ROBOTS DREAMS

ASIMO Brings It Full Circle (Video)

By now almost every robot fan on the planet must have seen the video clips of Honda's ASIMO conducting the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. But, just in case you haven't, we've included a copy of the video below.

Obviously ASIMO didn't 'conduct' the orchestra in the same sense that a human conductor would. The robot can't add any artistic interpretation, or do much more than just mimic and mechanically replay what it has been taught or programmed.

Still, it's realism is extremely impressive, to the point that both the orchestra and the audience respond to ASIMO as if he were a real conductor. In the end, that might be all that is important.
 

Major Korean Robot Competition this Weekend (Video link)

We mentioned the Korean Robot Games Festival a few posts back. Since then we managed to locate a video of last years event. It's definitely worth checking out.

Actually, it's a little scary. The crowds in the audience are very similar to the Indian competitions - meaning there's much more enthusiasm around robotics in Korea than there is in the US or most European countries. There is so much more energy and support from the Korean crowds than we've ever seen from their US counterparts.

 

RoboGames - The Hottest Robot Event on the Planet

After reading Daniel Terdiman's excellent post titled "Robots serve up fiery cocktails in San Francisco" we've decided that the "RoboGames" name should be immediately changed to "RoboFlames".

Daniel's post really gets into some of the spirit and energy behind RoboGames, and provides interesting insight into America's Primo Robot Couple - David Calkins and Simone Davalos.

We really had to chuckle when Simone was quoted as saying:

"Last year, I did this and set my arm on fire, and I didn't notice at first because the floor was also on fire." 

Totally Simone - trust us!

More on Mega-Dynamizer Doing Yard Work (Video)

We got the impression from some of the email we received that a few of our readers thought that we were putting them on about Mega Dynamizer mowing the lawn, or that the photo in our earlier post was staged.

To put all that doubt to rest, and to motivate and inspire you robot builders, we've included a short video clip (see below) that was kindly provided by Sugiura-san, the creator of Mega-Dynamizer.

We should also mention that Sugiura and his collection of ROBO-ONE champion robots, are off to Korea for the Korean Robot Game Festival. Not only is he going to battle against the top Korean robot humanoids, he'll also face some stiff (hopefully) competition from Chris and Rob Farrell with their twin Robotis based bipeds. We really wish we could be there to see the action.
 

Robot Surprise!

Face 93
Originally uploaded by Dave Gorman.

Micro Robot Sport Draws Mega Crowds (Video)

It's not unusual to see crowds of fans at a rock concert, or even of the major ROBO-ONE competitions, but we have to admit that the crowd in the photo on the right just totally blew us away.

What are they watching? A micromouse competition! The video below was taken during the Mouse X competition at Techfest 2008 IIT in Bombay, India a few months ago.

Keep in mind that in the US, where the sport originated, a micromouse competition is lucky to attract any attention at all. In the UK, there seem to be more fans and fanatics, but still it wouldn't make the evening news unless a plane happened to crash on the building where the event was taking place. Even here, the annual All Japan Micromouse competitions are lucky to draw several hundred fans - though quite a few entries fly all the way from India and Singapore.

These guys, and gals, are really serious. The robotic future, at least technology-wise, belongs to them unless the rest of us wake up and smell the coffee.

Captain Kangaroo Had a Dancing Bear Too! (Video)

Just when we were thinking that 'paxshikai' had run out of creative hack, mods, and stunts for his i-SOBOT robot, he surprised us again with his latest creation - a Robot Bear (video below).

One of the nice things about his approach is that most i-SOBOT owners should be able to recreate it, or something similar, with minimum taxidermy skills and a quick trip to the local crafts or dollar store. Of course, access to the IR sensor so that the robot can receive commands from the remote control is a concern. Perhaps a small access hole strategically cut in the shoulder might do the trick.

Who knows, perhaps we'll soon see dozens of little robot creatures of different types playing air guitar. Barbie doesn't have the right body proportions for this particular hack, but there must be lots of dolls and stuffed animals out there that would work. Be sure and let us know what you come up with, and point us to a video showing it in action if possible.

A Robot and his Boy

Marc VanHoorn, one of our dyed-in-the-wool robot friends from RoboSavvy, passed along the great photo above along with a note that reads:

"Went to the Tokyo Thai festival today and had a great time and ate some lovely food. I also managed to get my picture taken with Asimo."

Robot Laser Battle Comes to Tokyo

HotProceed and Kondo RoboSpot have joined forces to put on the first Blazer Battle "Akiba RoboSpot-The First Stage" robot laser battle competition..

The event is scheduled for Sunday, May 25th. Competitors check-in is from 11:00 am with the action kicking off at 13:00. A number of different formats, including 2 on 2, and 4 on 4 battles are planned.

Home Robot Assistants Coming of Age

Now that ROBO-ONE humanoid robots are 'growing up', both in size and capability, many of the builders have started to explore putting them to practical use. The Sugiura Family, well known for ROBO-ONE designs including Dynamizer, Retro, and Kappa, are pictured above enjoying a beautiful spring day while Mega-Dynamizer is busy trimming the lawn with an electric mower.

We expect to see a lot more practical applications coming out of the ROBO-ONE group since the builders are really taking the challenge seriously, and the ROBO-ONE organization is planning some 'Home Robot' related initiatives and events.

Black Tiger Neo Autonomous Robot in Action (Video)

"DirtyRoboto" from the RoboSavvy forums is visiting on vacation at the moment, and managed to catch Iketomu's Black Tiger Neo autonomous robot in action (video below) during one of the recent RT Corp Robot Battle competitions.

Black Tiger Neo is the slightly shorter of the two robots in the video and begins the match in the far right corner of the ring. Iketomu's 'remote control' is a simple Japanese fan (see right) that he uses only when it's necessary to interrupt the robot. Otherwise, the robot is operating totally autonomously with no operator control or intervention.

Robot Calendar Updated

Just finished updating the Robots Dreams Event Calender with the dates and information for events here all the way out through November, 2008. If you know of any major robot shows, seminars, competitions, or other events in this region, please let us know so that we can add them to the calendar.

 

Disney Trots Wall-E Robot Out for a Sneak Peek (Video)

Thanks to a very timely heads-up from our good friend and fellow robot fanatic David Buckley, we were vectored to a 'sneak peek' video (see  below) featuring the Wall-E robot that Disney has scheduled to go on sale later this summer following the commercial movie release.

Although the video is extremely dark and the volume is pretty low, you can still tell a lot about the robot and its unique remote control. At the projected USD$189 price point we're sure that a lot of robot and Disney/Pixar fans are going to find Wall-E scooting around the base of their Christmas this coming December.

Hobby Humanoid Robots Turn Autonomous (Video)

People frequently put-down the hobby humanoid robot movement by pointing out that the robots are operated by remote control. Apparently they feel that the design is similar to controlling an R/C car or plane. Based on our own personal experience, nothing could be further from the truth. Humanoid robotics, even at the hobby level, is much more complex, challenging, and demanding, than driving an R/C car.

Nevertheless, the whole debate is about to become totally irrelevant. Over the past two years many of the humanoid robot designs have incorporated more and more autonomous operation. A good example is King Kizer with his autonomous opponent detection. In the heat of battle it's common for the operator to become so excited that they attack in the wrong direction. King Kizer automatically detects opponent positioning and attacks in the right direction every time.

Now we're starting to see totally autonomous designs come out of the workshops. At the recent Kondo Robot Battle competition we watched Black Tiger Neo autonomously hold its own against some tough opponents (see video below).

i-SOBOT Robot Still Going Strong (Video)

We ran across a video (see below) of one of the i-SOBOT TV commercials that have been running here. The tiny robot continues to be extremely popular, is easy to find in the stores, and has popped up on some of the leading interview and 'talent' programs that are standard fodder on the major TV networks.

The ad also reminded us to mention that in addition to the original white and blue model TOMY has released a Black version in Japan. It's basically the older domestic version packaged in the US black body.

Surprising i-SOBOT Robot Hack (Video)

What's that blur in the upper left corner of the i-SOBOT photo above? Is it a robot UFO?

Nero Robot Isn't Fiddling Around (Video)

We were a little disappointed at ROBO-ONE 13 when some of the larger, MEGA-sized, robots we'd been following failed to clear the pre-screening test and put on their demonstrations for the audience. One of the most interesting new competitors is Nero, a giant that towers over the competition at 68 cm tall and tips the scales at just under 5 kg. Thankfully we got several chances to see Nero perform in the ring at the 1st Kondo Robot Battle event earlier this week.

Nero was developed at the University of Electro-Communications by Tatsuya Ishikawa, Yuta Sugiura, and Manabu Sugiura (think Sugiura Brothers... ), and gets its name from the Italian word for 'black' - his dominant color.

10th KondoCup Robot Soccer Competition Photos

Our raw photo set from the 10th KondoCup Robot Soccer competition held last Saturday and Sunday is available online. Lots, and lots, of humanoid robot fun!

 

Put Robo Japan 2008 on the Calendar

It's too early to know all the details yet, but certainly Robo Japan 2008 is worthy of putting on your calendars. Scheduled for October 11th - 13th, 2008, this new showcase event for all things robotic will be held at the Pacifico Convention Center in Yokohama.

Management of the event is being coordinated by the Robo Japan steering committee, but all the logistics and organization will be managed by Fuji TV - the largest and most popular television network in Japan. So, you can bet that Robo Japan 2008 will draw lots of press coverage and public attention. If you're involved in the robot business it might be an excellent opportunity to get your products or services in front of the world's most advanced and sophisticated robot buyers and potential customers.

As an extra added bonus, the ROBO-ONE 14 competition will take place at Robo Japan 2008 during the first two days of the event. We're sure there will be much more information released over the next few months as the excitement builds.

 

Weird New Robot Lifeform Springs From Guru's Junkbox (Video)

It's hard enough to build a robot from a commercial kit. It's even harder to design and build one from components based on your own concept. But it takes a real robotics and creative guru to dip their hand into their junk box, pull out a few old, worn parts, and hack them together to give birth to a cute, almost lifelike, robotic creature that performs better than a lot of robots on the market.

I-Wei (aka CrabFu) had a little bit of spare time on his hands (did we mention he's looking for a job?), and a pile of old parts from his robotics, steam punk, and R/C plane/helicopter hobbies. So, rather than sit around and mope, he started playing around with different robot designs based on worn R/C helicopter swash mechanisms.

The result of his labors, named the "Swashbot", is truly amazing to watch. And, in true CrabFu style, he openly shares all the background in the video below.