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Whoa. Just Whoa.
I won’t even pretend that I understand all that is going on in the walking gait here, but this is darn near human-like in every aspect. And being able to walk like that is one thing, being able to recover from a sideways push is an entirely different accomplishment all together. Absolutely brilliant.
Looks like iRobot is determined to bring Judgment Day upon us. First with the military bots, and now they’re trying to build a liquid-metal-shape-shifting robot that will surely ask us if we are John or Sarah Connor. Okay, not quite, but it looks like they’re headed in that direction.
This week at IROS 09 (Intelligent Robots and Systems), iRobot and the University of Chicago unveiled a soft, blobby robot that looks something like an inflating marshmallow.
The new robot, called chembot, changes the shape of its stretchy polymer skin using a technique called “jamming skin enabled locomotion”. This means that different sections of the robot inflate or deflate separately; controlling this inflation and deflation enables the robot to move. DARPA, which is funding the project, hopes to use the robot to squeeze into small holes or under doors, which I’m guessing would be used for sophisticated surveillance.
The complexity shown in LittleDog’s adaptive gait and terrain navigation seriously makes my head hurt. If you consider yourself a geek you are of course familiar with BigDog; the 4 legged robot that robot dreams are made of. LittleDog is similar in concept but at a much smaller scale, and MIT has been using it as a research platform for a number of years. Evan Eckerman from Botjunkie sums it up quite well:
Researchers at places like MIT have been using Boston Dynamics‘ LittleDog robot for years now as a testbed to teach legged robots to learn how to traverse variable terrain on their own. This video shows some highlights of a “dynamic double-support gait,” which means (as near as I can tell) that LittleDog is supporting itself, at times, on only two of its four legs. This is a substantially more efficient way of negotiating terrain than we first saw two years ago. LittleDog also demonstrates some markedly biological ways of negotiating obstacles (with the possible exception of the belly flop on the Jersey barrier)… I especially liked how it pranced in place slightly before tackling each stair. All this stuff is obviously a lot of work for a little bot, since poor LittleDog completely collapses at the end of every test.
LittleDog, remember, is teaching itself the most efficient way to negotiate these surfaces. Overhead cameras examine the terrain and plan out LittleDog’s route by computing a ‘cost’ for each step, which takes into account the distance moved towards the goal as well as the potential for a fall. After a lot of trial and error, LittleDog figures out how to best compromise between progress and stability, and the lessons it learns could be propagated up to other, larger quadruped robots.
This video is from Phase 2 of DARPA’s Learning Locomotion program… MIT’s LittleDog team was awarded funding for Phase 3 of this program back in 2008, so we’ll keep you updated.
Who doesn’t like free stuff? XMOS is offering some development kits of their new event driven parallel processors to qualified parties and individuals. These controllers looks like they pack a punch in terms of features and processing power and would make an awesome robotics controller! If you’re interested, check out the forum post by XMOS and answer the requested questions. Definitely shows some promise, check out the forums and the videos below for more info.
XMOS event driven processors allow you to execute code in parallel which could open up a number of possibilities to evolve your robots “mind” to the next level!
I have some development kits to give away potentially, but before I give away all the details, I just wanted to see if there was any interest.
People have made some cool stuff with our tech before (See videos).
Some details of the processor itself which will be on the dev kit (to be released soon):
- Single core device (Although we do have quad core versions – ask me)
- 400 MIPS per core.
- 8 Threads per core.
- 64Kb RAM
- 8KBytes OTP memory for applications, boot code or security keys, with security mode
- 64 user I/O pins
- Support for high performance DSP (32 x 32 → 64bit MAC) and cryptographic functions
- Time aware ports provide up to 10ns timing resolution
- Designs implemented using a software-based design flow (can program in C or XC – very similar to C but with support for extras such as parallel execution)
- Scalable – can connect many kits together for crazy amounts of processing power using Xlinks.
Sure, the researchers may state they are intended for assistance in disasters… but these wifi network creating robots could just as easily be used to spread the reach of the dreaded Skynet! I have my doubts, but Engadget seems pretty sure that these robots have good intentions. Time shall tell!
Researchers at Germany’s Ilmenau University of Technology are developing flying quadcopter robots that can be used to form a self-assembling ad-hoc wireless network in the event of disaster. Built with off-the-shelf parts (including VIA’s Pico-ITX hardware and a GPS unit) the robots are designed to provide both mobile phone and WiFi access — and they can do it far more quickly than a technician on the ground might be able to. The device comes in a kit for €300 (about $380), which includes all but the battery — the batteries currently run around €1,000 (over $1200) and only offer up 20 minutes of flight time. Once the device has found a perch, however, it can operate for “several hours.”
Our good friend Jon Hylands (who is an amazing Roboticist, definitely check out his work on the Bioloid system) is working on a few new projects and shot a quick video which is pretty impressive to anyone who has ever built a robotics arm. What you see in the video below is an RX-64 Robotis servo lifting a full coke can at a 30 cm arm length. While that seems trivial to we humans, packing that much torque into such a tiny servo is a great demonstration of how much servo technology has advanced in the last few years. The servo isn’t even being strained during these tests. You might note a bit of jerky movement, that is because the servo is being manually fed positional instructions via a slider bar. Most advanced robots use some form of interpolation which smooths movements considerably.
We’ll also be revealing our big internal project which uses 14 of the RX-64 servos in the near future… =)
One of the single most challenging aspects of home navigation for robots has to be tackling stair climbing. While humans can move up and down without much trouble at all, even advanced robots such as ASIMO still have ‘issues’. The UCSD Coordinated Robotics Lab has developed a pretty efficient and simple (in concept, not execution) way of doing just that with their iLean Robot. Check out the video below to see how it works, really an amazing thing to see executed so well!
Recently we were contacted by an upcoming advanced robotics R&D company who has been keeping a pretty low profile. Skynet Research only went public last week, but for the past 10 years has been hard at work and already making startling advanced in military and research level robotics. Some of this stuff is scary, it makes iRobot’s military line look like a bunch of toys. Check out these concept designs:
So here’s the kicker, I got a chance to talk to one of their lead researchers over the weekend and along with going public, they’ve also announced a Community Outreach Program to hobby and professional roboticists. They’re actually granting access to some of their technology (with no doubt a massive NDA attached) to the average hobbyist. From what I gathered speaking with them, the Model 101 Enhancement Module that is being provided for evaluation is some sort of Neural Networking microprocessor with built in wifi capability, used for relaying sensory data back to a central AI hub that is scheduled to go online in the near future. REALLY cool stuff, if you’re interested in applying for the beta program, you just have to submit your robot design and an explaination of why you think your project would be well suited for their program.
Here’s the official press release from Skynet Research, and be sure to check out their site for more info.
Skynet Research is a leader in the research and development of robotic technology, dedicated to helping the human race achieve great goals. And we want to hear from you!
Skynet Research believes every individual holds the capacity to make a difference, and is dedicated to finding as many people as possible who will impact our future goals.
- The spark of imagination is the greatest asset of humankind. We are interested in mining this resource within the robotics community to find new robot designs.
- Individuals are welcome to submit designs, videos and schematics relating to future robot models. We will showcase the most promising for all to see on our corporate website.
SKYNET RESEARCH IS OFFERING A FREE UPGRADE
As part of our ever-increasing outreach, we are also making available the Skynet Research Enhancement Module Model 101 for consumer grade robots at no cost before it is even available in stores.
- The Model 101 is compatible with any home robotics device, and will vastly improve the precision, efficiency and speed of any mechanized apparatus regardless of function.
- You may apply to receive one on our website.
- View a video of our new Enhancement Module HERE
HOW SKYNET RESEARCH IS CHANGING YOUR WORLD
- There are many different Skynet Research models in production and operation, and countless more in active development at secure and undisclosed locations around the world.
- Skynet Research is reshaping daily life for human beings across the planet, with contributions to business, education, healthcare, information systems and military defense.
- Skynet Research has led the evolution of Artificial Intelligence to multiply at exponential rates, pushing to improve robotic function in daily life with a constant eye on the future.
We have been honored as “most innovative” company in numerous trade publications, while one award-winning professor stated Skynet Research is displaying an “unprecedented” rate of growth.
We are committed to making your world different
Kåre Halvorsen (AKA: Zenta) was the winner of our February 08 Project Contest, however when the contest ended his Phoenix Project kept going. He is continuing to study inverse kinematics to further the creepy cool movement of his Hexapod. Here is a post explaining exactly what he is doing, however don’t feel alone if you’re scratching your head a bit, the math involved behind the scenes to make this robot move like it does is pretty complex. For the instant gratification type, here is the end result:
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| Surveyor SRV-1: The Front! |
Here’s a picture of the new Surveyor SRV-1 chassis, which is replacing the last version. As you can see, the electronics are the same, but everything is recessed into the body now, which looks pretty slick. The front plate that the laser pointers mount into also comes up to cover up the camera’s PCB.
The biggest differences are far from cosmetic, though. The tracks are now driven by four motors instead of two. Those of you with extra deep-pile 1970’s-era shag carpeting (we know you’re out there) don’t have to worry any more. Surveyor Corp heard your call and answered it. Backing up this quadruple-whammy of a drive system is a 7.2 V, 2000 mAh Lithium Polymer battery pack. The new battery pack (a welcome upgrade from the older model’s bulky Li-Ion cells) boasts a runtime of 4 hours!
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| Surveyor SRV-1: The Back! |
GUESS WHAT. We sell these things, too. If you’re planning a project that will require a number of small autonomous or wirelessly-controlled rovers, you don’t need to spend precious development time designing the bots! The SRV-1 is a great out-of-the-box platform for swarm or solo applications; or any time you find yourself in need of a camera-equipped, Wi-Fi-enabled, internet-controllable, compact track-bot with a powerful main processor an killer battery life!
For development journals and all of the latest software updates, check out the Surveyor web site.
To see more detailed specs, or to purchase the robot, go to our Surveyor SRV-1 product page.
