Exploration robots generally have two basic functions to perform: taking pictures, and taking samples. Taking samples is the really tricky part, since it requires the robot to navigate unfamiliar terrain, and often the most interesting samples are in equally interesting geological locations, like on the sides of cliffs and inside craters. NASA’s Opportunity rover spent more than a month stuck in a sand dune a few years ago, and Spirit has had similar problems.

One solution to the problem is to design a sub-rover specifically for sample taking, allowing the primary rover to stay safe. The sub-rover would be small, simple, and robust, and NASA engineers have designed a prototype that consists of just one single axle with a sample arm sticking out of it:

It’s hard to see in the video, but there’s a cable running from the center of the robot to an anchor point up the wall behind it. On Mars, the cable would be anchored to a larger robot, or even to a human. It’s only got 3 motors, but using the cable for leverage the robot can climb loose or slippery surfaces, vertical surfaces, or even traverse overhangs. The axle robot is just a proof of concept at this stage, but it’s such an intuitive design that I’m confident we’ll be seeing more of it.

VIA [ YouTube ]

Nobody wants one of these Wall-E robot toys when they could have one of these Wall-E robot toys. Only problem is, the cool one costs $250, and the lame one is all of $40. What to do, what to do… Well, if you’re as talented as Trossen Robotics forum member DJ Sures, you simply stuff the cheap model with a bunch of extra servos and a new brain with 1,000 new lines of code. Couldn’t be simpler:

This is a lot of modification, and gives the cheapo Wall-E the ability to not only to tilt his head and wave his arms, but also cruise around and autonomously navigate, which are basically the big draws of the version that costs way more. And anyway, swapping out old and busted parts for new hotness parts is totally in the spirit of Wall-E, as is the message that fancier and more expensive is not necessarily better. It’s bringing a tear to my eye just thinking about it. The DVD releases on November 18…

[ DJ Sures ] VIA [ Trossen Robotics ]

Looks like maybe I was a bit too hasty in dismissing the objectives of the Weapons Against Robots defense company earlier this week… The Pentagon is now soliciting proposals for “a software and sensor package to enable a team of robots to search for and detect human presence in an indoor environment.” Specifically, a “non-cooperative human.” The solicitation envisions a pack of 3 to 5 sub 100kg robots working in concert with a single human operator. The robots would be generally autonomous, with the ability to navigate an unfamiliar building with unknown obstacles and reliably detect the presence of humans. A person would be supervising and making decisions, but the robot pack should minimize the chances that the human might come into contact with the aforementioned non-cooperative human, who at this point is probably really freaked out and highly likely to do something drastic. Example of what I mean, after the jump. (Read more…)

The best way to make a charitable donation is when you get something wicked cool in return. I mean, otherwise you’re just giving money away. RobotsAndMonsters.org is a “charitable menagerie” of original robot (and monster) artwork that you can get a piece of. For $50, most of which goes to charity, you get your very own 6″ by 6″ piece original robot (or monster) artwork, done by one of a number of artists. It’s not just any robot (or monster), either… It’ll be a robot (or monster) defined by three words that you specify. The above image, for example, is called “Roughrider” and was inspired by the words cowboy, eyeballs, and jaunty.

This quarter, the charity of choice is the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who is busy defending your right to make legal backups of DVDs you have legally purchased. ::cough:: Last quarter, the charity was the SF AIDS Foundation, for whom RobotsAndMonsters.org raised a whopping $11,890.

You can check out a bunch of robots (and monsters) on Flickr, and order a robot (or monster) for you or someone extra special here.

[ Robots And Monsters ] VIA [ GoRobotics ]

Robots-Dreams had the brilliant idea to bring a Casio EX-F1 high speed camera along with them to a Honda ASIMO demo, and filmed ASIMO running across the stage at 300 frames per second:

It’s generally difficult to tell if ASIMO is actually running; that is, at some point neither of his feet should be touching the ground. The video shows that to be the case, albeit just barely. But hey, if you had a really complicated and expensive robot, you’d probably want it to spend as little time in midair as possible.

Although the video ends rather abruptly, it’s also interesting to see ASIMO go from running to not running by changing his gait and moving his center of gravity backwards (by straightening up) to slow down to a stop. Very cool.

[ Honda ASIMO ] VIA [ Robots-Dreams ]

Suicide Bots posted about the Opto-Isolator yesterday, a wicked cool piece of freaky robotic artwork that we covered on OhGizmo back in February. On the designer’s website there’s a video of Double-Taker (Snout), a robotic art installation that debuted at the Robot 250 festival in Philadelphia Pittsburgh. Double Taker sits on the roof of a building, and “deals in a whimsical manner with the themes of trans-species eye contact, gestural choreography, subjecthood, and autonomous surveillance:”

Double Taker consists of an 8 foot long robotic arm with a bi eye on the end of it, controlled by software that tracks people as they pass. And then looks away, and back again. If you ask me, there’s nothing cuter than a curious robot with a giant googly eye that looks like an elephant’s trunk.

[ Flong ]

The WAR (Weapons Against Robots) Defence company wants you to be ready when robots start to take over. They’re developing all kinds of anti-robot technology, including AAA (autonomous against autonomous) weapons systems, BAA (biological against autonomous) weapons systems, and even robotic viruses (the computer kind, I assume). If you want, you can hire their threat analysis service to “provide you with details of threats, time lines, likely capabilities and casualty estimations.”

This may sound like a joke or a publicity stunt (and to be honest the website is so overblown that I’m a little skeptical), but it’s apparently a serious business launched by British entrepreneur Ben Way with the goal of “protecting us from the threats of a robotic future:”

“[It is] critical that we begin talking now about the long-term ethical implications the robot revolution will surely bring. The use of robotics in the military is on the up and, although the decision to take human life is currently still taken by another human, before long such decisions will be made up complex mathematical and logical rules programmed within a robot.”

It’s true, we have armed robots in military service, and armed robotic systems have (sort of) gone crazy before, but what it comes down to is the intentions of the people designing, constructing, and operating these robots. Accidents happen, but if you find yourself being attacked by an evil robot, odds are there’s someone behind it.

We here at BotJunkie do like to joke about robots taking over, but is it a serious concern? Personally, I don’t think so. I’m maybe a little bit worried about people using robots for evil, but at this stage, I don’t think it’s very realistic. I guess I prefer to be optimistic about how robots are going to be integrated into our lives. That said, if WAR Defence wants to hedge their bets against an eventual robot uprising, there’s nothing really wrong with that, as long as they don’t get carried away and undermine robotics progress in the present because of their somewhat pessimistic view of the future.

[ Weapons Against Robots ] VIA [ Telegraph ]

Besides the pictures, there isn’t really any more information on this project by The Play Coalition. But the pics say it all, I think: the robot bottom half of the plant basket is basically a photovore, with light sensors that control four legs, beautifully constructed out of wood.

Just give this thing some sensors and a brain, and you’ve got yourself a house plant that can take care of itself.

[ The Play Coalition ] VIA [ Neatorama ]

We wrote about some of Jason Freeny’s artwork over on OhGizmo, and while browsing around his website, I noticed this neat little digital image:

You can get a 12″ x 17″ ultrachrome print on 100% cotton acid-free fine art paper for about $60 from Jason’s website.

[ Tonka Takes a Holiday ]

The iPhone is good for almost everything, but if you leave it out on the table while you’re in the bathroom and Bill Gates calls, you’re out of luck. No Oahu demo unit for you. It would happen to me all the time, if I had an iPhone and was buddies with Bill Gates. Kazu Terasaki has this problem a lot I guess, so he gave his iPhone a pair of legs to walk around with.

Kazo is currently developing a kit of robot legs that you can paste onto absolutely anything and allow it to mosey. It’s a really cool idea, but I can’t make head nor tail of the website. If you have better luck, be sure post in the comments.

VIA [ GetRobo ]