So you have a thing or two for dragons? The UBTECH JIMU Mythical Series FireBot is a programmable dragon robot that can teach you a thing or two about coding and technology in general. The UBTECH JIMU Mythical Series FireBot is a coding robot with Blockly and 606 pieces. You get servo motors, a DC motor, a touch sensor, 1 x LED light, 2 dragon wings, and a control box.
In the past few years, we have covered plenty of soft robots that can handle fragile items of all shapes. Researchers are now working on soft self-healing materials for robots that can’t be easily destroyed. SHERO (Self HEaling soft RObotics) is planning to develop soft materials that can recover from damage robots are likely to suffer on a daily basis.
In the past few years, we have covered plenty of neat telepresence robots here. The Parallaxy telepresence robot kit is also worth a look. It is designed for the letsrobot.tv open telepresence platform and comes with Internet control. Parallaxy comes with everything you need to get started, including a Raspberry Pi, speaker, and Logitech webcam.
Teaching robots to handle a knife on soft objects is easier said than done due to the complexity and predictability of tissue under manipulation. Artūras Straižys, Michael Burke, and Subramanian Ramamoorthy have come up with a novel approach to handle such problem. They used a “binary medium classifier trained using joint torque measurements, and a closed loop control law that relies on an error signal compactly encoded in the decision boundary of the classifier.”
A robot was used to cut a grapefruit with precision by following the boundary between grapefruit pulp and peel. The above video shows it in action.
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Micro:bit is a wonderful platform to use to build robots and learn about coding. The LOBOT uHandbit is a Micro:bit robot arm with USB and Bluetooth. It supports PC/App control and can be programmed using a graphical interface. Its anti-block servos protect the robot arm as you use it.
Meet the DJI P4 Multispectral drone: a high-precision drone with an integrated multi-spectral imaging system for farm and environmental monitoring. The drone can achieve max flight time of 27 minutes and has a transmission range of 7km. The camera array has 5 cameras covering Blue, Green, Red, Red Edge, and Near Infrared bands.
The Army is always looking for new ways to help soldiers on the battlefield. The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Command’s Army Research Laboratory has developed the Legged Locomotion and Movement Adaptation robot for mobility over complex terrains. This is a dynamic quadruped vehicle that is all-electric and quiet.
Robots and drones can do many thing for us already. University of Michigan engineers have attached a nail gun to an autonomous octocopter to attach a shingle to a roof. The nailgun was modified to allow triggering from the vehicle. A mount was designed to adjust the angle to match roof slope.
Here are shape-changing swarm robots that can change their configuration to display information, move objects, and visualize data. ShapeBots can change their shape by using linear actuators that are thin (2.5 cm) and highly extendable (up to 20cm) in both horizontal and vertical directions. The actuators have a modular design.
Meet the Loop-X: a Mobile Intraoperative Imaging Robot by medPhoton & Brainlab for spinal procedures. It automates imaging workflow steps and works in sync with robotic arms and surgeons. Thanks to non-isocentric movement and collimation capabilities, the robot can handle imaging of structures that are large or small.
