Techdirt. Stories filed under "robot" Easily digestible tech news... http://www.techdirt.com/ en-us Techdirt. Stories filed under "robot"http://www.techdirt.com/images/td-88x31.gifhttp://www.techdirt.com/ Wed, 5 Sep 2012 16:05:45 PDT Robot Makers Redesign Robot After Google Refuses To Give Permission To Make Android-Style Bots Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120828/17034120197/robot-makers-redesign-robot-after-google-refuses-to-give-permission-to-make-android-style-bots.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120828/17034120197/robot-makers-redesign-robot-after-google-refuses-to-give-permission-to-make-android-style-bots.shtml launch the thing on Kickstarter. You might notice that the robot has some resemblance to the Android robot... but it's not quite the same.
Why? Well, originally it was going to be designed as the Android robot... but then at the last minute, they realized that might be a legal issue. Even though Google encourages the use of the robot, it wasn't clear if this was allowed. So the team delayed launching the Kickstarter campaign to go visit Google and to seek permission... where hilarity (and no actual answer) ensued:
Just after we had uploaded the complete project on Kickstarter and about to press the “Submit to the world button” …we started to second guess ourselves and wanted to know are we really allowed to do this?

After further investigations, as well as talking to a few lawyer friends, we discovered that the Google Bug Droid in 2D form and in printed materials is in fact Open Source, so anyone can stick it on posters and make cut outs. But there seemed to be a gray area regarding the issue of whether a 3D version is in fact allowed for resale. So instead of killing the project or possibly getting into legal issues, we thought it would be a good idea to meet with some higher-ups at the Google Android headquarters and hear what they had to say.
To make a long story short, at this meeting (during which we felt like we were on a reality TV show) the concept was well received, but there was not definitive answer as to “Yay” or “Nay”.

Not wanting to kill the project after having already put so much work into it, and to make sure we could launch without any issues; we redesigned the outside shell to have a different appearance, while maintaining the same internal integrity and design we developed in the BERO secret lair.
So, it's sorta a little like the Android bot, but not quite, because no one could tell them definitively one way or the other if doing what they wanted to do was allowed. Isn't permission culture just great?

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]]> open-source? http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20120828/17034120197 Thu, 12 Apr 2012 17:00:00 PDT DailyDirt: Making Sweet Music Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100412/0101058959/dailydirt-making-sweet-music.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100412/0101058959/dailydirt-making-sweet-music.shtml
  • Researchers have developed a piano tuning algorithm that can perform the task almost as well as a trained human ear. Yet another job that robots are going to take away from humans.... [url]
  • Genetic algorithms are often taught in machine learning classes, and these algorithms have been applied to all sorts of fields -- including music. Computer-generated fugues might not sound too pleasant, but neither does trance music... [url]
  • Using a 'Hit Potential Equation', computers can analyze pop singles and predict future hit tracks. The researchers behind this project admit, "musical tastes evolve, which means our 'hit potential equation' needs to evolve as well." [url]
  • To discover more interesting tech-related content, check out what's currently floating around the StumbleUpon universe. [url]  
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    ]]>     urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20100412/0101058959     Wed, 18 May 2011 17:00:00 PDT DailyDirt: These Robotic Exoskeletons Were Made For Walking... Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110204/15011212970/dailydirt-these-robotic-exoskeletons-were-made-walking.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110204/15011212970/dailydirt-these-robotic-exoskeletons-were-made-walking.shtml
  • A recent grad from UC Berkeley walked across a stage to get his diploma using a robot exoskeleton. The stripped-down exoskeleton cost about $15,000 -- down from $90,000+ versions that are on the market already. [url]
  • Eythor Bender demonstrates his robot exoskeleton work for a TedTalk. Military use for these exoskeletons would allow soldiers to carry around a lot more gear... [url]
  • The Walk Again Project aims to create brain-machine interfaces (BMI) in the form of neuroprosthetic devices that can control exoskeletal robots for mobility assistance to persons with severe paralysis. The brain implant technology sounds pretty ambitious -- and could be useful for a lot of other applications, too. [url]
  • Robot Suit HAL is another robot exoskeleton designed to interpret the wearer's intentions for movement and assist with those movements. Hopefully, it will also allow users named Dave to open the pod bay doors. [url]
  • To discover more interesting tech-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=20110204/15011212970     Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:00:00 PDT DailyDirt: To Serve Mankind Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101220/19333112348/dailydirt-to-serve-mankind.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101220/19333112348/dailydirt-to-serve-mankind.shtml personhood to artificial intelligence. (And also deal with crazy folks who'll want to marry their laptops....) Progress, FTW! 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=20101220/19333112348     Mon, 21 Feb 2011 17:00:00 PST DailyDirt: Extreme Origami Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110216/22534513136/dailydirt-extreme-origami.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110216/22534513136/dailydirt-extreme-origami.shtml
  • MIT is just one institution that studies origami and has a club dedicated to folding stuff. Apparently, the first rule of OrigaMIT is not to not talk about OrigaMIT. [url]
  • The history of curved origami is covered by the folks at Makezine. MacArthur fellow Erik Demaine goes over some curved origami scuptures dating back to the 1920s. [url]
  • An 'origami robot' can fold itself into various shapes all by itself. It's too bad GPS devices have made self-folding maps somewhat obsolete.... [url]
  • To discover more interesting crafts, 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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