Researchers at the Chiba Institute of Technology unveiled a working prototype of the Halluc II, a robotic vehicle with eight wheels and legs designed to drive or walk over rugged terrain.
The agile robot, which the developers aim to put into practical use within the next five years, can move sideways, turn around in place and drive or walk over a wide range of obstacles. The researchers hope the robot’s abilities will help out with rescue operations, and they would like to see Halluc II’s technology put to use in transportation for the mobility-impaired.
The operator can put Halluc II into one of three modes depending on the terrain — Vehicle, Insect or Animal mode. In Vehicle mode, Halluc II drives around on its eight wheels, and as it moves over uneven surfaces, each of the legs moves up and down in sync with the terrain to provide a smooth ride that keeps the cab at a constant height. In Insect mode, Halluc II does not use the wheels; instead, it walks with an insect-like gait, with its legs extended outward from the cab. In Animal mode, Halluc II keeps its legs directly beneath the cab while it walks, allowing it to pass through tight spaces. With wireless LAN capabilities and a system of cameras and sensors that monitor the distance to potential obstacles, Halluc II constantly assesses how best to adjust the position of its legs and wheels.
It’s no secret that robotic pets can bark right alongside the real deals, but unfortunately for those hoping to adopt an Aibo, the pickin’s are indeed slim. While details on this one are admittedly scant, a photograph of a robotic dog prototype reportedly displays the brainchild of scientists at TU Darmstadt in Germany. The team had been working on said creation for six months prior to now, and is finally ready to present the pup to a “special audience” in a robot competition in Atlanta next week. Unfortunately, we’ve received no word on whether or not this canine is actually being bred for the mainstream, but we’ll be sure to let you know if any litters crop up.
Source: www.engadget.com
Two Israeli scientists may have created the catalyst for a medical revolution with their new project: a tiny, 1-millimeter-diameter robot which is capable of crawling through human veins and arteries. The bot can cling to vessel walls using small, powerful arms which protrude from a hub in its center. Manned control is accomplished by using a magnetic field outside of the body, and the robot is able to swim against the flow of blood, as well as squeeze through a variety of arterial openings. Right now the doctors don’t know what the medical applications might be, though they speculate that a large number of the bots could be used to fight certain types of cancer. Other ideas on the table include using the bots to exact revenge on anyone opposing their crazy ideas.
Source: www.engadget.com
The Wi-Fi robots are coming! The Wi-Fi robots are coming! Yes, those wacky cats at DARPA, the U.S. military’s technology R&D center, are at it again. This time, though, the idea is a little more plausible than some of their other ideas (like, say, cyborg butterflies). On a battlefield, wireless access can get a little spotty, so DARPA came up with the LANdroid, a roving wireless access point. Advancing troops would drop one of these bots wherever they’d need to extend a network, with each LANdroid seeking out the best place to act as a node. And if one of them has the unfortunate luck of rolling straight into the enemy, the other nodes will automatically move around make up for its loss.
Each LANdroid is the size of your palm and costs about $100. DARPA hasn’t built them yet, but is excited enough about the project to publicly solicit proposals. A self-creating roving wireless network would be a cool idea for disaster-relief scenarios, too, so let’s hope this is one DARPA project that gets some traction.
Source: blog.scifi.com
In 1804 the English aviation pioneer George Cayley installed a bizarre machine at the top of his staircase. He attached wings of various shapes to a whirling arm atop the device, and as it spun the wings would either climb or descend depending on their ability to generate lift. This helped Cayley to develop the aerodynamic theories that led to his successful manned glider flights, and ultimately to the Wright brothers’ powered aircraft. Read the rest of this entry »
A little info about this robot:
“Tokyo, Japan - Sony Corporation announced the development of a prototype small biped entertainment robot “SDR-4X” that can adapt its performance to its environment and situations found in the home to further develop the possibility for a biped-walking robot. Richer communication with people can be realized by a variety of sensor systems, performance control software based on memory and learning, and a flexible biped walking mechanism.
While improving the output performance of small actuators that drive each joint, a newly developed “Real-time Integrated Adaptive Control System” controls a total of 38 joints in the robot’s body in real time, based on information from various sensors gathered in real time. More advanced movements are realized by enabling biped walk on irregular and tiled surface plus posture retention control under external pressure. In addition, stable and flexible walk can be achieved by the real time production of walking patterns such as pace and rotation angle in accordance with various situations. Using two CCD color cameras for image recognition, the SDR-4X can detect the distance between itself and an object by processing the parallax of the two cameras. These cameras allow the robot to perceive the figuration of an object and range between itself and the object to automatically produce a route in order to make its way around the object.”
