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Construction Robot can take on 2 x 4’s or Alien Queens

Justin Kerr — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 09:11:12 -0500

Okay admit it. Not only is Aliens one of the greatest movies of all time, but it instilled in you a secret lust to engage Alien queens in battle with a giant, futuristic cargo stacking mech. Okay, perhaps we are overstating this just a touch, but we were still totally excited to see Japanese engineers demonstrate a fully functional Dual-Arm Power Amplification Robot, particularly one that gives users superhuman strength, and was quite obviously inspired by the cult sci-fi classic.

The robot, which is being designed with a commercial future in mind, is capable of lifting more than 100kg, but itself weighs slightly over 230kg. Given these specs, obvious safety concerns are raised by wearing a suit that is heavy enough to crush its wearer, however, Chief engineer Go Shirogauchi claims the robot is quite safe. “The most important challenge is not to injure the operator with the amplified power” he said. “For that challenge, a delicate control and a mechanics design which does not put too much force onto a human in the worst situation is required”.

The robot is primarily being designed for the construction industry, but Shirogauchi claims they plan to have plenty of interchangeable parts to make it viable in many more situations. “Our intention is not to develop a small power shovel, but to create a common platform which can be applied to many areas other than the construction sites” said Shirogauchi.

The arms are expected to cost about $357,000 when they eventually come to market, hopefully sometime in 2015.

Microsoft's Open-Source Push?

David Murphy — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 11:00:00 -0600

Remember this quote? "Linux is a cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches." It was uttered by none other than Microsoft frontman Steve Ballmer himself, in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times in 2001. It's no secret that Microsoft has put itself right in the center of the proprietary versus open-source war. But the software giant is now starting to dabble in the dark side of open-source projects itself. We're getting nothing but mixed-signals from Redmond. So what is it, Microsoft? Cancer, or cash-cow?

(photo credit: DBegley)

Cancer

Up on PressPass, Microsoft is touting how it thinks companies should deal with the increasing financial burdens put into place by the weakening economy: buy Microsoft software. That's the gist, here's the nuts. Microsoft suggests that open-source software comes with too many hidden costs and fees, and the support simply isn't where enterprise businesses need to be in order to ensure consistent uptime. Microsoft makes a compelling case by using Speedy Hire, a British company, as its prime example. According to the company, it was able to save nearly $1.5 million by turning away from Linux-based PCs and OpenOffice to Microsoft servers and software. Eat it, OSS.

Cash-Cow

Enter Oxite. Microsoft just released this huge, open-source CMS platform the other day. It can power anything from blogs to Web sites, and can even support multiple users accessing the interface (for running a Gawker of your very own). Wordpress is undoubtedly eyeing this new product quite closely--especially given the new platform's interoperability. The highly-customizable Oxite makes it easy for you to swap out proprietary Microsoft technologies, like Live Search and SQL server, for others you see fit to use.

Cancer

The next battle lines for Microsoft? Robots. That's right. Robots. The company has been working on developing the backbone tools for the next generation of robotics, but it isn't alone! The open-source movement is beginning to make progress in this field as well. Expect to see an eventual showdown in the field (if only it could be decided in a BattleBots-type arena), although there's a silver lining to Microsoft's involvement: "the software giant is also generating a 'huge amount of excitement' for robotics, which is a good thing for the industry, which needs more software development to catch up with the hardware," notes the article.

Cash-Cow

In the past many months, Microsoft has acquired companies that provide open-source code for larger technological platforms. It's even contributed its own code to ongoing open-source projects, presuming that the open-source movement now has the ability to Microsoft's underlying business objectives. Sound crazy? It's completely understandable to think that, and even internal Microsoft folk agree. It's going to take a bit more cajoling before Microsoft's business units, as a whole, are ready to embrace what OSS has to offer.

Winner?

Neither. That's right. Just as Microsoft begins to slowly adopt the tenets of open-source architecture, it's going to fight tooth and nail against any open-source project that threatens its financial livelihood. It's a prudent business move, one that's analogous to dipping a toe into a hot bathtub to check the temperature. If the open-source community can help Microsoft's business goals in some fashion--as the company is starting to recognize--then you'll see a bit of a cultural shift. And that's what's happening in Redmond right now. Microsoft isn't shifting to open-source; it's finding ways it can use open-source to further propagate its business models. And in the places it can't, the company is doing whatever it can to preserve its own ambitions, open-source or otherwise!

Intel's CTO Believes Robots Will Leap Past Humans by 2050

Pulkit Chandna — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 08:21:16 -0500

Intel’s CTO, Justin Rattner, delivered a pretty phantasmagoric keynote at the IDF in San Francisco. Invariably most keynotes by tech honchos are about future technologies. But Rattner just didn’t concern himself with the imminent future – the Nehalems and Larrabees - but he allowed his imagination take unbridled flight. He pictured what the world might be like in 2050, where computers would be smarter than us frizzled, frayed Homo sapiens.

“There is speculation that we may be approaching an inflection point where the rate of technology advancements is accelerating at an exponential rate, and machines could even overtake humans in their ability to reason, in the not so distant future,” Rattner said.

Rattner even demonstrated a couple of personal robot prototypes, which employ razor-sharp sensing technologies, though only crude precursors to the “2050 machines”. The first robot – a robotic arm actually - was equipped with electric field pre-touch technology that allows it to sense objects before even touching them. And, just for your knowledge, fish are bestowed with this capability. The second robot is capable of recognizing faces and performing simple tasks as commanded.

Image Credit: Geekologie

Mythbusters Builds 16-foot Robot Shark for Shark Week

Norman Chan — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:42:14 -0500

Like the American Idol finale and Superbowl Sunday, Shark Week is a hallowed American tradition that celebrates the special bond between a couch potato and his high-definition television. And in case you haven’t glanced at the big red circle on your wall calendar recently, the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week is coming up next week. This year’s line up features hour-long specials including “Surviving Sharks” and “Mysteries of the Shark Coast,” but the highlight of the event for us is going to be the Mythbusters’ Shark Special. Adam Savage, Jamie Hyneman, and gang will hit the Bahamas this year to investigate shark myths (ie. Do dogs attract sharks? Does chili powder repel them?). The highlight of this year’s show has to be their 16-foot robo-shark (frickin’ laser beams not confirmed).

Kari Byron (left) and Grant Imahara unpack RoboDog from its crate and begin to set it up.

Kari Byron and Grant Imahara prepare Robodog for the experiment with Caribbean reef sharks in the Bahamas. Robodog was built to swim and move like a live dog.

Grant Imahara fills bags with assorted canine bodily fluids and excretions -- blood, urine and feces These substances will be released into the water to see if they aid in attracting sharks.

Tory Belleci lends a hand while RoboDog takes its maiden voyage.

Adam Savage on the dock at Encinal Boat Launch in Alameda, Calif., where he and Jamie Hyneman demonstrate the power of a sharks bite.

Jamie Hyneman takes a look at the mechanical great white shark he and co-host Adam Savage built. Jamie built a hinged hydraulic spine for the fiberglass frame so it would move like a live shark. Adam recreated the mouth with serrated metal teeth covered with foam to make them look white.

Tory Belleci demonstrates the power of a shark bite during production of the MythBusters episode for Shark Week 2008. The shark was built to apply accurate bite force of a great white shark. Emergency stop buttons were built into the shark's eyes to test the myth that a poke in the eye will make a shark stop what its doing.

(Photos courtesy Discovery Channel)

Self-replicating Robot Takes Mankind Closer to Ultimate Sci-fi Nightmare

Pulkit Chandna — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:12:47 -0500

The robot, which is called RepRap, can not only print 3D plastic objects but also replicate its own 3D-printed parts. Although 3D printers have been around for nearly 25 years, a self-replicating robot has been a mere figment confined to science fiction and audacious scientific brains. But the RepRap team has fulfilled that fancy to a large extent and laid the foundation for something more substantial.

The Godfathers:RepRap designers proudly displaying their invention.

The machine’s prototype was recently displayed at the Cheltenham Science Festival in England from June 4 to June 8. It can print regular use plastic products like doormats, sandals and coat hooks. According to Dr Adrian Bowyer, the director of this groundbreaking research, it can revolutionize design and kick-start the proliferation of “desktop factories”. RepRap uses a technique called ‘additive fabrication’ - a fancy term to define something far simpler. Using this technique the machine prints thin layers of molten plastic as per a pre-specified design to eventually yield 3D objects.

Endless possibilities: Sandals made using RepRap.

A revolution in the offing: That day might not be far away when you might be able to build - literally print - everything from your dream PC to favorite gadget in your own home. A future tech news headline might read something like this: 15-year Boy Hack into Apple Servers, Downloads Upcoming 15G iPhone. It will lend an entirely new definition to customization and people will not only be able to customize various products but also be able to spread their ingenious innovations. Self-replicating robots can also revolutionize space travel as one self-replicating robot will be able to conjure up an entire robotic colony on a distant planet. These are only a few ordinary examples but the possibilities are incessant.

A sci-fi nightmare coming true: Intelligent, self-replicating robots are what sci-fi nightmares are generally made of. Such robots have always occupied center stage when it comes to the doomsday scenarios in science fiction. One nefarious mind that might upload a depraving virus onto a self-replicating robot might be enough to wreck our planet. Imagine each robot tirelessly fighting and reproducing with the sole aim of devouring mankind. But for this to happen there need to be giant strides in A.I. Only robots as clever as humans will pose a real threat to mankind and not dim-witted robots with just exemplary reproductive skills.

Do try this at home: Anyone can download elaborate plans and tutorials to assemble the RepRap 3D printer for free from the official RepRap website.