We couldn’t make Roboexotica in Vienna, Austria this year (check out last year’s coverage), so we asked [Bre Pettis] to act as our liaison.
Last night was the opening party of Roboexotica, the worldwide gathering of cocktail robots. It was a blast! Pictured above is Robovox, a 40 foot high robot that you can text message to and it will say what you text to it! Continue reading “Roboexotica 2008”
We really aren’t sure what the statement is here. This is one of the displays at the MuTate London Exhibition. There is tons of stuff to see there, from interactive displays to giant art-piece vehicles. This specific display seems to have garnered the most attention though. we can understand the megaphone headed flailing DJ, but what is with the CCTV camera heads?
[via Gizmodo]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kchwH-3tY0]
The Winboni is the first place winner in the International Student Design Competition of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Winboni is a small robot that cleans windows. That alone doesn’t set the robot apart. The fact that it is held on by suction is what distinguishes it. Running off AA batteries, this robot clings to the window as it cleans it with felt pads. It is hard to believe that this isn’t already a commercial product. Actually, we thought we had even seen it before, but we can’t find it now.
[via DVICE]
[vimeo 777847]
Simply tag something with a laser and El-E will go get it for you. We know this is for the disabled, but we can’t help but think of how nice it would be to have around the house. The system is programmed to recognize the illumination from a green laser and is constructed to be able to reach things from the floor as well as tables and shelves. I wonder if they have programmed El-E to go get the laser for you if you leave it somewhere, kind of like when you leave the TV remote across the room.
[via Gearlog]
The Dallas Personal Robotics Group held their semi-annual Roborama contest on Saturday November 22nd in Garland, TX. The DPRG had a table at the recent Austin Makers Faire. Each spring and fall, they hold the Roborama contests for autonomous robots. The spring event has contests for outdoor self-navigating robots. The 2008b contests were designed to test the abilities of indoor robots. Normally held at the Science Place, this year they elected to have the contests at the DPRG warehouse in Garland.
Micromouse competitions have been running in Japan since 1980. In all that time, the ruleset has remained essentially unchanged. The autonomous robot mouse navigates a 16×16 maze creating a map. It then determines the optimal solution for future runs. Current records are in the six to seven second range. Teams have had to find new ways to generate traction for better times. Momoco08 uses a fan to hold the mouse to the track surface. Embedded below you’ll find a video of it solving the maze plus a photo of the vacuum skirt.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH2n-7b0UIs]
People often accuse the computer of cheating when it is the opponent. This could be partially attributed to the fact that you don’t have a physical representation to identify with, the computer seems like an all knowing adversary that divines your moves from the aether. The chief cook actually does try to cheat though. They’ve trained it to play pong, all the while trying to distract you. Upon winning, it lashes out the insults pretty well too. We’ve seen the chief cook before. Last time, he was learning to cook. What will his next adventure be?
[thanks Eric]
