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Friday
2/8/2008 7:31:09 PM
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Michael Wells
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Thursday
5/18/2006 11:25:53 AM
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Michael Wells
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Monday
7/4/2005 5:59:35 PM
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Michael Wells
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Friday
6/10/2005 12:01:51 PM
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Michael Wells
I'm not a ballroom dancer. Heck, I can barely sustain a beat. Fancy footwork is just not my forte, so if I were to trip the light fantastic, a robotic training partner would at least save me my dance partner's hospital bills.
Much more interesting to me is other applications of the robotic training partner concept. Why not...
- Martial arts? Basically a heavy punching bag with arms and wheels, you could lay into it with some good kicks and punches, and learn to block the punches it sends in your direction. It could even have a speed and power setting... white belt through black, and above. Later, when balance is perfected, you add legs and get the full experience.
- Basketball? Basically an R2D2 with a basketball-sized hole in the top. The hole would be used to catch and throw the ball (via compressed air, probably), and of course it would need the ability to track and aim for the basket. Mostly, you'd train on blocking its shots; probably not much that a single unit could do to block you effectively, in the short term. A swarm of these could learn to pass with each other and behave in pack form on an actual court, with much more effective blocking technique. It would look funny but I bet it would be pretty effective.
- Soccer? I'm diggin' the swarm idea...
I wonder how soon we'll start seeing robot v. robot competitions in the human sports arena, and then how soon from there we'll see humans v. robot. In any event, it will be great fun to watch.
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Thursday
6/9/2005 2:52:21 PM
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Michael Wells
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Thursday
6/9/2005 1:21:54 PM
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Michael Wells
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Thursday
6/9/2005 11:18:10 AM
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Michael Wells
This BBC article itself is interesting, but the resulting robotic design plan seems a bit of a stretch [ha!]. There are really two separate design discussions here;
- Robotic locomotion; alternatives to the traditional humanoid bipedal design.
- Robotic form; alternatives to the skeletal approach.
The article makes the argument that because octopi have been observed using bipedal locomotion, that a robot involving a "non-skeletal design" but using "bipedal locomotion" is a great new idea. I just don't see the reason for that combined design direction.
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Wednesday
6/9/2004 9:22:37 PM
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Michael Wells
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Thursday
4/29/2004 6:27:26 PM
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Michael Wells
This conjures up some pretty funny mental images, but I love the application. Very smart, and amazingly practical.
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Monday
3/29/2004 9:26:48 AM
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Michael Wells
An unmanned supersonic jet shattered the speed record for plane flight by flying at more than seven times the speed of sound on Saturday.
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Friday
3/12/2004 2:56:28 PM
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Michael Wells
A robotic probe sent to explore beyond a mysterious stone seal inside the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, has unlocked one mystery only to reveal another.
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Friday
3/12/2004 2:55:05 PM
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Michael Wells
A home "guard dragon" robot has been unveiled in Japan. The four-legged robot can sense smoke and alert its owners to a smouldering fire - via a howl or a mobile phone text message.
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Friday
3/12/2004 2:54:32 PM
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Michael Wells
Sony has created a walking robot that can dance, stand on one leg and even score goals. It follows in the footsteps of the company's successful interactive robot dog, AIBO.
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Friday
3/12/2004 2:54:06 PM
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Michael Wells
The exploration of other planets could benefit from a giant leap for robot-kind, according to researchers in New Mexico.
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Friday
3/12/2004 2:53:02 PM
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Michael Wells
Learning how to fly took nature millions of years of trial and error - but a winged robot has cracked it in only a few hours, using the same evolutionary principles.
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Friday
3/12/2004 2:49:58 PM
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Michael Wells
A new robot that, according to its creators, can express a full repertoire of human facial expressions was unveiled on Sunday.
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Friday
3/12/2004 11:56:39 AM
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Michael Wells
Humanoid robots capable of performing somersaults and complex martial arts moves were demonstrated at Asia's largest electronics and computing fair in Tokyo on Saturday.
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