P3 and ASIMO - The Honda Humanoid Robots

Here we present various materials used on a robot

Chassis
Engines and mechanical parts for cheap

Food
-Batteries new generation Li-Ion / Li-Po and even brand new Lithium Iron Phosphate / A123
-Regulated power supplies

Sensors
-Contact switches to detect collisions with the environment of the robot
-Obstacle detection by infra-red thanks to proximity sensor IR
-Measuring ambient light to make adjustments in intensity other sensors
-Motorized potentiometer settings for automated
-Knob “softpot” for manual adjustments for
-Counting the time with the DS1307 clock to organize the operation of the robot
-Modules with various sensors compatible with this bus
-Lasers can be very effective beacons Read more »

Bristol, England - A team of scientists from the Robotics Laboratory of Bristol developed the first humanoid able to imitate the facial expressions and lip movements of a human observing.

Jules, it is called, is appointed as a head and neck but can instantly copy the movement faces of people he observes with video cameras and tiny electronic motors hidden under the skin of his face. It can crack a wide smile, grin, riding his forehead and “talk” with the software it is equipped, and that translates into real-time human expressions he observes through his eyes equipped with video cameras.  Read more »

A robot that is controlled himself with his own brain composed of biological neurons in culture was manufactured by British scientists.The robot works with neurons in rats. University of Reading
This is probably the first hybrid machine / animal ever created. Gordon is “alive” since a big week in a laboratory at the University of Reading, England. His brain is composed of neurons from a fetal rat. They were placed in a solution, separated and then deposited on a bed of sixty electrodes.

This multi-electrode array (MTCT) is the interface between living tissue and machine. It allows the brain to send electrical impulses to lead the wheels, for example. And conversely, it receives information on its environment delivered by sensors.

The key here is to assess the learning capabilities of this robot with a living brain. Gordon already seems to learn by repetition. For example, when it hits a wall, brain stimulation and receives a habit he learned to work around the obstacle. The key to learning is the memory that occurs in neurons that have begun to forge connections and multiply in the brain. Read more »

Active on the Red Planet last 6 months, the robot Phoenix has ceased to function on 02 November. NASA announced the end of the mission, but watches a final burst of the probe.

Initialement scheduled to run 90 days, the Phoenix will probe resisted more than five months in harsh conditions at the North Pole of Mars. But the winter was born in fatal Lander, which sent its last signal burst on November 2.

Since October 30, the robot was in idle mode to compensate for a sharp drop of energy related to the reduction of sun exposure but a storm of dust that has clogged its solar panels.

NASA said on Monday evening, the closure of Phoenix “while announcing maintain a listening watch during the next three weeks if the tube, like the mythical bird, raise. However, engineers consider this possibility very unlikely because of deteriorating weather conditions expected on Mars.

Phoenix arrived in May 2008 on the planet Mars. This project took much of the program of Mars Polar Lander, who had to land near the south pole but failed to landing. 

Artist’s view of the robot Phoenix in the fading light of the Sun. (NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona)

The purpose of this mission was to study the mineralogical composition of the soil near the north pole of Mars. According to data from the Mars Odyssey, the basement of the Arctic plain indeed holds large amounts of water ice. Read more »

Mars it is the most Earth-like of the nine planets that make up the solar system. The great distance from Earth (400 million km from the Earth at the farthest point of its orbit) makes travels to Mars long and dangerous. Hence its exploration has been so far carried out only by robotics means. Thanks to its similarities to Earth (i.e. a solid planet with atmosphere), Mars allows the use of the most diverse robotics means:

-Penetrometers and Robotics Moles for underground exploration
-Rovers (tracked, wheeled or legged) and hoppers for surface exploration
-Aerobots (balloons, blimps, planes and hoppers) for aerial exploration Read more »