OTHER ROBOTS
P L Y O J U M P
Click the bagpipe for essays & commentary
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Dr. Robot at Robodex 2003
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Chinese Robots
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The newest Chinese robot named "Huitong" displays its sword-fighting
ability. It appears to be a more advanced version of the "Tai Chi"
robot, below. |
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The BH1-1 is the most advanced humanoid robot built in China, and is being
developed at the
Beijing University of Science and Engineering under China's High and New
Technology Research and Development Program. Here it
demonstrates the ability to execute tai chi moves. It is 1.58 meters tall,
weighs 76 kilograms, has 32 degrees of freedom, walks with 33cm steps at a
speed of 1kph, and can also sense changing ground levels and balance
itself. The robot is being developed for hazardous work environments. |
An
older Chinese android "Pioneer". This walking robot is 1.4 meters (55
inches) tall and weighs 20kg (44 lbs). It was built at China Science and
Technology University for National Defense in Changsha, Hunan, China. |
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Peter Dilworth's Dino-Robots
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Peter Dilworth (who built the dino-bot Troody a few years ago) has been
working on four-legged robo-dinos. His new robot, "Butch" is
modeled after a Protoceratops dinosaur. The robot is one-meter
long and weights 18-kilograms - very light! Probably the most advanced
legged robot outside of Japan, and probably destined for future Disney
theme parks (see Lucky, below). Videos are promised at the following link
by an MIT student programming its walking:
http://hebb.mit.edu/people/russt/robots/
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Lucky (Disney)
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Click images below for Lucky movies!
(MPG)
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| Lucky's trainer urges on |
Close-up of walk cycle |
Lucky's head is agile enough to grasp
the string on a balloon! |
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A small robot (suitable for RoboONE) competitions called Pirkus has been created by
KDDI
and I Bee KK Robot Labs. The robot is operated directly from a Toshiba mobile phone
via Bluetooth. The aluminum robot will be sold online as a self-assembly
kit for about $2,000 US (seems a bit steep considering Robosapien V2
features). KDDI and I Bee plan to develop the robot into a home
security system. |
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Segway RMP (Robotic Mobility Platform)
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Shows a RMP at RoboCup 2004 in Portugal |
The Segway RMP is a Segway Human Transporter modified to be controlled by
a robot. The advantage is that the Segway is designed to carry the weight
of a human, which is quite a bit more than other robotic platforms can
manage. Developed by SSC San Diego under DARPA contract, the system has
been farmed out to a variety of universities for use in their robotic
projects. The system gives US robotics a fast way to put dynamic mobility
without going through the legged development process already completed by
the Japanese. DARPA seems to be interested in using swarms of these
systems to investigate/map buildings and other spaces.
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Cardea (MIT Humanoid Lab)
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Cardea is
the latest project at the MIT Humanoid lab of Rodney Brooks/COG fame. This
robot uses a Segway RMP (a modified Segway system that can be controlled
by a computer) to provide a two-wheeled, dynamically-balanced robot base.
The stability of the Segway RMP allows building a robot body to human
height without having to worry about balancing it. At present, Cardea can drive up to a door and open it with its
single arm.
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CTG Balancing Robot |
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Want your own balancer? CTG (Configurable Robotics at
http://www.ctgnet.com) has created
a hobby-level balancing robot. |
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Epson Flying Robot |
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Epson has developed a small flying robot that uses
Bluetooth for communication. Click on the link to see a (short) flight
of this device. Amazing minaturization! USC has an autonomous
helicopter program for bigger fly-bots. For more pics and videos, see
http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2004/0819/epson.htm |
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Evolving Robot Walking
Gaits
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The Dynamic & Evolutionary
Machine Organization Lab at Brandeis has been doing interesting work
in evolving - rather than programming - walking gaits. Evolutionary
fitness is determined using the robot's digital camera and infrared
sensors - in other words, the robot judges how well it is walking
via its own senses. Score is a function of average velocity and
straightness of gait. Awesome! Evolved gaits are faster than those created
by hand. See the site for videos.
A key point is that evolved gaits can be rapidly adapted if the robot's
body changes slightly. This is useful if different robots are designed. It
may also be useful for creating new gaits when a robot is
"modified" by carrying an object or moving on new, unfamiliar
surfaces. This is the same lab that evolved
robot bodies. Worth a frequent look to see what they're up to...
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Dr. Robot
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A Canadian company appears to be one of the few groups outside Japan
creating a complete
standalone humanoid robot. Compared to the Japanese robots, Dr. Robot is
much simpler (note the huge feet and one-dimensional movement of the hip joint in
picture) it is capable of lying down and standing up again - only a few
other robots like the QURO and HRP have demonstrated this capability.
Dr. Robot also sells a series of kits for making more conventional
wheeled platform robots with eyes and WiFi connectivity. They also sell an
interface allowing a PC to control a robot body.
One of
only 3 robotics companies outside Japan to exhibit at Robodex 2003 (the
others were Shadow Robot and Evolution Robotics of Pasadena). Some nice
videos on the website.
http://www.drrobot.com
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Aldebaran Robotics |
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Project Nao, launched in early 2005, aims to make available to the public,
at an affordable price, a humanoid robot with mechanical, electronic,
and cognitive features, based on those of the prototype. A linux-based
computer system is used.
Link to Flash movies:
http://www.aldebaran-robotics.com/eng/pageVideoGreetingsEN.php
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Running Biped |
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Researchers from the
Communications and Cybernetic Research Institute of Nantes in France and
the University of Michigan have developed control software that allows a
two-legged robot to walk naturally, or even run. Their test robot, Rabbit
has a waist, two hip joints and two knees, but no upper body or feet or
ankles. The robot is free to fall forward or backward, but is prevented
from falling sideways by a rod that links its waist to a post on the
floor. However, it's worth noting that the Honda robot can already run -
so what is the advancement here?
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ISAMU - Kawada Industries
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Isamu is a more advanced version of the H6 and H7 robots described below.
Built by Kawada Industries (the same group involved with creating the more
advanced HRP
robot series, it incorporates principles of aircraft design to be light and
efficient. The robot is 1.5 m in height, weighs 55 kg, and has 32 degrees
of freedom. The bipedal walk control system software was developed by the
Inoue-Inaba Laboratory; the hardware and robotics structures, including
servo level control system, was developed by Kawada Industries. Like the H
series, this robot can climb 25 cm stairs. The hand grippers are installed
with touch sensors and each hand can grip up objects weighing up to 2 kg.
With two-camera stereo graphics input, the robot can recognize pre-entered
human faces.
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H-Series Robots - JSK
Lab, University of Tokyo
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The H6 and H7 were developed at the JSK
Laboratory at the University of
Tokyo. Construction of the first prototype was completed in
June 2000 by Aircraft
and Mechanical Systems Division of Kawada
Industries, Inc. The height of the robot is 1370mm, the
width is 590mm, and the mass is 55kg including 4kg of batteries.
The robot has a total of 35 degrees of freedom (DOF): 6 for each
leg, 1 for each foot (toe joint), 7 for each arm, 1 for each gripper, 2
for the neck, and 3 for the eyes. All major joints are driven by
DC motors and Harmonic drive gears. An onboard PC equipped with
dual PentiumIII-750MHz processors running RT-Linux is used for real-time
servo and balance compensation, as well as coordinating high-level 3D
vision and motion planning component software modules. The system
is connected to the network via wireless Ethernet. |
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"There is only one condition in which we can imagine
managers not needing subordinates, and masters not needing slaves. This
would be if every machine could work by itself, at the word of command or
by intelligent anticipation."
- Aristotle, from his justification of slavery in Politics |
