. His greatest accomplishments are in the area of computer vision and IU (Image Understanding).
According to Kanade in his CMU profile at http://www.ri.cmu.edu/people/kanade_takeo.html , the most successful examples of IU involve the Factorization Method and the Multi-Baseline Stereo Method. Using Factorization, a 3D model of a scene or object is created by simply recording a scene through video. The Multi-Baseline Stereo method, on the other hand, uses multiple camera angles to produce a dense depth map of a natural scene. This works like a 3D camera. (more…)
Robonova – Wow! 2008.07.30
Posted by fjackal in Hobby Bots.add a comment
- The acrobatic robonova hobbyist android
This is one incredibly dynamic hobbyist robot! Just watched a YouTube video of this at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufQf6wyhyAs . It’s a wonderfully orchestrated video of 6 of these things performing synchronized dance routines to background music. In the video, these flexible, double-jointed robots showcase somersault and cartwheel abilities as well as stretches and small jumps. They run just $900 for a kit! What a bargain…Apparently, this robot is used quite often in the RoboGames competitions and frequently win medals. RoboGames is also home of the famous ”BattleBots” arena style fighting. Hopefully, this will become one of my first hobby kit robots…I’d love to see what I could program it to do.
