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robotics
Internet for Robots: It's Not Skynet, It's RoboEarth
By Beau Brendler - AOL NewsIt's one of science fiction's most familiar ideas: computers that can, when hooked up to other computers, become self-aware and exhibit human characteristics. The results are often sinister, as the machines perceive humanity as a threat and defend themselves to the death. "Star Trek" had its Ultimate Computer, among many others; "2001: A Space Odyssey" had HAL 9000. Heroes of the "Terminator" films fought against Skynet, a group of networked military computers that triggered a nuclear holocaust, then aggressively tried to put what was left of humanity out with the trash. Now RoboEarth -- "a ...
Robonaut to Join Astronauts for Space Mission
By Lee Speigel - AOL News"Warning, warning, Will Robinson!" Ah, the phrase heard around the galaxy from the classic 1960s television series, "Lost in Space." It was the voice of the boy's mechanical pal trying to keep the young Robinson aware of some sort of approaching threat. And now, NASA is about to launch its long-awaited robotic companion to astronauts in space: Robonaut 2. In a unique partnership, NASA and General Motors have come together to develop a new generation of robots for both the automotive and aerospace industries. ...
Navy Building Humanoid Robot to Fight Fires
By Sharon Weinberger - AOL NewsThe Navy next week will kick off a new project to build a humanoid robot that could be used for firefighting aboard ships. The three-year effort, which will be funded by the Office of Naval Research, will be aimed at building a prototype of the robotic firefighter. The eventual goal is a walking, talking robot equipped with sensors and fire suppressant that could move around a ship independently, putting out blazes. U.S. Navy The Navy is working on a walking, talking robot equipped with sensors and fire suppressant to fight fires aboard ships. The idea of using robots for the ...
The Army's Weird Science: From Bugbots to Paintballs
By Sharon Weinberger - AOL News
ORLANDO, Fla. (Dec. 4) -- What sort of science is needed to support a military that's been at war for almost a decade? Some clues to the military's vision of science could be seen this week at the Army's 27th science conference featuring research into such novelties as transparent armor, limb regeneration and virtual reality that allows soldiers to experience the sights and sounds of Iraq and Afghanistan. Here's a selection of some of the eye-catching projects featured at this year's conference: Harvard Microrobotics Laboratory Tiny insect robots created by Army-funded scientists can only ...
Sorry, Humans! Air Hockey Robots Aren't Programmed to Lose
By David Moye - AOL News
(Nov. 17) -- A Japanese scientist has made the next big innovation in robot air hockey by putting the paddle to the metal. Kunikatsu Takase, a professor at the Japanese University of Electronic Communication, has just created a robot that can play air hockey against humans and win its games 70 percent of the time. According to Dailymotion, the key is an artificial eye that is mounted in the ceiling and analyzes the direction of the puck as it moves across the field of vision. Air Hockey Robot Uploaded by DiagonalView. - Technology reviews and science news videos. "Speed is important," ...
Training Begins for 2011 Robot World Cup Soccer
By Steven Hoffer - AOL News
(Oct. 25) -- Get ready to break out your iVuvuzelas. Although the 2010 RoboCup championship in Singapore has already crowned its champion -- Germany's "B-Human" took first prize in the standard platform league -- researchers at the University of Edinburgh are already gearing up for the 2011 competition. The 2010 RoboCup attracted entries from 40 countries, so team Edinburgh can expect fierce action on the pitch. Roslan Rahman, AFP / Getty Images A robot plays with a ball during a practice at the RoboCup 2010 championship in Singapore on June 24. Dr. Subramanian Ramamoorthy, an assistant ...
Robot Census Taker Finds a Growing Population
By Sharon Weinberger - AOL News(Oct. 12) -- New Carnegie Mellon University graduate student Heather Knight just wanted to get to know some of the robots on campus. What she found was a population explosion. It turns out robots at the university outnumbered the people creating them. Knight counted 547 robots compared with several hundred faculty and students working on robotics at the Pittsburgh school. And her count doesn't include robots at an off-campus, government-sponsored lab. "I was really shocked that the number was so high," Knight told AOL News in an interview. Knight describes herself as a "social roboticist." ...
Pentagon-Funded Researchers Create Deceptive Robots
By Sharon Weinberger - AOL News(Sept. 16) -- "All war is based on deception," says a famous quote attributed to Sun Tzu, the renowned Chinese military strategist. So perhaps it's not surprising that as robots are being increasingly used in modern warfare, the Pentagon would want to teach them how to deceive the enemy. Now, military-funded researchers say they've developed an algorithm that allows robots to commit basic deceptions in a game of hide and seek. In a recently published paper, roboticists Alan Wagner and Ronald Arkin at the Georgia Institute of Technology say their work, which includes both simulations and ...
Pentagon May Send Robotic 'Mule' to War
By Sharon Weinberger - AOL News(Sept. 3) -- In the 1980s, the CIA sent mules to Afghanistan to help ferry weapons to anti-Soviet fighters. Now, the U.S. military is looking to send robotic pack mules that can carry supplies around the battlefield and lighten the load of overburdened soldiers. Yuri Cortez, AFP / Getty Images The Pentagon thinks overburdened U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan would benefit from the help of robotic "pack mules" designed to transport supplies. The Rapid Equipping Force, a part of the Army designed to provide urgently needed equipment to commanders in military operations, says it wants a cargo ...
Companies Work to Save Bomb-Clearing Robots
By Sharon Weinberger - AOL News(Sept. 1) -- When improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, became the weapon of choice in the early days of the Iraq war, the Pentagon rushed electronic jammers to the field to save soldiers' lives by disrupting the wireless signals that often triggered the deadly roadside bombs. The military also began sending robots designed to help soldiers in the dangerous job of dismantling the bombs. The jammers, and the robots, are credited with saving countless soldiers' lives. Now, in an unusual turn of events, companies are trying to save the robots' lives, too. At a recent robot conference in ...
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