Robot Tuesday - Robots vs Pirates

In what can only be described as awesome, ReconRobotics has developed a robot which is used to fight pirates. That's actual pirates, which are almost like what you're thinking of but more modern and with better guns. The ReconScout Throwbot, a throwable robot which could not possibly have a better name, is a one-pound remote-controlled device equipped with a camera, which can be thrown on board a passing ship, and moves itself around and up metal walls using its magnetic wheels, to send back video footage and information about the size of pirate crew and how well-equipped they are, before pirate-fighting forces board the ship.

This article from Discover Magazine, which has a short video of the little dude in action, also says, "The Throwbot can take useful video even if it's pitch black below decks, using infrared illuminators. ReconRobotics is also developing a marsupial robot deployment system, which is exactly what it sounds like: a big robot that carries around the recon robots, then shoots them out with high precision when the time comes." Which is a shame, because I was seriously hoping they'd be deployed by ninjas riding unicorns.

Robot Monday - Robots with balls round-up

Here's a quick rundown of some recent excellent videos featuring robots, balls and/or robots with balls.

Quadrocopters Juggling

A quadrocopter is a square flat dude which has a set of rotor blades providing lift at each corner. This means that it can precisely control its position, whether by remote control, or (and this is where we get interested) using an in-built AI. Some awesome videos of quadrocopters being awesome can be found here and here. But most excitingly, someone has stuck on some badminton racket heads, and taught a couple of quadrocopters to juggle a ball! They're not perfect, and do drop it a couple of times, and what they're doing isn't strictly juggling, since they're just hitting it back and forth, but the implications for automatic badminton training machines are mind-blowing.



Rollin' Justin

In what can only be described as an attempt to replace your dad, scientists at the German Aerospace Centre have developed a robot that can play catch, and prepare coffee. It has the ability to detect an incoming object and move its arm to make a catch, including catching two balls at once with different hands. It also has sufficient fine motor control to handle the putting of the little cartridge thing into the coffee machine and making a coffee. Now, if they could only develop a robot which could make me some tea...



Balancing Robot

And finally, since all good robot roundups come in threes, here's a robot which can balance precisely on top of a ball. Despite a tantalising initial shot of it holding a stack of glasses of water on top of itself, whilst maintaining uprightness, the rest of the video demonstrates the practical uses of such an amazing robot, such as carrying heavy weights, and my favourite 'omnidirectional wheelbarrow'. It's quite a nice idea, since the ball isn't part of the robot, so could be replaced if it gets damaged. I can totally see humans learning to ballroom dance with tall versions of these guys. In suits. Robot suits.

Robot Tuesday - Robot 007

According to this article I just found in New Scientist, Lockheed Martin's Advanced Technology Laboratories at Cherry Hill, New Jersey have developed a robot which has the ability to evade detection by humans. It knows how to sneak around and change direction enough that it won't be spotted by surveillance, from sentries in both known and unknown locations.

It creates a 3D image of its environment, and calculates lines of sight, in order to avoid them. Apparently the AI isn't up to much yet, but it is being developed and this is exciting. Unless you're worried about spy robots sneaking in to your top secret base past your spy defences.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20928044.700-surveillance-robots-know-when-to-hide.html

Robot Saturday - Robot round-up

Having been part of the Big Bang Fair in London this week, I saw a couple of cool robot-based exhibits (including, but not limited to, a guy with a stall entitled 'Learning Mathematics with Robots' which is just a great concept). I have been inspired by this experience to share a couple of robot-related gems.

Hitachi develops robot that can rollerskate



He's 80cm tall, responds to voice commands and can move over uneven surfaces at up to 3.7mph. That's faster than I can move on roller skates, anyway.

http://www.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/hitachi-reveals-roller-skating-robot-697359

Wall-climbing robot at University of Utah



If you're worried about the inevitable robot uprising, you can no longer be sure of safety if you're hiding on the roof of a building with completely smooth concrete walls with no interruption. THIS DUDE IS AFTER YOU!

http://www.unews.utah.edu/p/?r=080310-1
(Youtube Video)

And finally
Buttersafe, Tuesday 1^st March - Robot Cat

Odd Cakes

I'm visiting relatives this weekend, and was offered a taste of chocolate cake by someone who loves Marmite. As a person who is also not indifferent to Marmite in a positive direction, I was impressed by the deliciousness and nice Marmitey aftertaste. I found a recipe for a Marmite based cupcake, involving peanut butter, here, which are also topped with peanut butter.

It reminded me of a couple of other kinds of chocolate cake I have heard of/seen made which contain unexpected ingredients.

• Chocolate Guinness Cake
  
  It's possible to bake half a can of Guinness into a chocolate cake, and it still tastes pretty much like normal chocolate cake. I think you might need a little more sugar than usual to counteract the bitterness of the stout. You can also put some in the icing, if you make it carefully with icing sugar. This recipe by Nigella just has a plain cream cheese style icing, which I imagine works just as well.
  
  
  
  http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/chocolate-guinness-cake-3086


• Courgette Chocolate Cake
  
  In the same way carrot cake manages to involve a grated vegetable without being in any way at all wrong, it's also possible to secrete an entire courgette (also grated, don't be silly) in a chocolate cake. I believe it results in a lovely moist cake which doesn't actually taste like it's got a courgette in it. I imagine it's good for getting kids to eat veg, although as someone who has a serious love of courgettes anyway, that's unnecessary for me. This recipe from BBC Good Food looks awesome, and also incorporates mixed spice which sounds even lovelier.
  
  
  
  http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/633634/chocolate-courgette-cake


• Some other ones which I haven't had much experience of but which I have found recipes for:
  
  Tomato Soup cake
  Chocolate mayonnaise cake
  
  Also worth a mention is Red velvet cake, which is commonly coloured using beetroot, and is proper well red and that.

So, hopefully you've not been sick yet at the thought of such strange combinations. If you do try making any of these, let me know how it goes. I'm inspired/tempted to make a carrot cake, once I have a bit more free time.

I bet Tim Vine would have a fit.

EDIT: Just found a recipe on Smitten Kitchen, one of my favourite recipe blogs, for Red Wine Chocolate Cake. It apparently tastes just nicely of red wine, but it works best as a thin cake - not too tall, giving smallish portions - and goes well with a nice mascarpone cream.

Robot Thursday - Can I go and live in Detroit?

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/imaginationstation/detroit-needs-a-statue-of-robocop

http://www.detroitneedsrobocop.com/

Turns out the people of Detroit are getting a new statue, erected to one of their most famous and awesome robot sons - Robocop. According to this article from KickStarter, a crowdfunding website, it's not even a made up fact. Following an amazing and inspired tweet sent to the Mayor of Detroit, and a flurry of subsequent crowdfunding, it looks like they've raised enough money and it's going to go ahead. Watch this space for updates.

Robot Tuesday - On the front line

Photo from QinetiQ @ wired.com

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/02/1-in-50-troops-robots/

Here's an article from Wired about how one in 50 U.S. troops in Afghanistan is actually a robot. It's not some terrifying undercover android scenario, but in fact there are around 2,000 different robots sent out there for bomb disposal, manning (well, roboting) checkpoints, and other cool (and, in some cases, classified) activities. It's not clear how many of the 2,000 robots are actually in active use, but there is evidence that the robots have definitely saved human lives, by going ahead and sweeping for bombs.

There's also an interesting point made that they already widely use airbots, such as unmanned scout planes, since there's less of a problem with bumping into things when you're in the air. Who knows - maybe with more developments in robots-not-bumping-into-things technology, we could see a more harrowing all-robot combat scenario, like from Terminator or something. Or, you know, just use robots to save more lives and stuff.