Chinees restaurant zet 'oberrobots' in | nu.nl/gadgets. These $10 Robots Will Change Robotics Education | Wired Design. And the future of robotics education in Africa is ... Chupa Chups? When the African Robotics Network announced their $10 robot design challenge this summer, co-founder Ken Goldberg was careful not to share too many expectations, lest he influence contestants' designs. But he never imagined one of the winning entries would prominently feature a pair of Spanish lollipops. The challenge, hosted by AFRON co-founders Goldberg and Ayorkor Korsah, emphasized inexpensive designs to help bring robotics education to African classrooms. "The ingenuity that has come from all over the world to address this problem is just astounding," Goldberg said in an interview with Wired Design. The contest had a few simple restrictions, including the loose $10 target; entrants from around the world had to build a prototype, offer instructions on a website, and make the whole plan open-source, software included.
"It's a mix of people who really ... want to make this happen," said Goldberg. How Rethink Robotics Built Its New Baxter Robot Worker. Photo: David Yellen for IEEE Spectrum MEET BAXTER: Rethink Robotics has developed a next-generation factory robot that is versatile, easy to program, and costs just US $22 000. In the center of an otherwise unremarkable office stand six large robotic torsos mounted on pedestals and positioned along a bench that’s covered with piles of plastic widgets.
One robot methodically moves widget after widget onto a conveyor belt, the animated face on its LCD screen displaying an expression of quiet concentration. The task is mundane, but the robot is not: This is Baxter, the culmination of nearly five years of secretive development, based on the vision of Rodney Brooks, possibly the world’s most celebrated roboticist. With US $62 million in funding from top-tier investors such as Bezos Expeditions and Charles River Ventures, Rethink Robotics has been the subject of a great deal of interest and speculation since its founding in 2008.
Brooks is clearly thrilled to show off his latest creation. Co-working robots like Baxter promise a future for home robotics. My favorite new vocabulary word for the year is "co-working," when applied to robots. In June I spoke with Dr. Oskar Von Stryk from the University of Darmstadt, who explained the category to me. Little did we know, Rethink Robotics was just months away from introducing "Baxter," a machine which epitomizes the co-working robot — and which will likely rule the category for the foreseeable future.
Baxter won't get bored A co-working robot is an industrial robot designed for smaller businesses, and less rigorous tasks. Instead of welding car doors, co-working robots do simple manipulation of objects — like picking them up, and then putting them somewhere else. Co-working robots are also need to be easy to program, by definition. Safety is a "new" concern for robots. Most important to this category's allure, to my mind at least, is price. A serious bargain for a two-armed robot of its capabilities What's truly wild is that $22,000 isn't the basement of these co-working prices. * 'Eerste 10.000 robots arriveren bij Foxconn-fabrieken' | IT Pro. Alle ontwikkelde economieën zijn in sterke mate in diensten gespecialiseerd. Zo is in Nederland het aandeel van de dienstensector 73% van het BBP, in Duitsland is dat 71%, in Japan (waar toch heel wat gefabriceerd wordt) 75% (bron).
Dit is te verklaren doordat de technologische vooruitgang daar relatief minder snel gaat, zodat de relatieve prijs van industriële producten continu aan het dalen is t.o.v. de prijs van diensten. Consumenten blijken goederen en diensten echter het liefste in een tot op zekere hoogte vaste verhouding te consumeren. Om dat mogelijk te maken is er sprake van een constante verschuiving naar sectoren met een lage productiviteitsgroei. Over dit onderwerp bestaat een hele (wetenschappelijke) literatuur, waarmee ik je niet wil vermoeien.
Het is dus extreem onwaarschijnlijk dat het aandeel van de industrie in China op de huidige 49% zal blijven naarmate dat land zich verder ontwikkeld. Is er geen werk dan betekent dit minder productiviteit en dus ook minder inkomen. 11 cool robots you may not have heard of. * Double Robotics - Wheels for your iPad. Dutch Robotics. * BotSport.tv. Netherlands - stofzuig- en dweilrobots, Roomba®, Scooba® * Robot chefs taking over China's noodle bars. * Ultra realistic android. Androids (current) Below are some of the androids currently being developed around the world. This list will be updated as more information becomes available. Actroid This female android was first unveiled in 2003.
Several more advanced units have since been developed. ASIMO is perhaps the most well-known android in the world today. Domestic robots Until recently, the idea of robots appearing in peoples' homes was considered science fiction, or something which only the very rich had access to. Initially popular in Japan, Korea and the Far East, they are now spreading to Western homes too. Korea has a stated goal of "a robot in every home by 2020," and Samsung has already developed a robot maid that "recognizes people, can turn on microwave ovens, washing machines and toasters, and also pick up sandwiches, cups and whatever else it senses as objects PR2 is a two-armed, wheeled robot.
Each of the robot's two arms can lift up to 1.8 kilograms each. Roomba. -= TeamDARE -=- High Tech Entertainment =- This Robotic Dragonfly Will Soon Flit Into Your Nightmares For $99. Researchers at Georgia Tech have created a robotic dragonfly that can hover, dive, and climb like a real insect. With the help of a $1,000,000 grant from the Air Force, the team has built multiple prototypes of the consumer device and is now working on an Indiegogo project to sell the basic dragonfly for $99 and an upgraded version for $179. The ultimate version will cost $399 although they expect it to cost $1,500 retail.
Founded by a team of scientists including Dr. Jayant Ratti and Emanuel Jones, the dragonfly has an SDK and can be used to map spaces, create internal visual models, and automated patrolling. The “elite” model is the coolest, by far. Early buyer special! You can also get a swarm package of up to 8 dragonflies, which sounds like it could get fun/dangerous. Project Page.