Robotics

New robotic repair system will fix ailing satellites

harminka — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 02:01:18 -0500

Researchers at Queen’s University are developing a new robotic system to service more than 8,000 satellites now orbiting the Earth, beyond the flight range of ground-based repair operations. Currently, when the high-flying celestial objects malfunction – or simply run out of fuel – they become “space junk” cluttering the cosmos.

Enhancing lives of people with disabilities

harminka — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 03:02:43 -0500

Robots may be the solution for people with disabilities who are struggling to regain the use of their limbs, thanks to a research team that includes engineers and students from Rochester Institute of Technology.

Military use of robots increases

harminka — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 04:53:52 -0500

War casualties are typically kept behind tightly closed doors, but one company keeps the mangled pieces of its first casualty on display. This is no ordinary soldier, though — it is Packbot from the iRobot Corporation.

Europe and Japan join forces to map out future of intelligent robots

harminka — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 08:28:21 -0500

The field of robotics could be poised for a breakthrough, leading to a new generation of intelligent machines capable of taking on multiple tasks and moving out of the factory into the home and general workplace.

Tartalo robot is knocking on your door

harminka — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:16:50 -0500

A research team from the University of the Basque Country, led by Basilio Sierra, is devising a robot that can get around by itself. Tartalo is able to identify different places and ask permission before going through a doorway.

Tests check out rescue robots' life-saving vision

harminka — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:30:13 -0500

To save lives, search and rescue robots crawling through the rubble of a collapsed building or surveying a chemical spill area must be capable of beaming back clear, easily interpretable images of what they "see" to operators and emergency planners, working away from the immediate disaster site.

Robots go where scientists fear to tread

harminka — Wed, 28 May 2008 02:31:40 -0500

Scientists are diligently working to understand how and why the world’s ice shelves are melting. While most of the data they need (temperatures, wind speed, humidity, radiation) can be obtained by satellite, it isn’t as accurate as good old-fashioned, on-site measurement and static ground-based weather stations don’t allow scientists to collect info from as many locations as they’d like.

Robot Flame walks like a human

harminka — Fri, 23 May 2008 07:53:47 -0500

Researcher Daan Hobbelen of TU Delft has developed a new, highly-advanced walking robot: Flame. This type of research, for which Hobbelen will receive his PhD on Friday 30 May, is important as it provides insight into how people walk. This can in turn help people with walking difficulties through improved diagnoses, training and rehabilitation equipment.

Microsoft Research Explores Robots Among Us

harminka — Fri, 16 May 2008 14:46:23 -0500

The field of robotics is going through a transformation. As the technology steadily marches on, the practical side of what can be done with robots is evolving from automatic vacuums and human-operated devices toward much more complicated interactions between machines and human beings.

Precision control of movement in robots

harminka — Fri, 16 May 2008 10:25:17 -0500

A research team from the Department of Electricity and Electronics at the University of the Basque Country’s Faculty of Science and Technology in Leioa, led by Victor Etxebarria, is investigating the characteristics of various types of materials for their use in the generation and measurement of precise movements.

Beaver-like robots face off in annual MIT contest

harminka — Sat, 10 May 2008 05:35:23 -0500

Robots designed to toss pool-noodle trees into a river of ping-pong balls ruled over competitors focused on rescuing fuzzy toy beavers in this year's 2.007 contest, "Da (yes) MIT, or Save the Baby Beavers," held on Thursday, May 8, in the Johnson Athletic Center at MIT.

Georgia Tech Partnering to Create National Robotics Strategy

harminka — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 13:36:19 -0500

Citing the critical importance of the continued growth of robotics to U.S. competitiveness, 11 universities are taking the lead in developing an integrated national strategy for robotics research. The United States is the only nation engaged in advanced robotics research that does not have such a research roadmap.