Archive for January, 2005

Spherical robot provides rolling security cover

‘A spherical roving robot designed to detect and report intruders has been developed by a Swedish start-up company.

The design was first developed with planetary exploration in mind, at the Ångström Space Technology Center, part of Uppsala University, Sweden. But Rotundus, formed in December 2004 plan to market the ball-shaped bot as an automated security guard.
“We […]

Monday, January 31st, 2005

Robotics tapped for prostate cancer surgery

‘Setting the trend in telemedicine, the Makati Medical Center (MMC) recently held its 63rd Educational Trans-Pacific Telemedicine Multi-Site videoconference lecture at the hospital’s doctors’ lounge with the topic, “Laparascopic Radical and Robotic Prostatectomy.”
Dr. Harcharan Gill, urologist, at Stanford University Hospital and Clinics, California, US, shared new developments on laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP), doing the procedure […]

Monday, January 31st, 2005

Post offices take orders for robots

‘Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR), a cutting-edge developer of robots in Kansai Science City in Seikacho, Kyoto Prefecture, recently set up an affiliate to sell humanoid robots.
The affiliate, ATR-Robotics Co., which was set up on Jan. 14, has entrusted post offices in the Kansai region to take orders for the robots and ship them […]

Monday, January 24th, 2005

U.S. military to use armed robotos in Iraq

‘The US military is planning to deploy robots armed with machine-guns to wage war against insurgents in Iraq.
Eighteen of the 1m-high robots, equipped with cameras and operated by remote control, are going to Iraq this spring, the Associated Press reports.
The machine is based on a robot already used by the military to disable bombs.’

Read more […]

Monday, January 24th, 2005

Robot Sharpshooter Bound For Iraq

‘The rain is turning to snow on a blustery January morning, and all the men gathered in a parking lot here surely would prefer to be inside.
But the weather couldn’t matter less to the robotic sharpshooter they are here to watch as it splashes through puddles, the barrel of its machine gun pointing the way […]

Sunday, January 23rd, 2005

Sega takes leash off robot dog

‘Sony launched the market for robotic dogs in 1999, when it unleashed Aibo. But there’s new competition from rival Sega Toys.

On Wednesday, the Japanese electronics specialist took the wraps off its latest invention in Tokyo, a robotic canine known as iDog that can be used to compose and play music. It also dances to the […]

Saturday, January 22nd, 2005

Blogathon - 24 hours of Blogging for the children of the Tsunami

This is just a short note to let readers of this blog know about our efforts to make a difference in the lives of children impacted by the Tsunami. We’ve all seen the footage and images of those waves of destruction and have heard the many appeals for donations. We have been impacted by what […]

Wednesday, January 19th, 2005

Mars rover inspects possible meteorite

‘Scientists controlling the Opportunity Mars rover are taking an up-close look at an intriguing pitted rock on Mars, now dubbed “Heat Shield Rock.”

A speculative view about the object is that the Mars robot has come across a meteorite. A detailed investigation of the rock is under way, work that should reveal the true nature of […]

Wednesday, January 19th, 2005

Robot Makes Prostate Surgery Easier

‘Surgery to remove a cancerous prostate has become very common, b ut the recovery time can still be a long and painful process. Now doctors are able to get people back on their feet faster with the help of robot.

When John Peters was diagnosed with prostate cancer, doctors told him heneeded to have the organ […]

Tuesday, January 18th, 2005

‘Living’ robots powered by muscle

Fascinating news is breaking around the web of the development of tiny robots that are powered by living muscle (pictured left):

BBC NEWS writes - ”The devices were formed by “growing” rat cells on microscopic silicon chips, the researchers report in the journal Nature Materials.

a millimetre long, the miniscule robots can move themselves without […]

Tuesday, January 18th, 2005

Researchers build ‘bio-bots’

‘Scientists at the University of California say they have created microscopic robots powered by living heart cells.

The robots are less than a millimetre long but they can move themselves without any external power source.

The researchers have taken cells of heart muscle tissue and got them to grow onto tiny robotic skeletons made of plastic or […]

Monday, January 17th, 2005

Promet the robot puts best metal foot forward to preserve ancient dance Yahoo! News - Promet the robot puts best metal foot forward to preserve ancient dance

‘Japanese researchers said they had turned a humanoid industrial machine into a master of Japanese traditional dance in a bid to use a robot as a guardian of cultural heritage.

The 1.5-meter-tall (five-foot) robot HRP-2 Promet, which looks like an animation character wearing a visor, shuffled its gray metal feet and waved its hands in the […]

Friday, January 14th, 2005

New image sensor help robots see what the eyes see, and a camera cannot

‘Researchers are developing new technologies that may give robots the visual-sensing edge they need to monitor dimly lit airports, pilot vehicles in extreme weather and direct unmanned combat vehicles.

The researchers intend to create an imaging chip that defeats the harmful effects of arbitrary illumination, allowing robotic vision to leave the controlled lighting of a laboratory […]

Thursday, January 13th, 2005

 Robot puts his best metal foot forward

‘Japanese researchers have turned a humanoid industrial machine into a master of Japanese traditional dance in a bid to use a robot as a guardian of cultural heritage.

The 1,5-metre-tall robot HRP-2 Promet, which looks like an animation character wearing a visor, shuffled its gray metal feet and waved its hands in the air in synch […]

Thursday, January 13th, 2005

Giant robot helps prevent landslides

‘Fighting landslides is dangerous work, but help from space is on its way. Recent testing in Italy has shown that the four-tonne Roboclimber can secure slopes without endangering human lives, thanks to innovations from Europe’s space programmes.

“It was amazing to see how easily this huge robot managed to operate on a very steep slope to […]

Thursday, January 13th, 2005

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