Robotic Blogs

"Researchers at the University of Delaware are providing safe mobility to children with special needs who are unable to fully explore the world on their own through the development of kid-sized robots that infants can drive using joysticks."

"Infants with Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism and other disorders can have mobility limitations that disconnect them from the ongoing exploration that their peers enjoy."

“If these infants were adults, therapists would have options of assistive technology such as power wheelchairs,” James C. (Cole) Galloway, associate professor of physical therapy says.

"The tiny robot is ringed with sensors that can determine the obstacle-free roaming space, and will either allow infants to bump obstacles or will take control from the infant and drive around the obstacle itself. The next prototype, UD2, will build on the current technology to provide additional control to a parent, teacher or other supervising adult."

Obviously the next step would be to make a giant car-crushing biped with a little baby seat inside. Don't worry - the giant baby-driven monster will never be allowed to escape into a busy downtown to rip corners off sky scrapers and toss city buses through plate glass windows.


Babies learn to ride robots at UD

A team of scientists from the Robot Research Center at the Shandong University of Science and Technology have implanted radio receiver electrodes in the brain of pigeons to control them.
The scientists can make the pigeons hover, fly or turn right or left through a computer control.

"Chief scientist Professor Su Xuecheng explained the pigeon does not feel sense of pain at the head and failures will not influence the pigeon's life."

In fact, the control will allow the pigeons to be less of a threat to social stability and national unity in China.

Welcom to Changsha!

Also:
Zombie Mice Robots
Robot Zombie Cockroaches

I recently posted about a female robot sage-grouse to be used to lure unsuspecting males like the FBI on Myspace.

Now here is another case of robots being used to surreptitiously spy on the males of another species.

Jennifer Moore from Victoria University School of Biological Science has made a robot tuatara to mingle with the real monsters in the wild. She says, "If we can better understand how male tuatara establish their dominance, we may be better able to select individuals to start new populations in the future."

She was helped by artists from the special effects lab Weta Workshop to craft the robot. The body was cast from from one of the lab's tuataras, Oliver, who had passed away. He is now immortalized - reincarnated with the personality of a biology researcher.

Oliver the tuatara lives on - as a robot - 22 Feb 2007 - National News - New Zealand Herald

In sting operation worthy of prime time television, scientists at University of California Davis are using a female sage-grouse robot to study the behavior of males with mating on their mind.

Dr. Gail Patricelli has used robots in bird research before to fool Australian satin bowerbirds for her thesis. Now she is using a female sage-grouse on the open fields of Wyoming to tempt male birds into showing off for the camera.

The robot is a stuffed bird that moves along toy railroad tracks. The robot can turn her head, turn around, crouch and bob her head up and down when she moves. She has a microphine and hidden camera to record the conduct of the males. The robot, which must look really hot to the male birds, is secretly controlled by the researchers who are off-screen somewhere totally cracking up.


See the lurid sex video here.

The Patricalli Lab

The Davis Enterprise, Love Bird?