Posts tagged robots

Video: PETMAN bipedal robot.

PETMAN (Protection Ensemble Test Mannequin)  is being developed for DARPA by Boston Dynamics, who have previously shown off several other military robots including ‘Big Dog’ who can not only carry heavy loads across uneven and difficult terrain, but now also throws cinderblocks.

PETMAN can do pushups, walk, stretch and squat, and can right itself when given a good push (lets hope it doesn’t snap and turn on us all after being pushed too many times).

Heaps more videos of PETMAN here.

Though at first glance PETMAN appears to be braced by guy wires, it is self-balancing and only wired externally to draw power. 

Video: RoboJelly.

The robotic jellyfish is being built by several US Universities as part of a $5 million project funded by the U.S. Naval Undersea Warfare Center. The main focus of the program is to understand the fundamentals of propulsion mechanisms utilized by nature, in an effort to build an autonomous sea-faring robot that can stay afloat sensing and transmitting data for months at a time.

Future uses of the robot jellyfish could include conducting military surveillance, cleaning oil spills, and monitoring the environment.

Video: Robotic “Grizzlies” handle off-roading even in the snow.

The Gizzly is a robotic utility vehicle (RUV) designed by Clearpath Robotics.

The Grizzly is run by an electric engine capable of sustaining a charge for a full 12 hours. The RUV also comes packed with an array of sensors and can carry a payload of up to 1,320 lbs. But where Grizzly really shows its chops is off-roading. Grizzly can clear a six-inch obstacle without even one tire coming off the ground. This is thanks to a front axle articulation of 16 degrees. If that’s not enough, it also has an eight-inch clearance, thanks in part to some burly 26-inch tires.

Video: Flying Star Trek logo over London.

To celebrate an upcoming Star Trek movie, 30 quadrocopters were flown over London to create a rotating Starfleet insignia, which dimmed and came back on again around Earth Hour.

Skip to at least 1 min in for the interesting bits.

I wonder how many weirdos took this as a sign of first contact?!

Video: Robotic snake wraps around objects when thrown.

I bet the researchers throw this at each other in the lab for jokes.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University’s Biorobotics lab have been working on this snake for several years, but the ability to cling to an object when thrown is a new feature.

Scientists believe snakes leg and feet-free mode of locomotion might be ideal for use in hard to reach places, such as buildings that have been knocked down by an earthquake. The research is being funded by the U.S. Army Research Lab.

Video: Robotic sausage factory.

(OK, salami actually). High-speed ABB FlexPicker robots equipped with specially developed grippers are making sure that Peperami salamis are packaged at the highest cycle rates at Unilever’s plant in Ansbach, Germany.

The robots are fitted with triple grippers which are able to pick up three randomly positioned salami snacks one after the other from a conveyor belt in a one step process, and place them individually in a rollstock machine. 
The positioning and location data required comes from an upstream image processing system which is positioned to capture the information on the individual sausages and pass it on to a master computer.

Skip to 0:56 for the grippers in action.

Thanks Axeman72 for the link!

Video: Boston Dynamics ‘Big Dog’ can now throw cinderblocks.

BigDog and his friends sure know how to make a good YouTube video. Previously we’d seen BigDog running around forests and ice while being kicked over by petty humans; now in this video he’s learnt to attack.

From Boston Dynamics:

BigDog handles heavy objects. The goal is to use the strength of the legs and torso to help power motions of the arm. This sort of dynamic, whole-body approach to manipulation is used routinely by human athletes and will enhance the performance of advanced robots. Boston Dynamics is developing the control and actuation techniques needed for dynamic manipulation. The cinderblock weighs about 35 lbs and the best throw is a bit more than 17 ft. The research is funded by the Army Research Laboratory’s RCTA program.

Video: High speed ‘robotic picker’.

The TP80 Fast picker robot by Stäubli is shown here in action, capable of a sustained speed of 200 picks per minute with an accuracy of 0.05mm.

Just don’t get in it’s way.