Godzilla Platypus Fossil Found in Australia


A giant platypus was living at rivers in Australia 5 to 15 million years ago says a new science report. Professor Mike Archer of the University of New South Wales says that the the animals needs...

Butlers, lunar rovers, snakes and airboats: the best of Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Institute

Butlers, lunar rovers, snakes and airboats the best Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute

How was your week? We got to spend a couple of days trekking around the Carnegie Mellon campus in Pittsburgh, PA to check out some of the latest projects from the school's world renowned Robotics Institute -- a trip that culminated with the bi-annual induction ceremony from the CMU-sponsored Robot Hall of Fame. Given all the craziness of the past seven days, you might have missed some of the awesomeness, but fear not, we've got it all for you here in one handy place -- plus a couple of videos from the trip that we haven't shown you yet. Join us after the break to catch up.

Continue reading Butlers, lunar rovers, snakes and airboats: the best of Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute

Butlers, lunar rovers, snakes and airboats: the best of Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 27 Oct 2012 12:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Platypus airboats have a Nexus S for a brain, we go eyes-on (video)

Platypus Android handsetpowered airboats eyeson video

Here's another extremely cool offshoot of the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute. Platypus LLC build autonomous robotic airboats that can be deployed for a wide range of usages including environmental data and monitoring hard-to-reach spots after natural disasters like flooding. The hull of the boat looks a good deal like a boogie board, built from polyurethane. On top, you'll find a propulsion fan assembly, just behind a hard plastic electronics compartment that houses internals like the Arduino board. That microcontroller communicates via Bluetooth with a smartphone that sits in the front of of the boat, safely cocooned inside an Otterbox case.

The models we saw this week were carrying Nexus S handsets -- relatively cheap solutions bought second-hand off of eBay. Just about any Android phone should do the trick, but in the case of this project, where phones can get wrenched loose or just outright pilfered, cheaper is certainly better. Platypus' proprietary app helps control the boat autonomously, using the handset's camera to provide situational awareness. Sensors mounted on the boat, meanwhile, offer up information on oxygen and PH levels, temperature and more.

Continue reading Platypus airboats have a Nexus S for a brain, we go eyes-on (video)

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Platypus airboats have a Nexus S for a brain, we go eyes-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 15:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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