Palm Pilot Robot

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute, working in the toy and entertainment area, have developed an easy-to-build, autonomous robot controlled by a Palm handheld computer. The system,originally built with off-the-shelf components, has been commercialized by Acroname, Inc., of Boulder, Colo., which is selling it in a kit.

"The Palm Pilot Robot was created to enable just about anyone to start building and programming mobile robots at a modest cost," said Illah Nourbakhsh, assistant professor of robotics and head of the institute's Toy Robots Initiative. "The Palm makes a handy robot controller. It packs a lot of computational power in a small size, runs on batteries, and best of all, can display graphics and an interactive user interface."

Robotic elements built into the base on which the Palm sits empower it to move about on flat surfaces and sense its nearby surroundings. The base is equipped with three "omni-wheels" with independent control of rotation that allow movement in any direction. The base also incorporates three optical range sensors, enabling the palm robot to "see" the world up to about a meter away and sense nearby obstacles and walls.

Complete construction plans and software for the Palm Pilot Robot are documented on its Web site and can be downloaded and installed directly on the Palm. The source code is also available and can be modified, compiled and installed on the Palm as well. In addition, there are libraries that greatly simplify the programming of the robot.

Nourbakhsh collaborated on the development of the Palm Pilot Robot with Computer Science Professor Matthew T. Mason and his laboratory assistant, Grigoriy Reshko, a freshman in Carnegie Mellon's School of Computer Science. The project grew out of earlier work in Mason's Manipulation Laboratory where he and Reshko were developing easy and inexpensive rapid prototyping of small robots using simple construction techniques and plastic gear motors.

Mason had envisioned a small tabletop robot that could tidy up a desk. Nourbakhsh was thinking of something students could use in a high schoo setting, and the 17-year-old Reshko had the mindset and technical expertise to combine their visions. When Reshko had ironed the bugs out of the robot a couple weeks ago, he released a pilot version at his Web site, which has since received more than 150,000 hits.

Acroname is a six-year-old company whose goal is to make robotics easier by providing parts and descriptions for better robots. Descriptions of their products and information on robotics can be found at their Web site.

Palm Pilot Robot Website http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~pprk

Honda ASIMO Robot

From Honda Motor Co.comes a new small, lightweight humanoid robot named ASIMO that is able to walk in a manner which closely resembles that of a human being.

One area of Honda's basic research has involved the pursuit of developing an autonomous walking robot that can be helpful to humans as well as be of practical use in society. Research and development on this project began in 1986. In 1996 the prototype P2 made its debut, followed by P3 in 1997.

"ASIMO" is a further evolved version of P3 in an endearing people-friendly size which enables it to actually perform tasks within the realm of a human living environment. It also walks in a smooth fashion which closely resembles that of a human being. The range of movement of its arms has been significantly increased and it can now be operated by a new portable controller for improved ease of operation.

ASIMO Special Features:

Small & Lightweight Compared to P3, ASIMO's height was reduced from 160cm to 120cm and its weight was reduced from 130kg to a mere 43kg. A height of 120cm was chosen because it was considered the optimum to operate household switches, reach doorknobs in a human living space and for performing tasks at tables and benches. By redesigning ASIMO's skeletal frame, reducing the frame's wall thickness and specially designing the control unit for compactness and light weight, ASIMO was made much more compact and its weight was reduced to a remarkable 43kg.

Advanced Walking Technology Predicted Movement Control (for predicting the next move and shifting the center of gravity accordingly) was combined with existing walking control know-how to create i-WALK (intelligent real-time flexible walking) technology, permitting smooth changes of direction. Additionally, because ASIMO walks like a human, with instant response to sudden movements, its walking is natural and very stable.

Simple Operation To improve the operation of the robot, flexible walking control and button operation (for gesticulations and hand waving) can be carried out by either a workstation or from the handy portable controller.

Expanded Range of Movement By installing ASIMO's shoulder's 20 degrees higher than P3, elbow height was increased to 15 degrees over horizontal, allowing a wider range of work capability. Also, ASIMO's range of vertical arm movement has been increased to 105 degrees, compared to P3's 90-degree range.

People-Friendly Design In addition to its compact size, ASIMO features a people-friendly design that is attractive in appearance and easy to live with.

About the Name
ASIMO is an abbreviation for "Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility"; revolutionary mobility progressing into a new era.

Specifications:
*Degrees of Freedom: The human joint has one degree of freedom for each range of movement; forward/ backward, up/down and rotation.

Honda Website http://www.honda.co.jp

Sony 2nd Generation AIBO

Following on from the sale of the first ever autonomous entertainment robot AIBO ERS-110, Sony now introduce a 2nd Generation "AIBO" ERS-210 that has a greater ability to express emotion for more intimate communication with people. Available now, with no restriction on the number of units produced or the time period for orders: all customers ordering "AIBO" ERS-210 will be able to purchase a unit.

The new AIBO has additional movement in both ears and an increased number of LED (face x 4, tail x 2) and touch sensors (head, chin, back) which means that it can show an abundant array of emotions such as "joy" and "anger". In order to increase interaction with people, the ERS-210 series most distinctive feature, its autonomous robot technology (reacting to external stimulus and making its own judgements) that allows AIBO to learn and mature, has been enhanced. It will now include features frequently requested by AIBO owners such as a Name Recording Function (recognizes its own name). Voice Recognition (recognizes simple words) and Photo Taking.

The technologies that allow the ERS-210 to communicate, such as the autonomous feature which gives AIBO the ability to learn and mature plus the voice recognition technologies etc. will be available on a special flash memory AIBO Memory Stick software application (Autonomous AlBO-ware) called "AIBO Life" [ERF-210AW01] (*sold separately).

So that people can enjoy using AIBO in a variety of new ways an additional two application software (AlBO-ware), "Hello AIBO! Type A" [ERF-210AW02] demonstration software and "Party Mascot" [ERF-21 OAW03] game software (*both sold separately), are also being introduced. A new line-up of AIBO accessories such as a carrying case and software that enables owners to perform simple edits to AlBO's movements and tonal sounds on a home PC will also be offered to personalize the way owners can enjoy interacting with their AIBO.

Main Features of "AIBO" ERS-210:

Three Different Color Variations

The [ERS-210] is available in three colour variations (silver, gold and black) so customers can choose the one that suits them best.

Autonomous Robot AIBO - actions based on own judgement

When used with Memory Stick application (AlBO-ware) "AIBO Life" (*sold separately) [ERF- 210AW01] AIBO acts as a fully autonomous robot and can make independent decisions about its own actions and behavior. AIBO grows up with abundant individuality by interacting with its environment and communicating with people by responding to its own instincts such as "the desire to play with people" and "the desire to look for the objects it loves".

Enhanced Features to Express Emotions

When used in conjunction with "AIBO Life" (*sold separately) AIBO [ERS-210] owners can enjoy the following features to their full capacity:

Touch Sensors on the head. chin and back
In addition to the sensor on the head, new touch sensors have been added to the back and under the chin for more intimate interaction with people.

20 Degrees of Freedom
A greater variety of expressions due to an increase in the degrees of freedom of movement from 18 on the [ERS-110] and [ERS-111] (mouth x 1, head x 3, tail x 2, leg x3 per leg) to 20 degrees of freedom with new movement added to the ears on the AIBO IERS-210].

LED on the Tail
In addition to LED (light-emitting diodes) on the face, LED have been added to the tail. A total of 4 LED on the face (expressing emotions such as "joy" "anger") plus 2 on the tail (expressing emotions like "anxiety" "agitation") allows AIBO to express a greater variety of emotions.

Enhanced Communication Ability with New Advanced Features

When used in conjunction with "AIBO Life" (*sold separately) AIBO [ERS-210] has the following features: Personalized Name (name recording & recognition): Owners can record their own personal name for "AIBO" and it will respond to this name by actions and emitting a special electronic sound. @ Word Recognition (voice recognition function): Depends on AlBO's level of development and maturity. The number of words and numbers AIBO can recognize will change as it grows up until it can recognize about 50 simple words. In response to the words it recognizes AIBO will perform a variety of actions and emit electronic sounds. Response to Intonation of Speech (synthetic AIBO language): When spoken to, "AIBO" can imitate the intonation (musical scale) of the words it hears by using its own "AIBO language" (tonal electronic language).

Photo Taking Function
If used in conjunction with "AIBO Life" and "AIBO Fun Pack" software applications (*both sold separately) AIBO will take a photograph of what it can see using a special colour camera when it hears someone say "Take a photo". Using "AIBO Fun Pack" software [ERF-PC01] photographs taken by AIBO can be seen on a home PC screen.

Wireless LAN Card
By purchasing a seperate IEEE802.11b Wireless LAN card [ERA-201D1], inserting it into a PC card slot and using "AIBO Master Studio" software (*sold seperately) the movements and sounds AIBO makes can be created on a home PC and sent wirelessly to control AIBO's movements.

Other Features
Open-R v1.1 architecture
Uses Sony's original real-time Operating System "Aperios".
The head and legs can be removed from the body and changed.

Cyber K'NEX

Cyber K'NEX is a new range of robots, dogs and racing cars which react to their surroundings using light, motion, infra-red and sound sensors, making independent decisions about their next actions! Each model is programmed using a Cyber Key, which gives its own distinctive character and brings it to life. Their movements can all be triggered by standard TV or stereo remote control units. At the top of the range, the Ultra set has its own programmable controller that allows children to trigger the models to act out different responses.

For example, Woof, the Cyber K'NEX dog, can detect when an intruder walks into a room and will ward them off by growling and snarling, while Mectron, the Cyber K'NEX robot will respond by speaking and flashing his lights or firing missiles from the rocket launcher in his chest.

Each Cyber K'NEX set can build at least three models, all with their own character determined by the Cyber Key which is simply plugged into the back of the model. Cyber Keys can be interchanged with each model that is made from the set and with the Ultra set, additional "personalities" may be downloaded from the K'NEX website.

Sets include the "Super Racers", - a range of futuristic vehicles, guaranteed to tackle everything in their path, the "Cybots" - 21st century robots and the "Ultra" set - building a range of models including Woof the Cyber K'NEX dog.

Cyber K'NEX http://www.knex.co.uk

(source - www.21stcentury.co.uk )