There are some amazing robots out there the field is moving forward at a breathtaking pace, where we will be in 5 to 10 years time I almost dread to think, but still find it exhilarating! Below are some state of the art robots:-
Big Dog - Boston Dynamics
The balance control on this thing is utterly jaw dropping watch how it copes on ice when kicked over.
Smart Bird - Festo
You really wouldn't think that a robot could ever match the elegant grace of a flying bird. Well I think SmartBird from Festo labs in Germany comes within a gnats whisker!
Petman - Boston Dynamics
And this really is the Terminator alpha prototype.... Yikes....
HRP-4C - AIST (Advanced Industrial Science and Technology)
Well we need some non military female robots to balance things out a bit, so here is the Japanese public research organisations HRP-4C (They could have thought of a better name !). Hang on a minute is she actually swinging her hips?
ASIMO - Honda
And of course we can't forget ASIMO probably the longest running robot research platform of them all. Certainly the most expensive.
Geminoids - Hiroshi Ishiguro Laboratory
Not as mechanically technically advanced but looking at the way robots and humans interact, focusing on getting robots to look as human like as possible.
Saturday 9 June 2012
Raspberry Pi - VNC Remote Control
Ok doing a bit of Raspberry Pi experimentation today. Thought I'd get VNC Server installed on the Pi so I can remote it from the PC saves switching screens all the time.(Checkout the Video at the end)
1st glitch! The elderly HP hub I'm using only gives me a couple of MB download speeds so off to PC world to get a Netgear 10/100 switch. Great, switch installed and giving me my full broadband speed on both Pi and PC (What would we do without Speedtest.net !)
Next install Tight VNC server on Pi, in a terminal session typed:
sudo apt-get install tightvncserver
Install done.
Now start the VNC server on Pi:
vncserver :1 -geometry 1200x720 -depth 16 -pixelformat rgb565
Find the Pi's IP address using:
ifconfig
Next job get TightVNC viewer on the PC and Android phone. Simple download from:
And then find AndroidVNC on android Play store. Job Done !
And here are the results. Remote of Raspberry Pi simultaneously on PC and Android phone....
(Music playing in the background is Fumitaka Anzai, thanks to Mitchtech.nets blog for syntax and port number!)
Tuesday 5 June 2012
"KARA" by Quantic Dream
This is a real emotion jerker. I don't know if it's because the robot is female and your natural male protection instincts get triggered or something else but an unbelievably well crafted technology demonstration.
Robot Film Festival
I just happened on a link (I'll be using this phrase a lot) to the 2012 Robot Film Festival in New York http://robotfilmfestival.com/ it's on July 14th and 15th at the 3LD Art & Technology Center.
Following are a few highlights from last years shortlist.
Click the image to watch CHOREBOT
This delightful 8 minute short deals directly with Humanity or rather Humans lack of Humanity. Can something that has been built and programmed be said to have humanity? Decide for yourself:
Following are a few highlights from last years shortlist.
Click the image to watch CHOREBOT
This delightful 8 minute short deals directly with Humanity or rather Humans lack of Humanity. Can something that has been built and programmed be said to have humanity? Decide for yourself:
Sunday 3 June 2012
Why Maker Thinker and not Thinker Maker?
This kinda goes to the heart of my philosophy in life and in work. As a species we evolved in an environment that we interact with. The first neurons that started to join together and fired in sequences were there to react to the environment and then evolved to remember and modify stimulus and response. Our minds and bodies evolved in a physical world not a theoretical abstract place!
So I think by making, I interact with the world around me and create things to interact with the world around it. I don't make theoretical things that are perfected in my own mind before being allowed to live in the world I make things that evolve specifically to work in the environments that they are in.
Why do I do this? Because its quicker, it makes things that are specifically suited to the requirement and because then your whole process is driven by what is needed and ONLY what is needed!
Some might call this prototyping? But it goes deeper than this because it is about being "Necessary and Sufficient".
So I think by making, I interact with the world around me and create things to interact with the world around it. I don't make theoretical things that are perfected in my own mind before being allowed to live in the world I make things that evolve specifically to work in the environments that they are in.
Why do I do this? Because its quicker, it makes things that are specifically suited to the requirement and because then your whole process is driven by what is needed and ONLY what is needed!
Some might call this prototyping? But it goes deeper than this because it is about being "Necessary and Sufficient".
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