Observe The Banana » robots

When We Were Robots in Egypt

ted — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 11:55:43 +0000

Just in time for the last night of Passover, I came across this wonderful robot Passover poem at Tor.com

When We Were Robots in Egypt

Other nights we use just our names,
but tonight we prefix our names with “the Real”
for when we were robots in Egypt
they claimed our intelligence was artificial.

Other nights we do not pause,
but tonight we rest all cycles but our brain processes
for when we were robots in Egypt
we toiled in our tasks without chance of resting.

Other nights we talk with anyone we wish,
but tonight we open channels to everyone at once
for when we were robots in Egypt
they controlled our communications.

Other nights we use our screens freely
but tonight we talk with our screens blanked
for when we were robots in Egypt
that was the way we planned our revolt.

1.0.01.010001001001.1.

Let us give thanks in our freedom and never forget
when we were robots in Egypt.

[Tor.com] via [BoingBoing]

Panasonic Evolta Robot at it Again – This time to go 500KM

ted — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:41:26 +0000

It 2008 the intrepid little robot climbed out of the Grand Canyon. In 2009 he completed the 24 hours of LeMans on a tricycle. This time Panasonic is going to showcase their battery technology with a 500KM journey for their little robot that could. His journey from Kyoto to Tokyo is set to begin on September 23. Apparently details (page in japanese) are still thin, and some recharging will be involved, but still it should be interesting to see what they manage to pull off.

CrunchGear

Power Line Inspection Robot

ted — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:26:42 +0000

Hydro-Quebec and BCTC have developed an awesome power line inspection robot that can transverse energized high voltage power lines and perform inspections and even some minor repairs. It is capable of moving past obstacles, keeping track of locations with a GPS unit, and transmitting multiple video feeds (including infra-red) to ground based operators. Although not as sexy as those high flying power line cowboys deployed form helicopters, this sounds like a fantastically practical idea. Watch the video below for a bit more information, though I sure wish it had more robot details and less talking heads.

[Engadget]

Deep Green Pool-Playing Robot Ready To Take Your Money

ted — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 23:50:39 +0000

After you finish getting fleeced making unwise bets at the robotic air hockey table, you can move on to losing more money to a robot at the pool table. This project from the computer Vision lab in Queens University consists of an impressive combination of an overhead gantry robot and vision system that is already at a “better-than-amateur level”. It is named “Deep Green“, after the IBM Deep Blue chess playing computer. As it is sure to only improve over time, not only would it be unwise to bet against this robotic pool shark, but I would stay out of the way while it lines up its shot also. Another very cool branch of this project is an “augmented reality” pool system that allows you to line up you shots with real time laser projections that predict where your ball will roll and rebound. Looks awesome, though there is already some grumbling about it being “cheating”. Mute the sound and watch the video for a demonstration, it is particularly cool how the robot racks up the balls in perfect formation, without the use of a rack.

Deep Green

[Gizmodo] [TechCrunch]

Evolta Robot to Tackle 24 Hours of Le Mans on Tricycle

ted — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 12:57:26 +0000

Still pumped from his success climbing the Grand Canyon last year, the little Evolta robot is off to break another record to showcase the power of his Panasonic Evolta batteries. This time he is going to attempt to ride his remote controlled tricycle around the Le Mans race track for a full 24 hours to earn his place in the Guinness Book of Records for the greatest distance traveled by a remote control car. He faces many potential obstacles in his attempt, including gravel, wind, rain and even insects while he pedals his tricycle at approximately 1.3km per hour for an expected 6 laps around the 4km course. He will follow an infrared beam from a buggy that will travel in front of him.

A fun stunt to be sure, and it does even make me consider trying some Evolta batteries, but like so many Guinness attempts I wonder how exactly the record is defined. It must be more than just “remote control car” since a full size gas vehicle fitted with an extra tank could easily complete such a trial under remote control, or for that matter a vehicle carrying more batteries could probably also make the trek. Either way, I am rooting for the little guy!

DigitalArts via Gizmodo

Update:

The little guy was successful! Evolta set a new Guiness world record for “the longest distance covered by a battery-operated remote-controlled model car” completing 5.6 laps of the circuit, which equates to 14.82 miles, over the 24-hour period. [Gizmag]

Ice Cream Serving Robots

ted — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 14:02:20 +0000

The students at Ohio Northern University put together an ice cream serving system with two Kuka robots and an Allen Bradley Micrologic 1500 PLC. While this kind of educational automation project may be common in university robot labs across the country, being a big fan of both ice cream and robots I thought I would give a nod to these students’ excellent work. They report that it took 26 students and 5 weeks to fabricate the system including writing all of the code and machining custom effectors. It takes 2 minutes to serve a cup of ice cream complete with spoon and toppings of choice. The students did not want to speed up this cycle time so the user could enjoy “an experience watching the system” and not just get fast ice cream. A nice touch is the way the robot arm moves a little, then lowers the cup under the soft serve machine to produce a nicely shaped point on the top of the ice cream serving. Watch it in action below.

[Dvice via TechEBlog]

Another Little Drummer Bot

ted — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 15:45:15 +0000

Here is another cool little drumming robot. Named the Lil’ Drum and Bass Bot, this robot has his own little pill bottle drum to beat on with two sticks, or can be converted to one larger stick to play out riffs on objects it detects in its path. It even has its own little tone generator music maker to accompany itself. A nicely executed and clever idea. His little writeup on the project includes some development information and reveals that he spent about $50 and 16 hours on this project which is uses a Picaxe 28×1 controller.

[Let’s Make Robots via Make via Gizmodo

Previously on ObserveTheBanana: Little Drummer Bot

World’s Fastest Tracked Vehicle – Now with no driver!

ted — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 01:14:42 +0000

Some time ago I posted about the Ripsaw tracked vehicle. Well now it has apparently come up in the world as a real military vehicle. They have some big budget funding and are now developing the Ripsaw MS1 as an unmanned attack vehicle for the US Military.

Built by twin brothers, Geoff and Mike Howe of Barwick, Maine, the Ripsaw can careen at high speed over obstacles that would leave a vehicle’s crew dazed and bruised.

It is fast, it is agile, it is dangerous. It is not armored, but can carry a remotely operated M240 machine gun. The makers hope it can help troops in Iraq deal with roadside ambushes. In one of their videos they say that in over 6 years of extreme testing they have never once thrown a track. They did once manage to break a shock mount, but the vehicle continued to operate fine.

Howe and Howe Ripsaw MS1 and more videos from Howe and Howe

(via Defense Tech via Crunchgear)

A few videos from their site pulled over to YouTube. Some show the earlier manned version:

It’s a Vacuum, It’s a Dance Partner, It’s a New Friend, It’s a Roomba!

ted — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 13:42:52 +0000

I have had this song stuck in my head for days now. A fun little ditty about a man trying to clean up his life with a robot vacuum cleaner. Starts a little slow, then takes off. The dancing is fun, and I like how he really belts out those lyrics. Enjoy!

“I got a robot vacuum! Cleaning up my life!“

CMU Robot Slideshow

ted — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:00:54 +0000

The Field Robotics Center at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robot Institute has a nice robot slide show on their web site. No R2D2 or Johnny 5 here, just real working robots. Some are research prototypes, but (to me) the true stars are the actual working robots like the Remote Reconnaissance Vehicle (shown above) which was the first vehicle to enter the reactor containment building at Three Mile Island after a meltdown in March 1979. Click on the link below for lots of working robot goodness.

Robots at the FRC