Easily digestible tech news... http://www.techdirt.com/ en-us http://www.techdirt.com/images/td-88x31.gifhttp://www.techdirt.com/ Wed, 19 Dec 2012 17:00:00 PST Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101110/19014411805/dailydirt-dance-robots-dance.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101110/19014411805/dailydirt-dance-robots-dance.shtml

The HyTAQ Robot can roll around on the ground and fly over obstacles whenever it needs to. This bot looks pretty crash resistant, and if it can survive kids playing with it, it'd probably be a great toy. [url]

If you thought only hipsters rode fixies, then you should watch this cute little Japanese robot ride a small bike without brakes. This bot just needs a companion that can ride a recumbent bike.... [url]

Here's a bipedal robot walking a tightrope, but it sorta cheats because it doesn't lift its feet off the wire once it gets on. (Warning: You might want to mute this video to avoid the dance music.) Maybe someday there will be a robot version of Cirque du Soleil. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

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]]> urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20101110/19014411805 Wed, 3 Oct 2012 17:00:00 PDT Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100820/10193310703/dailydirt-my-robot-lies-over-ocean.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100820/10193310703/dailydirt-my-robot-lies-over-ocean.shtml

Robot fish can mimic how real fish look and move -- and even be accepted into schools of real fish. If these robot fish can figure out how to become fish leaders, they could navigate large numbers of fish directly into fishing nets or away from man-made pollution. [url]

A Raspberry Pi might be the brains of one of the first autonomous robot boats to cross the Atlantic Ocean without human intervention. This FishPi bot will be solar powered, propelled by a small motor (no sailing!) -- and hopefully it won't get eaten by anything on its trip. [url]

Underwater gliders have already crossed the Atlantic and are being put to use for scientific, military and commercial applications. These robots are relatively cheap to make and could be produced by the thousands to monitor the oceans. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

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]]> urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20100820/10193310703 Wed, 25 Jul 2012 17:00:00 PDT Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100903/10032410893/dailydirt-underwater-robots-fooling-fish-finding-foul-waters.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100903/10032410893/dailydirt-underwater-robots-fooling-fish-finding-foul-waters.shtml

Get your own open source underwater robot capable of diving down to 100 meter depths for just $775 on Kickstarter. OpenROV runs on eight C batteries and runs for about an hour at 1m/s. [url]

A fish-like robot inspired by notemigonus crysoleucas (a species of the Golden shiner) has been accepted into schools of the real fish. The creators of this robot envision the possibility of using remote-controlled fish robots to steer real schools of fish away from pollution (or maybe directly into fishing nets). [url]

An ocean-going drone could help clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The Marine Drone is a concept design for an autonomous robot that can collect plastic debris and other garbage floating around in the oceans. [url]

The SHOAL project has developed a robotic fish that can detect pollution and monitor water quality. These autonomous robots can work together to cover a square kilometer area to a depth of 30 meters, running on rechargeable batteries that last about 8 hours, and the prototype robots cost about $32,000 each. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

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]]> urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20100903/10032410893 Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:00:00 PST Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/blog/innovation/articles/20100124/1920007889/dailydirt-robots-inspired-nature.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/blog/innovation/articles/20100124/1920007889/dailydirt-robots-inspired-nature.shtml

Robot researchers in Switzerland are copying the physiology of bats, grasshoppers and locusts to create robots that are more efficient at moving around. Swarms of these kinds of robots are going to be pretty scary looking... [url]

Lockheed Martin is developing an unmanned aircraft called the Samarai and looks like a foot-long maple seed -- with propellers attached. These remote-controlled aircraft can hover in place and come equipped with video cameras for surveillance missions. [url]

The exoskeleton of an African desert scorpion isn't smooth, but covered with microscopic bumps that protect it from sandblasting winds. This discovery could help helicopters fly in the desert for longer periods of time, since adding some grooves to smooth steel surfaces can reduce erosion by up to 20%. [url]

To discover more interesting robotics-related content, check out what's currently floating around the StumbleUpon universe. [url]  

By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

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]]> urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20100124/1920007889 Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:00:00 PST Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101027/05193111611/dailydirt-robots-making-their-move.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101027/05193111611/dailydirt-robots-making-their-move.shtml

Low-pressure air pumps can power "soft robots" that mimic the locomotion of invertebrates like starfish and squid. Watch them wiggle. See them jiggle. [url]

The RoboBee is communicating with bees in their own "waggle dance" language. This robot bee isn't quite fluent yet, but it can almost give directions to real bees -- and it doesn't get attacked as an intruder to the hive. [url]

The University of Michigan's MABEL biped robot can run a little over 6 mph -- beating Toyota's walking robot and ASIMO by a pretty good margin. MABEL will probably catch up to human marathon runners soon, but it isn't a wireless robot yet... [url]

To discover more interesting robotics-related content, check out what's currently floating around the StumbleUpon universe. [url]  

By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

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