ROBOTS DREAMS

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.

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).

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!

 

Robot Fun!

DSC05917
Originally uploaded by Tempusmaster.

We linked up with Marc Vanhoorn (aka DirtyRoboto on the RoboSavvy humanoid robot forums) today to watch the action at the Kondo Robot Battle competition.

That's Marc on the left above holding Dynamizer with Sugiura-san (Dynamizer's creator) smiling on the right.

Robot Version of Rock, Paper, Scissors (Video)

In our previous post on the new MANOI AT01 robot hand option developed by Kyosho, we mentioned seeing the robot playing the Japanese equivalent of Rock, Paper, Scissors. We've included a short video clip of the session below.

New MANOI AT01 Robot Body Shells - More Photos

For more MANOI AT01 Type-C shell photos, see below.

Robot Laser Tag - So Much Fun It Absolutely Blazes! (Video)

Last September our friends at HotProceed treated us to a small taste of the excitement of Robot laser tag, and we were immediately hooked. Over the past six months they've refined and improved the Blaser system to the point that it's totally over the top.

Last Sunday they put on "BlaserBattle The 1st Stage" robot laser tag competition in Fukuoka. As you can see from the video clip below, the 'battle' really lived up to its name. More important, everyone had an absolutely fantastic time.

Kondo RoboSpot Looking For Staff

The Kondo RoboSpot facility is currently trying to recruit additional staff. According to their website, the position involves sales, providing customers with technical guidance, creating new motions for the KHR series, and supporting robot competitions. Successful candidates need to be over 18 years old. Obviously, a passion for robotics, especially humanoid robotics, is a big plus. We're half tempted to put in an application ourselves... !8-D

Also, if you happen to be the proud owner of a Kondo KHR-1HV or KHR-2HV humanoid robot, be sure to check out the RoboSpot Motion Service web page regularly. It has a great selection of motions for the two popular robot models. Many of the motions were donated by Kondo users that participated in the regular KondoCup Robot Soccer competitions.

4th Kondo KHR Anniversary Scheduled

The folks at Kondo have been busy filling up the calendar for the next few months with some really exciting events. A couple days ago, we posted the schedule for the 10th KondoCup Robot Soccer competition. Today they released the schedule for the Kondo KHR 4th Anniversary celebration.

The event marks four years since the introduction of the KHR-1, the first affordable commercial humanoid kit. Kondo has reserved the Asakusa ROX3 Super Multi-Court facility for June 7th (Saturday) and June 8th (Sunday).
 

10th KondoCup Robot Soccer Schedule Announced

The 10th KondoCup Robot Soccer competition will take place on Saturday, April 22nd (KHR Class) and Sunday, April 27th (Open Class). Specifics, including the exact location (somewhere around the Greater Tokyo Metro area, we assume)  and times, will be officially announced soon.

Robot Soccer Gets More Realistic and More Exciting (Video)

Robot soccer is rapidly becoming both more realistic, and more exciting, as we found out during the recent 9th KondoCup Robot Soccer competition here. While the robot builders have certainly improved their designs over the past year, they have also improved their control of the robots, and their winning strategies.

About a year ago, when Kondo, famous for pioneering the whole field of hobby humanoid robots, kicked off regular robot soccer competitions, In the early competitions the robots spent almost as much time falling down as they did playing. But, it didn't take long for the participants to figure out how to improve the robots stability, motions, and game plays.

Little by little, the matches started to look more and more like real world competitions, including being able to mimic actual soccer player moves and team plays. An excellent example of this was when one of the final matches resulted in a tie, and the match went into overtime goal kicks (see video below).

Kondo Rolls Out New Robot Controller Board

Here's the scenario: A few years ago we bought a Kondo KHR-1 (the original version) and took a two day class covering how to assemble, test, and program the humanoid robot. As fate would have it, we also had the opportunity to sit in on a pre-release private seminar on the RCB-3 robot controller board. The board was released for sale within about a month, and was quickly followed by the new KHR-2HV humanoid robot that used the controller board.

Now, a couple years later, Kondo has just announced a brand new controller board, the KCB-1, that looks pretty sweet, at least from the published specifications (see below). Will history repeat itself? Will Kondo release a hot new humanoid robot in the near future? It's any body's guess. We don't have any inside info on this one, but we would sure love to...

Dr. GIY Gives A Robot Performance Sneak Preview (Video)

With ROBO-ONE 13 just a little over a month away, we were lucky enough to get a little preview yesterday of exactly how tough the competition is going to be this time around.

During a short break in the action at the 9th KondoCup Robot Soccer competition, Dr. GIY put Senpumaru, one of his ROBO-ONE humanoid robot creations, through its paces for the fans. One of the robots most impressive moves (see video below) was a handstand jump turn followed by a push-off hand spring that landed the robot back on its feet.

It's easy to see that the top robots at ROBO-ONE 13 next month are going to be absolutely awesome.

Pick-up Games Are The Best For Robots Too! (Video)

When we were kids we had the most fun playing 'pick-up' games of stick ball, flag football, and basketball. We'd grab whoever happened to be around, choose up teams, and then go at it hot and heavy.

The same thing happens with robot competitions here in Japan. Of course there are the formal events, like the high performance, high stress ROBO-ONE competitions held every six months. But in between the major events the robot builders like to gather together and just have fun 'playing' in a lower pressure setting.

On the last working day of 2007, a bunch of humanoid robot fanatics got together at the Kondo RoboSpot facility in Akihabara, and did exactly that - played some amazingly good robot soccer just for fun, as you can see in the video below.

Robots Join Japanese New Year Celebration (Video)

The Japanese have many traditions to celebrate the new year. There are special new years foods to enjoy, sending and receiving special new years postcards, playing traditional new years games, writing haiku and renga poetry, making the first pilgrimage of the year to a local temple or shrine, and making (and eating) mochi - boiled and pounded rice dumplings.

As we mentioned in an earlier post, the staff at Kondo RoboSpot in Akihabara staged a robot mochi pounding ceremony yesterday.We've included a short video clip below.

Kondo RoboSpot Celebrates the Year End for 2007

Today was the last operating day of the year for many companies in Akihabara, and at Kondo RoboSpot they held a special year-end robot event that included traditional Japanese rice pounding to make New Years mochi, robot soccer competitions, and even robot laser tag. We stopped by for about an hour in the afternoon and managed to capture some photos of the RoboSpot event, and will be posting some videos as well.

KondoCup Robot Soccer: Tremendous Progress in a Very Short Time

It's probably been only somewhere between 12 and 18 months since the ROBO-ONE gang started playing robot soccer in earnest.

Certainly one of the major drivers behind the rapid  improvement they've made in that short time has been the regular KondoCup Robot Soccer competitions. Held every couple months, KondoCup is already up to the 8th competition.

To demonstrate how much progress they've made, and at the risk of making David feel a little bit inadequate, take a look at the short video below taken during the recent event at the National Science Museum in Ueno.

Kondo Announces RCB-3J Controller Upgrade for KHR-2HV Robots

Kondo just announced availability of a RCB-3J controller firmware upgrade. The RCB-3J is used primarily in the popular KHR-2HV humanoid robot.

8th KondoCup Robot Soccer Competition Photos

We managed to catch part of the 8th KondoCup Robot Soccer Competition (KHR-class) in Ueno this past Sunday, and have uploaded the raw photos from the event.

 

ROBO-ONE: Grand Championship Competition @ IREX (Video)

Unfortunately we had a family situation to deal with on Saturday and missed the ROBO-ONE Grand Championship competition staged on the last day of the IREX show here in Tokyo.

But, thanks to "LilMissySuicide", aka Simone - by far the better half of RoboGames, we're able to share a video of the final match of the day (see below).

We have to say that some of the action, especially King Kizer's strategic moves, both defensive and offensive, are quite amazing. He definitely earned the championship.

Amazing and Oddly Funny Humanoid robot design (Video)

Dauto-san is a top humanoid robot builder that consistently captures high standings in Robo-Fight, ROBO-ONE, and other Japanese competitive robot competitions. He is also the absolute best, in our personal opinion, at the challenging game of Robot Billiards.

He's not afraid to try some new approach with his robot designs. Some of them work, others don't, but he keeps trying and constantly improving. His latest design, which you can see in operation in the video below, initially made us chuckle. No, that's not quite right. We almost doubled over laughing.

Yet, when the initial laughter stopped, and we had a minute or two to digest what he had done with the robots lower half, we were totally amazed. It's a really  unconventional approach the provides greater stability and more DOF. And, surprisingly enough, it seems to fit within the basic humanod robot competition specifications. Brilliant, absolutely, brilliant.

Wired Science Geek Dad: Nao Maru & King Kizer (Video)

We first met Nao Maru and his family at a ROBO-ONE competition in Tokyo a few years ago. Since our homes are about 400 miles apart, we only get the opportunity to meet in person during one of the major robot events here. But last December (2006) we happened to visit Nagoya on vacation, and the Maru family was kind enough to invite us to their home.

As usual, we took some photos and video, and several months later had a feature article about King Kizer published in Robot Magazine. As it turns out, the article caught the attention of the Wired Magazine editors, and they sent a television crew to the Maru home for a Geek Dad segment on the PBS Wired Science television series.

The resulting program aired on Wednesday (November 21st) in the US, and right after the broadcast it was added to their website. We're sure you can see from the video below why Wired was so impressed, and how right they were in picking Nao Maru as their featured Geek Dad for this episode.

8th KondoCup Robot Soccer Scheduled for Two Days

It's hard to believe, but the popular KondoCup Robot Soccer competitions are already up to the 8th consecutive event, and people have been complaining that there weren't enough open slots for everyone to compete that wanted to. To address the strong demand, Kondo has scheduled the next competition over two separate days.

The Open classification matches will be held on Saturday, December 8th in the second floor atrium of the UDX building, just a minute's walk from the JR Akihabara station. The KHR class matches will be held one week later, on Sunday, December 16th at the National Science Museum in Ueno Park. For details see the 8th KondoCup Soccer Competition posts on the RoboSpot website (Japanese).

Dr. GIY Sets the Tone for ROBO-ONE Grand Prix in Chiba (Video)

Dr. GIY's humanoid robot creations always manage to surprise and delight the crowds and judges alike at all the ROBO-ONE events. Last Sunday's ROBO-ONE Grand Prix competition in Chiba was no exception.

His latest version of Yokosuna Great Shiranui had the honor of doing the first performance demonstration when the competition opened that morning. It was very obvious, as you can see in the video below, that Dr. GIY has spent countless hours fine tuning Shiranui and is constantly improving the robots performance and abilities. No wonder he is one of the most popular, and most well known ROBO-ONE champions.

iHobby Expo: Robots, Robots, Robots! (Video)

  Left to Right: Futaba RBT-1, RoboPhilo, RoboNova I

Although we weren't personally able to make the trek all the way from Japan to Chicago, thanks to all of our great readers that sent in reports, photos, and videos it feels like we were actually there enjoying all the fun and excitement. The latest contribution was lots of great video footage sent in by Marc Lampcov, the CEO of RoboFactors, LLC.

Marc must have spent countless hours capturing all the participating robots on camera because his footage (see below) includes great performances by the RoboPhilo, Robotis Bioloid, Futaba RBT-1, Robonova I, and much, much more.

Kondo's Secret Response to the Kyosho Robo Hopper

A couple days ago we posted about Kyosho's new Robo Hopper flying robot helicopter. That immediately caught the attention of I-Wei at Crab-Fu. Not only is he a devoted steam punk robot creator, and a KHR-2HV fanatic, it turns out that he also loves flying RC helicopters. 

Here's what he wrote in response to our post:

"Kyosho robots takes to the sky eh? pffffffft old news! and I thought you were suppose to be IN on the latest in the robotics world.... I'm surprised that you didn't know about Kondo's GENEX-Heli!"

Well, we had to admit that we must have been sleeping because we hadn't heard about Kondo's new robot helicopter until we got a look at the photo that he sent us as proof.

WR-07 Transformer Robot Close-up (Video)

Remember that fantastic transformer robot that went viral on YouTube and gadget sites about a year ago? We certainly do.

The 'transformer robot' was WR-07 designed for ROBO-ONE competitions by Nakamura-san at Himeji Soft Works. As it turns out, Nakamura is also one of the founders at the SK-Pang labs in Himeji, and was kind enough to invite us over for an exclusive demo session showing off several of their humanoid creations, including WR-07.

ROBO-ONE 12: King Kizer Hits A Home Run! (Video)

The special challenge theme to inspire builders to do their best for ROBO-ONE 12 was to "Play Catch". The actual definition of what that meant was left open and pretty much up to the builders ability, spirit, and imaginations. Maru Family, creators of King Kizer, decided not only to accept the challenge, they took it to the extreme, as you can see from the video below. 

Blaser Tag: Robot Laser Tag Game System (Video)

Our friends at HotProceed have been busy creating lots of new accessories for Kondo RCB-3 based robots like the KHR-1HV, KHR-2HV and Manoi AT01. First they introduced the TEC-1, an interface board that makes it possible to control your robot using a PS2 gamepad. Then they topped that with the TEC-3, adding analog joystick control.

But, what they showed us during a break in the ROBO-ONE 12 action in Takamatsu last weekend was totally over the top. They've created a super robot laser tag game system, named "Blaser" that's an absolute blast to play.

New Kyosho MANOI 32PORT Sensor Board About To Go On Sale

A few days ago, Kondo added references to their website covering the latest firmware upgrade for the popular RCB-3 robot control so that it could be used with a Kyosho MANOI "32PORT" sensor board. The whole thing was a little mysterious because even Kyosho hadn't officially announced the new board yet.

Now Tsukumo Robot Kingdom has added the 32PORT board (HRP100) to their web offerings with projected availability date of September 15th. Unfortunately, although they do show a photo of the board, there is very little other information available at this time. Tsukumo's listed price of the module is 21,000 yen, which is a little too pricey for our limited wallet, but its always nice to dream .

 

More "Senses" for the Kyosho MANOI and Kondo Robots

Kondo has announced an upgrade to the RCB-3 robot controller board that features support of the new Kyosho 32PORT/RCB-3 sensor board (pictured at left). We guessing, because detailed information on the Kyosho board isn't available yet, that this will address the analog sensor port limitation of the RCB-3 based robots, and really stimulate the development of autonomous applications. This will probably include the KHR-1HV and Kyosho MANOI AT01 and PF01 robots. Given this exciting development, it's easy to imagine a team of autonomous AT01 robots going head to head against an Alderbaran NAO team when RoboCup 2008 rolls around. 

The new sensor board is a Kyosho product, and Kondo does not intend to resell it, but has upgraded the RCB-3 firmware to fully support the board. The Kondo announcement does state that the firmware and Heart to Heart 3 (H2H3) application software upgrade only applies to RCB-3 controllers and is not compatible with the RCB-3J controllers (used for the KHR-2HV robots) at this time. That's likely to be a 'bummer' for KHR-2HV users.

In terms of additional RCB-3 and H2H3 functionality, the upgrade adds support for the Kyosho sensor board, but does not include any other changes or improvements. So, if you are already using Ver1.03 of the firmware and don't plan to use the new sensor board, there is no compelling reason to upgrade at this time.

Kondo Set To Release New Robot Accessory

Kondo, the creator of the KHR-series humanoid robots, technology partner with Kyosho for the MANOI series, and the supplier of key servo and controller components to many of the top ROBO-ONE competitors, will be introducing a new accessory in September.

Their new robot stand looks perfect for setting up, adjusting trim, and even displaying any of the KHR-series robots. According to Kondo, the stand can be used for the original KHR-1, newer KHR-2HV and KHR-1HV robots, and the MANOI AT01. It even works with the Kondo GENEX robot suit installed. And, the stand and robot easily fit into the official Kondo robot carrying case. (see photos below).

Cherubim Robot From Robot Force is a True Transformer (Video)

Iwaki-san, the guiding spirit driving the Robot Force organization in Osaka, and the co-author of the great KHR-Perfect book, just posted a new video (see below)  featuring Cherubim, his red 'Transformer' robot in action.

The Robot Force group is heavily involved in humanoid robot development, sales, marketing, support, and stages several major robot competitions including Robo-Fight and Robo-Gong. Iwaki-san definitely enjoys robotics, but more important, he really treasures the motivation, joy, and inspiration the hobby/sport provides to his customers, employees, and the spectators that attend their events.

So, it was natural for Robot Force to develop several Transformer type humanoid robots like Cherubim. These aren't 'toys' - they are fully functional humanoid robots that are capable of competing at the top levels in ROBO-ONE events and robot soccer matches.

Kondo GENEX Robot Suit Review by CrabFu

I-Wei, the founder, designer, and resident mad-scientist behind all those wonderful steam robot creations from CrabFu Steamworks, has been bitten by the humanoid robot bug really hard. It's become much more than just a hobby or passing interest, it's his primary passion and perhaps even obsession.

Right after RoboGames 2007 in June, he purchased a Kondo KHR-2HV and started his humanoid adventure. It wasn't long before he had the robot performing realistic moves that would make some of the top ROBO-ONE builders green with envy. And, through a constant stream of 'why?', 'how come?', and 'what if?' questions he pestered inspired us into developing a series of software applications/tools for the Kondo robot products.

His most recent project with the robot was to assemble the Kondo A-621 "GENEX" robot suit, and in the process he also created a very straight forward set of LED eyes for his humanoid companion. We're very pleased that he shared his complete product review (see below) including the good, the bad, and the ugly aspects of this new Kondo option.

New Application For Kondo Robots Released

We mentioned in a previous post a few days ago that we've been working on some interesting software applications for Kondo based robots like the KHR-2HV and Kyosho MANOI AT01. Well, the first application has finished its qualification testing, at least in our labs, so we're going to go ahead and officially release it today for downloads.

 

The application, "RCB3 Button Box" is a simple, and hopefully easy to use, Windows program that triggers motions and scenarios in the robots RCB-3 controller. It also provides error reporting and other important information including the robots battery voltage.

RoboGames 2007: Android Wrestling Awards Ceremony (Video)

In going back through all our video and photos from the June RoboGames 2007 event, we discovered some good footage, probably taken by Jason, of the awards ceremony for the Lightweight and Heavyweight Android Wrestling competitions (see video below).

No great robot action in this particular video, but still it's extremely meaningful for the participants and their big fans - like us!

Keepon Robot Gets Down With Spoon in Akihabara (Video)

Marek Michalowski setup the bright yellow, and extremely rhythmic, Keepon robot to perform to Spoon's "I Turn My Camera On", recorded it on video, then uploaded it to YouTube where it became an instant hit scoring close to 1.3 million views.

Now Keepon and Spoon are paired up again, only this time it's an official production (see video below), sponsored by WIRED, directed by Jeff Nichols, and with walk-on roles by many of our favorite local humanoid robots. The result is, in our very biased opinion, the best robot music video ever.

By the way, the interior scenes towards the end of the music video took place at RT Corp's store in Akihabara and were organized by Yuki Nakagawa, one of the most well known and well respected robot leaders here.

All's Well in Robot Land

A couple of readers have written in wondering if we are okay since the post frequency has dropped over the past couple days.

Yes, we're okay. It's the 'Obon' holiday season here in Japan, and most companies close for a few days to a week. We've been enjoying the free outdoor sauna provided by nature - the temperature's been over 34 degrees C (93 degrees F) with humidity running close to 100%. And we've been using the holiday to make some long overdue progress with our two robots - Gulliver and Mondai-Noid.

You'll see some of the results posted here on Robots Dreams in the next day or two, starting with a new Tempusmaster RCB3 application we're finishing up:

And, we're finalizing the edits on a great product review submitted by I-Wei at CrabFu covering the new Kondo KHR-2HV  body armor in great detail:

Stay tuned - you're going to really like it.

Enhancing The Kondo KHR Humanoid Robot Series - Part 1

Our first Kondo robot was Gulliver, an original KHR-1 (not to be confused with the more recent KHR-1HV kit). He's great, and we've had a tremendous amount of fun playing with him, and learning from him. But, seeing all the newer KHR-2HV robots out there playing soccer had us wishing for another robot just so that we could play too.

But, that would cost $$$, not to mention having to negotiate with our better half and trying to explain why we just can live without three, or four, humanoid robots to experiment with. If we weren't careful about it, we might have ended up with only the robots in an empty house...

So, we took the safer, and cheaper path, and swapped out Gulliver's older RCB-1 control boards for a single, and much more powerful RCB3 controller with the latest firmware. But we still needed to address the motion sequence differences between the two robots or we wouldn't be able to use all those cool soccer moves.
 

3rd Wonderful Robot Carnival: Advancing the Sport (Video)

Sometimes a little friendly competition can lead to significant performance advances. A few people start playing the 'what if' game. "What if our robots could do..." That triggers some thoughts and the exchange of ideas. At first everyone thinks the new challenge might be too difficult, or they see all the roadblocks in the way.

Pretty quickly though, egged on by each other, and stimulated by the challenge, they start to come up with solutions. Some work, some don't. They figure out what is practical, and what isn't. And, in very short order, a lot of people are doing what they used to think was too tough.

A great example of this is what we saw during the 3rd Wonderful Robot Carnival Die Shoot event here last Sunday afternoon, as you can see from the video below.

3rd Wonderful Robot Carnival - Keeping the Spirit Alive (Video)

The 1st Wonderful Robot Carnival, held just one year ago, was an absolute blast. Free of the stress and high pressure environment that's built up around the ROBO-ONE competitions, the Carnival participants could just relax and have a ball playing with their robots in events that were specifically designed to generate the most fun possible. It immediately became our favorite robot competition in the Kanto area.

But, what do you do for an encore? How do you keep a robot competition fresh and exciting, yet keep the rules fairly stable so that entrants don't have to completely rebuild their robots for each event? It can be a major headache, but thankfully Ishikawa-san, the founder and guiding spirit behind the Carnival, was up to the challenge.

For the first two Carnivals, the lead-off event was a 2 meter dash where the robots competed in sets of two, but the scoring was against the clock. To keep the event interesting, and to be able to accommodate the over 40 entries, Ishikawa-san converted the Dash 2000 event into a one meter out, one meter back dash around a pylon (see video below).

ROBO Virus Spreads in the UK

We don't want to give the false impression that our favorite humanoid robot hobby/sport is only being enjoyed in Japan or at RoboGames in the US. Far from it. People all over the world are involved, and although their numbers are still relatively small, they are growing rapidly.

For example, several builders in the UK, who met each other via the RoboSavvy forums, took the initiative to organize a ROBO-ONE type competition. They contacted the TIC micromouse organization, and arranged to share a part of their event space, promoted the gathering via RoboSavvy, pulled together some prizes for the winners, and made it all happen. It's a great example of what can be done if people that care get involved and take ownership.

Their robots, by the way, represented all of the popular, well-known kits including Robonova (Hitec), KHR (Kondo), MANOI (Kyosho), and Bioloid (Robotis). The background information and event photos can be viewed on the UK ROBO thread. We're sure that they would be happy to share their experience and learning with others that want to organize a similar event.

Typhoon Battles Wonderful Robot Carnival and Loses (Video)

 

Two major forces of nature hit Tokyo today.

One was incredibly destructive - Typhoon "Man-Yi" that drenched towns, damaged houses, and shut down transportation including stopping the Bullet Train in its tracks for hours.

The other one was incredibly constructive - the 3rd Wonderful Robot Carnival which drew over 40 humanoid robot entries, challenged us with new events and new twists on old events, generated tons of laughs and never ending surprises, and left everyone with big smiles and great memories.  

"Jump if the cotton input equals the comparing resistor...?"

Among video game fanatics the phrase, "All of your base are belong to us" is a classic case of Japlish - Japanese mistranslated into English. It doesn't happen often, but when it does the results can either be extremely funny, or extremely frustrating.

We recently were alerted to a similar situation that was puzzling, and very likely frustrating one of our regular readers that owns a Kondo KHR-2HV. He was very successful at the initial kit assembly, testing, and motion creation, but hit a wall when he tried to understand some of the more advanced RCB3 capabilities like using the SET and CMP objects. That's when he wrote asking us if we knew the meaning of "Jump if the cotton input equals the comparing resistor".

Crabfu's KHR-2HV Robot - Progress Report (Video)

 
A few days ago, we posted about I-Wei's (Crabfu) progress in creating motions for his new Kondo KHR-2HV robot. Today he released a new progress report video (see below) documenting a few of the robots latest moves.

With his animation background, and experience in building steam robots with complex linkages, he's been able to generate some surprisingly realistic motion sequences, and he's doing it using a totally stock robot and only the standard Heart to Heart 3 software that comes with the kit. As soon as he feels comfortable with the robots performance, we're going to see if he will share some of his techniques and insight with the rest of us humanoid robot fans.

RoboGames 2007 - Humanoid Robot Rumble (Video)

Normally after all the competitions are said and done, and the builders aren't worried about some minor damage keeping them from participating in the next round, we have a rumble event - the humanoid equivalent of Kind of the Hill or Last Robot Standing.

At RoboGames 2007 there were finally enough active competitors that we had the first rumble, then a little while later everyone decided they just hadn't had enough fun, so we had a second hilarious rumble.

Crabfu Tackles Humanoids (Video)

What happens when an experienced video game animator, with extensive experience and a natural instinct for complex mechanical linkages, gets their hands on a humanoid robot for the first time?

The simple answer, as you can see from the video clip below, is total magic.