Updated Petman -World's Most Realistic Humanoid

Boston Dynamics just uploaded a new video on youtube of their newest revision of ‘Petman’ which is a robot used to replicate human movement for military testing. The newest revision of Petman broke Boston Dynamic’s history of making really creepy robots. Petman actually looks realistic and doesn’t give me goosebumps like their first versions of BigDog. Instead I am rather impressed with Petman’s capabilities - and looks too!

In the video (below) you can see Petman replicating human motions almost to the tee. Petman is seen running, doing push-ups, and walking exactly as a human would and to the upper right you can see what appears to be Petman doing jumping jacks (or some thing like that) from Boston Dynamic’s website. All of these movements make Petman the worlds most realistic humanoid - a title which you would expect to be given to an Asian company. With innovative robots like Petman, BigDog, and the in-dev ‘SquishBot’ I’m confident that we will be seeing a lot more from Boston Dynamics.

Petman is capable of running at similar speeds to humans, jumping, doing push-ups, and even sweating. All to make sure that soldiers are provided with the best gear possible. Research like this really makes the program look good, and (I hope) helps to increase Boston Dynamic’s funding. Be sure to check out their website HERE for more info, and let me know what you think about Petman in the comment section below or on Twitter.

Roboweek Day Two - Technological Overkill

I’m not sure if you’re subscribed to Robot Magazine (if you’re not, you should be), but if so then you’ll recognize our second Roboweek #robotofnote - DARwIn OP. The OP in this little humanoids name stands for Open Platform, meaning everything about him is available to the public. The code, the parts, and even instructions on how to make one yourself. So if you have tens of thousands of dollars of machinery, you can make a lil’Darwin yourself...Although I doubt most people have the tools/materials to do so.

What makes Darwin so amazing though is the amount of technology packed into such a little bot. He has multiple speakers, mics, an HD camera, built in wi-fi, a mini SD card slot, a 3 axis accelerometer, an ethernet port, 2 USB ports, HDMI out, and many more ridiculous features (I think that list is sufficiently jaw-dropping). The only thing that Darwin is missing are lasers - but I think everything currently crammed in there is sufficient for a little humanoid that stands just under a foot and a half tall. Darwin was made at Virginia Tech, and according to the video below, the project started in 2004, and has had many versions until their success (maybe my school should start something soon, so that by the time i graduate I’ll have a cool little robot to play with). To find out more information about Darwin-OP click HERE.

Which robot is better? DARwIn-OP or NAO?less than a minute ago via web Favorite Retweet ReplyTaylor Niver
RoboTechEd

Are you celebrating #roboweek? What are you doing to celebrate? A good idea would be to download the RoboTechEd Chrome App! Check it out, and tweet @roboteched or @roboweek with any #robotofnote!

Google's Self Driving Car - Hitting 40 in Parking-lots

For years now DARPA has issued a driver-less car challenge, which colleges and companies across the country have entered. Most contestants never finished the competition because they break or crash midway, which is understandable. But these cars were just on a long dirt road, with no other cars nearby; something completely different than real world driving (not saying what they did wasn’t great). Of course the leading technology company had to get a piece of this, sponsoring some teams like Stanford, but never really entering themselves.

But why wouldn’t Google enter their own team? They clearly have the resources, and the brains to dominate in the competition. Well, apparently they didn’t need a competition to make a driver-less car. And skipped all of the testing in remote areas (publicly at least). Google now has a self driving car that they claim can easily navigate through busy streets by itself. Just give it a destination, and it’ll get you there.

In the video below a Google Prius is driving, with limited sensors (keeping the car from looking odder than it already does). The driver does nothing but make sure the car doesn't malfunction, while the aggressive driving is just to show the cars extreme capabilities (so don’t worry about Terminator cars...yet). Google currently has testers driving these cars on the road, who get paid to sit there essentially. So expect this to catch on quickly, although I doubt it'll go into production for a bit; no one wants to hear that a robotic Prius hit some kid chasing after a ball...then again, no one wants to hear that without the car being robotic.

To find more out check out the NYTimes article HERE.

What do you think Google do next? What do you want them to do? #ilovegoogleless than a minute ago via web Favorite Retweet ReplyTaylor Niver
RoboTechEd

Petman - A Less-Creepy BigDog

Have you ever stumbled upon this scary looking guy while surfing on Youtube? With over 4 million views, just from Boston Dynamics (the robotics company who made it), and many more from other users, BigDog has gone viral. But since then what has Boston Dynamics been up to? Well “BigDog got a Big Brother”, and luckily this time its legs don’t scare me (as much). Petman is a walking biped robot, with the stability of BigDog. It’s currently being constructed for the US Army; so what sweet thing could they be using this technology for? Maybe some cool autonomous drones or an awesome video-game looking fighter suit!? Nope - Petman is currently being used to test chemical agents. By wearing Army issued clothing, and moving realistically, it can test the clothing under all conditions. It’s not as amazing as I thought, but it defiantly has a purpose. At least its massive funding and technology is used to save our troops. Although, I still think they should attach some type of weapon to the thing and see what it can do.

Boston Dynamic's Website

HRP-4 Robotic Servant

"Graceful, Slim HRP-4 Humanoid Robot Unveiled; Destined for Menial Labor"

A Japanese company recently unveiled their HRP-4 Robotic Servant model. This robot can help you with many tasks around the house from doing dishes, pouring drinks,and doing other jobs around the house. The HRP-4 has 34 degrees of freedom allowing it to mimic human movement very easily. It is also a lot lighter and smaller compared to its older HRP-2 version, and also has the ability to have a laptop mounted on its back for additional computing power. Overall the HRP-4 robot should be available next year for just over $300,00 USD.

PopSci-Robotic Servant