PLEO robo-dino

PLEO the robo-dino was designed to emulate the appearance and behavior of a week-old baby Camarasaurus. It was designed by Caleb Chung, the co-creator of the Furby, and manufactured by Ugobe. This is the closest thing to the real thing (as of the moment) its skin is smooth, seamless and stretchy, its movements are not rigid; its actions are seemingly spontaneous and unprogrammed. Inside, however, the 3.3-pound Pleo is very robotic indeed. It’s stuffed with 38 sensors to detect light, motion, touch and sound. They feed information about Pleo’s environment to one of eight processors that can handle a collective 60 million calculations per second. A complex computer program determines what the dino does next—howl over the edge of a table, sneeze, crane its neck around 180 degrees to see who’s scratching its back, or any of thousands of other possibilities. As Pleo’s manufacturer, Ugobe in Emeryville, California, develops more sophisticated personality coding, you’ll be able to upgrade the robot through its SD-card slot or from the Web through its USB port.

Indeed it's promising but can it really replace your cat/dog pet?

iRobot Roomba Model 4220

The loyal and faithful iRobot Roomba Discovery SE - Model 4220 will clean your house without ever asking for anything but a plug and maybe a little backup if it runs into the cat. Roomba senses and finds dirt. Once dirtier areas are detected, Roomba automatically increases the intensity and focus of its cleaning.

It’s generally not Woot’s policy to link to outside sites, just like it’s not the iRobot Roomba Discovery SE - Model 4220’s policy to leave any dirt behind. It has two Virtual Walls that can be programmed to keep your Roomba out of off-limit areas. Roomba has the built-in intelligence to automatically return to its self-charging home base when its battery is low or it has completed a cleaning cycle. This means your Roomba will always be charged and ready for its next cleaning mission. Not bad for a household appliance ayt?

robonews

Spirit and Opportunity haven gotten a two year funding extension to continue their incredible trek across the red planet. Together they have racked up almost 12 miles of travel! A couple of stories through Slashdot include an article detailing efficiencies of Robot-run warehouses, and an article about progress in robot learning at Fudan University. Our friends at medGadget are keeping us up to date on robots in the medical field including the NeuroArm robot that performs MRI-guided neurosurgery, and the zero-gravity surgical robot software developed by SRI. On a final note, Woot continues to appeal to robot lovers everywhere by offering Wowwee Roboquads for $50.

TRANSFORMER

HIS BUMBLEBEE With PAPER

I bumped into this in the net while searching for something. A transformer model prototype made from paper, though it don't transform into a bumble bee car, it is a small replica of bumble bee from the movies. This is his story, a document of how and why he built this awesome piece of art. There are about more than 60 movable joints, 36 cm in height. He used AO paperboard, boxes of egg-pie, bottle of Tai-zi milk, snap fastener, moon cake box, white paperboard, chopsticks, popsicle sticks, the core of ball-point pen, plastic spring to make this excellent work and it took him just a month to complete this jaw-dropping wonder, from July 15 to August 11.

People can achieve everything he wants in case of his courage.

Chairman Mao

Omnibo2007 i-sobot

The Omnibo2007 i-SOBOT made by Takara Tomy is the smallest 2-legged robot in the world, Guinness-certified “smallest humanoid robot in production . It's just 6.5-inch (96x67x165mm) and weighs only 350g. The micro-sized high-tech i-SOBOT is equipped with 17 servo motors provided throughout the body and an internal gyro-sensor gives it maximum flexibility. It is capable of making different kinds of smooth motions while automatically balancing itself. It features five operational modes: (1) remote control mode; (2) programmed mode; (3) special action mode; (4) voice control mode (for dictating simple actions); and (5) dance mode. It can also move while outputting words (speaking vocabulary of over 200 words and phrases in English), sound effects, music, etc. from a built-in speaker.

The i-SOBOT remote control has a built-in LCD display with intuitive icons for easy motion sequence entry. The controller/robot communication is done using a well known IR format similar to television remote controls.The i-SOBOT can play music, dance, and respond to applause and other user actions. The bot can also make its own punching and kicking sound effects, so we can imagine some entertaining robo-duels with a pair of these things. By the way, have you ever seen a toy robot that can do push-ups? Or get up on its feet by itself without you having to lift it up? It goes on sale in July from toymaker Takara Tomy. The English website and price are still “coming soon,” but since this dancing, push-upping wunderbot runs about $258 (31,290 yen)in Japan.

The company also announced that they will be releasing the older brother of the tiny bot, the Omnibot2007 i-SOBOT CAMVersion, in October. The CAMversion has an internal camera that sneakily snaps photos and sends images wirelessly to your PC or cellphone via WiFi, and whose head can swivel 60 degrees in each direction. The CAMVersion bot will run you 41,790 yen ($344 US) when it debuts in October.

Takara Co., Ltd. was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955. Takara merged with another prominent Japanese toy company, Tomy Co., Ltd., on March 1, 2006

ASIMO

Ever since I was a child and started to watch robots such as Voltes V, Mazinger Z, Daimos and other robots in movies. I was fascinated and at the same time curious about how does it really works. I used to wreck all my toys just to find the answer to my question, but to my dismay the answer was still aint there. Years passed and I took Electronics Engineering Technology(ESET) at Technological University of the Philippines (TUP) because of the fact that i was still amazed how robots work. I graduated after 10 years studying in college but never did I found the answer. This is the closest thing to the answer, and still I'm not contented.
ASIMO Humanoid Robot ASIMO (Advanced Step in Innovative MObility) is a bipadel humanoid robot from Honda . This robot has been evolving since its inception in 1986. Current version of ASIMO is 1.2 meter tall and weighs 43 Kg. This size enables ASIMO to actually perform tasks within the realm of a human living environment. It also walks in a smooth fashion which closely resembles that of a human being. Advanced Walking Technology Predicted Movement Control (for predicting the next move and shifting the center of gravity accordingly) is combined with existing walking control know-how to create i-WALK (intelligent real-time flexible walking) technology, permitting smooth changes of direction.
Walking by putting one leg before the other was successfully achieved. However, taking nearly five seconds between steps,it walked very slowly in a straight line.To increase walking speed, or to allow walking on uneven surfaces or slopes, fast walking must be realized.

The New ASIMO has made great leaps forward from its predecessor. In fact, the New ASIMO can walk along with you (holding your hand if you wish), and features advanced mobility, to the extent that ASIMO can now move carts and other objects around at will. And, with a newly developed total control system that controls all of ASIMO's functions, ASIMO can autonomously act as a receptionist, or even deliver drinks on a tray. The New ASIMO is also more agile than before, being able to run at 6km/h, and even turn whilst running.

Major Features
Receptionist tasks
ASIMO is now capable of performing tasks as a receptionist or information guide automatically in concert with the movement of people. ASIMO now has the ability to recognize the surrounding environment through visual sensors, floor surface sensor, ultrasonic sensor, and by an IC Tele-interaction Communication Card, developed independently by Honda, held by the person with whom ASIMO will interact. Head-mounted eye camera and force (kinesthetic) sensor-equipped wrists allow ASIMO to give and receive an object such as a tray in a timely manner, or even to hold the hand of a person and move in sync.
Carrying objects
ASIMO is now capable of handling a cart freely while maintaining an appropriate distance from the cart by adjusting the force of its right and left arms to push a cart using the force (kinesthetic) sensor on its wrists. Even when the movement of the cart is disturbed, ASIMO can continue maneuvering by taking flexible actions such as slowing down or changing directions.
Improved mobility
Normal walking speed:2.7km/hour (previous model: 2.5km/hour)Walking speed while carrying objects:1.6km/hour(based on carrying object: weighing 1kg)Running speed:6km/hourSpeed of running in a circular pattern:5km/hour (2.5m radius)

http://world.honda.com/ASIMO

Voltes V

Voltes V is a Japanese anime television series that was first aired on TV Asahi starting April 6, 1977. It was created by Tadao Nagahama as the second part of his Robot Romance Trilogy , of the Super Robot genre. Conceived as a second part/remake of its predecessor Combattler V , was released in Italy, Spain, and The Philippines, dubbed in their respective languages according to Wikipedia.

It was 1978, the year when the Japanese anime Voltes V hit Philippine television and caught all Filipino children by surprise. For many, it was their first glimpse of Japanese culture, and for those with black-and-white TV sets, the colors were not so vivid then. Imagine most Filipino's running home from school or from work, wary that it is almost 6 p.m., dropping their things carelessly on the floor and turning on their old black-and-white TV.
I weren't one of those so-called Martial Law babies, who got caught in the web of Voltes V mania. I was just born then so I never really did saw the first time it aired, but based on their stories, it really was a phenomenom then.

Each morning, the previous night's episodes would fill classroom talk and everyone would trade stickers or collectibles of their favorite Japanese heroes. Forget about Superman and the Superfriends, or Wonder Woman and Batman! Somehow, in that brief glimpse of time 30 years ago, Japan had caught the imagination of Filipino children, and their lives would never be the same.

The parade of Japanese robots began with Voltes V, and then came Mazinger Z, then Daimos, and soon enough, prime time was swamped by all of these Japanese cartoons, and kids like me then began to mimic them. It was fun acting out Steve Armstrong (or Kenichi Gou), the venerable pilot of Volt Panzer.

Just when Filipino people got comfy on watching Voltes V, former President Marcos banned the showing of all Japanese anime. Many have argued that the former dictator was annoyed with the parallel identification between the villain characters with his regimes. But some others explained that it was because Marcos' family owned television company could not compete with the popularity of the television company that broadcasted Voltes V, so Marcos had to intervene by banning the broadcast of Voltes V. Still, the first arguments were already widely speculated, thus at some point Voltes V was gaining a more political popularity. Imagine the day after Marcos pulled the plug. An eerie silence soon replaced the animated chatter in the cafeteria. It was as if someone in the family had died. Voltes V and the rest of the Japanese heroes are gone. But life continues, so they speak, but not without the episodes playing and replaying in the Filipino minds.

So when it was re-aired again it's as if one has risen from the dead. A mania of Voltes V was relived. And it seems that its bigger than ever...

"Let's fight together! LET's VOLT IN!"

Robots

"The first decade of the 21st century will be dominated by robots" - Toshitada Doi, Corporate Executive Vice President, Sony to Reuters reporters



A robot is a mechanical or virtual, artificial agent. It is usually an electromechanical system, which, by its appearance or movements, conveys a sense that it has intent or agency of its own. The word robot can refer to both physical robots and virtual software agents, but the latter are usually referred to as bots to differentiate.While there is still discussion about which machines qualify as robots, a typical robot will have several, though not necessarily all of the following properties:
Is not 'natural' i.e. has been artificially created. Can sense its environment. Can manipulate or interact with things in its environment. Has some degree of intelligence, or ability to make choices based on the environment, or automatic control / preprogrammed sequence. Is programmable. Can move with one or more axes of rotation or translation. Can make dexterous coordinated movements.
Although the appearance and capabilities of robots vary vastly, all robots share the features of a mechanical, movable structure under some form of autonomous control. The structure of a robot is usually mostly mechanical and can be called a kinematic chain (its functionality being akin to the skeleton of the human body). The chain is formed of links (its bones), actuators (its muscles) and joints which can allow one or more degrees of freedom. Most contemporary robots use open serial chains in which each link connects the one before to the one after it. These robots are called serial robots and often resemble the human arm. Some robots, such as the Stewart platform, use closed parallel kinematic chains. Other structures, such as those that mimic the mechanical structure of humans, various animals and insects, are comparatively rare. However, the development and use of such structures in robots is an active area of research (e.g. biomechanics). Robots used as manipulators have an end effector mounted on the last link. This end effector can be anything from a welding device to a mechanical hand used to manipulate the environment.

A re-programmable multi-functional manipulator designed to move materials, parts, tools, or specialized devices through variable programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks.

"I can't define a robot, but I know one when I see one. "
Joseph Engelberger, a pioneer in industrial robotics