ROBODEX2002 | News ROBODEX2002 Schedule
REMINDER – The ROBODEX Executive Committee formally announced today that ROBODEX 2002 will be held. This will be an exposition of robots as partners for human beings?personal robots that embody state-of-the art robotics. The Expo will be held March 28 to March 31 (Thursday to Sunday) in 2002, at Pacifico Yokohama Exhibition Hall in Yokohama Minatomirai area.
ZZZ online | Number 120
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Troody is (or was, I guess) a two-legged robotic replica of a Troodon dinosaur from the Cretaceous period, checking in at a hieght of 45 cm (about 18 inches – the robot not the dino) at the hips when standing , about 1.3 meters (about 4 feet) from tip of snout to end of tail, sporting over fourteen servo motors (with 16 degrees (axis) of freedom of motion) and a gyroscope, loaded with a TMS320c30 DSP (for CPU, I honestly don’t know what this is – perhaps someone can enlighten me in the discussion board) some DRAM and flash memory (for use when the device is untethered) and powered by NiMh 24v metal halide batteries (good for 30 minutes worth of charge- they decided against hydraulics so this baby is all electric), with everything together checking in at just about 4.5kg ( 10lbs). The robot can operate stand-alone (autonomous operation, guided by on board sensor input, and special “walking” algorithms), by joystick remote control, or by a host computer via a serial line.
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NASA :: The Personnal Satellite Assistant (PSA)
The Personal Satellite Assistant (PSA) is a robotic assistant for astronauts working in space. The PSA is about the size of a softball and has sensors for measuring gases, temperature, and air pressure. Also, the PSA is able to perform video conferencing and can communicate with electronic support devices such as computer servers, avionics systems, and wireless LAN bridges.
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vnunet.com Pentagon in search for robot GIs
By Nick Farrell [07-03-2002]
Exterminate!
The US Army is on the hunt for a private contractor to build war droids. Dubbed ‘Future Combat Systems’, the robots will be used to deploy sophisticated weapons in war zones to limit human casualties.
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No Robots in Robot Bar
By Steve Kettmann
2:00 a.m. March 7, 2002 PST
BERLIN — A tiny automated bar in Berlin’s hip Mitte District has attracted attention far and wide, thanks to an Internet posting this month urging people “(to) visit the Automaten Bar to have a drink served by a robot.”
One small problem: As cutting-edge as the lounge is, patrons will work up quite a thirst if they wait to be served by a robot.
“We all laughed at that,” said Torsten Oetken, one of nine organizers. “There are no robots.”
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Ananova – Child-sized robot goes on display
Pino, a child-sized robot, has been shown off at the Science Museum in London after a 10,000 mile flight from Japan.
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Koala is a mid-size robot designed for real-world applications.[…]capable of carrying larger accessories, Koala has the functionality necessary for use in practical applications (like sophisticated battery management), rides on 6 wheels for indoor all-terrain operation, and sports stylish bodywork for attractive demonstrations.
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These products have been used across a variety of domains: Research, Education and Entertainment.
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Designers Take Robots Out of Human Hands
By ANNE EISENBERG
February 28, 2002
Those battling robots on television may look fierce and formidable, but they are simply the digital successors to the Wizard of Oz, with humans pulling the levers — or joysticks — behind the scenes. It’s a lot trickier to create robots that can cope with complicated jobs on their own.
Researchers are working to create just such independent robots, endowing them with enough intelligence and versatility to be, in the jargon of the field, autonomous — able to work out complex problems by computer without help from their creators.
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Chicago Tribune | `Nervous’ toys, kind of dumb, are enlivening robotics
Like animals, they respond by sensors to environment
By Barnaby J. Feder
New York Times News Service
Published February 25, 2002
Mark Tilden recalls being a lonely child, repeatedly uprooted by his family’s moves around Canada. He took comfort in his gift for constructing toys, especially mobile toys.
“I was born a compulsive builder,” Tilden said. “I made my first robot out of sticks and rubber bands when I was 3.”
Tilden, now 41 and a resident of Los Alamos, N.M., figures he has made thousands more since then. His designs have included machines to explore other planets, mine-clearing devices, toilet bowl cleaners and, more recently, a line of toys called BIO-Bugs.
The footlong creatures, which vaguely resemble roaches despite having just four legs, were a hit at the 2001 Toy Fair in New York and were brought to market last fall by Hasbro.
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New Zealand News – Technology – Robo-roach to eat up the dirt
26.02.2002
By SIMON COLLINS
Every home in First World countries will have its own cockroach-shaped robot to do the housework within 20 years, says a new New Zealand research team.
The three-person team of robotics experts moved en bloc from South Africa’s Natal University to open a new research centre at Massey University’s Albany campus.
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“Humanoid robots are available in Japan already. They can go round and do all the work in the home,” said Professor Glen Bright, Natal’s youngest associate professor and, at 35, head of Massey’s research centre.
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