This family-friendly humanoid robot designed by Aldebaran Robotics is also a multi-functional robot with features including microphones, HD cameras, Wi-Fi connectivity, Hi-Fi speakers, pressure sensors, a voice synthesizer and much more. It has made appearances at events including the Shanghai Expo in China with a synchronized dance routine, at Robocup participating with its own football team, in the UK teaching autistic children, and even demonstrating a stand-up comedy routine in December 2011. Read more at http://realitypod.com/2014/10/the-top-five-mind-blowing-robots-of-2014/#TajsM2ZH5iDAbyEE.99
This robot created by artist and researcher, Patrick Tresset, is a sketcher shaped like an arm that is able to draw portraits of people. It was primarily designed for Tresset’s “New Work” gallery installation which occurred in London in 2011. Read more at http://realitypod.com/2014/10/the-top-five-mind-blowing-robots-of-2014/#TajsM2ZH5iDAbyEE.99.
Another robot by Aldebaran Robotics, this emotional humanoid bot is designed to be able to assess moods, and interact with humans. It is able to shake hands, dance and display messages on the display screen on it’s chest. Read more at http://realitypod.com/2014/10/the-top-five-mind-blowing-robots-of-2014/#HQIHMayVl2ASCduX.99.
is composed of two snake-like machines that attach via magnets to a UAV. After being carried to the site by the quadcopter, snake bots can detach themselves, slip through the holes and cracks of a collapsed building, for instance, and slither to their destinations.
It was inevitable that funding for these projects by the US Military’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) would lead to spin-offs finding their way into private startups. There are now at least another three companies developing exoskeletons for commercial use and the focus is on creating them to help people with spinal injuries. A Swedish company, Ekso Bionics, makes a 20kg titanium and aluminium suit that costs $100,000 a pop, which has helped several crippled individuals walk again for the first time.
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Using this system, the Cheetah can easily clear objects more than 30 centimeters tall, and they don’t even have to be perfectly aligned with its path. Several of the tests in the video show the barriers being placed slightly at an angle. It only takes about 100 milliseconds for the adjustment process to happen, so the robot can respond to unexpected changes in the terrain.
The untethered test at the end of the video is the most impressive part. The robot maintains an average speed of five miles per hour throughout the test, which is about the same as a light jog for humans. On the track with more time to calculate the position of barriers, Cheetah has a 90% success rate on its jumps. With the treadmill, it’s a little less successful (70%) due to the shorter lead time. The team expects these numbers to improve over time.
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With the rise of VR content and news that a consumer version of the Oculus Rift headset could eventually retail at an affordable $200 to $400, there’s undeniably a future in 360-degree entertainment and 360 stereoscopic video. As evidence that this new trend might be narrative, this year’s Sundance Film Festival featured almost a dozen VR shorts including a headline-grabbing experience called “Perspective; Chapter I: The Party” that had viewers experience a party and date rape from both the male’s and female’s perspective. Just last month, I was subject to a VR short at a horror film festival that had me rolling through a haunted hospital in a wheelchair.
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This isn’t the only trick the MIT team has up its sleeve. The design shown off at ICRA can dissolve in acetone when it has outlived its usefulness, but it floats on water. It could also be built from materials that dissolve in water if aquatic operation is not necessary. Future iterations might use a multi-stage folding process as well. Low heat folds it up into one configuration, then it goes back to the heating element for another jolt, and it becomes a different shape for a different task.
The big challenge will be to integrate all the magnetic drivers into the robot itself, but maybe one day you’ll be able to carry a tiny robot around in your wallet, lose it in some bills, and accidentally hand it to a cashier.
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According to the page, this tech can be used to control everything from video games and toys to prosthetic limbs, but there’s a certain application or two that caught our eye: the ability to make your own Iron Man blasters and Wolverine claws! The videos above and below show you the results of these builds, but anyone can check out the plans on Instructables and Make right now. In both cases, the sensors pick up on muscle flexes that then signal repulsor blasts or popped claws, making these perfect builds for the more industries cosplayers of the world. There’s even a $100 reward level that comes with all of the hardware you’ll need to put the blaster together.
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Prior to the launch, the robo-roach simply hauls the H2Bird around on it back. You might think that would reduce its efficiency, but this is actually beneficial for both robots. When they’re connected, the pair can work as a team. Researchers found that by having the H2Bird flap its wings at 5Hz (not fast enough to take off), the effective weight of the cockroach is decreased by 12 percent and it’s more stable. The bird component also benefits as it doesn’t have to expend as much energy for forward momentum in this arrangement.
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