Robots and Innovation

One of my earliest posts was about robots. It dealt with the difference in technology and concept when it came to Japan and America. Recently there has been a little more innovation in Robot advancement. At this point in time we are aware that robots are being developed and do serve a purpose. Instead of having them dance or walk its time to start the next step in the evolution of Robotic design.

Quasi Robot Puppet:
Word on the street is, this little guy is coming to stores near you soon. A cheaper version of course. Watching to video below...REALLY made me want one. He is not only adorable but believable at the same time. When (or if) this toy releases, I see a lot of regretful parents buying it. Personally Im gonna use it to order fast food.


Swimming robot:
McGill University of Montreal has developed the Aqua 2. This little guy has the ability to swim and dive, as well as travel through dry terrain. You can see it all in the video below.


Beer Fetching Robot:
Every guy has at least thought of having this robot in their house. The robot does exactly what you think, fetches you Beer. Via your computer, you input what Beers you want. Then the Robot makes his way to the fridge and uses its cameras to determine what beers you have selected. The robot then travels to the location of the requester, and uses facial recognition to hand you your Beer. You can see it all demonstrated in the video below.


Other Worthy Mentions
Little Robots dance to Beyonce
Yes more dancing robots....theres not much to be said here. (except that when the robots laydown and get back up...it kinda freaks me out)



Robot Assistance...with a face
This seems like something out of a bad sci-fi. Its not as creative as the others I have seen. But its interesting to know some one actually made it.

The Real Cyborg

Below is a screenshot of Claudia Mitchell. She lost her left arm in a motorcycle accident in 2004. Years later, she became the first human being to have a functional prosthetic limb, that she controls with her mind. She was a 3 Million dollar project from Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. And their goal was to give her a robotic arm that could do everything a normal one could.



"How does it work? Mitchell's arm is "myoelectric," which means it picks up electrical signals coming straight from her brain, down her nerves. Electrodes help the signals jump from her body, to the prosthesis, which uses a computer to figure out which motion Mitchell is thinking about." -io9



"Surgeons made this process easier by routing many of the nerves from Mitchell's arm to her chest. While there are some weird results of this process - for example, when she showers, Mitchell can feel the water hitting a phantom "arm" when it hits her chest. There are several spots all over her chest muscles that, when touched, trigger feelings like "that's my elbow" or "that's my hand." When she identifies those, researchers attach electrodes to those spots and program the computer in her arm to recognize signals from them as "elbow" or "hand" signals. This gives her fairly granular control over the arm."-continued from io9

There are several companies (like darpa) that are coming up with different sorts of robotic mind controlled prosthetics. Some have even gone as far as developing robotic hands that can FEEL!

Japan vs. the US in - Robotics

Years ago, there was a race between Russia and the US to see who could get to the moon first. Thus putting Nasa on the map, making the US one of the dominant leaders in technology. Today its a little different. Japan is the leader, and the new race is "who can make the best Smart Phone". That topic is in no way impressive or interesting to me. Instead I decided to share how the United States and Japan, progress in Technology with Robotics (notice my header, and user icon). The videos below may make you laugh and give you nightmares.

Japan:
Honda, Toyata, and Sony, are the big names in Robotics in Japan. Sony has actually released a robotic dog named "AIBO" years back. It went on sale for few grand. As a result you had a K9 companion you didnt have to feed or pick up poop after. Sony has been successful in robotics because of its knowledge of weight, balance, and pressure engineering. "Qrio" (a bipedal humanoid robot) was Sony's attempt at showing off Robot movement and intelligence. In the video below you will see not only a demonstration of the movement of "Qrio" but also the amazing A.I. that syncs it to other robots, and.....the beat of the music playing in the background.

Sony robotics technology + Music = Dancing Midget Robots




America:
The Us does not take the same approach to technology as japan. While Japan focuses on the fun and economic aspect of robotics, the US concentrates on Power (in weapons). Most robotics are tested at NASA and the US Military. Below is a video by Boston Dynamics. They are the creators of "BIGDOG". As stupid as the name is, the robot is the opposite. Because of this video....I had nightmares about robots chasing me (kinda like Metal Gear). Why? Well you will have to view it for yourself. "BIGDOG" is a robotic....dog that can travel through almost ANY terrain. The video is VERY impressive and towered the end, you'll even see the thing jump! Boston Dynamics is currently developing "BIGDOG" for the US Military.

US military + Dogs = nightmares



There are tons of videos demonstrating how far technology has gotten with robotics. The race to creating to most realistic moving robot is almost over. But the race to create a perfect learning and growing A.I. is just starting (Ill post about that another time). Heres hoping that we dont end up like John Conner in the movie Terminator. Long live Skynet!...I mean Humans.