Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan has an aquarium cleaning robot with a twist. The robot not only cleans, it also monitors the fish and provides live video feed for visitors."Most large institutions have cleaning problems, and most of them keep the ‘dirty work’ hidden from sight. They prefe…
Pack animals have a long history in the military. The US was reminded of this fact in 2002, when it had to pull in horses and mules to move gear across the Afghanistan wilderness. TACOM responded by giving grants to two robotics companies, Yobotics and Boston Dynamics. Their mission: to produce a m…
A group of students and faculty at Dartmouth University College have created a robot to function in arctic weather and is solar powered. Such a robot was comissioned by NASA to aid in research in the antarctic. NASA's goal is to use the robot to search for evidence of bacteria in Antarctic snow. T…
Jason Striegel over at BlogCadre, has given us a the first news in a while about LEGO's Mindstorms Developer Program According to Striegel, LEGO sent out a email that reads: Thank you very much for your interest in participating in the LEGO(r) MINDSTORMS(tm) Developer Program. We are very sorry bu…
Ticks are a health hazard to humans and pets alike. Yet few spray pesticides indiscriminately in tick-infested areas, primarily out of concerns over environment and cost. Justin Woulfe and his fellow students at the Virginia Military Institute came up with a novel solution. They hacked an RC truck,…
Recently, Jim, over at The NXT Step blog let me know he'd added GoRobotics.net to his blogroll. Since we don't currently have a blogroll, the "nxt" best thing is to give him a shout-out in a post! The NXT Step is now on my feed list. It's a great site for information about about LEGO's up-and-comin…
Populations in developing nations are aging, putting increased demands on healthcare systems. This has been said so much as to almost become cliché. The fact is that healthcare is in need of automation technology, and robotics companies are answering the call.One such company is InTouch Tech…
For some time now, the robotics community has been anticipating the release of White Box's robot. They are not yet shipping, though there is some news. VIA Arena has posted an article, "A visit with Tom Burick of White Box Robotics". We learn from the article and the links that the 914: …
Nik Fielding is one busy fellow. He’s worked up several robots such as an ED-209 and three humanoids. These are X-BOT, VOR, and Cyberstein. With these last two, Nik Fielding does shows and events (click here to see videos).The robot Cyberstein was last seen at the home of the future sho…
Have you ever wondered who created the Predator drone? If so, then you'll want to check out this piece by Red Herring about General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GAAS), the creator of the Predator, and it's plans for the future (including Predator B and C!). The company is privately owned by a 55 y…
Look out Devantech, there's a new kid on the proverbial block, the robotics-block, that is. While the ultrasonic sensor line from Devantech has turned into a staple for many hobby robots, it looks like there might be another viable contender. Check out the Ultrasonic Range Finder from Maxbotix, whi…
Remember the sub-launched robotic plane we talked about before? Well, here's some more information on it, courtesy of Popular Science. The plane will be released from a Trident missile tube on an Ohio-class U.S. submarine, surface, then take off. "The [missile] tubes are as long as a semi tr…
Asahi Breweries Getting a robot to fetch your beer has about as long a history as getting your robot to vacuum your floor. At any given time, Universities across the globe are hard at work on this task. There is the University of Florida’s Koolio, for example, or Duke’s Kegbot. Comercia…
From houseflies to honeybees, insects inspire us with flight skills just beyond the grasp of our technology. Z. Jane Wang, a professor at Cornell University, is working to close this gap between inspiration and implementation. Wang’s recent work is on dragonflies, and here she has found some…
If you come across any driverless Volvos towing trailers and caravans through the mountain passes of Death Valley in California, don't panic. It is simply Volvo testing and refining their towing capacity.Volvo developed a robot to automate the driving and minimize subjectivity. The device resembles…
Sony was the first to get a bipedal robot running, but then proceeded to drop out of the race. Other companies are now following in Sony’s footsteps. Robotis, for instance, just announced its running robot. Robotis RX is a little taller and little slower that the Sony Qrio. RX measures in at …
