Designing bug perception into robots: related news

Designing bug perception into robots

12 May 2008 Insects have provided the inspiration for a team of European researchers seeking to improve the functionality of robots and robotic tools. The research furthers the development of more intelligent robots, which can then be used by industry, and by emergency and security services, among others. Smarter robots would be better able to find humans buried beneath the rubble of a collapsed building, for example. The EU-funded SPARK project set out to develop a new robot control architecture for roving robots inspired by the principles governing the behaviour of living systems and based on the concept of self-organisation.

Robots and Slaves

Our science fiction reading group is discussing a shorter work this month, says Mark. It is Jack Williamson's novelette With Folded Hands, which appeared first in Astounding Stories in 1947. In the story a man who sells in mechanicals - basically robots - finds his business dying when new superior robots come along to compete. The new robots, streamlined black humanoids - are in every way superior to the robots he had been selling. But the new robots have more than superior technology; they have an ideology.

Robots with a Vision

The deployment of robots in industrial environments is increasing so as to achieve manufacturing economies. This trend is being driven by the technological advancements in the field of robotics. Several important performance parameters of robots have seen a phenomenal change over the past decade—there has been a drastic improvement in the reliability of robots, the payloads robots can handle, and the diversity of applications that can be deployed. Computer-vision-based robotic guidance is a significant technology that has facilitated this change (see Fig. 1). Machine-vision-based feature tracking has replaced encoder-based tracking technology in many applications.

Robots or not?

With so much written and researched about relationships between men and women, it would seem that every detail has been explored. But according to experts, the next revolution will be all about human robots. Researchers say that within four decades, there will be robots with emotions who will talk and display their own personalities. And within five years we can all expect robots which will be used as sex toys. Let's hope they don't go the way of most Durban robots, which lie mangled on our street corners!

Comment: These robots mean business

I can name many robots, but not examples of how robots are improving my quality of life. One reason for this is that even in 2008 much of my knowledge of robots is based on fiction. The world is full of robots large, small and microscopic; it is just that I am not aware of their importance to me.

Mac bug forces releases of Firefox 3.0rc3

Mozilla.org has been forced by Apple to release yet another release candidate of its next-generation Firefox 3 browser. Firefox 3.0RC3, released on Wednesday for all operating systems, offers a single bug fix, a workaround for a bug introduced in the Apple's latest Mac OS X 10.5.3 update, released a few weeks ago. First noted by MacNN, the bug, which causes some systems to hang or crash at start-up or shutdown, has been tracked to changes Apple made to "VerifiedDownloadPlugin" in Mac OS X 10.5.3. While available for all systems, the workaround for the Mac OS X 10.5.3 bug is the only change each release and may affect the release date of the browser, which is set for middle of this month.

Soft, squishy robots can change shape, size

Scientists at Tufts University are developing soft, squishy robots that are able to squeeze into spaces a fraction of their normal size and then morph back into their original size and shape. And they plan on replacing the synthetic materials used to make them with biological materials so the robots would be biodegradable, too.

Soft, squishy robots can change shape, size

Scientists at Tufts University are developing soft, squishy robots that are able to squeeze into spaces a fraction of their normal size and then morph back into their original size and shape. And the researchers plan on replacing the synthetic materials used to make the robots with biological materials so they'd be biodegradable, too.

Motoman EH-Series New "Expert Handling" Robots

"Motoman's EH-series 'Expert Handling' robots set a new standard for speed with a large robot," said a company spokesperson. "Compared to general-purpose robots, the EH-series offers up to a 22% increase in speed depending on model. These high-speed, high payload robots are specifically designed for high duty cycle material handling and offer superior performance in machine tending and material handling applications. Large work envelopes and the ability to bend over backwards, allow tools to be stored behind the robot, allowing better clearance for maintenance. Five EH models are available. These robots include an IP67 rated wrist for protection in machining environments.

Chemical robots squeeze into our future

Soft and squishy chemical robots will one day squeeze through tight spots then expand to 10 times larger, offering an advantage over rigid robots. Once a mission is complete, a chembot would biodegrade.

Unidym Enters into Second Joint Development Agreement with Samsung Electronics to Integrate Carbon Nanotubes into Display Devices

Unidym Enters into Second Joint Development Agreement with Samsung Electronics to Integrate Carbon Nanotubes into Display Devices

Unidym Enters into Second Joint Development Agreement with Samsung Electronics to Integrate Carbon Nanotubes into Display Devices

Unidym Enters into Second Joint Development Agreement with Samsung Electronics to Integrate Carbon Nanotubes into Display Devices

Unidym Enters into Second Joint Development Agreement with Samsung Electronics to Integrate Carbon Nanotubes into Display Devices

Unidym Enters into Second Joint Development Agreement with Samsung Electronics to Integrate Carbon Nanotubes into Display Devices

Emotional Robots: Software Empowers Robots To Learn When A Person Is Sad, Happy Or Angry

A robot with empathy sounds like the stuff of sci-fi movies, but with the aid of neural networks European researchers are developing robots in tune with our emotions. Feelix Growing is developing software empowering robots that can learn when a person is sad, happy or angry.

SATs tests blamed for 'turning primary pupils into little robots'

Children are being turned into 'little robots' by the primary school testing regime, it was claimed yesterday.

SATs targets blamed for turning young children into 'little robots'

Young children are being turned into 'little robots' because primary education has become a mini-version of secondary school - and the problem is being caused by SATs and league tables, teachers warned today.

Soft and squishy chemical robots will one day squeeze through tight spots then expand to 10 times larger, offering an advantage over rigid robots. Once a mission is complete, a chembot would biodegrade.

Soft and squishy chemical robots will one day squeeze through tight spots then expand to 10 times larger, offering an advantage over rigid robots. Once a mission is complete, a chembot would biodegrade.

Unidym Enters into Second Joint Development Agreement with Samsung Electronics to Integrate Carbon Nanotubes into Display Devices

MENLO PARK, Calif. - (Business Wire) Unidym, Inc, a majority-owned subsidiary of Arrowhead Research Corporation (NASDAQ:ARWR), announced today that it has entered into a second joint development agreement with Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. to extend their collaboration into a second year. The companies have been working jointly to integrate carbon nanotube materials as the transparent conductive layer in display devices. One achievement from the first year of this collaboration was the world

Robots perform the work in Denmark

Robots are increasingly becoming the new colleague at the Danish workplaces. The number of robots has over the past 12 years increased from 858 to now 3626. From 2002 the actual growth in the number of robots has been 11 percent annually, shows a study carried out by Dansk Erhverv, according to Berlingske Business.

EPSON Robots Announces New G-Series Scara Lineup

EPSON Robots, a leader in PC controlled, precision robots, has introduced the EPSON G-Series, the next generation, high performance SCARA Robots for its Micro PowerDrive Controllers.

Japanese Researchers Eye e-Skin For Robots

"As robots enter our everyday life, they need to have sensors everywhere on their bodies like humans," he told AFP. "Imagine they bump into babies. Robots need to feel temperatures, heat and pressure like we do to co-exist. Otherwise it would be dangerous," he said.

How Robots are Improving the Quality of Healthcare-Automatically

These days, doctors and nurses need to be as efficient as possible. Every minute wasted is a minute that could be better spent elsewhere, giving patients the best possible care. That's why many healthcare facilities have discovered an innovative new approach to freeing up healthcare providers' time: robots. These robots don't take the place of doctors or nurses, but instead bring drugs, equipment, meals, and other healthcare necessities to doctors and nurses, anywhere in a facility. See how Aethon, the leading manufacturer of these courier TUG mobile robots, uses Cisco wireless and security products to make it happen.

How Robots are Improving the Quality of Healthcare-Automatically

These days, doctors and nurses need to be as efficient as possible. Every minute wasted is a minute that could be better spent elsewhere, giving patients the best possible care. That's why many healthcare facilities have discovered an innovative new approach to freeing up healthcare providers' time: robots. These robots don't take the place of doctors or nurses, but instead bring drugs, equipment, meals, and other healthcare necessities to doctors and nurses, anywhere in a facility. See how Aethon, the leading manufacturer of these courier TUG mobile robots, uses Cisco wireless and security products to make it happen.

How Robots are Improving the Quality of Healthcare-Automatically

These days, doctors and nurses need to be as efficient as possible. Every minute wasted is a minute that could be better spent elsewhere, giving patients the best possible care. That's why many healthcare facilities have discovered an innovative new approach to freeing up healthcare providers' time: robots. These robots don't take the place of doctors or nurses, but instead bring drugs, equipment, meals, and other healthcare necessities to doctors and nurses, anywhere in a facility. See how Aethon, the leading manufacturer of these courier TUG mobile robots, uses Cisco wireless and security products to make it happen.

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