Soft robotics are inspired by animals which don't have hard internal skeletons, like squid, worms, and starfish. Developed at Harvard, with funding from DARPA,
this particular soft robot, "not only walks, it knows several different gaits and can deflate to stuff itself through tiny little gaps."
Another design here,
and another (
also),
and another. In addition to movement, soft robotics can also be used
for grip. More information about the Harvard lab is available
here (
with a student describing the research here).
posted by codacorolla
on Nov 29, 2011 -
26 comments
"I began to realize that "robots"-- in all their various forms-- can really be seen as a symbol of a larger relationship between people and technology." In 1988,
Frederick Schodt wrote about the Japanese fascination and use of robots in his book
Inside the Robot Kingdom, curious by the disparities between American and Japanese manufacturing processes . In 1988, the American public wasn't ready for the book, or for robots.
Today, Japan still has embraced
robotic automation in a way that arguably no other country has. For more similar topics,
Mangobot is a column that reports on Asian futurism.
posted by artifarce
on Jun 22, 2008 -
22 comments
Meet Jules, a new humanoid robot from
Hanson Robotics, the folks who built the
Einstein and
Phillip K. Dick robots, (the latter's head went missing a while back.) Jules loves you, as much as his newfangled software will allow. He also seems a little awkward and angst ridden for a robot, but it's not his fault; it must be the designers who made his software.
posted by Blingo
on May 4, 2007 -
58 comments
The
FIRST ("For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology") robotics competition has recently begun it's 2007 competition season. The competition, which began and still enjoys it's greatest popularity in the United States, challenges high-school students and mentors to design and build a (teleoperated) robot to play a game in six weeks. Founded by
Dean Kamen, of
segway, IBOT,
the first home dialysis machine, and
clean drinking water fame founded the competition in 1988 to inspire students to enter the engineering profession.
Every year a new challenge is put forth, and
this year's game involves placing inner-tubes on a cylindrical rack in addition to lifting other team's robots. A
sizeable community has sprung up around FIRST, with much attention paid to Dean Kamen's ideal of
gracious professionalism which is like sportsmanship without the sports.
The 2007
regional competitions provide teams an opportunity
to show off their work. If you're interested in getting involved, or just
watching the events, FIRST provides a handy
Event Locator.
posted by martinX's bellbottoms
on Mar 8, 2007 -
14 comments
DUBAI (AFP) - The United Arab Emirates is to mount robot jockeys on racing camels later this year after a ban on using children in the region's popular sport.
posted by Tlogmer
on Apr 11, 2005 -
7 comments
Koolio is a traveling autonomous refrigerator robot ... a cross between R2D2 and a vending machine.
posted by lola
on Apr 21, 2004 -
8 comments
A course that uses LEGO beams, plates, gears, motors, a 68HC11 microcontroller board programmed in C, and various sensors to construct autonomous (i.e., self-contained, no direct human control) robots to hunt down and retrieve eggs. How come I never got to make
things like this when I got my engineering degree? There's
video too. Other cool projects are a
walking machine, a
human powered sub, or a
future truck. I wish the real world of engineering was as fun and creative as college.
posted by jonah
on Sep 27, 2002 -
8 comments
Robot Rats!Excellent, now i can take over the WORLD!!
Please add, Predator like optics and Universal Soilder healing abilities - I expect to see them on
thinkGeek by the end of the month, thank you.
Although a little cruel, scientist have managed to put implants in rats brains, effectivley given them god like controls of the little vermin.
posted by monkeyJuice
on May 2, 2002 -
16 comments
"People, let me tell you 'bout my best friend.." Are you too much alone? Does time hang heavy on your head? Do even the cold comforts of Internet chat rooms and community blogging reject you? There's hope.
Find the warmth of solid state friendship with the companionship of computerized buddies. It worked for all the greats - Luke Skywalker, Baltar, the Robinson boys (
Will and Joel) and even that creepy tree-hugger Freeman Lowell.
A servomotor, some fiberglass, and a sturdy car battery is all you need to guarantee that you will never be lonely again.
posted by Perigee
on Mar 5, 2001 -
1 comment
Cye is a neat little company building personal robots.
posted by tdecius
on Sep 21, 1999 -
1 comment
