Meet the Alkobot: an open source, Arduino robot that mixes your drinks like a pro. It is made of anodized aluminum and has stainless steel bolts. The machine also has anti-sleep rubber feet. Alkobot has a Teensy 3.1 inside. The code for the project is written in Arduino IDE with the TeensyDuino plugin.
We have seen plenty of talented Rubik’s Cube solvers in the past. Robots are getting good at it too. A Bradenton student’s robot is capable of solving Rubik’s Cube in 2.39 seconds. The machine uses two cameras to knit together a 3D image of the cube. The robot figures out the position the cube is in and how to solve it. The signals are sent to the motors to make the moves.
The above video provides more information on this robot. More information is available here.
Robots are going to do many things for us in the future to make our lives easier. They can already clean litter boxes. Take the Litter-Robot Open-Air for instance. It is an automatic self-cleaning litter box that works for multiple cats. It reduces odor and saves litter.
We have seen many robots fall in the past, and there is nothing graceful about them. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a way to enable robots to fall more gracefully? Researchers at Georgia Tech have identified a way to teach robots how to fall without getting seriously damaged. Robots can use an algorithm to minimize impact upon falling.
Meet PowerUp FPV: a paper airplane drone with a live streaming camera that gives you a first person view of all the action. You get live streaming from over 300 feet. You can control the device with HMD gestures or in-app controls. The 360-degree rotating camera gives you a view from all directions.
Meet the KeeBot Telepresence Robot: a Bluetooth-enabled robot that uses an iPad as its brain to keep you connected. You will be able to use it to monitor your home from a remote location or manage meetings. You can use it to chat with your family when you are traveling. Want to use it to interact with your pets? No problem.
Meet the CellRobot: a modular robot that you can play and reshape. You get robotic cells with universal connectors, allowing you to connect multiple units to build robots in various shapes. Each cell has a servo motor, sensor, and an independent MCU inside. These robots can be controlled from your smartphone.
CellRobot could prove useful for those of you just learning about robots. It is also a fun toy. More information is available on Kickstarter.
Robots are becoming more sophisticated all the time. In the future, we can rely on soft, inflatable robots to get things done. This video from American Chemical Society shows new soft robots that can grab objects or walk.
These robots can get flattened and bounce back into shape. When they inflate, their silicone-based material stretches. Upon deflation, you will see where the device is strained and could be vulnerable to rupturing. More info is available at the link below.
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There are plenty of fancy clocks available on the market. This robotic clock is not your average clock though. It uses a marker to write down time and erases it at the right time. It is probably better to erase only the required digits instead of the whole time. Since the robot can write digits quickly, this inefficiency is not a big issue:
Meet the Samsung Techwin STAR UGV: an autonomous robot with 4-wheel independent driving technology that can detect its surrounding environment and use the data it has to find its way to its destination. These robots could be used for security and other purposes.
