PC Tech World: robots

Showing posts with label robots. Show all posts

Saturday, March 2, 2013

The After Math: Cinder block-chucking robots, Barcelona's mobile bonanza and brain doctors

Welcome to The After Math, where we attempt to summarize this week's tech news through numbers, decimal places and percentages.

The After Math Barcelona's mobile bonanza, Big Dog and brain doctors

Barcelona's Mobile World Congress may have formed the backbone for this week's news but there was also notable news elsewhere -- like the fact that Boston Dynamics' upgraded quadruped robot can now throw cinder blocks. We'll be sticking closer to the (safer) events in Spain, however, so take a look for yourself after the break.

Attendees at this year's Mobile World Congress: More than 72,000 Attendees at MWC 2012: More than 67,000 Attendees at this year's Consumer Electronics Show: More than 150,000 MWC 2013 show floor area at the new Fira Gran Via venue: 1.01 million square feet CES 2013 show floor area: 1.85 million square feet Number of Engadget liveblogs this week: 6 Number of Engadget liveblogs last week: 2 (Sony and HTC) The price of Nokia's new 105 basic phone: 15 euros (about $20) Price of three coffees on the show floor: 6 euros Price of Nokia's new Lumia 720 Windows Phone: 249 euros (about $330) Launch event date for Samsung's next major smartphone: March 14th, 2013 Announce date for the Galaxy S III: May 3rd, 2012

Number of monthly active users on Instagram: 100 million Number of monthly active users on Facebook: More than 1 billion Time taken to create the first version of Surgeon Simulator 2013, now out on Steam: 48 hours Battery life of Boston Dynamics' awesomely terrifying Big Dog: 24 hours Top speed of Boston Dynamics' Cheetah robot: 29.3 miles per hour Usain Bolt's top speed: 27.79 miles per hour

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By: Unknown On 9:10 PM

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Engadget Expand speakers, Round Five: Robots, bionics, da Vinci surgery and more!

Engadget Expand speakers, Round Five Robots, bionics, da Vinci surgery and more!
It's time for another unveil of the speaker lineup we've got brewing for Expand in San Francisco this March 16-17. We've got four more inspiring thinkers and doers who will be joining us on stage at Fort Mason Center:

Marc Raibert: President & Chief Robot Lover, Boston Dynamics Catherine Mohr: Sr. Director of Research, Intuitive Surgical MG Siegler: General Partner, CrunchFund Russ Angold: Co-Founder and CTO, Ekso Bionics™

They're joining a whole host of other rad speakers including Chris Anderson (CEO, 3D Robotics and former editor-in-chief, Wired), Yancey Strickler (Co-founder and Head of Community, Kickstarter), Steve Cousins (CEO, Willow Garage), Julie Uhrman (Founder and CEO, OUYA) and many more. Stay tuned here and on our social channels (Twitter, Facebook and Google+) for more agenda reveals and other Expand news.

Plus, find out who the attendees are most looking forward to seeing...

And don't forget...

If you're a company that would like to work with us on an exhibition or sponsorship level, please drop us a line at sponsors at engadget dot com (DIYers and small startups, please ask us about our new Indie Corner option!) If you're interested in speaking at the event, please contact expand at engadget dot com to inquire If you're a member of the media interested in covering Expand, please contact engadget at shiftcomm.com for more information.

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By: Unknown On 8:48 AM

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Of Course Robots Beat Humans at Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots

This story will display in ...Dec 21, 2012 3:20 PM

Of Course Robots Beat Humans at Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots If you thought humanity's ego took a blow when IBM's Deep Blue defeated chess master Garry Kasparaov, our society will probably never recover from this latest defeat. A human challenger from Detroit-based Synaptic Robotics went up against a run-of-the-mill Fanuc M-20iA factory bot in a game of Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots and walked away with a big old 'X' in humanity's loss column.

It's a tough pill to swallow, particularly since the robot wasn't custom engineered for the task. But rest assured, no artificial intelligence will ever have the skill and expertise to challenge us at Hungry Hungry Hippos. [YouTube via Automaton]

View the original article here

By: Dilusha On 9:04 PM

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Skeleton Muscle Bot Brings I, Robot's Future One Step Closer

This story will display in ...Dec 11, 2012 2:40 PM

Skeleton Muscle Bot Brings I, Robot's Future One Step Closer Eerily reminiscent of the design of Sonny and the other NS-5s in I, Robot, Kenshiro is the University of Tokyo's latest attempt to create a humanoid robot that accurately mimics human movement. And the researchers there believe the best way to build an artificial human is to simply copy our anatomy, particularly our muscular and skeletal systems.

Kenshiro uses some of the most advanced artificial muscles ever developed to move and walk—or shuffle, at least—in a manner that's surprisingly similar to how you and I get around. Standing at just over five feet tall the robot closely resembles a twelve-year-old boy, but weighs in at 112 pounds thanks to 160 different muscles bringing it to life.

And that's the biggest issue the researchers are currently dealing with: Kenshiro's weight. A full-sized human replicant would weigh in close to 220 pounds, which puts more strain on the muscle system, draws more power, and generally slows down its movements. So being chased by a horde of these robots is thankfully a nightmare that's not going to come true for at least a few more years. Phew! [YouTube via Automaton]

View the original article here

By: Dilusha On 11:31 AM

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Foxconn starts replacing workers with robots

Soon to be replaced?

Your next iPhone could be made by robots.

That's because Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn has reportedly started replacing workers on its assembly line with machines designed to do the same task.

Founder and chairman Terry Gou told employees of the plans at a dance in July 2011. According to Gou, using robots should improve efficiency and counter rising labour costs.

The 'Foxbots', as they're known, have started arriving in at least one factory, with another 20,000 due before the end of the year. They cost between $20,000 and $25,000 each to produce. That's around three times what the average Foxconn employee earns in a year.

Foxconn has a chequered history on working conditions. There have been reports of workers committing suicide, rioting, and striking.

It was investigated by the Fair Labor Association earlier in the year.

Recently, Gou admitted it was struggling to keep up with demand for the iPhone 5. Reports came of those on the factory floor being worked too long and without sufficient training to produce the 'tricky' new Apple handset. Between 3,000 and 4,000 workers were reported to have gone on strike from the factory, but Foxconn denied it. An employee riot in August forced the temporary closure of one Foxconn factory.

It also denied employees were made to work through a national holiday, saying those who chose to were paid extra, in keeping with China's employment laws.

After 16 workers were reported to have committed suicide at the Shenzhen plant, the company fitted nets to discourage anyone from jumping.

It's also rumoured to be planning a factory in the US.

Via CNET