Cool New Robots and Their Nifty Tricks
Here’s a sampling of some of the interesting things the most recent generation of robots are doing.
A Robot That Walks on Water--
Water striders, insects that walk on the surface of the water, may never set foot on land in their lives, and yet they’re not swimmers. Over the past million or so years, this insect—sometimes called a water skater—has optimized its use of surface tension to balance its 0.01-gram body on lakes, ponds, and even oceans.
Researchers Yun Seong Song, a PhD student in mechanical engineering, and Metin Sitti, assistant professor in mechanical engineering, both from Carnegie Mellon University, have recently built a robot that mimics the water strider’s natural abilities. The first water striding robot, with an appearance and design closely resembling its insect counterpart, doesn’t ever break the surface tension of the water, and is highly maneuverable.
“Water strider robots—we call them STRIDEs (Surface Tension Robotic Insect Dynamic Explorer)—can walk on water only 3-4 mm deep (shallow water),” Sitti explained to PhysOrg.com. “Their power efficiency and agility (speed and maneuverability) are much superior for relatively small water vehicles since the STRIDE legs have much less drag than any buoyancy based robot.”
A Japanese Housecleaning Robot That Can Operate Elevators—
A robot that can use an elevator in apartment complexes to stop off at corridors to clean was put to work at a condominium in Japan.
The Robot was jointly developed by Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. and Sumitomo Corp. It comes with a price tag of around 7 million yen.
Pricey, worth it they say. The robot is equipped with a sensor that allows it to interface with elevator sensors to open and close elevator doors, so it can make it’s own way around without any help. Plus its ability to clean even the smallest spaces is said to be far better than any human.
A Robot That Can See, Touch and Feel
Once the stuff of science fiction, robots are now coming out with human-like senses. These type of robots are primarily being developed for the elderly or mobility-impaired, especially in light of aging Baby Boomers.
Unlike its predecessors, Domo has the ability to sense touch, necessary for safe interaction with humans. Springs in its arms, hands and neck can sense force, allowing it to respond appropriately.
"By placing that spring in there, you get physical compliance that makes the whole body sort of springy, which makes it safer for human interaction," Edsinger said. But too much force or moving Domo's arms in the wrong direction and the robot will let you know that you are hurting it by saying, "ouch."
Original funding for Domo came from NASA, and the project is now supported by Toyota who is interested in the robot for assembly line production. It’s creator say that intelligent robots could save manufacturing jobs from being sent overseas. Because hey, wouldn’t you rather your job was taken over by a “local” robot than a foreigner...wait a second…
Posted by Rebecca Sato
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