Technabob » robotic

Digger D-3 Robo Tank Exterminates Landmines

Range — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 13:43:24 +0000

While this isn’t something new, since the British developed these types of tanks in WWII, the robotic Digger D-3 is a modern-day take on the mine-sweeping tank. The D-3 is remote-controlled and will crawl around a minefield digging up up landmines thanks to its flail hammers.

The flail is composed of tungsten hammers that pound 10″ into the ground. For harder soils, there’s also a mechanical tiller which can plow through and rip out the mines as well. If the mines explode, the tank is supposed to be easily repairable. All the while, it’s operated remotely, with the operator a safe distance away from the exploding mines.

This tank was created by a Swiss non-profit organization, to help dig out the mines in minefields without risking the lives of servicemen and women. It’s been in Senegal, Sudan, Chad, and other places where minefields are commonplace.

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The video shows the older Digger D-2 in action, but you get the idea on how it works. It can clear about 10,000 square feet per hour, which is pretty cool.

[via PopSci via DVice]

Sphero: Get Your Hands on Some Remote-Controlled Glowing Balls

Shane McGlaun — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 02:11:31 +0000

Balls are very near and dear to most men’s hearts. We use them for all sorts of fun and games. We try to take care of our varied balls and keep them from harm’s way. No one wants one of their balls to go flat for instance or explode due to mishandling. We also want to be sure that our balls don’t get stained, so we wash them frequently. Balls are a wonderful thing, but they do require some maintenance and care.

A nice set of robotic balls would be pretty cool too, I think. These Sphero remote-controlled robotic balls that glow are perfect for all geeky guys. They are even good for the ladies too. That way your lady friend can have her own balls to play with so she won’t be tempted to take yours and crush them accidentally or play too rough with them and cause permanent damage. It pains me to even think of balls being mishandled. The Sphero balls will work with a cool golf app called Sphero Golf on both Android smartphones and the iPhone.

Sphero balls are controlled by Bluetooth via your smartphone. If you are the developer sort, you can use the API to make apps that will let you play with your balls in new and interesting ways. The Sphero balls are 2.9-inches in diameter and can roll all around in any direction. Rolling balls make me a bit nervous honestly; I always fear they will get stepped on.

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Sphero balls will be priced at $130 (USD) and you will get the Sphero ball, the Sphero golf app, and two other apps as well for the price. You will be able to get the remote controlled Sphero balls later this year, but you can pre-order some balls now so you know you will have balls in hand come the holiday season. Balls.

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[via Wired]

DLR Hand Arm System: The Dawn of the Terminator?

Range — Sat, 14 May 2011 14:28:08 +0000

Some German researchers over at DLR have come up with an advanced robotic arm that’s actually really sturdy. Initially, the arm might look fragile, but that isn’t the case. Take a look at the video, in which a researcher takes a baseball bat against the robotic space arm.

The arm can perform human-like movements and the arm still functions fine, even after someone tried to bash it in. The arm has 52 motors and miniaturized electronics. The joints and actuators are designed to dissipate energy in the case of a collision, making it sturdy.

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This could mean that making anthropomorphic robots is closer than previously thought. Does this mean that Terminators are coming soon? Probably not, but systems like these could lead to many innovations in prosthetics and in robotics.

[via IEEE Spectrum]

Kinect Hacked to Control Pr2 Robot by Willow Garage

Shane McGlaun — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 18:00:26 +0000

Hacks of the Microsoft Kinect are just flooding in now that the device is in the hands of geeks everywhere. I bet Microsoft never thought people would be using the Kinect for anything other than gaming as it was intended.

A new Kinect hack surfaced from Willow Garage. This is the company behind that crazy expensive PR2 robot that is used for research into human-robot interfaces. The guys over at Willow Garage took the Kinect and hacked it to allow motion control of their PR2 robot.

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This sounds like the tech the little boy used in the horrible remake of Lost in Space with Joey in the lead. The hack is very cool though, and Willow Garage is working on hacking two of the devices to give 3D input for gestures.

[via Fast Company]

Bear Robot Designed to Save Lives, Looks Like It Will Kill Us All

Technabob — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 22:40:42 +0000

Vecna Robotics BEAR (Battlefield Extraction-Assist Robot) was created to help with everything from search and rescue missions to hazmat handling. But despite it’s good intentions and unassuming looks in the photo below, this robot scares the crap out of me.

What gives me the creeps? This video…

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In the clip, we get to see BEAR pumping iron, breaking down doors, smashing things, and carrying humans around like they were ragdolls. Lifesaving, my ass. This little guy could really be trouble if it fell into the hands of the wrong evil genius.

All we need now is for Cyberdyne Systems to merge with Vecna, and we’ll all be robot food.

[via College Humor]

Silifulin: Robotic Tail for Humans Should be Renamed Silly Foolin’

Range — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 13:10:21 +0000

Here’s another really strange and bizarre item from Japan. This outlandish device lets humans who always wanted to have tails actually have one.

The SiliFulin robotic tail, designed by Ryota Kuwakubo, was designed to react to the movements of the wearer. It has two servos to power the articulating tail segments.

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Unless they’ve got some kind of a furry fetish or you’re doing some LARPing, I can’t see people on the street wearing these, but I could see mascots and clowns giving these a try.

[via Presurfer]

Giant Robot Dinosaurs Walk Among Us

Technabob — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 19:36:42 +0000

This nifty bit of robot footage comes to us from Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST).

Back at the end of 2005, the Institute developed two animatronic dinosaurs (one Tyrannosaurus Rex, one Parasaurolophus) that could actually balance and walk without any external stability systems. This is the first time I’ve seen any footage of them in action, so I thought I’d share it with you:

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Every kid’s gonna want one of these. All they’re missing are frickin’ laser beams on their heads.

[via Geekologie]

Autonomous Jeep Conquers Pikes Peak

Technabob — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 14:11:49 +0000

Axion Racing’s robotic Jeep Grand Cherokee is the first computer-controlled vehicle to conquer the complexities of climbing to the 14,110 foot summit of Colorado’s Pikes Peak.

The tricked-out SUV climed to the top in just over 47 minutes, certainly not record time, but still quite impressive for a vehicle that has no driver. The Jeep uses data from GPS, lasers, cameras, sound detection and radar systems to guide its way.