Robotics Innovation by Dennis Hong

Reference: Ted Talks

Robotics Revolution and AI

Reference: TVO

A-Team of Robots

Roomba Pac-Man

The Research and Engineering Center for Unmanned Vehicles (RECUV) at the University of Colorado at Boulder has been developing software that helps robots form ad-hoc networks and distribute cooperative control of their operations. They've implemented a real-life version of Pac-Man using Roombas.

Flying Spy Bots

The US military wants to shoot off loads of flying, spying robots using missiles to make for faster sureillance and aerial attack. The first time for military: unmanned, long-range, ultra-high speed surveillance. The military refrained from building global strike missles due to similiarity of an atomic attacker which may trigger another world war. Drones coming from missles may give a larger geographic range for surveillance, while analyzing their own video. However, analysts are not equipped to cope with loads of data and parse them in real time.

Reference: Wired

Humaniod Robot's Task of Door Opening

It is still a challenge for Roboticsts to design humanoid robots to run, open doors and etc. Arisumi, researcher at Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and one of the top centers for humanoid research, explains that opening doors for humanoid robots is a challenge. A large force is needed initially to open a door, especially for old western style doors that spring back. A motion to open the door requires a desired angle and precise support for the entire open action in one-follow through movement. Many other facts need to be considered such as upper body position, foot position, opening angle of the door, angular velocity of the door, impact velocity of the robot and etc. The research team developed a technique and computation for HRP-2 humanoid robot to open the door.

Reference: IEEE Spectrum

AWE Robotic Wall Project

The eight-degree-of-freedom robowall, powered by electric motors, has multiple touch-screen displays and mobile desk units where users can select six different configurations and fine-tune them.

Brain-Machine Interface Research

Brain-computing with a prosthetic device is gaining ground on research and development. Researchers at Duke University Medical Center is working on a real-time interface with a full-body exoskeleton to be controlled by signals from a paraplegics brain. Their ultimate goal is to enable a paralyzed individual to walk again by the end of 2012.

Four years ago, the project began with the implantation of electrodes in a rhesus monkey's brain that detects the movement of an arm. The initial process is decoding the brain signals from the monkey's cerebral cortex while it held a joystick to move a single shape in a video game. Eventually, the monkey was able to use its mind to move the object without the joystick. Three years later, a different rhesus monkey was implanted with a new BMI in the motor and sensory cortex to control a computer-screen image of a human-like figure walking on treadmill. The monkey was rewarded for walking in sync with the robot. The treadmill was turned off after an hour, but the monkey was able to direct the robot to walk another few minutes. This research indicates that part of the monkey's brain is adapted to control the robot movement. Therefore it is possible to establish connections between the brain and a computational device, which will lead to the ability to control the movement of limbs.

Reference: IEEE Institute

Robot Armada in Space

In the future, the approach of planetary exploration maybe different than traditional methods. An armada of robots instead of one will be sent on exploration, where each autonomous robot will be expendable and low-cost. In addition, they will command themselves or with each other simultaneously. A team at the University of Arizona are developing autonomous software and have built a robotic test bed that can mimic a field geologist or astronaut, capable of working independently and as part of a large team.

An example mission scenario will be using an orbiter to circle Titan with a global view of the moon while communicating to the air balloons to fly to unknown areas or areas of interest. The aerial balloon commanding multiple rovers on surface exploration. On the other hand, the rover can report to the airship or orbiter of an aerial geographic property on the surface.  The idea is similar to divide and conquer with autonomous robots in space.

Reference: http://autonomy.caltech.edu

"Petman" Prototype

A machine that mimics walking of a human being, while balancing itself. It can also simulate human physiology within a protective suit for military tests.

Humanoid Robot Plays Soccer

Created by Hajime Sakamoto, Hajime 33 is the latest addition to Sakamoto’s fleet of humanoid robots. Powered by batteries, the robot is controlled with a PS3 controller, and it can walk and kick a ball. Hajime 33 weighs in at just 44 pounds while overlooking his creator at more than 6 feet 5 inches tall.

Reference: Wired

Underwater Benthic Rover

Benthic Rover, a robot that crawls along the ocean floor, explores deep ocean depths to track changes on the surface of the ocean as well as marine communities. With the Monterey Accelerated Research System, problems can be fixed almost immediately.

Reference: Wired

Robotics

Vecna Robotics and Japan's RIKEN have used teddy bear-like robots to make it accessible and friendlier to humans.

The Battlefield Extraction-Assist Robot

Robot for Interactive Body Assistance

Reference: IEEE Spectrum

Guitar Playing Robot

Intel and National Instruments shows the new virtualization tool

Robotic Butler

Intel Research's Personal Robotics project aims to develop useful robotic assistants for indoor, populated environments. The project is spread across the Pittsburgh and Seattle labs. Currently, Pittsburgh focuses on mid-range perception, motion planning, and manipulation research, while Seattle focuses on short-range sensing and perception, and human-robot interaction.

Reference: http://personalrobotics.intel-research.net/

Herb: A Home Exploring Robotic Butler

An autonomous mobile manipulator that performs useful manipulation tasks in the home

Manipulation Planning with Caging Grasps

Algorithm for performing constrained tasks such as opening doors and drawers by robots such as humanoid robots or mobile manipulators

Robotic Swimming Fish

The picture shown are prototypes for a new type of robotic fish that only costs a few hundred dollars each. The tiny new robotic fish that mimic swimming style of brass or tuna by controlling the vibration of the fishes body. Thus, it can maneuver into places too small for underwater autonomous vehicles. Each fish is built from a small piece of soft, flexible polymer that is resistant to various elements. There are potentially important applications for this robot.

Reference: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/08/robofish/

High Speed Robotic Hand

Ishidawa Komuro Lab's high-speed robot hand movement, Impressive!

Reference: http://www.k2.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/papers/fusion_movies-e.html

The Guardium UGV

Video: the Guardium unmanned ground system

An all terrain autonomous surveillance vechicle capable of combat support, reaction to unexpected events, persistent navigation using impervious panoramic artificial imaging, video compression and data fusion.