DARPA’s annual Robotics Challenge (DRC) is served up again for 2013. This round they are looking for the ‘next gen’ in disaster response and performance in hazardous areas. Entries will be field tested in three stages over this year and next at increasing levels of difficulty: The Virtual Robotics Challenge, the DARPA Robotics Challenge Trials, and the DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals. And as the writer put it, “you get to build a robot, designed to help people, for money.” See more and application links at Armed With Science.... Continue Reading
Search Results for robot
Robots with your face
...robot developed by iRobot (the Roomba company) is moving beyond telepresence robots which have to be actively directed or pushed, to individually and automatically self-navigate via a combination of embedded hospital maps and simple iPad instructions to go to a particular department or room. The face is the doctor’s and less work for him directing the robot. Robots with your face want to invade workplaces and hospitals (Fortune) Hat tip to Toni Bunting, reader and TANN Ireland editor. Earlier in TTA on RP-VITA: One big step for iRobot, one small step for doctorkind, Your robot news for an Olympics weekend... Continue Reading
Smart vests, ‘granny pods’ and robot friends: future living for older people
Patrick Mulvihill Yes I would agree, a lazy piece of journalism that happily promotes gadgets without many real world solutions. Kevin Doughty Maybe the article could have been retitled "Granny vests with smarts friends and robot pods" (or any combination of the words" - nobody would have noticed the difference. One day journalists will understand that the real world needs some fresh ideas that are made attractive by the right words. Methinks we might be a few years away from that, but would encourage someone to write an article that talks about future developments without using the word "smart". Clive... Continue Reading
Sensory feedback adds to prosthetics and situational awareness
...and improve control (Gizmag) For the sight-impaired, the Russian company Oriense is extending its technology that assists robots to avoid objects to a human-worn camera/sensor combination. It combines a Primesense sensor (akin to Microsoft’s Kinect camera) with Oriense’s software which scans data from the sensor and gives voice notifications about where objects are and if they are directly in your path. The prototype would not be out of place on a robot (camera on chest, computer in hand, earbud) but second generation promises to be more streamlined. From robot tech to humans: hardware to “see” the world around you (MedCityNews).... Continue Reading
Robots go squishy, exoskeletons do not, and here’s your drink
...TTA 27 July 12) Honda begins leasing Walking Assist Exoskeleton (Gizmag) And after all this, wouldn’t you like a drink? Coming right up…. Cornell University’s Personal Robotics Lab adapted a Willow Garage PR-2 to serve you a beer or your favorite beverage. For a robot, anticipating human actions is a real challenge. That simple top-up of a drink can, if actions are not correctly interpreted, mean a big spill. So the Cornellians programmed the robot with 120 3D videos of people in everyday tasks, broken down into subtasks that the robot then recompiles into models of different activities, and then... Continue Reading
Boys win Lego award for medication reminder robot and app (Ireland)
It’s great to see young people working as an effective team in developing technology – although it is not clear from the article what the robot element does. However, isn’t it time that there was more recognition in the media that the issues around prompting and monitoring medication compliance are more complicated than just how to get the person to receive a reminder? Dublin boys win Lego award for robot reminding people to take medicines. The Journal.... Continue Reading
Robots in older adult care: a debate
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20disrupt-pic2-tmagArticle.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]An article in The New York Times ‘Bits’ tech blog has raised debate on the appropriate role of robots in care for older adults. Illustrated by a picture of two PARO robots being recharged (a strange sight indeed) and a lead about the movie ‘Robot & Frank’ [TTA 23 Aug 12], it discusses the ethics of robots (and robotic pets) in care for the elderly versus humans which continues in the comments. One position is that it is not ethical to entrust your aging loved one’s care to a machine, and that human care is always preferable... Continue Reading
The Friday robo-alert: Five ways robots are invading hospitals
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/ri-man.png” thumb_width=”150″ /]Having watched the delightful ‘Forbidden Planet’ (1956) on Turner Classic Movies last night, marking the debut of the robot paragon Robby the Robot, this overview of hospital robotics from VentureBeat is on point. No Robbies here (despite our picture, this article does not cover robots that lift or design dresses with options of diamonds, emeralds or star sapphires) but does highlight: Germ and infection reduction (the ultraviolet Xenex) Remote consult robots (iRobot’s RP-VITA, now FDA approved) Prosthetics (BioOM prosthetic ankle) Surgical robots Therapeutic robots for the elderly (PARO, which is a ‘1.0’) Previously in TTA: RP-VITA’s FDA... Continue Reading
Electronic paper and tactile robots
...for a robot hand. The cutely named TakkTile, developed by grad student Leif Jentoft and postdoctoral fellow Yaroslav Tenzer at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, may be the answer. “At the heart of the device is a tiny air pressure-sensitive digital barometer, of the type already commonly used in things like cell phones and GPS units. A layer of rubber is vacuum-sealed onto it.” Beyond robots, uses envisioned are toy animals that respond to being petted and medical devices that assist with surgery. New sensor designed to give robots a gentler touch – on a budget (Gizmag)... Continue Reading
MOBISERV and Kompaï (Video from Dutch TV)
A 5 minute clip of a Dutch TV programme for people over 50 where someone is talking about care robots and Kompaï in particular. (Also clips from the film Robot and Frank) Even if you do not speak Dutch you will probably get the gist. The interviewee, Corien Van Berlo of Smart Homes, appears to be dispelling some misconceptions about robots in the home. Video thanks to Vincent Dupourque of Robosoft. [This video is no longer available on this site but may be findable via an internet search]... Continue Reading
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