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Wall-Ye wine robot takes bow in Burgundy

Robotisation : Le VIN de Wall Ye, The Wine Robot

This Little Robot Will Help Make the Wine You Swill

This Little Robot Will Help Make the Wine You Swill Jamie Condliffe This little chap, known as Wall-Ye V.I.N., might look adorable, but he means business. With four wheels, two arms, six cameras, and on-board GPS, he's capable of pruning 600 vines a day in order to help make the wine you swill every evening. Developed in—surprise, surprise—France, Wall-Ye is designed to take on the more menial chores a vineyard has to offer: namely pruning vines and removing unproductive young shoots. At the same time, though, he's capable of collecting data as he trundles around, keeping an eye on soil conditions and the state of the vines. Its AI brain, far from booze-sozzled, allows it to gradually create an accurate map of the vineyard, learning as it goes, and its cameras mean it can recognize plant features. All-told, it looks like it could replace vineyard workers if they're not careful. Indeed, the robot is about to be trialled at Bordeaux's Chateau Mouton-Rothschild—probably the most exclusive vineyard in the world. If that' goes well, it could well seal Wall-Ye's fate. Something better had, at any rate, because otherwise the $32,000 price tag will no doubt deter many a wine producer. [Wall-Ye via AFP via Verge] http://gizmodo.com/

Robot Hall of Fame inducts Big Dog, PackBot, Nao and WALL-E (video)

Robot Hall of Fame inducts Big Dog, PackBot, Nao and WALL-E (video) By Brian Heater posted Oct 23rd, 2012 at 11:41 PM

It's the sort of ceremony that's so magical it can only occur on even-numbered years. Inventors, educators, entertainers, college students and media folk gathered at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh, PA tonight for the 2012 inductions to the Robot Hall of Fame, a Carnegie Mellon-sponsored event created to celebrate the best of our mechanical betters. This year, the field included four categories, judged by both a jury of 107 writers, designs, entrepreneurs and academics and the public at large, each faction constituting half the voting total. The show kicked off, however, with the induction of 2010 winners, the Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers, the da Vinci Surgical System, iRobot's Roomba, the Terminator and Huey, Dewey and Louie, a trio of robots from 1971's Silent Running. The first 'bot to secure its spot in the class of 2012, was the programmable humaoid Nao, from Aldebaran Robotics, which beat out the iRobot Create and Vex Robotics Design System in the Educational category. The PackBot military robot from iRobot took the Industrial and Service category, beating out the Kiva Mobile Robotic Fulfillment System and Woods Hole Oceanographic's Jason. Boston Dynamic's Big Dog ran over some stiff competition in the form of Willow Garage's PR2 and NASA's Robonaut to win the Research title. And WALL-E triumphed over doppelganger Johnny Five and the Jetsons' Rosie in the Entertainment category. Relive the festivities in four minutes after the break.

Humanoid Robots from Disney

Disney Research Invents Robot You Can Juggle With Posted on November 21, 2012 by John Frost Some pretty amazing robot animatronic developments coming out of Disney Research Pittsburgh these days. The latest to be revealed is this robot you can play catch and even juggle with. Entertainment robots in theme park environments typically do not allow for physical interaction and contact with guests. However, catching and throwing back objects is one form of physical engagement that still maintains a safe distance between the robot and participants. Using a theme park type animatronic humanoid robot, we developed a test bed for a throwing and catching game scenario. We use an external camera system (ASUS Xtion PRO LIVE) to locate balls and a Kalman filter to predict ball destination and timing. The robot’s hand and joint-space are calibrated to the vision coordinate system using a least-squares technique, such that the hand can be positioned to the predicted location. Successful catches are thrown back two and a half meters forward to the participant, and missed catches are detected to trigger suitable animations that indicate failure. Human to robot partner juggling (three ball cascade pattern, one hand for each partner) is also achieved by speeding up the catching/throwing cycle. We tested the throwing/catching system on six participants (one child and five adults, including one elderly), and the juggling system on three skilled jugglers. Disney Research provides the sciences behind the magic and is part of Walt Disney Imagineering’s efforts to tap into the brightest minds in America for it’s R&D. The Pittsburg office is associated with Carnegie Mellon University, which also has the CMU Entertainment Technology Program. CMU ETC grads are quite frequently hired directly by WDI, Pixar, Universal Creative and similar groups.

Robotic Autobot Transformer

Robotic Autobot Transformer Shows Other 3D-Printed Gear Who’s Boss BY CHRISTINA BONNINGTON 11.28.12 9:30 AM

Forget scale models of the Aston Martin DB5 or personalized action figures. This is what 3D printers were meant to do: create real, robotic Transformers. Or at least a version of a Transformer that would actually fit in your living room. Brave Robotics developed a 1/12 scale Autobot transformer using a custom 3D printer, and it will be on display at Maker Faire Tokyo next week. Once fully morphed out of its initial automobile form, it takes the shape of a bipedal robot that moves about much like two-legged soccer-playing robots we’ve seen at Robocup and Robogames. This robot also has the ability to shoot some sort of dart from each of its arms. A fully assembled and programed mini-Autobot, complete with remote control and housed in its own case, will be available for purchase, but a price has not yet been disclosed. Production is limited to 10 units, but you can choose the colors of your Decepticon fighting robot. Once you’ve placed your order, it’ll take about a month to produce. Check out this Earth-defending, shape-shifting robot in action below.

Explore the World of Robotics On Your iPad

Explore the World of Robotics On Your iPad By Rachel CericolaEmail AuthorNovember 29, 2012 | 8:30 am

Robots have always been an endless source of fascination and inspiration for books, movies, TV and life in general. Our own GeekMom Kathy Ceceri even turned the topic into a hands-on adventure in her book, Robotics: Discover the Science and Technology of the Future. If you have the interest but maybe not the skills, check out the new Robots for iPad app. Designed by the geeks at IEEE Spectrum, the app has insanely detailed information on 126 robots from 19 countries. A few of the featured robots include NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover and Google’s self-driving car, as well as plenty of super-cool androids, drones and exoskeletons The app is hours of fun for beginners and enthusiasts, with 34 different 360-degree views and interactive animations, tons of technical specs, and hundreds of photos, videos, and other tidbits. This actually may be the closest many of you will ever get to a robot — and it’s pretty darn close, thanks to that interactivity. For instance, users can get the little humanoid Nao to perform tai chi or make the child robot iCub crawl back and forth, all with the touch of a finger. How cool is that? Other features include audio interviews with leading roboticists, an in-depth glossary, and profile pages on each robot with detailed specs, including dimensions, sensors, actuators, cost, and more. The app also invites users to rate each robot and ranks them as the top rated, most wanted and even the creepiest. Optimized for the Retina display, the Robots for iPad app works with any iPad model, including the new iPad mini. It’s available now at the iTunes App Store for $4.99.