ROBOTS DREAMS - Robot news and robot hacks from a true robot geek

UK Humanoid Robots Gather

Check out photos from the UK humanoid robot gathering/competiton that was staged concurrently with the UK Micromouse 2009 last weekend. It looks like humanoid robotics is definitely drawing attention and builders on that side of the world.

[via RoboSavvy]

MANOI Robot Builders Take Breakdancing to the Next Level (Video)

We’ve often joked about programming our MANOI AT01 humanoid robot to dance like Michael Jackson, knowing full well that it would be almost impossible.

However, two well known robot guru’s here, Dr. GIY and Okamoto-san, put their heads (and hearts) together to create a highly tuned, and no doubt very expensive, MANOI hybrid that can really wail on the dance floor (video below).

They named their new robot “MANOI GO!”, which we’re guessing is a play on words. Of course, the meaning of “Go!” in English is obvious. In Japanese, “Go!” also represents the number 5, and could indicate that the robot costs at least 4X the standard model, which wouldn’t be surprising if they upgraded all the critical servos with the top of the line, high torque, Kondo KRS series.

There are also rumors going around about a major debut for this awesome bot. Stay tuned….

Robot Sightings: More MANOI, Old Combat Robot Videos, Bioloid Library, and more...

What's going on today in my crazy robot world?

• 22:01 If combat robots are your thing, then get over to YouTube and check out TeamVeloicity's videos! (www.youtube.com/user/TeamVelocity)
• 22:15 The "Uncanny Valley" robot problem gets extended to other everyday objects... (tinyurl.com/other-uncanny-valley-objects) Spooky? Yes!
• 22:33 RoboBuilder has posted a module to support the Microsoft Robot Development System 2008 (tinyurl.com/robobuilder-MSRDS)
• 23:27 Trying to develop C programs to use with the Bioloid CM5? Check out this thread & new C library - tinyurl.com/bioloid-cm5-c-library
• 23:36 Good report covering the Western Japan Welfare Equipment show featuring many assistance robots. tinyurl.com/welfare-equipment-report
• 23:44 You gotta love a competition that automatically disqualifies robots if they serve any useful purpose. tinyurl.com/bakarobot-report
• 23:51 Day 2 report from the Kyosho Humanoid Cup with "Concours de elegance", sprints, and the Hall of Fame- tinyurl.com/kyosho-manoi-day2
• 01:26 Piperoids - the cute 21st century robots made out of paper pipes/straws - piperoid.jp/index.html
• 08:43 Curtis at EngineeringTV shared the best video of the Aldebaran NAO robot we have seen so far: tinyurl.com/engineeringtv-nao-robot
• 08:57 Thanks to Eloise - Hallmark has a very cool Wall-E Christmas ornament (tinyurl.com/walle-christmas). Now, if we only had a tree...
• 10:17 SketchUp has a physics plug-in (tinyurl.com/sketchup-physics) Must model humanoid robots now! (tinyurl.com/sketchup-robot)

Robotically posted for Lem by LoudTwitter

Robot Sightings: Dr. Robot tutorial, Sugiura is an Indian God, Jonas and the Stupid Robot, and more...

What's going on today in my crazy robot world?

• 20:16 Tsukumo Robot Kingdom is open for business again after a breif shutdown. tinyurl.com/6pd6gd
• 20:31 Indian robot builders join ROBO-ONE 14 & learn from Sugiura-san (Dynamizer): blog.acyut.com/?p=73. They call him "legendary" & "GOD".
• 20:37 Dr. Robot teaches us how to build a sumo robot from hell: tinyurl.com/6zqggt Definitely got to buy him a new shirt.
• 20:59 We love Star Wars, but isn't making R2D2 into a toilet paper holder going too far? tinyurl.com/54wjlu
• 21:10 With only 256 MB this robot USB memory stick is impractical. tinyurl.com/6y9j39 So, why do I want one?
• 21:22 Jonas challenges the BakaRobo (Stupid Robot) contest, and gets slapped in the process. tinyurl.com/5m44wc
• 21:29 Basquash! Yet another robot movie I'll be putting on my "must-see" list. tinyurl.com/5l72xc
• 21:45 ATR is mapping human brain patterns into visual images: tinyurl.com/5nlmbt
• 21:48 Sangatsu Usagi's great report on the 29th Micromouse Competition: tinyurl.com/6xzhfn
• 23:37 With auto companies in trouble, and Honda dropping F-1, will other research, like Honda's robot legs, survive? htinyurl.com/69ngeb
• 08:51 John published a good, though troubling, study on robot hobby trends (tinyurl.com/robothobbytrends). Let's hope it's only temporary.
• 09:05 The Vex robot system has taken off like wildfire (tinyurl.com/vex-robot-competitions). What makes it so popular with schools?
• 09:15 For robot fans that don't want to build from scratch, PicONE released a cool micromouse robot kit. tinyurl.com/54pw94
• 10:20 Thanks to a reminder from Martin, here's one of the best robot resources around www.robot.org.uk/ even if it doesn't have a RD link.
• 10:25 Robert's next RoboDance version will be out next Spring and will even control the kitchen sink! tinyurl.com/robodance-specs
• 12:12 The Kyosho MANOI robots aren't drawing much attention overseas, but here in Japan they are still hot stuff! tinyurl.com/kyosho-manoi
• 12:26 RT Corp has an under-1 kg. humanoid robot competition scheduled for January 18th starting at 2:00 pm. www.rt-shop.jp/blog/?p=126
• 12:49 140 year old head for a smoking robot automaton (tinyurl.com/smoking-robot-head). Pretty spooky - looks very "Stephen King" style.
• 13:20 Daniel Ruben Rojas sent us a video of this blazingly fast line-follower robot: tinyurl.com/blazing-line-follower-robot running at 80%

Robotically posted for Lem by LoudTwitter

UK Robot Gathering Gains Momentum, and Feet (Video)

A small but active and extremely dedicated group of UK robot builders that connected via the RoboSavvy online forums have started to gather regularly to compete, share information, and show off their creations. The group, which includes humanoid, hexapod, and other types of robots, meets during the regular ROBOtic competitions in Birmingham.

BillB, one of the RoboSavvy hexapod fanatics was kind enough to share the video (see below) of their most recent meet-up.

Kyosho MANOI Press Conference

Kyosho, famous with robot fans world-wide for the high performance and highly stylized MANOI AT01 and PF01 humanoid robots, announced availability of two new robot products, and gave the press a close-up look at the latest, and first feminine, member of their robot line-up.

UK RoboSavvy Humanoid Event-Part 3 (Video)

Not only can they sprint, the UK humanoids can also get down and dirty during a Kung Fu/ROBO-ONE style match in the ring. Check out the videos below for a glimpse of the action.

Chrome Plated, Mirror Finish, Custom MANOI PF01 Robot

Yuki Nakagawa, the president and founder of RT Corp. really believes in customer satisfaction. So, when one of her customers expressed a strong desire for a chrome plated MANOI PF01 humanoid robot, Nakagawa-san pulled out all the stops, and made it happen. Believe us, it wasn't easy, but some how she did it. The end result, with it's mirror finish, is unbelievably cool.

And the price? Well, if you have to ask, then you probably can't afford it...

 

Dr. GIY Works His Magic on the MANOI PF01 Robot (Video)

The Kyosho MANOI PF01 humanoid robot is pretty impressive - one of the top hobby robot kits available today. So, when a champion ROBO-ONE builder, like Dr. GIY, decides to take a stock PF01 and do some custom improvements and fine tuning, you can be sure that the result is going to be pure magic.

Thanks to "LovingRobotRabbit" (aka the folks at RT Corp), we're able to share a great video of Dr. GIY's modified PF01 below, including smooth, fast walking, master-slave arm control, walking on carpet, and even music-video class dancing.

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.