From Car to i-Swing...What a Segway!

(above from videovat.com)

From AHN - All Headline News:
"Toyota, Sony To Develop Car Robot"
"Tokyo, Japan (AHN) - Japan's technology giants have joined forces to develop an intelligent personal transporter, according to the Associated Press..."
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7008343975

From: gizmag
'Toyota's i-swing personal mobility concept"
"Toyota has debuted its latest personal mobility concept at the Tokyo Show today to massive public interest. Toyota's i-swing is a new personal mobility vehicle in the same vein as the personal mobility models (such as the PM , i-unit and I-foot ) Toyota has exhibited previously but one that takes the concept several steps further, with the capability of operating in a similar manner to the Segway in two wheeled mode at walking pace on a footpath so it takes up little space, or transform to a three-wheeled mode for road speeds..."
http://www.gizmag.com/go/4730/

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Check Out: "CLASSROOM ROBOTICS" (the book)
http://www.infoagepub.com/products/content/978-1-59311-602-6.php

Who Ya Gonna Call?

From: TBO.com Live in the Moment

"Robotics Wiz Called To Mine"

"Under ordinary circumstances, Professor Robin Murphy would have greeted her students Monday on the first day of classes at the University of South Florida.
Instead, she was on a Utah mountaintop, manipulating a robotic camera in a hole more than 1,500 feet deep. .."

http://www.tbo.com/news/nationworld/MGBSMC0UV5F.html
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Check Out: "CLASSROOM ROBOTICS" (the book)
http://www.infoagepub.com/products/content/978-1-59311-602-6.php

This Docent NEVER Dozes!

A decent docent doesn't doze,

But bright and sprightly, on her toes -

Her well-appointed rounds she goes,

And erudition from her flows

hi audible and lucid prose.

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Princeton Student Publication 1933
http://tigernet.princeton.edu/~cl1933/
article.asp?year=1999&url=18poets-corner

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From WAZIWAZI Robotics Today:

"Toyota's New Tour Guide Robot"

"Toyota announced today a tour guide robot (with a cool hair-do) that will show visitors around its exhibition hall in Toyota City. There's not much detail about the robot named Robina, but the press release says the wheeled robot can communicate with visitors verbally and using gestures..."

http://waziwazi.com/node/66

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But hey, that's not all - Robina is a robot of many talents -

Like, receptionist, for instance

From: ubergizmo

"TPR-Robina robot from Toyota"

http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2007/08/tprrobina_robot_from_toyota.html

Or hall monitor...

From: Edmunds INSIDELINE:

"Toyota's Latest Model Has a Face and Can Sign Autographs"

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=122280

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Check Out: "CLASSROOM ROBOTICS" (the book)
http://www.infoagepub.com/products/content/978-1-59311-602-6.php

Every (robotic) Dog Has Its Day!

From: GEARLOG

"Toyota to Resurrect AIBO and QRIO? "

"No doubt about it, the best consumer robots ever built came from Sony. But when the company pulled the plug on its robotics division more than a year ago, it left robot enthusiasts like me crying in their servos. Now comes word from Nikkei Business Online (and re reported elsewhere on robots blogs like WaziWazi), that Toyota is possibly buying Sony's shuttered robotics division. It's potentially great news, but I'm not exactly sure of what Sony will be getting. .."

http://www.gearlog.com/2007/08/toyota_to_resurrect_aibo_and_q.php

Some Background Info...

• SONY AIBO website: http://support.sony-europe.com/aibo/index.asp


• Wikipedia article on AIBO: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIBO


• AIBO-Life (for serious AIBO freaks:) http://www.aibo-life.org/


• "Sony puts Aibo to sleep" (and the sad news from CNET - (January, 2006) http://news.com.com/Sony+puts+Aibo+to+sleep/2100-1041_3-6031649.html
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  Check Out: "CLASSROOM ROBOTICS" (the book)http://www.infoagepub.com/products/content/978-1-59311-602-6.php

Even Robots Get Make-Overs :)

From Yahoo! News:
"Robotic vacuum gets a redesign"
"...Nearly five years after rolling onto the market, the Roomba vacuum cleaner has undergone a ground-up redesign that has endowed the otherwise-brainy robot with the smarts to overcome rug tassels and electrical cords. .."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070822/ap_on_hi_te/techbit_robo_vac_redesign_2

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Also: There is more to Roomba than cleaning rugs!

1) RoombaDevTools line of products provides various interfaces for the iRobot Roomba Floorvac to be used as a robotic base for experimentation, academic, and commercial solutions...

http://www.roombadevtools.com/

2) "Pretty Flippin' Awesome" YouTube video of a geek's hack of a Roomba with Wii controler and software...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=mj4lsNw3IG0

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Check Out: "CLASSROOM ROBOTICS" (the book)http://www.infoagepub.com/products/content/978-1-59311-602-6.php

Putting New Springs in Their Step

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxPhoto from article below

From: Dothan Eagle

"Robotics helps stroke victim walk"

"The simple act of putting one foot in front of the other and moving forward is not something Ed Plowden will ever take for granted. A stroke on July 3 left his right arm and right leg paralyzed...The computerized robotic system guides Plowden along, “teaching” him how to walk again while sensors track functions and monitor progress, even adjusting the power and speed to suit his needs. Safety features automatically stop the machine if, for example, a patient stumbles."

http://www.dothaneagle.com/content/gulfcoasteast/dea/lifestyle.apx.-content-articles-DEA-2007-08-21-0026.html

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Also - From: Woodland Progress (A Gateway Newspaper)

"Plum student takes another step on road to recovery"

"...Megan, 16, who will be starting her junior year at Plum Borough Senior High School in the fall, was able to walk on a treadmill for the first time in more than three and a half years thanks to a new machine purchased by the hospital... The device, known as the AutoAmbulator supports Megan, who is a paraplegic, with harnesses and straps while another part of the machine moves her legs in a walking motion along the treadmill."

http://www.gatewaynewspapers.com/woodlandprogress/indepth/5620/

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Check Out: "CLASSROOM ROBOTICS" (the book) http://www.infoagepub.com/products/content/978-1-59311-602-6.php