Robotic Spiderman

Researchers from the University of Canterbury had created a wall climbing robot. The research team, lead by Associate Professor XiaoQi Chen in the University’s Mechanical Engineering department, announced the breakthrough in mobile robotic technology.

Professor Chen said other wall-climbing robots being developed used either suction techniques, electromagnetic principles or nano-fibre based dry adhesion, however theirs uses unmatched technology. However, he could not discuss further the mechanics of the robot because the team is investigating patents for the new technology.

The team has other mobile units in mind, you can read more on this at Science Alert.

Letting the Robot Go Where Few Are Allow To Go

I recently relocated to Florida as such any news coming out of the area typically catches my eye. There is not much for news coming out of the JAX area, but in nearby Gainesville, FL a couple is making headlines.

It appears that a robot has been put where surgeons can only approach with a microscope. A local DJ just recently married is seeking to continue expanding his family members. He had a vasectomy done a few years back after a couple of kids with his first wife. Now recently married for the second time, the disc jockey is looking to start a new family alongside his new bride.

As such, he turned to da Vinci Type S robotic surgery system at the University of Florida. The $1.4 million system is designed for the most complex, minimally invasive surgeries. With this system, the patient is placed on the operating room table surrounded by four interactive robotic arms, an endoscopic camera and video system that transmitted high-resolution, 3-D images from inside the patient's body. The system simply marries all the skills of a surgeon with the exacting precision of a robot.

The robot makes the reversal more precise and aids in cases where scar tissue build up could render the male genitalia useless in the fertility arena. For more on the story go local to Gainesville.com

A New Kind of Tour

First they were marrying people, now they are showing us around. Toyota, a leading car maker and manufacturer, has once again leap ahead of its competition; this time, however is not in its automobile division, instead it has succedded with the introduction of a robot guide that conducts tour and escorts visitors in its Kaikan Exhibition Hall in Toyota City, Japan.

The robot, which lacks legs, is equipped with autonomous movement capabilities for avoiding obstacles and with jointed fingers, allowing it to sign autographs using the Roman alphabet. In addition, the robot interacts with visitors through a combination of verbal communication and gestures.

The new robot is a result of Toyota's continuous efforts to develop robots, focusing on four areas where they can be most useful to humans — domestic duties, nursing and medical care, manufacturing, and short-distance personal transport.

Army to Use Armed Robots in Iraq

The US Army recently introduce the use of armed unmanned ground system (UGS) in Iraq, marking this as a new milestone for unmanned systems and US Troops.

The Special Weapons Observation Remote reconnaissance Direct action System (SWORDS) is a version of the Foster Miller 3B robot that is outfitted with the Telepresent Rapid Aiming Platform (TRAP) remotely operated weapon station made by Precision Remotes. SWORDS can carry a 5.56 mm M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, a 7.62 mm M240
machine gun or an M109 Barrett .50-calibre sniper rifle.

The SWORDS marks the first deployment by a military unit of a safety-certified armed ground robot. This is a huge deal because troops can now be out of harms way while still in combat. The past couple of years have place a high demand on UGS and UGV (unmanned ground vehicles), however, SWORDS marks the first time robots have potential to be use as to take the infantry role.

Pentagon to Decide on Candidates

Three dozen semifinalists have been selected by the Pentagon to build self-driven vehicles. The robot challenge aim is to test how well cars can be robot driven safely on city streets.

This is a step towards the likes of I, Robot a film in which Will Smith portrays a futuristic cop at a time where car drives themselves. In the movie there is a nice car chasing scene where he is being hunted down and he switches to manual drive to save the day.

As long as these young scientist remember that robots are great, but the human mind is far more brilliant we shall have a cruise control switch that will drive us around like Miss Daisy, but we should be able to still maintain control of the vehicle.

Similar challenges have been done in the past, with Stanford University taking the throphy last year with their VW. This year there is a new breed of new comers who may have better technology or innovative ideas. TO learn more about the competition visit the DARPA Urban Challenge site.

In Search of Life, Once Again

Since before we hit outer space or the first lunar landing, we have always asked ourselves, are we alone? Space and its final frontier are too wide and large for live to exists but on Earth.

There the reason why NASA has once again send out a space probe on to a 10 month journey to Mars. As we can all remember, NASA has experience many failures from many probes in the past. Most recently, the robot which damage the proof that there was life on the planet.

NASA is looking to redeem themselves by sending out a new probe which will dig through Martian soil in a search of life in a frigid region of the Red Planet.

The unit, named Phoenix, is powered by solar panels and will travel 680 million kilometers (422 million miles) through space to arrive at its final destination. During its three-month mission, the lander will pierce through soil in the planet’s arctic region amid freezing temperatures ranging from minus 73 degrees Celsius (minus 99 degrees Fahrenheit) to minus 33 C (minus 27 F).

Further, the robotic arm will lift samples onto its deck to check for water and other carbon based chemicals that are essential to life. It will also analyze the soil in hopes to find traces of past or present life.

Soon we will know whether Gene Roddenberry federation will need to be formed.

A New Evolution of Massage Chairs

I remember like five years ago or so my boss at the time decided to give everyone a massage pad for our chairs. The unit was clunky at best and just didn't provide the comfort promised in the box, but is the thought that counts, right?

I had forgotten about this unit until recently when I moved and went through all my belongings with a fine comb, throwing out everything I hadn't use in a year or more. Interesting enough, today a news piece made its way to my inbox, the release titled "Ultra-slim HT-1470 robotic portable massage pad covers 25% more back area" caught my eye.

Apparently human touch™, a large distributor of massage chairs and pads claim to have created a pad that provides 25-percent more back-area coverage than competing massage pads. This was one of the many complaints I had in regards to the aforementioned pad. The lead engineer of the massage robot claimed that in the design of the HT-1470, they took a new approach to robotic massage technology and functionality. In order to make the HT-1470 a great success, they redefine the potential of massage robotics while minimizing the thickness of the mechanism, portability and weight, and maintaining the industry-leading massage quality for which human touch is renowned. This all provided at an attractive price point.

Doctors often speak of the benefits of a good massage, the proof is in the growing number of LMT's, licensed massage therapists. However, the cost of a massage could be enough to give you a coronary. Robotics might make the difference, this unit is available directly from www.humantouch.com, offered with a suggested retail price of $249.99.