1979: A 25-year-old Ford Motor assembly line worker is killed on the job in a Flint, Michigan, casting plant. It’s the first recorded human death by robot.
Williams died instantly in 1979 when the robot’s arm slammed him as he was gathering parts in a storage facility, where the robot also retrieved parts. Williams’ family was later awarded $10 million in damages. The jury agreed the robot struck him in the head because of a lack of safety measures, including one that would sound an alarm if the robot was near.
The future is coming, people. Wear a freaking helmet.
Techkriti is a celebration of that fusion – where the beauty of form is merged with inspiring ingenious innovations. It is about creation that moves beyond barriers. Techkriti has always been synonymous with excellence. Graced with the presence of “Nobel” minds, inspiring inventors and young mettle competing to dazzle, Techkriti has been the stuff that dreams are made of. This year we go a step further and combine a flavor of business with the festival. We strive to have a fine balance between the world of science and the real world where we live our day-in day-out lives. Techkriti is about ideas that inspire. For those who wish to know of what use is a new idea, Faraday’s answer is most apt – “Of what use is an new born baby?” Techkriti is about attenuating surly bonds of our mundane existence and going a step further. Over the years, the festival has witnessed the very best coming forward and showcasing their talent.
This being the Golden Jubilee year promises to be bigger and better. No matter what you like – Competitions, Talks, Workshops or Exhibitions- we have it all. And to top it all off, numerous fun events enliven the atmosphere and make the festival a grand treat. So be there from February 11-14, to witness it all live. We are making you an offer that you will not be able to refuse.
@mister_robotics went a few years ago with a team from San Francisco State University to show off their then-new combat robot Beer Bash (more on him later). They had loads of fun.
Bored supercomputers running a fully automated widget factory- What could possibly go wrong?
Instead of brush, ditches, a variety of upright fences, and other horses, there are conveyor belts, crushers, pits, gears, lasers….and other robots.
Assuming the role of said bored computer, you program your robot from a selection of movement cards, and maneuver its way from a starting bay past numbered flag checkpoints. There’s damage and obstacles, skills and thrills, strategy and luck, possible teamwork, weapons, plus it’s also a race against time. The winner reaches the final flag first, or is the last robot standing.
RoboRally was designed in 1985 by Richard Garfield (who later created the card game Magic: The Gathering), and originally published from 1994-99 by Wizards of the Coast (WotC). The board game was re-released by Avalon Hill in 2005, to much fanfare, and a bit of grumbling about the decline in material quality of the game boards and the robot pieces. (You’ll have to look for the originals on eBay or through roborally.com) The newer boards are compatible with the original and expansion sets.
BTW, there is also an online version to help you with all that spare time in your day that you’ve just recently noticed. Go ahead, view the demo. And turn it UP!!
From the FAQ: Q: What can a robot do when it is powered down?
A: Nothing. A powered down robot cannot fire weapons, receive option cards, tag checkpoints (if pushed onto them), update archive locations (ditto), or use turn programmed cards (for example, Shield). It cannot use any options unless the options specifically say they can be used while a robot is powered down. The robot basically becomes a lump that can be pushed around and suffer damage.
Q: If you fire and move in front of a missle, can you hit yourself?
A: Theoretically, yes. It’s fairly tough to get hit by your own missile, though, unless you are both unlucky and careless.
I know what you’re thinking. I know you’ll see this and say “Okay great, he’s *really* good at using the playstation controller or whatever. So what, big deal.” Oh no, my friends, make no rash assumptions, this leetle droid is doing all by himself:
The bioloid robots climbs a freely configurable wall, this is NOT a predefinded motion sequence. It is part of an autonomous system that first looks for possible ways up (according to the abilities of the robot and to physical constraints) and after placing the robot at the start position of the chosen path the robots climbs up just by knowing the x/y-positions of the grips.
The final scenario will be a bioloid looking at the wall using an onboard vision system, detecting marked grips, calculating the best way up, walking to the start position and climbing up the wall, totally autonomously.
This is the project of student, robosoccer referee and RoboGames contestant Marko Wickrath, in association with the Technical University of Dortmund, Germany & University of Manitoba, Canada.
Here’s a demo of the inverse kinematics used to help the robot with arm and leg placement:
This demonstration has 4 different target positions only and it shows the system’s accuracy even at a very high speed. This is part of an autonomous system that first looks for possible ways up a climbing wall (according to the abilities of the robot and to physical constraints) and after placing the robot at the start position of the chosen path the robots climbs up just by knowing the x/y-positions of the grips.
In other words, it does this by being awesome. Stay in school, kiddies.
Then, one lazy afternoon while watching movies I was inspired by an unusual lamp and my artistic career was born. Lamps led to clocks, small tables, chandeliers and my first attempt at robots with my Night Watchmen series. The Night Watchmen had robot heads and a body but no arms or legs. Then came the day when I made my first full-bodied robot sculpture, and I knew I had found my true passion. Soon, my basement became a place where all the unwanted, used up parts from commercial enterprises and residential homes could now come to find hope. This was when I created the world’s first robot orphanage.
I am having serious trouble not making the floor slippery with the tremendous lashing of SQUEE I am doling out right now.
It’s bad. Real bad. Bad like OMG ROBOT GOGGIE ::SNORGLE:: interjecting itself into this sentence, bad.
I advise you to buy them just so this fellow Brian Marshall will keep making them.
RoboGames 2010 is coming up quickish, and with it we will be featuring in this space some recaps, explanations, and OMGWTFSPARKLEPONIES!!!1!1! moments for your edutainment. First up: Mech Warfare!
Here’s a video, courtesy those prolific bastards over at Botjunkie:
Ah Mech Warfare, developed in part by the kindly loons at our very favorite Trossen Robotics, it consists of several little robots going head-to-head with several other little robots, all on their cute and merry way to totally obliterating each other with airsoft guns. Good Times!
You can find a whole world of options and excitement for mechwarfare and a bunches of other stuff at the Trossen Robotics Community. As for parts, you can pick em up here! And here! And here and here!
To register your masterpiece for RoboGames 2010,go here! Questions and abuse, please direct to knickers at suicidebots.com. Thanks for playing!
Who doesn’t like coffee, coffee making, a robot with pony tails and a jaunty instrumental driving it along? I’m afraid I may watch this a few thousand times and fall into a virtual caffeinated stupor. Can’t read the text on mujakiclockwork’s youtube page or on clockwork.shikisokuzekuu.net, but I gather the robot’s name is Hina. There are a few pix on the blog suggesting Hina’s fabricational history. Could be my new BFF! If you have any further insight into this delightful creature, please let us know. My Moccamaster KBT 741 is pining for an introduction.
Despite being unbearably cute, the robot characters and their adventures are complex and difficult. Hints are accessible only after winning a short game which unlocks a book filled with crazy assed drawings describing what needs to be done to succeed. Ideas pop up, as do alternate reality thought bubbles and helpful animations. The music is soothing and eerie, punctuated by cartoon noises. Mouse over the landscape and click where suggested. Parts and pieces must be consumed to become available as props to assist in the adventure. Still with me? Some robot assembly is required.
Photo courtesy your International Robot Correspondent,@missysb
In a world where robots and humans struggle together in the fight against boredom. .
In a world where cocktails ain’t gonna mix theirselves. . .
In a world where social lubrication actually involves 3-in-1 oil. . .
This February, we bring you. . .
An evening of Robots and Cocktails, not dissimilar to This Event
For enquiries about how YOU, yes, YOU can bring your own personal prizewinning bartending robot to life for this very event, please direct your inquiries to This Author at sb at suicidebots.com, or leave a comment in the comments.
Bunk Bots are the brainchild of Huge Factory, LLC, also known as Jason Hillbourne, a quiet, unassuming guy about whom his neighbors will be shocked when they learn of his actual plans for world domination (it’s always the quiet ones).
From Bunkbots.com:
These robots got together one day after lunch and decided to escape from the huge factory. Okay? Now they just want to hang out in your room and play with your stuff.
Q: Why stuffed robots?
A: Humans love teddy bears, and stuffy sharks, and plush dinosaurs. These TOYS are cute and
cuddly, but would you ever want to hug a REAL bear, shark, or dinosaur? Real animals would
either eat you or just rip you to shreds with their razor sharp claws. So, Bunk Bots are just
channeling that same toy-versus-real and love-versus-fear energy. Except, everybody knows
that REAL robots would never eat you.
Q: Seriously now–do these things make sounds or move or vibrate or light-up or take batteries
or actually do anything?
A: Nope. They’re just soft and they look cool. Bunk Bots are safe for all ages.
Q: Are these the kinds of robots that help with household chores, or do they shoot laser beams
and vaporize anything that gets in their way?
A: Bunk Bots do not help with household chores.
Q: Aren’t these Bunk Bots just part of an evil plan to win the hearts and minds of humans
so that it’s easier for giant metal robots to take over the world in the future?
[transmission interrupted]
Bunk Bots were extremely popular at the Combots Cup 2009. You, too, could be cool, buy a bunch of Bunk Bots from a fine retailer nearest you!
