Православни икониикониSeveral months ago, I wrote about Humanoid Robots for the Robot Learning Center section of our website. I didn’t have time to include everything out there, so here’s a few intriguing humanoid robots that missed the original report.

Willow Garage PR2 – A Guy’s Best Friend… and winner of 2011 ACE Award

This is a robot you might want to hang out with at home… or have as a roommate. He can fetch a beer from the fridge, play pool, fold the laundry, and energize himself. He will even open the beer for you with a bottle opener. Check out the video below.

But the PR2 is more than an expensive toy. The ACE Award presented at the EE Times’ Annual Creativity in Electronics Awards ceremony to the PR2 was specifically for “Technology in the Service of Society”. We may have fun with the PR2 today, but in the future, this type of robot will be called to service for care of the elderly and disabled. Congratulations to Willow Garage!

PR2 Robot Fetches Beer from the Refrigerator

Soccer-playing robots at Virginia Tech

Students at Virginia Tech are probably putting the finishing touches on their soccer-playing robot creations. The goal is to win the 2011 RoboCup in Istanbul, Turkey, to take place from July 5-11.  Virginia Tech students have two contenders in the RoboCub, the 18-inch DARwIn, which placed 4^th of 24 teams in the 2010 humanoid “Kid Size” sub-league, and the five foot CHARLI, which placed 3^rd out of 6 teams in the 2010 “Adult Size” event.

Like other humanoid robots, the robotic soccer players provide more than a diversion for soccer enthusiasts and techies. The students learn about machine design and fabrication, mechanics, dynamics, controls, and vision, as well as the need to push robotics to another level. The technology used in the soccer-playing robots may someday be incorporated in robotic limbs or other biomedical engineering.

Sources:

http://blogs.forbes.com/elizabethwoyke/2011/05/06/why-do-robots-play-soccer/

http://www.robocup2011.org/en/

мебели от чамSo this may not be the kind of robotics that we deal with here at KC Robotics but you have to admit that this is still stinking cool. NASA sent a robot into space onboard the space shuttle Discovery. The Robonaut project began as a joint venture between NASA and the DARPA program nearly 10 years ago. The goal was to build a robotic system that can demonstrate the technologies needed for a robot to function as a helper to human astronauts. Other than the obvious cool factor of this whole project the real technological jump is in the robots dexterous controls. GM partnered with NASA to design and build Robonaut 2 or R2. R2 takes the whole thing a step further. GM plans on using the technology developed in this project to improve future industrial robots it plans on using in its plants.

KC Robotics must increase the price of the USB Floppy Drive Unit for ABB Robots to $225.00, beginning February 1, 2011. Purchase now to receive the introductory offer of $199.00. 

This device (USB Floppy Drive Unit) replaces the standard S4 floppy disc drive and simplifies the back-up procedure. The new USB Floppy Drive Unit comes supplied with a memory stick, formatted and ready to use. It is compatible with a S3, S4, S4C and S4C+.

• Memory is equivalent to 100 floppy disks: Eliminates the need for multiple floppy disc changes when installing robot software.
• Allows simple and fast data transfer between PC and Robot.
• Includes easy to use software to format USB drive and store robot programs.
• Provides faster transfer time and less risk of data loss associated with floppy discs.

Call KC Robotics (Ask for Nancy) or email (nancy@kcrobotics.com) for more information and to order a USB Floppy Drive Unit for ABB Robots.

матрациToday, we added a page about Military Robots to our website section called The Learning Center. While doing research for this page, not only did I learn quite a bit about Military Robotics, but also an interesting theory about Manufacturing Robotics. For years, our technicians at KC Robotics have wondered why industrial robotics has lagged in technology advancement. The answer lies in the fact that technology is usually advanced by government spending, (i.e. NASA and the Internet). Commercial enterprises do not usually have the dollars to invest in cutting edge technology. According to my research, robotics researchers believe that the advances in military robotics will eventually benefit manufacturing automation. It is the trickle-down effect of research and development.

Some more great information here

Robot Wars: 10 Recent Developments in Unmanned Warfare You Haven’t Heard About

ATTENTION KC ROBOTICS BLOGGERS!
The new and long-awaited KC ROBOTICS website is now live!

Visit us at http://www.kcrobotics.com/ . The new site has an updated look and easier to follow navigation. All pages from the old site have been updated and new pages created. The site is a work in progress; we’re still working out the kinks and adding new info.

Visit us often to see new information. It will be updated weekly beginning next week.

Check out our new OTC-Daihen pages. KC Robotics is an authorized dealer for new OTC-Daihen robots http://www.kcrobotics.com/new-robots/new-otc-daihen-robots/ . View specifications and benefits for OTC Welding and Material Handling Robots in easy to use charts.

The next phase to be added to our website: Detailed information on a typical “Robotic Integration” project at KC Robotics. We will walk the visitor through the steps we take with a customer from the initial contact to the product run-off.

Coming soon to the web site: “The Robot Learning Center”, a resource for robotics students and enthusiasts

We’ve all been hearing stories, whether on the news, in magazines or books, about the exciting role robots will have in medical field.  I stumbled across an article written by Frank Tobe, from The Robot Report, who attended Stanford University’s Conference on Medical Robots last month.  A lot of great information was given on the hopeful progress of robotic use in surgery.

Mr. Tobe pointed out several future projections that were given for medical automation, including two that many would find rather important.  First, that the role of surgeons would change from compartmentalized to nearly transparent.  Second, that there will be more devices used which will perform surgeon’s functions autonomously.

It’s really quite interesting to read more on the growth of the healthcare field and how robotics will integrate into such an important field.   ough Mr. Tobe’s article is certainly worth the read!

Check it out:

http://www.everything-robotic.com/2010/04/6-projections-for-future-of-surgical.html

With the amount of manufacturing plants that have closed within the last year or two, there’s been an influx in the number of large auctions being held to purge equipment.  However, there is a lot to take into account when you are considering purchasing used robots from an auction.  Here are a few things to remember:

• Cost – Most companies are drawn to auction robots firstly because of the reduced cost.  These robots do, of course, come at a cheaper rate.  However, while you may pay less at an auction for a used robot, there always the unknowns that arise after you have purchased the robot and you attempt running it.  Always factor in extra costs into your budget for these robots, in case of necessary repairs.

• Downtime – The robots that are being auctioned may have been sitting without running for a significant amount of time.  It’s important to consider the affect this may have on the condition of the robot.  For instance, if it were not in production for a prolonged length of time, there may be problems with grease breakdown, dead batteries, removed software or corruption, etc.

• Learning Curve & Support – Take into consideration that when you’re not purchasing directly from a reseller, chances are you’re also not going to have immediate access to the technical support and expertise that most resellers offer.

We suggest going directly to a reseller or distributor because of the total value in the purchase.  KC Robotics, Inc. offers robots that have been fully reconditioned and maintained properly, a 13 month robot parts warranty, and support from skilled service technicians!

Have you ever wondered where the use of industrial robots first originated?  Well I certainly have, so I did some research of my own.  I stumbled across something quite interesting, as I had no idea such a thing even existed – Robot Hall of Fame (website referenced below).  In 2003, a robot was inducted into this hall of fame, called the “Unimate,” the very first industrial robot.  This new robot was introduced by its creators, Joseph Engelberger and George Devol, into a General Motors plant in 1961 and was used in heated die casting.  This large robot arm, with all of it’s versatility, was used for autobody welding.

Once this proved the strength and positive turn-arounds a robot had, the hype caught on.  As a result, the wide-spread use of industrial robots in factories and plants began.  Once companies tested their capabilities, these robots were quickly being used for applications such as loading or unloading.  As always, when time progresses, so does technology.  Today we see industrial robots being used for much more than that – material handling, welding, water jet, spraying, etc.   

 For pictures and more information on the first Unimate robot, please check out the link below!

Reference Link:

http://www.robothalloffame.org/unimate.html

European researchers are studying the capability of designing a system made up of a robot and smart sensors, to support elderly who are living independently.  The idea is to have the robot serve as an assisted living aid, with three goals for care.  First, a health monitor containing smart sensors, woven into undergarments.  The second is a health reporting system that includes an alarm; and third, a nutrition support system. 

So what is really cool about this?  Not only would this robot be linked with a way to monitor the health of an older person, but it would potentially have the capability of keeping up with communication.  This means, the person would be able to create shopping lists, maintain communication with friends or relatives, and others, all through voice recognition.  These researchers want to improve or enhance the lives of the elderly, making it possible for them to live independently for as long as possible.

Read the full article!

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100324184558.htm

It appears that cockroaches are going to serve a purpose, as something other than a creepy-crawly insect most people run from.  In fact, they’re going to be used as inspiration for researchers at Oregon State University, in the design of running robots.

The researchers plan to use cockroaches to help design the first legged robot which will have the capability of running over rough terrain.  These particular insects were chosen because of their unbelievable ability to run, without expending nearly any energy at all.  In other words, they perform this instinctive action even without reflex control, and this is at the very heart of what the researchers are trying to accomplish.  Their goal is to create or design these robots with the capability of running, and to have them do so without exerting the amount of energy that humans do.

See the full article for all the details!

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091228163304.htm