demonstration of a championship
Robo-Magellan or a 20-servo
humanoid walker brings a bored “ho
hum” from the average bystander. Do
they really want a full-size Honda
Asimo as a servant in their homes?
Does this hiccup in interest signify
another turn in the history of robotics?
Possibly. Have we failed as robotics
enthusiasts? No way! The history of
any technology has always gone
through these cycles of interest and
acceptance. The steam engine was a
marvel until it drove trains, ships, and
factories everywhere. The common
light bulb that lit the world as the
marvel of a century ago, is so
commonplace that it is ignored today,
soon to be replaced by LED lamps.
The amazing $2,000 cell phone of
two decades ago is now given away
and is in the hands of most school
children.
Yet, the March 27th edition of
Electronic Design had a picture of
Star Wars’ C-3PO on the cover with
the article title under it stating: “The
Droid War: Cost, Lack of Industry
Focus Clouds Robotics Future.” The
article actually paints a rosier picture
of the state of robotics in the actual
essay, with an emphasis of LEGO’s
Mindstorms NXT robotics kit and
National Instrument’s LabVIEW
software package.
So, you see, there are always
multiple sides to any historical subject,
whether a part of the Civil War or
the subject at hand we all love so
much. It just depends on your point
of view and what particular facet of
robotics interests you most. Outside
of the usual timelines, every “history
of robotics/robots” that I Google
always seems to have a different
slant on the subject. I would very
much appreciate some of you readers
of SERVO to email me with your
feelings about the future trends of
robotics, for it is you who will
ultimately change the directions of
experimental robotics with your
purchases, designs, exhibition
attendance, and comments at
meetings and on the web. SV
Tom Carroll can be reached via email
at TWCarroll@aol.com.
The Robot Revolution
The recent April 21st edition of
U.S. News and World Report had an
article entitled ‘The Robot Revolution
May Finally be Here.’ I’m thinking,
“They’re saying this again, after 20
years?” The article went on to
mention that iRobot has sold almost
three million Roombas — the vast
majority of the new helper robot
category. “Personal robots emerged as
a mainstream product last Christmas,
with Sharper Image’s catalog
featuring a “Shop for Bots” section,
says Philip Solis of market tracker ABI
Research,” as written in U.S. News.
Looking for a GIFT or maybe just something
special for yourself?
Cheacllkoouurtootuhrerwreobbsoitteicaintedmtsakfeoraslaoloek! at
Advertiser Index
All Electronics Corp. ......................... 25, 70 Jameco ...................................................... 75 Robot Craft ............................................... 70
AP Circuits/e-pcb.com ............................ 10 Lorax Works ........................................ 25, 70 Robot Power ............................................ 23
AWIT .......................................................... 70 Lynxmotion, Inc. ....................................... 11 RobotShop, Inc. ................................. 70, 76
Boca Bearings .................................... 23, 70 Maxbotix ................................................... 70 Skycraft Surplus ........................................ 25
CipherLinx Technologies ......................... 70 Mini Robotics ..................................... 63, 70 Solarbotics/HVW ..................................... 14
Net Media ................................................. 83
CrustCrawler ............................................. 82 Parallax, Inc. ...............................Back Cover solderbynumbers.com ............................ 25
Electronics123 .......................................... 25 PCB Pool .............................................. 21, 70 Sparkfun Electronics ..................................2
Endurance Robotics ................................ 70 Pololu Robotics & Electronics .......... 43, 70 Technological Arts ................................... 70
Hitec .......................................................... 15 Rabbit, A Digi International Brand ............ 3 Vantec ....................................................... 10
Images Co. ................................................ 70 RoadNarrows Robotics ........................... 24 Weird Stuff Warehouse ........................... 25
SERVO 07.2008 81
