Robots.net

During filming for the Transformers 3 movie, a stunt went terribly wrong and an extra was injured. The accident involved several vehicles with an object going through a windshield hitting the driver resulting in a serious head injury. Filming was taking place in Hammond in northwestern Indiana. Several videos exist of the movie shooting in Chicago on Youtube, along with some funny trailers. Transformers 3 is scheduled for a July 2011 release.

With more biology than robotics, researchers at University of Tokyo harvested eggs from African Clawed Frogs to build inexpensive olfactory sensors. DNA from fruit flies and moths were added to stimulate production of the sensors known to be good at detecting certain molecules, then electrodes were attached to capture the receptor's output. Now for the "Robot" part - results from the sensors are read by software on a PC and a simple actuator was used to cause a robotic mannequin head to shake back and forth adding impact to the experiment. See the PDF for the full scoop.

The term RoboCup usually makes us think of a contest involving robots and soccer, but this one is different. The RoboCup Golf Ball Returner from Fine Tune Golf does just what it says, and fairly well too. RoboCup captures your put (even the bad ones using the Caddy Cord) and sends it back for another shot - over 12,000 times on AA batteries, and around 14 feet. Check out the Video.

In spite of new and unexpected findings by a Berkeley Lab research team that microbes have done an amazing job taking care of the underwater oil plume in the Gulf of Mexico, oil on the surface can cause a lot of damage to wildlife and property if it washes ashore. Researchers at MIT are working out ways to skim that surface oil using a swarm of robots. The robots communicate with each other using a WiFi network, and using GPS then coordinate their movements with software inspired by natural swarms. Oil is dealt with on the spot by heating it thus avoiding a lengthy trip to shore. See the video.

Check out Simple Bots at Instructables. Randy Sarafan, author of 62 Projects to Make with a Dead Computer, presents an array of robots using these guidelines: Easy and quick to build, simple, mobile, autonomous, and eventually able to incorporate more complex controls and/or be assimilated by a more complex system. The results are fascinating and include common household objects such as telephone handsets, paint brushes and small plastic containers. Simple bots typically rely on one or more RC servomotors modified for continuous drive for their mobility along with a pack of AA batteries.

Freelancer Tim Hornyak, author of "Loving the Machine: The Art and Science of Japanese Robots" has written a short review of Evolution Robotics' new Mint floor-cleaning robot over at cnet. Mint is a sweeper/mopper with a unique square-ish shape that improves treatment of corners. Its navigation system keeps track of where it's been so it doesn't miss any spots, and uses sensors to avoid rugs and stairs. Mint uses rectangular disposable cleaning cloths that are compatible with some Swiffer brand cleaning systems and widely available at stores.

A team of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) seniors was named "Rookie of the Year" for the design and development of its robot, Prometheus, whose purpose is to safely drive around any environment while avoiding obstacles. The team was recognized at the 18th annual Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition (IGVC), held this summer at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich. Prometheus has a custom-welded frame made out of aluminum, two drive wheels in the back, and one steering wheel in the front. The vehicle uses an array of sensors including differential GPS, a digital compass, video cameras, and a distance sensor that constantly collect and process information about its environment.

In its latest episode, the Robots Podcast interviews the lead researcher of the Distributed Flight Array and one of my colleagues at the ETH Zurich's IDSC, Raymond Oung. The Distributed Flight Array (DFA) is an aerial modular robot. Each individual module has a single, large propellor and a set of omniwheels to move around. Since a single propellor does not allow stable flight, modules move around to connect to each other. As shown in this video of the DFA, the resulting random shape then takes flight. After a few minutes of hovering the structure breaks up and modules fall back to the ground, restarting the cycle. As most projects at the IDSC, the DFA is grounded in rigorous mathematics and design principles and combines multiple goals: It serves as a real-world testbed for research in distributed estimation and control, it abstracts many of the real-world issues of the next generation of distributed multi-agent systems, and it provides an illustration for otherwise abstract concepts like distributed sensing and control to a general public. For more information on current work, future plans and real-world applications, read on or tune in!

University of Calgary researchers have developed neurochips capable of interfacing to and sensing activity of biological neurons in very high resolution. The new chips are automated so it's now easy to connect multiple brain cells eliminating the years of training it once required. While researchers say this technology could be used for new diagnostic methods and treatments for a variety of neuro-degenerative diseases, this advancement could ultimately lead to the use of biological neurons in the central or sub-processing units of computers and automated machinery.

Scientists at University of Leeds are using a robotic submarine to study a deep channel that runs along the floor of the Black Sea. The underwater river is denser than the surrounding water and composed of sediment with a high salinity. There are similarities to land-based rivers but also major differences in how the mass flows. Study of the flow is being performed by a 7-metre torpedo-shaped robot called the Autosub3 because its accurate positioning system allows it to be programmed to stay just above the channel to prevent damage.

Researchers from Leeds University are working on a camera and drill-weilding robot known as Djedi to solve the mystery of the blocked shafts inside the Great Pyramid at Giza. In 1992 and 2002, remote cameras were sent through the shaft under the watchful eye of antiquities master Dr. Zahi Hawass only to be stopped by limestone doors. Dr. Robert Richardson of the Mechanical Engineering department said their goal is to find out what is beyond the blocks and go as far as possible to discover the purpose of the shafts, all while doing minimal damage to the structure. Final preparations are being made now with hopes of sending the robot in before year's end. Place your bets now!

Engineers at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Germany built a Ferrari F1 simulator using an industrial robot arm. The driver sits in a simulated cockpit attached to the end of the arm and lets the driver feel what it's like to take the turns and feel the G's. The stated purpose is to study how humans respond to movement, but we all know the motivation goes far beyond that!

Unexpected movements within the abdomens of caterpillars are giving scientists new ideas in locomotion engineering for soft-material robots. Using real-time X-Ray imaging, researchers at Virginia Tech and Tufts found that the caterpillar's gut slid forward in advance of the surrounding tissues. These unexpected interactions between internal and external structures offer new efficiencies for motion which could lead to improvements in designs for future robots needing to crawl in certain environments.

Researchers at MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain Research are working on a new mathematical model to mimic the human brain's ability to identify objects. The model can predict human performance on certain visual-perception tasks suggesting it’s a good indication of what's actually happening in the brain. Researchers are hoping the new findings will make their way into future object-recognition systems for automation, mobile robotics, and other applications.