12 Most Coolest Robots
Okay we’ve got a long wait to go before we see robots like Terminator come alive, so why don’t we take a look at the most recently invented robots that are kicking ass? From a robot that explore mars to a robot that can run really fast, these robots showcase the latest in our technology so far.
These are some interesting facts about robots by factmonster…
WHAT CAN ROBOTS DO?
Robots can sense and respond to their surroundings. They can handle delicate objects or apply great force—for example, to perform eye operations guided by a human surgeon, or to assemble a car. With ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, robots will also be able to make decisions for themselves.
HOW DO ROBOTS SENSE?
Electronic sensors are a robot’s eyes and ears. Twin video cameras give the robot a 3-D view of the world. Microphones detect sounds. Pressure sensors give the robot a sense of touch, to judge how hard to grip an egg. Built-in computers send and receive information with radio waves.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Artificial intelligence attempts to create computer programs that think like human brains. Current research has not achieved this, but some computers can be programmed to recognize faces in a crowd.
NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover
First up, NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover is set to launch next week. The mobile robot will contain a ton of tools including a drill and robot arm that gather soil samples to look for evidence the Red Planet may have sustained some form of life.
Image: Reuters/NASA
The FastRunner
From PC World we hear about a joint project between the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) and MIT that hopes to reproduce all of the ostrich’s abilities into the fastest-running robot ever built. The FastRunner uses a novel leg design that only needs one actuator per leg and has mechanical tendons. The bigger innovation of this design is that the legs can achieve a much larger stride, letting the bot hit speeds of 20 to 50 miles per hour.
Image: IHMC
Toyota Balance Training Assist robot
Here a man stands on a two-wheeled Toyota Balance Training Assist robot, developed to support training for people with impaired balance.
Image: Reuters/Yuriko Nakao
Bicycle-riding robot Murata Seisaku-kun
The bicycle-riding robot Murata Seisaku-kun has actually been around a few years, but it’s gotten a little faster and more intelligent over time.
Image: Reuters/Kim Kyung Hoon
Honda’s ASIMO
Honda’s ASIMO can run and jump as well as pick things up and move them. Here it serves tea.
Image: Reuters/Herwig Prammer
Panasonic’s HOSPI-Rimo robot
Panasonic’s HOSPI-Rimo robot is a communications assistant system that features automatic movement and can facilitate conversations between people who are in separate places, such as when a doctor is in hospital and a patient at home. According to Panasonic, the robot can help people with limited mobility.
Image: Reuters/Kim Kyung Hoon
Panasonic’s hair-washing robot
Here we see Panasonic’s hair-washing robot doing business on a mannequin’s hair. The robot was developed for those who have difficulty completing the task on their own. The process from washing to drying can be completed automatically using advanced robot fingers after the robot scans the user’s head and recognizes its shape, the company said.
Image: Reuters/Kim Kyung Hoon
Toyota Independent Walk Assist robot
Here Fujita Health University Professor Eiichi Saito wears a Toyota Independent Walk Assist robot that, once mounted onto a paralyzed human leg, will help the knee bend and facilitate natural walking. The robot is part of the Toyota Partner Robot series slated to be available to the public in 2013, according to Toyota.
Image: Reuters/Yuriko Nakao
Panasonic’s Evolta
Panasonic’s Evolta line of robots can swim, bike and run. The little bot has competed in an Ironman Triathlon and bicycled around the Le Mans track in France. What have you done lately?
Image: Reuters/Yuriko Nakao
Albert Hubo: an “Einstein” Robot
Albert Hubo is a humanoid robot based on HUBO, but with Einstein’s face on top of it. It was developed by South Korean scientists and professor Joon Ho oh. The face is built by Hanson Robotics, a company specialized in making robot faces. Hubo became the main brand and is called as ‘DYNAMIC KOREA’. Other countries say that Albert hubo is one of the best robots, with high techniques. It can make 30 or more facial expressions with Einstein’s face, and can communicate with people.
Stanley
Stanley is an autonomous car created by Stanford University’s Stanford Racing Team in cooperation with the Volkswagen Electronics Research Laboratory (ERL). It competed in, and won, the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge, earning the Stanford Racing Team the 2 million dollar prize.
BigDog: the robotic mule
BigDog is a dynamically stable quadruped robot created in 2005 by Boston Dynamics with Foster-Miller, the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Harvard University Concord Field Station. BigDog is 3 feet (0.91 m) long, stands 2.5 feet (0.76 m) tall, and weighs 240 pounds (110 kg), about the size of a small mule. It is capable of traversing difficult terrain, running at 4 miles per hour (6.4 km/h), carrying 340 pounds (150 kg), and climbing a 35 degree incline.Locomotion is controlled by an onboard computer that receives input from the robot’s various sensors. Navigation and balance are also managed by the control system.
