Weekly Newswrap for Friday, December 11, 2009

The Newswrap is back and it is moving to Fridays. For the past several weeks, there has been no newswrap since my weekends have been busy with various robotics events. Because this situation may continue for the next few months,...

Syndicated 2009-12-12 04:11:06 (Updated 2009-12-12 04:11:07) from RobotNext

Robot Uses Artificial Intelligence to Water Plants

Here’s a robot that can water your plants and not your furniture. By using creativity, the students programmed their robots to perform tasks using artificial intelligence (AI). So, the robot can tell what is a plant and what is not....

Syndicated 2009-12-10 23:08:22 from RobotNext

Robot Takes a New Step Forward

PETMAN is one of a new kind of walking robot described in this story from Jesse Emspak, correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor. This bot, designed by Boston Dynamics in Waltham, Massachusetts, is a bipedal robot that can stroll in...

Syndicated 2009-12-09 18:31:00 from RobotNext

Festo Shows RoboKites

This post came across my robotics feed today from Adam Flaherty at MAKE Magazine and I thought it was worth a look. In the video on BotJunkie, you can see the Festo kite in action. And yes, the applications of...

Syndicated 2009-12-08 17:51:30 from RobotNext

iRobot Shows Off Educational Program

iRobot is demonstrating it is serious about its education outreach program. SPARK or Starter Programs for the Advancement of Robotics Knowledge, as the program is known, is out to show students and teachers how robots work. Previously, this effort was...

Syndicated 2009-12-08 06:02:39 from RobotNext

Laser-Guided Robots Milk Cows

The Carman Valley Leader has this story on robots that are helping to run a high-tech dairy farm. In the photo below a robot assists the cattle by pushing the feed towards them. Other robots actually milk the cows. They...

Syndicated 2009-12-04 16:22:33 (Updated 2009-12-04 16:23:31) from RobotNext

Trying to Dig Out, Mars Robot Digs Into a Discovery

Sometimes the biggest discoveries come through by accident. Spirit, the Mars robotic rover stuck in a patch of loose Martian soil, has churned–up something interesting. Bright, fluffy material covered by a dark crust. To see what this might mean, check...

Syndicated 2009-12-04 05:03:25 from RobotNext

Optical Sensors Give Robots' Artificial Skin with Smooth Touch

An article posted at thaindian.com details the research of Belgium researchers who have developed a new type of artificial skin for robots. This skin will be able to provide robots with a delicate touch more like a human’s. The primary...

Syndicated 2009-12-03 03:45:44 from RobotNext

Robotic Clam Developed for Deep Sea Projects

Of all the creatures on Earth that I thought could be models for robots, I never would have picked the clam. But now, mechanical engineers Anette "Peko" Hosoi and Amos Winter at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have done just...

Syndicated 2009-12-01 23:30:08 (Updated 2009-12-01 23:30:09) from RobotNext

Robotic Rat Follow-up

Spotted this follow-up article on the Scratchbot covered here several months ago. In this update, the robot is showing off its abilities to search-out objects by touch. No vision system is used. This is a very novel approach and could...

Syndicated 2009-12-01 01:10:35 from RobotNext