Here is an interesting new development in the world of robotics. Engineers have created a new electronic skin for robots that can sense touch. Essentially this is the first step in allowing robots to have touch sensitivity so a robot could hold an egg for example without breaking it.
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In a nutshell the robot has been programmed with a large amount of math algorithms so that it is able to make the deception decision. These types of robots will be valuable for military, security, and search/rescue type applications.
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Here is a great article on the real world use of robotics and how the Indiana Children’s Hospital is using “two robots to help therapists measure a child’s strengths and weaknesses to better tailor therapy.”
Carnegie Mellon’s Biorobotics Lab has introduced their snake robot that is able to access locations that are otherwise difficult for people and machinery to access such as pipes. It is a very interesting concept that should open up a wide range of possiblities for rescue operations, difficult inspections, etc. And who knows…maybe they can help me get over my fear of snakes…
Harvard engineers created this miniscule automobile differential to control the flight of tiny aerial robots. The idea is to someday use these robots to fly into hazardous areas like forest fires.
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Yep the headline is correct. Two UC Berkley researchers have constructed a robot that will fold your socks, and it compliments their existing towel folding robot. Now if they could just create a robot that folds all your clothes, I think they will have a winner.
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A small town in Arizona is trialling the use of these two trash collecting robots.
“The robot’s designers estimate the price for a DustCart at $19,000 to $25,000 and have said the cost of operating the system would be similar to regular garbage and recycling pick-up service.”
According to the article this town has narrow streets which are too small for the normal garbage trucks so it was an ideal test environment for the robots. It seems like they may have some applications in smaller towns like this one, or perhaps in urban environments.
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It is an interesting and promising concept, but based on the prices quoted in the article, it just does not seem like a feasible alternative to existing methods. In addition there are other limitations, they will need to overcome such as collecting oil beneath the surface of the water.
“In the future, a swarm of autonomous robots might be able to handle oil spill cleanup.
That’s the idea behind a new solar-powered robot prototype equipped with nanotechnology designed by researchers at MIT…”
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The video below shows the TurfBot prototype painting a small block image. Although it is not overly exciting, TurfBot is able to paint an entire image on an athletic field with minimal human interaction. Just upload the image, load the paint, set out the perimeter, and start it up. In the coming weeks we’ll show video of TurfBot painting multi-colored sports images. And btw Joe needs to cut his grass…
This is an interesting business concept that could have long term implications in the robotics industry.
“Willow Garage wants its ROS platform to become the Linux of robotics. The Menlo Park, Calif-based company, founded in 2006, develops open-source hardware and software for the robotics industry. Its robot PR2 (Personal Robot 2) is being sold as an example of what software developers can do with an open-source robotics platform.”
Read the article here.
