Robot

Thin skin will help robots ‘feel’

by Haitham Sabbah August 16, 2005

Japanese researchers have developed a flexible artificial skin that could give robots a humanlike sense of touch. The team manufactured a type of “skin” capable of sensing pressure and another capable of sensing temperature.

Read the full article →

The Female Robot!

by Haitham Sabbah July 28, 2005

Japanese scientists have unveiled the most human-looking robot yet devised – a “female” android called Repliee Q1. She has flexible silicone for skin rather than hard plastic, and a number of sensors and motors to allow her to turn and react in a human-like manner. She can flutter her eyelids and move her hands like [...]

Read the full article →

Qatar’s Child Jockeys

by Haitham Sabbah May 25, 2005

(Photo: Child jockeys in Qatar in April 2005 – AFP/File/Salem) Yesterday, Qatari official announced that it will reportedly slap jail sentences of between three to 10 years on anyone using child jockeys in camel races, will also risk fines of between 50,000 and 200,000 riyals (13,800 and 55,000 dollars). The Qatari government in December banned [...]

Read the full article →

Kamel, the Robot Jockey

by Haitham Sabbah April 25, 2005

October 2004, I posted a news article about the intentions of Qatar to substitute robots for jockeys in camel races. Now the robot is ready and was tested last week. The following photos shows ‘Kamel’, the robot jockey, rides Ghazil, a Qatari camel, during a test-run at the Shahaniah camel race track in Doha, Qatar. [...]

Read the full article →

Qatar to use robots in camel races

by Haitham Sabbah October 20, 2004

Qatar is set to substitute robots for jockeys in camel races, a favorite sport in the oil-rich Gulf region which has faced widespread criticism over the use of child jockeys from the Indian subcontinent. But the sport’s supremo in Doha insists Qatar never abused child camel jockeys in the first place and that the plan [...]

Read the full article →

Topobo

by Haitham Sabbah October 2, 2004

Topobo is a 3D constructive assembly system embedded with kinetic memory, the ability to record and playback physical motion. Unique among modeling systems is Topobo’s coincident physical input and output behaviors. By snapping together a combination of Passive (static) and Active (motorized) components, people can quickly assemble dynamic biomorphic forms like animals and skeletons with [...]

Read the full article →

Interplanetary Laser Communication

by Haitham Sabbah August 10, 2004

MIT-NASA team to test first interplanetary laser communication link. A NASA?MIT Lincoln Laboratory team will forge the first laser communication link between Mars and Earth. This unique experiment, part of NASA’s Vision for Space Exploration, will greatly benefit the transmission of data from robotic spacecraft. In 2010, the Mars Laser Communication Demonstration (MLCD) will test [...]

Read the full article →

Flying Robots

by Haitham Sabbah July 25, 2004

Fort Benning’s International Aerial Robotics Competition tests ingenuity. What if there was a robot that could fly? Perhaps, even save a life or gather information on an enemy? That’s what future scientists and engineers set out to do Thursday at the 14th Annual International Aerial Robotics Competition at Fort Benning’s McKenna Urban Operations Site. The [...]

Read the full article →

Locally-Built Robot Set To Become Hong Kong’s Latest Cop

by Haitham Sabbah March 11, 2004

New Robotcop III Set to Fight Crime in Hong Kong. There is a new cop patrolling the streets of Hong Kong and teaching children how to prevent crime. But it’s a robot, named Robotcop III, designed and built in Hong Kong, tells us Channel Newsasia. Robotcop III can walk, dance, move in any direction, display [...]

Read the full article →

Mini-copter Stars At Robot Show

by Haitham Sabbah November 20, 2003

The world’s lightest and smallest robot helicopter has been unveiled at a Tokyo exhibition by the Seiko Epson company. The designers say the 70-mm-tall device could be used as a “flying camera” to enter earthquake-shattered buildings. The prototype four-legged robot weighs 10 grammes and although it flies by remote control, it has to be linked [...]

Read the full article →

The Unlikely Human Frankenstein

by Haitham Sabbah October 27, 2003

Chicago researchers at Northwestern University have fused the brain stem of an eel to a robot the size of a dollar coin, creating a crude cyborg, or cybernetic organism. Kept alive in a saline solution, the brain adapts to changing light conditions and directs the robotic wheels to move towards light beams like a bull [...]

Read the full article →

Robot Dog Fart Causes Airport Crisis

by Haitham Sabbah October 26, 2003

According to a UPI story, there was a security scare at a Norfolk, Viriginia airport when a British man attempted to pass through a security check point with his robot dog. The robot dog farted at an inopportune time, leading security experts to conclude it was a bomb. At this point, “Dave Rogerson, told the [...]

Read the full article →

Robot Skin Stretches To The Task

by Haitham Sabbah October 25, 2003

Better Android Skin. According to a NewScientist.com article, researchers Sigurd Wagner and Stephanie Lacour of Princeton University’s Macroelectronics Group have developed an elastic metal film that can stretch up to twice its own length while remaining conductive. It can be embedded in silicone and still stretch up to 15%. The material should be ideal for [...]

Read the full article →

Monkey Thinks, Makes His Moves

by Haitham Sabbah October 22, 2003

An implanted device had allowed the monkey to control the game using only her thoughts. Changes in the way the monkey’s brain cells worked suggested the brain was physically adjusting to the device, reported in the new online science journal. Dr. Miguel Nicolelis hopes the device will eventually allow paralyzed patients to regain some ability [...]

Read the full article →