Tag Archives: science

#430283 A glimpse into the science of Humanoid ...

Interesting documentary about the existing science and future of humanoids and human-like robots, both in peace-time and military applications, as well as industrial use and various art forms – even new sports!

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#429629 Blood, sweat and (maybe) tears – ...

Fleshy “bio-bots” made of living cells are already here. Now scientists want to harvest muscles, tendons and tissue from human-like humanoid robots. Check out the life-size robot ‘Mark 1’ and the Kenshiro musculoskeletal robot, that apparently can also sweat!

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#428433 UK Robotics Week To Return – 24th June ...

Today marks official launch of the second UK Robotics Week; entries now open in Surgical Robot, Autonomous Driving and School Robot Challenges
London, UK, 7th November 2016. – UK Robotics Week 2017 officially launches today, with a range of robotics activities and challenges open to schools, academic institutions and industry sectors. These activities culminate in a national week of celebration being held 24th – 30th June 2017. The second annual UK Robotics Week is set to be even bigger and better, building on the huge success of the inaugural event. Any institutions or organisations planning to hold their own robotics events – either in the run-up to and during the UK Robotics Week – can also apply now to be included in the official Programme of Activities (please visit www.roboticsweek.uk for details of how to register).
The first ever UK Robotics Week proved a huge success, encompassing a host of events up and down the UK, including public lectures, open labs, hackathons, tech weekends, conferences, and a state-of-the-art robotics showcase held on the last day. The UK Robotics Week initiative is jointly spearheaded by founding supporters, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), The Royal Academy of Engineering, the Institution of Engineering and Technology, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and the UK-RAS Special Interest Group, and is being coordinated by the EPSRC UK-RAS network.
As part of the official launch, this year’s School Robot Challenge is now open for entries to all schools nationwide. The competition offers schoolchildren the opportunity to design their own virtual robot bug and teach it to move, with the option of printing their bug in 3D. The challenge aims to develop children’s interest and skills in digital technology, design, science, engineering and biology. This year’s competition has been split into two age group categories – 4-12 years and 13-18 years – with top prizes to be awarded in each. School are actively encouraged to register their interest on the website now to access the information packs and software at http://www.roboticsweek.uk/schoolrobotchallenge.htm
The first Surgical Robot Challenge attracted participation from the world’s leading institutions, with top robotics research teams travelling to the UK to demonstrate their outstanding innovations during last year’s competition finals. The 2017 competition is now open for entry, and any international researchers interested in participating in this prestigious challenge can download all the competition information at http://www.roboticsweek.uk/surgicalrobotchallenge.htm
The second Autonomous Driving Challenge is also launched today. This is an international competition to inspire the next generation of designers and engineers, and involves designing your own vehicle and teaching it to drive autonomously. The challenge is open to everyone: children and adults, amateurs and professionals.
Commenting on today’s official launch, Professor Guang-Zhong Yang PhD, FREng, Director and Co-founder of the Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery, at Imperial College London and Chair of the UK-RAS Network, said: “We have been delighted with the response to UK Robotics Week, which looks set to become one of the key highlights in the science and technology calendar. This is a unique opportunity to celebrate the UK’s technology leadership in robotics and autonomous systems, and for individuals and institutions to get involved – hands-on – with robotics development.”
Professor Philip Nelson, Chief Executive of EPSRC, added: “From inspiring the nation’s budding engineers in STEM subjects to engaging people of all ages in a national debate about the contribution robotic technology can make to society and our economy, we’re looking forward to creating even more of a buzz with UK Robotics Week this year, and shining an even bigger spotlight on the fantastic robotics innovation being driven from the UK.”
For full information about all the activities planned for UK Robotics Week, please visit the website: www.roboticsweek.uk and follow UK Robotics Week on Twitter (@ukroboticsweek)
About the EPSRC UK-RAS Network (http://www.uk-ras.org) : The EPSRC UK Robotics and Autonomous Systems Network (UK-RAS Network) is dedicated to robotics innovation across the UK, with a mission to provide academic leadership in Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS), expand collaboration with industry, and integrate and coordinate activities at eight Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funded RAS capital facilities and Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) across the country.
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#428199 The AI Conversation Has Exploded This ...

Discussion of artificial intelligence has skyrocketed since the end of the last decade, according to a new analysis looking at public perception of the technology. The paper by Stanford computer science PhD Ethan Fast and Eric Horvitz, a distinguished scientist and deputy managing director at Microsoft Research, looked at more than three million articles published in the New York Times between January 1986 and May 2016. The study is under review to become a conference… read more Continue reading

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#428053 Omnidirectional Mobile Robot Has Just ...

Spherical Induction Motor Eliminates Robot’s Mechanical Drive System
PITTSBURGH— More than a decade ago, Ralph Hollis invented the ballbot, an elegantly simple robot whose tall, thin body glides atop a sphere slightly smaller than a bowling ball. The latest version, called SIMbot, has an equally elegant motor with just one moving part: the ball.
The only other active moving part of the robot is the body itself.
The spherical induction motor (SIM) invented by Hollis, a research professor in Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute, and Masaaki Kumagai, a professor of engineering at Tohoku Gakuin University in Tagajo, Japan, eliminates the mechanical drive systems that each used on previous ballbots. Because of this extreme mechanical simplicity, SIMbot requires less routine maintenance and is less likely to suffer mechanical failures.
The new motor can move the ball in any direction using only electronic controls. These movements keep SIMbot’s body balanced atop the ball.
Early comparisons between SIMbot and a mechanically driven ballbot suggest the new robot is capable of similar speed — about 1.9 meters per second, or the equivalent of a very fast walk — but is not yet as efficient, said Greg Seyfarth, a former member of Hollis’ lab who recently completed his master’s degree in robotics.
Induction motors are nothing new; they use magnetic fields to induce electric current in the motor’s rotor, rather than through an electrical connection. What is new here is that the rotor is spherical and, thanks to some fancy math and advanced software, can move in any combination of three axes, giving it omnidirectional capability. In contrast to other attempts to build a SIM, the design by Hollis and Kumagai enables the ball to turn all the way around, not just move back and forth a few degrees.
Though Hollis said it is too soon to compare the cost of the experimental motor with conventional motors, he said long-range trends favor the technologies at its heart.
“This motor relies on a lot of electronics and software,” he explained. “Electronics and software are getting cheaper. Mechanical systems are not getting cheaper, or at least not as fast as electronics and software are.”
SIMbot’s mechanical simplicity is a significant advance for ballbots, a type of robot that Hollis maintains is ideally suited for working with people in human environments. Because the robot’s body dynamically balances atop the motor’s ball, a ballbot can be as tall as a person, but remain thin enough to move through doorways and in between furniture. This type of robot is inherently compliant, so people can simply push it out of the way when necessary. Ballbots also can perform tasks such as helping a person out of a chair, helping to carry parcels and physically guiding a person.
Until now, moving the ball to maintain the robot’s balance has relied on mechanical means. Hollis’ ballbots, for instance, have used an “inverse mouse ball” method, in which four motors actuate rollers that press against the ball so that it can move in any direction across a floor, while a fifth motor controls the yaw motion of the robot itself.
“But the belts that drive the rollers wear out and need to be replaced,” said Michael Shomin, a Ph.D. student in robotics. “And when the belts are replaced, the system needs to be recalibrated.” He said the new motor’s solid-state system would eliminate that time-consuming process.
The rotor of the spherical induction motor is a precisely machined hollow iron ball with a copper shell. Current is induced in the ball with six laminated steel stators, each with three-phase wire windings. The stators are positioned just next to the ball and are oriented slightly off vertical.
The six stators generate travelling magnetic waves in the ball, causing the ball to move in the direction of the wave. The direction of the magnetic waves can be steered by altering the currents in the stators.
Hollis and Kumagai jointly designed the motor. Ankit Bhatia, a Ph.D. student in robotics, and Olaf Sassnick, a visiting scientist from Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, adapted it for use in ballbots.
Getting rid of the mechanical drive eliminates a lot of the friction of previous ballbot models, but virtually all friction could be eliminated by eventually installing an air bearing, Hollis said. The robot body would then be separated from the motor ball with a cushion of air, rather than passive rollers.
“Even without optimizing the motor’s performance, SIMbot has demonstrated impressive performance,” Hollis said. “We expect SIMbot technology will make ballbots more accessible and more practical for wide adoption.”
The National Science Foundation and, in Japan, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI) supported this research. A report on the work was presented at the May IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Stockholm, Sweden.

Video by: Carnegie Mellon University
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About Carnegie Mellon University: Carnegie Mellon (www.cmu.edu) is a private, internationally ranked research university with programs in areas ranging from science, technology and business, to public policy, the humanities and the arts. More than 13,000 students in the university’s seven schools and colleges benefit from a small student-to-faculty ratio and an education characterized by its focus on creating and implementing solutions for real problems, interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation.

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Contact: Byron Spice For immediate release:
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