Join Desktop Ballbot can keep its balance
I don’t really have a good sense of balance, as I know from playing on the WiiFit Balance Board. I don’t think that I could stand on a ball for too long, but this Ballbot, as it is called, seems to do a very good job of it.
Apparently, there was a larger version of this robot made a while ago, but this one is designed to be on the desktop, kind of like a toy. You can see a video of it after the jump.
As you can see, this guy can sit on an ordinary ball with treaded wheels that can somehow keep its balance. This DIY contraption has a tiny joystick of a controller that allows its user to steer it in certain directions, and pushing lightly on the ballbot doesn’t seem to be knocking it off balance any.
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Manga doll turned into robot
Who would have thought that something as cute as a regular manga doll can actually be transformed into a robot? That’s exactly what an enterprising person did, using old, unwanted manga dolls to stuf a controller board behind her thick mane. The doll itself measures no more than 4″ in height, so there isn’t enough space to throw in more cool functions and features, so don’t expect it to go about serving you at your beck and call. Some servos have also been included into the chassis – or should we say, doll’s body, to have it gain some degree of movement. Nice to see what dedication can result in, eh?
Source: Hobby Media (Italian)
Firegard robot grows through flaming rubble on its cool wheels
I’ve seen concept robots before that are meant to go through fires, like the Omnitread.
The Firegard doesn’t have the snake-like construction of the Omnitread, but it does have an interesting wheel construction.
Hopefully, those star-shaped wheels are sturdier than they look, because I’m not certain how they could be bent in such a manner. Clearly, they are designed to go over burnt rubble in a building. On the “head” of this guy is a camera to transmit what it sees to the fire department, so they can figure out what to do in the inferno.
I’ve always noticed that these fireproof robots with the cameras seem to have a design flaw: they appear to be too slow. Both the Omnitread and Firegard look durable enough to go through the flames, but by the time the firemen get the footage and calculate a response, I’m not certain whether a life could be saved.
I mean, by the time you get it set up with the transmitter, it will slowly crawl through a burning building that has probably been on fire for quite a while. Assuming that it sees someone, how long will it take to formulate a rescue plan?
Well, the technology had better get faster in order for this to be practical.
Chinavasion G182 robot vacuum cleaner
Sure, Roomba has that whole remote control vacuum going on, but Chinavasion (not Chinavision) has the G182, a robot vacuum cleaner with IP WiFi enabled camera.
Why would you want to do that? So you can go online and vacuum your house from a first-person point of view, of course. Granted, I wouldn’t want to do that, but its web-enabled IP camera has a microphone with a 360 degree pan and tilt IP camera design. Can the user program it to roam around the room and film things? Why else have a microphone on it?
So if you are at work, and you just learn that guests are coming over, you can just go online and suck up the dirt. Of course, I don’t see how you can turn on the vacuum from a distance, as it has a toggle switch right on it.
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Lunar Car Solar Robot Kit
If you can’t get enough of robots, here’s another kit to help you build your very own that won’t cost you a bunch of money in batteries. This simple little robot will give you something to play with on your desk while you’re probably supposed to be doing something else. That always seems to be the best time to play with desktop friendly toys. This kit can be built by yourself or you can enlist the help of a kid, although perhaps they should be a little older due to small parts.
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Mebot lets you talk to the little one on your desk
It would appear that when MIT isn’t working on top secret Flyfire Swarming Displays, they make Mebots.
What is a Mebot? Think of it as a way of being in the same room with someone, even though that other person is far away. Unfortunately, that other person has to take the form of a crab-like creature.
As you can see, the screen is made so the transmitted person’s head is oversized on this body, but the Mebot can also do an emoticon face as well. By the way, the neck on the Mebot is cable of “three degrees of freedom for simple emotional cues”.
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Robot Land amusement park set for South Korea
What you’re seeing here is the Robot Land theme park, scheduled to be completed in 2013 at Incheon, South Korea.
This theme park is planned to feature all manner of robot entertainment mostly from films that featured robots such as I, Robot and The Matrix as well as Minority Report. I actually don’t remember any robots in Minority Report. As far as rides go, there is a robotic arm ride, as well as some sort of aquarium that allows visitors to watch and manipulate robotic fish.
I’m told that there will be robotic performers and cashiers, which should save money on human labor. Just kidding. Robot Land is expected to boost the national economy by creating 18,000 jobs to serve the 2.8 million visitors. By the way, there is more to populate Robot Land than just robots. Robot Land is also a technological park for residential complexes and office buildings.
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The Wearable Telecommunicator is like having a little friend on your shoulder
Imagine if Jiminy cricket in Pinocchio was a robot, and he would be on his shoulder like you see in this picture. Granted, Steven Spielberg sort of did that in A.I., but the Wearable Telecommunicator is a reality.
The Wearable Telecommunicator has been developing experimental technology for a robot that is operated by a remote user so he or she can see, hear, and even gesture through the shoulder-mounted robot.
There is a video after the jump, and you can see the user of the Wearable Telecommunicator with virtual reality goggles. You know, the type that we all thought would be wearing by now back in the early nineties.
So I guess this is some way for a person to be in two places at the same time. In other words, the human can talk to someone new at a party, and the robot can chime in any time.
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