Archive for December 5th, 2006

Featured Robot – LEGO NXT card dealing robot

Tuesday, December 5th, 2006

This is our first post for a new category called “Featured Robots.” We decided it would be helpful to feature robots that we think other developers can benefit from seeing. Each profiled robot will have some bit of specific take away value for developers to ponder.

For our first featured robot we found this beautifully simple LEGO NXT card dealing robot.

What we like about this robot is that is shows a real world application for which robots could be used. As a robotic company we ourselves are always looking for robotic application themes. We are always asking ourselves questions like, “Where do robots fit into our lives?” or “What is the next Roomba?!” When I look at this cute robotic card dealer it makes me imagine what next versions could be like. Maybe a stationary robot in the center of a poker table which rotates as it deals. It can be told (or sense) how many players to deal to, where they are, and what game is being played. At the end of each hand the cards are pushed into a bin which reshuffles them for the next hand. Now that’s a robot I’d like to own!
Via Make Magazine – Via TechEBlog

R100 Personal Robot from NEC

Tuesday, December 5th, 2006
R100 Personal Robot from NEC

We avoid posting every mention of a new robot coming sometime in the next 10 years here at Trossen Robotics, but this little guy looks promising!

The R100 Personal Robot is one of the quirkier looking robots from NEC that looks more like a de-feathered penguin and will easily pass as Frankenstein’s offspring. As we were told not to judge a book by its cover, what does the R100 Personal Robot have in store for us? For starters, it comes with a couple of CCD cameras that is capable of recognizing faces, cheering the owner the moment he comes back from work, as well as help the R100 navigate without bumping into furniture and other obstacles which litter the floor. A trio of microphones enable it to catch your commands and match it with a 100 phrases in its database. The R100 is also capable of expressing itself through 300 phrases. It surfs the Net as well, delivering your e-mail on your behalf.

Via UberGizmo