Mind Over Machine

"Some monkey business in a Duke University lab suggests we'll soon be able to move artificial limbs, control robotic soldiers, and communicate across thousands of miles - using nothing but our thoughts...

Something incredible is happening in a lab at Duke University’s Center for Neuroengineering—though, at first, it’s hard to see just what it is. A robot arm swings from side to side, eerily lifelike, as if it were trying to snatch invisible flies out of the air. It pivots around and straightens as it extends its mechanical hand. The hand clamp shuts and squeezes for a few seconds, then relaxes its grip and pulls back to shoot out again in a new direction. OK, nothing particularly astonishing here—robot arms, after all, do everything from building our cars to sequencing our DNA. But those robot arms are operated by software; the arm at Duke follows commands of a different sort. To see where those commands are coming from, you have to follow a tangled trail of cables out of the lab and down the hall to another, smaller room.''

Read more in thi Popular Science article.

SnakeBot Robot Conquers Obstacles

"A virtually unstoppable snakebot developed by a University of Michigan team resembles a high-tech slinky as it climbs pipes and stairs, rolls over rough terrain and spans wide gaps to reach the other side.

The 26-pound robot developed at the U-M College of Engineering is called OmniTread. It moves by rolling, log-style, or by lifting its head or tail, inchworm-like, and muscling itself forward. The robot's unique tread design prevents it from stalling on rough ground, said Research Professor Johann Borenstein, the head of the mobile robotics lab at U-M.

The serpentine robot is propelled along by moving treads that cover 80 percent of its body. These treads prevent the snakebot from stalling or becoming stuck on rough terrain because the treads propel the robot forward like a tire touching a road. Historically, scientists haven't had much success with wheeled and tracked robots on rough terrain because they constantly stall."

From this Newswise article.

MIT Robots Serve Humans Everywhere

"Robots developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are working everywhere and can move without human assistance in a variety of settings, according to this article from the MIT News Office, "Robots serve humans on land, in sea and air." For example, the famous PackBots were conceived at the MIT and are now used by the U.S. Army in Afghanistan and in Iraq. But engineers and robotic designers at MIT also are developing submarine-like vessels to help the U.S. Navy in mine warfare and battlespace preparation. And others are building 'intelligent' aircrafts, such as a 'robochopper' which would be better suited than surface robots to move in chaotic urban environments. Read more, especially about their 'robotoddler'..."

From this post by Roland Piquepaille.

Tracking in Locations Where GPS Does Not Work

"One idea that seemed worth pursuing was to use dead reckoning aided by an inertial gyroscope. Gyroscopes are essentially wheels mounted so that they can spin about an axis in any direction. Once a gyroscope begins spinning it tends to resist any change in the orientation of its spin axis. This makes it particularly useful in ship stabilizers to counteract rolling. Gyroscopes also lie at the heart of most automatic steering systems, like those used in airplanes, missiles and torpedoes.

But as the basis for a piece of emergency responder gear, expense and size were a major concern. And it seems that relatively inexpensive gyroscopes can be subject to a lot of drift, Fisher says. Positional errors can add up rapidly. That's a critical problem when trying to track a firefighter in a dark, smoke-filled building...

Whittaker suggested using a micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) type of gyroscope. MEMS are mechanical devices built onto semiconductor chips. They are small enough to be measured in micrometers and are used to make pressure, temperature, chemical and vibration sensors, light reflectors and switches as well as accelerometers for automobile airbags, vehicle control, pacemakers and games. Newer accelerometers use a heated gas bubble with thermal sensors. They operate much like the air bubble in a construction level. When the accelerometer is tilted or accelerated, sensors pick up the location of the gas bubble.

NPPTL liked the idea and awarded Carnegie Mellon an initial $100,000 contract to mock up a device in 2002. "It was a nice demonstration but inaccurate," Fisher recalls. A follow-on contract worth $250,000 was awarded for second and third-generation prototypes...

The prototype’s most recent demonstration took place January 20 in Pittsburgh and went "extremely well," Fisher says. During the demonstration a team of two "emergency responders" were able to simultaneously report their position, status and current course of actions to a base station. Also demonstrated was a personal data assistant-based multi-port display. This allowed several people to view the tracking and mapping. And the Carnegie Mellon team also demonstrated a remote viewing capability for the commander's base station. This enabled the tracking and mapping results to be projected onto a large screen for audience viewing.

Another prototype demonstration is set for March. After that, the NPPTL will decide whether or not to commit up to $1 million on field-testing the technology.

If it proves viable, the technology could help protect the lives of people like miners and emergency first responders."

From this directionsmag article.