6.29.2005
RoboVie soccer robot
This page has several good photos: Vstone and their Robot Football Player !!!This page has specs and video, apparently for last year's model: RoboVie-V.
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Bionic arm
`Bionic' arm brings back sense of touch
From the article:
From the article:
- Jesse Sullivan lost both of his arms at the shoulders, but with the help of a prosthetic hand and a set of rewired nerves, he can now feel--and sense hot and cold--almost as if he had real fingers.
Two years ago, experts thought this advance in technology was at least a decade away. Now they see it as a leap forward in treating victims of stroke, lost limbs and paralysis.
Sullivan, 58, sees it as a step toward his fishing pole.
'That's where I'm going with it,' Sullivan said at a news conference in downtown Chicago announcing the new technology. 'And I think I'll be able to tie my own shoes.'
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HOW-TO: Get the most out of your Sony AIBO
HOW-TO: Get the most out of your Sony AIBO
From the article:
The interesting thing to think about is, "What kind of 'unexpected' things might we be doing with humanoid robots in 10 or 20 years."
From the article:
- Hello there readers! I’m back once again with another HOW-TO article on your gadget needs. This time we’ll be covering the Sony AIBO. For those of you who don’t know what the AIBO is, it’s basically an artificially intelligent robot dog from Sony. What a lot of people don’t know, is how far you can push your AIBO to the limit. From their built in cameras to WiFi capabilities, the AIBO is the perfect tool for someone trying to get the most out of technology.
The interesting thing to think about is, "What kind of 'unexpected' things might we be doing with humanoid robots in 10 or 20 years."
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Robostix expansion board
From a press release:
Gumstix, inc., maker of the world’s smallest full function miniature computers (FFMC), today announced its robostix™ board, the company’s first expansion board specifically designed for robotics.
"The new robostix board meets so many of our design goals, and perhaps dreams,” said Professor Richard Vaughan of the Autonomy (Robotics) Lab in the School of Computing Science at Simon Fraser University (SFU) near Vancouver, Canada, “The overall robotics solution from gumstix gives us complete freedom of movement and an efficient design at such a low cost. We will be using the gumstix in our design and testing of forty robots working together”.
The Autonomy Lab at SFU has standardized on the gumstix connex platform, robostix and cfstix (for WiFi). “These gumstix products have reduced the size, power consumption and student programming time while increasing the robot’s mobility and our control,” continued Professor Vaughan. “Additionally, we are able to use, and make available to everyone, our existing Player software on the gumstix”. Player is an open-source project for robotics interfacing.
In addition to signals from the gumstix motherboard, the robostix expansion board exposes 6 PWM Channels (2x8 bit, 6 programmable), 8 A/D, 24 GPIO, 2 UART at logic levels and an insystem programming port.
Gumstix, inc., maker of the world’s smallest full function miniature computers (FFMC), today announced its robostix™ board, the company’s first expansion board specifically designed for robotics.
"The new robostix board meets so many of our design goals, and perhaps dreams,” said Professor Richard Vaughan of the Autonomy (Robotics) Lab in the School of Computing Science at Simon Fraser University (SFU) near Vancouver, Canada, “The overall robotics solution from gumstix gives us complete freedom of movement and an efficient design at such a low cost. We will be using the gumstix in our design and testing of forty robots working together”.
The Autonomy Lab at SFU has standardized on the gumstix connex platform, robostix and cfstix (for WiFi). “These gumstix products have reduced the size, power consumption and student programming time while increasing the robot’s mobility and our control,” continued Professor Vaughan. “Additionally, we are able to use, and make available to everyone, our existing Player software on the gumstix”. Player is an open-source project for robotics interfacing.
In addition to signals from the gumstix motherboard, the robostix expansion board exposes 6 PWM Channels (2x8 bit, 6 programmable), 8 A/D, 24 GPIO, 2 UART at logic levels and an insystem programming port.
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6.28.2005
TOP 500 List of world's most powerful supercomputers
TOP 500 List of world's most powerful supercomputers, 06/2005
IBM tops the list with 136 Teraflops.
Imagine this kind of power, paired with a petabyte hard disk, sitting on your desk for $1,000 in 2025. That is the power of Moore's Law.
IBM tops the list with 136 Teraflops.
Imagine this kind of power, paired with a petabyte hard disk, sitting on your desk for $1,000 in 2025. That is the power of Moore's Law.
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Linux powers low-cost petabyte-level storage
Linux powers low-cost petabyte-level storage
From the article:
From the article:
- The IA's PetaBox installation comprises about 16 racks housing 600 systems with 2,500 spinning drives, for a total capacity of roughly 1.5 petabytes. Despite its large size, the IA's PetaBox installation draws only about 50kW of power, Saikley says, and is maintained by one full- and one half-time person who spend a disproportionate amount of time working on older systems. "We've improved reliability considerably," Saikley claims.
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Quantum Calculation
Quantum Calculation
From the article:
From the article:
- Vancouver startup D-Wave Systems, however, aims to build a quantum computer within three years. It won't be a fully functional quantum computer of the sort long envisioned; but D-Wave is on track to produce a special-purpose, "noisy" piece of quantum hardware that could solve many of the physical-simulation problems that stump today's computers, says David Meyer, a mathematician working on quantum algorithms at the University of California, San Diego.
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6.27.2005
Robots pushing people out of jobs
Robots replace bodies at WKOW
From the article:
The pace of this kind of thing will be accelerating. For example, in not too long the opening sentence will be, "Though management told us in April it was an outcome they wanted to avoid, it's now clear that Wal-Mart's switch to robotic stores will result in one million pink slips." See also Robots in 2015 and Robots taking jobs.
From the article:
- "Though station management told us in April it was an outcome they wanted to avoid, it's now clear that WKOW's (Ch.27) switch to robotic cameras will result in layoffs. Earlier this week nine camera operators received letters announcing the layoffs and encouraging them to apply to be kept on as a robotics operator."
The pace of this kind of thing will be accelerating. For example, in not too long the opening sentence will be, "Though management told us in April it was an outcome they wanted to avoid, it's now clear that Wal-Mart's switch to robotic stores will result in one million pink slips." See also Robots in 2015 and Robots taking jobs.
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6.26.2005
Robot teachers
This week in robots
From the article:
From the article:
- Rubi, a teacher's assistant at the Early Childhood Education Center in San Diego, is part of an experiment to study how robots and humans interact. Rubi is capable of tracking heads, detecting faces and interpreting basic expressions. Additionally, it can teach songs and--through the touch-screen--conjure up interactive games.
The robot is also animated with Bayesian artificial intelligence, meaning that it compiles data on its past experiences and changes its behavior to try to achieve certain outcomes. In other words, if the kids forget there's a second verse to 'Itsy bitsy spider,' the system will prompt Rubi to prompt them.
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NextFest
HoustonChronicle.com - It's 'NextFest,' where robots meet androids: "Meet the robot lobster and the android that not only smiles, frowns and blinks but also recognizes people and talks back. They're two of the spookier entries at Wired Magazine's annual 'NextFest,' the high-tech carnival at a Chicago convention hall this weekend showcasing futuristic, sometimes uncannily lifelike technology."
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6.23.2005
Robot guards
Japanese robot guards to patrol shops, officesFrom the article:
- In an idea straight out of science fiction, robots could soon begin patrolling Japanese offices, shopping malls and banks to keep them safe from intruders. Equipped with a camera and sensors, the "Guardrobo D1," developed by Japanese security firm Sohgo Security Services Co., is designed to patrol along pre-programmed paths and keep an eye out for signs of trouble.
The 109-cm tall robot will alert human guards via radio and by sending camera footage if it detects intruders, fires, or even water leaks.
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6.22.2005
Business opportunity: Robot detects runway debris
A very good use of robots:
Boy hailed for air safety gadget
From the article:
Boy hailed for air safety gadget
From the article:
- Daryn Murray's Aircraft Debris Protector warns pilots of dangerous material lying on runways before they prepare to land... The detector works by using a camera attached to a remote controlled device which rolls along a small track on the side of the runway. The camera is able to pick out images of any potentially dangerous debris from the ground and send warning messages to aircraft using the runway. The machine can detect debris up to as small as a nut.
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Robots at the World Expo
World Expo Envisions Eco-Utopia
From the article:
From the article:
- The expo is a rich display of technological optimism. Toyota Motor, based near the expo and a major sponsor of the $3 billion event, developed a convoy of next-generation vehicles that meander, driverless, through the 427-acre site that was -- and will remain after the event -- a nature park. Zero-emissions buses, combining the Toyota Prius' hybrid technology with hydrogen fuel cells, shuttle between the 130-plus country and corporate pavilions clustered into a half-dozen 'global commons' areas. Encircling the site, an elevated walkway constructed with wood-chip 'pavement' serves as the main pedestrian artery for the more than 80,000 average daily visitors...
In the future world according to NEDO, outdoor cleaning robots with autonomous moving and garbage-carrying capabilities will work city streets or remove snow. Surgical robots equipped with 3-D stereoscopic video microscopes will assist doctors in delicate procedures, and intelligent autonomous wheelchairs, using GPS and IC tags, will carry the disabled. Various household robots with voice- and face-recognition technology will care for children, help with household chores and secure our homes. And home-run-hitting robots will be able to connect with 100 mph pitches to assist professional ballplayers.
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Robotic planes and helicopters
Tiny Linux Computer Has High Hopes For Robotics Apps
From the article:
From the article:
- A computer-science professor at the University of Essex has created a novel, airborne robotics application. He's combined a $99 Linux single-board-computer, called Gumstix because it's roughly the size of a stick of chewing gum, with a motor and propeller and sent the package aloft, maintaining control via a wireless LAN connection.
'So far we've flown one fixed-wing aircraft and one helicopter,' said Owen Holland, who is also the head of computer-science research at the British school. 'The helicopter development has gone amazingly smoothly. It appears to be stable and it's still reasonably maneuverable. We're now concentrating on achieving visually controlled autonomous flight on a single helicopter.'
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Robot patients
Robot patients help train young doctors
From the article:
From the article:
- At medical schools around the country, students practice treatments that can be life-saving but also difficult and dangerous for the patients. But at the University of Pittsburgh's Wiser Center, no one is put at risk because the 'patients' are robotic dummies.
Dr. Susan Dunmire, an instructor, tests the students' abilities. She runs the computer controlling the robot and provides the voice. 'Help me! I don't feel well!' says Dunmire in her robot voice as students get to work.
How real are the robots? Their pulse rate, heart rhythm and other signs of health can be measured, and they respond to treatment.
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Robots underwater
Local students win U.S. robotics competition
From the article:
From the article:
- Competitors were required to build what's called a ROV, or remotely operated vehicle, which is considered one of the frontiers for engineering... Each team was required to build a robot that could perform a series of tasks in the 12-metre-deep pool at the astronaut training facility at the Johnson Space Centre.
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6.20.2005
Robots on the moon
PC World | Japan dreams of robot moon base in 2025
From the article:
From the article:
- Japan wants to help build a lunar base and populate it with advanced versions of today's humanoid robots by around 2025, according to the head of the nation's space agency.
The idea is more than a pipe-dream; it is part of a 20-year plan, called JAXA Vision 2025, that was drawn up by Keiji Tachikawa, a former president of Japan's largest mobile operator NTT DoCoMo, who is now president of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
As part of the plan, Japan would use advanced robotic technologies to help build the moon base, while redeveloped versions of today's humanoid robots, such as Honda Motor Co. Ltd.'s Asimo and Sonys Qrio, could work in the moon's inhospitable environment in place of astronauts, he said in a recent interview.
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Robots reading every license plate
Wired News: Grand Theft Auto Meets Robocop: "An automatic license-plate reader that can scan 500 license plates an hour looking for stolen vehicles underwent its first field tests by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department last week. Using character-recognition technology developed for the Italian Post Office to read postal addresses, four robot eyes in the course of one night queried more than 12,000 license plates, recovered seven stolen cars and resulted in three arrests."
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Constant surveillance
Your ISP as Net watchdog
From the article:"The U.S. Department of Justice is quietly shopping around the explosive idea of requiring Internet service providers to retain records of their customers' online activities.
Data retention rules could permit police to obtain records of e-mail chatter, Web browsing or chat-room activity months after Internet providers ordinarily would have deleted the logs--that is, if logs were ever kept in the first place. No U.S. law currently mandates that such logs be kept."
Employers add staff to read workers' outgoing e-mail
From the article: "Employers are stepping up their efforts to monitor employees, in more cases adding staff whose job it is to read workers' outgoing e-mail."
From the article:"The U.S. Department of Justice is quietly shopping around the explosive idea of requiring Internet service providers to retain records of their customers' online activities.
Data retention rules could permit police to obtain records of e-mail chatter, Web browsing or chat-room activity months after Internet providers ordinarily would have deleted the logs--that is, if logs were ever kept in the first place. No U.S. law currently mandates that such logs be kept."
Employers add staff to read workers' outgoing e-mail
From the article: "Employers are stepping up their efforts to monitor employees, in more cases adding staff whose job it is to read workers' outgoing e-mail."
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Robot hands
US teams join hands to build dexterous robots
From the article: "After years of following increasingly isolated paths, robotics researchers in the United States have agreed on a common goal: making machines that are good with their hands. They hope that a unified scientific front will help them to compete against groups in Asia, where research into humanoid robots has been heavily funded while cash for US projects has dwindled."
See also An advanced robot hand.
From the article: "After years of following increasingly isolated paths, robotics researchers in the United States have agreed on a common goal: making machines that are good with their hands. They hope that a unified scientific front will help them to compete against groups in Asia, where research into humanoid robots has been heavily funded while cash for US projects has dwindled."
See also An advanced robot hand.
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6.18.2005
Korea and robots
Korea Seeks Global Leadership in Robotics
From the article:
From the article:
- Korea on Friday unveiled its plan to become one of the world�s top three in intelligent robotics by 2013....
The plan is divided into three parts. In the first stage from now through 2008, both ministries will concentrate on developing robots that will provide convenient and entertaining services to consumers.
Between 2008 and 2010, they will develop robots to help those in need, including the elderly.
By 2013, the two ministries will develop robots that have feelings and emotions like human beings, termed humanoids.
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6.17.2005
Wal-mart moves one step closer to Manna
Wal-Mart store tells workers to be ready to work any shift
From the article:
And yet, the move in this direction is completely obvious and predicted in the book Manna. Here is what the book says in Chapter 2:
From the article:
- Workers at a West Virginia Wal-Mart (WMT) store have been ordered to be available to work any shift at any time or face dismissal... Workers who cannot commit to being available for any shift between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., seven days a week, will be fired by the end of this week. The store employs more than 400 workers.
And yet, the move in this direction is completely obvious and predicted in the book Manna. Here is what the book says in Chapter 2:
- That ability to blacklist employees is where things got ugly, because it gave Manna far too much power. Manna was everywhere, and it was managing about a half of the workers in the United States through headsets, cell phones and email. Manna moved in and took over a big chunk of the government as well. There came a point where tens of millions of humans did nothing at work unless told to do so by a Manna system.
You can imagine what would happen. Manna fires you because you don't show up for work a couple times. Now you try to go get a job somewhere else. No other Manna system is going to hire you. There had always been an implicit threat in the American economy -- "if you do not have a job, you cannot make any money and you will therefore become homeless." Manna simply took that threat and turned the screws. If you did not do what Manna told you to, it would fire you. Then you would not be able to get a job anywhere else. It gave Manna huge leverage.
For example, Manna could call in reinforcements as it needed them. You would get a call from Manna and it would say, "Your Burger-G restaurant is experiencing unexpected customer volume. Can you help?" The word "help" meant, "Can you be here in less than 10 minutes?" You could say yes or no. The problem was that if you said "no" too many times, you got fired. And when you got fired, it meant you were blacklisted in the system.
Once you figured that out, you were pretty much forced to say "yes". That meant that the printed schedules started to become pretty much irrelevant. Manna would call you when it wanted to call you. Then it started calling you to other restaurants. If things got slow in the restaurant, Manna would send you home, then call you back in later if things got busy again. You really could not say "no" very often, meaning that Manna could interrupt your life at any time.
- The most surprising part of the Manna system, however, was the effect it had on wages. As Manna spread to so many businesses, your choice was to work for Manna or to be unemployed. When you started to work for Manna, it paid you minimum wage. There was no reason for it to pay you any more -- your choice was minimum wage or zero. There was no way to ask Manna for a raise. You could quit, but when you quit you would be applying to another business that used Manna. It was going to give you minimum wage too.
This was the societal power of Manna, and the basic equation was pretty simple. You could take the job for minimum wage, or you could be unemployed making zero. At any moment Manna could replace you with another warm body, and that meant that you did what you were told for minimum wage or you got fired. Manna, and the corporations that used it, knew that that was the equation. There were plenty of unemployed people who would take your spot as soon as you left.
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Octopus robots
Octopuses inspire next-generation robots
From the article:
From the article:
- Researchers at the University of California have started work on a new kind of robot that will be able to walk without a rigid skeleton. This so-called soft robot would be able to go places its more rigid counterparts cannot, squeezing into small spaces that would otherwise be inaccessible.
The researchers hope that once completed, the robots will be useful to search and rescue teams in the aftermath of earthquakes, car accidents or during fires.
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6.16.2005
Search robots getting smarter
Enough Keyword Searches. Just Answer My Question.
From the article:
From the article:
- One branch of the federal government is desperate enough for a better search tool that its efforts could be a stimulus for fundamental long-term improvements. Last week, I spent a day at a workshop near Washington for the Aquaint project, whose work is unclassified but has gone virtually unnoticed in the news media. The name stands for 'advanced question answering for intelligence,' and it refers to a joint effort by the National Security Agency, the C.I.A. and other federal intelligence organizations. To computer scientists, 'question answering,' or Q.A., means a form of search that does not just match keywords but also scans, parses and 'understands' vast quantities of information to respond to queries. An ideal Q.A. system would let me ask, 'How has California's standing among states in per-student school funds changed since the 1960's?' - and it would draw from all relevant sources to find the right answer.
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6.15.2005
Ultra-Lifelike Robot Debuts in Japan
Photo in the News: Ultra-Lifelike Robot Debuts in Japan
From the article:
From the article:
- Repliee Q1 (at left in both pictures) appeared yesterday at the 2005 World Expo in Japan, where she gestured, blinked, spoke, and even appeared to breathe. Shown with co-creator Hiroshi Ishiguru of Osaka University, the android is partially covered in skinlike silicone. Q1 is powered by a nearby air compressor, and has 31 points of articulation in its upper body.
Internal sensors allow the android to react 'naturally.' It can block an attempted slap, for example. But it's the little, 'unconscious' movements that give the robot its eerie verisimilitude: the slight flutter of the eyelids, the subtle rising and falling of the chest, the constant, nearly imperceptible shifting so familiar to humans.
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Robot cops
Robot cops for German stadiums?
From the article:
From the article:
- During its 12 hours of operation time, OFRO can cover 10,000 square meters at a speed of five kilometers (3.1 miles) per hour, using its thermal camera and sensors to detect possible terror hazards. The robot wirelessly transmits the information collected at a central location. It also takes air samples and should there be irregularities, it sounds an alarm. Nothing can get in OFRO's way and it can steer through fan crowds all by itself.
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6.14.2005
The tiniest transitors show Moore's law on the move
Wired News: Honey, I Shrunk the PC
From the article:
From the article:
- The smallest transistors in consumer electronics devices today measure 50 nanometers across -- a million times tinier than their postwar progenitors. (This shrinkage would be equivalent to reducing the continental United States to the size of a hot tub.) Taking transistors down another one or two orders of magnitude, to the realm of individual atoms and molecules, requires a generational leap in technology.
Three years ago, scientists at the University of California at Berkeley and Harvard and Cornell universities announced the fabrication of a transistor from a single organic molecule. But these delicate circuits only operated at single-digit temperatures above absolute zero.
Both the Nature paper and the Arizona study propose transistors able to handle room-temperature environments.
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6.13.2005
Poker robots
Another example of how robots will soon replace humans in nearly every aspect of our society:
POKER-FACED
From the article:
POKER-FACED
From the article:
- But Gabriel has a potentially powerful alter ego. In his spare time, he's perfecting a computer program to go online and play the game for him.
His BlackShark software is still a work in progress, but Gabriel has no doubt that such programs eventually will be championship quality. 'In the future,' he said, 'robots are going to take over.'
Gabriel is one of an increasing number of computer professionals who design poker robots, or 'bots,' that pose as human gamblers but can play endlessly without tiring or losing concentration - for real money.
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914 PC-Bot Reviewed
914 PC-Bot Reviewed
From the article:
From the article:
- Right now I think its fair to say that the 914 PC-Bot from White Box Robotics is one of the more highly anticipated robots about to enter the market place (right after iRobot's new Scooba! ). While 'off-the-assembly line' versions of this robot will begin shipping in November I was fortunate enough to be able to work with Thomas Burick the creator of these very cool robots to bring you this exclusive preview.
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6.12.2005
Robots on parade
Japan drums up robot support
From the article:
From the article:
- Robots of all shapes and sizes were batting fastballs, drawing portraits, teaching the waltz and doing standup comedy at the World Expo -- but several years of testing are still needed before most of them can be used in public, developers say.
- "Cooper, a mechanical portrait artist developed by a candy maker, was drawing the faces of visitors on large cookies with a laser-pen."
- "Many of the robots were designed to help communication."
- "One model called Batting Robot has a vision system that handles 1,000 images a second, more than 30 times the human eye, allowing it to accurately hit pitches of up to 160 kph (100 mph)." See also Robot pitchers taking to the field.
- "Humanoids Robovie and Wakamaru have been programmed by a famous comedy agency to put on a slapstick routine."
- "A model called InterAnimal is a teddy bear about 120 cm (four feet) tall that moves its arms and nods in synch to the sound the human voice. Developers claim it helps children who have problems talking with adults."
- "The robot that looks most like a human being is the Repliee Q1expo, which is covered with a skin-like substance". See also Robots that look human.
- "More whimsical is the golden Kinshachi Robot that swims like a fish."
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6.11.2005
Robot suit to create 'super' men and women
Japan unveils "robot suit" that enhances human power
From the article:
From the article:
- Japan has taken a step into the science-fiction world with the release of a "robot suit" that can help workers lift heavy loads or assist people with disabilities climb stairs.
"Humans may be able to mutate into supermen in the near future," said Yoshiyuki Sankai, professor and engineer at Tsukuba University who led the project.
The 15-kilogram (33-pound) battery-powered suit, code-named HAL-5, detects muscle movements through electrical-signal flows on the skin surface and then amplifies them.
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6.10.2005
Catoms
Scientists unveil 'clay' robots that will shape our world
From the article:
From the article:
- TINY robots that can turn into any shape - from a replica human to a banana to a mobile phone - are being developed by scientists in the United States.
The new science of claytronics, which will use nanotechnology to create tiny robots called catoms, should enable three-dimensional copies of people to be 'faxed' around the world for virtual meetings.
A doctor could also consult with a patient over the phone, even taking their pulse by holding the wrist of the claytronic replica, reports New Scientist.
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Robot pitchers taking to the field
Robot to throw out first pitch at Pirates-Orioles game tonight
From the article:
From the article:
- While Pirates pitcher Oliver Perez's job is in no danger, coaches and others who pitch batting practice before games could one day be relegated to the bench by a robot.
A preview could come tonight, when the S-3 Platform Robot, built by Aliquippa-based RoPro Design and Beaver County Area Vocational Technical School, will deliver the first pitch as the Pirates square off against the Baltimore Orioles on "Robotics Night" at PNC Park.
The "first ever" robotic pitch is in conjunction with the Department of Defense's Joint Robotics meeting program, which will host more than 200 government employees working in the robotics field, in Pittsburgh today and tomorrow.
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Russian thought police
'Thought police' patrol Russian transport hubs :
From the article:
From the article:
- 'By observing behavior, appearance, hand baggage and contact with others, they can quickly spot a person intent on committing a crime, carrying out a terrorist attack, an extremist act or other serious crimes.'
Russia was shaken by a string of attacks last August and September, including the simultaneous downing of two passenger jets in different parts of the country, a rush-hour suicide bomb attack outside a busy Moscow metro and the Beslan school hostage tragedy.
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6.09.2005
Robotics: Grow Up!
Robotics: Grow Up!
From the article:
The thing that is holding robots back is the fact that, to do most "normal" problems around the house that people would like to do (e.g. doing the laundry, washing the dishes, dusting, painting, picking up the kid's toys, vacuuming the stairs, etc.) you need to have a good vision system, good hands and a certain amount of intelligence/trainability (e.g. - put Bobby's shirts on hangers in this closet).
Right now, we don't have the processing power for the vision system, and we are still working on the notion of intelligence. In 20 to 30 years we will have all the processing power we need, and at that point robots will explode. See Robotic Nation for details.
From the article:
- "I came to this conclusion after the recent RoboBusiness Conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It's where robotics technology vendors, engineers, university professors, and success-hungry venture capitalists meet to try to make robotics magic happen. The show was successful, in that there were more attendees than last year and five times as many exhibitors. It was also terribly frustrating.
I searched every nook and cranny of the show floor for the next Roomba or Wow Wee. What I found was one small robotic shop or parts vendor after another with a great idea for a military, surveillance, or helper robot. Most were not market-ready, and those that were stood a very small chance for success. And then there was Roomba (Wow Wee was not exhibiting) in the middle of it all, the one shining example of commercial success in this adolescent industry."
The thing that is holding robots back is the fact that, to do most "normal" problems around the house that people would like to do (e.g. doing the laundry, washing the dishes, dusting, painting, picking up the kid's toys, vacuuming the stairs, etc.) you need to have a good vision system, good hands and a certain amount of intelligence/trainability (e.g. - put Bobby's shirts on hangers in this closet).
Right now, we don't have the processing power for the vision system, and we are still working on the notion of intelligence. In 20 to 30 years we will have all the processing power we need, and at that point robots will explode. See Robotic Nation for details.
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6.08.2005
Firms tag workers to improve efficiency
This seems to be an article straight out of the book Manna:
Firms tag workers to improve efficiency
From the article:
Read the book Manna to see exactly where this trend takes us.
Firms tag workers to improve efficiency
From the article:
- "Workers in warehouses across Britain are being 'electronically tagged' by being asked to wear small computers to cut costs and increase the efficient delivery of goods and food to supermarkets, a report revealed yesterday.
New US satellite- and radio-based computer technology is turning some workplaces into 'battery farms' and creating conditions similar to 'prison surveillance', according to a report from Michael Blakemore, professor of geography at Durham University.
The technology, introduced six months ago, is spreading rapidly, with up to 10,000 employees using it to supply household names such as Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Boots and Marks & Spencer."
Read the book Manna to see exactly where this trend takes us.
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40 robot hopefuls picked for DARPA Grand Challenge
DARPA picks 40 robot hopefuls for $2m race
From the article:
From the article:
- Out of 118 applicants, DARPA has picked 40 teams to battle in a qualification event that will determine which teams actually race come October. The $2m prize and unique nature of the Grand Challenge, which requires robot cars to steer themselves across a 150 mile, obstacle laden desert course, has clearly generated plenty of interest. With any luck, this year's event will end with more impressive results than the 2003 contest that saw no vehicle go more than a few miles.
"It is truly remarkable how much progress the Grand Challenge teams have made in a relatively short period of time," said program manager Ron Kurjanowicz. "The (qualification event) will be very exciting and we will see autonomous vehicle performance that was not possible a year ago. The teams' creative sparks are flying and they are making impressive progress toward DARPA's goal of developing technologies that will save the lives of our men and women in uniform on the battlefield."
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6.07.2005
Simulating a complete human brain
As more and more computing cycles become available and we start to approach computers able to handle one quadrillion operations per second, this makes complete sense:
IBM links with Swiss team to build model of brain
From the article:
See Robotic Nation for complete details.
IBM links with Swiss team to build model of brain
From the article:
- International Business Machines Corp. is linking with a team of Swiss scientists to create the world's first accurate, computer-based model of the brain, the company said Monday.
The researchers hope that modeling the brain at the cellular level will give new insights into the workings of the most complex organ in the body.
See Robotic Nation for complete details.
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6.05.2005
Self-copying machine
The machine that can copy anything
From the article:
From the article:
- A revolutionary machine that can copy itself and manufacture everyday objects quickly and cheaply could transform industry in the developing world, according to its creator.
The 'self-replicating rapid prototyper,' or 'RepRap' is the brainchild of Dr. Adrian Bowyer, a senior lecturer in mechanical engineering at the University of Bath in the UK.
It is based on rapid prototyping technology commonly used to manufacturer plastic components in industry from computer-generated blueprints -- effectively a form of 3D printer.
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Robots to become guard dogs of the future
Robots to become guard dogs of the future: "By activating the 'house-sitting' mode, the robot is set to call its master as soon as it detects an intruder by means of its infrared cameras, which can monitor the space around the robot at 360 degrees. "
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Robots offer a hand on the ballroom floor
Robots offer a hand on the ballroom floor
From the article:
From the article:
- Ballroom dancing is no longer just for the romantic. Japanese researchers have developed a robot capable of taking to the floor by predicting how its human partner will move.
The Partner Ballroom Dance Robot - or PBDR in robot talk - has a woman's face, a sensor around its waist and can move in all directions on its three wheels hidden underneath an evening gown.
As its partner takes steps, the robot analyzes his movements and figures out how to accompany him with its shoulders, elbows, waist and neck.
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6.04.2005
Cool and compact supercomputer
Self-wiring supercomputer is cool and compact
From the article:
From the article:
- The FPGA supercomputer will be more powerful and efficient than a conventional system of similar physical size. If it can be made easy enough to program, the researchers behind the machine say it could usher in a new generation of compact and energy-saving supercomputers over the coming decade.
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6.03.2005
U.S. Economy Added Only 78,000 Jobs in May
U.S. Economy Added Only 78,000 Jobs in May
From the article:
From the article:
- The nation added only 78,000 jobs in May, less than half the pace of the previous three months and the smallest monthly increase in nearly two years...
Over the past year, the nation has added an average of 180,000 jobs a month. That pace has slowed to about 158,000 jobs a month since February, a trend that economists say is in line with other indicators of slower but continued economic growth.
- Employment Situation Summary
- The effect of robots on employment
- Latest job numbers show the effect of robots and automation
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6.01.2005
Helper robots
Toyota aims to sell service robots by 2010
From the article:
From the article:
- Toyota Motor Corp. aims to start selling robots that can help look after elderly people or serve tea to guests by 2010, the Asahi daily reported on Tuesday.
Japan's top automaker sees a declining birthrate and aging population leading to growing demand for robots that can help in tasks such as child care and nursing care, the report said.
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Robot intestine camera
Robot combined with swallowable camera could give docs a better look inside the small intestine
From the article:
From the article:
- Metin Sitti, director of the NanoRobotics Lab, is developing a set of legs that could be incorporated into the swallowable camera-in-a-pill that has become available in the past four years for diagnosing gastrointestinal disorders in the small intestine.
The capsule camera snaps thousands of pictures as it makes its way slowly through the narrow tract, carried by the wave-like peristaltic motion that moves all contents through the intestines.
But Sitti is hoping that adding legs to the capsule will give physicians a measure of control. The work is supported by the Intelligent Microsystems Center in Seoul, Korea, and sponsored by the Korean Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy.
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Robot Salesmen
AI Seduces Stanford Students
I know what you are probably thinking. You are thinking, "if there is one thing robots won't be able to do, it's selling stuff to human beings." But if that is what you are thinking, you would be wrong. From the article:
This article further clarifies that process:This is the huge advantage robots have. Every year they get better and better and better, until they are much better than humans at everything. Welcome to the Robotic Nation. See also Robots taking jobs.
Archives
I know what you are probably thinking. You are thinking, "if there is one thing robots won't be able to do, it's selling stuff to human beings." But if that is what you are thinking, you would be wrong. From the article:
- Researchers at Stanford University's Virtual Human Interaction Lab strapped 69 student volunteers into an immersive, 3-D virtual-reality rig, where test subjects found themselves sitting across the table from a "digital agent" -- a computer-generated man or woman -- programmed to deliver a three-minute pitch advocating a notional university security policy requiring students to carry ID whenever they're on campus.
The anthropomorphic cyberhuckster featured moving lips and blinking eyes on a head that nodded and swayed realistically. But unbeknownst to the test subjects, the head movements weren't random. In half the sessions, the computer was programmed to mimic the student's movements exactly, with a precise four-second delay; if a test subject tilted her head thoughtfully and looked up at a 15-degree angle, the computer would repeat the gesture four seconds later. For the other half of the participants, the program used head movements recorded from earlier students, ensuring they were realistic but unconnected to the test subject.
- The results... were dramatic: Only eight of the subjects detected the mimicry (one of them falsely). The remaining students liked the mimicking agent more than the recorded agent, rating the former more friendly, interesting, honest and persuasive. They also paid better attention to the parroting presenter, looking away less often. Most significantly, they were more likely to come around to the mimicking agent's way of thinking on the issue of mandatory ID.
This article further clarifies that process:This is the huge advantage robots have. Every year they get better and better and better, until they are much better than humans at everything. Welcome to the Robotic Nation. See also Robots taking jobs.
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