Dan Kohn's Blog

The “Gangnam Style” Craze Continues
From ABC NEWS

The Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory at Virginia Tech released one of the newest viral videos demonstrating the popular “Gangnam Style”—in the form of a robot. Tech developed the humanoid robot as a research platform to study walking and independent behaviors within the robot community. The video was posted by The Robotics & Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa), which explained:

“The CHARLI series humanoid robot is developed as a research platform to study bipedal walking and autonomous behaviors for humanoid robots. It is designed to be ultra light weight (under 15 kgs) for safety and low cost. As the next generation of the CHARLI series humanoid robots, CHARLI-2 improves stability and speed in walking, intelligence and autonomy, and soccer playing skills. CHARLI-L2 is also designed to participate in the autonomous robot soccer competition, RoboCup, in the Adult size league.”

The prototype can move about a house, be operated by a tablet computer and lift and retrieve objects.
By Charlie Wells / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Wednesday, September 26, 2012, 5:58 PM

Toyota has developed a new product that seeks to give the elderly and disabled a hand — a robotic one, that is.

The car giant debuted a human-support robot Wednesday in Japan, a country whose graying population has created a growing need for in-home care.

Even though Toyota’s new robot doesn’t act like Rosie from the Jetsons, it does have a folding arm and a pair of fingers which can pick up objects weighing almost three pounds from the floor, open curtains, and perform several other household tasks that would be difficult for a person with limited mobility.

To determine which of these functions to include in the robot, Toyota worked with the Japan Service Dog Association, which recommended focusing on picking up and retrieving objects from hard-to-reach places, according to a company release.

Weighing in at 70 pounds, the robot stands about four-feet tall. It travels at speeds of up to 1.8 miles per hour and was designed to move slowly enough to be safe for indoor use.

A tablet computer can be used to operate the machine, which also has a space for a tablet to be worn on its “head,” allowing those far away to communicate with users in the home by video chat.

The company worked with the Foundation for Yokohama Rehabilitation Service in 2011 and now plans to collaborate with universities and healthcare professionals to come up with new functions for the machine.

Its price has not yet been released and it is only a prototype, but the robot will be on display Wednesday through Friday at Tokyo’s International Exhibition Center for the “Forefront of the Development of Home Care and Rehabilitation Equipment” event.

This isn’t the first time Toyota has unveiled a robot. In 2007, the car company introduced a series of humanoid “partner robots,” including one that could play the violin.

Then, the company billed its robots as an important step in the development of more advanced helper robots.

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New video posted today:

From: Wired Magazine
By Noah Shachtman
Sep 5, 2012

Robots are already stronger than humans, able to lift thousands of pounds at a time. In many ways, they’re smarter than people, too; machines can perform millions of calculations per second, and even beat us at chess. But we could at least take solace in the fact that we could still outrun our brawny, genius robot overlords if we needed to.

Until now, that is. A four-legged robot, funded by the Pentagon, has just run 28.3 miles per hour. That’s faster than the fastest man’s fastest time ever. Oh well, ruling the planet was fun while it lasted.

The world record for the 100 meter dash was set in 2009 by sprinter Usain Bolt, who averaged 23.35 mph during his run for a time of 9.58 seconds. Over one 20-meter stretch, he managed to get up to 27.78 mph. It was a pretty impressive feat.

The Cheetah — a quadrupedal machine built by master roboteers Boston Dynamics and backed by Darpa, the Defense Department’s far-out research division — not only topped Bolt’s record-setting time. It also beat its previous top speed of 18 mph, set just a half-year ago.

“To be fair, keep in mind that the Cheetah robot runs on a treadmill without wind drag and has an off-board power supply that it does not carry,” a Boston Dynamics press release reminds us. “So Bolt is still the superior athlete.”

But the company is looking to change all that, and soon.

In recent months, the Cheetah team “increased the amount of power available to the robot. More power means faster motion and more margin in the actuators for better control,” Boston Dynamics CEO Marc Raibert tells Danger Room in an email. The robot-makers have also been “working on the control system, refining how the coordination of legs and back works and developing a better understanding of the dynamics.

He adds, “You can see that there is still room for improvement at the end of the video we just posted, where the robot starts to go faster, but loses control and trips.”

But those control systems are improving. The next major step is to build an untethered version — one with an onboard engine and operator controls that work in 3D.

“Our real goal is to create a robot that moves freely outdoors while it runs fast. We are building an outdoor version that we call WildCat, that should be ready for testing early next year,” Dr. Alfred Rizzi, the technical lead for the Cheetah effort, says in a statement.

It may sound a little outlandish. But keep in mind: Boston Dynamics has done this before. Its alarmingly like-like BigDog quadruped is able to tramp across ice, snow, and hills — all without the off-board hydraulic pump and boom-like device now used to keep the Cheetah on track. An improved version of the BigDog can haul 400 pounds for up to 20 miles. (See what we mean about robot brawn?) The company also has a biped ‘bot, Petman, that looks like a mechanical human — minus the head.

The idea behind these biologically-inspired robots is that legs can carry machines across terrain that would leave wheels or tracks stuck. To be a true partner to a human soldier, a robot has to walk like one, too. Darpa says Cheetah and company will “contribute to emergency response, humanitarian assistance and other defense missions.” But when the robot was first introduced, Boston Dynamics noted that its flexible spine would help it “zigzag to chase and evade.”

As if being brilliant and super-strong wasn’t unnerving enough.