MEDICAL ROBOTICS
Robotic Smart Hand has Feelings


SPACE EXPLORATION
Nasa Tests New Moon Rover


ENTERTAINMENT TECH
AIDA Is Your Dashboard Back Seat Driving Robot


MEDICAL ROBOTICS
PETMAN - BigDog gets a Big Brother


ACADEMIC RESEARCH
Bacteria Are Models Of Efficiency

news>january 09 (23)

Have some plastic bottles?


Submitted by Daniel Shope on Saturday Jan 31, 2009 06:25 PM | ( Permalink) | Comments(0)

In resource-limited areas worldwide, individuals with amputations may not be able to gain access to prosthetic devices due to a lack of the materials needed to fabricate them. This simple technique utilizes a 2 liter soda bottle to create below the elbow prosthesis suitable for a number of light duty activities.

Interview: Giant Robot Builder Jaimie Mantzel


Submitted by Daniel Shope on Saturday Jan 31, 2009 05:41 PM | ( Permalink) | Comments(0)

Jaimie Mantzel is building a giant robot. He believes the world needs more of them and we agree. When finished, it will be 12' tall and 18' across with room for him to pilot it. We were so fascinated with the concept that we had to ask for more details.

NASA To Test New-Generation Space Rocket


Submitted by Daniel Shope on Saturday Jan 31, 2009 04:10 PM | ( Permalink) | Comments(0)

Back when he was a high school student, in April 1981, Robert Ess says he was absolutely transfixed by NASA's very first flight of its new space shuttle. "I was obsessed with it," he says. The aging shuttle fleet is scheduled to be mothballed next year, after construction of the international space station is complete. Now Ess is obsessed with the first test flight of the shuttle's replacement. This time around, though, it's his job.

Swallow a Surgeon


Submitted by Daniel Shope on Saturday Jan 31, 2009 11:57 AM | ( Permalink) | Comments(0)

Scientists from the Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems at ETH Zurich (IRIS) are developing tiny robot pills that will be swallowed and then perform surgical operations inside the body. These robot pills will be controlled from outside the body, which should make surgeries far less invasive, safer, faster, and more efficient.

Army's 'Crusher' gets $14 million makeover


Submitted by Daniel Shope on Saturday Jan 31, 2009 11:49 AM | ( Permalink) | Comments(0)

Carnegie Mellon University will upgrade its 6.5-ton robot mobile, the "Crusher," by adding advanced suspension and hybrid-electric innards as part of a $14.4 million Army grant meant to push the envelope for unmanned ground vehicles.

Upgrading the Prosthetic Hand


Submitted by Daniel Shope on Saturday Jan 31, 2009 11:45 AM | ( Permalink) | Comments(0)

A lightweight hydraulic hand with individually powered fingers could change the lives of amputees, say researchers in Germany. The Fluidhand, according to its developers, is lighter, behaves more naturally, and has greater flexibility than artificial hands that use motorized fingers.

Quasi, the most friendly robot you'll ever meet


Submitted by Daniel Shope on Saturday Jan 31, 2009 11:41 AM | ( Permalink) | Comments(0)

Quasi, an animatronic robot created by a team of Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) students, has been met with great enthusiasm at appearances across the nation. Appearing as a spokesperson for Super Bowl XLI and the 2006 World's Fair, Quasi wows audiences numbering in the millions.

NICO robot is self-aware


Submitted by Daniel Shope on Friday Jan 30, 2009 05:43 AM | ( Permalink) | Comments(0)

A recent article in New Scientist featured two cutting-edge robots: Leonardo, who could "imagine" himself in the shoes of different humans, and Nico, who is today's topic. Nico is the brainchild of Yale University scientists Kevin Gold and Brian Scassellati, and is a so-called humanoid robot, meaning he has appendages and some facial features of a human. However, he's not nearly as cuddly looking as Leo, and rather resembles a skeleton.

Musical robot composes, performs and teaches


Submitted by Daniel Shope on Friday Jan 30, 2009 05:16 AM | ( Permalink) | Comments(0)

A professor of musical technology at Georgia Tech, Gil Weinberg, enlisted the support of graduate student Scott Driscoll to create Haile -- the first truly robotic musician. In this way, he became a sort of Geppetto creating his musical Pinocchio.

Robo-forklift keeps humans out of harm's way


Submitted by Daniel Shope on Friday Jan 30, 2009 04:42 AM | ( Permalink) | Comments(0)

Researchers in MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) are working on a better way to handle supplies in a war zone: a semi-autonomous forklift that can be directed by people safely away from the dangers of the site.

Assistive robot adapts to people, new places


Submitted by Daniel Shope on Friday Jan 30, 2009 04:36 AM | ( Permalink) | Comments(0)

In the futuristic cartoon series "The Jetsons," a robotic maid named Rosie whizzed around the Jetsons' home doing household chores--cleaning, cooking dinner and washing dishes. Such a vision of robotic housekeeping is likely decades away from becoming reality. But at MIT, researchers are working on a very early version of such intelligent, robotic helpers--a humanoid called Domo who grasp objects and place them on shelves or counters.

Robotic Arm on NASA Mars Rover Showcases COSMOS Analysis Software.


Submitted by Daniel Shope on Thursday Jan 29, 2009 06:15 PM | ( Permalink) | Comments(0)

Design engineers used SolidWorks' integrated finite element analysis application to shave weight off arm while maintaining its strength. The NASA "Spirit" rover's robotic arm performed flawlessly when it deployed from its rover mount and positioned instruments for their first measurements on Mars partly because engineers tested its design with COSMOSWorks(TM) finite element analysis (FEA) software before the rocket blasted off for the red planet.

Wide-eyed, dancing BeatBots help child development and autism researchers


Submitted by Daniel Shope on Thursday Jan 29, 2009 06:42 AM | ( Permalink) | Comments(0)

The concept is deceptively simple: a rubbery, yellow robot that be-bops its way into the hearts of children and helps researchers to learn more about children's social development and autistic behavior.

Aiko - the walking, talking face of the future


Submitted by Daniel Shope on Thursday Jan 29, 2009 06:16 AM | ( Permalink) | Comments(0)

She has a face that women would love, can speak two languages, possesses excellent academic skills, loves to help and never complains. Although she sounds like the perfect woman, she is actually an ‘it’; a female robot named Aiko, designed and built by a Vietnamese Canadian.


Are Unmanned Fighters Ready for Combat?


Submitted by Daniel Shope on Thursday Jan 29, 2009 05:40 AM | ( Permalink) | Comments(0)

At a muddy test track in Grand Prairie, Texas, 13 miles west of Dallas, the robot is winning. It has climbed on top of a sedan, its 2.5-ton bulk propped on the crumpled roof. The car never stood a chance.

Medical robotics expert explores the human-machine interface


Submitted by Daniel Shope on Thursday Jan 29, 2009 05:33 AM | ( Permalink) | Comments(0)

Jacob Rosen is developing a wearable robotic "exoskeleton" that could enable a person to lift heavy objects with little effort. It's a bit like the robotic armor that has long been a staple of futuristic battle scenes in science fiction books and movies. But what excites Rosen is the device's potential to help people disabled by stroke or degenerative diseases.

Robots Show That Brain Activity Is Linked To Time As Well As Space


Submitted by Daniel Shope on Thursday Jan 29, 2009 12:29 AM | ( Permalink) | Comments(0)

Humanoid robots have been used to show that that functional hierarchy in the brain is linked to time as well as space. Researchers from RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Japan, have created a new type of neural network model which adds to the previous literature that suggests neural activity is linked solely to spatial hierarchy within the animal brain.

New Musical Instrument Drums Up YouTube Hit


Submitted by Daniel Shope on Thursday Jan 29, 2009 12:03 AM | ( Permalink) | Comments(0)

A video of a new musical instrument created by a Queen’s University Belfast student has attracted over one million hits on the internet. PhD student Peter Bennett (26) from Stevenage, England, made the video to demonstrate the BeatBearing - his electronic musical instrument that uses ball bearings to create different drum patterns.

Robot Mine Sweeper Gets Help From Clue Game Strategies


Submitted by Daniel Shope on Wednesday Jan 28, 2009 12:22 AM | ( Permalink) | Comments(0)

A newly developed mathematical model that figures out the best strategy to win the popular board game CLUE© could some day help robot mine sweepers navigate strange surroundings to find hidden explosives.

Bionic hand gives student new lease on life


Submitted by Daniel Shope on Wednesday Jan 21, 2009 04:35 AM | ( Permalink) | Comments(0)

A student who lost his left hand in a car accident has been fitted with the world's most advanced prosthetic limb. Evan Reynolds has been given a new lease of life by the fully functional artificial replacement. The sports biology student at University of the West of England (UWE), in Bristol, was the second person in Britain to be fitted with the advanced i-LIMB hand.

Busted Spine-Discs? Researchers Are Growing New Ones, Bioengineering Intervertebral Discs


Submitted by Daniel Shope on Sunday Jan 18, 2009 04:19 PM | ( Permalink) | Comments(0)

Each year, 40 to 60 percent of American adults suffer from chronic back pain. For patients diagnosed with severe degenerative disc disease, neurosurgeons must perform surgery called discectomy — removing the IVD — followed by a fusion of the vertebrate bones to stabilize the spine. Even after all that effort, the patient's back will likely not feel the same as before their injury.

Carnegie Mellon Engineering Researchers To Create Speech Recognition In Silicon


Submitted by Daniel Shope on Sunday Jan 18, 2009 07:59 AM | ( Permalink) | Comments(0)

Carnegie Mellon University's Rob A. Rutenbar is leading a national research team to develop a new, efficient silicon chip that may revolutionize the way humans communicate and have a significant impact on America's homeland security.

Scientists invent robot suit to help you Weed the Garden


Submitted by Daniel Shope on Wednesday Jan 14, 2009 01:45 AM | ( Permalink) | Comments(0)

With gardening becoming increasingly popular thanks to the credit crunch any help with the digging and weeding is to be welcomed. To that effect Japanese scientists have come up with a robot suit designed to help with tilling the soil. The only problem is it might give whoever's trying to put it on a bad back never mind what the neighbors will say.
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