Modest Debut of Atlas May Foreshadow Age of ‘Robo Sapiens’
The robot — which is equipped with both laser and stereo vision systems, as well as dexterous hands — is seen as a new tool that can come to the aid of humanity in natural and man-made disasters.
Atlas is being designed to perform rescue functions in situations where humans cannot survive. The Pentagon has devised a challenge in which competing teams of technologists program it to do things like shut off valves or throw switches, open doors, operate power equipment and travel over rocky ground. The challenge comes with a $2 million prize.
The Atlas robots, which are made from aircraft-grade aluminum and titanium and each weigh 330 pounds, will take part in the Pentagon contest.
Six of them will be given to companies that are being asked to program them for a competition next year, with a $2 million prize to the company that programs the robot most able to perform an elaborate rescue mission. The competition will be held at Homestead Miami Speedway in December.
The contest involves programming the robot so that it is able to climb into a vehicle, drive to a destination, get out of the vehicle, cross a rubble field, open a door, use a power tool and turn a valve.
The robots will be linked to a remote host computer and guided by human operators. To add realism to the competition, the Pentagon research agency will vary the data speed available to the robots during the competition.
ABB Robotics Releases RoboScreen for Entertainment Use (PR)
RoboScreen, for which Flessas holds numerous patents, is a graphical screen mounted to the arm of an ABB articulated arm robot, which creates a unique viewer experience by bringing virtually unlimited, 6-axis movement to the video media. Large model RoboScreens travelled the globe as main stage props for the Bon Jovi Circle Tour. On the tour, the RoboScreens moved to the beat of the music, displayed real time video and pre-produced animations, and assembled into various formations such as individual stairs and an elevated performance platform.
-- Live Events and Entertainment - RoboScreens positioned outside performance venues for pre-event entertainment or marketing, or positioned inside to provide replays and other event enhancements. Or as on the Bon Jovi tour or in a theatrical performance, the RoboScreens can also be an integral part of the production itself, providing an inimitable blend of 6-axis motion and video display for stage props, structural elements and visual intrigue.
See the full story here: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-year-of-the-robot-on-heels-of-robust-year-abb-robotics-releases-roboscreen-for-entertainment-use-2013-02-11
Watch a QuickTime video of Robotic Arts here: http://casinoarts.com/blog/robotic-arts-2/roboscreen™/videos/
Apple Patents An In-Car Entertainment And Information System With Tactile Feedback
The system would use knobs, sliders, touchscreen controls and other stuff that’s essentially present in current in-car systems, but extends its ability to be completely user programmable and able to extend its reach to systems like windshield wiper control. The patent talks about customizability through apps and information, such as from the Stocks app, being displayed through the console.
The patent filing itself is an older one, but Apple is just now starting to really make its intentions known regarding how it will begin to expand in this new market.
See the full story here: http://techcrunch.com/2013/07/09/apple-patents-an-in-car-entertainment-and-information-system-with-tactile-feedback/?ncid=tcdaily
SHIFT IN CONSUMER DEMAND: SHOULD STUDIOS EMULATE PIRATES?
“Generally speaking, we view piracy as a proxy of consumer demand,” wrote David Kaplan, head of anti-piracy efforts at Warner Bros. Entertainment, on the Anti-Piracy & Content Protection Summit website. “Accordingly, enforcement-related efforts are balanced with looking at ways to adjust or develop business models to take advantage of that demand by offering fans what they are looking for when they are looking for it.”
Kaplan favors a loosening of copyright restrictions to allow the use of content when it is not a genuine threat to business.
See the full story with links to more info here: http://www.etcentric.org/shift-in-consumer-demand-should-studios-emulate-pirates/#more-59798
Redesigned Window Stops Sound But Not Air, Say Materials Scientists
The design is relatively simple and relies on two exotic acoustic phenomenon. The first is to create a material with a negative bulk modulus.
A material’s bulk modulus is essentially its resistance to compression and this is an important factor in determining the speed at which sound moves through it. A material with a negative bulk modulus exponentially attenuates any sound passing through it.
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An important factor in this is how efficiently the sound can get into the chamber and here Kima and Lee have another trick. To maximise this efficiency, they drill a 50 millimetre hole through each piece of acrylic. This acts as a diffraction element causing any sound that hits the chamber to diffract strongly into it.
The result is a double-glazed window with a negative bulk modulus that strongly attenuates the sound hitting it.
Kima and Lee use their double-glazing unit as a building block to create larger windows. In tests with a 3x4x3 “wall” of building blocks, they say their window reduces sound levels by 20-35 decibels over a sound range of 700 Hz to 2,200 Hz. That’s a significant reduction.
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