Meet the robot who plays piano faster than any human - mind you, he does have 19 fingers

From: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

Meet Teotronico. 
He's really good at playing the piano - but then he does have 19 fingers.

Robotic hand technology is evolving rapidly and Teotronico's extra digits enable him to play the piano faster than any human could.

He can also sing and accompany himself on the drum and judge how well his musical ability is going down with the punters.

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Play it again Sam: He may look like something out of a Tim Burton movie, but Teotronico is really good at playing piano

...Of course this could be down to him having 19 fingers, which inventor, Matteo Suzzi, left, says is the perfect number to cover any melody or song and play faster than a human

Teotronico is the only robot in the world able to do all those things at the same time.
Inventor Matteo Suzzi says the robot has 19 fingers because it is the perfect number to cover any melody or song. He also plays faster than any human.


The rhythmic bot can even distinguish between the speed of key change and play various notes together.

He also has video cameras installed in his eyes which allow him to 'see' and interact with those around him.

Matteo, from Imola, Italy said Teotronica cost over £3000 and took over four years to create.

The 34-year-old said: 'I've always had a passion for robots and robotics. I was really excited when I discovered you could create an independent robot that could play any
tune or composition.

'Having 19 fingers gives the robot a better execution speed, making him faster than a human.

'His left hand covers the lower notes, the right hand covers the melodic line and he has an extra finger on the left hand.

'He is a great pianist because he has almost double the number of fingers that a human has and he can provide greater pressure to the keys.

'He sings recorded files in his system and uses speech recognition and facial expressions to interact with his audience.

'He's performed at a number of private parties and is a hit with the guests. We're hoping he can revolutionise the music industry.'

Let me entertain you: Teotronica cost over £3,000 and took over four years to create

LEGO Robot Cuts Cake, Not You

By Darrick Mattsen
From: http://walyou.com/

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If you’ve ever wondered how LEGO bricks could help you serve baked goods, you can wonder no more.

We’ve already seen LEGO contraptions in action, plopping down pancakes in a controlled manner, but what about a LEGO device which can help you serve the food you bake on your own? Designers Bart and Stef decided to fill this technology gap by putting the LEGO Mindstorm NXT to work. The NXT Intelligent Brick is essentially a small, programmable computer which can take input and control motors, meaning that robotics geeks have had plenty of fun tinkering with this “toy” gadget.


The designers of this cake slicer first built some simple towers out of LEGO bricks, with the actual mechanism mounted on top much like a bridge. The NXT can be programmed to cut the number of slices you enter in, computing the angles necessary. The blade appears to be the lid from a can, spinning as it cuts through to the center of the cake, and then sliding back out slowly. Once the blade is clear, the platform upon which the cake rests then rotates the number of degrees necessary to ensure equal slices. The process repeats, and you can see in the video below that it ends up creating 9 perfect slices of cake (each, presumably, of a 40 degree angle). Now, this is an unfrosted cake, which is surely easier to cleanly cut through. It would be possible, if a bit difficult, to frost the cake after it’s been sliced, as the slices still haven’t been pulled away.



In order for this device to properly work on a frosted cake or something like a cheesecake, however, a small addition would have to be made. By just adding a towel or something similar to wipe the blade clean between slices, this could theoretically cut more complex cakes with the same ease as we see it handle this one. If they do decide to expand on this to make it able to handle more cakes or even other foods like pizza, it will be very interesting to see how it turns out. For more fantastic LEGO Mindstorm robots, check out the Rubik’s Cube Solving Robot and the LEGO Bluetooth Printer.

Watch This Robot Band Bust Out Marilyn Manson's "The Beautiful People"

From: http://geek-news.mtv.com/

We all joke that robots are going to take over the world and destroy humankind, but after watching this video I'm feeling a little more concerned about robots taking over the rock'n'roll scene. That's right, YouTuber db594 created a robot band named End of Life (EOL) and they sure can rock out.
The song they play in the video below is a cover of Marilyn Manson's "The Beautiful People" and according to the video's description on YouTube that was a complete accident. Apparently db594 was trying to make EOL play a rendition of "Mad World" when his cello robot went on the fritz. The sounds it made reminded him of Manson's hit so much he decided to move forward.



The fact that he was able to pull this off is pretty damn impressive, but my favorite aspect of the band is probably the scanner. Yes, rather than getting another instrument involved db594 decided his flatbed scanner would do just fine as the band's frontman -- we couldn't agree more!

Racing to the Bottom: Exploring the Deepest Point on Earth

 From: http://www.theatlantic.com
 
Teams led by Richard Branson, James Cameron, and some unknown guy from Florida are all hoping to make it to the Mariana Trench

At the southern end of the Mariana Trench, a deep scar that cuts into the bottom of the ocean floor, there is a point known as Challenger Deep. Here, just outside of the Marianas or Ladrones, a series of 15 islands made up of volcanic mountains that peak just above the water line, a small slot-shaped valley plunges nearly seven miles down. At 35,797 feet, Challenger Deep is the deepest known point in the oceans. It is so deep that, if you were able to place Mount Everest inside of the valley, there would still be 6,811 feet of water separating it from the surface.
At just 7,000 feet down, about where the tallest mountain in the world would peak, the pressure becomes so great that whales rely on unique evolutionary traits when hunting for giant squid. Whales have lungs that can collapse safely under pressure and ribs bound by soft cartilage that allows the cage to shift and settle in extreme environments rather than snap. Without similar anatomical gifts, we don't know much about what happens below that level. Imagine what creatures might live at depths five times greater than where whales and giant squid battle in the pitch-black ocean.
We've been there once before, to the bottom of Challenger Deep. But we didn't see or learn much. On January 23, 1960, Jacques Piccard suited up, plopped down inside of Trieste, and sank to the ocean floor. The Swiss-designed, Italian-built, U.S. Navy-owned Trieste is an inelegant machine. The observation gondola, a sphere welded to the bottom of the ship's main flotation system, has walls that measure five inches thick and a tiny, cone-shaped Plexiglas window.
Story continues after the gallery.

TRIESTE

Historic Naval Ships

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After spending nearly five hours sinking to the bottom of the ocean, Piccard and Don Walsh, a Navy Lieutenant that accompanied him, were only able to peer through the Plexiglas while shivering in the 45-degree capsule and munching on chocolate bars for sustenance. Surrounded by a cloud of sediment that Trieste had kicked up when it smacked into the ocean floor, Piccard and Walsh couldn't see a whole lot from their window, which had cracked on the way down. What they did see, though -- a variety of sole and flounder, two types of flatfish -- proves that at least some vertebrate life can handle the extreme pressure in one of the Earth's most extreme places. Twenty minutes later, Trieste dumped tons of magnetic iron pellets and spent three hours rising back to the surface.
Now, more than 50 years later, humans are nearly ready to return to Challenger Deep. This time, though, they're planning to stay a while, collecting samples, videotaping whatever might be down there, sending out small remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) and then bringing home $10 million. Earlier this year, the X Prize Foundation made that prize money available to the first privately funded submersible to make two visits to Challenger Deep. This money, though, is little more than proof that humans are fascinated with the extreme: climbing Mount Everest, walking on the Moon, searching the floor of the ocean. Ten million dollars will only cover a fraction of the race to the bottom. And it is indeed a race; one with at least three competitors, each close to claiming the prize.

RICHARD BRANSON'S VIRGIN OCEANIC

Billionaire Richard Branson is known for the hundreds of companies that fall under the Virgin Group umbrella, including Virgin Megastores, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Virgin Records and Virgin Galactic, his space tourism company that aims to bring passengers into sub-orbital space for $200,000 a head. As part of his team perfects SpaceShipTwo, the plane that will fly more than 60 miles above the Earth as those inside gleefully float about the cabin for six minutes of weightlessness, another crew is busy preparing a kind of ship meant to take humans in the opposite direction.

Branson's team, led by legendary submersible designer Graham Hawkes and chief pilot Chris Welsh, has been planning to take the Virgin Oceanic out for water tests as early as this summer, but, due to setbacks, no date has been confirmed. In early rounds of laboratory testing, the borosilicate viewing bubble through which the Oceanic's crew would peer out at the ocean floor cracked under just 2,200 pounds per square inch of pressure, about one-eighth of the 16,000 psi expected at Challenger Deep.
Story continues after the gallery.

VIRGIN OCEANIC

Virgin Oceanic

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The 8,000-pound, 18-foot-long submersible that Hawkes has designed "represents a transformational technological advance in submarine economics and performance," according to Virgin Oceanic's official website. "The submarine provides the currently unequalled capability to take humans to any depth in the oceans and to truly explore." Taking some of the most elegant creatures of the sea as inspiration -- whales, dolphins and rays -- the Virgin Oceanic uses two sets of wings to fly through the water.

The Virgin Oceanic will be carried out to sea and launched by an enormous 125-foot racing catamaran that was once owned by adventurer, aviator and sailor Steve Fossett. Welsh, the pilot for the submersible who made his money in real estate and then decided to take to the seas, purchased the catamaran after Fossett disappeared in a single-engine airplane over the Nevada desert in 2007. He traveled to Fossett's estate to close the deal on the Cheyenne and was sold on the Challenger, the original name for what would become the Virgin Oceanic, as well.

JAMES CAMERON'S DEEP CHALLENGE TEAM

The Avatar and Terminator director is an explorer first and a filmmaker second. The box office-breaking Titanic wasn't on Cameron's radar as a Hollywood project because he knew it could earn huge dividends, rather, he has long been obsessed with the famous sinking of the ship. He has made several trips to the wreckage, shooting footage using 3-D cameras he designed himself to capture the 100-year-old ship as it has never been seen before. He plans on using some similar technology at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

Admittedly, Cameron doesn't care if he's the first (well, the first of this group) to reach the bottom ... he just wants to be the best. Cameron's team is working on building what appears to be the most high-tech (and least reliant on a tourism-based model to fund future exploration) submersible. The as-yet-unnamed project will include a giant lighting array, several 3-D high-definition cameras, an arm that can grab samples from the ocean floor and a small ROV similar to that used to swim in and around the Titanic wreckage, according to an email that Cameron sent to Outside's Anna McCarthy.

Unlike Branson's Virgin Oceanic, Cameron's Challenger Deep project has passed pressure tests; at a Penn State University lab, the team turned the dials to 16,000 psi and waited. Nothing. But at what cost? Nobody knows how much time or money Cameron has put into this submersible, about which he has been pretty tight-lipped since kicking off the design stage with a couple of sketches in 2003. Now, more two dozen people are working around the clock to prepare the sub for sea trials next April.

BRUCE JONES' TRITON SUBMARINES

Bruce Jones is the odd man out in this triumvirate. And that's because you have no idea who Bruce Jones is -- and you're not alone. Building a vessel that can safely sink to the bottom of the ocean is no easy feat; it's one that requires big backers with deep pockets, something that Jones doesn't have. While the 55-year-old entrepreneur has drawn up plans and marketing materials -- they call this project the "race to inner space!" -- he has not yet secured the funds to construct a prototype. He's currently shopping around the idea. "We're talking to a number of first clients because, quite frankly, we don't have the money to build one of these on spec," Jones told Outside.

Jones' Florida-based company is hoping to build a number of Triton 36,000s -- named for its maximum depth, obviously -- and sell them for about $15 million each to individuals who can shuttle people down to the bottom of the ocean for even more than Branson plans to charge for a space ride: $250,000 each.

Image: Wikimedia Commons.

Pancake-making robot is awesome, made out of LEGOs

By: Jennifer Bergen
From: http://www.geek.com/

Breakfast is a special meal for many of us. Sometimes we take the time to make a nice meal with eggs, bacon, French toast, or (and?) pancakes. But before we know it that Sunday morning meal is a lot of work. Problem solved! Inventor Miguel Valenzuela designed a robot that not only makes pancakes, but it makes them whatever shape you want.

As if the idea of a pancake-making robot wasn’t cool enough, the Pancake Bot (PB) is made of 99% LEGO and 1% ketchup bottle. Yes, the nerdiness factor just skyrocketed through the roof. Valenzuela goes into some pretty technical detail on his blog about how he made the robot. For example, he used a pneumatic pump and compressed air to dispense the batter. The manner in which the batter will be dispensed is pre-programmed with coordinates, so you can chose to make various shapes. The photo below shows some pretty good-looking Mickey Mouse flapjacks.



The PB is similar in some ways to the Solar Sinter, a 3D printer that we reported on earlier this month that creates objects out of sand. Both devices move smoothly on a track to produce a final product. In this particular case, the track leads a ketchup bottle full of batter down the length of the griddle, dispensing as it goes.

It’s slightly sluggish, so if you want to make some quick pancakes, you’re most likely better off just spooning the batter yourself. But a speedy breakfast is obviously not the point of the PB.

Valenzuela’s daughters Maia and Lily helped and are credited as “assistants” on the project. We’re not sure what part the young girls had in the making of the PB, but we have a feeling it may have something to do with the eating part. Judging by Valenzuela’s blog, being his kid seems pretty awesome. Not only does he create pancake-making LEGO machines, but he also builds awesome snow sculptures of Tauntauns, AT-ATs, and a humongous, awesome looking robot.

Make sure to check out how the Pancake Bot works, oggle over his awesome snow sculptures (scroll down), and watch the PB in action in the video below.


Via Waylou

Hand-hacking lets you pluck strings like a musical pro

From: http://www.newscientist.com/

Video: Hand-hacking helps budding musicians

WANT to learn a musical instrument, but can't find the time to practise? A device now under development can take control of your hand and teach you how to play a tune. No spirits of dead musicians are involved.

PossessedHand, being developed jointly by the University of Tokyo, Japan, and Sony Computer Science Laboratories, also in Tokyo, electrically stimulates the muscles in the forearm that move your fingers. A belt worn around that part of the subject's arm contains 28 electrode pads, which flex the joints between the three bones of each finger and the two bones of the thumb, and provide two wrist movements. Users were able to sense the movement of their hands that this produced, even with their eyes closed. "The user's fingers are controlled without the user's mind," explains Emi Tamaki of the University of Tokyo, who led the research.

Devices that stimulate people's fingers have been made before, but they used electrodes embedded in the skin, which are invasive, or glove-like devices that make it hard to manipulate an object. Tamaki claims that her device is far more comfortable. "The electric stimulations are similar to low-frequency massage stimulations that are commonly used," she says.

Having successfully hijacked a hand, the researchers tried to teach it how to play the koto, a traditional Japanese stringed instrument. Koto players wear different picks on three fingers, but pluck the strings with all five fingertips, so each finger produces a distinctive sound. A koto score tells players which fingers should be moved and when, and from this Tamaki and her team were able to generate instructions telling their device how and when to stimulate the wearer's muscles.

PossessedHand does not generate enough force to pluck the koto strings, but it could help novice players by teaching them the correct finger movements. Tamaki and her team found that two beginner players made a total of four timing errors when using PossessedHand, compared with 13 when playing unassisted. After prompting from the device, the players also made one less mistake about which finger to use.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the players found it unsettling to have the device move their hand by itself. "I felt like my body was hacked," said one. Tamaki is confident that people will get used to the idea once they see how useful it can be: "We believe convenient technology will overcome a feeling of fear."

As well as helping would-be musicians, PossessedHand could be used to rehabilitate people who have suffered a stroke or other injury that impairs muscle control. Therapists already use electrical muscle stimulation to help these people, but existing non-invasive devices can only achieve crude movements such as contracting the entire arm.

Henrik Gollee, who researches rehabilitation devices at the University of Glasgow, UK, says PossessedHand could help patients train a wider range of movements. "I was surprised by the level of fine movement they can actually achieve," he says.

Simon Holland, director of the Music Computing Lab at the Open University in Milton Keynes, UK, points out that there is a big difference between learning to play one song and being a competent musician. "You might learn a fingering and be able to reproduce that performance, without necessarily being able to perform simple variants," he says.

Robot Replicants Gather With Their Originals In World’s Creepiest Reunion (video)

by Aaron Saenz

from http://singularityhub.com/

Meet the Geminoids and their human counterparts. Can you tell which is which?

There are only a handful of people in the world who can say they have a robotic clone of themselves, and most of them just got together in Japan. ATR’s facilities in Nara hosted a bizarre reunion at the end of March as three Geminoid robot replicants and their originals met for a press conference and photo shoot. The first clone was modeled after its creator, Hiroshi Ishiguro of Osaka University, another bot is a copy of an unnamed Japanese woman, and the latest is a dead-ringer for Henrik Sharfe of Aalborg University in Denmark. Watch all six of these ‘people’ converse and interact in the video below, followed by some more great pics. Looking at the progression from the oldest (the Ishiguro-bot) to the newest (Sharfe-bot) it’s clear that the Geminoids are getting better…and relatively quickly too. It may only be a matter of a few years until these replicants look human enough to pass as one of us.

Ishiguro first demonstrated his robot clone (Geminoid HI-1) back in 2006, the female version (Geminoid F) arrived in early 2010, and Sharfe’s clone was ordered in 2010 but took six months to create (and reportedly cost $200k). Geminoid DK (as it is called) arrived early this year. While all have very similar pneumatically driven systems that are remote controlled by human users, Geminoid DK appears much more life-like. Perhaps it’s the facial hair covering some of the imperfections, but in any case it really comes close to bridging the Uncanny Valley…as long as it’s sitting still. Here is a video of Geminoid DK’s movements that was released after our previous coverage came out. This clip really showcases the life-like and creepy motions of the robot:

While Ishiguro continues to improve his Geminoid creations (in association with ATR and produced by Kokoro) Sharfe is aimed at studying how humans will accept/interact with them. This little Geminoid summit then represents the two halves of human-like robotics research: technical and social. Undoubtedly the next Geminoid that Ishiguro and his team creates will be even more realistic, perhaps able to show its teeth without causing my hackles to rise. In the meantime, Sharfe and colleagues may be able to explain to us what humanity really can expect from its upcoming future full of robotic clones. I suspect that no matter how human-like these bots will appear, we won’t fully accept them until they have human-like personalities as well.
Quick, someone make a Geminoid of a prominent AI researcher and bring them into the fold!

Sometimes I really get the willies when I think Geminoid HI-1 is looking at me. To be fair, I get the same feeling when I think Ishiguro is looking at me, too.

The improvements that ATR/Kokoro/Ishiguro have made since 2006 are so clear. Geminoid DK (right) wins the human look alike contest hands down.

This is my favorite photo from the event because when you focus on Ishiguro, you forget that the two people on either side of him aren't really people at all.

[image and video credits: Geminoid DK]

[source: Geminoid DK (Facebook page)]

Robotic Kit Lets You Control c**kroaches, WTF!

treehugger.com

by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California

Image via YouTube video



Um, PETA? You might have a problem with this. It's a DIY kit that turns the average cockroach into a remote controlled toy. No kidding. Remember that whole flying cyborg beetle thing we told you about a couple years ago? Well, apparently the technology (er, sort of) is making its way into bug-infested living rooms.



I don't have anything against cockroaches -- I think they're amazing creatures. So to see one being remote controlled like this was actually a bit disturbing. So you can only imagine how the most serious animal activists among us might feel.



The kit comes from Backyard Brains, and it's a fairly simple set-up. The armor you put on the bug sends electrical pulses to the antennae nerves of the roach, which tells it to turn either left of right.
Apparently it only works on about 25% of roaches -- they must be smarter than we think. Once Backyard Brains get this kink worked out, they'll launch the device into beta mode. That is, unless PETA says something about it first.

Robo-Rainbow

From: http://www.good.is/

robo-rainbow from mudlevel on Vimeo.

robo-rainbow from mudlevel on Vimeo.

Take a look at Adam Nilsson's "Robo-Rainbow," a fantastic short video depicting a "complicated technical solution to aide in simple acts of vandalism." It should appeal to fans of robotics, street art, and/or rainbows.

Man and machine tied in 'Jeopardy' game-show match

From: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/

$1.5 million at stake as computer takes on two human champs on TV

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Seth Wenig  /  AP

 

"Jeopardy" champions Ken Jennings, left, and Brad Rutter, right, look on as an IBM computer called "Watson" beats them to the buzzer to answer a question during a practice round of the "Jeopardy!" quiz show in Yorktown Heights, N.Y. in January. The real competition is being aired this week on the syndicated TV program.

NEW YORK — In the "Jeopardy" battle of man vs. machine, man and machine were neck-and-neck on Monday. 

Human player Brad Rutter and the supercomputer named Watson ended an initial round tied at $5,000. The other challenger, human Ken Jennings, was in third with $2,000.

Rutter (the show's all-time money-winner with $3.25 million) and Jennings (who has the longest winning streak at 74 games) are the most successful players in "Jeopardy" history. Watson, named for IBM founder Thomas J. Watson, is powered by 10 racks of computer servers running the Linux operating system.
"You are about to witness what may prove to be an historic competition," host Alex Trebek told viewers at the top of the show.

No question, Watson proved to be an amazing competitor — maybe even a little creepy in the speed and accuracy he displayed.

With categories including Beatles People, Olympic Oddities and Name the Decade, the round got started with Rutter choosing the first question, Alternate Meanings for $200: "4-letter word for a vantage point or a belief."

"What is a view?" was Rutter's correct response.

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But Watson took charge with his answer to Alternate Meanings for $400: "4-letter word for the iron fitting on the hoof of a horse or a card-dealing box in a casino."

"What is a shoe?" said Watson in his resonant electronic voice.

His next selection was the game board's Daily Double, and, after wagering $1,000, he correctly named the literary character being sought: "Who is Hyde?"

At one point Watson was dominating to the tune of $4,000, against $200 each for Jennings and Rutter. Then Rutter, giving hope to worried human viewers, began his rally.

Along the way, Watson made a few embarrassing stumbles.

After Jennings incorrectly said the 1920s was the decade in which Oreo cookies were introduced, Watson jumped in with his answer: "What is 1920s?"

"No," Trebek told him. "Ken said that.
"
Rutter got it right when he responded, "What are the 1910s?"

Later, Watson slipped up on the question: "Stylish elegance, or students who all graduated in the same year."
"What is chic?" ventured Watson.

"What is class?" Rutter correctly answered.

The exhibition matches will continue on Tuesday and Wednesday on the popular trivia TV game show. Two complete games will be aired. The contestant with the highest cumulative score collects $1 million. The runner-up receives $300,000, and the third-place contestant gets $200,000.

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IBM has said all of Watson's winnings will be given to charity. Jennings and Rutter plan to donate half of their winnings to the charities of their choice.

The bouts were taped at the IBM research center in Yorktown Heights, N.Y., last month. Both men and Watson have managed to keep the final outcome under wraps.

Watson is the result of years of development by IBM researchers. Like human contestants, it has no recourse to the Internet during play. Rather, it draws upon a huge database of information in its 15-trillion-byte memory, and sifts through potential answers with 2,880 processor cores.

The computer can identify the right answer with lightning speed — but it can also misfire badly, as occasionally seen on Monday. The reason is that Watson doesn't always catch the context for "Jeopardy" clues, which often play upon puns or clever word associations with the category titles. Watson's developers say the capacity to learn through real-world experience is something that may be built into future generations of question-answering computers.

Outside observers have estimated the cost of Watson's development in the range of tens of millions of dollars, or even hundreds of millions. Although Watson was optimized for playing "Jeopardy," IBM and its academic partners say Watson's progeny could help answer questions in a wide spectrum of specialized, data-heavy fields, including medicine and engineering.

This report includes information from The Associated Press' Frazier Moore and msnbc.com.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Restaurant With Robot Waiters Opens In China!

By Edwin Goei,

From: http://blogs.ocweekly.com/stickaforkinit/2010/12/restaurant_with_robot_waiters.php

At Dalu Robot Restaurant, a hot pot joint in China, you'll never have to tip the server or worry that he sneezed into your soup. The new eatery, which is coincidentally owned by a man who also heads up a robotics firm, is using C3PO-like bicycling robots to serve its customers. A few others look like R2D2, running along tracks.

But if you're expecting 4-star restaurant treatment, these aren't the droids you're looking for. They don't serve you so much as just stop long enough so that you can pluck off what you ordered from a tray.



Another video after the jump!


The restaurant also has creepy-looking humanoid robots that are made to dance and entertain. Since these haven't yet traipsed pass the "uncanny valley", they aren't exactly as charming as Summer Glau.
Still, the whole thing sounds a lot more sanitary than these monkey waiters (see below).

gg

Robonaut 2 en route to International Space Station

• By: Jeffrey Van Camp
• From: http://www.digitaltrends.com/
  

NASA and GM have finished the Robonaut 2, a robot designed to assist astronauts on the International Space Station. It will launch Nov. 1.

Robonaut 2, or R2, is packed and ready to launch into space aboard the space shuttle Discovery on Nov. 1. The humanoid robot, or android, will assist astronauts aboard the International Space Station. It is not known precisely what tasks R2 will perform, but it is designed with “advanced control, sensor, and vision technologies.” Sounds useful enough.

The robot is a collaboration between NASA and General Motors, which began in 2007. Workers from NASA and GM spent the last few years at the Johnson Space Center in Houston building the robot.

“One of GM’s core goals is to lead in advanced technology and quality,” said Alan Taub, GM’s vice president of Global Research and Development. ”This partnership and the development of R2 are providing us with innovative technologies that will help us achieve these goals in both our future products and plants.”

GM believes that the advancements made in sensor capabilities will help the company improve safety in future vehicles. Already, several GM vehicles offer crash avoidance features that use sensors to warn of incoming danger and help drivers parallel park. In addition, some of the advancements in robotic hand dexterity could help GM design better manufacturing plants.

The original Robonaut was built by NASA and DARPA about ten years ago, and designed for space travel. NASA and GM have been working together since the 1960s, when the two collaborated on navigation systems for the original Apollo missions. GM helped develop the Lunar Rover.

Though strange looking, Robonaut 2 is undoubtedly a more constructive use of advanced technology than this pleasurable robot.

First all-robot surgery performed at McGill University

By Joseph L. Flatley

From http://www.engadget.com/

 

A team of surgeons at McGill University, including the da Vinci robo-surgeon and a robot anesthesiologist named, of all things, McSleepy, recently removed some dude's prostate during what is being billed as the world's first all-robotic surgery. The device transmits hi-def 3D images to a nearby workstation, where it is controlled by surgeons "with a precision that cannot be provided by humans alone," according to MUHC urologist-in-chief Dr. A. Aprikian. Of course, the robots are being kept on a tight leash by their human operators, with McGill's Dr. Thomas Hemmerling pointing out that "[r]obots will not replace doctors but help them to perform to the highest standards." Just tell that to all the other medical robots we've seen in this space, eh, doc? We've heard they have plans. Bad plans.

TG Daily, Daily Mail

Wii Balance Board-controlled robot a hit with toddlers in Ithaca

Wii Balance Board-controlled robot a hit with toddlers in Ithaca (video)

By Joseph L. Flatley

From: http://www.engadget.com/

How could we resist a story involving robot-powered babies? The Ithaca College Tots on Bots project aims to mobilize infants with physical disabilities by setting them atop a "mobile robot" equipped with a Wii Balance Board to let the young operator steer by leaning -- which, it turns out, works pretty well. Additionally, the vehicle uses sonar to avoid nasty crashes and a remote control that an adult can use to take control. Further study has to be made before any long term developmental benefits can be ascertained, but in the meantime it does look like a lot of fun. See it in action after the break.

Switched Cornell University