Not everybody gets to experience how awesome robots are firsthand. And this sucks, because robots are really really awesome. And I have to think that part of the reason that robots needlessly scare people is that they’re still something that’s a little bit esoteric. Bots 4 Tots is trying to change all that by introducing kids to robots at a young age (between 10 and 15), and they’re trying to do it for free.

Starting May 31, kids in the Chicago area will be able to sign up for 2 hour workshops in groups of 5 where they’ll build themselves (with plenty of expert assistance) a little robot out of a kit. It doesn’t cost anything, but Bots 4 Tots is depending on donations of $25 per kid to get everything to work, and if you care about the future of robotics (you do care, don’t you?), you can help them out here.

I’d love to see this kind of thing expand to more cities than just Chicago. Let’s face it, robotics is intimidating, what with all of the electronics stuff and mechanical stuff and computer stuff and stuff and stuff. And unfortunately, our culture is a lot less DIY-y than it used to be, especially for kids. Offering free and friendly workshops seems like it could be a great way to get kids started in robotics… And from a narrowly corporate view, a small investment in time and money now could help inspire a bunch of lifelong roboticists who will grow up to spend all of their government bailout bonus money on robot parts and kits. It’s win win, so let’s get on this, shall we?

[ Bots 4 Tots ]

Thanks Don!

This robot, called “Saya,” is supposed to start teaching primary school in Japan. All by herself. She can take attendance, speak several languages, display facial expressions, and even get angry, a trait which I’m guessing will come in quite handy. I hope she runs on batteries, ’cause if she can be unplugged, I doubt she’ll last very long in a classroom full of elementary school kids. She might have more success in high school, though, especially if she dresses like she did at Wired’s NextFest:

Aaaaand I’ve just given BotJunkie a new Uncanny Valley tag. But seriously, I wonder if Japanese kids will be creeped out by Saya? Or is Japan just so much more technologically advanced than we are that it’ll be completely normal to them? If Saya does end up being perceived as normal, I’d be curious as to whether she/it qualifies as ‘teacher’ normal, or ‘overhead projector’ normal…

[ Telegraph ] VIA [ Space Daily ]

Last week, we posted about iRobot’s new YouTube channel. I sort of rhetorically asked the question that iRobot mentioned in their video: why is Roomba round?

I guess someone over at iRobot must read BotJunkie (woohoo!), because they’ve actually answered the question on YouTube:

Okay, I’ll admit it, I’m impressed. It took iRobot a single day to have the answer up on YouTube, given by one of the engineers involved in the original design. It wasn’t just my question, either… iRobot has answered a few others so far, including what the most expensive component of the Roomba is, when Roomba will run Linux (PackBots already do, I think), and what iRobot thinks about medical robots. Looks like all you have to do is leave a comment on this video, and they’ll get right back to you. It’s a great idea they’ve got going on here, and I really hope they can keep it up. As for me, I have a couple questions that I’d love to have iRobot answer:

-What can we expect in the Roomba 700 series?
-When can I get an iRobot Mowmylawnba?

Or more seriously, how about this one: is there anything that iRobot has learned through the development and deployment of the PackBot and other military/industrial robots that has influenced iRobot’s home robots, or vice versa?

After the jump, find out the answer to this question: does the Roomba even have a vacuum in there somewhere? (Read more…)

You know those flute lessons your parents made you take when you were a kid? Yeah, it’s all futile now, because they have a flute playing robot who can play everything you can play, only better and more robot-like. And just to give you an extra kick in the metaphorical (or actual, as the case may be) nuts, this robot not only plays the flute, it teaches other poor saps how to play the flute, too.

Waseda University’s flutist robot has everything a human flutist could possibly ask for, including two lungs, two arms with hands and fingers, a tongue, vocal cords, lips, and a silly hat. The really cool part is that it’s all functional: the robot plays the flute just like you do (assuming you play the flute), with all the same body parts (fake body parts) working the same way. His eyes contain cameras that can track the finger movements of other musicians, enabling him to adjust his tempo to match. And since he can see what you’re playing, he can critique your performance: “the robot is able to evaluate the performance of flutist beginners, as well as provide feedback to the student, in order to improve the performance.” I’m sure that goes over well.

The inventors suggest that bands or orchestras made up of deft robotic players could provide entertainment. They don’t specify what sort of entertainment, but I think it should involve music and other stuff, like violence. Or maybe I’m just not enough of a classical music fan.

More of me ranting discussing some things, after the jump. (Read more…)

This neat little flash game called Light Bot does a pretty good job of teaching basic programming without making it seem like you’re learning anything. Give it a try. If you like this game but are a little bit intimidated by DIY or hobby robotics, relax, it’s practically the same thing. In some cases, it’s exactly the same thing… Just queue up a sequence of movements (or functions, which are just a bunch of movements in a row stuffed together) in a graphical environment and click go. Yep, that’s really all there is to it, on a basic level, so get yourself a real robot and give it a try.

[ Light Bot ] VIA [ Eggshell Robotics ]