How might real dogs react to robotic dogs? The Sony Corporation has been investigating. Researchers at its Computer Science Laboratory in Paris, which “… engages in fundamental research in cutting edge areas of science that are relevant for pushing the state of the art in computing.” tested the ground by exposing real dogs to AIBO […]
Tag: Robotics
Polite Robotic Posturing
Should robots behave politely? Because, to some, it’s a given that in the not-too-distant future large numbers of people will be interacting with robots (domestic, public, corporate and perhaps even law-enforcement/military) on a frequent basis. Professor Tatsuya Nomura at the Department of Media Informatics of Ryukoku University, along with colleagues at the ATR Intelligent Robotics […]
Nomadic plants
Many plants tend to spend most of their lives rooted to the spot – and this lack of mobility could perhaps be seen as an evolutionary disadvantage. To counter this, Mexico-based Gilberto Esparza is working towards plant mobility with his Nomadic Plants project. “An ecosystem contained in a biotechnological robot built for plants and micro-organisms […]
Wheeled, It Sings What It Reads
There have been several implementations of two wheeled balancing robots [example]. And several which can read sheet music via a camera [example]. Others can ‘sing’ [example] – but the number of two-wheeled balancing robots that can autonomously read music and sing songs is low – possibly numbering just one. A research team from the Department […]
Caudal Communication in the Canids
A research team from the Department of Biology at the University of Victoria, Canada, have, for the first time, investigated the behavioural responses of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) to the asymmetric tail-wag of a life-sized robotic-dog model – one which was configured to wag its tail, either to the right or to the left, at […]
“When Harry Met Alley”
Named in honor of former USBC testing facility employee Harry Lawrence, he is a robotic bowling ball thrower who is part of the equipment testing and research effort at the USBC test facility in Greendale, Wis. Harry is a key contributor in USBC’s two-year study of bowling ball motion and how advanced, high-tech equipment may […]
Fake Monkey Automatons
Beware of fake monkey automatons (or, if you are a purist: automata). Don’t be fooled, these are of completely modern fabrication, and virtually all of them seen to date did at one time have a fairly large, old-looking makers label glued to the rear panel. We’ve only found one example so far, from a collector […]