System Helps Novices Design 3-D-Printable Robotic Creatures

 

                                Disney, CMU Develop Tool That Ensures Legged Robots Move as Intended

Digital designs for robotic creatures are shown on the left and the physical prototypes produced via 3-D printing are on the right.

Even a novice can design and build a customized walking robot using a 3-D printer and off-the-shelf servo motors with the help of a new design tool developed by Disney Research and Carnegie Mellon University.

The user can specify the shape, size and number of legs for the robotic creature, using intuitive editing tools to interactively explore design alternatives. The system also ensures that the resulting design is capable of moving as desired and not falling down; it even enables the user to alter the creature�s gait as desired.

�Progress in rapid manufacturing technology is making it easier and easier to build customized robots, but designing a functioning robot remains a difficult challenge that requires an experienced engineer,� said Markus Gross, vice president of research for Disney Research. �Our new design system can bridge this gap and should be of great interest to technology enthusiasts and the maker community at large.�

�We aim to reinvent the way in which personal robotic devices are designed, fabricated, and customized according to the individual needs and preferences of their users,� said Stelian Coros, a former Disney research scientist who is now an assistant professor of robotics at Carnegie Mellon.

The research team presented the system at SIGGRAPH Asia 2015, the ACM Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, in Kobe, Japan.

�We aim to reinvent the way in which personal robotic devices are designed, fabricated, and customized according to the individual needs and preferences of their users.� � Stelian Coros

�Our ambition is to make the design of compelling robotic creatures as accessible and intuitive as possible,� said Bernhard Thomaszewski, a research scientist at Disney Research. �Our tool allows the user to design the structure and motion of a robot while receiving immediate feedback on its expected real-world behavior.�

The design interface features two viewports: one that enables editing of the robot�s structure and motion and a second that displays how those changes would likely alter the robot�s behavior.

The user can load an initial, skeletal description of the robot and the system creates an initial geometry and places a motor at each joint position. The user can then edit the robot�s structure, adding or removing motors, or adjusting their position and orientation.

The system takes over much of the non-intuitive and tedious task of planning the motion of the robot. The user nonetheless is able to adjust the robot�s footfall pattern and stylistic elements of its motion.

The researchers have developed an efficient optimization method that uses an approximate dynamics model to generate stable walking motions for robots with varying numbers of legs. In contrast to conventional methods that can require several minutes of computation time to generate motions, the process takes just a few seconds, enhancing the interactive nature of the design tool.
Once the design process is complete, the system automatically generates 3-D geometry for all body parts, including connectors for the motors, which can then be sent to a 3-D printer for fabrication.

The researchers designed and built two four-legged robots using the design system and found that the overall motions of the prototypes were consistent with the behaviors predicted by their simulation.

�It took us minutes to design these creatures, but hours to assemble them and days to produce parts on 3-D printers,� Thomaszewski said. �The fact is that it is both expensive and time-consuming to build a prototype � which underscores the importance of a design system such as ours, which produces a final design without the need for building multiple physical iterations.�

In addition to Gross, Thomaszewski and Coros, the research team included Vittorio Megaro and Otmar Hilliges of ETH Zurich and Maurizio Nitti of Disney Research.

Source: edu

the hadrian Brick-laying robot can build a full-sized house in two days

 

 

robot can lay up to 1000 bricks per hour

Brick-laying robot can build a full-sized house in two days

As robots get smarter, cheaper and more versatile, they're taking on a growing number of challenges � and bricklaying can now be added to the list. Engineers in Perth, Australia, have created a fully working house-building machine that can create the brick framework of a property in just two days, working about 20 times faster than a human bricklayer.

 

    

The robotic arm will eventually sit on a truck The boom is auto-corrected 1,000 times per second Hadrian is expected to go into action next year

Named Hadrian (after Hadrian's Wall in the UK), the robot has a top laying speed of 1,000 bricks per hour, which works out as the equivalent of about 150 homes a year. Of course there's no need for the machine to sleep, eat or take tea breaks either, giving it another advantage over manual laborers.

At the heart of Hadrian is a 28 m (92 ft) articulated telescopic boom. Though mounted on an excavator in the photo below, the finished version will sit on a truck, allowing it easier movement from place to place. The robot brick-layer uses information fed from a 3D CAD representation of the home for brick placement, with mortar or adhesive delivered under pressure to the head of the boom.

The boom auto-corrects itself 1,000 times per second to prevent interference from vibrations or sway. The concept is similar to the additive manufacturing process used by 3D printers, and it's several steps up from the Tiger Stone paver we've featured in the past, which is able to lay out a pattern of bricks on a flat road.

After pauses in funding, Fastbrick Robotics is now ready to launch the first commercial version of Hadrian at some point next year.

"The Hadrian reduces the overall construction time of a standard home by approximately six weeks," Fastbrick Robotics CEO Mike Pivac told Gizmag. "Due to the high level of accuracy we achieve, most other components like kitchens and bathrooms and roof trusses can be manufactured in parallel and simply fitted as soon as the bricklaying is completed."

Pivac says Hadrian improves site safety, reduces the level of waste created with each house construction, and cuts down on associated emissions too. And rather than taking human jobs, he hopes Hadrian creates them.

"The machine will fill the void that exists due to shrinking numbers of available bricklayers, whose average age is now nearly 50 in Australia," he says. "[Hadrian] should attract young people back to bricklaying, as robotics is seen as an attractive technology."

Mike's brother Mark is an aeronautic and mechanical engineer and has been working on the idea of Hadrian for 10 years, having been inspired by the technology he came across during his stint in the Air Force.

With seven million Australian dollars having been spent on the technology so far, Fastbrick Robotics was this week acquired by DMY Capital Limited, and is promising "very exciting plans that will attract global attention" in the near future.

 

"Bricks remain the most preferred product for home buyers everywhere due to their thermal and acoustic qualities, and this machine will keep it cost effective to use them into the future," says Mike Pivac.

Source: Fastbrick Robotics

jet set by jaime hayon for bisazza

 here are photos of Jaime Hay�n's Jet Set installation for Bisazza at Superstudio Pi� in Milan's Zona Tortona last month.

See our previous story for more images and information from Bisazza.

Here's some text from Hay�n:

--

I loved the idea of having the opportunity to create a humorous and more sophisticated version of such a serious and functional object: a plane.

The piece has a very charming integrated shape using crystal for the cabin and leather in the wings. With colorful weapons and love symbols this is a fun plane, set in the hangar of glamour. It is made of fiber and silver mosaic, which gives a luxurious and surreal effect to the object.

Black and white lines in the floor in Bisazza glass tiles create speed and movement. Reminiscing an old Hollywood scene, a very theatrical installation atmosphere will be created by the spotlights. A circular couch is the central element of the plane's body.

I can imagine this object flying out a couple of lovers drinking champagne to deliver energy and good vibes across their journey. Jet set is a living room plane; an art object in a fantasy installation that shows the potential use of the Bisazza materials.

Rise of the Robot Security Guards

Rise of the Robot Security Guards

Startup Knightscope is preparing to roll out human-size robot patrols.

The K5 security robot.

As the sun set on a warm November afternoon, a quartet of five-foot-tall, 300-pound shiny white robots patrolled in front of Building 1 on Microsoft�s Silicon Valley campus. Looking like a crew of slick Daleks imbued with the grace of Fred Astaire, they whirred quietly across the concrete in different directions, stopping and turning in place so as to avoid running into trash cans, walls, and other obstacles.

The robots managed to appear both cute and intimidating. This friendly-but-not-too-friendly presence is meant to serve them well in jobs like monitoring corporate and college campuses, shopping malls, and schools.

Knightscope, a startup based in Mountain View, California, has been busy designing, building, and testing the robot, known as the K5, since 2013. Seven have been built so far, and the company plans to deploy four before the end of the year at an as-yet-unnamed technology company in the area. The robots are designed to detect anomalous behavior, such as someone walking through a building at night, and report back to a remote security center.

�This takes away the monotonous and sometimes dangerous work, and leaves the strategic work to law enforcement or private security, depending on the application,� Knightscope cofounder and vice president of sales and marketing Stacy Stephens said as a K5 glided nearby.

In order to do the kind of work a human security guard would normally do, the K5 uses cameras, sensors, navigation equipment, and electric motors�all packed into its dome-shaped body with a big rechargeable battery and a computer. There are four high-definition cameras (one on each side of the robot), a license-plate recognition camera, four microphones, and a weather sensor (which looks like a DVD-player slot) for measuring barometric pressure, carbon dioxide levels, and temperature. The robots use Wi-Fi or a wireless data network to communicate with each other and with people who can remotely monitor its cameras, microphones, and other sources of data.

GPS and a laser ranging instrument help the robots find their way around their patrol area and avoid obstacles when on duty. When they�re taken to a new place�such as the Microsoft campus where they were patrolling earlier this month before Knightscope cofounder and CEO William Santana Li spoke at a tech event�a human with a wireless controller shows the robot around to determine the area it will patrol and let it learn about its surroundings. �You give it a base map and then it starts building from that,� Stephens says.

Knightscope is one of a growing number of companies using robots to help with work traditionally done by humans (see �How Human-Robot Teamwork Will Upend Manufacturing� and �Smart Robots Can Now Work Right Next to Auto Workers�), or perhaps replace them altogether (see �How Technology Is Destroying Jobs�). The trend is accelerating as robots are made ever smarter, more agile, and more adaptable to specific tasks. And while most robots do assembly-line work, Knightscope is one of a few companies betting that they could take on other tasks.

Knightscope may not outright replace many security guards soon�over a million of them were employed in the U.S. last year, according to an estimate from the U.S. Department of Labor�s Bureau of Labor Statistics. But the estimated hourly wage these guards earned was more than twice the $6.25 that Knightscope says it will charge for its robots, which could tempt some companies and schools to at least try them out.

The robots have a battery that could last about 24 hours on a single charge, though the K5 is supposed to monitor its battery life and wheel over to a charging pad when needed. It takes 15 or 20 minutes to refuel.

Though the K5 may look friendly and does not carry any weapons, it�s not meant to be messed with. If you walk in front of it, it will stop abruptly. Try to detain it, and after some time its built-in alarm will begin to chirp as a warning while sending a low-level alert to a remote monitoring center. Keep bothering it, and an ear-piercing alarm will sound as it sends another alert, prompting an operator to use Knightscope�s browser-based software to check out the status of the sensors, see what�s happening around the robot, and talk to anyone who may be there harassing it.

If you�re the one who needs help and a robot is nearby, you can press a button near the top of its head to summon someone remotely.

Stephens says several dozen potential customers are interested, including lots of security companies weary of high guard turnover. Knightscope hopes to start putting robots to work at a variety of companies in the first half of next year.

The company envisions the robots going beyond standard security applications. For example, Stephens suggests an app that would let college students request one to chaperone them across campus at night.

But Knightscope has plenty of challenges to solve, both technological and cultural, if the robo-guards are to work. For one thing, they will need to prove they can be effective over time, and people will need to feel comfortable in their presence.

The robots will also have to work on their balance. While speaking with Stephens, I noticed that a K5 in the distance had somehow toppled over the edge of the sidewalk onto the parking-lot asphalt several inches below. A couple of Knightscope folks were needed to pull it upright. Unlike human security guards, these robots still cannot right themselves if they fall.

15 Nerd-tastic Robots From CES 2014

• 

  Rydis H68 Pro Vac

  With its wet-mop and vacuum capabilities in the same box, the H68 aims to take the place of two iRobot devices (the Roomba vacuum and Scooba mopping robots).

  It has an independent vacuum and mop cleaning modes, as well as a combined automatic mode.

  IMAGE: MASHABLE, PETE PACHAL

• 

  Ozobot

  Ozobot, a game-playing robot, wants you to get physical with digital games -- and it could be on to something. It's a tiny, one-inch-tall robot designed to work on top of tablet and smartphone screens, as well on as paper.

  IMAGE: OZOBOT

• 

  Pleo Robot Dinosaur

  Some updates to the Pleo Robot Dinosaur include voice recognition with any language, more touch sensors, the ability to sense temperatures and time-of-day awareness.

  IMAGE: MASHABLE, NINA FRAZIER-HANSEN

• 

  Grillbot

  Think of the $120 Grillbot as a Roomba for your grill. It�s got three motors, replaceable wire brushes and the wherewithal to change directions as it bumps into the sides of your grill.

  IMAGE: MASHABLE, NINA FRAZIER-HANSEN

• 

  PIRO's Windoro Bot

  PIRO's Windoro promises to do for windows what the Roomba does for floors, with an autonomous robot roaming across a surface and cleaning it in the process.

  IMAGE: MASHABLE, NINA FRAZIER-HANSEN

• 

  Dalek on the Loose

  Massive Audio, a car speaker company, built a 6-foot-tall replica of a dalek, the marquee mechanical monster from BBC's Doctor Who. The Dalek is made out of speaker components, including 32 woofers along the bottom, a huge subwoofer inside the head and 5,000 watts of amplifiers in the back. It is powered by a pair of massive batteries.

  IMAGE: MASHABLE, PETE PACHAL

• 

  Raspberry Pi Robot

  The RAPIRO robot comes with RGB LEDs, 12 servos, and an Arduino-compatible servo control board. It will set you back $354.

  IMAGE: MASHABLE, EVAN ENGEL

• 

  iRobot Scooba Update

  The new iRobot Scooba intelligent mop is slightly heavier and larger than its previous incarnation, the Scooba 390. According to iRobot, it is also three times more effective at clearing dirty floors than the last model; Scooba's internal components, including the motors, brushes and fans, have all been replaced.

  IMAGE: MASHABLE, CHRISTINA ASCANI

• 

  AIMe Camera Rig Robot

  AIMe is a small, lightweight camera rig that detects motion up to 150 feet with special sensors. This robot will be available in June of 2014 with a price tag of $299.99.

  IMAGE: MASHABLE, EVAN ENGEL

• 

  TOSY Robotics DiscoRobo

  With 56 preset dance moves, just turn on your favorite music and these robots will dance. You can also sync it with your smartphone and make its moves mimic your own.

  IMAGE: MASHABLE, EVAN ENGEL

• 

  SoloShot 2

  This new device provides a platform for athletes, trainers, parents and filmmakers to automatically film themselves or their subjects from up to 2,000 feet away. New features include including vertical tracking, camera control accessories for automatic zooming, a smaller lighter transmitter and compatibility with third-party professional tripods.

  IMAGE: MASHABLE, NINA FRAZIER-HANSEN

• 

  WowWee Robotics

  MiP is a $99.99 toy-sized robot programmed to act at your command. In its default behavior, MiP responds to a user's claps and other hand gestures

  IMAGE: MASHABLE, EVAN ENGEL

• 

  Five Elements Robotics' Budgee

  Five Elements Robotics has developed Budgee to help with common everyday tasks. Budgee likes to carry items for you and uses "follow-me" technology to track your actions. It can hold up to 50 pounds and comes equipped with a locking mechanism so your bags and valuables are safe and secure until they're unlocked.

  IMAGE: MASHABLE, NINA FRAZIER-HANSEN

• 

  Robot Racers

  These two were so busy working on their robots that they didn't bother to look up or decorate their booth.

  IMAGE: MASHABLE, NINA FRAZIER-HANSEN

• 

  Sphero 2B robot from Orbotix

  The robot is controlled by Bluetooth and iOS or Android smartphone apps and can travel up to 14 feet per second over multiple surfaces. Using infrared technology, users can play multiplayer games by remote control. The robot will be available in the fall of this year for $99.

  IMAGE: MASHABLE, NINA FRAZIER-HANSEN

source : mashable

PHILIPS BEARD TRIMMER 9000 WITH LASER GUIDE

Phillips knows that keeping your beard dialed in is top priority. That�s exactly why the brand has released their Norelco Beard Trimmer 9000, the world�s first ever beard trimmer with a built-in laser guide for precision grooming.

Getting symmetrical results when shaving with a standard razor takes practice and plenty of patience. This beard trimmer comes with a laser guide that lets you groom your facial hair perfectly, without the guess work. In addition to being outfitted with a laser guide, this Phillips beard trimmer features an LED display to show which of the 17 different length settings you are using, LED battery display level, dual sided trimmer, and is even water-resistant for easy cleaning. The trimmer takes 1 hour to charge, and provides 1 hour of wireless trimming, but can also be plugged directly into a power source. [Purchase]

source : hiconsumption

solar bicycle ( ELE )

Ele is a solar bicycle with solar panels
on its wheels that rotate 30 degrees on both sides, to face toward sun. This is to absorb as much sun-power that it can. This hybrid bike can be charged via electricity and the sun. It works in 3 modes though, muscle power, Semi- electric: electricity helps the user to ride easier and faster. Lastly, The Electric: here it functions completely like an electrical bicycle.

Designer: Mojtaba Raeisi

Read more at Yanko
source : YankoDesign

Exmovere Chariot: the wearable wheelchair

Exmovere Holdings, a biomedical engineering company, is focused on government and consumer applications for healthcare, security and mobility. This company developed Exmovere Chariot a self-balancing, hands-free,.....



motorized wearable wheelchair that enables both disabled and non-disabled people to move around in an upright position.

The vehicle is controlled through sensors located near the lower torso. It requires minimal physical effort and allows users to closely approach and reach objects. It is powered by a battery located in the base.
Will it be our prosthesis of the future?



                
                                     source : next nature

Turkish software firm develops humanoid robot

A software firm operating in the central Anatolian Konya province has developed Turkey's first fully domestic humanoid robot.

A software firm operating in the central Anatolian Konya province has developed Turkey's first fully domestic humanoid robot.

 

The robot, product of a two-year intense R&D process, can respond to questions, fulfill voice commands, make mathematical calculations, imitate human muscular system and movements, and recognize shapes and colors, Konya-based AkinSoft company's chairman told AA on Sunday.

Chairman Ozgur Akin said his company had been conducting R&D studies on robotics technologies since 2009.

 

Akin said that the recently-developed humanoid robot named "Akinci-1" had been designed in line with the human muscular system so that it could move like a human being.
Akinci-1 has been manufactured using fully domestic materials and its production has so far cost nearly one million Turkish liras (570,000 USD), Akin noted.

The chairman also said that his company had made a 5-year plan that envisaged a 10 million TL (5.7 million USD) investment for 5 years for Akinci-1.
"We are planning to present these robots to the market in 2015. They can be used in various sectors, for instance, they can replace sales assistants in supermarkets or guides in airports," Akin said.

 

source  : akinsoft & world & Adapted by Admin of this website 

Elephant machine of nantes ( LES MACHINES DE L'ILE )

French city of Nantes recently became host to extremely strange and fascinating sculptural display: "Les Machines de l'Ile Nantes", designed by Fran�ois Delarozi�re and Pierre Orefice.




Claude Joannis has a few photographs that'll give you some idea about how extraordinary cool this exhibition is (the first on my list of museums to visit, if possible!)
(all images by permission of respective owners, click to enlarge)



(images credit: Claude Joannis)

The Mechanical Manta-Ray, The Squid, the Deep Sea Monster, all seem to come to life straight from Jules Verne' science adventure books:






Note the girl inside the maw of this monster - every "animal machine" is also a moving vehicle:




Constructed on the site of the former city dockyards, these steel and wood animal machines consist of the innumerable moving parts, hydraulics, gear wheels - all skillfully combined to make up various obscure sea creatures, a huge elephant, birds and prehistoric monsters... here is a mysterious crane nest:



The Squid seems genuinely surprised to end up on display in the 21st century:


(images credit: Claude Joannis)


Le Grand Elephant

Most impressive creation on display is the 11-meter high "mechanical" elephant, which weighs more than 40 tons:

(images credit: Claude Joannis)

(image credit: Stefan)


The Night in the Museum

The genuine look and feel of the creepy museum installation truly comes to life when the dark descends:




(images credit: Claude Joannis)


Sultan's of India Remarkable Journey

Some of the artists responsible for this display are also creators of the similarly bizarre theatrical show "The Sultan's Elephant", which took place in London in 2005 and then traveled across the country.

First the mysterious time capsule/spaceship arrives:



(images credit: Nikki Tysoe)


The Giant Sultan's Elephant appears, spraying the screaming crowds with water:



(images credit: Nikki Tysoe)

Also part of the show, the adjacent cars were routinely SEWN together with a giant needle (!):


(images credit: Nikki Tysoe )

Mechanical Elephants FTW

There was a series of concepts in Modern Mechanics magazine with the similarly weird "walking" modes of transportation - for fun, and for the military:

in 1933 the horse of steel runs across fields:




and later in 1962: Army crossing the mountain terrain on mechanical elephants:



(images credit: Modern Mechanix, more info)

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 source  :  here & lesmachines-nantes & Adapted by Admin of this website

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