Monday, July 8, 2013

Chillin and Grillin Robots for Summer Barbecues



What do you really need a robot for MOST at a barbeque? It could be for cooking, but maybe cleaning that grill is even better!

"These chillin’ and grillin’ robots make July 4 BBQs more awesome
Fourth of July barbecues are an American tradition that kick off the summer grilling season. Few things are sweeter than relaxing in the sunshine with a cold beer, surrounded by family, friends, and the aroma of roasting meat. But balancing the demands of cooking meat over flame with the desire to relax with loved ones can wear some down.
Fortunately in this day and age, technology can solve these problems. Robots, drones, and mobile machines are here to  put your mind and body at easy this Fourth of July. God Bless America. And robots.

The Hamburglar

The perfect hamburger requires careful execution of many of components. There is the composition of the ground meat to consider, and then pressure to achieve the right char-to-juice ratio, not to mention the laborious process of slicing up tomatoes and other toppings.
Momentum Machines has created a hamburger-making robot that automates the entire process of cooking a hamburger. It can produce around 360 hamburgers an hour, complete with tomatoes, pickles, condiments, or whatever your stomach desires.
The machine is intended to replace the line cooks at hamburger restaurants, providing a more efficient, sanitary, and cost-effective alternative. However, I don’t see any reason why a burger enthusiast with a wide-and-hungry social circle couldn’t benefit from the product as well. Between Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, and global warming, there are plenty of sunny, barbecue-friendly days ahead.



Hot doggin’

If you are more of a hot dog person, don’t despair. Students across North America are building automatic hot dog machines. I found two examples — one from the Rochester Institute of Technology and the other from Humber College in Toronto — of machines that assemble hot dogs for you.
These machines cook the sausages and deliver them gracefully into the soft embrace of the hot dog buns. Once safely ensconced between the fluffy white bread, it guides the hot dogs down the line to the ketchup and mustard station, where they receives a delicate coating of condiments before exiting the machine into your waiting hands.
No more rotating the links on the grill, no more setting up an assembling of sandwiches, no more ketchup and mustard stains on your clothing (unless you are a messy eater).

Read the full article at its source: http://venturebeat.com/2013/07/04/these-chillin-and-grillin-robots-make-memorial-day-bbqs-more-awesome/

Student Focus Question(s):  What other barbecue chores would a robot be handy for? How might they work?  After thinking about this, you can enter your response using the "Comments" function, below (to the left of the envelope icon). Feel free to identify your school and/or class....

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Click on book cover for information on Getting Started with LEGO Robotics.

Anyone who works with kids can do LEGO Robotics, a rich and highly motivating platform for important STEM Learning! (surprisingly affordable, too) This books explains it all!

Check out ROBOTICS for TEACHERS Podcast
www.roboticsforteachers.com

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Robot Helps Quadriplegic Man Shave Himself



"...robot helps quadriplegic man shave himself
The experiment is part of a broader effort to use robots to help people with reduced mobility, as well as seniors.

PR2, the beer-fetching, laundry-folding, breakfast-making jack of all trades robot, has taken up a job as personal assistant for a man disabled by a stroke.

Maker Willow Garage has partnered with Georgia Tech's Charlie Kemp and colleagues of the Healthcare Robotics Lab to help Henry Evans and his wife Jane in a project dubbed Robots for Humanity.

It sounds rather grandiose, but the humanoid robot has made a real difference in the life of Evans, who suffered a brain stem stroke at age 40 that left him paralyzed and mute. Therapy has enabled him to move his head and a finger.

That allows him to use a computer and control PR2. The bot helped him scratch an itch for the first time in 10 years.

As the vid below shows, Evans prefers to shave himself with PR2 rather than have others do it.

The robot has a Kinect motion-tracking system that can monitor his head movements, and Evans can use it for navigation and to manipulate objects.

The project has just started and comes after Georgia Tech was awarded a PR2 last year as part of Willow's Beta Program. The Healthcare Robotics Lab's Assistive Mobile Manipulation for Older Adults at Home project focuses on using machines to help seniors at home.

As seen in these videos, the lab already had experience with using its EL-E robot to help people with ALS.

It's now focused on developing software for PR2 as a home-care helper, as well as trials with the robot that examine real-world needs..."

Read the full article at its source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20079461-1/pr2-robot-helps-quadriplegic-man-shave-himself/

Student Focus Question(s): What do you think is the type of help that most disabled people would accept from robots? Why? Do you see any danger for people in relying on robots this way?

 After thinking about this, you can enter your response using the "Comments" function, below (to the left of the envelope icon). Feel free to identify your school and/or class....
.....................................................................................................
Click on book cover for information on Getting Started with LEGO Robotics.

Anyone who works with kids can do LEGO Robotics, a rich and highly motivating platform for important STEM Learning! (surprisingly affordable, too) This books explains it all!

Check out ROBOTICS for TEACHERS Podcast
www.roboticsforteachers.com