ROBOTS DREAMS

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.
 

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.

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.

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.

 

ROBO-ONE 13: Leghorn - The Rooster Robot(Video)

Ever since we posted the interview with Tim Hornyak we've received email after email with requests to learn more about the 'chicken' robot that Tim mentioned.

The robot's official name in the ROBO-ONE directory is "Leghorn". He stands 51 cm tall (we're assuming that includes his beautiful red head feathers) and weighs 2.99 kg. Leghorn hails from the Osaka area where he frequently competes (and wins) in Iwaki-san's RoboFight competitions.

ROBO-ONE 13: Our Favorite Bout (Video)

It's always hard to pick our 'favorite' bout out of all the great battles that take place during every ROBO-ONE competition. Sometimes there's a totally surprising move that just blows us away. Or, the operator comes up with a unique strategy that really impresses us. Still, picking just one as our personal 'favorite' is extremely difficult.

For ROBO-ONE 13, the bout that really impressed us the most, and the bout that we continue to watch over and over, was the final bout between Garoo (right) and Taekwon-V to determine the Lightweight Championship (see video below).

The robots size, weight, and skill levels were very evenly matched, and both operators have won major competitions before and taken home numerous trophies. The tension was high, and the pressure on both teams must have been intense.

ROBO-ONE 13: The Robot Slope Challenge (Video)

The ROBO-ONE organizing committee always likes to raise the bar just a bit with each succeeding competition. It challenges the builders to keep honing and improving their skills and the performance of their robots. And, at the same time, it keeps the number of competitors that make it into the finals down to a manageable number.

For ROBO-ONE 13, the committee decided to make the pre-screening tests slightly more difficult with the addition of a small slope. To pass the pre-screening tests for previous ROBO-ONE events, the robot typically had to be able to walk for a minimum number of paces, turn around, and show that it could get up by itself from a prone or supine position.  Roughly 30% of the entries would fail to pass the pre-screening.

This time around, the robot had to walk straight forward across a surface that had a small slope (think "speed bump") right in the middle. As it turned out, the challenge may have been much more difficult than the committee originally expected.

New Japanese Humanoid Robot Book

Iwaki-san and Tanaka-san have put together a new humanoid robot book that we know is destined to join our rapidly growing library, and workshop. The book, titled "Custom Robot Perfect Book", has us drooling just from the cover photos alone. Add in the fact that Iwaki-san has designed and built some totally awesome robots, including Five - one of the ROBO-ONE 13 finalists, and Tanaka-san is famous for his robot suit/shell designs....

Well, hopefully we'll be able to track down a copy of the new book in Akihabara this weekend. If we're lucky enough to snare one you'll hear about it here with all the great and gory details.

ROBO-ONE 13: OmniZero Turns in a Perfect Performance (Video)

It seems like Maeda-san and OmniZero have totally blocked out the Demonstration phase of the ROBO-ONE competitions as their own personal turf. They own it exclusively and don't intend to let any other builder encroach on their territory.

On Saturday, during the first day's technical demonstrations, OmniZero's performance (see video below) was letter perfect. The amazing robot met, and exceeded, all the event's theme challenges including dancing in time to the theme music and doing an aerial 180 degree jump turn.

As if that wasn't enough, the robot then went on to turn true gymnastic cartwheels around the ROBO-ONE rink. There is no question that Maeda-san and OmniZero are true ROBO-ONE champions.

ROBO-ONE 13: i-SOBOT Based ROBO-ONE Competition Planned

The announcement was very low key, to the point that if you weren't paying attention you might have easily missed it entirely. But, the long term impact could be tremendous. At the ROBO-ONE 13 competition yesterday it was announced thatTakara TOMY has officially joined the list of ROBO-ONE sponsors, which is good news by itself. More important, they mentioned that there are plans in the works for a TOMY robot (i-SOBOT) based ROBO-ONE competition. The details and schedules were not specified, but frankly, we can hardly wait!

ROBO-ONE 13: King Kizer Rules Again!

We would like to offer our sincere congratulations to the Maru Family and King Kizer on winning the ROBO-ONE 13 Championship. It's a hard earned, and well deserved, honor for this great family.

 

Maeda/OmniZero Nail Top Position During the ROBO-ONE 13 Demonstration Phase

This won't come as much of a surprise to most ROBO-ONE fans, but once again, Maeda-san and OmniZero quickly captured the top position during the first days competition. This is the 'Demonstration' phase where builders have to put their robot through a 2 minute, totally autonomous demonstration of the robots abilities in front of a panel of expert judges. The OmniZero series of competition humanoid robots has always been a strong crowd favorite, and has frequently placed #1 during the first day over the past few years.

Tomorrow, Sunday, the top qualifiers, including OmniZero, will face off against each other in the ROBO-ONE ring. Historically, OmniZero hasn't done as well during the fighting phase of the competition, and we don't expect him to win the Championship.

ROBO-ONE Opens Official On-Line Shop

Don't get too excited just yet, but the ROBO-ONE organization just announced the opening of the Official ROBO-ONE Online Shop. The store product list is pretty sparse, but at least it's a good start, and includes items like a DVD of the ROBO-ONE 12 competition and official ROBO-ONE jackets. Hopefully they will have a table set up at the ROBO-ONE 13 event here this weekend, and will be adding more official goods soon.

ROBO-ONE 13: More Super-Sized Humanoid Robots

The ROBO-ONE organizing committee has been trying to encourage the development of larger, more powerful, and more realistic humanoids for quite a while. Scaling up a competitive robot presents some significant challenges, including increased development cost, severe shock, and really demanding power and torque requirements. So, it wasn't surprising that just a few super-sized ROBO-ONE robots appeared on the scene.

Now, with ROBO-ONE 13 just one week away, it appears that we will finally see some totally awesome robot giants step into the ring to do battle. Here's a graph of the robots height charted against their weight:

   ROBO-ONE 13 Entries - Height (cm) versus Weight (kg)

Dr. GIY Out To Set New Robot Speed Records (Video)

Most of the humanoid robot builders, including ourselves, think they are lucky if they can keep their robots standing, or perhaps walking slowly. But, there are a few builders that really excel. They build, or hack, humanoids to the point that the robots performance is really surprising.

A recent case in point is the Kyosho MANOI AT01 robot modified by Dr. GIY. One of the key events in the Kyosho Athlete Humanoid Cup competitions is a 5 meter dash. It's challenging enough to get your robot to walk in a straight line, much less run. And, with only 17 degrees of freedom, the stock AT01 robot usually takes some difficult, and time consuming, course corrections.

But, through a liberal application of his own special magic, Dr. GIY has hacked his AT01 to the extent that it rockets down the 5 meter sprint course in 10 seconds, and course corrects on the fly without loosing even a millisecond in wasted moves. Even more amazing - when it reached the end of the course it literally stops on a dime!

ROBO-ONE: The Move To Larger Robots (Video)

When we visited the Sugiura Family a few weeks ago to gather material for an upcoming article in Robot Magazine, a very interesting part of the conversation was devoted to how larger robots fit into the ROBO-ONE competitive humanoid robot picture. That brought back memories of ROBO-ONE 7, just three short years ago, when a robot named MYRO-2 stepped into the ring literally towering over its competitors.

Tipping the scales at 8.0 kg and a height of 70 cm, MYRO-2 could easily sweep the average ROBO-ONE robot at the time off their feet. For example, in the video below you can see Metallic Fighter, a ROBO-ONE champion, do its best to make a dent in MYRO-2 with almost no impact. That particular version of Metallic Fighter was 2.5 kg and 40 cm tall, yet it couldn't begin to budge MYRO-2.

Robots Take to the Water Like a Duck (Video)

Over the weekend we finished writing an in-depth magazine article on Mega Dynamizer, the 50 cm, 5.0 kg ROBO-ONE humanoid robot champion designed by Sugiura-san. One of the main themes of the article was the Sugiura Family's desire to create robots that can productively share the world with their human counterparts in a symbiotic manner complementing each others strengths and weaknesses.

We were so impressed, that we couldn't stop talking about what they are doing, probably to the point of overwhelming our friends with our bubbling enthusiasm. Then, over coffee yesterday, one of our friends asked if the Sugiura robots could swim....

At first, that question really threw us for a bit of a loop. We've seen their robots fight in the ring, do back flips, climb stairs, run an obstacle course, ski down a snow covered hill, and catch fish with a fishing pole and tackle. But, we had never seen one of them swimming around in the water, until tonight...

ROBO-ONE: Sugiura Family Profiled in Major Newspaper

The Sugiura Family, creators of ROBO-ONE champion robots that include Dynamizer, Mega Dynamizer, Retro, and Kappa, were profiled in a special article that appeared in this morning's Yomiuri newspaper. The feature article, which goes into quite a bit of detail, emphasizes the motivation and passion behind the family's preoccupation with robotics.

Their vision, their dream, goes far beyond just winning competitions like ROBO-ONE. In the interview, Sugiura-san says, "In the future, if the robot is equipped with a camera, and is capable of climbing mountains like the northern Alps, then even if you become bedridden you can still experience mountain climbing."

Their hope for the not too distant future is a time when robots and humans live productively and usefully together. Surrounded by his family, Sugiura-san showed a hint of deep emotion, squinting his eyes, and saying, "Children will surely realize that dream."  

 

ROBO-ONE: Mega Dynamizer Close-Up

We spent a wonderful afternoon yesterday visiting with the Sugiura Family and getting briefed on Mega Dynamizer, a super-sized ROBO-ONE champion robot. Based in part on the outstanding Dynamizer humanoid robot, Mega Dynamizer is taller (50 cm), heavier (5.0 kg), and even more awesome - if that is possible.

Mega Dynamizer features 23 degrees of freedom and takes full advantage of the Dynamixel RX-64 servos and CM-2 Plus control board from Robotis (Bioloid). Control communication uses 2.4 Ghz RS232C (ZIGBEE).

The robots technology and design are extremely impressive from a specification perspective, and even more so when you see Mega Dynamizer in action as we did (see video below). If Mega Dynamizer is any indication, ROBO-ONE 13 next month is going to be the most exciting ROBO-ONE competition ever.

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.

Onimaru - Special Demonstration in Kochi (Video)

Sorry for the delay, but we finally got the video clips from Monday's Onimaru demonstration processed, edited, and uploaded (see video below).

The demo started off with a short exhibition of a humanoid robot built by local college students that Yamaguchi-san has been mentoring and encouraging. Then Onimaru was put through his paces.

They also encouraged some of the children in the crowd to operate both of the robots. For example, the young boy and girl operating Onimaru towards the end of the video are Hikaru and Manaka Fukase. Both are elementary school students and are 9 and 6 years old respectively.

Onimaru's Night Out (Video)

We had promised to upload the videos from Onimaru's special demonstration on Monday, but unfortunately we ended up spending all day today on the bullet train and fighting some missed connections caused by unexpected snow. So the full robot demo video will have to wait for another day or two.

However, we did manage to put together a short video (see below) showing off a lot of this amazing robots really cool, and realistic, moves. This footage is a little dark because we were shooting at a local restaurant that was packed with customers. You can definitely hear how they reacted by the video soundtrack.

ROBO-ONE 13 Schedule Changed!

The ROBO-ONE organizing committee announced on Sunday that the dates for ROBO-ONE 13 have been moved up by one week. The new dates are March 22nd (Saturday) and 23rd (Sunday). Because of the change, the registration process was temporarily interrupted, and will continue from February 12th through March 10th.

The committee apologized for any inconvienence caused by the schedule change, and will make adjustments for registration fees from entries that need to cancel because of the change. Also, all entrants are encouraged to recheck their entry information and the current official regulations for the competition.

ROBO-ONE 13 Update

Just a quick update on a few ROBO-ONE 13 items:

• There's a new promotional website setup for ROBO-ONE 13
• Advance purchase tickets are set to go on sale tomorrow (February 6th) at all the great robot hang-outs like Tsukumo, Robot Factory, Robo Spot, and the Korakuen Hall. Apparently they don't plan on making tickets available via one of the online ticket services like they did last year.
• There's a 400 yen discount for advance purchase if you buy tickets for both days of the competition at the same time.
• Twelve competitors, including top champion robots Yokozuna Great and IVRE,  have been officially entered  as of 23:00 this evening (February 5th). It's typical to see slow entries at first, and then a flood of entries during the last few days of the enrollment period.

ROBO-ONE 13 Update

ROBO-ONE 13 is coming up quickly. It's just two months away as of today, and the player registration is scheduled to officially open on Friday, February 1st.

It's pretty obvious that the ROBO-ONE organizing committee is expecting a record turn-out, both in terms of players and fans. Early information indicates that each participating team will be limited to a maximum of two members in the pit area. That's totally understandable given the limited, and distributed, pit area layout at Korakuen Hall.

Also, unlike ROBO-ONE 11 held one year ago at the same venue, this time there will be separate admission tickets for each day of the two day event. Advance sale tickets are expected to go for 2,000 yen (per day) with tickets on sale at the door going for 2,500 yen - assuming that there are any tickets still available.

So, if you're planning to compete, especially if you're coming from overseas, it's time to get your act in gear!

4th Wonderful Robot Carnival: Robot Rumble Mayhem (Video)

In the early ROBO-ONE competitions there was always a 'Rumble' competition featuring the top robots trying to knock each other totally out of the ring. It was a robot version of 'King of the Hill' or 'Last Man Standing', and it was always a tremendous amount of fun.

Somewhere around ROBO-ONE 10, the Rumble was dropped from the lineup. But, thankfully, it's still a key part of independent competitions like the Wonderful Robot Carnival. Last weekend, at the 4th Wonderful Robot Carnival, 40+ robots participated in the Rumble, though they were split into 4 individual groups since it would have been total chaos if they all tried to fight at once. 

4th Wonderful Robot Carnival: Final Match (Video)

Thanks to the genius and creativity of Ishikawa-san, the Wonderful Robot Carnival has turned out to be an extremely unique and exciting robot competition. Without a doubt it's our favorite in the Kanto area of Japan.

In just a few short hours last Sunday afternoon over 40 robots battled their way through a whole series of different events like the dash, bottle traction (pull), die shoot, balloon survival,  and rumble. Only the top competitors would qualify to fight in the ring for the right to pre-qualify for ROBO-ONE 13.

The outcome was surprising and suspense filled. At the end of the day Naaga and Garoo fought for the regulation three minute ROBO-ONE battle, and the result was a 2-2 tie. That threw the match into Sudden Death Overtime, and the fun was just beginning.

ROBO-ONE Goes Hawaiian! (Video)

Most of us have trouble just getting our humanoid robots to walk, or even stand up. But, the ROBO-ONE champion builders, like the Sumy Family, take the basics as a given.

They find inspiration and satisfaction in taking on more serious, and sometimes hilarious, challenges. Like dancing the hula, or doing the Limbo dance!

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.

ROBO-ONE: Grand Prix Competition in Tokyo

Sorry, we must have overlooked it somehow when we published the calendar updates a couple days ago. The 2nd event in this year's ROBO-ONE Grand Prix Competition series will be held tomorrow, Sunday December 9th, in the Geopolis center at Tokyo Dome City.

The competition is scheduled to kick off at 12:30 pm and will run until 4:30 pm with lots of ROBO-ONE champion robots on hand trying to qualify for the Grand Prix Finals. They will also be putting on regular demonstrations during the day, and there may even be the opportunity for some young volunteers from the audience to pilot some of the robots.

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.

ROBO-ONE: Fair or Foul Defense? (Video)

After the latest revision to the ROBO-ONE regulations was released we noticed some online discussions about the 'three point defense' technique, and so we started looking for a good example.

Several competitors used their arms, or in the case of OmniZero his wings, to create a three point tripod and avoid being knocked off balance when their competitor attacked. Is this a fair, or foul, defensive technique? It may have fit within the earlier regulations, but probably doesn't match the spirit of the competition.

Humanoid Robot Remote Control Using a PS2 Game Controller (Video)

'Holypong', a well known ROBO-ONE class humanoid robot builder here in Japan, posted an excellent video (see below) that demonstrates the potential of the TEC-3 interface developed by Hot Proceed.

The TEC-3 allows the use of a PS2 game controller with Kondo RCB-3 based robots like the KHR-2HV, KHR-1HV, and the Kyosho MANOI AT01 and PF01. Holypong used a combination of conditional branches in his motions and mixing of the PS2 control's analog inputs to the robots servo movements.

This results in the ability to basically 'drive' the robot around with very fine resolution and variability. You'll also notice that Holypong is an i-SOBOT fan too!

Major Regulation Revisions for ROBO-ONE 13

The latest ROBO-ONE regulations that will apply starting with ROBO-ONE 13 (March, 2008 in Tokyo) have been posted. All builders planning to compete would be well advised to study the changes carefully since there have been extensive revisions.

All the changes are noted in the new regulation PDF file in red. One that immediate stands out is the addition of a slope to the pre-competition screening process. In the past it was sufficient to show that your robot could walk a prescribed number of steps within a few seconds, make turns, and pick itself up off the mat. The new screening test requires the robot to autonomously walk across a 10 mm elevated slope (see the regulations for a detailed course diagram) within a 40 second time limit. Only two attempts are allowed.

The Demonstration part of the regulations lays out the special challenges that include timing the robots performance to the supplied background music "Active Boy" by Infix; doing a 180 degree jump turn; and something called a "rondat" that we haven't figured out yet.

Also, the foot/sole and dimension section has been changed eliminating the older 'Z' dimension limits in the spec and adding a new center of gravity check.

Be sure to study the new regulations carefully well in advance of the competition. This is particularly important for overseas builders planning to enter. 

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.

ROBO-ONE Grand Prix 2007 in Chiba Demonstration Highlights (Video)

Although everyone seems to automatically identify ROBO-ONE with the one-on-one bouts in the ring, personally we really prefer the demonstration phases of the competitions. They provide an excellent opportunity for the builders to really showcase their skill and ability while entertaining and often delighting the crowds.

The stress associated with the demonstration stage of a major ROBO-ONE competition is pretty intense. The field of around 100 or more entries is pared down to 32 or less based on demonstration scores awarded by a panel of expert judges. So, it's not unusual to see a builder make some nervous mistakes that, unfortunately, can knock them out of the running.

King Kizer Featured on Wired Science - Wednesday, November 21st

The popular Wired Science program has this week's preview video clips up on their website, and we're happy to confirm that the 'GeekDad' segment of the program features the Maru Family and their ROBO-ONE champion robot - King Kizer.

The full program will be broadcast on the PBS network in the US starting on this Wednesday, November 21st, and will probably be added to the website shortly afterward. In the meantime, the website has a short preview clip on the main page, the first minute or so of the segment, and a GeekDad: Japanese Robots page.

 

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.

ROBO-ONE Grand Prix 2007 in Chiba (Photo Set)

We had a fantastic time today at the ROBO-ONE Gran Prix 2007 competition in Chiba, our home town. The venue was perfect, the crowds turned out and obviously had a great time too, the demonstrations were excellent, and the battles were everything you would expect from eight of the top ROBO-ONE competitors. Our raw photos from the event have been uploaded here: ROBO-ONE Grand Prix 2007 in Chiba. Enjoy - we know we did, and you should too.

 

Dynamizer Website Adds 3D View

Ever wonder what a ROBO-ONE Champion robot like Dynamizer looks like up close and personal?

Here's your chance: Sugiura-san, Dynamizer's creator, has added a Real3Di display to Dynamizer's website so that you can rotate the robot to any angle you want and then zoom in and pan to get a real close-up view.

Just look for the widget at the top of the left sidebar, click on it, and have fun.

ROBO-ONE Grand Championship Competition Scheduled for IREX 2007

If any of our readers plan to attend the International Robot Exhibition (IREX) at the Big Sight convention complex here in Tokyo at the end of the month, we'd like to suggest that Saturday, December 1st, might be the perfect day. The ROBO-ONE organization will be staging a special "Grand Championship Competition" starting from 11:00 am and continuing throughout the day until the final awards ceremony scheduled for 4:00 pm.

Robots selected to compete include 24 of the top ROBO-ONE competitors including King Kizer, Y.G. Shiranui, Aerobattler, Arisu, Chrome Kid, ivre, Metallic Fighter, Dynamizer, Retro, ... the list reads like a "Who's Who" of humanoid robots. For some reason, we're not sure why, according to the official press release this is not part of the regular competition or Grand Prix cycle of events - it's not even shown on the ROBO-ONE Grand Prix website. Nevertheless, it should be a rare opportunity to see the best of the best in action. We know we'll be there.

ROBO-ONE Grand Prix Comes To Chiba!

The ROBO-ONE Grand Prix 2007 Series is scheduled to kick off on November 11th in our home town of Chiba, Japan. The first competition in the series will take place at the Chiba City Museum of Science (Google map) from 11:00 am until 4:00 pm.

ROBO-ONE champion robots scheduled to compete include Shiranui (Dr. GIY), Dynamizer, Retro, Chrome Kid, Metallic Fighter, Afro, and several others. Needless to say, we'll be there from start to finish, especially since the venue is close enough to home that we'll ride our bicycle.

Sugiura Brothers: Growing Up With Robots (Video)

The image on the right looks kind of like a father and child, and perhaps that's the most appropriate metaphor. It's actually part of some innovative work being done by Yuta Sugiura (one of the Sugiura Brothers) and Kento Kikuchi at the University of Electro-Communication. Their project, named 'Ubiquitous'  features very creative, and insightful, approaches to controlling a humanoid robot, and has its roots in a long, and very constructive and healthy, father and son(s) relationship that also involves ROBO-ONE.

The Sugiura family is well known within robotic circles, for their ROBO-ONE champion robots like Dynamizer, Retro (on the left in the photo), Dynamizer Jr. (aka Kappa), and for their contributions as advisers to Kyosho on the MANOI AT01 project. While the head of the clan is certainly a technical wizard, and was responsible for Dynamizer's basic design, a large part of the programming, operation, and input of creative ideas came from the sons - the Sugiura Brothers.

Dad took on the role of coach, adviser, mentor, and number one fan for the boys. The results have been very gratifying, and even inspirational.

ROBO-ONE 12: It Happens to the Best of Us

It never fails. You can practice, practice, practice all you want, but when the time comes and you have to go on stage in front of thousands of people and a panel of judges, something is bound to go wrong.

If it's a human being, then stage fright is the most likely excuse. But, what if it happens to be a robot? During ROBO-ONE 12 last month at Takamatsu, quite a few of the robots failed to perform the theme challenge - playing catch - to the full extent they were capable.

Was it robot stage fright, or were the operators just nervous and under intense pressure? We'll probably never know exactly. Fortunately one participant managed to record their robots totally amazing intended performance (see video below).

ROBO-ONE 12: Robot Bouts Get Real (Video)

After every ROBO-ONE competition we see comments posted online pointing out, usually rightly so, that some of the bouts aren't very realistic or human like. It's important to keep in mind that the overarching goal of ROBO-ONE is 'Biped Robot Entertainment.' That doesn't necessarily equate to modeling humans or their boxing and wrestling styles. Nevertheless the ROBO-ONE organizing committee has gently and consistently pushed the builders in that direction as much as possible. Now it appears that their efforts and guidance are really paying off.

Next ROBO-ONE Date Announced

We almost managed to unintentionally overlook it, but a few days ago the ROBO-ONE organization posted the dates for ROBO-ONE 13 on the official website.

The first day's judged Demonstration competition will take place on March 29, 2008 (Saturday) at Korakuen Hall (next to Tokyo Dome City) followed by the bouts in the ring on March 30th (Sunday). 

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: The Next Challenge Theme? (Video)

Every major ROBO-ONE competition has a special challenge theme. In the past we've seen themes like having your robot jump rope, perform useful tasks, and most recently the 'play catch' theme for ROBO-ONE 12.

Since there are less than six months left until ROBO-ONE 13 takes place in Tokyo next March, several overseas humanoid builders that plan on attending have asked what the challenge theme will be. Everyone needs considerable time to prepare, especially those that have never had the opportunity to compete before. But, like everyone else, we're anxiously awaiting some announcement from the ROBO-ONE committee.

Rather than just sit on our hands and wait patiently, we decided to throw a suggestion into the ring for consideration. And, we enlisted the help of one of our handy, and instantly recognizable, robot friends to give a little demonstration for the camera.