Some new videos up on Kawada YouTube channel. Humanoid NEXTAGE is meant to work side-by-side with humans and safety is key. So the following video shows how the robots slow down and stop working when a person comes from the back to check on their work.
The RoboCup Japanese National Committee announced the details of the RoboCup Japan Open 2010 which will be held on May 2-4 at Osaka Institute of Technology.
The goal of RoboCup is to develop a team of humanoid robots that can compete with humans playing soccer by 2050. Now that we have only 40 more years to reach that goal, the committee has decided to add a new category to the Humanoid League. (RoboCup does have other leagues such as the 4-legged soccer league and rescue competitions.)
Starting this year, the humanoid league will consist of 3 divisions depending on the size of the robot - KidSize (30-60 cm), TeenSize (100-130cm) and AdultSize (130-160cm). It used to be that there were only 2 size classes and all robots over 100cm were considered Teen.
Although looking at the rules, it seems that the Adults will not be playing games but will compete with their skills for dribbling, kicking, throw-ins etc. KidSize will play games 3 vs. 3. TeenSize will also play games with 2 robots on each side.
From left, Hitoshi Matsubara, Chairman of RoboCup Japanese National Committee, Masataka Inoue, President of Osaka Institute of Technology (the university is setting up a new robotics department this spring), and Minoru Asada who is one of the key figures behind RoboCup. In front is an AdultSize robot by former champion Team Osaka .
Alice - the 60 cm (24 inches) tall doll robot - dances to the Ievan Polkka tune. Music was composed using MIDI.
Found out from NODE that you can find the DancingDoll's website here. According to the information on this page, the robot uses 25 servo motors, a 2-axis gyro sensor and a 3-axis accelerometer. So the inside is STUFFED with components but it still manages to fit into a doll outfit. Movements are programmed by a PC and it can walk with its two legs. You can also operate it with the PlayStation 2 cordless controller.
Kokoro's I-FAIRY made its debut in Las Vegas last week.
Well, I guess it must be hard to make a manga-type character come to life using plastic and motors. And if it were a manga character, she looks like she has a hangover when her forehead turns blue.
Just sent in from robot builder Naoki Maru. A video of his newest creation - the Genuine Great King Kizer (or "Shin Great King Kizer" in Japanese), which stands 1 meter tall. (The robot looks a bit taller than the Maru Family's youngest son who is seen in the end of the video.)
According to Maru-san, the size of his robots have doubled every 12-18 months, which is like "Moore's Law" - well, sort of.
The newest Shin Great King Kizer uses 12 servo motors (KRS-6003HV) on each leg. That's 4 servos for each pitch axis. Overall, the robot uses 37 servos and has 25 degrees of freedom. (I checked the catalog and these servos cost 412,020 yen for a pack of 18, which is about $4,660 in today's exchange rate. So you do the math to find out how much it costs to build this robot.)
The Shin Great King Kizer won the ROBO-ONE Grand Prix which was held in November. It also participated in the "world's first" wrestling match between a robot and a professional (human) wrestler.
