Portal:Robotics/Featured robot
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ASIMO (アシモ ashimo?) is a humanoid robot created by Honda. Standing at 130 centimeters (4 feet 3 inches) and weighing 54 kilograms (114 pounds), the robot resembles a small astronaut wearing a backpack and can walk or run on two feet at speeds up to 6 km/h (4.3 mph), matching EMIEW.
ASIMO was created at Honda's Research & Development Wako Fundamental Technical Research Center in Japan. It is the current model in a line of twelve that began in 1986 with E0. ASIMO resembles a child in size and is the most human-like robot HONDA has made so far. The robot has 7 DOF (Degrees of freedom) in each arm — two joints of 3 DOF, shoulder and wrist, giving "Six degrees of freedom" and 1 DOF at the elbow; 6 DOF in each leg — 3 DOF at the crotch, 2 DOF at the ankle and 1 DOF at the knee; and 3 DOF in the neck joint. The hands have 2 DOF — 1 DOF in each thumb and 1 in each finger. This gives a total of 34 DOF in all joints.
The name is an acronym for "Advanced Step in Innovative MObility". Online magazine The Future Of Things (TFOT) states that Honda did not name the robot in reference to science fiction writer and inventor of the Three Laws of Robotics, Isaac Asimov.
As of February 2009, there are over 100 ASIMO units in existence. Each costs under ¥100 million ($1 million USD) to manufacture.Portal:Robotics/Featured robot/2
Sandstorm is an autonomous vehicle. Created by Carnegie Mellon University's Red Team, it is a heavily modified 1986 model 998 HMMWV. It competed in the DARPA Grand Challenge in 2004 and 2005. Sandstorm qualified in first position in the 2004 DARPA Grand Challenge. It travelled the fastest and farthest (7.4 miles) during the race before high centering on an embankment. Sandstorm competed in the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge on October 8th, qualifying third from the pole position behind Stanley and finished in 7 hours, 5 minutes, placing 2nd out of the five vehicles to complete the 132 mile course.
The sensors used by Sandstorm in 2004 included three fixed LIDAR laser-ranging units, one steerable LIDAR, a RADAR unit, and a pair of cameras for binocular vision. Sandstorm also has a GPS and an inertial navigation system for determining geographical position.Portal:Robotics/Featured robot/3
Roomba is a robotic vacuum cleaner made and sold by iRobot. It is marketed as a Robotic Floorvac. The Roomba was first released in 2002 with updates and new models released in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. As of May 2006[update], over 2 million units have been sold, making it the most successful domestic robot so far. The unit is a disc, thirteen inches (34 cm) in diameter and less than four inches (9 cm) high. A large contact-sensing bumper is mounted on the front half of the unit, with an infrared sensor at its top front center.
The Roomba operates with internal nickel metal hydride batteries and requires being recharged regularly from a wall plug, although newer third-generation models have a self-charging homebase they automatically try to find. Charging on the homebase takes about three hours. All third-generation Roombas can be used with the homebase, even if they do not come packaged with it. First and second-generation models came packaged with a twelve-hour charger, although a three-hour rapid charger could also be used with them.Portal:Robotics/Featured robot/4
QRIO ("Quest for cuRIOsity") was to be a bipedal humanoid entertainment robot marketed and sold by Sony to follow up on the success of its AIBO toy. QRIO stood approximately two feet (0.6m) tall and weighed 16 pounds (7.3 kg). On January 26, 2006, on the same day as it announced its discontinuation of AIBO and other products, Sony announced that it would stop development of QRIO. Before it was cancelled, QRIO was reported to be going through numerous development, testing and scalability phases, with the intent of becoming commercially available within three or four years. QRIO's slogan was "Makes life fun, makes you happy!"
QRIO is capable of voice and face recognition, making it able to remember people as well as their likes and dislikes. A video on QRIO's website shows it speaking with several children. QRIO can run at 23 cm/second, and is credited in Guinness World Records (2005 edition) as being the first (and fastest) bipedal robot capable of running (which it defines as moving while both legs are off the ground at the same time). The 4th generation QRIO's internal battery lasts about 1 hour.Portal:Robotics/Featured robot/5
The Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) used by the US Air Force as a surveillance aircraft. In role and design, it is somewhat similar to the Lockheed U-2, the venerable 1950s spy plane. It is a theater commander's asset to both provide a broad overview and systematically target surveillance shortfalls. The Global Hawk air vehicle is able to provide high resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)—that can penetrate cloud-cover and sandstorms—and Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) imagery at long range with long loiter times over target areas. It can survey as much as 100,000 square kilometers (40,000 square miles) of terrain a day.
The Global Hawk is the first UAV to be certified by the FAA to file its own flight plans and use civilian air corridors in the United States with no advance notice. This potentially paves the way for a revolution in unmanned flight, including that of automatically piloted passenger airliners.Portal:Robotics/Featured robot/6
The Mobile Servicing System or Canadarm2 is a robotic system and associated equipment on the International Space Station that plays a key role in station assembly and maintenance: moving equipment and supplies around the station, supporting astronauts working in space, and servicing instruments and other payloads attached to the space station. The MSS was designed and manufactured by MDA Space Missions for the Canadian Space Agency's contribution to the International Space Station. Launched on STS-100 in April 2001, this next generation Canadarm is a bigger, better, smarter version of the space shuttle's original robotic arm. Canadarm2 is 17.6 meters (57.7 ft) long when fully extended and has seven motorized joints. It has a mass of 1,800 kilograms (4,000 lb) and a diameter of 35 cm (13¾ in). The arm is capable of handling large payloads of up to 116,000 kg (256,000 lb) and assisting with docking the space shuttle.
Canadarm2 can move end-over-end to reach many parts of the Space Station in an inchworm-like movement, limited only by the number of Power Data Grapple Fixtures (PDGFs) on the station. PDGFs located around the station provide power, data and video to the arm through its Latching End Effectors (LEEs). The arm can also travel the entire length of the space station using the Mobile Base System.Portal:Robotics/Featured robot/7
The Foster-Miller TALON robot is a small military robot designed for missions ranging from reconnaissance to combat. It is a tracked vehicle said to be one of the fastest robots in the market. It can travel almost anywhere, through sand, snow, underwater (out to depths of 100 feet), climb stairs (a feat for any modern robot) and all the while showing the operator, up to 1,000 m away, the world in color, black and white, infrared, and night vision. It can run off lithium-ion batteries for a maximum of 7 days on standby before needing recharging. It can also withstand repeated decontamination allowing it to work for long periods of time in contaminated areas. It was used in ground zero after the September 11th attacks working for 45 days with many decontaminations without electronic failure. This led to the further development of the HAZMAT Talon.
It weighs less than 100 lb (45 kg) or 60 lb (27 kg) for the Reconnaissance version. Its cargo bay accommodates a variety of sensor payloads. The robot is controlled through a two-way radio or fiber optic line from a portable or wearable Operator Control Unit that provides continuous data and video feedback for precise vehicle positioning.Portal:Robotics/Featured robot/8
Lego Mindstorms is a line of Lego sets combining programmable bricks with electric motors, sensors, Lego bricks, and Lego Technic pieces (such as gears, axles, beams, and pneumatic parts) to build robots and other automated or interactive systems. Lego Mindstorms is marketed commercially as the Robotics Invention System (RIS). It is also sold and used as an educational tool, originally through a partnership between Lego and the MIT Media Laboratory. The educational version of the products is called Lego Mindstorms for Schools, and comes with the ROBOLAB GUI-based programming software, developed at Tufts University using the National Instruments LabVIEW as an engine.
Lego Mindstorms may be used to build a model of an embedded system with computer-controlled electromechanical parts. Almost all kinds of real-life embedded systems, from elevator controllers to industrial robots, may be modelled using Mindstorms. There is a strong community of professionals and hobbyists of all ages involved in the sharing of designs, programming techniques, and other ideas associated with Lego Mindstorms.Portal:Robotics/Featured robot/9
KITT (an acronym for Knight Industries Two Thousand) is the name of a fictional computer that controls the high-tech Knight 2000, a black Pontiac Trans Am T-top automobile in the science fiction television series Knight Rider. The show stars David Hasselhoff as Michael Knight and was produced in the 1980s. The voice for KITT was provided by St. Elsewhere and 1776 star William Daniels.
KITT's main cybernetic processor was first installed in a mainframe computer used by the United States government in Washington D.C.. However, Wilton saw better use for "him" in the Foundation's crime-fighting crusade and eventually the system was installed in the vehicle. KITT was in fact the second vehicle built by Knight Industries with artificial intelligence. His predecessor was KARR (the Knight Automated Roving Robot). KITT is loaded with special features such as the commonly-used Turbo Boost, which allows quick bursts of speed or jumping over obstacles. KITT could also drive himself, but perhaps his most distinct and recognizable aspect was his front mounted scan bar which, among other things, allowed KITT to "see".Portal:Robotics/Featured robot/10
The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is a NASA rover scheduled to launch in December 2009 and perform a precision landing on Mars in October 2010. This rover will be three times as heavy and twice the width of the Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs) that landed in 2004. It will carry more advanced scientific instruments than any other mission to Mars. The international community will provide most of these instruments. The MSL rover will be launched by an Atlas V 541. Once on the ground, MSL will analyze dozens of samples scooped up from the soil and cores from rocks. MSL will be expected to operate for at least 1 martian year (~2 Earth years) as it explores with greater range than any previous Mars rover. It will investigate the past or present ability of Mars to support life.
MSL is expected to weigh over 800 kg (1,760 lb) including 65 kg (143 lb) of scientific instruments. At present 10 instruments have been selected for development or production for MSL.Portal:Robotics/Featured robot/11
CosmoBot is a child-friendly, interactive remote controlled telerehabilitation robot designed by AnthroTronix, Inc.. CosmoBot is part of an overall assistive technology system that includes the CosmoBot robot, Mission Control input device, and accompanying software. With the accompanying software, CosmoBot can be used as part of a play therapy program that promotes rehabilitation and development of disabled children. During therapy sessions, the CosmoBot system automatically collects data for therapist evaluation.
The most important goal of CosmoBot is to provide long-term motivation for children to actively participate in therapy and to help children achieve goals set by therapists and educators. Since CosmoBot will be used by children with varying levels of mobility, motor skills, and language, it needs to be easy to use and adaptable to different users. CosmoBot is designed for an inclusive classroom setting and must allow children to interact with their environment.Portal:Robotics/Featured robot/12
RoboSapien is a toy-like biomorphic robot designed by Mark Tilden and produced by Wow Wee toys. The RoboSapien is preprogrammed with moves, and also can be controlled by an infrared remote control included with the toy, or by either a personal computer equipped with an infrared transmitter, and an infrared transmitter-equipped PDA. RoboSapien, as the advert for it says, is "The robot that thinks it's a human!".
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New Horizons is a robotic spacecraft mission conducted by NASA. It is expected to be the first spacecraft to fly by and study the dwarf planet Pluto and its moons. NASA may also approve flybys of one or more other Kuiper Belt Objects. The craft was built primarily by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). New Horizons was successfully launched on January 19, 2006. After a flyby of Jupiter on February 28th, 2007 at 5:43:40 UTC, New Horizons is expected to arrive at Pluto in July 2015 before leaving the Solar System.
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Razer was a combat robot that competed on the British television series Robot Wars. It was constructed by Simon Scott and Ian Lewis from Bournemouth; the team later expanded to include webmaster Vincent Blood. Razer was designed and constructed in 1998 to participate in the second series of Robot Wars, but subsequent modifications and improvements enabled it to remain competitive until its retirement after the second series of Robot Wars Extreme. Despite gaining a reputation for being unreliable, it was champion of the fifth series of Robot Wars, runner-up in the sixth, and won the first two Robot Wars World Championships.
Razer's weapon was a hydraulic crushing arm which exerted up to nine tonnes of pressure per square inch. The arm was designed to pierce opponents' armour plating and break their internal components, rendering them impaired or immobile. The arm was also an integral element of Razer's winged self-righting mechanism, which rolled the robot back onto its wheels if inverted. The popularity of crushing weaponry in robot combat events is attributed to Razer, which inspired many imitations.Portal:Robotics/Featured robot/15
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Suggestions
Is there a robotics-related article good enough? Please post you suggestions below to let your voice be heard.
Procedure
The nomination process here is relaxed, but articles that meet the featured article or good article requirements are more likely to gain support.
Nominating articles
- Find an article related to robotics that you think is very good. It need not be a current Featured Article or Good article, but if it is, it could only help the nomination.
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Nominations
Razer (robot)
From what I can see, whilst this portal is attractive and information it has been a fairly long time since it saw an update. I'd like therefore to reawaken this portal with an article that myself and a couple of fellow editors have recently put a lot of time into rewriting from scratch. Razer was almost certainly the most prolific combat robot ever to participate in the British television series Robot Wars (for US readers, this was our version of BattleBots). Amongst its titles are Series 5 Champion and two-times World Champion. This article is detailed and well referenced for a machine from a cancelled television series whose online presence has all but completely disappeared. Furthermore, I've managed to get in contact with one of the robot's constructors who has allowed us to freely licence three of his photos of Razer; I'm working hard to secure more images to show the evolution of Razer over time.
This article is in the queue for a peer review before a run at GA-status. If you can spot any flaws with the article I would be delighted to work towards fixing them. The article is actively monitored by an interesting and knowledgeable team of Robot Wars fans, and I would be delighted to see Razer become the first combat robot to be featured on this portal. Thank you for your time. Best wishes, CountdownCrispy ☎ ✎ 11:33, 11 September 2010 (UTC)
