Greg Galitzine's VoIP Authority Blog - Robotics Archives tag:blog.tmcnet.com,2011-06-15:/blog/greg-galitzine//6 2008-07-11T16:42:29Z VoIP and IMS News and Views If You See a Robot in the Mall... tag:blog.tmcnet.com,2008:/blog/greg-galitzine//6.36792 2008-07-11T16:40:16Z 2008-07-11T16:42:29Z If Peapod doesn't provide quite the level of service you expected... if you would prefer to actually have a look at the specific fruits and vegetables or cuts of meat, etc... before purchasing them, then Japanese robotics developer tmsuk might... Greg Galitzine http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/greg-galitzine/ If Peapod doesn't provide quite the level of service you expected... if you would prefer to actually have a look at the specific fruits and vegetables or cuts of meat, etc... before purchasing them, then Japanese robotics developer tmsuk might have the solution for you.

tmsuk_shopper.jpg
 
According to Pink Tentacle, tmsuk has developed a remote controlled shopping robot that allows the infirm or just plain lazy to shop from home via various cellphone links.
 
The current state of the technology was demonstrated at the Izutsuya department store in the city of Kitakyushu, Japan.
 
According to Pink Tentacle:
 
In the demonstration, an unwell grandmother unable to go shopping with her granddaughter sent the robot in her place. Using an NTT DoCoMo video-capable cellphone, the grandmother was able to control the robot and enjoy the shopping experience through the robot's camera eyes. As curious shoppers looked on, the woman maneuvered the robot to the hat section, eyed what was available on the shelf, and had her granddaughter model a few for her before deciding which one to purchase.
]]> What's Next, Mr. Robot? Fooseball? tag:blog.tmcnet.com,2008:/blog/greg-galitzine//6.36778 2008-07-10T19:54:31Z 2008-07-10T20:01:32Z Is nothing sacred? Are we really on the cusp of being pushed off our perch at the top of the food chain by robotic devices that we ourselves have created?  First Deep Blue beat Gary Kasparov. Then last weekend, during the Man-Machine... Greg Galitzine http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/greg-galitzine/ Is nothing sacred? Are we really on the cusp of being pushed off our perch at the top of the food chain by robotic devices that we ourselves have created?


 Spock_McCoy_3D_chess.jpg
 
 
Then last weekend, during the Man-Machine Poker Competition in Las Vegas, a computer dubbed Polaris 2.0 that was designed by the University of Alberta defeated a team of expert poker players. Polaris 2.0 went head-to-head in four rounds of 500 hands against two human opponents, winning two rounds, losing one, and drawing one.
 
A report on EE Times said Polaris learned from experience.
 
Now, check this out from another EE Times article:
 
An upgraded robot designed by General Electric Fanuc (GEF) and programmed by Nuvation Research Corp. (San Jose, Calif.) can beat most human air hockey players, its developers claim.
 
The robot is powered by a special pc-board that can instantly switch between Freescale Semiconductor's 8-bit Flexis and its 32-bit ColdFire microcontrollers running identical C language programs. The 8-bit version lost to most human players, but the 32-bit microcontroller defeated even the best human air hockey players by a ratio of three to one.
 
And now the scary part:
 
So far, the robot has defeated every human opponent running in 32-bit mode, averaging three times as many goals as human players. The algorithm's success resulted from revising its strategy whenever a goal was scored against it. Some revisions were refinements of strategies, but others were outright fixes to bugs in tactics.
 
Not only are they beating us, they're changing tactics midstream when they're being scored upon?
 
What is Spock doing these days? Can he avenge Kasparov? Will he come out of retirement? And more importantly does he play air hockey?
 
Or maybe we simply need to change the field of battle?
 
Circle gets the square...
wargames.jpg
]]> Microsoft Updates Robotics Development Tools tag:blog.tmcnet.com,2008:/blog/greg-galitzine//6.35858 2008-04-10T21:21:36Z 2008-05-09T01:41:58Z Microsoft has unveiled the first community technology preview of Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008, the latest version of its Windows-based robotics programming platform environment designed for use by academic, hobbyist and commercial developers for the creation of robotic programs and... Greg Galitzine http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/greg-galitzine/ Microsoft has unveiled the first community technology preview of Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008, the latest version of its Windows-based robotics programming platform environment designed for use by academic, hobbyist and commercial developers for the creation of robotic programs and testing scenarios.
 
The new offering improves upon runtime performance, distributed computational capabilities and tools.
 
While the Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio will only be released later this year, the first preview is available now for evaluation and testing by developers, customers, and partners.
 
According to the release, here’s what’s new:
 
  • Increased runtime performance. Performance improvements of 150 percent to 300 percent in message throughput between services within a node and between DSS nodes. Services now load 200 percent faster.
  • Improved distributed computational capabilities. Support for distributed language integrated queries (LINQ), which reduces network utilization and simplifies service authoring. LINQ support enables advanced filtering and inline processing of sensor data at the source.
  • Improvements to tools. The ability to visually define computational domains within the Microsoft Visual Programming Language (VPL) tool, providing for easier accessibility to managing distributed execution. The Visual Simulation Environment (VSE) tool adds the ability to record and play back simulations, which allows for easier sharing of running simulation experiences. In addition, VSE adds a new floorplan editor to simplify the definition of complicated structures and interiors.
 
]]> Robotics Evolution tag:blog.tmcnet.com,2008:/blog/greg-galitzine//6.35847 2008-04-09T21:05:43Z 2008-05-09T01:41:58Z Greg Galitzine http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/greg-galitzine/ In our quest to give our readers more choice and an ever increasing variety of content — by going deeper into the technologies we currently cover as well as expanding the base of technologies we cover — I found myself in Pittsburgh today, attending the RoboBusiness Conference & Expo.
 
One of the first companies I came across in the exhibit hall, was Evolution Robotics.
 
Evolution Robotics develops enabling technologies for the robotics market, and partners with OEMs to integrate those technologies into new and more intelligent products such as autonomous robots for commercial or consumer use.
 
Evolution’s NorthStar technology is an indoor localization solution that combines a sensor, a processor and an infrared projector to provide accurate location information in real-time.
 
According to the company literature:
 
With NorthStar, consumer products can:
  • Reliably and directly return to a docking station from anywhere in the environment
  • Automatically perform or not perform particular functions based on location
  • Systematically patrol an environment.
NorthStar is perhaps most famously deployed in WowWee's telepresence robot, Rovio, which made its debut at this past January’s CES event.
 
So let me get this straight. Telepresence meets robotics?
 
I’m definitely interested.
 
But first, back to Evolution.
 
The company’s NorthStar technology enables developers, like WowWee to create consumer oriented products like Rovio. Rovio, is pretty cool and I had a firsthand look at the ‘bot today at RoboBusiness.
 
Rovio allows you to keep an eye on things at home while you are away. The solution, which is equipped with an onboard camera, allows users to drive the robot via the Web or by sending commands from a mobile phone.
 
Featuring full audio and video streaming capability Rovio uses industry standard 802.11b/g protocols for true WiFi access.
 
Evolution Robotics is deeply involved in computer vision technology and offers the ViPR solution (for Visual Pattern Recognition) to developers to create such applications as Interfaces to the Internet on mobile devices (PDAs, cell phones…); visual search engines; navigation systems for robots, and security systems for a variety of locations (shopping malls, train stations, etc…)
 
My experience at the RoboBusiness event underscored the importance of technologies that I’m familiar with from the Internet Telephony side of the house, such as WiFi and related wireless technologies as well as telepresence, conferencing, VoIP, and more, and how they each play a role in the evolving robotics space.
 
]]> Robots To Replace Graying Japanese Workers? tag:blog.tmcnet.com,2008:/blog/greg-galitzine//6.35829 2008-04-08T13:10:53Z 2008-05-09T01:41:58Z Greg Galitzine http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/greg-galitzine/  
As the population of Japan ages, the Machine Industry Memorial Foundation (MIMF) believes that robots can be called upon to fill in gaps in the labor force.
 
According to a Reuters story, Japan faces a 16 percent slide in the size of its workforce by 2030 while the number of elderly will mushroom.
 
Tops among the opportunities for robots? Health and nursing care.

 
In its report, the MIMF said that Japan could save over $20 billion in insurance payments in 2025 by “…using robots that monitor the health of older people, so they don’t have to rely on human nursing care.”
 
Caregivers would save more than an hour a day if robots helped look after children, older people and did some housework, it added. Robotic duties could include reading books out loud or helping bathe the elderly.
 
According to Takao Kobayashi, an author of the MIMF study, “Robots are important because they could help in some ways to alleviate such shortage of the labor force.”
]]> Automotive Robotics Sales Increase tag:blog.tmcnet.com,2008:/blog/greg-galitzine//6.35505 2008-03-07T13:51:04Z 2008-05-09T01:41:59Z Greg Galitzine http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/greg-galitzine/ Don’t call it a comeback.
 
Ok, well maybe a little comeback.
 
According to the latest numbers from the Robotic Industries Association, North American-based robotics companies saw orders to North American manufacturing companies rise 24% in 2007, reversing the declines of the previous year. The trade group is reporting a total of 15,856 robots, with an overall value of $1.07 billion were ordered by North American manufacturing companies.
 
“We’re obviously very pleased to see strong growth in 2007, especially following the 30% decline in 2006,” said Ake Lindqvist of ABB Robotics and chairman of the RIA statistics committee. “Most of the growth last year resulted from sales to automotive manufacturers and their suppliers. In this market segment, which accounted for 64% of all orders, robot sales in North America rose 43%,” Lindqvist noted.
 
Apparently automotive companies went on a binge in 2007, as orders for spot-welding robots increased 100%, coating and dispensing rose 38%, material handling jumped 14%, and arc welding jumped 10%.
 
But Lindqvist believes that future growth of the market depends on reaching outside the automotive space.
 
“The robotics industry’s future expansion depends upon reaching more nonautomotive customers, and we still have a long way to go. However, we are encouraged by a 16% gain in sales to life-sciences/pharmaceutical/biomedical customers and an 8% increase in sales to food and consumer-goods companies,” Lindqvist said.
 
The RIA estimates that some 178,000 robots are now at work in U.S. factories, which ranks the U.S. second, behind only Japan in robot usage.
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