Europe supports more research on robotics and the law
The two year European project ROBOLAW (Regulating Emerging Robotic Technologies in Europe: Robotics facing Law and Ethics) is scheduled to start in March of this year.
The main goal of this project will be to provide the European Commission with a “White Book on Regulating Robotics”. Essentially, this will be a set of guidelines which will contribute to the future establishment of a solid framework of ‘robolaw’ in Europe.
Check out some of the bots at this year’s CES Tradeshow in Las Vegas while CNET’s Luke Westaway entertains us with several duels of man Vs machine
Check out a new model for face recognition software from SPECS!
Many mammals have an amazing ability to recognize objects under distinct conditions. Tasks that may seem simple are in fact only possible thanks to the great complexity of the mammalian cerebral cortex. One of the most complex stimuli mammals are challenged by are faces.
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Machines give us clues about communication in the animal kingdom
Chimps, birds and bees are just a few of the many animals that communicate with each other when searching for food. Since everyone’s got to eat, communication during foraging is essential among social animals. In order to study how different types of communication strategies might evolve, the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) teamed up to conduct a joint research project.
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Robots are out of the operating room and at patients’ bedsides!
Robots that perform surgery have been around for a while. The da Vinci system, which has been in use since the 90s, electronically translates a surgeon’s hand movement into much smaller movements Continue reading
Europe’s Vice President of the Digital Agenda shares some thoughts on 2011 and the promising future of ICT in Europe
The ALIZ-E project investigates the use of social robots with children in hospitals
The European project ALIZ-E began in the spring of 2010 and is scheduled to run for another 3 years with 8.29M€ in funding.
The goal of the project is to determine
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Robots for stroke patients and more…
The video above features the LOPES (Lower Extremity-Powered ExoSkeleton) developed by Dr. ir Herman van der Kooij and his team at the University of Twente, Netherlands to assist stroke patients who are learning how to walk again. It’s a critical time to invest in projects such as this one as Europeans- and many other populations around the world- are ageing while the number of care giving professionals is dwindling.
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it’s more than just a pretty face…
At first glance it’s a generic plastic mask fixed in front of a projector. Switch it on and you’re looking at the most realistic ¨talking head¨ yet. Researchers from the Institute of Cognitive Systems (ICS) at the Technische University in Munich have collaborated with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Japan (AIST) to create a life-sized talking head, the Mask-bot.
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An introduction to one of the FET Flagships
The video above was presented by the Robot Companion for Citizens Flagship Initiative at a conference in Warsaw at the end of November. Robot Companions for Citizens is currently one of 6 research initiatives in the running to receive 1 billion euros funding from the European Commission over the next 10 years.
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