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

Nakamura Rolls Out New Humanoid Robots

Nakamura, one of the top ROBO-ONE competitors, has a long line of other humanoid robot achievements under his belt.

For example, he's the creator of the transformer robot, WR-07, that totally amazed and delighted both the crowds and the judges during the demonstration phase of the ROBO-ONE competition a few years ago. The robots performance was so cool, and so totally unexpected that a YouTube video of the robot has racked up over 6,000,000 views todate.

At the same time, Nakamura created Kondo's highest performance robot controller for several years, the Motion Processor, and he was the guiding light and mentor for the creation of the popular Gogic Five robot kit. And, in his spare time, he organized the Himeji Robot Challenge competitions to inspire and motivate young (and old) robot fans in his community.

Never one to rest on his laurels, Nakamura is rolling out a new set of humanoid robot kits, Jo-Zero and STD-Zero, that are sure to set a new standard with robot fans and competitors both here and abroad.

Unfortunately, due to scheduling conflicts, we weren't able to be on hand for the official unveiling. However, one of top Japanese reporters we know and respect, Hideo Ishii, was able to make it and filed an extensive report including lots of great close-ups, detailed performance specifications, and video clips.
Ishii's detailed report

Ishii, by the way, isn't just a technology reporter. He is also the author of several leading books on building and modifying humanoid robots and other high tech gear, and is also a key member of the champion robot soccer team, Bamboo Bridge.

[From the Robots Dreams iPhone]

Happy Birthday Matt!

 

Will Work For Robots (Video)

The voracious little creature above has an endless appetite and needs to be feed regularly, basically non-stop, otherwise it's likely to turn into a real life clone of the Gremlins. But, as it turns out, his creator, animator, rigger, screen play writer, and voice talent (yes, he really is that multi-talented) is currently out of a job. 

Because he's a good friend, and also because he has a passion for robots that rivals our own, we're showcasing a couple video samples of his work below in hopes that one of our readers might be interested in putting his talents to work, or would be kind enough to point him in the right direction. Even if you're not in the market for an amazingly talented creative type, check out the videos anyway - they're a blast, and extremely well executed..

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...

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.

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.

Optimus Prime Shows Defiance to Crowds in Ohio (Video)

Oops, we mistyped that headline. It should have read, "Optimus Prime Shows Off to Crowds in Defiance, Ohio."

Last weekend, Defiance, the hometown of Matt and Jen Bauer of Bauer Independents, and birthplace of Rook's Pawn, was anxiously awaiting the upcoming opening of the new Transformers movie on the Fourth of July. Matt knew that a small town like Defiance, located in the heart of the mid-West wasn't likely to draw any of the movie's stars to the opening, so he decided to take matters into his own hands.

In the matter of just a few days, and a few long nights,  he completely converted Jen's Robonova-1 robot into the spitting image of Optimus Prime!

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.

Robot Demonstrates Asimov's 1st Law of Robotics

Asimov's 1st Law of Robotics states, "A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm." That 'law' came into play a few nights ago when Matt Bauer was walking down a path in the dark carrying his ROBO-ONE class custom designed and built humanoid robot - Rook's Pawn.