Featured Stories
-
DOMK Receives Confirmation That 1st “SolaPad” Units Are Being Prepared for Shipment
25 May 2012 12:30 PM | No Commentsvar AdBrite_Title_Color = '0000FF'; var AdBrite_Text_Color = '000000'; var AdBrite_Background_Color = 'FFFFFF'; var AdBrite_Border_Color = 'CCCCCC'; var AdBrite_URL_Color = '008000'; try{var AdBrite_Iframe=window.top!=window.self?2:1;var AdBrite_Referrer=document.referrer==''?document.location:document.referrer;AdBrite_Referrer=encodeURIComponent(AdBrite_Referrer);}catch(e){var AdBrite_Iframe='';var AdBrite_Referrer='';} document.write(String.fromCharCode(60,83,67,82,73,80,84));document.write(' src="http://ads.adbrite.com/mb/text_group.php?sid=2053203&zs=3436385f3630&ifr='+AdBrite_Iframe+'&ref='+AdBrite_Referrer+'" type="text/javascript">');document.write(String.fromCharCode(60,47,83,67,82,73,80,84,62)); LONGWOOD, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–DoMark International Inc. (OTCBB: DOMK) announced today that management of its wholly-owned subsidiary, SolaWerks, has...
Read More -
New Autodesk SketchBook Ink App Delivers Stunning Creative Tools for iPad
24 May 2012 12:59 PM | No CommentsSAN RAFAEL, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) launched Autodesk SketchBook Ink for iPad paint and drawing app, the latest release from the company’s popular SketchBook...
Read More -
Vegas Tech Start Up Questionable LLC Launches Questionable Friends iPhone App
23 May 2012 4:53 PM | No CommentsLAS VEGAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Questionable™ today introduced Questionable Friends™ for iPhone®. Questionable Friends lets you send questions to your contacts and provides instant feedback as questions are answered. Answers can be ...
Read More -
Sidecar Revolutionizes Phone Calls by Bringing “Smart Calling” to Smartphones
22 May 2012 12:00 PM | No CommentsSAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Launching today, Sidecar (www.sidecar.me) is a new mobile app that brings Smart Calling to smartphones. Smart Calling allows people to share live See What I See video, brilliant ...
Read More -
TransCore Launches Mobile iPad App for TransSuite Traffic Management System
21 May 2012 12:00 PM | No CommentsWASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Intelligent Transportation Society of America Annual Meeting – TransCore brings the ease of mobile computing to its TransSuite® advanced traffic management system (ATMS), launching its iPad® ...
Read More
-
Robot Archive
-
JO-ZERO: Super-agile, super-cool mini humanoid (video)
Posted on December 30, 2009 | No Comments
A big problem almost any robot nowadays has is limited agility. While this isn't an issue for industrial and other "practical" robots, humanoids can only move in a slow, mechanical and chopping motion. Honda's Asimo, for example, is considered super-advanced, but doesn't move too elegantly either.
But Japan-based Himeji Softworks raises the bar in that area. Their JO-ZERO robot kit shows we haven't reached that Nureyev level of elegance yet either, but it's pretty impressive, especially since it's the brainchild of a small venture. It can break-dance (sort of) and pull off a number of cool stunts.
-
Japan’s $2 million rescue robot is a hummingbird
Posted on December 29, 2009 | No Comments
A Japanese researcher called Hiroshi Liu has developed a robotic hummingbird, which, just a real one, can flutter freely in mid-air by rapidly moving its wings (up to n impressive 30 times per second). Liu, who works for Chiba University just outside Tokyo, says his hummingbird is powered by a small motor and has four wings. It can be remote-controlled through infrared.
-
Meet Nippon Institute of Technology’s cool humanoid (video)
Posted on December 22, 2009 | No Comments
It's another humanoid from Japan, it doesn't have an official name yet, but it's pretty cool: This new robot [JP] is the result of a collaboration between various Japanese companies and institutions, namely the Nippon Institute of Technology, Harada Vehicle Design [JP], ZMP and ZNUG Design. Based technically on ZMP's Nuvo robot, it stands 1.26m tall and weighs 15kg.
-
Bari Bari: New exploration and rescue robot (video)
Posted on December 18, 2009 | No Comments
Japan is prone to large-scale earthquakes, so the fact that researchers in this country are constantly working on the development of highly specialized rescue robots. And the so-called Bari Bari IV is a particularly clever model, as it can help people who are in danger, for example after a building has been destroyed, by being more cautious than other robots.
It's one of the robots developed at the Kitagawa-Tsugoshi Lab at Tokyo Institute of Technology. The Bari Bari solves the problem rescue teams encounter at the scenes after an explosion, accident or natural disaster took place: People buried under rubble.
-
Robo Muscle Suit: Japan continues to work on fully motorized humans (video)
Posted on December 18, 2009 | No Comments
We reported about a motorized knee being developed at Tsukuba University in Japan just yesterday. That and HAL-5, the famous robot suit that lets paralyzed people walk through brain signal control and which was developed at the same university, seem to be just the beginning of the way to merge man and machine.
The Kobayashi Lab [JP] at the
Full Story
-
The “Motorized Knee” makes your runnning 30% more efficient
Posted on December 16, 2009 | No Comments
The researchers at Japan's Tsukuba University seem to be particularly active when it comes to enhancing human body functions. This is the institution where the famous robot suit HAL-5 was developed and now we have another invention that can help boost the efficiency of our bodies - if that's what we want and need, that is.
A research team at said university has constructed a "motorized knee", which is actually a kit that - once it's attached to a person's body - supports the flexing of the knee. As a result, the runner may use 30% less of the muscle power that is needed to run unassisted. In experiments, runners could jog at 7.5km per hour wearing the kit, which is about 5kg heavy. So in other words, this isn't an elegant solution (yet).
-
Japanese department store offers robots that look like their buyers
Posted on December 14, 2009 | No Comments
We all knew this day would come and we all knew this would happen first in Japan. And local department store chain operator Sogo & Seibu is ready to make it possible: You can soon buy robots who look exactly like you. Right, life-size humanoids.
The company isn't that sure about its idea though as it plans to offer just two robots for the time being. Sogo & Seibu says they'll start accepting orders in all of their department stores in Japan as soon as early next month. But if there are three or more people interested in getting a robotic doppelgänger, buyers will be chosen by lot.
-
Mad Hurricane: Japan’s new mini assault robot destroys stuff (video)
Posted on December 4, 2009 | No Comments
Japan's robot otaku can soon lay their hands on yet another of those electro-mechanical marvels, but this time the robot isn't cute. No, this new model, made by Tokyo-based robot venture Poseidon, is supposed to be mean for a change. And its name (Mad Hurricane) is pretty bad ass, too.
Mad Hurricane can perform a number of motions: walk in four directions, swirl to the right or left, stand up by himself when he's on his back or face and, most importantly, kick and punch in six variations. Powered by a battery, the robot stands 40cm tall and weighs 2.4kg. It's made of aluminum, has six built-in gyro sensors and a total of 20 joints.
-
Autonomous office cleaning robot
Posted on December 1, 2009 | No Comments
Japanese conglomerates Fuji Heavy Industries, Sumitomo and Subaru are developing a new robot [JP, PDF] that's able to clean office buildings autonomously. The yet to be named robot (pictured on the left) is sized at just 50x45x80cm, meaning it's able to maneuver even along narrow paths. Its functions include vacuuming the floors and picking up garbage.
-
Mini robot climbs up and down water and gas pipes to inspect them
Posted on December 1, 2009 | No CommentsA research group from Japan's University of Electro-Communications has developed a mini robot that's able to move freely inside water and gas pipes with a diameter of 10cm or more. The robot can climb up and down pipes as long as they are made of iron as it uses a magnet for its magic.
-
PaPeRo: NEC’s cute helper robot
Posted on November 26, 2009 | No Comments
As a huge conglomerate, NEC is active in a lot of areas. But unknown to many people outside Japan, the company is quite aggressive in the robotics field, too. Their PaPeRo, a cute helper robot, for example, has been around since 1997 already. And now, just in time for a robot exhibition that currently takes place in Tokyo, the company shows an updated version of the little guy.
-
Mobile “Human Assist Guidance Robot”
Posted on November 25, 2009 | No Comments
Tokyo-based (and globalized) bearing supplier NSK has announced [JP] the development of an autonomous mobile robot that one day will be able to assist people in wheel chairs. The main selling point of the so-called "Human Assist Guidance Robot" is that it can detect obstacles and guide users through them. And uneven surfaces or slopes aren't a problem either.
-
Walky robot understands iPhone gestures, football fanaticism (video)
Posted on November 17, 2009 | No CommentsHey there sailor, we imagine you've been doing your fair share of button mashing what with a certain new bit of software out and about, but how would you like a whole new control paradigm? Taking up Steve Jobs' war on buttons, a group of grad students at Japan's Keio University have put together a comprehensive robot control interface that relies solely on finger swipes, taps, and presses. By employing the iPhone's built-in accelerometer and multitouch screen, the robot can replicate a humanistic walking motion, perform sidesteps and, when called upon, kick a football with gusto and presumed passion. Your destination is just past the break, where the video demo awaits.
[Via HDBlog.it]Continue reading Walky robot understands iPhone gestures, football fanaticism (video)
Walky robot understands iPhone gestures, football fanaticism (video) originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments -
HUBO will tear you limb from limb
Posted on November 13, 2009 | No CommentsHUBO Walking! HUBO Taichi! HUBO with sword! HUBO aiming for your heart and lungs! This clever Korean robot won’t kill you (yet) but it does move in a surprisingly life-life fashion. Seriously: how far are we until we’ve hit Surrogrates territory (an actually OK movie, by the way). -
Laziness on the move: robot plays Rock Band on the iPhone
Posted on October 31, 2009 | No CommentsFiled under: Peripherals, Apple
Why confine your nerdy sloth to your living room, where large robots mime fake guitar and serve you sloppy mixed drinks? Take that zest for the sedentary life with you on the road by having one of your robot ninjas steal this iPhone Rock Band robot from its ingenious creator, Joe Bowers. The Arduino-based device uses ambient light sensors to detect the falling notes and then taps out the music with some conductive foam attached to some squeaky fake fingers. Joe did a fairly detailed write-up, and even uploaded his code, so there's presumably nothing stopping you from actually doing something with your life and building one of these with all that free time you've saved up by hacking your way through all the console-based guitar games. Video is after the break.
[Via Daily Mobile]Continue reading Laziness on the move: robot plays Rock Band on the iPhone
Laziness on the move: robot plays Rock Band on the iPhone originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments