Robotic surgeons are nothing new. In fact, there are already a bunch of robot surgery systems available on the market that facilitate minimally invasive surgeries. This video from KUKA shows how the LBR iiwa can be combined with VR feedback for remote surgery.
Here is a robot that can ride a horse at speeds up to 30mph and jump 4ft high fences. Bookmaker BetBright’s robot is made from steel and has AI to ride a horse like a human jockey. It even has built-in voice to communicate with others.
Here are modular flying robots that assemble mid-air and cooperatively fly. The structure has flying modules with a quadrotor within a cuboid frame. The modules attach others by matching vertical faces thanks to magnets. The swarm can assemble rapidly with proper alignment and motion error correction.
So you are looking to get your hands on an advanced hexapod robot kit with open source software? The PhantomX AX Metal Hexapod Mark III from Interbotix Labs has you covered. It has 3 DOF legs, an ArbotiX Robocontroller with is compatible with Arduino, and rugged full metal frame construction.
Quadrupedal robots such as ANYmal are capable of taking on challenging tasks, mapping their environment, and staying out of trouble. They will require a power source for longer missions though. Robotic Systems Lab has shared a video that explores an autonomous docking station for recharging these robots.
Here is another cool robot capable of producing beautiful works of art. The ZENrobot uses Processing to generate the patterns. The slider is driven by an Arduino UNO and uses a 3-axis CNC shield and Dragonframe Gear.
Here is a cell that helps human workers complete assembly of the crash can structure of BMW/MINI vehicles. It takes care of repetitive and non-ergonomic tasks, reducing cycle time over time. The LBR iiwa allows humans and robot to work in close proximity. The robot uses a tactile search function but the operator can influence the robot using the impedance mode.
Robots are quite good at solving Rubik’s Cube puzzles. We have seen a bunch of them capable of getting the job done under a second. Ben Katz’ robot can do it in 0.38sec. This contraption was made with 6 Kollmorgen ServoDisc U9-series motors, 2 PS Eye cameras, and 6 custom motor drivers.
As Jared Di Carlo explains:
solve time of 0.38 seconds includes acquiring the image from the webcam, detecting colors, finding a solution, and actually rotating the faces of the cube
Pretty impressive, don’t you think?
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Here is one way to celebrate a special occasion: get 500 drones to fly in tandem and use colorful, changing lights to illuminate the night sky. As this video from EHANG shows, these drones were used to create a 3D time tunnel in Xi’an China in celebration of the Spring Festival.
Meet the Soccerborg: robot soccer players that you can use to play the game against your friends. It comes with two players, controllers, goals, and balls to get started. Soccerborg toys have a range of up to 8 meters. They have right and left foot functions.
