Credit: Aldebaran Robotics
Pepper, a new humanoid robot introduced earlier this month in Japan, may herald the beginning of a new era in personal robotics. Unlike its ancestors, such as Mitsubishi’s Wakamaru and Sony’s QRIO, who had to join the halls of robot extinction, Pepper, developed jointly by the French robotics company Aldebaran and the Japanese telecom giant SoftBank, is here to stay.
Crabs know their way around the ocean floor. These crawling creatures live in all the waters of the world, so if we want to learn something new about underwater exploration, it might be a good idea to take some cues from them. And this is precisely what a research team at the Korean Institute of Ocean Science and Technology did.
After two years of investigation, the team, led by Bong-Huan Jun, developed Crabster CR 200, a car-sized robot inspired by crustaceans and designed to survey shipwrecks and other areas of scientific interest.
This year’s International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS2013) was held in Tokyo, Japan— a globally recognized hotspot for some of the most fascinating robots on earth. Under the name of New Horizon, this conference aimed to get participants looking forward towards a new era of intelligent systems capable of meeting the needs of the fast-changing times we live in.
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Could prominent cultural beliefs affect the way nations are building their machines?
The robots being built around the world seem to be as diverse as the cultures they come from. While some have been engineered solely for people’s practical needs, others have been made to appeal to and keep the company of humans.
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Check out this robot inspired by fleas!
Scientists at Seoul National University (SNU) have recently created a robot inspired by tiny blood-sucking bugs: fleas! Pesky as these little insects may be, they’ve got an incredible physical ability that not even an Olympic high-jumper could compete with — these guys can jump over 200 hundred times their own body length! See for yourself in NewScientist’s video above.
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You may recognize this machine’s winning dance routine!
South Korean pop artist PSY’s song Gangnam Style has become an international sensation. Some consider the song to be unique and catchy yet others maintain it’s rather repetitive and annoying. While the tune might get old, most will agree that PSY’s dance moves will not! And now that Gangnam Style has gone viral, even machines are moving to the melody!
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Japan’s working on robots for entertainment and emergencies!
If you’re a fan of Transformers, you’ll love Suidoubashi Heavy Industries’ new Kuratas robot. The jumbo toy currently on the market for about a million euros, is custom made for each of its owners. As both a vehicle and a robot, the Kuratas can be driven by the user seated in the robot’s cockpit. The giant bot may look pretty cool cruising down the street however it’s not the swiftest mode of transportation as its top speed is only about 10 km an hour.
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Here’s a taste of what went on over the 3 day event organized by the Convergent Science Network
Electro sensors inspired by fish who navigate their way through murky waters, robots that dance with the honeybees, and artificial muscles and blood vessels making their way into modern medicine. These are just a few of the research topics that were Continue reading
Check out some of the most life-like robots out there!
The HRP-4C Humanoid robot was developed by The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) of Japan and Kawada Industries. As you can see above, this robot can put on quite the show! Created mainly for entertainment purposes, this robot has even hit fashion runways! Actroid- DER3, developed by Osaka University and the robotics company Kokoro, is also being used for similar purposes.
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They’re doing their best to walk the walk and talk the talk
Humans may not have the fastest or strongest bodies on earth but they are super multifunctional. Sure, we can’t jump as high as frogs, or swim as well as dolphins but we’re still able to achieve both forms of motion. The versatility of our physical ability has inspired us to create a world filled with tools and structures that would be impossible for many other animals to use – can you picture a cat using a door handle or a fish using stairs?
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