August 13th, 2008 by
Filed under: Robots
Sure, it’s not uncommon to see one robot arm take a break from productivity to engage in some shenanigans potentially fraught with peril, but two robot arms slacking off and wielding weapons? Well, that’s cause for some sort of celebration. As you can see in the video after the break, however, whomever was responsible for this madness didn’t completely let the arms loose on each other, which we can only hope means they’re saving the arms for the inevitable Wiimote-controlled version.
[Via Boing Boing Gadgets]
Continue reading Robot arms do battle… Medieval Times-style
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Posted in robotic arm, RoboticArm, robot arm, RobotArm | No Comments »
August 7th, 2008 by
Filed under: Robots
Don’t you hate it how simply moving a robotic arm in a microgravity environment can produce enough negative reaction forces to alter a spacecraft’s orientation? Well, a group of researchers from Cornell University have now devised a new type of robot arm that they say could make that pesky problem a thing of the past. To do that, they’ve employed a device known as a control-moment gyroscope (or CMG) instead of a motor to control the arm’s joints, which not only reduces the amount energy requied to move the arm, but lets it move faster as well. As you can see above, they’ve already tested the arm on board NASA’s famous Vomit Comet, but there’s no indication just yet as to when or if the arm will actually see action in space.
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Posted in space, vomit comet, VomitComet, robotic arm, RoboticArm, robot arm, RobotArm, cornell, cornell university, CornellUniversity | No Comments »
July 7th, 2008 by
Filed under: Robots
Look, this top ten celebrity child-rearing tips list of ours is gonna make it to the top, we just know it, and we’re tired of hitting up family members to get stories out of the single digits. Luckily there’s a better way. The robotic Digg arm — which appears to be slightly or entirely fake — refreshes a page, detects Digg badges on the screen, and then moves the cursor over them to “manually” Digg the stories. Apparently the bot can Digg 1500 stories a day, but we’re gonna need some more evidence than this joke vid (embedded after the break) to be convinced of this bot’s actual, welcomed existence.
[Via Make]
Continue reading Robo arm Diggs without complaining, smells better than your brother
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Posted in robotic arm, RoboticArm, digg, robo arm, RoboArm | No Comments »
June 27th, 2008 by
Filed under: Robots
While mind-control interfaces are all well and good, sometimes a simpler solution makes a bit more sense, and that’s where this so-called Copycat Arm comes in. Developed by a group of researchers at the University of Tsukub, it makes use of a high-speed camera to monitor a person’s movements, which are apparently instantly (and creepily) mimicked by the robot arm.Eventually, the researchers say the same system could be used as a computer interface, which they say could eliminate the need for a mouse and keyboard. Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be a video of the arm in action, but those heading to SIGGRAPH 2008 will apparently be able to check it out first hand.
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Posted in robotic arm, RoboticArm, robot arm, RobotArm, copycat arm, CopycatArm, robot hand, RobotHand, siggraph, siggraph 2008, Siggraph2008 | No Comments »
May 21st, 2008 by
Filed under: Gaming, Robots
Sure, it’s been done before, but that doesn’t make the idea of a robotic arm controlled by a Wiimote any less exciting, especially when the arm is actually responsive. That feat is aided considerably by the fact that this latest setup was developed by an engineer from National Instruments, who made use of some of the company’s LabVIEW hardware and a specially-designed Bluetooth adapter to control the arm at the flick of a wrist (or using the Wiimote’s buttons). Check it out in action in the video after the break — don’t worry, no one gets hurt.
Continue reading Wiimote used to control robotic arm, effectively this time
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Posted in wiimote, wii remote, WiiRemote, robotic arm, RoboticArm, robot arm, RobotArm, wiimote hack, WiimoteHack | No Comments »
December 2nd, 2007 by
Filed under: Robots
Oh yeah, we’ve seen our fair share of robotic arms, but it’s not everyday that a craftsman posts an eight-page tutorial on how to construct one of your own for less than $60. The Wooden Menace was designed to show that an inexpensive robotic arm could indeed be constructed using household junk and a few store-bought parts, and while its utility is relatively limited, there’s a certain level of cool to having such a device guarding your paperwork at the office. Aside from a cloned PS1 controller and a few hunks of wood, you’ll only need a voltage regulator, microcontroller, five servos, a 20MHz oscillator and a few other parts to make it all come together. No need in giving you the run down here — there’s eight pages chock full of details (videos included) awaiting you in the read link below.
[Via MAKE]
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Posted in video, diy, wooden, robotic arm, RoboticArm, robot arm, RobotArm, wooden menace, WoodenMenace | No Comments »
November 26th, 2007 by
Filed under: Robots
It may just be for demonstration purposes for now, but this humanoid robot dubbed “Justin” certainly looks like he means business, and we can all be thankful that’s he’s confined to a table or there’s no telling how things might have gone down. Apparently, Justin’s biggest claim to fame is his pair of DLR-III Light-Weight arms which, in addition to making other robot arms look positively retro, are dexterous enough to pick up a trash can and dump it or twist a lid off a jar. No word as to when Justin might be let loose from the lab, but you can get a better look at what he’s capable of in the video at the site linked below.
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Posted in robot, robotic arm, RoboticArm, humanoid robot, HumanoidRobot, justin, robot arm, RobotArm | No Comments »
November 26th, 2007 by
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Thought-controlled appendages are far from new, but an international team of researchers have apparently created an apparatus that aims to make the lives of paralyzed individuals a tad easier. The Brain2Robot project utilizes electroencephalograph (EEG) signals in order to give patients the ability to control a robotic arm, which could eventually be used to do everything from hold periodicals to lift a cup of coffee. Reportedly, the arm could be ready for commercial use within just a few years, but there’s no mention of an expected price range. Granted, we’d be a bit more excited about all of this if the technology were somehow made mobile, but it’s hard to kvetch about a helping hand, regardless.
[Via Primidi]
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Posted in medical, handicap, handicapped, eeg, Fraunhofer, brain, brain-computer interface, Brain-computerInterface, brain-controlled, Brain2Robot, electroencephalograph, paralysis, robotic arm, RoboticArm, thought, thought-controlled | No Comments »
