Armed with Science | Tag Archive

Coast Guard Robotics Competition

Filed under Robots, STEM, Videos by jtozer on May 21, 2013 at 7:27 am {no comments}

A U.S. Coast Guard base hosts a robots competition that is part of a DoD outreach program to get kids interested in science, technology, engineering and math. And what better way to encourage and foster an interest in STEM than with robots I ask you?

How about robots under WATER:

Video provided by U.S. Coast Guard

Robots underwater: bleep-bloop at its STEM best. Want to check out more STEM stories? Click here!

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Fostering STEM Interest With Robots

Filed under Robots, STEM, Videos by jtozer on May 19, 2013 at 7:49 am {no comments}

Everything is more interesting with robots, don’t you think?

The U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command’s Edgewood Chemical Biological Center hosted a Mathematics with Robotics seminar! The seminar presented by the National Center for the Advancement of STEM Education taught Cecil Country Maryland teachers how they can use robotics to make teaching math fun.

Video provided by RDECOM YouTube Channel

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Have Two Arms, Will Work

Filed under Robots by jtozer on April 11, 2013 at 7:12 am {no comments}

Who’s ready for some ROBOTS?

DARPA‘s Autonomous Robotic Manipulation (ARM) program is developing software, hardware and sensors to enable robots to semi-autonomously grasp and manipulate objects in unstructured environments (meaning, “outside of a laboratory”) with human operators providing only task-level instructions.

Simply put, these robots are pretty awesome at doing things outside of the usual robot norm. Like changing your tire, maybe:

Video provided by DARPAtv

For example, rather than dictating step-by-step every movement a robot makes, a human can give DARPA’s ARM robot a high-level command like “Open the door” or “Screw in the bolt.”

Performers on the ARM program have already demonstrated success using one arm and hand to manipulate objects. Now DARPA is having teams test two arms and hands on tasks that require bimanual manipulation, like the robot changing a tire shown in this video.

If DARPA is successful with grasping and manipulation, while also making robots more adaptable to changing environments and driving down the cost of production, robotic manipulation systems can be applied to a wide range of potentially dangerous Department of Defense applications, including defusing improvised explosive devices and searching bags.

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Like Robot, Like Human

Filed under Featured, Robots by jtozer on March 15, 2013 at 7:51 am {no comments}

I think it goes without saying that humans are flawed.

<pause for dramatic effect>

I know. It’s a shocker.

So when we think of the things humans are capable of doing, there’s always a margin of error, isn’t there? There’s always some bell curve that factors in because we know that we’ve got our short comings. We’re not perfect.

Which is weird, since we are constantly asking the machines we build to be. Especially the ones that awe and fascinate us the most.

Yeah, I’m talking about robots.

Up until now, the concept of a perfectly constructed robot was just that; a concept.

Such a KIND face… (Cyberman, Copyright BBC)

Our movies and video games tend to depict robots as these inhuman goofy types, or seething, wrathful, intrinsically flawed things that either take on far too many human traits (Cylons) or not NEARLY enough (Cybermen). In any case, our creative little minds tend to presume that robots are going to lean to the extremes.

But that’s just fun fiction.

However…

What if I told you that there was a process being developed that allowed scientists to implant a very human like thinking process into a very non-human robot brain? Would you panic? Because if so, I’d stop reading now. And maybe seek out some calming tea. Or professional help, depending on the severity.

Because it’s really happening, folks, and it’s going to change the way we think about Artificial Intelligence in a number of ways.

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Follow Me, Robot

Filed under Robots, Videos by jtozer on January 10, 2013 at 7:14 am {no comments}

Working with the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory (MCWL), researchers from DARPA‘s LS3 program demonstrated new advances in the robot’s control, stability and maneuverability, including “Leader Follow“.

Watch this:

This includes decision making, enhanced roll recovery, exact foot placement over rough terrain, the ability to maneuver in an urban environment, and verbal command capability.

For more on this story, click here.

Information and video provided by DARPA

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The Military’s Robot Pack Mule

Filed under Robots, STEM, Uncategorized by jtozer on December 27, 2012 at 7:29 am {no comments}

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Legged Squad Support System will relieve troops of their 100-pound equipment load, take voice commands and maneuver around obstacles, in addition to numerous other tasks in the field. (DARPA photo)

The warfighter who carries up to 100 pounds of equipment on his back is expected to get relief from the cumbersome weight, officials at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency say.

Enter the robot.

Remember this guy? We showed you a video of it in action in this post.

And it’s not just any robot.

DARPA’s semiautonomous Legged Squad Support System — also known as the LS3 — will carry 400 pounds of warfighter equipment, walk 20 miles at a time, and act as an auxiliary power source for troops to recharge batteries for radios and handheld devices while on patrol.

Now in trials, the “pack mule” robot might have numerous functions, but its primary responsibility is to support the warfighter, said Army Lt. Col. Joseph K. Hitt, program manager in DARPA’s tactical technology office.

“It’s about solving a real military problem: the incredible load of equipment our soldiers and Marines carry in Afghanistan today,” Hitt said. The consequences of that kind of load can be soft-tissue injuries and other complications, he added.

And as the weight of their equipment has increased, so have instances of fatigue, physical strain and degraded performance, officials have noted.

(more…)

Popular Science

Filed under Education & Culture, Robots, STEM by jtozer on December 18, 2012 at 7:00 am {no comments}

Semester exams are looming, with an extended holiday break on their heels. But before Dr. Andrea Thomaz closes the Socially Intelligent Machines Lab at the Georgia Institute of Technology for the season, the lab hosted a few more visitors last week for the final experiment of the semester.

The lab welcomes guests to interact with Simon, a humanoid robot developed with seed funds from the Office of Naval Research (ONR). These interactions allow student-researchers to adjust software models for Simon’s learning and behavior generation. And it all starts once Thomaz and her team wake the resting robot.

“Simon, can you hear me?” Thomaz asks

“Yes, can you hear me?” Simon responds in kind.

Standing nearly 5 feet tall, the robot is surrounded by an arc of desks where students design, refine and stabilize his software to demonstrate his range of skills. He’s alert and ready for interaction.

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NRL Makes The Electric Dog…90 YEARS Ago

Filed under Robots, Scientific Military History, STEM by jtozer on October 30, 2012 at 7:51 am {no comments}

The Naval Research Laboratory turned 89 this year, but its first unmanned system got its start 90 years ago.

Long before K-9 ever met Sarah Jane Smith, this guy was roaming the streets.

In 1922, at the Anacostia Naval Aircraft Radio Laboratory, engineer Carlos B. Mirick was developing a system for radio remote control of aircraft.

When NRL opened in 1923, Mirick and the others at Anacostia transferred to become part of the new NRL Radio Division. Mirick continued his work and built the “electric dog” unmanned ground vehicle to test his remote-control system.

A. Hoyt Taylor, who had been head of the Anacostia laboratory and became the first superintendent of the NRL Radio Division, recalled, “In 1922 Mr. C. B. Mirick started work on pilotless target planes, known as ‘drones’. To those who know anything about honey bees, the significance of the term will be clear. The drone has one happy flight and then dies. I believe I am responsible for this name for pilotless target planes.”

“The work on radio controlled pilotless airplanes [that] started at Anacostia was continued, under Mr. C. B. Mirick, at the Naval Research Laboratory. In the winter of 1923-1924, Mirick tested his various radio control devices by the use of a small three-wheeled cart which came to be dubbed the ‘electric dog’.”

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