Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts with the label robots

Google Acquires New Robotic Technology

Google is making moves to acquire robotics firms to develop higher capabilities and products. Their purchase of Boston Dynamics and seven other companies indicate that they have made their way into the military market ( 1 ). The program is part of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency that seeks to create a new generation of robots. Combining the knowledge of multiple agencies through acquisition raises Google’s stature in this field. The goal for the time being is to develop robots that mimic things in nature. It is likely that someday they will try and put different capabilities into the same robot. At present some of the interesting stuff includes a 28 mph running cheetah, SquishBot which changes shape to get in tight areas, and Petman which mimics human abilities ( 2 ). Each of these robots takes significant research, designing, and software.   Google has developed the Android service, plenty of applications, and has satellites that map the world. They are in a

Micro Robots Take to the Airwaves

Possibilities are endless with new bug size robots that are likely to fly the earth over in search of helping victims, fixing hard to reach equipment, and helping to capture bad guys. New technology offers the opportunity to move into the era of micro-robotics. What was once science fiction now becomes science after many years of design, failure, and eventual success.  This article introduces the robot that is almost the size of a fly. Both the process and the product helps to further science and industry. The smallest robot man has ever made recently took flight at Harvard University. Robobee, as it has been termed, weights 1/10 th a gram and is less than 3 centimeters wide. It is expected that such a robot will be able to help with a number of different situations such as farming, search and rescue, and monitoring.  With such a dainty size it could be put to use in thousands of places once it has been fully developed. Infrared cameras were placed around the room and pick