WHAT A CHARACTER
Want your own business mascot? Chararobo (short
for Character Robot) will create one for you like the one
they made for Cable TV, Inc. Based on Kyuchan (kyu means
9" in Japanese), the 2' 7" bot weighs 8. 8 lbs and acts as a
greeter at their front desk. When a human approaches, he
dances around with his 6º of freedom and Futabo servo
motors. You too can get one for $8,600 to $16,000 at
www.chararobo.com.
LOOK WHAT’S TALKIN’
Japan's Kagawa University engineers built a robot to assist the
hearing impaired to speak. Made up of an air pump, a resonance tube,
a nasal cavity, and a microphone, the artificial vocal chords talk and
use an algorithm to mimic human speech. Once it compares the
user's speech to its own, it suggests pronunciation adjustments.
SELF-FEEDING ROBOT PLANT
The Nomadic Plant by Gilberto Esparza is designed to seek out
polluted water, clean it up, and feed it needed nutrients. Powered by
microbial energy, the art project also feeds itself — proving that
robots will save the planet by symbiosis.
This plant-machine hybrid gets its microbial energy from a fuel
cell. The microbes at work to generate electricity its robo legs to
remain in action do need some nourishment, so when the need
arises, the hybrid seeks out water from the polluted Lerma Santiago
River in Mexico.
The water is sucked in through a tube that sets the microbes
feeding; a portion is also sent to the plant sitting atop the robot legs.
Read more at www.greenpacks.org/2010/04/12/robot-
nomadic-plant-feeds-off-polluted-water/#ixzz0mKAy9AOK.
HONEY, I SHRUNK THE ROBOTS
Did you know they were still making Shrinky Dinks, much less that the
color-and-bake toys come as robots? The kit comes with 40 pre-cut shapes to
make three different bots, eight colored pencils, beads, barrettes, and earring
hoops so that your kids can let everyone know you are one cool mom/dad on
your next outing.
24 SERVO 06.2010
