The Basque Country, European Capital of Robotics
Members of the European research network in robotics EURON, the Spanish Robotics Committee and of the Madrid Robotics Network.
The Basque Country has been the European capital of robotics for a few days, holding a conference in which, for the first time, the two main European entities on the subject were joined: The European Robotics Research Network -EURON- and The European Robotics Technology -EUROP-. Under the name of ‘euRobotics event’, the main continental companies of the sector, universities, and representatives of the European Commission met the 10th, 11th and 12th of March. The outstanding positioning of FATRONIK-Tecnalia in the field of robotics has favoured the Basque technological centre to organise this meeting, which has been the ideal setting for EURON and EUROP to give a step forward in their objective of reducing the existing gap between industry and academia.
270 experts attended the event, which means that it has been the most important meeting of experts in robotics held in Europe up to now. The ‘euRobotics event’ gathered together the most outstanding companies in industrial robotics -Kuka Roboter, ABB and Comau-; in service robotics -BlueBotics, MoviRobotics, Aldebaran Robotics and Robosoft-; and in security and space robotics -Alenia Aeronáutica and Selex Galileo-. Besides, the main centres and universities that work in this field were also represented: DLR Institute of Robotic and Mechatronics, K.U. Leuven, Fraunhofer IPA, Universita Napoli Federico II and TU München. (more…)
Walking Robot Utilizes “Chaos Control”
Following the principle of chaos control, the robot produces regular leg movements when walking normally. In addition, it can use the uncontrolled chaotic movement pattern to free itself when its leg is trapped in a hole. (Network Dynamics Group, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization)
Even simple insects can generate quite different movement patterns with their six legs. The animal uses various gaits depending on whether it crawls uphill or downhill, slowly or fast. Scientists from Göttingen have now developed a walking robot, which - depending on the situation - can flexibly and autonomously switch between different gaits. The success of their solution lies in its simplicity: a small and simple network with just a few connections can create very diverse movement patterns.
To this end, the robot uses a mechanism for “chaos control”. This interdisciplinary work was carried out by a team of scientists at the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Göttingen, the Physics Department of the Georg-August-University of Göttingen and the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization. (Nature Physics, January 17th, 2010, advanced online publication)
In humans and animals, periodically recurring movements like walking or breathing are controlled by small neural circuits called “central pattern generators” (CPG). Scientists have been using this principle in the development of walking machines. To date, typically one separate CPG was needed for every gait. (more…)
Patient Undergoes First Robot-Assisted Surgery for Removal of Lung Tumor
Dr. J. Michael Dimaio with Craig and Kim Harrison. (UT Southwestern)
When Craig Harrison found out he would be the first patient in North Texas to have robot-assisted lung-tumor surgery, an operation performed at UT Southwestern Medical Center, he wasn’t nervous at all.
“I know most people would’ve been, but I was actually excited about it,” Mr. Harrison said. “I had a rare chance to help other people.”
Dr. J. Michael DiMaio, associate professor of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at UT Southwestern, performed the groundbreaking surgery using the DaVinci system, a four-armed robot controlled by the surgeon via a joystick. The DaVinci provide a wider array of surgical manipulations within a smaller incision than are available in traditional thoracic surgeries.
“A lot more procedures are now done with smaller incisions, which decreases pain and the length of hospital stays,” Dr. DiMaio said. “The robot offers easier access to the lung, with more flexibility and rotation than standard tools.” (more…)
Is Your Microrobot Up for the (NIST) Challenge?
A microrobot used at the RoboCup 2009 nanosoccer competition by the team from Switzerland's ETH Zurich is compared in size to the head of a fruit fly. The robot, which is operated under a microscope, is 300 micrometers in length or slightly larger than a dust mite. (ETH Zurich)
The scientists and engineers who introduced the world to tiny robots demonstrating soccer skills are creating the next level of friendly competition designed to advance microrobotics — the field devoted to the construction and operations of useful robots whose dimensions are measured in micrometers (millionths of a meter).
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in collaboration with IEEE, is inviting university and collegiate student teams currently engaged in microrobotic, microelectronic or MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) research to participate in the 2010 NIST Mobile Microrobotics Challenge. The competition will be held as part of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation in May 2010 in Anchorage, Alaska.
Viewed under a microscope, the microbots are operated by remote control and move in response to changing magnetic fields or electrical signals transmitted across a microchip playing field. The bots are a few tens of micrometers to a few hundred micrometers long, but their masses can be just a few nanograms (billionths of a gram). They are manufactured from materials such as aluminum, nickel, gold, silicon and chromium. (more…)
Is My Robot Happy to See Me?
Graduate student Jenay Beer tested adults ability to read a robots expressions.
People are social creatures. Robots … not so much. When we think of robots, we think of cold, metallic computers without emotion. If science fiction has taught us anything, though, it’s that we crave emotion, even in our robots - think C-3PO or Star Trek’s Data. So it stands to reason that if robots are ever going to become a fixture in our society, even becoming integrated into our households, we need to be able to read their faces. But how good are we at reading robot faces?
Scientists at Georgia Tech decided to test our ability to interpret a robot’s “emotion” by reading its expression to see if there were any differences between the ages. They found that older adults showed some unexpected differences in the way they read a robot’s face from the way younger adults performed. The research is being presented this week at the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting in San Antonio.
“Home-based assistive robots have the potential to help older adults age in place. They have the potential to keep older adults independent longer, reduce healthcare needs and provide everyday assistance,” said graduate student Jenay Beer. (more…)
Revising Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics
When the legendary science fiction writer Isaac Asimov penned the “Three Laws of Responsible Robotics,” he forever changed the way humans think about artificial intelligence, and inspired generations of engineers to take up robotics.
In the current issue of journal IEEE Intelligent Systems, two engineers propose alternative laws to rewrite our future with robots.
The future they foresee is at once safer, and more realistic.
“When you think about it, our cultural view of robots has always been anti-people, pro-robot,” explained David Woods, professor of integrated systems engineering at Ohio State University. “The philosophy has been, ’sure, people make mistakes, but robots will be better — a perfect version of ourselves.’ We wanted to write three new laws to get people thinking about the human-robot relationship in more realistic, grounded ways.” (more…)
Low Cost, Dexterous Robotic Hand Operated by Compressed Air
The fully articulated robotic hand RAPHaEL (Robotic Air Powered Hand with Elastic Ligaments) can firmly hold objects as heavy as a can of food or as delicate as a raw egg. It also is dexterous enough to gesture for sign language.
The Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa) of the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech has developed a unique robotic hand that can firmly hold objects as heavy as a can of food or as delicate as a raw egg, while dexterous enough to gesture for sign language.
Named RAPHaEL (Robotic Air Powered Hand with Elastic Ligaments), the fully articulated robotic hand is powered by a compressor air tank at 60 psi and a novel accordion type tube actuator. Microcontroller commands operate the movement to coordinate the motion of the fingers. (more…)
Robots Could Prepare Lunar Landing Pad
Small excavation robots, such as these conceptual vehicles, would be capable of preparing lunar landing sites for a future outpost, a new study shows. (Credit: Astrobotic Technology Inc.)
Small robots the size of riding mowers could prepare a safe landing site for NASA’s Moon outpost, according to a NASA-sponsored study prepared by Astrobotic Technology Inc. with technical assistance from Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute.
Astrobotic Technology and Carnegie Mellon researchers analyzed mission requirements and developed the design for an innovative new type of small lunar robot under contract from NASA’s Lunar Surface Systems group. (more…)
Robots May Soon Teach Autistic Children
Wired participant plays the nerf basketball game.(Courtesy Vanderbilt University/John Russell.)
The day that robot playmates help children with autism learn the social skills that they naturally lack has come a step closer with the development of a system that allows a robot to monitor a child’s emotional state.
“There is a lot of research going on around the world today trying to use robots to treat children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). It has shown that the children are attracted to robots, raising the promise that appropriately designed robots could play an important role in their treatment,” says Nilanjan Sarkar, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Vanderbilt University. “However, the efforts so far have been quite limited because they haven’t had a way to monitor the emotional state of the children, which would allow the robot to respond automatically to their reactions.”
If these limitations can be overcome, the use of robots to treat children with ASD could have a significant social and financial impact. One baby in every 150 born today in the United States is diagnosed with ASD, making it more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes and AIDS combined. Currently, treatment of these children involves a combination of behavioral, educational, physical, occupational and speech therapies, sometimes accompanied by medication for co-occurring conditions such as anxiety, irritability, bi-polar and other disorders. The average cost of caring for one person with autism for life is $3.2 million. In total, autism currently costs the U.S. more than $90 billion per year, and that cost is projected to double by 2017 due to the growing population of those affected. (more…)
Why Robots Get Stuck in the Sand
By studying the physics of movement on granular media, Georgia Tech researchers revealed that robots attempting to move across sandy terrain should move their legs more slowly, especially if the sand is loosely packed.
Today’s advanced mobile robots explore complex terrains across the globe and even on Mars, but have difficulty traversing sand and other granular media like dirt, rubble or slippery piles of leaves.
A new study published February 10 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences takes what may be the first detailed look at the problem of robot locomotion on granular surfaces. Among the study’s recommendations: robots attempting to move across sandy terrain should move their legs more slowly, especially if the sand is loosely packed. (more…)
Out of the Box: Building Robots, Transforming Lives
In his memoir, "Out of the Box: Building Robots, Transforming Lives" (Lift Every Voice, January 2009), Williams shares his childhood affinity for inventions, gadgets, basketball, spiritual faith and his pursuit of seemingly impossible dreams.
While American history was made with the inauguration of the first African-American President Barack Obama, young people are realizing their career aspirations are endless. Andrew Williams, Ph.D., is inspiring African-Americans to overcome obstacles of higher education through his personal story of education, determination and robotics.
College education discrepancies between the races are startling. 2008 statistics reveal that African-Americans make up only 13.3 percent of incoming college freshman, with 9 percent receiving bachelor’s degrees (8 percent in science and technology majors). However, White students comprise almost 75 percent of incoming freshmen, with 70 percent earning bachelor’s degrees (67 percent in science and technology). (Science Magazine, May 16, 2008).
Williams believes these findings are a result of the lack of role models in the science and engineering field, unlike the entertainment and sports industry. In his memoir, “Out of the Box: Building Robots, Transforming Lives” (Lift Every Voice, January 2009), Williams shares his childhood affinity for inventions, gadgets, basketball, spiritual faith and his pursuit of seemingly impossible dreams. (more…)
‘The Robots are Coming’
Assistant professor Alexander Stoytchev (right) and graduate student Jivko Sinapov are working to develop software so a robot can learn to use tools. One example of such learning is maneuvering a hockey stick around a puck. (Photo by Bob Elbert.)
by Mike Krapfl, Iowa State University News Service
Alexander Stoytchev and his three graduate students recently presented one of their robot’s long and shiny arms to a visitor.
Here, they said, swing it around.
And so the visitor tentatively gave the robot’s left arm a few twists and twirls. The metal arm was heavy, but still moved easily at its shoulder, elbow and wrist joints.
Then the graduate students hit some keyboard commands and the robot replayed those exact arm movements.
It was all incredibly quick, smooth and precise.
Stoytchev, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, says it won’t be long before robot technology is something we’ll all see and experience. (more…)
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