SAFFiR: the autonomous, firefighting humanoid robot

It took six years, but at long last, Anna Konda has a formidable firefighting partner. SAFFiR, also known as the Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting Robot, is being shaped by scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory. As the story goes, it's a humanoid robot that's being engineered to "move autonomously throughout the ship, interact with people, and fight fires, handling many of the dangerous firefighting tasks that are normally performed by humans." Outside of being stoic (and brawny) from tip to tip, it's also outfitted with multi-modal sensor technology for advanced navigation and a sensor suite that includes a camera, gas sensor, and stereo IR camera to enable it to see through smoke. We're told that its internal batteries can keep it cranking for a solid half-hour, while being capable of manipulating fire suppressors and throwing propelled extinguishing agent technology (PEAT) grenades. Wilder still, it'll be able to balance in "sea conditions," making it perfect for killing flames while onboard a ship. Of course, it's also being tweaked to work with a robotic team, giving it undercover powers to eventually turn the flames on the folks that created it. Paranoid? Maybe. But who are we to be too careful?


Update: Turns out, the same Dr. Hong that we had on The Engadget Show is responsible for this guy as well. It's the next step in evolution of the CHARLI humanoid, and the two photos seen after the break are credited to RoMeLa: Robotics & Mechanisms Laboratory, Virginia Tech.

Polaris Phone Rolls Self to Charger, Keeps an Eye on Users' Behavior

Sure, your iPhone may play games, tell you where to eat, and surf the Internet, but can it tell you what you did the other day and how to do it better? Enter the Polaris phone, a new system designed by the giant mobile phone company KDDI and Japan's Flower Robotics.

The Polaris phone/robot is a three-part system that incorporates your phone, your television, and the robotic sphere seen above. The sphere contains speakers for the phone's music, and wheels that roll the sphere to the closest power source to charge the phone. The sphere's dock also links up with your television to display the detailed data about your life and behavior that the phone records (see below for a picture of a TV displaying the data).

And what data does it record? Apparently everything. The phone follows where you go, who you email, what you buy, who you call, etc. Aside from telling you what happened after the fifth shot of tequila the other night, the phone also analyzes your habits for patterns, and gives out advice based on the data it collects.

The whole project is still in the prototype phase. The specifics of the data collection system, and the navigational skill of the sphere, need more work. However, the companies hope to have a commercial version of the system available by next year. Until then, I'll have to continue relying on my friends, not my rolling phonebot, to tell me what I did after I black out drunk.

Checkout the bionic Cockroach

We bring this to you from the “it sounds weird, but sure the applications would be numerous” bag. Researchers at North Carolina State University figured out how to remotely control an actual cockroach. No the objective was not related to extermination of bugs – but rather creating a wireless biological interface. The mechanics consisted of a basic microcontroller, transmitter and receiver. By attaching the device to the pest’s antennae, a sensory organ for them to help evade predators, the team was able to send commands to trigger their need to move and avoid trouble.

What the heck does steering a cockroach do for the good of society? Well, cockroaches are pretty tough. Applications thought to potentially exist include deploying the little guys to collect information from disastrous or hazardous environments like nuclear facilities or war zones. So who knows, maybe cockroaches will one day help us rather than hinder us.

Now, A robot that runs faster than Usain Bolt

 

A robot named Cheetah has set a new world speed record for legged robots, running faster than the fastest human. The headless machineis  funded by the Pentagon and  reached 28.3mph (45.5km/h) when tested on a treadmill. Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt's top speed is 27.78mph (44.7km/h).

 The project is part of efforts to develop robots for military use. It has been created by the Massachusetts robotics company Boston Dynamics and backed by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa).

According to Darpa, the aim is to "more effectively assist war fighters across a greater range of missions".

The Cheetah, which is powered by a hydraulic pump, broke its own record of 18mph (29km/h), recorded in February.

"The Cheetah had a slight advantage over Bolt as it ran on a treadmill," Darpa said in a statement, "but most of the power Cheetah used was to swing and lift its legs fast enough, not to propel itself forward."

The robot is to be tested in the fields in 2013

The machine's design has been inspired by the real cheetah, the fastest land animal, which can reach speeds of 75mph (121km/h). 

"Cheetahs happen to be beautiful examples of how natural engineering has created speed and agility across rough terrain," said Gill Pratt, Darpa programme manager.

"Our Cheetah bot borrows ideas from nature's design to inform stride patterns, flexing and unflexing of parts like the back, placement of limbs and stability."

"What we gain through Cheetah and related research efforts are technological building blocks that create possibilities for a whole range of robots suited to future Department of Defense missions." 

Noel Sharkey, professor of artificial intelligence and robotics at the University of Sheffield, said the robot was "an incredible technical achievement, but it's unfortunate that it's going to be used to kill people".

"It's going to be used for chasing people across the desert, I would imagine. I can't think of many civilian applications - maybe for hunting, or farming, for rounding up sheep. 

"But of course if it's used for combat, it would be killing civilians as well as it's not going to be able to discriminate between civilians and soldiers."