The Robot Always Wins @ Rock - Paper - Scissors Game!

Janken (rock-paper-scissors) robot with 100% winning rate (human-machine cooperation system)


Summary

In this research we develop a janken (rock-paper-scissors) robot with 100% winning rate as one example of human-machine cooperation systems. Human being plays one of rock, paper and scissors at the timing of one, two, three. According to the timing, the robot hand plays one of three kinds so as to beat the human being.

Recognition of human hand can be performed at 1ms with a high-speed vision, and the position and the shape of the human hand are recognized. The wrist joint angle of the robot hand is controlled based on the position of the human hand. The vision recognizes one of rock, paper and scissors based on the shape of the human hand. After that, the robot hand plays one of rock, paper and scissors so as to beat the human being in 1ms.

This technology is one example that show a possibility of cooperation control within a few miliseconds. And this technology can be applied to motion support of human beings and cooperation work between human beings and robots etc. without time delay.
FROM: Oshikawa Oku Laboratory/University of Tokyohttp://www.k2.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/fusion/Janken/index-e.html

Meet the PR2, your Personal Robot!

Great podcast and article from NPR: "You Know You Want One: Personal Robots Not Ready For You Yet A Silicon Valley company hopes to make a Jetsons-style robot a reality in your home. But the personal robotics industry has a few hurdles to jump before you can have your own robotic maid..."
Listen to and  read this piece at its  source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2012/06/18/155278207/you-know-you-want-one-personal-robots-not-ready-for-you-yet

More on Willow Garage's PR2:
http://www.willowgarage.com/pages/pr2/overview

Watch it (him? her?) bake cookes :)

Robot Fish

From NPR this great podcast (and transcript) about robot fish



"Mechanical engineer Maurizio Porfiri, of the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, designs robot fish. A few years ago, he found that real fish would mill about his aquatic robot, and now he's trying to understand why. His research suggests that it has less to do with how the robot looks, than how it makes fish feel..."
Listen and read this piece at its source: http://www.npr.org/2012/04/27/151534937/designing-the-pied-piper-of-fish

Below, the robotic fish described in the podcast...

Flying Robot to Accompany Joggers

Created by students!

Flying robot set to spur on flying feet
FORGET about personal trainers and jogging buddies, Chad Toprak prefers to work up a sweat alongside a hovering robot.

The RMIT honours student is part of the team behind the Joggobot, an autonomous whizzing device that levitates in front of joggers and encourages them to get fit.

''It's a really unique feeling to be running with a flying robot,'' the 22-year-old says. ''Social joggers have partners they jog with. Sometimes they are not available and the next best thing can be a robot.''

Read the full  article  at its source (and see additional videos):
http://www.theage.com.au/technology/sci-tech/flying-robot-set-to-spur-on-flying-feet-20120602-1zohe.html