Automaton

Continuing the theme of year-end robot roundups, Scientific American has a nice long article highlighting the big stories in robotics for 2007. Their thoughts on some of the technology for the upcoming year:

This sampling merely scratches the surface of the past year's advances in robotics that whet the appetite for what's to come: Early next year, for instance, researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder will benchmark robotic devices to precisely mix and measure medications used in treatments such as chemotherapy. The robotic Mars rovers Opportunity and Spirit are currently hunkering down in anticipation of the harsh Martian winter season but will soon resume their exploration of the Red Planet. And Scandanavian research firm Sintef is developing artificially intelligent equipment to help offshore oil and gas drilling platforms run more safely and efficiently.

Saturday morning I attended the official kickoff of the 2008 FIRST Robotics Competition season. The big reveal of the 2008 game in Manchester, NH marks the beginning of 6.5 weeks of stress, sleep deprivation, and a lot of Mountain Dew for high school students all over the US and in countries like Israel, the UK, and Brazil.

FIRST is the brainchild of iBot and Segway inventor Dean Kamen, and started as a high school competition in a New Hampshire gymnasium. It has now grown to encompass not only tens of thousands of high school students but also middle school and elementary school students around the world through FIRST Tech Challenge, FIRST LEGO League, and Junior FIRST LEGO League. Each division has a separate season, regional competitions, and championships.

The game this year is called Overdrive. Six teams (three teams on each of two alliances) are on the field at once with their roughly 34" x 34" x 72", 120 lb robots, and must complete laps around a small track while herding a 40" diameter, 10 lb inflated "Trackball" across a finish line. Points are scored for laps completed, times the Trackball crosses a team's finish line on the ground, times it crosses the line by being "hurdled" over a 6' high overpass, and for teams who manage to balance their Trackballs on the overpass before the two minutes of the round times out. Each year the game is different, and each year a new technical challenge comes up: this year, instead of the standard 15 seconds of completely autonomous operation and subsequent 120 seconds of teleoperation, the 15 second autonomous round may be replaced by a hybrid supervisory control mode, where the robots are largely autonomous but may be retasked by a human player using an infrared remote control on the side of the field. A short animation explaining the game can be found on the NASA robotics website.

Teams receive their kit of parts today, which they can augment further using a limited budget. In late February the robots will be shipped off to regional competitions around the country (as well as in Israel and Brazil) where they will meet in competition with other teams' creations. Winners of the regionals and of several important team awards will go on to the Championship at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia.

FIRST is a great way to show high school students how cool robots can be, but it does a fantastic job of achieving its real mission: inspiring students to get excited about and pursue science and engineering. FIRST has academic and industry partners who offer a combined $9M in scholarships every year to the more than 35,000 students who participate in the program and a study from Brandeis University has shown how effective FIRST is in increasing graduation rates, increasing college attendance rates, and increasing the number of students pursuing science and engineering at schools that have formed teams. As the various politicians who attended Saturday's kickoff noted, programs like FIRST are critical to maintaining US competitiveness in the global market for science and innovation.

While it's too late to start a new team for the year -- team registration usually happens in September or October -- it's not too late to get involved as a mentor for these students or as a volunteer at one of the competitions. Find out what's going on in your area!

I'll be traveling to CES in Las Vegas to check out the robots this week. I have a few appointments with some of the companies boothing at the event to see what they're up to, and I'll be updating as often as I have time and Internet access. Can't make the show, but still want to hear about a particular demo, keynote, or display? Leave a comment to let me know what to check out and report back on!

This is my first time at CES, and all I can say is, wow. This is the most overwhelming event I've ever been to. It's like being at Disney World but with more booth babes than princesses. Gadgets are everywhere, the audio systems' bass demonstrations are headache-inducing, and anything that could possibly move is doing so in booths, in the aisles, and sometimes even illicitly overhead.

Robotics Trends organized most of the attending robotics companies into one "Tech Zone" at the Venetian Sands expo hall. This area is right next to the Sandbox zone, an area full of companies that develop high-tech toys, and there's actually a lot of overlap. In addition to this area a handful of automation systems are sprinkled throughout the rest of the show and Bumblebee made an appearance at the Dolby booth in the Convention Center.

I've been spending a lot of time with the robotics companies and there is some seriously exciting stuff here. Stay tuned!

I've long been a little skeptical of Wowwee, makers of the Robosapien. Their black and white toys seemed rather basic and the little dog I have didn't appear to be much advanced beyond the walking and mooing cow I had when I was a toddler (my first robot. It annoyed my parents so much they removed the batteries and told me it died. I've never gotten over it). Frankly, they just seemed boring.

I am very pleased to report that I have been proven wrong. Wowwee's next generation of robot toys on display here at CES are, in a word, awesome.

My favorite is Robosapien's newly developed girlfriend, the Femisapien.

Toys and vacuums are old news; the big new robots this year seem to be telepresence robots. iRobot, Wowwee, and Spykee all brought their new internet-controlled devices to demo video, audio, VoIP, Bluetooth, media players, and other capabilities.

Spykee was introduced at Digital Life last fall and it's already got a group of siblings. Designed by Meccano, the same company that produces the Erector set, all the Spykee versions come as a kit that has to be assembled. The original can be internet controlled from anywhere in the world and can be used for making and receiving Skype VoIP calls as well as playing digital media. Spykee Cell, a smaller version, uses Bluetooth to communicate with your cell phone and can control your iPod Nano or iPod Touch. Since it uses the Bluetooth connection with your cell phone, you can basically use it as a Bluetooth "headset" -- leave your phone on the desk and talk directly to your robot instead.

Wowwee's Rovio looks like a black UFO on Wowwee's popular new omni wheels. Controlled over the Internet, It has the standard camera, two-way speaker and microphone, and video link. What I think is most interesting about Rovio is that it uses Evolution Robotics's NorthStar navigation system to find its way around its environment to return to its docking station whenever it needs recharging. That's a really good partnership between those two companies.

iRobot had its ConnectR telepresence robot on display, though it wasn't being demoed. They are still in the process of identifying beta users for its pilot program that will help them determine what ConnectR will be used for and what features should be developed before the final release. Right now they think the major users will be the "sandwich generation" (middle-aged people taking care of both kids and elderly parents) who want to be able to check up on family members when they can't be physically present, and parents on business travel who want to call home in a more interactive manner.

Is telepresence really the next big thing? Wowwee and Spykee are pitching these robots as toys that kids will want to guard their rooms, play music, and spy on siblings; iRobot 's ConnectR is being pitched to a much older audience but is still waiting for a pilot program to tell them how this technology will really be used. Are these companies guessing right?

Korean company Grandport is showing off their really neat Skyschool i-robo robot course kits. There are Beginner, Junior, Senior, and Expert courses, with a few levels within each. Each level has twelve weeks' worth of 90 minute exercises using the kit of parts and a textbook. The courses start with basic mechanism assembly and circuit board use and a proprietary GUI-based programming, and later incorporate Microsoft Robotics Studio integration, sensors, and navigation. The kits can include ultrasonic or IR sensors, Bluetooth modules, and several different types of motors.

Here's a picture of one of the models they had on display. Most of the kits are good for 10-11 different types of models.

Now that robot toys have started to take off, their creators are starting to make an effort to differentiate the robots for boys and girls. I will spare you my rants about this philosophy for right now and instead talk about what these "girl robots" are and how they differ from their male-oriented counterparts. While I have no doubt that these toys will be popular with the younger girls I know, it's very interesting to see how these robots' creators are tweaking robotic technology in ways they think will best appeal to both genders.

First off is the Femisapien that I talked about a couple of days ago. Arguably the most empowered of the girly toys, she dances, poses, and generally looks awesome. She was made to be Robosapien's girlfriend, and according to one of the Wowwee reps I talked to at the booth, they can not only communicate with one another when in the same vicinity, but Femisapien appropriately speaks "emotish" while Robosapien speaks "caveman." Yes, she emotes and he grunts. She can reportedly order him around, too, though I didn't see any Femi-Robo interaction to verify this.

Spykee Vox and angel-winged Spykee Miss, above, are the yin and yang of Erector's Spykee models. Both are identical voice-activated, programmable, universal IR remote controlling robots that double as iPod docks. Their differences begin the moment you take them out of the box: while both are delivered in pieces that must be assembled, Miss has only one configuration while Vox has three different configurations that the owner can play with. Miss's configurability is related to accessories -- plastic hearts and stars, for example -- that can be attached to her arms or skirt. Their AI personalities are unique: on the MIss, you can choose "friendly" or "mean", and she gives advice in response to spoken questions. On the Vox, you can choose "hero" or "villain" and make him fight by shooting imaginary laser beams.

Finally, Wowwee also had their FlyTech line of fluttering and flying gadgets -- they're not quite robots, though each has varying degrees of simple remote control and navigation or obstacle avoidance capabilities. There's a neat helicopter that can engage in aerial dogfights with another helicopter... and then there are fairies and butterflies that can be launched and will fly around the room.

Beyond the softer design and pink and purple coloring, will the functional differences in these robots really appeal more to girls? Are these versions as likely to get girls interested in robots as a technical interest, or will they just be another toy? If these are the "girl" toys, does this mean until now the toys they've produced have only been "boy" toys?

PLEN is "the world's first desktop-sized humanoid robot", according to its creators at Systec Akazawa in Japan. PLEN comes in a kit full of parts to assemble your own little humanoid, including accessories like rollerskate feet, and with software that allows you to develop, save, and upload your own unique motions. You then control PLEN through Bluetooth-enabled devices like cell phones or PDAs. Below, PLEN demonstrates his skating prowess. (Here's another video of him, kicking a ball)

This month's PC Magazine has a collection of short essays from some of the big names in tech about what the next 25 years will look like in their respective fields. iRobot CEO Colin Angle weighs in with the following:

In 25 years, robots with manipulation capabilities will be common. We won't have artificial intelligence that is indistinguishable from human-level intelligence, but we will have robot intelligence capable of doing many things humans do, including performing a large number of special-purpose tasks. More than 75 percent of homes will have at least one robot regularly performing routine chores. There will be a -hierarchy of robots in your home. You'll communicate with the lead robot using language, and it will tell the other special-purpose robots what to do, but you'll never deal with those other robots directly.

Link to his complete essay.

Illustration: Alan Chan for IEEE Spectrum

Interested in building your own space elevator?

You know, that motorized climber attached to a 100,000-km long superstrong cable stretching from Earth's surface to a counterweight in space, capable of whisking people and cargo to the heavens.

A student robotics competition is calling participants to do just that. Well, not a full-size elevator, but a small functional prototype. The organizers call it the "Space Elevator, Jr."

The contest, organized by Ahad Nasab, a professor of engineering technology at Middle Tennessee State University, in Murfreesboro, is part of the Earth & Space Conference 2008, to take place 3-5 March 2008 in Long Beach, Calif.

The competition calls for students from high schools and colleges to build a climber able to move up and down a 6-meter long ribbon using power received solely by a light source at the base of the ribbon. Bonus points if it carries a payload all the way to the top. It should be fun!

For all the details, visit the page of the competition: http://www.mtsu.edu/~anasab/spaceelevator.htm

Photo: AudioCubes.com

I have many friends who have cats, and sometimes I feel left out of all that feline talk. Bad allergies prevent me from procuring a real cat, but maybe now there's a way I can join the cat-loving bunch.

Today's Times has a story on the AC Gears store that just opened in New York City (the store is the first bricks-and-mortar location of the famed online gadget shop AudioCubes.com), and one of the featured products is the Segatoys Dream Cat Smile Robot.

This Japanese robotic cat, powered by three C batteries, has five touch sensors and it can blink, move its mouth and neck, rear up, and lie down. It also purrs and meows, and if you squeeze the tail it will growl.

If you want one, you can visit AC Gears at 69 East 8th Street in New York, or go to their website: http://www.audiocubes.com/

Thanks, Nancy!

As a kid growing up in a pretty snowy area, part of the wintertime ritual was building a snow fort. Not being talented snow sculptors, one year my friends and I decided to make "bricks" by packing snow into recycling bins, pouring cold water over it, and using the resulting molded ice bricks to construct our forts. (Being kids, our patience for this lasted all of one brick, so the forts weren't a lot to write home about)

But behold! Japan brings us the robotic answer to not just your snow shoveling woes, but snow fort brickmaking as well!

Thanks, Rex!

Georgia Tech announced today that it has established an interdisciplinary doctoral degree in robotics. The program, scheduled to start in the fall, is part of Georgia Tech's new Center for Robotics and Intelligent Machines. Georgia Tech, in Atlanta, says this is the first program of its kind in the United States. From the press release:

Reaching across disciplines and drawing from curricula in computer science, electrical and computer engineering, aerospace, biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering, the doctoral degree is designed to educate a new breed of multidisciplinary researchers who will enter the market best prepared to chart a new course for robotics in the United States.

Georgia Tech says the program expects to admit approximately 15 candidates per year, eventually building it to 60 enrolled students. The program consists of 36 semester hours of core research and elective courses, a comprehensive qualifying exam with written and oral components, and a piece of original research and doctoral thesis.

PS: In October, as we reported, the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, established the first undergraduate robotics engineering degree.

Photos: Barry Trimmer/Tufts University

A soft-bodied caterpillarlike robot prototype developed by researchers at Tufts University will be part of an exhibition at New York's Museum of Modern Art.

The MoMA exhibition, called Design and the Elastic Mind (24 February to 12 May 2008), will showcase examples of "disruptive innovation" -- objects, projects, and concepts from designers, scientists, and engineers from all over the world.

The Tufts team, led by biology professor Barry Trimmer and biomedical engineering professor David Kaplan, drew inspiration from the Manduca sexta caterpillar to build the squishable "softbot" prototype, about 30.5 cm long and made of silicon elastomer.

The researchers, based at Tufts' Medford/Somerville, Mass. campus, say the biomimetic robot could be used in emergency search and rescue operations, medical diagnosis and treatment, and manufacturing and aerospace applications.