NerdBeach

Robotic Fish Work Together

robofish_061008Robotic fish have been created, and they are working together. Robofish are underwater robots that can,

co-operatively track moving targets underwater, such as groups of whales or spreading plumes of pollution, or explore caves, underneath ice-covered waters, or in dangerous environments where surfacing might not be possible.

The roughly 10 pound salmon-sized devices have fins and propellers to allow movement in water, and they are built to simulate real fish. The intent is to generate bio-inspired systems that perform better than existing engineered systems.

The ideal of using nature inspired solutions and models in order to make robotics work more efficiently in our world makes a lot of since to me, since Nature has done a lot of refinement over the years free for the sampling.

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Remote Control Robotic System MAARS Begins Delivery to Military

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The first of the remote control Modular Advanced Armed Robotic System (MAARS) has been delivered to the US Military by QinetiQ , and it looks to be an adaptable platform for the future. MAARS  is based on a modular framework that allows for new attachments as they become available. A few of the attachments include a manipulator arm, sensor packages, and a multi-camera system with multi-modal capabilities.

MAARS can serve on both non-lethal applications such as communications and lethal uses, such as 40mm high explosive grenades or M240B machine guns firing 7.62mm ammunition. Less lethal options are also available, like bean bags, smoke, star clusters, and pepper spray, with more added as needed or developed.

MAARS can be configured with wheels or tracks as needed, and it has a working range from the operator of up to 1 kilometer. MAARS is designed to work in widely varying terrain, even climb stairs when needed. The system will be tested in the coming months for full compliance and a future full release.

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Robotic Interactive Plant Pekoppa Listens and Nods

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Sega Toys has announced an interactive toy plant called Pekoppa (link to PDF). The plant stays inactive until someone starts to interact with it by speaking. The toy plant has an IC chip that recognizes patterns in human speech and moves the plant in response, the movement resembling nods. Targeted toward office workers, Pekoppa’s official tagline is “Heal yourself with this plant, which is a good listener!”.

The robotic plant is slated to only sell in Japan starting September 30th, but given that they hope to sell 200,000 Pekoppas it is quite possible that the interactive plant will eventually be released worldwide. The suggested retail will be $22.

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The Distracting GPS Teddy Bear

GPS_teddy_060408Here is an automotive accessory that is a good example of technological misdirection. The iXs Research Corporation has shown a prototype robotic bear that gives out GPS directions. But it is how it hands out those directions that scares me. 

The bear motions as it gives you directions, enough to make you say, "Ah, how sweet", as you ignore the road you are driving on.  If that wasn't enough, you rub his head for nearby landmark info, making sure that at least one hand is off the steering wheel. At least if you are speeding ( hopefully not while tending to your fake furry navigational friend), he will let you know about it.

But there is a little practicality to the bear, since it does have an alcohol detection sensor that will alert you if you shouldn't be driving. That part may be used often, since you would almost have to be drunk to buy a Robotic GPS bear to use in your car.

But with that said, the bear GPS is still an interesting piece of work, and I think I'll watch iXs Research Corporation  to see what they can come up with next. So far I am impressed with their creativity.

Aloha from the Beach

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