robot
gregladen | December 31, 2016The Makeblock mBot Add-on Pack-Six-legged Robot V1.1 is an add on for the Makeblock DIY mBot 1.1 Kit (Bluetooth Version) - STEM Education - Arduino - Scratch 2.0 - Programmable Robot Kit for Kids to Learn Coding & Robotics - Pink or any of its variants.
The makeblock robot is an arduino technology robot. It can be controlled with a supplied controller, or operated from any of several different kinds of computing devices (such as your cell phone) using an app. It can be programmed using the Arduino interface (from a Mac, Windows or Linux computer), but the robot comes with built in…
gregladen | August 24, 2016Want to make your own robot? You can do this the easy way, or you can do this the hard way. Or, both, if you like.
The basic home made robot is a robot because it moves around, and the way that is usually achieved is with two independently powered wheels, a third wheel (or something) to balance the thing, an energy source, some logic circuitry, some sensors, and some sort of remote control.
You can learn how all these technologies work, buy the various parts, put them together, program it, and have your own robot.
Or, you can just get one of these guys, and you're nearly done.
The robot…
dr. dolittle | October 18, 2013
A recent article published in The Scientist about the use of robots to study animal behavior is a must-read! I had no idea this was such a seemingly common use of robots. Some researchers use them to mimic the movements of ants along paths of least resistance. While others have developed robots to study cockroaches, rodents, birds, squirrels, frogs, fish, bees, etc. Researchers study the robots in the lab or field to see how well they mimic the real thing or to understand how robotic animals and real animals interact. By studying robots, researchers often learn about the constraints an…
esiegel | May 27, 2012"Listen, and understand. That terminator is out there. It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead." -Kyle Reese, the Terminator
Sure, they may look innocent now. Maybe you think they'll even live peacefully with us and create nothing but beauty, as Florence + the Machine might have you believe with their song,
Cosmic Love.
But the apocalypse will soon be upon us. And I think that this cute fella may be just the thing that ushers it in.
NAO robot, courtesy of Aldebaran Robotics,…
bleimanb | August 29, 2009We've all seen articles detailing remote controling insects via electric pulse systems on their nervous centers. A paper that we uncovered from last year (thanks NVDH), however, details the beginnings of a new kind of remote controlled moth. Hold on to your hats, because this is about to get complicated.
Basically, it all started when aeronautic engineers started looking closely at "insect inspired micro aircraft" as a complement to the large air vehicles that we currently employ. Large vehicles such as planes and helicopters are so massive that they are only minutely affected by changes in…
bioephemera | June 23, 2009
Clocky sounds like R2D2 and looks kind of like an ATV's single-axled, pastel cub. In other words, it's really, really cute. Which is why when Clocky wakes you with its piercing warbles, crashes to your floor and rolls under your bed, you won't want to smash its little display with your fist. At least, we hope not! Click through for more details.
Clocky is a clock for people who have trouble getting out of bed. When the snooze bar is pressed, Clocky rolls off the table and finds a hiding spot, a new one every day. Clocky began as a class project. After graduating, Gauri Nanda turned Clocky…
zooillogix | April 23, 2009Festo is officially my new favorite company, supplanting Gama-Go even with their squid wallets. With a seemingly limitless budget to create non-commercially viable robots, Festo is run by Morgan Freeman, who now goes exclusively by the moniker Lucius Fox.
As if flying death jellyfish weren't enough, Festo now brings us flying death penguins... Death March of the Penguins if you will.
Lucius you sly bastard.......
sciencepunk | April 5, 2009Swedish researchers have enlisted the help of artist Mikael Genberg to design a robot that will one day erect a tiny house on the moon. After landing on the lunar surface in 2012, the autonomous robot will scout for a suitable location and build a small red cottage, in keeping with the Scandinavian style.
The flatly-named The House on the Moon project aims to be a symbol of what one man can achieve. Students at the Mälardalen University will design, build and program the robot, although Professor Lars Asplund hinted that the final step may be a leap too far:
"We want to teach students who…
edyong | April 2, 2009In a laboratory at Aberystwyth University, Wales, a scientist called Adam is doing some experiments. He is trying to find the genes responsible for producing some important enzymes in yeast, and he is going about it in a very familiar way. Based on existing knowledge, Adam is coming up with new hypotheses and designing experiments to test them. He carries them out, records and evaluates the results, and comes up with new questions. All of this is part and parcel of a typical scientist's life but there is one important difference that sets Adam apart - he's a robot.
Adam is the brainchild of…
zooillogix | October 1, 2008Built by the French performing arts group "La Machine" for Liverpool's European Capital of Culture program a few weeks back, the giant arachnid reaches 15 meters tall and weighs 37 tons.
Built from both steel and wood, it utlizes a hydraulic system to move all spider-like and is operated by 12 people all sitting atop or strapped below the cephalothorax. If even one of those 12 drivers so much as yawns, the giant metal spider will grab the nearest human victim with its powerful jaws and suck out all of their internal juices.
We're trying to track down schematics so you can build your own at…
zooillogix | July 28, 2008This is old but Oysters Garter reminded me of it and I still think it's pretty cool. Also, I love lobsters (see below below).
The Biomimetic Underwater Robot Program based out of Northeastern University seeks to develop "neurotechnology based on the neurophysiology and behavior of animal models." This particular lobster robot is meant to sniff out underwater mines or some such, but I suspect that's just what the researchers told DARPA to get a big check to build a badass robotic lobster.
Perhaps of equal interest are these pics of my wedding cake (for reals):
UPDATE: My lobster cake was…
zooillogix | July 7, 2008StickyBot is a robot designed by researchers at Stanford Biomimetics and Dexterous Manipulation Lab as part of the Robots in Scansorial Environments project (RiSE). The robotic gecko tests their hypotheses about the "requirements for mobility on vertical surfaces using dry adhesion. The main point is that we don't need more adhesion, we need controllable adhesion."
The site boils down the "key ingredients" as follows:
* hierarchical compliance for conforming at centimeter, millimeter and micrometer scales,
* anisotropic dry adhesive materials and structures so that we can…
zooillogix | June 27, 2008A not at all exhaustive collection of cool bizarro aquariums.
Modular fish tank
Toilet tank. Kind of like fish purgatory.
The Fish-Bird Tank-Cage
many more below the fold...
Sink tank
The sophisticated ichthyologist's sitting room
A concept piece by a Japanese architectural firm
More of the above
This robotic fish tank senses which direction the fish is swimming and drives off in that direction. Could prove extremely useful in absolutely no circumstances.
In this Korean tank, the pump and aerator are powered via USB. Additionally, temperature is controlled via software on your…
zooillogix | May 5, 2008Documentary on "new obscure insects" by Floris Kaayk. Was first shown at Paradise by the Laptop Light in 2005. While fascinating, a world infested with these guys would pretty much suck.
Thanks to Maria Haanpaa for forwarding along.
zooillogix | April 24, 2008Festo, a German engineering firm known for finding inspiration in biology, recently unveiled its two newest robots at the Hannover Festival.
Picture courtesy of Gizmodo
The AquaJelly and AirJelly share the same basic form - a sphere surrounded by eight mechanical tentacles run off lithium-ion batteries. In the case of the AquaJelly which functions underwater, the central sphere is a laser sealed vacuum, while the flying (floating) Air Jelly's center is a helium balloon. Most interestingly, the AquaJelly is autonomous in that it "guides itself with the help of a sensor array, communications…
zooillogix | March 21, 2008Why are we posting so many videos these days you ask? I don't know!
Anyway this is both cool and somewhat off-putting/frightening but only because it is awesome.
From Slashdot:
"The US company Boston Dynamics has released an amazing new video of its quadruped robot BigDog. The highlight of the video (at 1:24) shows how the robot starts slipping on ice, almost falls several times, but finally regains its balance and continues walking. The video also shows the robot's ability to cope with different types of terrains, climb and descend steep slopes, and jump. Two years ago, the older version of…
zooillogix | March 16, 2008Climbing Insect Robot
Official roboty info:
RiSE is a small six-legged robot that climbs vertical terrain such as walls, trees and fences. RiSE's feet have claws, micro-claws or sticky material, depending on the climbing surface. RiSE changes posture to conform to the curvature of the climbing surface and a fixed tail helps RiSE balance on steep ascents. RiSE is about 0.25 m long, weighs 2 kg, and travels 0.3 m/s.
(more below the fold)
Each of RiSE's six legs is powered by two electric motors. An onboard computer controls leg motion, manages communications, and services a variety of sensors…
zooillogix | March 10, 2008"Hunting Trophies" is an art project designed as a sort-of protest against hunting while also raising "questionings on the relation between Human and Animal and Human and Non-Human." The aptly named French artist, France Cadet, states that she is also trying to "grant them back for a moment the right to life, to free expression and to judgment."
Well whatever she's doing, we want one for the mantle. Cyberdoll via We-Make-Money-Not-Art
French Cadet clearly never saw the hunting lodge scene from Evil Dead 2...
More below the fold...
From Cyberdoll: The robots are able to eye the nearby…