New Scientist Technology – Bionic suit offers wearers super-strength

A ROBOT suit has been developed that could help older people or those with disabilities to walk or lift heavy objects.

Dubbed HAL, or hybrid assistive limb, the latest versions of the suit will be unveiled this June at the 2005 World Expo in Aichi, Japan, which opened last month. A commercial product is slated for release by the end of the year.

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Advanced Robotics E-Symposium – AdRob 2005 – 6 July 2005

The International Federation of Robotics is hosting the 1st International Advanced Robotics Web Conference. This groundbreaking ‘e-vent’ is designed to stimulate global knowledge sharing amongst professionals who have an interest in/are involved with personal robotics, mobile robotics and service robotics.

The online nature of the E-Symposium means that attendees can access live presentations by world-renowned experts from the comfort of their own workplace. The live event also allows participants to engage in Q&A sessions and chat with industry colleagues via the chatroom. Professionals who are not able to attend will be able to access the presentation archive which will be made available 24 hours after the live event.

To register free of charge and to view the program, please visit http://www.adrob.e-symposium.com.

Photos: Renaissance robots – page 3 | CNET News.com

Credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Image

Dancers drive Toyota Motor’s human-controlled walking robot ‘I-foot,’ which measures 2.36 meters high, weighs 200 kilograms and can walk at a speed of 1.35 kph.
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Photos: Renaissance robots | CNET News.com

The prototype model of a chair robot called ‘WL-16 II’ is unveiled in Fukuoka, Japan, on Thursday. The two-legged robot is aimed at enabling people in wheelchairs to go up steps or move heavy goods on uneven land.

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Chinese Scientists Create Facial-expression Robot

SHENZHEN, China — Chinese scientists have announced the creation of the country’s first human-shaped robot able to make facial expressions.

The robot, the culmination of 2 years of research at the Harbin Institute of Technology’s Robot Engineering Technology Center, was unveiled in Shenzhen.The scientists named the creation “Baizhixing,” Chinese for “smart star,” reported official Chinese government news agency Xinhua.

Bao Qingshan, who headed the team that created Baizhixing, said the 13.8 inch-high robot would mainly be used in preschool education.
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Build your own robot head for $600 – Engadget – www.engadget.com /

Looking for something a little more interesting than an HDTV or a digital camera or two to spend that fat tax return on? Perhaps you’d like to try the $600 homebrew android head on for size.

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HITACHI
“EMIEW=Excellent Mobility and Interactive Existence as Workmate”

Akihabara News

“Height 130cm

Weight About 70kg

Quickness Maximum acceleration 4m/s2

High speed 6 km/h in maximum running speed”

Technology News Article | Reuters.com

Japan’s Hitachi Wheels Out Fast-Moving Humanoid

TOKYO (Reuters) – Pal and Chum look a little bit like first-graders on wheels, chatting up a storm and racing around the room.

For Hitachi Ltd., Japan’s biggest electronics conglomerate, they are the next generation of humanoid robots.

Hitachi unveiled the “Emiew,” its first humanoid robot, on Tuesday, saying it was the world’s quickest-moving robot yet.

“We aimed to create a robot that could live and coexist with people,” Toshihiko Horiuchi, project leader at Hitachi’s Mechanical Engineering Research Laboratory Robotics Technology Project, told a news conference.

“We want to make the robots useful for people … If the robots moved slower than people, users would be frustrated,” he said, explaining why Hitachi bucked the industry trend and went for wheels instead of feet for its 4.22-feet-tall robot.

Hitachi built the two Emiews — Pal and Chum — for the World Expo, which will take place beginning later this month in Aichi prefecture, about 205 miles west of Tokyo.

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Introduction of Human Type Robot, “HUBO”

A team led by professor Oh Jun-ho of the Mechanical Engineering department at KAIST held its first public demonstration of a walking human type robot called HUBO in the school’s Taewoolguan yesterday after three years of research. HUBO is shown bending 10 fingers with primary school children. During the show, HUBO danced and played games with spectators. HUBO measures 125cm and weighs 55kg, and can walk 30cm at a time (left and right strides: 15cm), and can turn itself at an angle of 45 degrees. It has 41 joints and motors all over its body allowing it various body movements.