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Tag: Robots

  • Google Robot ‘Cujo’ Carries Weapons For The Marines

    Google Robot ‘Cujo’ Carries Weapons For The Marines

    Back in the Winter, Google acquired Boston Dynamics, the robotics firm known for a number of nightmare-inducing robot models, and for working with DARPA. The New York Times reported at the time that Google said it would honor existing military contracts, but that it didn’t plan to move toward becoming a military contractor.

    Now, reports have come out that the Marines are using its LS3 “AlphaDog” model to carry weapons and other equipment. They also lovingly refer to it as “Cujo”.

    That’s not to be confused with Boston Dynamics’ other models BigDog:

    Or LittleDog:

    The robot has been accompanying soldiers in a simulated battle zone in Hawaii.

    The Daily Mail reports that the Marines are using Google’s robot to carry their kit and weapons.

    The robot also made David Letterman’s top ten list (via BusinessInsider):

    In other Google robot news, MIT has been working with Boston Dynamics to make robots more flexible and able to fit into tight spaces.

    Image via YouTube

  • Google’s Robots To Get Better At Squeezing Into Tight Places

    Last year, Google bought Boston Dynamics, the robot makers who created such nightmare-inducing machines as this:

    …and this:

    …and this:

    Now, the company is working with researchers from MIT to add some more flexibility into the mix (via 9to5 Google):

    I’ll let your imagination run wild on its own with that.

    So, just to be clear, they have robots that move like and resemble the shape of humans, robots that can run as fast as cheetahs, robots that can climb walls, and robots that can jump ridiculously high, just to name a few. Now they’re adding flexibility and squeezing into small places into the mix. Let’s just put it this way. People are already talking about Terminator 2’s T-1000 in relation to this.

    Image via YouTube

  • Mark Zuckerberg Hastens the Arrival of Our Robot Overlords

    Mark Zuckerberg Hastens the Arrival of Our Robot Overlords

    If you’re impatiently waiting for computers to actually start thinking, reasoning, and feeling like humans, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and a couple of other high-profile investors have decided to help speed up the process. Zuckerberg, alongside Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Ashton Kutcher have joined for a $40 million investment in Vicarious, according to The Wall Street Journal.

    Vicarious is a company that is “building software that thinks and learns like a human.”

    More specifically, Vicarious is looking to code the human brain. Using a new computational paradigm that they call the Recursive Cortical Network, Vicarious is “developing machine learning software based on the computational principles of the human brain.”

    “Our first technology is a visual perception system that interprets the contents of photographs and videos in a manner similar to humans,” says the company.

    Vicarious was founded in 2010.

    Late last year, Vicarious touted that their AI had passed the first Turing Test by reliably solving CAPTCHAs.

    “Understanding how brain creates intelligence is the ultimate scientific challenge. Vicarious has a long term strategy for developing human level artificial intelligence, and it starts with building a brain-like vision system. Modern CAPTCHAs provide a snapshot of the challenges of visual perception, and solving those in a general way required us to understand how the brain does it,” said Vicarious co-founder Dr. Dileep George.

    Why Mark Zuckerberg? What could Facebook possibly want with software that can mimic human reasoning? Check this little bit from the WSJ’s report:

    A Facebook spokesman said Zuckerberg’s investment in Vicarious, which hasn’t been previously reported, is a personal one and does not reflect Facebook’s interest in using Vicarious software.

    Suuuuuuure…..

    PayPal founder Peter Thiel and Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz are already investors in the company. They put their money in back in 2010 and 2012, respectively.

    If you want to reach me, I’ll be in my basement trying desperately to construct the eye scanner from Blade Runner.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Roboy Is Back And He’s Still Dangerously Cute

    Roboy Is Back And He’s Still Dangerously Cute

    In early 2013, the University of Zurich’s Artificial Intelligence Lab started work on the next generation of robotics. Its vision was to create a small robot boy that perfectly replicated how the human body works by creating joints that more accurately mimic muscles through springs instead of expensive hydraulic motors. Well, Roboy is now mostly finished and is making the rounds.

    In a video from MobileGeeks, we get a really good look at what appears to be a near final build of Roboy. He still can’t walk, but he can recover from being pushed. The creators call this passive recovery and it’s very similar to how we recover when being pushed slightly to the side.

    One of the more interesting aspects of Roboy is that he was primarily built with 3D printed parts. That will play an important role in Roboy’s future as the source files for Roboy are open source. In other words, anybody can print their own Roboy. The team hopes this will help advance development as other engineers make their own tweaks to the design and software of Roboy.

    While you may want to start building your own Roboy today, the price might be a bit on the prohibitive side. The project lead says Roboy costs about €200,000 ($277,220 USD) to build. While the 3D printed parts probably aren’t all that expensive, the inner workings that aren’t plastic probably cost a pretty penny.

    Still, it might be worth it as Roboy is the only robot I know of that can blush. It’s kind of adorable.

    [h/t: 3ders]
    Image via Mobilegeeks.de/YouTube

  • Foxconn Reportedly Looking To Use Google’s Robots

    Google has been acquiring robotics companies with plans to implement robots in manufacturing settings (among other places), and as it turns out, the company has already been working with one well-known manufacturer to do just that.

    The Wall Street Journal is reporting that since last year, Foxconn, known for making Apple hardware, has been working with Google’s Andy Rubin, who is leading the company’s robot charge. Foxconn reportedly wants to speed up deployment of Google’s efforts (which may include a robot OS) at its factories.

    According to the report, Foxconn chairman Terry Gou “expressed excitement over new automation technologies demonstrated by Rubin.”

    The New York Times revealed late last year that Goole had acquired seven robotics companies including Schaft, Industrial Perception, Meka, Redwood Robotics, Bot & Dolly, Autofuss (specializing in video production) and Holomni. Here’s a look at some of the technologies produced by these companies.

    Later, news came out that Google had also acquired Boston Dynamics, makers of a variety of shiver-inducing robots.

    It’s clear that Google possesses the technology and talent to build robots that can reach far beyond the manufacturing space (and into the wall-scaling Terminator space), but it would appear the company isn’t wasting any time in getting some real practical use out of some of these presumably sizable investments.

    Image via YouTube

  • NASA Made A Robot Monkey Because It Could

    NASA Made A Robot Monkey Because It Could

    NASA has one of the most advanced robotics labs on the planet where the agency builds the next-generation of space faring robots. It’s latest – RoboSimian – is a robot monkey that can get around like the animal it’s based on. That means it can go from bipedal to quadrupedal for more control.

    Here’s the official description from NASA:

    Meet RoboSimian, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s official entry at the DARPA Robotics Challenge in December 2013. Also known as “Clyde,” the robot is is four-footed, but can also stand on two feet. It has four general-purpose limbs and hands capable of both mobility and manipulation. It came in 5th place out of 16 entries. See RoboSimian in action at the disaster-response competition. Challenges includes turning a valve, traversing uneven terrain, clearing debris, opening and passing through doorways.

    Despite being a quadrupedal monkey robot, RoboSimian looks more like a spider when it walks on all four limbs. It’s just a little unsettling. It’s certainly not as terrifying as Petman, but it looks like Boston Dynamic’s cavalcade of terrifying robots may have found themselves an ally in NASA’s Clyde.

    Image via NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory/YouTube

  • This Robot Has Its Very Own Death Laser

    This Robot Has Its Very Own Death Laser

    After years of appearing in science fiction, lasers that can actually cause harm to humans are finally small enough to be held. Now one laser aficionado has combined two sci-fi nightmares into one by giving a robot a laser.

    In the latest video from the self-proclaimed DIY Laser Guy, he attached a 2W laser to a spider robot. He then uses a controller to move the robot and aim the laser. The laser is powerful enough to pop balloons, burn paper and cause all sorts of mischief. It wouldn’t kill a human, but it would certainly hurt.

    Check it out:

    If you want to build your own death ray spider robot, you can get the robot here and the laser here. If you decide to build your own, remember to be responsible.

    Image via styropyro/YouTube

  • Here’s A 3D Printed Robot That Can 3D Print Objects

    Here’s A 3D Printed Robot That Can 3D Print Objects

    In 2013, we saw the rise of the 3D printed robot. Now students are looking to complete the cycle by making a 3D printed robot that can double as a 3D printer.

    A group of students in San Francisco have created a new robot that they call Geoweaver. It’s a hexapod robot that rolls around on wheels and is equipped with a glue gun extruder. When fed instructions, it can roll around on a large surface and print structures that would not be possible on a regular 3D printer.

    So, why is this significant? One of the greatest challenges facing 3D printers today is that 3D printed objects can only be as big as the bed. It’s not been that bad for those who only want to print small objects, but what about the future of 3D printing? All of the concepts available today for 3D printed housing show a large 3D printer overtop a large bed as it applies concrete layer by layer onto the bedrock. While such a method is certainly plausible for smaller houses, what about larger and oddly shaped structures? That’s where things like the Geoweaver comes in.

    By attaching the extruder to a robot, 3D printers could one day be capable of creating larger, more complex objects. Not only will 3D printers be able to build up, but they would be able to build out as well. Of course, such a dream is still a ways off when you consider the resources necessary to build an autonomous 3D printer that can accommodate large objects, like mansions. Not to mention, most 3D printer materials still require a heated bed and heating a large area would be prohibitively expensive.

    Regardless of all that, however, the Geoweaver is a solid concept that can only improve as more work is done on it. In fact, the team is already envisioning a larger Geoweaver that can take information from GPS satellites to pinpoint print locations across large landscapes on the ground.

    To see more, check out the video below:

    If that all looks good to you, you can build your very own Geoweaver today. The Instructables page will tell you everything you need to know about building your own 3D printing robot.

    [h/t: 3ders]
    Image via Creative Architecture Machines @ CCA San Francisco/YouTube

  • Will Google’s Robots Change Business Or Just Scare Everybody?

    What many of us have anticipated and joked about (uneasily) for years is now coming to fruition. Google is quickly assembling an army of robots. The company has acquired eight robotics companies (that we know of), and is using them for something that it is saying very little about.

    What would you like to see Google do with robots? Let us know in the comments.

    The initiative, as little as we really know about it, was revealed earlier this month when The New York Times shed some light on it, saying that Google is “tight-lipped about its specific plans,” but noting that the amount of money Google is putting into it, “indicates that this is no cute science project.”

    In other words, this isn’t Google just messing around. Google is up to something big here, and it means business. What that means for the rest of us is to be determined.

    With the original report, we learned that former Android chief Andy Rubin was behind the project, and that Google had acquired Schaft, Industrial Perception, Meka, Redwood Robotics, Bot & Dolly, Autofuss (specializing in video production) and Holomni. The news of the weekend was that Google has added Boston Dynamics to the list. This is one of the most famous (if not the most famous) robotics companies on the Internet. Its robots have gained a massive amount of attention in recent years, and with good reason. They’re truly amazing, and in most cases deeply terrifying on a “holy crap, this Terminator thing is really happening” kind of way.

    I mean seriously. All joking aside, some of these machines are very human and animal-like. And they’re strong, powerful and fast. They’re exactly the kinds of things you wouldn’t want falling into the wrong hands. The question is: are Google’s the right hands?

    Google has long had the “do no evil” mantra, but it is frequently accused of doing evil things, whether justified or not. As we live in times when real drones killing real people is not science fiction, but a harsh reality, people are right to question just what Google (or anyone) is going to do with these things.

    We’re not saying Google is going to send out robots to kill people, but let’s hope Google’s intentions are not evil in any way. Perhaps they should at least talk a little more about their plans. This is a company, after all, that has been paying for “accidentally” collecting people’s data through Street View cars, and is apparently going to track people through physical stores to give data to advertisers.

    Boston Dynamics works with the military – DARPA, the US Army, Navy and Marine Corps – and Google says it will honor existing contracts, but doesn’t intend to become a military contractor on its own, according to the Times.

    Google does apparently intend to make good B2B use of its robots, however. According to the first NYT report about Rubin and the seven robot companies, Google isn’t aiming at consumers (“yet”), but manufacturing and “competing with companies like Amazon in retailing”. It mentions “automating portions of an existing supply chain that stretches from a factory floor to the companies that ship and deliver goods to a consumers’ doorstep.”

    The report also mentions Google’s product delivery service (Google Shopping Express), suggesting that “Perhaps someday, there will be automated delivery to the doorstep.”

    Amazon recently shared its version of such an scenario, though the skepticism about the possibility of the Amazon Prime Air drone service has been very loud. So far, Amazon can’t legally operate such flying drones. It’s entirely possible that they won’t be able to anytime soon either.

    “Nothing they’re contemplating right now fits with that vision,” a source familiar with the FAA’s policy efforts told Yahoo Finance. “I don’t see it happening.”

    But Boston Dynamics’ robots don’t fly. They walk, run, jump and climb walls. And who knows what they’ll be building as a part of Google? Could a human-like delivery bot riding a robot cheetah be more realistic? How about one riding in a self-driving car, and walking your package up to your doorstep?

    Self-driving cars, need I remind you, have already started clearing some legal obstacles. In fact, a recent report suggests they may even make up 75% of sales by 2035.

    Some are more concerned about the “evil” of Google potentially destroying jobs than any physical threat.

    But hey, enough with the doom and gloom. There’s no arguing that Google has contributed a lot of great things to the world and to society, and robots could be part of some things more along those lines, right?

    What do you expect Google to do with robots? Are you concerned or do you expect the company to do some really great things? Share your thoughts in the comments.

  • A Look At 10 Shiver-Inducing Robots From Boston Dynamics, Which Now Belongs To Google [Videos]

    Late on Friday, news came out that Google has acquired Boston Dynamics, makers of some of the scariest-looking robots you’ve been watching on YouTube over the past few years. You know the ones: WildCat, LS3, Atlas, Petman, Cheetah, BigDog, SandFlea, RHex, RISE and LittleDog.

    They jump high, they run fast, they move like humans, they sneak through the brush and through the water, and they can be kicked without falling down.

    This follows the previous week’s news that Google had acquired seven other robotics companies for its secretive robot lab headed by former Android chief Andy Rubin. Rubin confirmed the Boston Dynamics acquisition in a tweet.

    To put things into more terrifying perspective, here are videos of each of Boston Dynamics’ robots:

    Petman

    WildCat

    LS3

    Atlas

    Cheetah

    BigDog

    SandFlea Jumping Robot

    RHex

    RISE

    LittleDog

    Yep, this company belongs to Google now. And here’s a look at some of the other robot models from companies Google has also picked up.

    Boston Dynamics has worked with DARPA in the past. According to the New York Times, Google said it will honor existing military contracts, but doesn’t plan to move toward becoming a military contractor.

    Image: Boston Dynamics

  • The Google Robots Are Coming (Really)

    The Google Robots Are Coming (Really)

    The Google robots are coming. It was only a matter of time, wasn’t it?

    Speaking with former Android chief Andy Rubin, The New York Times revealed that he is now leading a secretive robotics lab at the company, and has acquired seven companies in the field to help him. According to the report, the project is expected to lead to products in customers’ hands (at least in the B2B realm) more quickly than other “moonshot” ideas like self-driving cars.

    While the report speculates that Google could one day use its robots in the product delivery space (not unlike these Amazon drones), the earlier goal is apparently to get them in use in manufacturing and logistics.

    Rubin didn’t give much more in the way of detail about what he’s building or how much Google is spending on these robots, but the companies Google has acquired include: Schaft, Industrial Perception, Meka, Redwood Robotics, Bot & Dolly, Autofuss (specializing in video production) and Holomni.

    Here’s a look at a Schaft robot (from a year ago):

    Industrial Perception (from earlier this year):

    Here are a few from Meka (all from a year ago):

    Here’s a look at what Bot & Dolly has done (they also worked on the film Gravity):

    Go ahead and start letting your imagination run wild.

    The Times warned us of a secret Google robot lab two years ago. Since then, Google [x] was revealed. Back then, however, Rubin was still running Android, so this appears to be a newer endeavor. Either way, it seems pretty legit, and it looks like we’re going to be getting acquainted with more robots and autonomous vehicles in the foreseeable future.

    Luckily, Google has yet to acquire Mondo Spider (at least as far as we know):

    Though they have rented them out in the past.

    What would you like to see Google do with robots?


    Image: Meka Robotics

  • Will Amazon’s Drones Be As Normal As Mail Trucks?

    Will Amazon’s Drones Be As Normal As Mail Trucks?

    Are you ready for a future in which unmanned drones come from the sky to deliver you products you ordered less than a half hour ago? I hope so, because that future is very close. At least Amazon hopes it is.

    Do you like the idea of drones delivering products to your home? Share your thoughts in the comments.

    The service is called Amazon Prime Air, and the company pretty much has it ready to go, pending FAA regulations. As long as April Fool’s Day didn’t come four months early, Amazon appears to be serious. The company has been working on it in its R&D lab. Here’s the test flight footage that shows what we’re looking at.

    I like how the guy at the end seems disinterested that there’s a drone leaving him a package.

    “Putting Prime Air into commercial use will take some number of years as we advance technology and wait for the necessary FAA rules and regulations,” says Amazon. “It looks like science fiction, but it’s real. From a technology point of view, we’ll be ready to enter commercial operations as soon as the necessary regulations are in place. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is actively working on rules for unmanned aerial vehicles.”

    Amazon drone

    “One day, Prime Air vehicles will be as normal as seeing mail trucks on the road today,” the company says in the Amazon Prime Air FAQ. “We hope the FAA’s rules will be in place as early as sometime in 2015. We will be ready at that time.”

    CEO Jeff Bezos, admitted, however, that it could be four or five years.

    The company notes that the FAA’s rules would prioritize public safety.

    “Safety will be our top priority, and our vehicles will be built with multiple redundancies and designed to commercial aviation standards,” Amazon says.

    If Amazon Prime Air becomes a reality, we have to believe many other company’s will follow suit. Including Amazon’s competitors. It’s hard to imagine that Google, for example, won’t offer up some competition, especially considering that it’s already in the autonomous vehicle business, and is already looking to compete with Amazon and eBay and quick deliveries with Google Shopping Express.

    Amazon is hardly the first company to experiment with delivery-by-drone. It was only a few months ago that we were talking about Domino’s Pizza testing its DomiCopter.

    But even before that, pizzas were being delivered by drone. Others have had similar ambitions.

    But this is Amazon we’re talking about. Just think about the amount of business that takes place on Amazon every day. Friday saw $1.198 billion in desktop ecommerce in the U.S. alone. Amazon was the top ranked site among 66.1 million shoppers. And that’s just from the desktop.

    The early drones will be somewhat limited, according to Bezos, in that they can only carry packages under five pounds, and can only carry them up to ten miles away from a fulfillment center, but there’s no reason to think that they won’t get better as time goes on if this whole thing really comes to fruition. Of course, much of where things go will rely on the regulations set forth by the FAA.

    According to Bezos, 86% of Amazon’s packages are under the five-pound weight limit.

    Meanwhile, Amazon continues to give users more reason to become Prime members. The company is even going head to head Netflix (or HBO and other cable networks for that matter) with original television content, and it’s all about getting more Prime members. You have to be a member to watch Amazon’s original shows (at least past the first few complimentary episodes).

    Amazon also continues to rapidly expand its fulfillment center operations. News of a new Connecticut location just came out a couple weeks ago, and that was preceded with a similar announcement for Wisconsin earlier in the month.

    Drones

    Who knows? Maybe Amazon’s drones can keep people from having to run out for another bottle of wine, and prevent some accidents and DUIs. Maybe they’ll deliver newspapers. It would certainly be convenient to have your Amazon Fresh groceries delivered in less than 30 minutes by a drone, no?

    Even more revolutionary than Sunday deliveries.

    Some think the drones even have potential in B2B.

    Christopher Mims at Quartz makes an interesting point comparing Prime Air to Amazon Web Services: “If Amazon can become the first company with significant resources to invest in consumer drones, it could corner the market on cheap unmanned aerial vehicles the way it’s cornering the market on cheap computing power.”

    Naturally, the whole Amazon Prime Air concept has been met with some skepticism and of course parody. Good ol’ Taiwanese animation studio NMA covers both pretty well:

    Someone has also set up a parody Twitter account for one of the drones:


    What do you think? Do you expect delivery-by-drone to become a normal part of life, or is this something we’re going to be laughing about one day? Let us know what you think.

    Images: Amazon

  • Microsoft Opens A Maker Space On Its Campus

    If you have a 3D printer, you can create a maker space. Private entities and public institutions are opening them all over the country to encourage others to express their creativity through 3D printing and other rapid prototyping tools. Now Microsoft is getting in on the action.

    Since 2009, Microsoft has allowed its employees to work on experimental projects in a building it called The Garage. It was a great idea at the time and still is as it encourages employees to build future technologies. Now The Garage has become that much more awesome with the addition of a Maker Space within its confines.

    To celebrate the opening of the Maker Space, Microsoft hosted a Devices Science Fair within The Garage to showcase some of the most interesting projects being worked on in the building. Check it out:

    As you may have noticed in the above video, one of the standout inventions was a 3D printed robotic arm from Microsoft Research’s Gershon Parent. If you want to find out more about his robot and how he made it, check out the below video:

    This latest push into 3D printing ties into Microsoft’s expanded support for the technology in Windows 8.1. Back in June, Microsoft announced that it was adding native support for 3D printers into its latest operating system. These native drivers were built through a collaboration between Microsoft and MakerBot, but it supports pretty much every 3D printer on the market.

    [Image: Microsoft/YouTube]
    [h/t: 3ders]

  • You Can Now Build Your Very Own 3D Printed Humanoid Robot

    Are you lonely? Can’t find a partner and/or pet to make the journey we call life more bearable? Would a humanoid robot buddy make living less of a chore? If so, you can now build your own with a 3D printer and some off-the-shelf parts.

    Inria Flowers Lab has just recently revealed its latest creation – the Poppy humanoid robot. It’s a lightweight robot made with 3D printed limbs and a variety of cheap motors and electronics. The most impressive aspect of the Poppy is that it can move like more advanced robots for a fraction of the cost thanks to its bended legs, light frame and small motors that help it keep balance.

    Check it out in action below:

    Poppy Overview from Poppy Project on Vimeo.

    The creators of the Poppy have generously decided to make its design open source so anybody can make their own Poppy while adding their own tweaks to the design to make it even better. All you need is about $10,000 worth of parts to make it a reality. While that might sound like a lot, it’s actually really cheap for a robot of this sophistication.

    While the Poppy is already at an impressive stage of development, it’s not finished just yet. The team says that it’s about 75 percent done, but it needs your help. It’s currently looking for beta testers who want to build their own Poppy robot and test various features. They’re also looking for people to help them work on the software. You can find out more about that here.

    While I am inherently distrusting of robots, there’s something about the Poppy that I can trust. Perhaps its the open source nature of the project, or that it’s just so adorable. Either way, I’m sure I’ll regret it when an army of Poppy robots invade the country.

    [Image: Poppy Project/Vimeo]
    [h/t: 3ders]

  • MIT Delivers ‘Transformers’ Technology

    MIT Delivers ‘Transformers’ Technology

    The days of watching Transformers on television and reveling in the movie franchise may soon find added real world joy. Researchers at MIT have created real world transformers.

    The Massachusetts Institution of Technology’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence laboratory has spearheaded the development of what is known as modular devices. They aren’t the first to do so; however, they have made significant gains in the functionality and efficiency of the devices.

    Within small cubes or M-Blocks, they have inserted a radio, a motor controller, a flywheel mechanism, brakes and additional electronics. These cubes can be comfortably held with two fingers. The M-Blocks remarkably have the power to work as separate or singular entities. They are currently controlled remotely via a radio Wi-fi system, but in the future, the team expects the robots will be programmed to move via internal workings whether they have been commanded to fuse together or separate. Due to their inner workings, they have the power to spin individually at quick speeds or jump.

    Each cube has 8 face magnets on each side of the cube which allow them to fuse to other cubes. They also have edge magnets which allows the cube to rotate. Due to the “chambering” of the edges on the cubes, they are able to create a strong bond. The bond allows for transformations to occur without cubes falling out of place or completely disassembling.

    The ability for modular robots to jump is fairly unheard of because it requires a large amount of energy, but the researchers at MIT have managed to get their M-Blocks to jump with great precision and ease.

    There’s no denying that this research will continue to pick up interest. Here’s to hoping we all are fortunate enough to have a run-in with a black and yellow Camaro that transforms into a highly intelligent robot, sooner than later.

    Image credit: mit.edu.

  • This 3D Printer Can Print On Any Surface

    This 3D Printer Can Print On Any Surface

    Despite being around for over two decades, the 3D printer hasn’t really changed all that much. You still have an extruder that moves in straight lines across a bed to create a 3D printed object from the bottom up. What would happen then if we turned that concept on its head with a 3D printer that can print on any surface in any direction?

    Researchers at the TU Delft Robotics Institute have partnered with Oce Technologies to create a new kind of 3D printer that’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. The two equipped a robotic arm with a high-end extruder to create a 3D printer that can print on just about any surface. It can print objects on bent surfaces, or even add onto currently existing objects.

    Check it out:

    So, what kind of applications could this have? One obvious application is the restoration of complex objects. For example, the above 3D printer could be used to restore the hull of a boat. It could also be used in construction. The current idea behind 3D printed housing is to lay concrete in straight lines. With a 3D printer like this, one could design far out architectural designs that just aren’t possible through normal construction.

    The above examples won’t come to fruition anytime soon though as TU Delft’s 3D printer is still just a prototype. In fact, it can only lay a single layer at this time. As the technology progresses, however, we’ll hopefully soon see robotic arms printing in all kinds of directions.

    [h/t: 3ders]
    [Image: TU Delft/YouTube]

  • The Future of The Battlefield Has Robots With Legs

    Imagine a battlefield.

    Your back is pressed against the wall of a crumbling and shaking building, dust collects in your face, and your ears ring from repetitive explosions that never stop. As you tuck your head in from the bullets that zip past you, you look through squinted eyelids and see something galloping closer and closer:

    This little baby is Boston Dynamics’ “WildCat”, a machine part of their “Cheetah” series, and the fastest legged robot in the world that can run at 28.3 mph while it’s tethered on a treadmill. On flat terrain, with no tethers, the robot can reach speeds up to 16 mph. Humans can run up to 5 mph, but you can probably get occasional bursts up to 12 to 15 mph with all that adrenaline pumping in your arteries.

    The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the same people that brought you the internet, is funding the robot developers over at Boston Dynamics through their Maximum Mobility and Manipulation program.

    Boston Dynamics says the Cheetah has “an articulated back that flexes back and forth on each step, increasing in stride and running speed, much like an animal does.”

    Cheetah is not the first, and definitely not the last.

    On March 17th, 2008, Boston Dynamics revealed its first video on YouTube of Big Dog, a four-legged robot that rebalances itself when kicked, throws cinderblocks, and carries itself over hills.

    Below, you’ll find the Legged Squadron Support System (LS3). It can carry 400lbs of payload, travel 20 miles without the need to refuel, and can be operated through voice commands.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W68VVn-d5uA

    DARPA gave Boston Dynamics $10 million in funding the LS3, and wants the next-gen to be, “an enhanced version of the LS3 system with increased reliability and usability, enhanced survivability against small arms fire and a quiet power supply to support stealthy tactical operations.” The work is expected to be finished by March 31st, 2015.

    This is PETMAN, the bipedal robot. Boston Dynamics says it’s an “anthropomorphic robot designed for testing chemical protection clothing. Natural agile movement is essential for PETMAN to simulate how a soldier stresses protective clothing under realistic conditions.”

    Familiar with videogames? Because this is all starting to sound familiar.



    In a serious instance of life-mimicking-art, Hideo Kojima, creator of video game series Metal Gear Solid (MGS) has given a glimpse of what the future on the battlefield holds. The robots you see in this video are called “Gekko”, and before any word of Big Dog came out, videogames like MGS, in a sense, predicted what the future holds on the battlefield.

    Beyond the striking similarities of Metal Gear Solid’s mechas and the Boston Dynamics’ robots, Gekko actually bleeds, much like PETMAN which “simulates human physiology” actually sweats.

    I would not doubt that Kojima knows the real history of war and our future.
    War demands legs, not wheels.

    Check out more robots at Boston Dynamics’ official website.

    (Pictures via Boston Dynamics, Metal Gear Wiki, TotallyLooksLike)

  • Boston Dynamics’ WildCat Is Another Galloping Terror

    Boston Dynamics, the company that’s singlehandedly trying to hasten the fall of humankind with its incredible robot technology, has just unveiled the WildCat – the next generation of its Cheetah robot.

    “WildCat is a four-legged robot being developed to run fast on all types of terrain. So far WildCat has run at about 16 mph on flat terrain using bounding and galloping gaits. The video shows WildCat’s best performance so far. WildCat is being developed by Boston Dynamics with funding from DARPA’s M3 program,” says the company.

    Sure, the Cheetah has been clocked at 28.3 mph, a bit faster than Usain Bolt. But that’s only when it’s running on a high-speed treadmill, powered by an off-board hydraulic pump. The WildCat, as seen in the terrifying video above, is untethered and coming at you down a dark alley.

    Or at least it is in my nightmares.

    Image via Boston Dynamics, YouTube

  • That Cheetah Robot Is Back With No Wires Attached

    In September of last year, DARPA introduced the world to its cheetah robot. It can run at speeds up to 29 MPH, but it posed no threat to humanity as it was confined to a treadmill and the connecting wires that powered it. Now that very same robot has been set free.

    DARPA and Boston Dynamics introduced WildCat to the world this week. It’s the same cheetah robot as before, but now it’s fully autonomous. As long as the robot is on flat terrain, it can reach speeds up to 16 MPH. It wouldn’t be able to outrun sprint runners like Usain Bolt just yet, but it would have no problem catching the rest of us.

    Pretty amazing, right? As the engineers continue to work on WildCat, they’ll no doubt reach a point where it will be able to reach test lab speeds on open terrain. Once it reaches that point, there’s no salvation for humanity. The robots will even win the Olympics just to rub it in our subjugated faces.

    [Image: BostonDynamics/YouTube]

  • DARPA’s Atlas Robot Gets A Training Montage

    Remember Atlas? The robot that can walk like a man and withstand being hit with 20 pound weights is back and better than ever. In fact, Atlas is now hard at work training for the annual DARPA Robotics Challenge.

    In the latest video, we get to see Atlas’ fulfill its promise of being able to traverse rough terrain. The engineers at Boston Dynamics have set up a walking course full of pointed rocks that would make even the most rugged mountaineer wince upon seeing it. Atlas takes it a like a champ, however, as his feet can instantly adapt to constant changes in the terrain.

    The 20 pound wrecking ball makes a return as well. Atlas still balances on one foot while it’s hit by the wrecking ball. Atlas doesn’t break a figurative sweat though as it keeps its cool under repeated hits.

    At this point, I feel that I should be scared of Atlas. It will be able to hunt through the rubble of our future fallen cities with ease while it looks for more humans to add to its human farms. While that thought is certainly disturbing, I can’t but feel impressed that robotics have come this far.

    So keep on doing what you do, Atlas. Just remember to make my death quick and painless when the time comes.

    [Image: BostonDynamics/YouTube]

  • Prosthetic Legs Are Becoming Even More Incredible

    Prosthetics are slowly but surely moving into the world of robotics. Earlier this year, a man was able to control a robotic hand by simply using his mind to send it commands. Now the same feat has been accomplished with a robotic leg.

    Nature reports that an unnamed 32-year-old man lost his knee and lower leg after a motorcycle accident in 2009. This year, researchers fitted him with a prosthetic leg that could be controlled with his mind. In the video below, you’ll see the results of their efforts:

    As you can see, he’s able to walk normally with the prosthetic. Other amputees who have been outfitted with traditional prosthetics have been able to make due, but there was always something missing. With this new leg, he’s able to do almost anything a normal leg can do. It’s noted that he can even kick a football or sit down without having to reposition it.

    Now, incredibly impressive work has already been done in this field with robotic limbs that can be controlled via electrical impulses sent by the brain. What makes this breakthrough impressive is that scientists used a method called targeted muscle reinnervation to introduce more accurate movement into the leg. Here’s how it works:

    The technology is in the early stages of production, but it’s not too far out from widespread adoption. In fact, researchers say that they should be able to outfit amputees with this technology within the next three to five years.

    [Image: Nature Newsteam]