#Gzweb for mobile platforms Gzweb Mobile from OSRF on Vimeo. During her Gnome Outreach Program for Women internship with OSRF Louise Poubel made Gzweb work on mobile platforms by designing a mobile-friendly interface
and implementing lighter graphics. Until recently Gazebo was only accessible on the desktop. Gzweb Gazebo web client allows visualization of simulations in a web browser.
Louise implemented the graphics using Webgl. The interface includes menus suitable for mobile devices and multi-touch interactions to navigate the 3d scene.
Louise conducted usability tests throughout the development phase in order to improve user experience and quickly discover
and resolve bugs. To optimize 3d rendering performance on mobile platforms she also implemented a mesh simplifcation tool
which allows users to choose how much to simplify 3d models in the database during the deployment stage
and generate coarse versions of meshes to be used by gzweb. Mobile devices have been and will continue to be a big part of our lives.
With Gzweb Mobile users can visualize simulations on mobile phones and tablets and interact with the scene inserting shapes and moving models around.
References: http://www. gazebosim. orggzweb wikirepositories: Gzweb Bitbucket repositor r
#The People#s Bot: Robotic telepresence for the public good have wanted you ever to attend a conference that was too far away expensive or sold out?
Whether youe a penniless researcher interested youth or a group of elderly people who want to live in other people bodies (like in that weird movie Being John Malkovich) your wish may be granted.
& support public interest media-making through scholarships media fellowships and auctions. nd by public good they mean for example sneaking into purchasing participant registration for The People Bot at the highly popular Computer-Human-Interaction Conference
but like many people can afford to attend it looks like you can still bid for a much cheaper telepresence opportunity on ebay.
Bid on Ebay to attend the History of Wearables & Google glass exhibit at CHI (proceeds go to the CHI student travel grants).
Rumor has it The People Bot is currently wandering around the Theorizing the Web conference in New york city.
While not everyone here at Robohub agrees that a telepresence device is technically a robot this is a pretty cool project.
#Chinese city aims to have 80%of production done by Robots by 2020 South China s economic powerhouse of Guangzhou has set a goal of having 80 percent of the city s manufacturing production done by robots
and automobile manufacturing food processing and the manufacturing of pharmaceutical electronic and dangerous products. The document says that there will be subsidies of up to 30000 yuan (4800 US dollars) for those who purchase
or rent a robot and a maximum one-off subsidy of 500000 yuan for companies that introduce a complete set of automation equipment in Guangzhou capital of Guangdong Province.
electrical engineering and neuroscience. While these interests may seem divergent the synthesis of them led him to Brown University#s Braingate Group where he is the Senior Research and development Engineer.
Says Bacher#applying technology to the area of neuroscience just always fascinated me.##The Braingate Group is on the cutting edge of an emerging technology#brain-machine interfaces.
Their advances have allowed individuals with extensive paralysis and locked-in syndrome to interact with the world around them by controlling a computer mouse with their mind.
Moving a mouse is something that most of us take for granted but an individual with locked-in syndrome that is fully awake and conscious has no other means of producing speech move limbs
or make facial movements. Through a device implanted in the skull the Braingate device interfaces with a computer allowing the individual to interact with their environment.
This technology is made possible in part by extensive mapping of the neural activity of the brain
but revolutionary hardware designed by engineers like Bacher have also been key. Bacher began working on the Braingate technology by conducting brain-machine interface research on nonhuman primates.
Or as Bacher describes it#basically having monkeys playing video games with their brains.##This research helped Bacher
and other researchers understand how the brain works and begin development of the assistive technologies.
When the opportunity to join the Braingate group presented itself Bacher jumped at the chance.
and supports assistive communication technologies for individuals who are unable to effectively communicate due to neurological injury and disease.
Bacher#s approach also takes worldwide emerging technology trends in hands-free computing robotics and other areas and finds ways to translate them into helping disabled individuals.
Says Bacher#if we develop a piece of technology for someone with a spinal cord injury who is moving their head to control a computer there s no reason that can#t help someone
#Human computer interface technology is limited still largely to touch keyboard and mouse. The research conducted by Bacher
Says Bacher#clearly a mouse and a keyboard even today seems like an antiquated way to interact with technology.
We#ve seen developments like touch-screen technology and voice-control come along way but it#s still not mainstream.
In order to really penetrate the commercial marketplace there s a high threshold for how well something has to work.#
Smart phones can provide the#brains#for assistive devices. Eye motion-capture technologies developed for paralyzed individuals open up new ways for the general public to interact with technology
The latest in soft-bodied robots created by team of engineers of the Computer science and Artificial intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at the Massachusetts institute of technology.
The team comprised of Daniela Rus Professor of Electrical engineering and Computer science and Director of CSAIL Cagdas Onal Assistant professor of Mechanical engineering at the Worcester Polytechnic institute and Andrew Marchese a doctoral candidate in engineering at MIT created the robot to be autonomous.
This means it has all the necessary sensing actuation and computation on board. Its flexible body is made of silicone rubber.
The robot fish is able to swish from side to side as onboard gas inflates
In the not so distant future the fish-bot could be put to use for covert science missions where it might be able to infiltrate schools of real fish to collect data about their behavior.
and size to fit variable environments and interact with living things without causing them harm. Possible applications include:
#Lifehand 2 prosthetic grips and senses like a real hand Roboticists and doctors working in Switzerland
Using a combination of surgically implanted electrodes (connected at one end to the nervous system and at the other end to sensors) and an algorithm to convert signals the team has produced a hand that sends information back to the brain that is so detailed that the wearer could even tell the hardness of objects he was given to Hold in a paper published in Science Translational Medicine in Feb. 2014
the team from EPFL (Switzerland) and SSSA (Italy) headed by Prof. Micera of EPFL and NCCR-Robotics presented an entirely new type of prosthetic hand Lifehand 2 that is capable of interfacing with the nervous system of the wearer
The first step of this mechanism involves transverse intrafascicular multichannel electrodes (TIMES) being implanted surgically in the median and ulna nerves in the arm#those that control the sensory fields of the palm and fingers.
The electrodes are connected then to a number of sensors distributed across the prosthetic hand in locations that mimic the locations of tendons on a real hand.
The signals from the sensors are relayed then to an external unit where they are processed before being passed back to the nerves in a format that allows the brain to understand how much pressure is being exerted on the sensors much like how information is passed from a real hand to the brain.
and are used to decode the intentions of the user and a power source is used to activate the hand in one of four different grasping motions.
and it was found that the brain automatically assimilated data from multiple sensors in the palm of the hand.
While prosthetics is not new just the idea of a technique that allows sensors motors
However the tests indicated that this was not the case thus opening up the technology to a wide range of potential users.
As with any other science or technology project the work is still ongoing. Although the functionality of the hand has been demonstrated to be lifelike the appearance of a hand made of plastics iron tendons
and electrical circuits is not so the team is working on creating a sensitive polymer skin to make the appearance of the hand more realistic and more usable in everyday life situations.
In a parallel line of work in order for the hand to be made portable the electronics required for the sensory feedback system must be miniaturized
so that they can be implanted into the prosthetic. If you liked this article you may also be interested in:
See allâ the latest robotics newsâ on Robohub orâ sign up for our weekly newsletter.
#Robonaut doctor to practice in space Astronauts all know how important it is to stay healthy in space.
Weightlessness alone can cause a number of physiological changes including muscle atrophy loss of blood volume and bone loss.
Most astronauts complete medical training which equips them with the skills to perform procedures such as first aid and basic surgery.
But what happens if theres an emergency and no medical expert to assist? NASA came up with the answer recently
when their teams began putting one of its humanoid robots through medical school. Should a medical incident arise in space that human crew members are unable to deal with themselves the robo-doc will be there to save the day.
Once trained the robot doctor should be able to complete basic medical procedures unassisted. For more complicated procedures an earth-based physician could control the robot via telepresence.
After its training is complete the $2. 5 million Robonaut 2 designed to assist astronauts with their duties both inside
and outside the International space station will be able to add medical practices to its resume. Medical training is a complex and lengthy process even for a robot.
Unfortunately there is no super-software that can be uploaded to the robot to make it become an instant medical expert.
But one of R2s instructors Dr. Zsolt Garami M d. says that the robot is a quick learner;
in one hour it can pick up as much as it takes human medical student one week to learn.
R2 joined its mechanical twin Robonaut 1 aboard the International space station on August 22 2013. Unlike R1 which is just a head
Software may be upgraded in the future to allow R2 to move around the stations interior and perform routine maintenance tasks such as cleaning filters.
Other upgrades may enable the robot to work outside the space station to perform repairs and maintenance checks
when there is no call for medical assistance. In the not too distant future robotic doctors could be beneficial for patients here on earth where they could perform telesurgery in remote areas
or where specialist surgeons are not available. Its also reassuring to know that by the time humans are ready to colonize Mars Robonaut doctors will be there to lend a healing hand d
#Urban vegetable garden system with LED lighting Keystone Technology LED vegetable garden system is a cultivation system for indoor plant factories that uses LED lighting instead of sunlight.
The most defining feature of the system on display at the company showroom in Yokohama is its 3-dimensional use of space. his is tiered a 5 cultivation system.
For smaller heads of lettuce you can harvest about 1500 heads in one month. If this were to be fit into a container of about 20 feet (6m) it would be equivalent to 970 sq. meters.
Thus with 16 sq. meters you could produce an amount that is on par with 970 sq. meters.
Because plants with leaves that spread sideways take up more space the number of such stalks that can be cultivated is reduced.
On the other hand plants that grow upwards can be planted with smaller intervals so a greater number of stalks can be cultivated. his plant factory itself has been here for over 20 years
and green lighting the produce displayed at a plant factory exhibition in July 2010 was our company first ever. ommercially available
since 2010 this system has been installed in various factories offices and eateries nationwide such as by a leading eating establishment that has installed 48 units in its processing factory in Kanagawa Prefecture.
As workers in Japan agricultural industry age it is becoming more difficult to obtain safe and delicious vegetables through traditional farming techniques.
Keystone Technology will continue to offer new lifestyle ideas that provide cities with production capacity
if playing music was as simple at looking at your laptop screen. Now it is thanks to Kenneth Camilleri
and his team of researchers from the Department of Systems and Control engineering and the Centre for Biomedical Cybernetics at the University of Malta who have developed a music player that can be controlled by the human brain.
The system was developed originally to improve the quality of life of individuals with severely impaired motor abilities such as those with motor neuron disease or cerebral palsy.
The technology works by reading two key features of the userâ#nervous system: the nerves that trigger muscular movement in the eyes and the way that the brain processes vision.
The user can control the music player simply by looking at a series of flickering boxes on a computer screen.
Each of the lights flicker at a certain frequency and as the user looks at them their brain synchronizes at the same rate.
This brain pattern reading system developed by Rosanne Zerafa relies on a system involving Steady State Visually Evoked potentials (SSVEPS.
Electrical signals sent by the brain are picked then up by a series of electrodes placed at specific locations on the userâ#scalp.
This process known as electroencephalography (EEG) records the brain responses and converts the brain activity into a series of computer commands.
As the user looks at the boxes on the screen the computer program is able to figure out the commands allowing the music player to be controlled without the need of any physical movement.
or change the song the user just has to look at the corresponding box. The command takes effect in just seconds.
For people who have become paralyzed due to a spinal injury the normal flow of brain signals through the spine
This particular brain-computer interface exploits one of these; the occulomotor nerve which is responsible for the eyeâ#movements.
This means that even an individual with complete body paralysis can still move their eyes over images on a screen.
This cutting age brain-computer interface system could lead the way for the development of similar user interfaces for tablets and smart phones.
The concept could also be designed to aid with assisted living applications for example. The BCI system was presented at the 6th International IEEE/EMBS Neural engineering Conference in San diego California by team member Dr. Owen Falzon
#Packbot: Serving the Military and World cup Football Packbots will be deployed in Brazil during the 2014â World cup Soccerâ season to bring a high-tech approach to security.
The nationâ#government has secured a $7. 2 million deal with Packbotâ#creators for 30 of the military bots.
The robots will be stationed throughout Brazilâ#12 host cities during the soccer matches to boost security
The sleek Packbot robot system designed by irobot a Bedford Massachusetts-based company made its debut in 2002 in Afghanistan where it helped soldiers clear bunkers caves collapsed building and to cross minefields.
The versatile machine was used again in 2003 in Iraq in urban warfare situations and to search vehicles.
By 2007 more than 800 of these military robots were in use throughout Afghanistan Iraq and several other countries.
The Packbot was also the first remote controlled robot to enter the Fukushima nuclear facility after the East Japan Earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.
Packbot is a unique robotic propulsion system that can reach a road speed of up to 9 miles/hour.
The botâ#inbuilt flippers allow it 360 degrees of rotation enabling it to negotiate rough terrain and even obstacles like logs rocks rubble and stairs.
Packbot has the capability to climb up to 60 percent grades and survive submersion in water up to two meters depth.
Its robust body can survive a fall from a two meter height to a concrete surface being flung through a window and falling downstairs.
This bot weight less than 40lbs and is carried easily in a back pack ready to be deployed within minutes.
Packbotâ#other attributes include a state-of-the-art GPS video image display system monitoring electronic compass temperature sensors.
The robot is manipulated with an integrated Pentium-based computer e
#Microsoft pays 5m CHF to ETHZ and EPFL for research on flying robots and new memory architectures ETH Zurich and EPFL are jointly entering into a new research partnership with Microsoft Research.
Over five years Microsoft Research will provide five million Swiss francs of funding to support IT research projects.
Microsoft researchers will also work closely with the scientists at the two universities. Microsoft has been investing in Swiss research for years
and now the US technology company is renewing its longstanding collaboration with EPFL and ETH Zurich.
Microsoft will provide one million Swiss francs per year in funding for IT-related research projects at the two universities over a period of five years.
The collaboration is a continuation of a project launched in 2008 that focused on embedded technology software solutions and prototypes.
The new collaboration will now broaden the areas of computer science and deepen the collaboration between the three partners.
Scientists in Lausanne and Zurich submitted 27 proposals seven of which were selected by the steering committee. Among the successful projects:
Otmar Hilliges a 34-year-old assistant professor is one of the successful project applicants. The young computer scientist from ETH Zurich studies the interaction between people and computers.
For his project he and Dr. Shahram Izadi from Microsoft Research are investigating how flying robots can work
and interact with people in active scenarios. Specifically they want to develop a platform that enables flying robots to do more than just recognise people
Thanks to their algorithms the robots should be able to react to gestures and touch as well.
At the Ecocloud center at EPFL Dr. Edouard Bugnion and Professor Babak Falsafi are carrying out research into energy-efficient memory architectures for data centres that can handle huge amounts of data.
To do this they are combining thousands of energy-efficient micro-servers in a way that enables them to access the memories of the other servers with a minimal time delay.
The two computer scientists are working with Dr. Dushyanth Narayanan and other scientists from Microsoft Research in Cambridge to develop new applications for this system known as Scale-out NUMA A
#Robot tourism coming soon to Korea: Masan Robot Land project finally breaks ground With permission finally given to occupy lands that include an existing road
Koreas Ministry of Commerce Industry & Energy (currently the Ministry of Knowledge Economy) first presented the idea for Masan and its sister project the robot theme park in Incheon (west of Seoul
and condominiums is expected to be complete by the end of 2018. The Masan park was scheduled originally to open in January of 2014.
and its global market size is expected to reach 500 billion US dollars by 2020 the year by which the Korean government had set out to have a robot in every household.
In addition to the 700 billion won investment for Robot Land there will be a record-setting 3 trillion won invested into the whole Masan region in effort to revive the local economy.
The developers of Robot Land hope it will have a positive influence on the Robot Business Belt Project a 420 billion won project that is currently being studied for feasibility by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.
and bring large-scale investments for Gusan Marine Tourism Complex ultimately boosting the economy of Changwon region as a whole Mr. Shin Jong-woo the director of Maritime Affairs
and Fisheries Bureau of Changwon City said. With the successful commencement of Robot Land Project the theme park is confirmed for next January
#Google getting more roboticists with Nest acquisition Is Google getting a robot company? Or just another source of roboticists with the Nest acquisition that was announced today?
The small sampling of roboticists Iâ##ve spoken to who are employed at Google have shed little light on future plans
Perhaps Google is collecting libraries and IP instead in the same way that Wolfram is talking about owning the database of the internet of things.
Google is to buy Nest Labs Inc. for $3. 2 billion in cash. Nest launched in 2011 with a smart thermostat
and has launched recently a smoke alarm Both products are doing very well in sales. Nest will continue to operate under the leadership of Tony Fadell
and maintain a distinct brand identity but as a part of the Google stable. Forâ more information from Nestâ as to the transition.
Larry page CEO of Google said: â##Nestâ#founders Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers have built a tremendous team that we are excited to welcome into the Google family.
Theyâ##re already delivering amazing products you can buy right nowâ##thermostats that save energy
and smoke/CO alarms that can help keep your family safe. We are excited to bring great experiences to more homes in more countries
and fulfill their dreams! â#Tony Fadell CEO of Nest said: â##Weâ##re thrilled to join Google.
With their support Nest will be placed even better to build simple thoughtful devices that make life easier at home
and that have a positive impact on the world. â#Colin Angle CEO of irobot described Google recent acquisitions as a logistics play around self driving vehicles
and that when Google solved the first mile/last mile problem irobot was planning on meeting them at the house door.
There are plenty more robotics companies left for Google to acquire but if I were looking it would be interesting to consider Unbounded and Otherlab.*
We are currently developing learning algorithms that allow the Cubli to automatically learn and adjust the necessary parameters
and walk across our desk using off-the-shelf motors batteries and electronic components? There are multiple ways to keep a cube in its balance
but jumping up requires a sudden release of energy. Intuitively momentum wheels seemed like a good idea to store enough energy while still keeping the cube compact and self-contained.
Furthermore the same momentum wheels can be used to implement a reaction-torque based control algorithm for balancing by exploiting the reaction torques on the cube body
when the wheels are accelerated or decelerated. Can this work? The first step in creating the robot
therefore was to look at the physics to figure out if a jump up based on momentum wheels was possible.
Determining the required hardware specs. Specs and hardware designgiven the required velocities and torques determined above it was clear that the momentum wheel motor
and gearbox would be a major challenge for creating the robot. Using the mathematical model allowed to systematically tackle this problem by allowing a quantitative analysis of the trade-offs between higher velocities
(i e. more energy for jump up) and higher torques (i e. better stability when balancing). This mathematics-driven hardware design resulted in detailed specs for the robot core hardware components (momentum wheels motors gears
and batteries) and allowed a CAD design of the entire system. Part of this step was the design of a special brake to suddenly stop a momentum wheel to transfer its energy to the entire cube
and cause it to jump up. The photo to the left shows an early design of this brake consisting of a screw mounted on the momentum wheel a servo motor (shown in black) to move a metal plate (in blue) into the screw path (in light brown)
and a mounting bracket (in light brown) to transfer the momentum wheel energy to the cube structure.
The current design uses a combination of hardened metal parts and rubber to reduce peak forces. 2d prototypeto validate the mechanics
and electronics of the jump up and balancing strategy and prove feasibility of the overall concept a one-dimensional version was built:
The results obtained with this 2d version of the cube were published in an IROS 2012 paper.
However first jump up tests showed that the stress resulting from a sudden braking of the momentum wheel led to mechanical deformations of the momentum wheels and aluminium frame.
and breaking mechanism to reduce the mechanical stress caused by the jump up. In addition to balancing my colleagues are now investigating the use of controlled manoeuvres of jumping up balancing
#Chinaâ#moon landing and rover tip of iceberg Yutu (Jade Rabbit#)China rover-like robot was landed soft on the moon earlier this month.
It expects a compound growth rate of 25%said Wang Weiming deputy director of the Ministry of Industry and Information technology.
which they expect revenues of $8 billion for robots and other automation equipment by 2017.
and rescue 3d bioprinting eldercare robots and a variety of other up-and-coming robotic endeavours. If you liked this article you may also be interested in:
DHL and microdrones are testing drones that could be used to deliver urgently needed goods to hard-to-reach places eg medicines to remote sites.
Overtext Web Module V3.0 Alpha
Copyright Semantic-Knowledge, 1994-2011