Robotic Blogs

I continue to be amazed by the toys that are coming out. This one will sell out quick!

Lucky The Incredible Wonder Pet can do 15 tricks from voice commands - the usual doggy stuff: shake, sit, come, bark "Take me out to the ballgame". He walks, he talks, just like a real dog.
This is intended for kids 5-9 years old which means it is probably durable. But it looks like it would be fun for everyone. I admit I have not seen one yet.

Reviews say that the voice recognition works great right out of the box. It retails for US $60.

The manufacturer, Zizzle, says they kept the cost low by using an inexpensive chip for the doggy brains.
Lucky's intelligence comes from Sensory Inc's RSC-4128 microprocessor. The chip includes speech recognition, speech synthesis, an 8-bit microcontroller and 128k ROM all on a single chip. It can be had for under $2 per unit in large quantities.



Throw on a tail, some big round eyes, then wrap it in fur and you got yourself a blockbuster toy.

I have seen the future of robots and it is fuzzy.

The Korean Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) launched the pilot program of the national 'Ubiquitous Robot Companion' effort last week.

The pilot series will consist of 1000 of five different robot models placed in homes. This first round of robots will be used to get the bugs out of the system and to develop applications in preparation for commercial release.
The robots are expected to cost around US $1000 when they are commercialized.


The robots are for helping around the home with reports from the web, amusing the kids, ordering out food and remotely monitoring your home.

Since the robots stay connected, new applications can be added at any time.

The government program envisions a robot in every home in Korea by 2020. The government, universities and many robot, software and telecomunications companies are cooperating on the efforts.

There are still many people skeptical that the robots will offer enough services for their cost. In this pilot test, say MIC officials, they want to iron out the technical problems first.

In addition to the home robots, 20 robots will be released into airports and train stations to help tourists with information and directions.

The Korea Times : ‘I, Robots’ Come to Homes in Thousands

Spanish company Aerovision demonstrated their Fulmar unmanned flyer for use as a forest fire monitor.

The Fulmar aircraft is 3 meters wide and weighs about 20 kg (under 50 pounds)fully loaded. It is launched with a sling-shot and can stay aloft for up to 8 hours.
The Fulmar can carry both video and infrared cameras and transmit back from up to 50 km away to a base station in a laptop pc.

The flight plan, including take-off and landing, can be pre-programmed in the base station or the unit can be flown by joystick control.

The Fulmar system was designed as a low cost system for civilian applications.

AEROVISION

I like this new robot toy from Tyco. It is an R/C robot insect that includes a hidden 6-shot dart gun It is called NSECT for New Science of Experimental Combat Technology. There is a whole story line that goes along with that.
At $100 they are not exactly giving it away but it sure looks fun - and hackable.


The big selling feature of it is supposed to be the speed that it can scamper across the floor. That's probably well needed so whomever gets shot with the darts doesn't stomp the thing and end all the fun real quick.



Buy it here.

Promoting the robot agenda.

Robot researchers from 8 universities in the UK have joined together to form a network to promote the public understanding of robots.

The program called "Walking with Robots" was launched October 23 in London. It will include activities for adults as well as university and younger students.

The program will be designed to dispel myths about robots, increase understanding and eventually quash any resistance to robot domination.

Professor Noel Sharkey, EPSRC senior media fellow at the University of Sheffield and one of the founders of the collaboration says, “Robots are coming thick and fast with robotdomesticss, gardeners, cooks, companions, lovers, taxis, factory workers, space explorers, soldiers, maybe police and certainly pets."
"The public need to be prepared for the revolution.”

The first project organized by the program is parliamentnt of 16 to 20 year olds where they will debate the issue of robots' rights.

The "Walking with Robots" program is planned to run for three years but full submission of the public to robot control will probably take a bit longer.


Walking with Robots