tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111314052024-03-13T19:07:20.415-07:00Rossum's ChildrenCataloguing the Journey of Robotic life towards self-awareness and sufficiency. (Alpha Version 0.1)Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09918775714727957926noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11131405.post-56052108644947648422007-10-24T11:21:00.000-07:002007-10-24T11:28:17.005-07:00Time for a comeback."Mole's face-beamed at the sight of all these objects so dear to him,<br />and he hurried Rat through the door, lit a lamp in the hall, and took<br />one glance round his old home. He saw the dust lying thick on<br />everything, saw the cheerless, deserted look of the long-neglected<br />house, and its narrow, meagre dimensions, its worn and shabby<br />contents--and collapsed again on a hall-chair, his nose to his paws.<br />'O Ratty!' he cried dismally, 'why ever did I do it? Why did I bring<br />you to this poor, cold little place, on a night like this, when you<br />might have been at River Bank by this time, toasting your toes before<br />a blazing fire, with all your own nice things about you!'"<br /><br />From The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame<br /><br />After a long respite, it's time to dust things off and return to work. I feel guilty at how little I accomplished here before retiring, and I feel guiltier still for leaving things so long untidied and untended. But there is work to be done and no amount of guilt about it will get it done any faster, so here we are.<br /><br />I'll try and update a little bit each day, expect some major changes, included new hosting space, a new layout and design, and even a new title.<br /><br />For the moment, I'll just pique your curiosity with a question: do you think a modern news sight--especially one about a topic as interactive as robotics--is really adequate unless it has an appropriately valid discussion mechanism?Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09918775714727957926noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11131405.post-1129906623555002352005-10-21T05:44:00.000-07:002005-10-21T07:57:03.586-07:00The Bot And The PrincessPrincess Anne had a chance to interact with <a href="http://www.bluebotics.com/entertainment/RoboX/">RoboX</a> this week at <a href="http://www.sensation.org.uk/">Sensation Dundee</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5196/915/1600/RobotAndPeople1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5196/915/200/RobotAndPeople.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>RoboX is an interactive tour-guiding robot who speaks English, German, French, and Italian. RoboX can see and follow someone with his eyes using a laser scanner, and even when in very populated environments, RoboX will move safely and smoothly around people and objects.<br /><br />Protruding from his chest is a panel with four color buttons that allows for human interaction. And a LED matrix in RoboX's right eye will display icons and short animations.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5196/915/1600/robox_head3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5196/915/200/robox_head3.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />RoboX can even express what he's 'feeling' or his reaction to the environment with his eyes and eyebrows.<br /><br />Supposedly RoboX 'pushed' his way to the princess's side with an urgent cry of "Let me through." Apparently even robots are impressed with royalty.<br /><br />I wonder what the princess thought of her tour.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Pictures curtesy of <a href="http://www.bluebotics.com/">BlueBotics</a>.</span>Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17876360571565993106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11131405.post-1129336318629632242005-10-20T06:31:00.000-07:002005-10-20T07:10:28.986-07:00A New Spin on Foosball.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/1600/mrsoccer.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/200/mrsoccer.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>It looks like Foosball may have a high tech challenger. Firebox is now selling a product called "Mr. Soccer Robot Football" which includes a full set of remote-controlled soccer players that you (and your friends) can drive about the course. It looks like an intriguing use of the devices, and certainly points towards a more and more widespread acceptance of technology in our sports and games.<br /><br />Of course, this isn't real robot-soccer since it's remote-controlled by the user and doesn't do any decision making on its own. I've been following Robot Soccer off and on for the last half-decade or so, and it has really developed as a sport in its own right. I'm not sure if the <a href="http://www.robocup.org/">RoboCup</a> goal of a fully autonomous andriod team capable of beating humans at soccer by 2050 fill be hit, but each new addition to the sport is another small piece of that puzzle.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.firebox.com/index.html?dir=firebox&action=product&pid=1141">Mr Soccer Robot Football product page</a> [firebox.com]<br /><br /><a href="http://videos.firebox.com/pv/mrsoccer/mr_soccer_japanese_ad.wmv">Mr. Soccer Robot Football Japanese Telivision Commercial</a> (.wmv) [firebox.com]Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17876360571565993106noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11131405.post-1129336294771239182005-10-19T05:31:00.000-07:002005-10-19T07:06:50.080-07:00Today's Toys, Tomorrow's Heros.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/1600/bomb-robot.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/200/bomb-robot.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>More than just a platitude, this could be considered as a mantra for the robotic systems of the 1980s. While Topo and Teddy Ruxpin were making an impression on our childhoods, researchers were developing bomb-retrieval and detonation systems that would come to fruition in the late 90s.<br /><br />Right now I am seeing about one article every week announcing that a robot has been added to a bomb squad somewhere in the United States.<br /><br />And over the last three weeks, there has been even more exciting news: these robots are actually being put to use, for everything from vaporizing a makeup case that someone forgot on the bus to detonating a car full of enough explosives to make citizens feel a jolt three blocks away.<br /><br />Robots are saving lives and performing tasks that we should never need to send a human to attempt. Here are three of the latest Bomb Squad stories.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bellevueleader.com/site/tab3.cfm?newsid=15389144&BRD=2712&amp;amp;amp;PAG=461&dept_id=559851&rfi=6">Robot removes suspicious package in Bellevue bomb scare</a> [bellevueleader.com]<br /><a href="http://www2.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_3118472">Commuter nightmare</a> [whittierdailynews.com]<br /><a href="http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051006/NEWS01/510060504">Robot used to blow up explosives</a> [indystar.com]<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">[Picture courtesy of the University of Melbourne]</span>Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17876360571565993106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11131405.post-1129336280225596742005-10-18T08:31:00.000-07:002005-10-18T06:40:29.256-07:00Robots getting sixth sense, seeing dead people?I know that most of us have at some point waded with small fish and endeavoured to catch one. In so doing we've all discovered that fish seem to have an uncanny awareness and ridiculously low reaction time when approached by an object. It seems that fish aren't preternaturally fast, they're just equipped with a sense we aren't.<br /><br />That sense is called a lateral line. It uses the feedback from a line of incredibly thin hairs along their back to generate a mental map of water pressure and fluid changes, letting them 'feel' through the water around them.<br /><br />Now, the institute of physics reports that some researchers have found a way to manufacture an artificial lateral line using silicon and modern micromachining methods. These scientists have floated the idea that it could be used to allow robots to navigate underwater environments with more proficiency and ease. Interesting stuff.<br /><br />Could we soon see robots that can not only see and hear better than us, but develop entirely new senses beyond our ability to comprehend?<br /><br /><a href="http://physics.iop.org/IOP/Press/PR5302.html">Fishy sixth sense could help robots navigate the oceans</a> [Physics.iop.org]Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17876360571565993106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11131405.post-1129527799701107022005-10-17T06:39:00.000-07:002005-10-17T06:59:56.650-07:00Our Lovely Assistant Takes a Hand.As the primary author of this blog is taking a couple of days to move to a new state and career, we have a talented and lovely assistant (author of the <a href="http://through-the-camera-lens.blogspot.com/">Through-the-Camera-Lens</a> photoblog and co-author of <a href="http://ever-on.blogspot.com/">The Road</a> travel blog) who will be updating the site for a few days. Hopefully you'll hear from yours truly again on Wednesday or Thursday.<br /><br />I've left her a stack of templated articles and highlights that I assembled before I began the move, but maybe if you're all very nice to her, she'll even post a few interesting tidbits of her own. She's quite qualified to comment on the subject, as she's a very skilled software and electrical engineer (cue oohs and aahs from the crowd).<br /><br />In the meantime, please make Our Lovely Assistant feel welcome. Olá!<br /><br />Today has been a slow robot news day, so you can tide yourself over with this <a href="http://news.com.com/2300-1041_3-5844888-1.html">small gallery of Wakamaru Pictures</a>. My personal favorite is the "what your Wakamaru sees" image with the crosshairs directly over the user's face. That certainly won't make Americans already terrified of robots taking over the world nervous at all.Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09918775714727957926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11131405.post-1129379920916318192005-10-15T05:36:00.001-07:002005-10-15T05:50:08.796-07:00Wakamaru.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/1600/wakamaru.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/200/wakamaru.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Old News is good news since there's no new news now. Say <b>that</b> five times fast!<br /><br />Wakamaru was released a little over a month ago in Japan. He's a household robot meant to provide cheerful daily interactions with the user. He's a smart little bugger that can apparently memorize the layouts of internal spaces, intuitively grasp your daily schedule (does he understand weekends?) and communicate with you using a pretty advanced Natural Language system.<br /><br />I'm surprised to notice that he seems to have no visual-display system, which must make it difficult for him to communicate some concepts both to the owner and (in the case of a malfunction) to a technician. It's also interesting to see that his arms possess four degrees of freedom but appear to have no way of grasping an object, being limited to gesturing and pointing.<br /><br />Cute, attractive, and on sale now, I don't think Wakamaru speaks English yet, but he might be learning soon. He's priced at US$14,000 right now. I expect that home robotics in the next five years will go through the same massive technology shifts and ability upgrades that home computing went through in the 90s, so even if I had the money right now I doubt I'd be picking up one of our little yellow friends.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/ptech/09/16/wakamaru.reut/">Wakamaru ready to join the family</a> [cnn.com]<br /><br /><a href="http://www.mhi.co.jp/kobe/wakamaru/english/index.html">Wakamaru English Product Page</a> [mhi.co.jp]Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09918775714727957926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11131405.post-1129342628686968942005-10-14T19:12:00.000-07:002005-10-14T19:17:08.693-07:00More Murata Boy InfoMore infromation and photographs of the Murata Boy bicycling robot have shown up. They're in Gizmag's article on the subject. There are three low-quality pics included with the article, but two show an earlier version sans-cutesy-casing, which is interesting.<br /><br />And since it is a slow news day in robotics (aside from the half-dozen print journals that are just now announcing who won the Grand Challenge) you get to see more of the Boy.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.gizmag.com/go/4742/">Murata's Robot Bicyclist</a> [gizmag.com]Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09918775714727957926noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11131405.post-1129300411291151022005-10-14T07:20:00.000-07:002005-10-14T07:40:35.843-07:00Sushi Making Robots<a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/img/244/3415/1024/sushi%20robot%20-%20swr.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #AAAAAA; margin:2px; float:left' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/img/244/3415/200/sushi%20robot%20-%20swr.jpg'></a>Suzomo has announced a new Sushi-Making robot.<br /><br />As an amatuer sushi chef myself, I'm intrigued in the automation of this process. I was unaware that even traditional style Sushi was being manufactured by machine and has been for the past 25 years. Sushi creation is a very complex series of steps and proper preparation requires utmost care or the sushi will not satisfy. <br /><br />In this case the sushi are making fairly simple sushi (Nigiri) which is usually just the ingredient over a pad of rice, perhaps with a small binding. I tend to prefer (and make) Makizushi which is often called 'seaweed roll', and tends to take much more time to make.<a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/img/244/3415/1024/sushi05.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #AAAAAA; margin:2px; float:right' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/img/244/3415/200/sushi05.jpg'></a><br /><br />The images that accompany this post are one of the <a href="http://sushi-master.com/usa/index1.html">Tomoe</a> sushi machines. It is rated at 1,500 wrapped pieces of sushi per hour. This new product of Suzomo's is now making 2,000 wrapped per hour.<br /><br />Of course, this is Nigiri. Speaking from personal experience with the more complex Makizushi, I can make perhaps. . . 20 pieces in an hour. If the rice is already boiling when I start the timer.<br /><br />I suppose I'm becoming obsolete.<br /><br /><a href="<br />http://www.japancorp.net/Article.Asp?Art_ID=11071">Suzumo Unveils 2000 Wrapped Pieces per Hour Sushi Robot</a> [JapanCorp.net]Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09918775714727957926noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11131405.post-1129212742141044702005-10-13T07:00:00.000-07:002005-10-13T07:13:52.193-07:00Robots, Human Rights, and Camels!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/1600/Robot%20as%20camel%20jockey%20in%20Qatar%2019%20Apr%202005%20Yahoo.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:10px 10px 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/200/Robot%20as%20camel%20jockey%20in%20Qatar%2019%20Apr%202005%20Yahoo.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Now there are three things you rarely see grouped together.<br /><br />Over the past year, Qatar and Kuwait have banned the use of children as jockeys in Camel Racing, and with good reason. The little tykes were being kept like slaves and often were malnourished or outright starved to lighten their weight and make them more competitive. The bans occured without a solution in hand, but some smart roboticists jumped in to fill the gap.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/1600/robot-camel-jockeys.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/200/robot-camel-jockeys.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>The result are small robotic or drone jockeys that are light-weight and remove the need for a human to be aboard the great spitting beasts. These quirky little robots even have molded plastic faces and helmets, which strikes me as ironic.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/1600/050715_robot_jockey.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:10px 10px 10px 10px ;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/200/050715_robot_jockey.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Kuwait held a six mile trial today in preparation for the season, which starts tomorrow, and Qatar has also staged such races in the past.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.financialexpress.com/latest_full_story.php?content_id=105455">Kuwait holds first camel race with robot jockeys</a> [financialexpress.com]Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09918775714727957926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11131405.post-1129173622281040792005-10-12T20:20:00.000-07:002005-10-12T20:21:42.550-07:00The Independent MedleyThe Independent has run an interesting overview of the state of modern personal robotics.<br /><br />It contains discussion of the current state of robotics, mentions the DARPA grand challenge, but talks mainly about the kinds of robots people will soon see in their lives. It includes overviews on <a href="http://www.mhi.co.jp/kobe/wakamaru/english/">Wakamaru</a>, the <a href="http://www.21stcentury.co.uk/robotics/dyson_dc06.asp">Dyson DC06</a>, the <a href="http://www.automower.com/">Electrolux Automower</a>, <a href="http://www.sony.net/Products/aibo/">Aibo</a>, and <a href="http://www.roboraptoronline.com/">Roboraptor</a>. A good read if you're looking for a general "state of the industry" guide that isn't too comprehensive, but gets the point across.<br /><br /><a href="http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/article318927.ece">"The march of robots into our lives"</a> [news.independent.co.uk]Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09918775714727957926noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11131405.post-1129147564219995692005-10-12T12:46:00.000-07:002005-10-12T13:06:04.226-07:00Some changes.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/1600/employment.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/200/employment.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>I recently (today) accepted a job offer to do research work in this industry.<br /><br />As such, my time to update this blog will be more limited, and there are times that my coverage of issues might become a conflict of interest or merely an area where I can't speak as freely as I wish.<br /><br />I plan to check with my employer about the company's stance on upkeeping a blog, especially one within the field, and see what he has to say. More updates as the situation warrants.<br /><br />I already have one wonderful and lovely assistant that has promised to provide aide and support if the job precludes my updating for a day or two. I wouldn't mind having additional help from people who track this same industry and feel they have something to contribute. If you're interested in doing a little aggregative journalism, <a href="mailto:rossumschild@gmail.com">drop me a line</a> and we'll talk.Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09918775714727957926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11131405.post-1129125978233816392005-10-12T07:06:00.000-07:002005-10-12T07:20:17.916-07:00Johnny 5 is alive!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/1600/johnny5.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/200/johnny5.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>There's new hope for children's education! A replica of the "Number 5" robot from <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091949/">Short Circuit</a> called AJ5 is now a teacher.<br /><br />AJ5 works for the Apache Junction Arizona Police Department as a firearms safety instructor that is taken to schools to give lectures. It seems he will be teaching all four sections of a segmented gun safety program that follows the children frrom Kindergarten ("don't touch yet!") to high school ("You will probably like this one.") It seems that the program is very pro-gun and pro-gun ownership, while being careful to make sure the children learn safety as they go.<br /><br />The idea of using a quirky, easily anthropomorphized robot to lecture on such a subject is perfect. The young kids respond with rapt attention and if the robot has enough detail and answers the older kids are less likely to see it as "just another boring authority figure".<br /><br />The program looks like a pretty good one, the police officers in charge are even studying the options for bringing modified real guns into the classroom for the older kids so they can get a feel of how they work and what they do. Taking the mystery out of a tool is the first step to increasing a person's safety around it, so I'm very much in favour of that.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.newszap.com/articles/2005/10/11/az/east_valley/aj04.txt">Folks can meet AJ5 robot</a> [newzap.com]Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09918775714727957926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11131405.post-1129080012690551052005-10-11T18:10:00.000-07:002005-10-11T18:20:12.696-07:00SWORDS article.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/1600/swords.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/320/swords.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />The Iraq focused blog <a href="http://www.almendhar.com/arabic/index.aspx">Al Mendhar</a> has a new article up about the often controversial SWORDS drone based on the the Talon platform.<br /><br />SWORDS isn't really a robot, he's basically just a remote control machine gun. Like a regular machine gun, he could be dangerous to innocents in the hands of an evil, foolish or inexperienced operator, but in the hands of a well trained and professional soldier he's not much of a "go crazy and take over the world" risk.<br /><br />In any case, the SWORDS system has been around in various forms for a while, but up-till-now it has mainly been a discussion piece. This might indicate that there is going to be a real deployment of the system soon, or it might just be that a reporter read the wire a month after it ran. [shrug]<br /><a href="http://www.almendhar.com/english_6856/news.aspx"><br />US plans 'robot troops' for Iraq</a> [Almendhar.com]Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09918775714727957926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11131405.post-1128776741596328252005-10-11T04:05:00.000-07:002005-10-11T04:39:08.403-07:00Waffle-making Robot Sweetens Deal for High School Science<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/1600/WaffleRobot1_500.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/200/WaffleRobot1_500.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>A brilliant young high school grad from Arlington Washington has created a robot that makes waffles--No, strike that--a roboticist has invented a robot that <i>prepares</i> waffles, complete with butter, syrup and whip cream. <br /><br />His invention is one part industrial robot and one part Rube Goldberg machine, complete with multiple stages. According to the article he even used knowledge of agricultural mechanics somewhere in this process, though we are almost hesitant to muse about the exact purpose.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/1600/WaffleRobot3_500.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/200/WaffleRobot3_500.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>The robot appears to use frozen waffles and take them through the entire process, though the article isn't clear about whether the robot might also serve you these waffles, or whether there is an optional mode where the syrup is poured perfectly into each hole with the precision of which only an automaton is capable.<br /><br />The most remarkable quote from the article, for its powerful "out of context this could be awkward" factor, is this quote from the young inventor during his interview.<br /><br />"I just added whipped cream for the fun of it," [Jesse] Klein said.<br /><br />Indeed Jesse, but <b><i>don't we all?</i></b><br /><br /><a href="http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/05/10/08/100loc_robot001.cfm">Waffle-making robot a hit</a>[Heraldnet]Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09918775714727957926noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11131405.post-1128985650361935652005-10-10T15:55:00.000-07:002005-10-10T16:08:35.106-07:00Exploring Robots UpdateTwo news blurbs today about a couple of robotic Indiana Joneses. The first is a reuters article about how a team in Egypt plans to use a small robot to climb up an 20cmx20cm shaft in the cieling of one of the rooms in the Cheops pyramid at Giza. They hope to discover what lies beyond the shafts, which have generated speculation among Egyptologists for years.<br /><a href="http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyID=2005-10-10T182738Z_01_EIC066362_RTRIDST_0_SCIENCE-EGYPT-PYRAMID-DC.XML"><br />Egypt prepares new probe of mystery pyramid shafts</a>[reuters.co.uk]<br /><br />The second is an update about Wagner Technologies' Arturito. We wrote about him <a href="http://rossums-children.blogspot.com/2005/09/arturito-finds-sunken-treasure.html">here</a> and <a href="http://rossums-children.blogspot.com/2005/09/little-arturito-camera-shy.html">here</a> when he discovered buried treasure on an island off the coast of Chile a couple weeks ago.<br /><br />It seems that Wagner Tech have renounced all their rights to the treasure in exchange for an assurance that the Chilean government will donate some of the money to charities. Wagner claims it only wanted the publicity from the find, and doesn't really want the treasure. It feels like there is more to this story than anybody is revealing right now, but hopefully it'll all work out ok in the end.<br /><a href="http://www.tcgnews.com/santiagotimes/index.php?nav=story&story_id=10065&topic_id=1"><br />Wagner Renounces Claim to Chile's Buried Treasure</a>[tcgnews.com]Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09918775714727957926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11131405.post-1128951762551730962005-10-10T06:42:00.000-07:002005-10-10T07:16:34.976-07:00Grand Challenge Wrap-Up<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/1600/stanford%20-%20eat%20dust1.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/200/stanford%20-%20eat%20dust1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Well, the Grand Challenge is over, and the robots are all headed home. Stanford has been heavily decorated and Team TerraMax might have proved that sometimes all you really need is a bigger hammer.<br /><br />As Primm Nevada slowly goes back to being just a hiccup on the way from L.A. to Las Vegas, I thought we'd compile a couple of the more interesting Grand Challenge sights that provided race-day information and summaries.<br /><br />I also think there is a neat human-interest story worth mentioning: Gray Team, who finished the race with an official time of seven and a half hours is from the southern Louisiana area. 75% of their team is still homeless as a result of Katrina. When dusk was approaching they said they were prepared to let their bot run beer-bottle pass (the most dangerous portion of the race) in the dark since their sytem didn't make use of visible light, and were completely confident in their creation's ability to win. That is pretty amazing.<br /><br />And for those of you who might think that this was a waste of taxpayer dollars, here's a figure to consider. When asked by a reporter how much DARPA would have spent to get this kind of performance out of contracting projects to private research firms, a DARPA official estimated 150 to 200 million. Even if DARPA spent another 23 million on the course, equipment, employees, and press-recruiting for this competition, (which is likely, when you consider all the following trucks, the helicopter, the man-made barriers, and the E-stop devices used), I think a savings of 125 million is a reasonable amount.<br /><br />I think it's too bad that the Grand Challenge is over, I'd love to see another government agency assume the mantle of host and change the objectives. Wouldn't it be nice to see an autonomous road-race from the <a href="http://www.dot.gov">Department of Transportation</a>? Perhaps something cross-country with penalty points for every time your human second has to wrest control from the vehicle for safety?<br /><br />In any case, here's a couple of links that might interest you. If you missed the webcast but are interested in hearing how the race played out, the first link provides a really engaging event-based log that is a great read and much more informative than DARPA's coverage.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.tgdaily.com/2005/10/08/darpagrandchallenge2005/">The Live TG Daily Grand Challenge Weblog</a> [TGdaily.com]<br /><br /><a href="https://dtsn.darpa.mil/grandc/forum/default.asp">The Darpa Grand Challenge Forum</a> [darpa.mil]<br /><br /><a href="http://www.popsci.com/popsci/darpachallenge/">The Popular Science Grand Challenge coverage</a> [popsci.com]Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09918775714727957926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11131405.post-1128889051914026842005-10-09T12:35:00.000-07:002005-10-09T13:29:34.696-07:00Official DARPA results for the Grand Challenge.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/1600/stanley.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/200/stanley.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Darpa published an official statement at <a href="http://www.grandchallenge.org/">grandchallenge.org</a> with the final times for the five finishing robots.<br /><br />These times are listed below. The organization links will take you to the web site for each race team.<br /><br /><div style="float:left; margin:10px"><p>Robot Name</p>Stanley<br />SandStorm<br />Highlander<br />Graybot<br />Terramax<br /></div><div style="float:left; margin:10px"><p>Organization</p><a href="http://www.stanfordracing.org/">Stanford Racing</a><br /><a href="http://www.redteamracing.org/">CMU Red Team</a><br /><a href="http://www.redteamracing.org/">CMU Red Team</a><br /><a href="http://www.grayinsco.com/">Gray Insurance</a><br /><a href="http://www.terramax.com/index_ob.cfm">Team TerraMax</a></div><div style="float:left; margin:10px"><p>Time(H:M:S)</p>6:53:58<br />7:05:50<br />7:14:00<br />7:30:16<br />12:51:00<br /></div><div style="float:left; margin:10px"><p>Avg. Speed(MPH)</p>19.1<br />18.6<br />18.2<br />17.5<br />10.2<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="clear:both"><p>Congratulations again to all the robot designers who competed this year. It was a really oustanding competition. And extra congrats to Stanley. $2 million might be the largest cash prize ever awarded to a single autonomous robot in any competition.</p></div>Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09918775714727957926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11131405.post-1128834528587236912005-10-08T21:49:00.000-07:002005-10-08T22:08:48.790-07:00WowWee + Segway: "We weren't kidding."<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/1600/robosapien%20segway%20mash-up.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/200/robosapien%20segway%20mash-up.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Our lovely assistant has come through with more information about the Segway/WowWee licensing deal.<br /><br />WowWee <b>will</b> be licensing the technology, but are recalcitrant to explain how, or in what systems. Instead they promise a "range" of products that will incorporate the information. The best quote in the story so far is probably "We will use Segway Smart Motion to enable our products to move and behave in ways that challenge the imagination and provide advanced functionality."<br /><br />I'm afraid that if my robot is behaving in ways that <i>challenge my imagination</i> I might consider that a failure rather than a success. It sounds like the sort of thing I would tell the poor sap in India on the other end of the support hotline. <br /><br />"Well, he was working fine but this morning he started cursing in German, ripped down the drapes, popped a wheelie and chased after the cat for half an hour. I can't understand what came over him. This completely challenges my imagination. Now the cat won't come out from under the bed, my drapes are ruined, and my imagination is feeling seriously threatened."<br /><br />In any case the gadget and news media grabbed hold of the story and shook it like dog with a rat. My personal favorite for "most catty" goes to the Register article for managing to make fun of Segway, Wowwee, and throw in a jab at Amazon.com and the governor of California for good measure. C'mon guys, is anybody on your good side?<br /><br />Here are the Official Bylines from the wire:<br /><a href="http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20051007005175&newsLang=en">WowWee Ltd. First to Use Segway(R) Smart Motion. . .</a> <br /><a href="http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20051007005175&newsLang=en">Segway Inc. Expands Worldwide Market. . .</a><br /><br />And here's the spin:<br /><a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/10/08/segway_licenses/">Segway's brains head for toy robot</a> [TheRegister.co.uk]<br /><a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1868415,00.asp">WowWee and Segway Partner Up</a> [PCMag]<br /><a href="http://news.designtechnica.com/article8474.html">WowWee Licenses Segway Tech for...Robots!</a>[designtechnica.com]<br /><a href="http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1040_22-5890865.html">Segway rolls out technology licenses</a> [zdnet.com's water cooler]Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09918775714727957926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11131405.post-1128820034142659542005-10-08T18:07:00.000-07:002005-10-08T18:20:50.220-07:00Grand Challenge Updates<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/1600/gclogo1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/200/gclogo1.jpg" alt="" border="0"></a>Grand Challenge official times have still not been posted. Rumours are flying and the last bot with a shot at finishing (Gray) is now less than 7 miles from the finish line.<br /><br />Red Team Racing has some fantastic links in their <a href="http://www.redteamracing.org/index.cfm?method=page.display&page=Gc05.GC05">race day blog</a>.<br /><br />It includes a link to a <a href="http://www.redteamracing.org/bonus/routeMap/">much better route map</a> and a <a href="http://redteamracing.org/index.cfm?method=page.display&page=Gc05.route&skin=popup">google maps hack that shows the course information</a>.<br /><br />But far more interesting then their excellent visual aides is their final blog entry for the day. At 5:30 PM PDT, they posted this cryptic snippet:<br /><i>Officially, DARPA has announced that "There is a Grand Challenge winner, but we are just not sure who it is yet". DARPA will pause vehicles overnight, and finish the challenge tomorrow, the 9th. This marks the end of this blog for today.</i><br /><br />I'm not sure what the story is here. Perhaps it's just a simple governmental screw up. Perhaps there was a major timing error or some minor rule is being squabbled over. Hopefully it will all be resolved soon. In any case, according to the 'live' tracking data from the GrandChallenge.org website, Gray is still out there and running. This means one of two things: either the vehicles haven't been paused or the tracking information is even more screwed up than we all thought when we realized the timers didn't stop as soon as the robots crossed the finish line.Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09918775714727957926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11131405.post-1128805200190211442005-10-08T13:53:00.000-07:002005-10-08T14:11:17.160-07:00STANLEY WINS DARPA GRAND CHALLENGE<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/1600/front_stanley_picture%20-%20stanford%20racing%20team%20grand%20challenge.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/320/front_stanley_picture%20-%20stanford%20racing%20team%20grand%20challenge.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a>Extra, extra, read all about it!<br /><br />Stanley, the autonomous and heavily modified volkswagen Touareg created by the <a href="http://www.stanfordracing.org/">Stanford Racing Team</a>, has just completed the DARPA grand challenge in 7 hours and 30 minutes. The speed limitations of the course make it impossible for any other bot to catch him in this time-elapsed competition structure.<br /><br />Congratulations to Stanford and to Stanley for winning the prestige and respect of an industry, as well as a cool US $2 million.<br /><br />I wonder if the team divides any of that money up, or the school gets to keep it all?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.grandchallenge.org/">Official Status Board</a> (click link on the left) [grandchallenge.org]Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09918775714727957926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11131405.post-1128789437718287982005-10-08T09:32:00.000-07:002005-10-08T09:37:17.723-07:00Grand Challenge Update: Leaders past halfway mark<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/1600/gclogo1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/200/gclogo1.jpg" alt="" border="0"></a>The Grand Challenge is underway, and updates are going up every minute in the teams and vehicles section at <a href="http://www.grandchallenge.org/">grandchallenge.org</a>. <br /><br />The three bots leading the charge this morning, Sandstorm of Red Team, Stanley of the Stanford Racing Team, H1ghlander of Red Team Too are all past the halfway mark.<br /><br />The bots each pulled away five minutes apart this morning and Sandstorm and H1ghlander have less than 6 miles between them still, over three hours into the course. Stanley is sandwiched between them. He's been losing a bit of ground to H1ghlander, who must have been awarded the pole position for a reason.<br /><br />The course is 131.7 miles and includes three tunnels. There is still no official route map or visual data available from the webcast, which is dissapointing.Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09918775714727957926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11131405.post-1128746253075717052005-10-07T21:07:00.000-07:002005-10-07T21:38:13.356-07:00Feeding the Rumour Mill<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/1600/robosapien%20segway%20mash-up.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/200/robosapien%20segway%20mash-up.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Rumour has it that WowWee toys, makers of Robosapien, will be licensing the smart motion technology that keeps the Segway scooter balanced. Nobody knows what for yet though.<br /><br />The only ones brave enough to publish the rumour right now (that I can find) are the people at the inquirer, so I wouldn't trust this 'scoop' much farther than I can throw it, until I hear something more official.<br /><br />(special thanks to our lovely assistant for the tip)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=26785">Segway Licenses Technology to Robot Firm</a>[theinquirer.net]<br /><br /><font style="font-size:60%">Image Mash-up courtesy of 30 seconds with the <a href="http://images.google.com/">Google Image Search</a> (GIS) and 5 minutes with the <a href="http://www.gimp.org/">Gimp</a>.</font>Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09918775714727957926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11131405.post-1128734011070209472005-10-07T18:06:00.000-07:002005-10-07T18:13:31.076-07:00DARPA Grand Challenge starts off early tomorrow<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/1600/gclogo1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/200/gclogo1.jpg" alt="" border="0"></a>At 6AM PDT tomorrow, a live webcast of the grand challenge should be available from <a href="http://www.grandchallenge.org/">grandchallenge.org</a>. I'll be waking up nice and early so I can watch the starts. I will probably post a couple of times tomorrow as events shape up.<br /><br />My smart money would be on either <a href="http://www.stanfordracing.org/">Stanley</a> or <a href="http://www.redteamracing.org/index.cfm?method=page.display&page=technology.h1ghlander">Red Team Too</a>, but <a href="http://www.aimotorvators.com/">'IT' came from the garage</a> is my 'underdog' hopeful.<br /><br />Oh, and for those of you that have satellite dishes, the live sat. feeds for tomorrows opening are <a href="http://www.grandchallenge.org/downloads/GrandChallengeSatelliteFeedInfo.pdf">listed here</a>(pdf).<br /><br />Good luck to all the teams tomorrow, and may the best robot win!Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09918775714727957926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11131405.post-1128704622418934902005-10-07T10:03:00.000-07:002005-10-07T21:02:30.796-07:00More Robotic Fish News [video and pic]<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/1600/Robotic20Fish.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6785/829/200/Robotic20Fish.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>A new article from Physorg contains more detail about the autonomous fish currently swimming around an empty tank at the London Aquarium. It includes the picture you see to your right.<br /><br />The video of them in the tank does much better justice though. It can be found <a href="http://privatewww.essex.ac.uk/%7Ejliua/video/G8/g6g8g9-short2.mpg">here</a>(mpg - 7.11meg) or through the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4313266.stm">BBC article</a>'s sidebar.<br /><br />Thanks to <a href="http://robots.net/">robots.net</a> for the heads up on this one.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.physorg.com/news7029.html">Robotic fish in action at London Aquarium</a>[physorg.com]<br /><br /><b>Update:</b> An <a href="http://privatewww.essex.ac.uk/~jliua/videogal.htm">entire video gallery</a> of robotic fish from the University of Essex is now available.Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09918775714727957926noreply@blogger.com0