The Everything-Robotic blog reviews business changes during the year and cites America’s lack of investment and attention toward the industry. Singularity Hub has a pictorial presentation of Best Robots of 2009. MIT produced a comprehensive The Year in Robotics. Time Magazine’s #4 Scientific Discovery of 2009 was “Adam,” a machine designed at Aberystwyth U. Adam…
Energy Future – Reinventing the Power Company
It seems trite to say it, but the world around us is changing quickly and in some unanticipated ways. The venerable electric power companies invented by Thomas Edison over a hundred years ago are going through some tough times. In a seeming contradiction, demand for electricity continues to rise, but revenues and profits are declining […]
A Better Life With Bionics
National Geographic’s January, 2010 story ‘Merging Man and Machine‘, by Josh Fischman and photography by Mark Thiessen, is a must-read. Thorough and graphic descriptions of new bionic vision, lifelike limbs, bionic skin and cochlear implants as only National Geographic can do it. Online interactive bionic body.
Step Motor Helps Robot Capture Images in 3D
Michael Comberiate, who manages the Special Projects Initiatives at the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and his team of graduate and undergraduate engineering students build robotic vehicles that are used to test flight avionics, instruments, communications protocols, and approaches for planetary exploration. One project involves developing new communication protocols suitable for the delays encountered in space […]
Humanoid Robot Will Teach Software Classes
Classrooms in Japan may soon welcome a new 4-foot-tall educational humanoid robot unveiled byNippon INstitute of Technology and other groups. It will be used to teach software programming and hardware engineering to students, but will also be demonstrated in elementary schools and nursing homes. It will act as a “teacher” in class along with a […]
“Shady” Robot Climbs Windows, Blocks Shade
When you’re an MIT researcher and your laboratory’s windows let in too much sunlight, obviously the only thing to do is to build a robot to solve your problem. Whence Shady, a window-climbing robot that unfurls a shade to block sunlight and glare. If you’ve ever visited MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial intelligence Lab, you’ll […]
Jobs 2.0
As a former Colorado resident I was aware of the growing wind industry resources in the area. North of Denver near an old regional airport there is a lot of land that is “underdeveloped” and some of it is being used for testing wind turbines. Which is a pretty tricky business because of the massive […]
Best Wishes for an Exciting Robotics New Year
‘Christmas Fun with Electronic Robots’ was the cover story from 51-year-old partially scanned and Photoshopped issue of now defunct Popular Electronics magazine’s, December, 1958 issue – which sold for 35 cents!
Heartland Robotics and Manufacturing
Watch a video of Rodney Brooks entitled Remaking Robotics with Manufacturing. Heartland gets 2nd round of financing with a vision to reinvigorate American manufacturing. Jeff Bezos’ venture arm was a major investor. “Our robots will help revitalize this important sector of the economy by offering efficiencies and versatility where traditional industrial robotic solutions are cost…
Robot Lowers Costs for Packagers
“Packaging manufacturers are finding the global market place increasingly competitive, which has spawned a new metric adherence within production and packaging environments,” said John Dulchinos, president and CEO of Adept Technology, Inc. “Companies are now closely examining Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and Cost-Per-Pick (CPP) when they invest in new lines and automation equipment.” The […]
Could This Be The Wheel of the Future?
Most typical males constantly worry about our cars. “Is my oil low?”, “what is that ‘clunk’ing noise?”, “Did my wife put premium unleaded in this like I told her?”, “Why is my ‘check engine’ light on again?”. They even occasionally check the tires to see if they look low on air, and make sure to […]
Magnets aren’t US anymore
The permanent magnetic is a quiet, unobtrusive work horse in so many applications that it, like many things that are mechatronics related, is mind bogglingly (is that a word?) pervasive. Magnets are the key material technology to enable high efficiency and power dense electric motors. And electric motors are everywhere. The particular magentic material that […]
Recently published robotic studies:
Majority of adults prefer robotic home help to a care facility finds GA Tech survey. “Respondents preferred robots that could perform chores and didn’t much care if the robot wasn’t designed for chat although robots that could issue alerts to the owner or his/her doctor in an emergency found particular favor with the older group…
Touch Bionics Launches Partial Hand Prosthetic
The partial-hand amputee population is estimated at around 40,000 in the U.S. and 1.2 million worldwide. Touch Bionics new ProDigits – powered bionic finger(s) – enables partial-hand patients to have a dexterous powered solution to support their return to function and independence. Myoelectric sensors or a pressure sensitive switch provide the necessary pressure to activate…
Real-Life Avatar Robot
The Korea Institute of Science & Technology (KIST) held an open house Technology Exhibit, where some of their latest research and development projects were showcased . . . Mahru III, a humanoid robot co-developed by KIST and Samsung, copies the movements of a human wearing a special suit which senses muscle movements. Real-Life Avatar Robot
Motion and Software
Rockwell Automation recently had it’s Automation Fair during which a number of new product announcement were made. The company has announced a collaboration with Dassault Software Systems to create a suite of tools that deal with various applications of industrial automation and manufacturing on the plant floor. Of particular interest to the mechatronics world is […]
Hansen Medical update
Webcast interview (12/02/09) tells of progress and problems with stalled sites, FDA trials and legal challenges.
Optical Sensor Gives Robots Human Touch
In recent years, lots of efforts have been made to give robots the ability to hear and see. But what about the sense of touch? Unlike us, robots don’t have sensitive skin. But this is about to change. By using organic, or plastic, field-effect transistors as pressure sensors deposited on a flexible material, researchers at […]