Archive for October 2014
KeepOn is a small creature-like robot which is designed to perform non-verbal, yet simple and natural, interaction with children. Designed and developed in 2007 by Hideki Kozima, a cognitive science researcher at Miyagi University of Japan, KeepOn is an interactive toy designed to help children with autism in their social development and interpersonal co-ordination, and goes costs anywhere from $40 to $100, depending on the retailer.
An incredible humanoid robot, I- Sobot is one of the smallest humanoid robots, with a height of just 6.5 inches and a weight of 12 ounces. The ‘Robot of 2008′ winner in Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) also comes in at a price of $300. It has become the most-produced robot in the world. Its advanced technology, together with the entertainment value it offers, are based primarily on its 17 miniature servo motors. This small robot can walk, play air guitar, and perform about 200 moves. This robot uses the gyro sensors for balancing, and can be controlled by either remote control or voice commands.
Unveiled by Caleb Chung in 2006, Pleo is one of the most appealing looking (though relatively useless) robots on the market. An animatronic pet dinosaur that has lifelike animations, the robot is designed with a sophisticated virtual intelligence that allows it to learn from its experiences, and the environment it is kept in. Pleo became especially popular among children, as it could be used for both entertainment and educational purposes. With its amazing sensors, Pleo could recognize colors and patterns, hear and respond to sounds, and even sense food or medicine. It also exhibits lively behavior like eating and sleeping. Though announced to be sold at a cost of $200, it is now available for purchase at a price of $469.
Kuratas is a ride able and user-operated robot built by the Japanese company Suidobashi Heavy Industry. Billed as "the world's first giant boarding robot", the Kuratas was unveiled when the website was opened in 2012. It was demonstrated at Wonder Festival
The Kuratas robot was developed by artist Kogoro Kurata (after whom the suit is named), and roboticist Wataru Yoshizaki.
Kurata stated that he was inspired by the mecha frequently featured in anime, especially those of the series Armored Trooper Votoms, which he watched as a child. "When I was a kid, I thought there were going to be giant robots in the future. But no matter how long I waited, people were only able to make small robots, like Asimo. Eventually, I thought ‘I can’t wait anymore,’ and set out to make one myself." Kurata's goal was to create a piece of art that emulated the mecha he had watched growing up.
The vehicle weighs approximately 4,500 kg, and is approximately 4 meters high.
It can be crewed by one person; that operator would sit in the "body" of the robot in a seat, with the control device in front of them. The Kuratas can also be controlled externally by remote control.
Kuratas sports a four wheeled, thirty joint exoskeleton. Which is controlled by the pilot or can be controlled remotely. The remote operator uses a 3g touch screen phone as the primary interface. The on-board pilot's user interface (UI) is a Kinect based device.
The vehicle can be "armed" with multiple weapons, such as a 6,000 round per minute twin BB Gatling cannon, a "LOHAS" launcher which fires either water bottles or possibly fireworks, and a powered humanoid hand called the "iron crow" that is capable of picking up objects, and is linked to the pilot by "what appears to be a Nintendo Power Glove".The main Suidobashi website lists two other "weapons", a "Kuratas Handgun", and a "Pilebunker".
Currently, the Kuratas is not capable of walking, but is able to drive on its four wheels at around 10 km/h.
Kuratas has a price tag of US$1,353,500 (or ¥134,555,495, or €1,040,976) As of 25 April 2013.
As you can see, the sphere sections are reinforced using some T-shaped aluminium brackets for supporting and holding the plastic (PC) sphere sections. This made a huge difference when it comes to rigidity. On MKII the ribs isn't really needed, simply because of the aluminium brackets that is shaped to match the inner part of each sphere section perfectly.
The main challenge with MKI was that it wasn't able to roll in a straight line of path, only in a curved direction. Having only one DOF (degree of freedom), or only one servo motor for each of the six upper sections made it very challenging. It might be possible to make a more complex linkage system that gave the upper sections a better motion when rolling. Not sure how though..
Having 2 DOF would make it easier to control, so that the upper and lower sections move in a symmetric motion.
The challenge was to make the motors fit inside the upper section without getting in conflict with the electronics.
Compared to the leg section, the femur and tibia sections are mounted very different. One advantage is that the servos in the upper section draw very little energy when holding the ball shape. To make enough space for the upper sections I also had to make new leg sections.
All these hardware updates also made MKII a lot heavier. So he upgrade the servos to 24x HSR-5990TG (all femur and tibias), 6x 5980-SG (coxa) and still using the same HS-5645MG (inner body servo).
The new upper section has a lot more freedom.
The code is still a WIP (work in progress)
the new upper section has a lot more freedom.
- PARO has been found to reduce patient stress and their caregivers
- PARO stimulates interaction between patients and caregivers
- PARO has been shown to have a Psychological effect on patients, improving their relaxation and motivation
- PARO improves the socialization of patients with each other and with caregivers
- World's Most Therapeutic Robot certified by Guinness World Records
PARO is the 8th generation of a design that has been in use in Japan and throughout Europe since 2003.
PARO has five kinds of sensors: tactile, light, audition, temperature, and posture sensors, with which it can perceive people and its environment. With the light sensor, PARO can recognize light and dark. He feels being stroked and beaten by tactile sensor, or being held by the posture sensor. PARO can also recognize the direction of voice and words such as its name, greetings, and praise with its audio sensor.
PARO can learn to behave in a way that the user prefers, and to respond to its new name. For example, if you stroke it every time you touch it, PARO will remember your previous action and try to repeat that action to be stroked. If you hit it, PARO remembers its previous action and tries not to do that action.
By interaction with people, PARO responds as if it is alive, moving its head and legs, making sounds, and showing your preferred behavior. PARO also imitates the voice of a real baby harp seal.
