DARPA is currently developing a robot interpreter that would support the troops at war. Right now, troops use human translators who speak in military radios. The Pentagon and DARPA seek to build a robot interpreter with 98% accuracy in 20 different languages. The project is called RATS for Rob…
The Japanese JO-Zero robot was introduced late in 2009 at the International Robots Exhibition. With twenty degrees of freedom (different movements), including ten in the legs, eight in the arms, and two in size, this mini-robot moves almost like a human. In the future, when a larger version is …
The video below is not brand new but it mentions 10 important points and advantages for companies considering investing in robotics. It's speaking mainly about industrial robots, but some of these arguments can also be applied towards professional robotics. Investing in robotics has a number of…
Here is a telepresence prototype, a robot developed to see what the person wearing it is seeing. It wraps around the shoulders like a backpack equipped with an advanced video camera and a microphone. It may be useful for teleconferences, or if you need to talk on behalf of someone far away. This…
DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) wants to develop an initiative to build a robotic hand which imitates the gestures of a human hand. Robert Mandelbaum, a manager at DARPA, explained that the research agency and robotics communities in recent years have focused on robots which mo…
You are going to be amazed by this drawing robot who can sketch your portrait just by looking at you. This Aikon2 Skediomata robotic arm was presented at the Kinetica Art Fair in London a few days ago. It uses a video camera to view facial features and then the "hand" reproduces them on a piece o…
RoboPharma, a robotics technology adapted to the healthcare sector, will distribute medications in a British hospital, University Hospital of North Staffordshire. This robot who can distribute prescriptions to nurses and doctors in less than 20 seconds costs 345,000 euro. The robot which is 6 m…
Matt Bunting, an electrical engineering student in Tucson, Arizona has developed a particularly successful hexapod robot. This is a robot spider that moves in all directions with incredible flexibility and with legs that are both, joined and independent. The student project is so successful that …
The Ibn Sina robot is the first humanoid in the world that speaks Arabic. It is based on Iranian philosopher Avicenna who can be considered as the Leonardo of the East. It was one of the stars of the 2009 Dubai Gitex show. Ibn Sina recently flew in an airplane for the first time aboard the E
The RP-7 robot resembles a great boot fitted with a screen and a video camera. It is 5 foot tall (1.52 m) and allows patients and hospital staff to communicate with doctors at anytime. In addition one can connect it to electronic measuring devices (stethoscopes, otoscopes and ultrasounds) to tr…
A video displayed at Nasa Watch portraying a Robotnaut from Nasa's Project M. This remote controlled robot will be used for lunar missions and may even be commissioned in less than 1000 days (about 3 years) once the project gets startup confirmation. And according to Americaspace, would have alre…
NASA, General Motors and Oceaneering Space Systems have just introduced their latest astronaut robot prototype Robonaut2. Three years of work were needed to develop the robot worker that will be used for dangerous space missions. Robonaut2 is equipped with arms, hands, and fingers; it can lift …
fuRo in Japan has developed a jacket system (WIND) that allows remotely controlling a robot. The vest is equipped with sensors that detect the movements of anyone wearing it and wirelessly sends instructions to the robot, which in turn receives and executes them. It replicates exactly the movem…
What you are about to see in this video may shock you; please take a seat :-) The robot below is comprised of parts from Lego Mindstorms NXT, a programmable kit and a Nokia N95 mobile phone. It can solve a Rubik's Cube with16 small squares per side (4x4 x 6 sides). To begin, the Nokia takes a ph…
PALRO (for PAL = friend and Ro = Robot) is a new small humanoid robot built by the Japanese company Fuji Soft. It will be available for sale during 2010. Rated technical specifications, Palro measures 39.8 cm (15 inches), and weighs 1.9 kg (3.5 pounds). The small humanoid robot has 20 degrees …
The National Museum of Sciences and Innovation, Miraikan in Japan, displays several models created by Honda robots. It is a meeting-point for the whole family. Too bad that Japan is not closer to us :-) You will see mainly the highly publicized Asimo in several different positions including a ver…
