ROBOTS DREAMS

American Humanoid Robot Spotted in Japan

We were flipping through the pages of the latest issue of Robocon Magazine, trying to decide which robot articles were interesting enough to invest all the time and effort in translation. Well, to be perfectly honest, all the robot articles are all 'interesting enough', but given our poor command of Japanese kanji, the translation process can be painfully slow.

Then, we happened to glance at the Robotis Dynamixel advertisement, and one robot immediately caught our attention. ZOG! One of the RoboGames champion humanoid robots designed by Farrell Robotics.

He's in good company too - surrounded by other high performance humanoids like Dynamizer, Hajime Robot 18, the NIMBRO RoboCup team, and Gadget 2. Of course we realize that it's an ad, and that Robotis is trying to promote their products by showcasing some of the builders that use them. Still, it's quite an honor for ZOG to share the stage with some of the best humanoid robotics has to offer.

Ramp-up To RoboGames 2008

It's hard to believe, but the premier robot event of the year, RoboGames 2008, is less than two months away. With close to a thousand robots, hundreds of teams from all over the world, and the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the top competitive robot builders the planet has to offer, you can bet we'll be there with bells on.

We haven't nailed down our exact travel schedule yet, but plan on spending a week to 10 days in the San Francisco area, either arriving a little before RoboGames, or staying for several days after the action. We're definitely interested in meeting, and possibly interviewing, people or companies in the area that happen to be as hooked on robotics as we are - so drop us a line.

To help all of us get in the spirit, we hacked together the short little RoboGames promo video clip below. Enjoy!

RoboGames and Instructables Announce Robot Contest

RoboGames and Instructables have teamed up to sponsor an exciting new contest with some great prizes.  Their objective is simple. They want to motivate all of us latent robot builders to get up off our couches and into our workshops to actually build some of those robots we've been talking, and dreaming about. 

And, knowing from experience that building a complete robot can be complex and time consuming, the official rules only require that you document one of the significant subunits of the robot.

Oh, did we mention "prizes"? How about a Grand Prize that includes airfare, hotel (4 nights), and a VIP pass to RoboGames 2009? Or the First Prize of a brand new RoboPhilo humanoid robot kit?

Entries opened April 15, 2008, and will close on June 29, 2008. Don't just sit there! Get going, and get building! 

The "Summer of Love" Redux - Robot Style!

It was 1967, San Francisco, and suddenly 100,000 young people flocked to the Haight Ashbury district creating an unbelievably powerful mix of music, freedom, creative expression, and new political thinking. It was Ground Zero for the hippie revolution, and the world will never be the same.

This summer, echoes of that unforgettable "Summer of Love" will rebound through the streets of San Francisco as robot enthusiasts from all over the globe gather to participate in three landmark events. The "Robot Summer of Love" gets off to a roaring start with the Combots Cup III event on May 3-4. Just one week later, on May 10th, and totally in keeping with the hippie "Make love, not war", the ROBOEXOTICA USA event comes to San Francisco. Then, mid-June, the worlds largest (and most exciting) robot competition - RoboGames 2008  is going to rock the walls, and probably the San Francisco Bay itself, with hundred of robots fighting it out in over 70 different events.

Robot Golf Anyone? (Video)

We heard several months ago that there are serious plans for robot golf competitions at RoboGames 2008 this June in San Francisco. The specifics aren't clear yet, though we're sure some of our regular readers will bring us up to date pretty quickly.

In any case, it looks like "paxshikai" isn't wasting any time. They already have their i-SOBOT practicing its little heart (batteries?) out trying to polish its putting skills like crazy.

History Repeating Itself?

We were so impressed by our experience at RoboGames 2007 that we have been seriously considering starting a RoboGames fan-site. After all, there are tons of Paris Hilton, Hello Kitty, and even American Chopper fan sites out there. So, why not setup a RoboGames fan site to build support and recognition for what has to be the #1 robot competition event in the world?

But, what to name it? The first thought that popped into our heads (this happens so often that the wife claims that our cranium must be chock full of Pop Rocks) was "RoboGamez". Pretty cool, however a quick search turned up the fact that the RoboGameZ domain is already taken - and it belongs to a very interesting Malaysian based robot competition.

Of course, we plan to check out the RoboGameZ event in some detail, and we will continue our brainstorming (or Pop-Rocking) to come up with a great name for the fan site. In the meantime we're pondering the thought that RoboGames - the same event that got it's knuckles slapped by the International Olympic organization over the use of the "RobOlympics" name several years ago - has now gained enough fame and recognition on it's own merits that its name is being 'borrowed' to grace other competitions.

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!

RoboGames 2007: Event Report Featured on the Robot Magazine Website

It took us a while to 'recover' from our whirlwind trip to RoboGames 2007 in San Francisco this June. Our brain was just totally overwhelmed by all the robots we saw, all the new contacts and friends we met, and the surprising new competitions we experienced for the first time. But, eventually all those new experiences, memories, and inspirations started to calm down a bit, and began to fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

To make sure that it would all be captured in a shareable form, we spent a couple days writing it all down (well - typing on our laptop actually), and then submitted the article along with several of the photos taken by the Robots Dreams team (Jason, Don, and Lem) to Robot Magazine. We're happy to report that our "RoboGames 2007 - Impossible to Imagine, Impossible to Forget!" article was accepted and is now featured on the Robot Magazine website.

 

RoboGames 2007: Stealth Appearance by the Pleo Robot (Video)

We're not sure why they did it, but the UGOBE folks brought the new Pleo dinosaur robot to RoboGames 2007 in San Francisco this June. They were there on Friday, the first day that the event was open to the public, but then disappeared completely a day later. We suspect it was an exercise in test marketing to see what kind of reaction the robot drew.

Anyway, we're not complaining since it did give us the opportunity to see - and even touch - what is sure to become one of the top selling robot toys/gadgets for Christmas 2007.

RoboGames 2007: Gold Metal Robot Builder Interview - Chris Farrell (Video)

We're always fascinated by the way that people are motivated and excited by robotics, so when we recently had the opportunity to interview double RoboGames metal winner, Chris Farrell of Farrell Robotics, we immediately jumped at the chance.

Chris, and his dad - Rob, have done some surprising work developing Oro and Zog - their competitive robots - completely from scratch, to the point that between them they won a total of four metals at RoboGames 2007 in San Francisco last month - Gold and Silver in Wrestling along with Silver and Bronze in the Biped Race.

Chris was kind enough to share their story with us, along with a lot of insight into their motivation and dreams.  

RoboGames 2007: Making New Friends

There are many benefits to attending, or participating, in events like RoboGames. Of course there's the chance to experience exciting robot competitions up-close and personal, and to be inspired by robots that you could never begin to imagine sitting in your easy chair at home. But, in our opinion, the most important and valuable benefit is the opportunity to meet others that are just as passionate about robotics - to make new friends, share opinions, laugh at each other's jokes, exchange experiences and information, and establish strong lasting relationships.

RoboGames 2007 last month was no exception. Finally we got to put faces with the names, and forum nicknames/handles, of people we knew from online robot forums like RoboSavvy. And, we got to make a lot new friends that are as devoted to advancing and promoting robotics as a hobby, and as a career, as we are. A great example is Johnny Williams from Boss Robot Hobby. Johnny was kind enough to explain why he's so dedicated to robots, and to his customers.

Own A Piece Of Robot History!

You've seen it on TV, now you have the chance to own it!

Here's a rare chance to buy a really unique piece of robot history. The RoboGames organizers are buying a new combat robot arena, and don't want to see their old arena just sold for scrap, so they have listed it on eBay.

According to the organizers, the arena cost well over $200,000 to build initially, and has hosted fifteen major competitions - Steel Conflict I, CSI: Crime Scene Investigators, Steel Conflict II, Steel Conflict III @ RCX 2003, Steel Conflict IV, ROBOlympics 2004, RC Expo 2004, VMware - VMworld 2004, RoboGames 2005, ComBots Open and 2004 RFL National Championship, ComBots Cup I and 2005 RFL National Championship, Game Designer Conference PS3 Party, RoboGames 2006, Maker Faire / ComBots Cup 2007, and RoboGames 2007.

Of course, you'll need a 50 foot flatbed truck and a forklift or two just to move it. The arena tips the scales at a massive 18 tons, and takes two crews of 8, working two shifts, about a day and a half to assemble. But, if you're really into combat robots, or looking to start a competitive event, this might be the perfect opportunity. 

RoboGames 2007: What Were They Really Thinking?

We'll probably never know what people were really thinking at RoboGames 2007, but from the photos we can certainly guess-

  The jokers, left to right: Lem (Robots Dreams), I-Wei (Crabfu), Matt Bauer (Rook's Pawn),
   and Jin Sato (JS Robotics).

 

 

RoboGames 2007: Making a Difference With Robotics (Video)

The 'Tetsujin' or Iron Man category at RoboGames doesn't have a lot of competitors, but the few builders that do participate in building human assisting and enhancement robotic systems do it with a real passion.

The 'sport', if we can call it that, requires long term dedication and the willingness to invest large amounts of personal time and money. Building linkages, actuators, and control systems that are human sized, and sometimes larger, is not for the faint of heart or pocketbook.

Monty Reed, the defacto RoboGames Tetsujin guru and founder of the They Shall Walk organization, got involved out of personal need. In 1986 he was injured in a parachute accident while serving as a US Army Airborne Ranger. During his recovery in the hospital he sketched out ideas for his first power suit to help the disabled and elderly recover as much functionality and mobility as possible.

He hasn't stopped since. His current version of the power suit, number 12 in the series, only weighs 75 pounds and enables walking, climbing stairs, lifting heavy objects, and even jumping, as you can see Monty demonstrate in the video below from RoboGames 2007 last month.

RoboGames 2007 - Combot Mayhem (Video)

It's been a long weekend, and we've managed to get a lot done, including a couple of long mid-day naps to try and get over the last vestiges of our RoboGames induced jet lag.

So, to celebrate, and to get one more 'to-do' off our long, long list, we thought we would share an other exciting moment of Combot Mayhem and destruction with you.

 We hope you enjoy it. There is nothing like it in Japan, or in most of the world for that matter. We won't see another battle like that until next summer when we go back over to San Francisco for RoboGames 2008.

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.

RoboGames 2007 - The Red Barron in a Robot Dog-Fight!

The combat robot builders devote endless hours and considerable budgets to their battling creations. Some of them do it to win. Others do it to show off. Some do it for the opportunity to share time and a sense of community with other builders that have the same passion. And some appear to do it for the pure pleasure and fun.

Imagine Snoopy, dressed in his Red Barron costume, zooming around the combat ring on his bright red doghouse airplane, dog fighting with a really aggressive opponent. What would happen? Would he shoot down his opponent, or would the Red Barron crash and burn, going down in flames?

Jin Sato Shows Off New Low Cost Educational Robot Design

Jin Sato (JS Robotics) brought one of his latest robot creations along to RoboGames - a low cost humanoid kit (see video below) that uses $10 servos yet has advanced features like adjustable servo compliance. The robot was originally developed by Jin for a UNESCO Robot Camp project, and now he's added a few improvement and refinements, and will be making the kit available commercially soon.

RoboGames 2007 - Taking a nap

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Originally uploaded by Tempusmaster.

Everybody, and everybot, is certainly entitled to a little nap after a hard day's work full of excitement, tension, and surprises. Rook's Pawn is no exception.

RoboGames 2007 - Special Thanks To Our Most Important Team Members

We've mentioned some of the great people that helped and supported us at RoboGames, but before we forget we definitely need to give some special kudos to two team members (see photos below) that gave their all even though they didn't get to make the trek to San Francisco.

As it turned out, both of them had to stay home and work, while we went off to play. Without their help, support, understanding, and never-ending patience, none of it would have been possible.

RoboGames 2007 - Alan Downing's Autonomous Robot Bear

There was more to RoboGames than the ear deafening noise and chaos of combat robots trying their utmost to disable or destroy each other - much, much more. Taking the opportunity to check out all the nooks and crannies of the Fort Mason facility we discovered lots of non-violent and simply delightful robots and their enthusiastic creators.

One of our personal favorites was the "PoohBearBot" - the work of Alan Downing, a manager at a large Silicon Valley software company, and an active member of the famous Home Brew Robotics Club. Alan was kind enough to spend some time explaining the robot to us, and patiently responding to our questions.

RoboGames 2007 - Stair Climbing (Video)

At first glance the challenge looks deceptively simple. Have your robot climb a short set of stairs, take a few more steps, then descend a similar set of stairs. In real life it quickly turns into a major challenge - one that might drive you over the edge trying.

At RoboGames 2007 in San Francisco last week, many of the competitors attempted the stair climbing challenge, and several of them achieved very respectable results, as you can see from the video below.

RoboGames 2007 Photo Gallery From Crabfu Steamworks

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Originally uploaded by Crabfu SteamWorks.

I-Wei, the genius behind all the great steam bots created at Crabfu Steamworks, just posted his RoboGames 2007 photo gallery including some great shots of the Robots Dreams team, like the one above.

Thanks I-Wei!

RoboGames 2007 Swag

No robot event is complete without a good collection of robot swag, and RoboGames 2007 was no exception.

First, we had some great team shirts and caps that never would have materialized without the dedicated, and very much appreciated, efforts of Don Fugitt who flew down from Washington State especially to actively participate in the event:

Left to right: Jason Fugitt, Lem Fugitt, David Calkins, Don Fugitt

Also, we were also blessed with a great CrabFu Steamworks t-shirt by our good friend and master steam robot builder, I-Wei. We're really looking forward to him visiting Japan so that we can return the favor.

And, we managed to snag a rare M5 Industries t-shirt in our side before they were completely sold out and became collectors items.

Next year we hope that RoboGames has an 'official' t-shirt for sale. We know we'd buy one for each and every team member, and we're pretty sure most of the other competitors would as well.

Humanoid Builders Talk Frankly At RoboGames

  Left to right: Jin Sato, Chris Farrell, Rob Farrell

As you might expect there were lots of reporters and camera crews at the recent RoboGames 2007 event in San Francisco. In previous years they had a tendency to focus almost exclusively on the more dramatic, and noisy, combat robot battles while the humanoid events took a backseat. Of course a lot of that was due to the fact that there weren't a lot of exciting, attention grabbing humanoid entries. This year with the number of humaniod robots tripling over last year the situation changed dramatically, and we believe for the better.

Many of the humanoid robot builders were interviewed by the mass media, and had the opportunity to express their passion and dedication to the sport to a global audience. A good example is this RoboGames news story that features comments from Matt Bauer, Rob Farrell, and Chris Farrell, and has shown up on the internet in places as far away as Australia. Of course, some people may feel that Rob's "testosterone" comment was a little blunt, but we think it was right on target and not out of line at all.

RoboGames 2007 Best Humanoid "Hits" (Video)

We're still in San Francisco taking a short vacation and doing some interviews of robot companies in the SF Bay area, so we don't have access to our video editing gear yet. However, Matt Bauer of Bauer Independents has already posted a video compilation (see below) of memorable 'hits' from the android/humanoid competitions during RoboGames 2007.

Punny RoboGames Food Review

We asked on of the gourmet Robots Dreams Team members to review the RoboGames 2007 fare, and he told us how they actually used household irons to cook the hot dogs-

By D. B. Hal and Willy Dream

"At RoboGames 2007 they served tantalizing ironed hot dogs with mustard and relish.

Some in line were steamed by this, but not your intrepid reporters, we just ordered ours with no starch.

After all, we had a press pass, or it only seamed that way to us..."

 

RoboGames 2007 - Day Three

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Originally uploaded by Tempusmaster.

It's been three wonderful, excitement packed days - four if you include setting up the afternoon before RoboGames opened to the public. We're really glad we came, and have a boatload of new memories to take back to Japan with us, and share with all our robot fans there as well. Of course, the competitions were great - and even sometimes amazing. But the best part was being able to meet, develop, and strengthen friendships with all the great people involved in RoboGames - both as participants, organizers, and fans.

We'll write more about specific happenings and experiences, and posting some great video clips over the next week or so. For now, here are all the photos taken by the Robots Dreams Team today in the RoboGames 2007 Day Three photo gallery. Enjoy!

RoboGames 2007 - Day Two

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Originally uploaded by Tempusmaster.

What can we say? Day Two at the RoboGames 2007 event was even better than Day One. More action, more excitement, participation by some of the stars of MythBusters - one of our favorite Discovery Channel television shows, the best humanoid wrestling action of any RoboGames event so far, big crowds, and tons of fun.

You can check out some of the day's events and happenings via our RoboGames 2007 Day Two photo gallery, or better yet - hurry on down to the Festival Pavilion at Fort Mason in San Francisco to see for yourself. Tomorrow's the last day, and should prove to be absolutely outstanding.

Another Great Day at RoboGames 2007

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Originally uploaded by Tempusmaster.

Today, the official opening day of RoboGames 2007, was fantastic. We learned a lot, saw first hand how rapidly robot skill and technology has grown in the US, watched some really neat autonomous robot soccer competitions with entries from all over the world, helped out a team from Singapore, got to meet quite a few of our online friends and readers from Robosavvy and other places we frequent on the net, and had our first taste of the ear deafening-ripping-tearing-sometimes fire breathing combat robot battles.

There were also some very impressive art robot creations - like the one above desiged by Vince, others with music, lights, and other creative approaches to combining art with robotics and movement.

As usual, we have quite a bit of video footage (with more to be taken over the next two days) but until we have time to process and edit it, you'll have to be content with the gallery of RoboGames 2007 First Day photos we just put online. Enjoy - we certanly are!

RoboGames 2007 - Let's Get Ready To Robot Rumble!

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Originally uploaded by Tempusmaster.

We found our way to Fort Mason late in the afternoon, got checked in, and spent a couple hours chatting with other competitors and the setup crew. We also took some initial RoboGames 2007 photos.

The overall schedule for the infividual events still hasnt been published, though they dd indicate that it should be available first thing in the morning.

RoboGames Here We Come!

Well, we made the first 5,000+ miles okay - all the way from our home in Chiba, out to the Narita airport, and then a little over nine hours on the plane to San Francisco.

The weather here is fantastic. Bright, sunny, but not too hot - at least not downtown where we're staying. Right know we're waiting for some of the other team members to arrive, then we'll go over to check out the venue.

According to the map, we should actually be able to walk it - a little under three miles one way, or take one of the famous San Francisco Cable Cars almost all the way to Fort Mason. Of course when we take all of our robots and equipment over, we'll probably stretch the budget a bit and make some taxi driver very happy.

We haven't seen the detailed schedule yet. Hopefully they will provide one when we check in. Until we know the exact times for the events we'll just have to play it by ear. Our game plan that in addition to trying to run around and take photos of everything in sight (which I'm sure our team will), most of tonight and tomorrow will be spent getting our robots setup, fine tuned, and the motion files finalized.

We did do a quick damage survey as soon as we got to the hotel, and everything looks like it survived the flight and baggage handlers okay - knock on wood.

More to come soon ....

One Reason Why You Definitely Want To Come To RoboGames (Video)

The general impression and common public perception has been that hobby level humanoid robotics outside of Japan lags way behind the bots created by Japanese builders here. All of that is about to change dramatically at the RoboGames event, held this coming weekend at Fort Mason in San Francisco.

By the time that the dust clears, and the events wrap up, on Sunday, there will be no possible doubt that some of the custom humanoid designs built in the States, basically from scratch, are just as competitive, interesting, and exciting as their Japanese counterparts.

Think we're exaggerating? Well, take a look at the video clip below featuring just two of the awesome humanoids that will be competing this weekend - then book your tickets for the premier robot event of the year.

Robonova Set To Take Center Stage At RoboGames

According to a David Calkins post on the Lynxmotion Forums, Hitec has just become a silver metal sponsor for the RoboGames event in San Francisco next month. David, the well known organizer responsible for the big event, is waiving all entry fees for Robonova robots participating in the event, and is also planning to put on a Robot Soccer game featuring the robots.

Robosapien vs. Robo-One: Battle Video

Ever wonder how a match between Robosapien and one of the Japanese Robo-One battle robots would turn out? A lot of people have, and Pete Covert of Team Cosmos managed to capture the action on video and was kind enough to share it with us.

Robogames 2005 Photos Online

It's really become a small, and highly connected world. A few days ago I received an email from Robert, the webmaster for the RobotsRule website, and the developer of the Robosapien Dance Machine project He gave me a heads-up to a short but funny (perhaps tragic) Robosapien video clip taken at the recent Robogames 2005 event. Someone, name currently unknown, thought it would be great fun to pit our favorite RoboGuy up against one of the whirling dervish type Battle Bots. The results were predictable, though certainly interesting to watch.

Of course, being the curious person that I am, I had to move up the url link and see who had gone to the trouble of taking the video and posting it for all of us to enjoy. Much to my surprise, and delight, the videotographer (is that a legal word?) turned out to be none other than Mark VandeWettering. On his appropriately named brainwagon weblog, Mark bills himself as:

"husband, dad, programmer, maker of telescopes, blogger, podcaster, lover of all things scientific and/or trivial, and Oakland A's fan."

All of that is true, as far as it goes. But, if you dig a little deeper, you'll discover that Mark is also responsible for some very impressive raytracing and other graphic software, and works for Pixar. You've enjoyed some of his work in films like the Incredibles. He's also an invererate podcaster. Be sure to check out his Robogames photos and give a listen to his Robogames 2005 podcast to find out what happened, and what he fixed for his family's Easter dinner.

Be sure to give Mark some feedback, and tell him how much you appreciate his efforts.

RoboGames - Tickets are expected to sell out

RoboGames, billed as "The Largest Robot Show in America" is scheduled to take place from March 25th-27th on the San Francisco State University campus. According to a mailing sent out today from the organizers (see in the extended post below), they have limited attendance to 3,000 per day and expect to easily sell out.