Robot Gadgets
Robots have got to be one of the coolest new consumer gadgets. A lot of them aim to make our lives easier by doing the chores we all hate doing whilst other consumer are just plain entertaining. This section of CG is dedicated to writing about all the new consumer robot products that we come across.
Robot baby sends shivers down the spine
When you mention the word “robot”, what comes into your mind? Most of us would have thought of characters from Transformers, or even Go-Bots (if you know what I am talking about, then you’re about in the same age bracket as me), and perhaps even the Terminator. Those who think that Chucky is scary enough might want to check out this particular robot that mimics a human baby, positively sending chills down my spine when I look at the YouTube video of it in “action”.
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TOSY Robotics announces mRobo with Justin Bieber making an appearance
Robots, CES 2012, Justin Bieber, it makes no sense, or does it? TOSY Robotics is a leading robotics and high-tech toys manufacturer that hails from Vietnam, but they do know a thing or two about capitalism. After all, what better way to draw attention to a product of yours than to have a worldwide celebrity appear at your booth on the showfloor? This is what TOSY Robotics did to promote their mRobo Ultra Bass, a state-of-the-art portable speaker which also functions as a dancing robot (hello there, Transformers! I see what you did there).
Multi-platinum selling Pop & R&B singing sensation Justin Bieber also made an appearance with the mRobo Ultra Bass yesterday, and if you happen to be at CES this year, you might want to make a beeline for the TOSY Robotics booth at the LVCC South Hall Ground Level.
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Hajime Research Institute working on a real 13-foot robot
You know those pictures of Before and After? What you are seeing here is the After and Before.
The “before” is the photo of Hajime Sakamoto, and he is working on a genuine 13-foot robot like you see in science-fiction films like Real Steel. Sakamoto is gesturing to what will be the legs of this robot, and you can see the pastel-colored head, arms, and torso in the “after” shot.
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NAO Next Gen Robot is looking really realistic these days
It seems like robots are getting more realistic each day, and the NAO Next Gen could be the coolest yet. This version has a new on-board computer with a powerful 1.6GHz Intel AtomTM processor.
Aldebaran Robotics designed this NAO robot to help teach autistic children, or help others not capable of autonomy. That’s right, this is not a toy, and there is a video available after the jump so you can see what is capable of.
Look at the thing, it has prehensile hands, for crying out loud! I also love the dual cameras that are capable of facial recognition, as well as the four microphones. You can talk to it with a vocal recognition program known as Nuance, and teach it a few things like how to play catch, for example.
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MorpHex is both ball and robot, rolling and creepy
This is the MorpHex, and I would highly suggest that you hit the jump so you can see what it can do in the video.
You will notice that has six feet so it can walk along on the floor in a creepy fashion like a weird spider, but it can also curl up into a ball and roll once its feet are retracted.
You can watch as it does some interesting movements like some funky dancing, and you can see that it is quite large. I thought from the picture you see here that it was the size of a tennis ball, but it actually is the size of a globe.
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Flying robots build this tower at the FRAC Centre
What you are seeing here is a 20-foot tall, 1,500 block structure at the FRAC Centre in Orleans, and I think it’s pretty FRAC-ing amazing.
The reason why is because this structure is made by robots. Not just any robots, but flying robots. There are about four flying robots who serve as construction workers, and they have the quadrocopter construction of Parrot’s AR.Drone. There is a video of it after the jump showing a camera on one of these robots putting a block into place, and it is surprisingly precise.
I’m not certain how confident I would be just standing around a tower built by robots, but if you look on the video, it appears that there are a whole group of people standing around like they are at a party. Granted, the blocks are made of polystyrene foam, but I don’t feel comfortable in any room with a giant card house in it.
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RonI’s MechLift Electric manipulator does heavy lifting
Robots. Not only will they eventually take over the world, but they can lift more than us by several hundred pounds. RonI’s MechLift System is just another reminder that I am not in shape, and will never be able to lift as much as this.
The MechLift Electric Manipulator is a giant grappling arm that rides on a set of overhead rails. It has a telescoping aluminum pole with a vertical lift range of over six feet, and it can pick up objects as heavy as 1,400 pounds.
It has a changeable gripping head that is capable of lifting loads like the rolls that you see in the picture, and awkward loads like a giant flat door. Controls are done via joystick, and it looks like there is a screen there too.
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Advanced Acrobatic Robot
A robot that is capable of performing acrobatics? Well, isn’t that a dear, but you would need deep pockets though if you want to pick up the $2,400 Advanced Acrobatic Robot from Hammacher. This advanced piece of robotics is not something I would recommend you purchase for a 5-year old who will probably trash it in no time, making you wonder why didn’t you get something tougher and far cheaper instead. No sir, this robot is capable of displaying an acrobatic repertoire of 75 moves, where among them include somersaults, backflips, and even to showcase his solo air guitar performance. There is a 60 MHz microcontroller inside to help the robot get around, while 17 servos will combine to work in unison alongside an included gyro sensor and accelerometer to help it maintain its balance and stability.
You will be able to command it using the included wireless gamepad remote control, and considering how precise the points of articulation in its neck, arms, hands, legs, and feet are, this little robot that could can be commanded to pick up and hold objects with its hands, perform a soccer kick (with a ball that small, too, I suppose), or punch the air as though it was about to do a Van Damme or Bruce Lee stance. A 3-hour charge results in 40 minutes of non-stop action. Anyone interested?
