Spoof Art | M. C. Escher Hands

CrunchGear had an unusually short and sweet caption on this photo, and I must admit, I don’t think I can improve upon it:

“Give a robot repairs, and it will operate for a day. Teach it to repair itself, and it will touch off a Robocalypse.”

The combination in machines of the dexterity for self assembly and the intelligence for self improvement will undoubtedly herald some very interesting and fast paced times. As apocalypses go, I can think of worse.

Segway Unicycle

If the Segway is so great at balancing itself, then why does it need two wheels?

This is the Enicycle, a Segway-like unicycle built by Aleksander Polutnik, a guy who couldn’t ride a real unicycle. There is some good design here, like the steering mechanism of leaning to pivot the wheel and shocks to keep the ride smooth, but I’m skeptical about the unicycle-like stance. That stance half way between standing and kneeling hardly seems natural. Here it is in action:

(Via Geekologie)

I’ve had the pleasure of racing on an off-road Segway, and I think they are a great concept with plenty of room left for innovation.

Related Post:

Cajun Crawler, the Segway with legs

Biomutualisms

I’m not sure the term is going to catch on, being a bit too attached to the biological, but Robert Full uses the term biomutualism to describe the way multiple disciplines working on related projects can create design inspiration greater than the sum of its parts. He explains it by way of an example in his own studies on gecko adhesives, and how his cooperation with other disciplines is resulting in breakthroughs in materials sciences, biology, and robotics.

There is some great footage here of new discoveries relating to tails and how animals use them for everything from self-righting to guided flight. A must watch for anyone designing robots.

Go DiscoBot!

Here we have some video of the Australian 2009 hexapod dance off. There were some great conteders this year. I was rooting for the discobot all the way! It has some smooth moves, and a great outfit for a dance droid. Alas, the competition was won by the bot with the hat and cigarette. What message does this send to the little bots out there? They are all going to end up with intake vent cancer.

(via BotJunkie)

There Is No Fate But What We Make For Ourselves

Don’t fear the future. Technology all through the ages has brought both good things and bad, but most of us wouldn’t give up our electricity, or the motor just because of the losses along the way. Those societies which have survived and thrived haven’t done so by avoiding progress. The same can be said for fields like genetics and robotics. These fields will progress. It is our choice whether we guide their path, or some place like China does, but either way, technology is advancing, and it is doing so faster than any time in history. The changing face of war is hopefully leading us away from mutually assured destruction. The more intelligent machines get, the more the human condition improves, not in every way, but in general. In the above video, Jon Stewart speaks with P.W. Singer about our rapid move towards a robotic military. Below, Singers more in depth talk at TED. 

Quorum Sensing and Swarmbot Design

 

In this Ted Talk video, Bonnie Bassler speaks about the inter and intra species communications between bacteria and how central they are to life and death on a greater scale. Bacteria were the designers of cellular communication, organization, and cooperation that are used throughout life on the planet. After unimaginable generations of evolution, they have achieved some very effective methods; methods which could be applied to anything from communication and cooperation between tiny swarms of robots, to replicationg and self regulating software routines, traffic regulation, automated disaster response….

She is focusing on Quorum sensing, which essentially refers to chemical hormones, both general and species specific, released by the bacteria in order to give them information about things like their population density and diversity. She has been working on synthetic false signals that will either inhibit or assist in quorum sensing in order to create a new class of antibiotic and probiotic treatments.

Robot Penguins: Festo does it again

 

Pengiuns sure do seem to be getting a lot of play in recent years. Festo has now targeted them for their latest aquatic and lighter than air robotics. They seem to be doing two versions of these, just like they did with their Robotic Jelly Fish. in their latest promotional video, they show off aquatic penguin robots which use sonar to navigate and communicate, some Mylar, lighter than air penguins reminiscent of that awesome Fin-Fish by LaChLuVe last year, and several other projects involving biomimicry and affordable rapid prototyping.

Update: Here is a video showcasing the air penguins

Update: And more footage of the robotic sea penguins:

Update: PDF file for the bionic aqua penguins with detailed specs, capabilities, and photos.

Don’t Piss Off Crows (mutually beneficial synanthropy)

I’ve always had a great admiration for crows. While other animals retreat from society, or scuttle around at night, crows embrace it and take an interest in finding ways to make the system work for them. I’ve witnessed them just down the street from my home using cars to crack walnuts. Most of the ways they have adapted society to their needs weren’t taught to them by people, they figured it out and taught their friends. 

Joshua Klein has shown himself to be smarter than the average crow, and if this works, the average person, by taking things one step further. He designed a vending machine for crows. They put in a coin, it spits out a peanut. He calls it mutually beneficial synanthropy. In the video (another great TED Talk) Klein explains how the system trains the crows. I don’t think this will be necessary. Once the first few learn how to use it, the whole continent will know in short order. Sure, it starts with picking up loose change they find lying around, but pretty soon you have murders of crows mugging people in dark alleys for their change so they can get their peanut fix. 

The crazy thing about crows is they are smart enough not only to figure out how this works, but also to teach their friends. They are natural pack rats and are attracted to coins anyway. There are a lot of crows in the world, and a lot of loose change. Klein professes an interest in advancing the project to teach crows how to pick up trash or other beneficial tasks, but I’m still back at the vending machine concept. The idea really is brilliant. I wonder what else we could teach them to do?

Yessss….everything will go according to plan…*cackle*

Cajun Crawler: A Segway With Legs

I’ve stated before that Theo Jansen is my favorite artist. This group of University of Louisiana students do him proud. They have taken his specifications for leg design and built them into a way to travel in style. The device was tested and carried a 325 pound rider, and runs off of two 18V hand drill motors, which have a good amount of torque and are convenient to wire in.

I really think the Robot Games need to make this an event. The many legged robot races.

(via Crunchgear)

Not Your Grandpa’s Legos

Legos may have lost some of that box of blocks charm over the years, but they have become a toy that, rather than being left behind as a child, will continue to grow with you. The Mindstorm series of Legos is a serious step into the world of robotics and computer programming.

(via GeeksAreSexy)

See also:

Mindstorm Madness

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