Tag Archives: petman

DARPA’s Atlas robot will be taught to save you if the sky falls (video)

Posted on by

DARPA's Atlas robot doesn't care if the sky falls, will be taught to save you if it does

DARPA and Boston Dynamics seem bent on engineering the robot revolution, and it's while wearing a suspicious smile that they introduce us to Atlas, their latest humanoid creation. Inorganically evolved from Petman and an intermediate prototype, Atlas will compete in DARPA's Robotics Challenge (DRC) Trials in December, where it will be challenged with "tasks similar to what might be required in a disaster response scenario." The seven teams that made it through the Virtual Robotics Challenge stage, held in a simulated environment, will massage their code into the real 6' 2" robot, which sports a host of sensors and 28 "hydraulically actuated joints." Also competing for a spot in the 2014 DRC finals are six "Track A" teams, including a couple of crews from NASA, which've built their own monstrous spawn. Head past the break for Atlas' video debut, as well as an introduction to the Track A teams and their contributions to Judgement Day.

Filed under:

Comments

Source: DARPA

Petman Robot Tries on Some Clothes

Posted on by

If there’s one company that has the best chance of bringing the robopocalypse to reality, it has to be Boston Dynamics. Between BigDog, AlphaDog, Cheetah and Sand Flea, they’re building a veritable army of robo-animals on behalf of DARPA. One of the more interesting projects to come out of Boston Dynamics is Petman, a humanoid robot, capable of walking and climbing stairs.

Now, the company has just released a new video of the robot taking its first steps while wearing human clothing.

petman clothes

In the video clip below, you’ll see Petman stomp around on a moving platform, as he shows off his finest camouflage wear.

While its moves are still overwhelmingly robotic, Petman is still an incredibly impressive, if intimidating marvel of engineering. And I certainly wouldn’t want to run into him on a bad day.

You might wonder why a robot needs to wear clothing, but this test was designed could put protective suits humans would wear in a hazardous environment to the test, and to use its built in skin sensors to detect any chemicals that leak into the suit.

Boston Dynamics’ Petman robot successfully wears clothes (video)

Posted on by

Boston Dynamics' Petman robot successfully wears clothes video

Boston Dynamics has been releasing video after video of its Petman humanoid robot performing a variety of tests, but something has always been missing: clothes. No longer. The company has today released a new video that demonstrates the robot can not only wear clothes, but make you never look at a hazmat suit the same way again. As the company notes, the testing isn't just for Petman -- thanks to some DoD funding, it's using the robot to test suits like this in hazardous conditions, with an array of sensors on the robot itself able to detect chemicals leaking through the suit. Sit down, and head on past the break to see the video for yourself.

Filed under:

Comments

Source: Boston Dynamics (YouTube)

Robot Hall of Fame inducts Big Dog, PackBot, Nao and WALL-E (video)

Posted on by

Image

It's the sort of ceremony that's so magical it can only occur on even-numbered years. Inventors, educators, entertainers, college students and media folk gathered at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh, PA tonight for the 2012 inductions to the Robot Hall of Fame, a Carnegie Mellon-sponsored event created to celebrate the best of our mechanical betters.

This year, the field included four categories, judged by both a jury of 107 writers, designs, entrepreneurs and academics and the public at large, each faction constituting half the voting total. The show kicked off, however, with the induction of 2010 winners, the Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers, the da Vinci Surgical System, iRobot's Roomba, the Terminator and Huey, Dewey and Louie, a trio of robots from 1971's Silent Running.

The first 'bot to secure its spot in the class of 2012, was the programmable humaoid Nao, from Aldebaran Robotics, which beat out the iRobot Create and Vex Robotics Design System in the Educational category. The PackBot military robot from iRobot took the Industrial and Service category, beating out the Kiva Mobile Robotic Fulfillment System and Woods Hole Oceanographic's Jason. Boston Dynamic's Big Dog ran over some stiff competition in the form of Willow Garage's PR2 and NASA's Robonaut to win the Research title. And WALL-E triumphed over doppelganger Johnny Five and the Jetsons' Rosie in the Entertainment category. Relive the festivities in four minutes after the break.

Gallery: Robot Hall of Fame inducts Big Dog, Packbot, Nao and WALL-E

Continue reading Robot Hall of Fame inducts Big Dog, PackBot, Nao and WALL-E (video)

Filed under:

Robot Hall of Fame inducts Big Dog, PackBot, Nao and WALL-E (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 23:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Robot Hall of Fame voting begins for class of 2012, Johnny 5 learns where BigDogs sit

Posted on by

Robot Hall of Fame voting begins for class of 2012, Johnny 5 learns where BigDogs sitIt's that time again: time for Carnegie Mellon to roll out the red carpet and welcome the crème de la crème of the robotics world into its halls. Since 2003 the school has been selecting the best of the best and inducting them into the Robot Hall of Fame. Past honorees have included everything from LEGO Mindstorms to the Terminator. This year's list of nominees is no less impressive, with celebrity bots Johnny 5 and WALL-E pitted against each other in the entertainment category, while NASA's Robonaut takes on the PR2 and BigDog under the banner of research bots. There will also be two other inductees awarded a spot in the hall in the consumer and education category and the industrial and service field. Best of all, for the first time ever, Carnegie Mellon is letting the public vote on the inductees. And, while PETMAN was snubbed yet again, he's not letting that get him down -- the Boston Dymanic's biped just keeps on struttin'. Hit up the source link to cast your vote before the September 30th deadline and check back on October 23rd to see who's granted a podium speech.

Continue reading Robot Hall of Fame voting begins for class of 2012, Johnny 5 learns where BigDogs sit

Filed under:

Robot Hall of Fame voting begins for class of 2012, Johnny 5 learns where BigDogs sit originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 11:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceRobot Hall of Fame  | Email this | Comments

DARPA Robot Climbs Stairs Like a Boss, Another Does More Pushups Than I Can

Posted on by

Hot on the heels of the announcement of the DARPA Robotics Challenge, it’s looking more and more like Boston Dynamics will be a shoe-in for the competition with its latest bi-pedal robots. A recently released video clip shows DARPA and Boston Dynamics bipedal robots climbing stairs, walking on a treadmill and doing pushups.

darpa robots

DARPA plans on releasing a modified version of these robots as a platform for those participating in the Robotics Challenge but are using the government-funded equipment option. It’s expected that the final version of the platform robot will be a complete humanoid, with two arms, two legs, a torso, and a head. But even without all of those body parts, the robots shown in this clip are damned impressive.

Those slow-mo sound effects of the climbing ‘bot are going to give me nightmares. Still, it’s pretty amazing to see that we’re on the verge of full-size humanoid robots that can walk, climb and even perform exercises just like us. I also like that these robots are wearing shoes. Now, drop and give me 20, PETMAN!