Tag Archives: RobotApocalypse

Nintendo lands ‘remotely controlled mobile device control’ patent

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Nintendo lands 'remotely controlled mobile device control' patent

You know those goofy tennis racket peripherals that allow for Wiimote insertion? Or, perhaps more sensibly, those Guitar Hero axes that wouldn't function without a Wiimote planted at the heart? Looks as if Nintendo's going to do us all one better. Based on a rambling new patent granted to the Big N this week, the company now holds the power to concoct a "remotely controlled mobile device control system." Distilled down, the verbiage describes a Wiimote-type controller being embedded within a "remote controlled toy," which would then be (unsurprisingly) used in conjunction with a game console. Essentially, this opens the door for Honda to develop a new variant of ASIMO that takes commands via an embedded Wii controller... or, for a Wii-infused robot to turn on its owner and commit unspeakable crimes against humanity. But hey, it'll probably be pretty cute.

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Source: USPTO

Carnegie Mellon’s Chimp robot is reporting for duty, sir

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Carnegie Mellon's Chimp robot is reporting for duty, sir

See that guy? He's for real. He's also from Pittsburgh. A team of wizards from Carnegie Mellon University's National Robotics Engineering Center is presently building a new "human-scale" robot in order to compete in DARPA's Robotics Challenge. Part of its charm revolves around the rubberized tracks on its feet as well as on the extremities of each of its four limbs -- not surprisingly, these are engineered to help it maneuver in some pretty sticky situations.

According to the institution, it'll move much link a tank, but it'll also be able to chug along on the treads of just two limbs when needed, such as when it must use one or more limbs to open a valve, or to operate power tools. Oh, and in case you're curious, CMU has affirmed that it'll "be able to perform complex, physically challenging tasks through supervised autonomy," which sounds precisely like the kind of vague description an ill-willed robot would explain to its master before completely taking over his / her life. Just sayin'.

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Via: Technabob, Geekosystem

Source: Carnegie Mellon

Poll: Engadget Expand asks: What should robots be helping us with?

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Poll Engadget Expand asks, 'What should robots be helping us with'
We're just a few days away from Expand, and all of us are insanely excited about the agenda we have lined up. To get you pumped for our Sunday morning session with Chris Anderson (CEO, 3D Robotics and former editor-in-chief, Wired), Steve Cousins (CEO, Willow Garage) and Marc Raibert (President & Chief Robot Lover, Boston Dynamics) we have a little thought experiment for you.

Read on to take our short and sweet robotics poll...

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BigDog four-legged robot adds an arm, throws for the scouts (video)

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BigDog fourlegged robot adds an arm, shows it off for the scouts video

Of all the robots we fear will one day rise up and subjugate humanity to an unyielding reign of terror, none is closer to our hearts than Boston Dynamic's awesome -- and terrifying, as seen in its 2008 video -- BigDog. This Army Research Laboratory-funded project that aims to navigate uneven terrain for up to 24 hours while carrying hundreds of pounds of equipment is showing off an all-new ability: throwing. In a tryout video (embedded after the break) that comes just a little too late for the NFL Combine, Boston Dynamics demonstrates how BigDog uses its arm to not only pick up an unsuspecting cinder block, but coordinate the strength of the legs and torso to step into a toss. The robot isn't throwing 100mph heat just yet, but after previously displaying its horns, even this short teaser is adding a fresh twist to our nightmares.

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Source: Boston Dynamics (YouTube)

Robovie the talking robot gets schooled by elementary students

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Talking robot gets schooled by elementary students

Higashihikari elementary school welcomed a robot through its doors this week. A new model Robovie will join the Japanese school's students for classes over 14 months, aiming to gain sentience strike up interactions with multiple people -- and learn from it. The Robovie's conversation level is apparently equal to a five-year-old child, although it's been augmented with all the know-how of a fifth-grade science textbook and preloaded with 119 facial photos and voiceprints of teachers and students. It's the first long-term project for the International Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute's 1.2-meter bot, with the scientists reckoning that the school environment should offer its robot major input.

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Via: Far East Gizmos

Source: Mainichi

DARPA’s Pet-Proto robot climbs, balances, jumps, comes to get you

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DARPA's PetProto robot climbs, gauges, jumps, comes to get you

While Boston Dynamics' Cheetah has already premiered, speeding along on its robot-friendly treadmill, we've now got a better glimpse at how the similarly DARPA-funded human-hunting obstacle-scaling Atlas fares, courtesy of its ancestor. That's the Pet-Proto you can see in the video below, balancing and leaping across narrow terrain, conducting its own "autonomous decision-making" and keeping upright -- all very important points for DARPA's own Robotics Challenge, a competition where winners will gain access to their very own modified version of the Atlas for future disaster response tests. Watch the Pet-Proto gradually advance towards camera right after the break. And we'll sleep with one eye open.

Continue reading DARPA's Pet-Proto robot climbs, balances, jumps, comes to get you

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DARPA's Pet-Proto robot climbs, balances, jumps, comes to get you originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Oct 2012 12:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceDARPA TV (YouTube), DARPA Robotics Challenge  | Email this | Comments

Heroes in a half shell: autonomous robot sea turtles in development

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Heroes in a half shell autonomous robot sea turtles in development

Sure you could have a robot assist you around the home, or even one that'll make factories friendlier, but we'll opt for a robot sea turtle any day of the week. The Swiss folks over at ETH Zurich are working on making that a reality with the Naro-Tartaruga, a turtle-inspired machine that would swim efficiently while carrying cargo in its shell. It's currently a cylindrical aluminum vessel with a couple of flippers, but concept designs include that totally bad-ass bot in the image above. The turtle-bot has a top speed of over 7 knots, so it'll handily beat any real sea turtle in a race, and the big torso has enough space for battery and sensors that are necessary for autonomous function. The fins on the turtle have a fully three-dimensional mechanism -- there are three actuators per fin, and each actuate the fin axle independently. The end goal is for the development of underwater autonomous vehicles, which will hopefully bring us one step closer to SeaQuest DSV. In the meantime, we'd like one just so we can freak the hell out of our cats.

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Heroes in a half shell: autonomous robot sea turtles in development originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Oct 2012 00:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink IEEE Spectrum, PopSci  |  sourceETH Zurich  | Email this | Comments

Alt-week 9.29.12: 3D pictures of the moon, 4D clocks and laser-controlled worms

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Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days.

Altweek 92912 3D pictures of the moon, 4D clocks and lasercontrolled worms

Dimensions, they're like buses. You wait for ages, and then three come along at once. And then another one right after that. While that might be about where the analogy ends, this week sees us off to the moon, where we then leap from the third, right into the fourth. Once there, we'll learn how we could eventually be controlled by lasers, before getting up close and personal with a 300 million-year old bug. Sound like some sort of psychedelic dream? Better than that, this is alt-week.

Continue reading Alt-week 9.29.12: 3D pictures of the moon, 4D clocks and laser-controlled worms

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Alt-week 9.29.12: 3D pictures of the moon, 4D clocks and laser-controlled worms originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 Sep 2012 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scientists develop robotic tentacle that can pick flowers, make us thumb our collars

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Scientists create soft robotic tentacle that picks flowers, has us thumbing our collars

Okay, it's a little too late for Johnny 5's grass hopper, but thanks to new "gentle" robotic tentacles developed at Harvard University, future generations of insects could escape a similar demise. Researchers have created a new soft appendage made from flexible plastic, that uses three compartmentalized air channels to achieve a snake-like range of movement. The touch of the tentacle is so light, that it is able to pick flowers without damage. While suggested applications include working with fragile objects, or in hard to reach locations, the team also experimented by adding cameras, suction cups and -- most terrifyingly -- syringes to the tip. The only limitation, apparently, is that the air channels prevent it from being scaled down. So while our insect friends are safe from strangle-bot, we might not be so lucky.

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Scientists develop robotic tentacle that can pick flowers, make us thumb our collars originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Sep 2012 07:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink New Scientist  |  sourceWiley  | Email this | Comments

Boston Dynamics’ Cheetah robot will hunt you down faster than any person (video)

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Boston Dynamics' Cheetah robot will hunt you down faster than any person video

Let's face it, we're doomed as a species, because one day, Boston Dynamics is gonna unleash its army of DARPA-funded droids and wipe us all out. The company's sprinting robot, Cheetah, has now broken the land-speed record for humans, clocking speeds of 29.3 miles per hour, meaning not even the 27.79mph Usain Bolt can escape. Fortunately for us, it's got a fatal flaw; a balance problem that means it can only remain upright with a boom keeping it steady. Unfortunately, that's not going to be a problem for long, since field-testing on an independently upright version begins early next year. We'd wish you sweet dreams, but, you know, we're too busy building an underground shelter.

Continue reading Boston Dynamics' Cheetah robot will hunt you down faster than any person (video)

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Boston Dynamics' Cheetah robot will hunt you down faster than any person (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Sep 2012 12:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Verge, CNET  |   | Email this | Comments