i-SOBOT: The World's Smallest Humanoid Robot

If you had asked me a few years ago if I would ever own a bipedal humanoid robot, I would have laughed out loud. I was lucky enough to receive this little wonder as a gift last year. Hammacher Schlemmer is selling i-SOBOT for under $200 now.

The i-SOBOT is just 6 1/2" tall and has amazing articulation. The robot is made up of 17 very small servomotors and two gyro-sensors for balance. The 23 points of articulation include the neck, arms, wrists, legs, and feet. One disappointment: no hand or thumb motions. Yet.

i-SOBOT has four modes: manual control, special actions, programmed sequences, and voice command. The robot has 180 preprogrammed individual movements, a 200-word vocabulary, and responds to verbal commands (in voice mode only). The preprogrammed actions are pretty impressive and mostly humor-oriented.

The robot is programmable allowing you to record sequences of moves. Without much in the way of a sensor array, it is more of an automated playback than an autonomous entity. Still, if set up carefully, you can do some pretty fun stuff with this robot.

I think the greatest promise of i-SOBOT lies in what hackers and moders out there will add to this robot. I know some people have started to hack the device. As a platform for humanoid robotics, this has got to be one of the best deals around.

Get more info and see a video of the i-SOBOT at Hammacher Schlemmer. They have the best price currently online.

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Highly Configurable Remote Control Robot Kit

Here is a cool looking robotics kit, which includes four motors, 24 gears, steel braces, an extendable arm, a grasping claw, six rubber tires, and a digital camera -- 300 parts in total.

This kit allows you to build a huge variety of robot configurations to suit your interests or application. (It looks like the ones the bomb squads use, doesn't it?)

This version also has a belt-driven tank tread kit and an additional motor and joint that allow the extendable arm to rotate.

The robot is controlled by a six-channel radio transmitter with a 150 foot range. The 6 channel radio gives you a lot of control over any robot you design with this system.

The included digital camera can be mounted to the robot, allowing you to wirelessly transmit color video directly to a television.

This looks like a great value as a platform for remote controlled robot projects.

Check out all the details of this Remote-Controlled Robot Kit.

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Engine-Powered Mechanical Horse

I was going to write a post about the giant mechanical puppets in France, which are totally amazing and mindblowing. However, in doing some research on the subject became totally and completely infatuated with something else. That something else is what you see in the photo above -- a motorized mechanical horse that can be ridden.

I have no idea if this thing really worked, if it could carry more than a fez-wearing boy, or even if this photograph is entirely genuine. (It has a somewhat painterly quality to it.) All I know for sure is: I want one of my own.

This is another gem from the Modern Mechanix blog from an article originally printed in 1933.

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Madame Radora Wireless "Automaton"

This interesting bit of history comes to us via the Modern Mechanix blog. Pictured here is a radio-controlled fortune teller from 1924. I think this might fall under the category of "faux automaton".

From the article:

Reading Thoughts by Radio

Can thoughts be read by radio? "Madam Radora" seems to prove that they can. Madam is not a human being, but a life-size automaton shown at the Permanent Radio Fair in New York. Her "thoughts" and movements are controlled entirely by wireless; no wires of any kind are attached to the table whereon she rests, and a liberal reward is promised the person who can prove that this is not true. Persons desiring to ask questions simply stand before "Madam Radora" with their hands resting on a special pedestal carrying a number of electrical contacts. Radora then bends over her crystal, and answers the questions put to her in a clear, feminine voice.

See the article in it's print form at the Modern Mechanix site.

Found via BoingBoing Gadgets.

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Video of CarveWright Wood Carver in Action

Here is a video of the nifty CarveWright computerized woodcarving system in action. It's a woodworking robot.

CNC routers are nothing new. But, as I mentioned in a previous post, this system's price doesn't make it totally out-of-the-question for the personal wood shop.

In this video you get to see how the machine is set up and used, how bits are changed, and the basic CAD-like software it comes with. It sounds a bit noisy, but hey...it is a power router after all!

Here is more detailed info on the CarveWright at Woodcraft.com.

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Make Your Own Robot...With a Soda Can!

This little kit includes a plastic body, wire wings, wire legs, motor with wires, screws, and detailed instructions...almost everything you need to turn an empty soda can into simple robot bug that skitters across the floor. You supply the batteries, soda can, and the time it takes to put it together.

Check out the Make Your Own Soda Can Robug Kit.

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Downloadable Paper Robot Automaton

Here's a robot for everyone! This is another paper automaton kit from the folks over at Fly-Pig Animation Kits.

Turn the handle and the Robot marches in place dutifully. This may be one of the last robots we have FULL control over.

Print this model onto thin photocopier card-stock then all you need to make the model are scissors, ruler, white glue, and a sharp knife.

Download the Paper Robot (for less than $6) and make one for yourself.

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New Scientist Recreates Heron's Automata Mover

Hero (or Heron) of Alexandria is one of the first well-documented automata-makers in history. He designed many ingenious devices. The folks over at The New Scientist have made a working model of a self-propelled, programmable cart that was used on stage. Very cool.

I learned of the video first from BoingBoing.net.

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Fantastic Quadraped Robot Dog

You've got to check out this video of a dog-inspired robot. The video shows the robot covering all kinds of terrain. Most impressively, there are two spots in the clip where a person gives the robot a hard shove. I fully expected the thing to crash into the ground. But no! The robot instantly compensates and never falls.

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HiTec RoboNova-1: Robot, Toy, Automaton, Art?

I have been asked publicly and privately where I draw the line between robot and automaton. As of yet, I do not have a well-reasoned answer. I have also been asked about the line between objet d'art and toy. Again, my answer is a murky one.

While this blog isn't about robots, I have a great fondness for them; I have made a few myself. With all of this gray area, why not show you an autonomous toy robot?

This 12 inch tall mechanical man can walk, run, do flips, cartwheels, and perform dance moves. At $1300 (or $1000 for an unassembled kit version) one hesitates to call it a toy. Perhaps because it can be programmed, we would also hesitate to call it autonomous. Just because it is sold en masse, are there not elements that qualify as art?

All I feel certain of is that RoboNova-1 is a technological marvel. I have no doubt that watchmakers, engineers, magicians, and automata-makers of old would have found this thing as fascinating as I do. I would love to have one (in order to do a proper review for you, of course).

Check out the HiTec RoboNova-1 at Edmund's Scientifics.

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Nemomatic show this Friday - Berkeley, CA

Sculptor and automata-maker Gould Nemo (Nemomatic) will be participating in the group show: "Recovery" at the ACCI Gallery in Berkeley, CA, USA along with other artists who work with recycled material.

This will be the first opportunity to see his new Giant Robot sculpture before it is permanently installed at a private residence.

Also on display will be his amazing Giant Squid automaton.

Learn more at the News section of Nemomatic.com

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Goat / Logic Gates in Paper Automata Form

Here's a really interesting combination of expertise: logic gates (the basis of all computing and therefore computers) and paper automata.

Rob Ives -- another of the masters of paper automata -- has created Logic Goats. The OR goat will nod if you press either the first button or the second. The AND goat will only nod if you press the first and the second buttons.

If we could get a NAND and NOR goats and string them all together in complex chains, we might be able to build a Goat-based computer!

Check out, buy and download the Logic Goat Automata at the Flying Pig web site.

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Another Autonomous Dinosaur: Roboraptor

Mark Tilden the former NASA scientist behind Robosapien, also created Roboraptor, this programmable robotic dinosaur.

Roboraptor is one astonishing, programmable RC dinosaur. He is fully controllable and programmable by radio control but also fully autonomous in free-roam mode.

Roboraptor has multi-sensors to allow this 32" bipedal beast to see, hear and feel the environment around him. He has multiple touch sensors in his head and tail, while sonic sensors detect sound and direction. He even has three distinct moods: hunter, cautious and playful. Go near his face when he's hunting and he'll behave aggressively; touch him when he's playful and he'll nuzzle your hand.

Now I want both a Roboreptile and a Roboraptor to see which one would win in a fight!

There's good video of the robot here: Roboraptor

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LEGO ™ Mindstorms NXT Robot Kit

Dear LEGO: feel free to send me your newest robot-building kit, with 32-bit command center, large LCD, USB 2.0 and Bluetooth interfaces. I will be happy to review it (and keep it!). Sincerely, Dug North

• Intuitive GUI and drag-and-drop icons are PC- and Mac-friendly
• Touch and light sensors, sound sensor, and ultrasonic sensor
• Three motors for smooth, reliable operation
• 6-wire digital cables for precise connections
• 5 main themes(8 different models - Vehicle: Roverbot, Animal, Scorpio; Machine: Robotic Arm; Human: Humanoid; Gadgets: Clock, Music, Game and Movers
• Models are built with the LEGO Technic System
• 571 pieces
• Quickstart Guide - build a robot within 30 minutes
• Model-specific building instructions, tips and tricks, testing methods and programming options
• Easy-to-use software
• Test panel

Learn more about LEGO ™ Mindstorms NXT Robot Kit

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Autonomous Roboreptile

Who doesn't want their own 2 1/4 foot fully autonomous reptile with two aggressive biomechanical gaits, stereo sound sensors, color-shifting skin, whipping tail, snapping jaws, rear sensors, infrared vision sensors, touch sensors and hood to fit over its face to subdue it during aggressive moods?

Rumor has it that everyone in the audience of Ellen Degeneres Show will receive one free tomorrow, Thursday November 16th. That's going to be chaos!

Check out the Flash video of The Discovery Remote Control Chromashift Roboreptile

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Mechanical Man from 1932

File it under 'robots' if you want, but it's an automaton to me! This is from Modern Mechanix November, 1932 via one of my favorite blogs -- Modern Mechanix.

Mechanical Radio Man Talks, Sings, Walks, and Rolls Eyes

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