Robytes
by Jeff and Jenn Eckert
World’s Finest
TV Sidekick
Bot
If you don’t stay
up late, you may
not have seen it,
and even if you do,
the novelty may
have worn off by
the time you read
this, but CBS
introduced TV’s first robotic second banana back in April.
Appearing as Craig Ferguson’s mechanical skeleton sidekick,
it is named “Geoff Peterson” for reasons that are more
inscrutable than funny. Geoff isn’t all that versatile, but he
can speak seven phrases, move his jaw, turn his head, and
raise one arm. Plus, his eyes light up which is more than Ed
McMahon could do. The hostbot was built by Grant Imahara
of Mythbusters fame ( dsc.discovery.com/tv/mythbusters).
It’s worth noting that this is not Imahara’s first venture into
ghastly mechatronic devices. Apparently, he is largely
responsible for the Energizer bunny, as well. As of this
writing, you can still view the introductory episode at
www.cbs.com/late_night/late_late_show.
“Geoff Peterson,” Craig Ferguson’s
robotic sidekick on “The Late Show.”
1.08 Leagues Under the Sea
The folks at Britain’s
National Oceanography
Centre ( www.noc.
soton.ac.uk) have been
sending AUVs into the
ocean depths for a few
years now, but they
recently announced the
most ambitious
adventure yet. The plan
is to send an
Autosub6000 AUV more
than three miles down into the Caribbean to seek the
deepest “black smoker” vents and poke around inside. Even
though Captain Nemo hung out at almost four times that
depth, this is no small feat, given that black smokers are
undersea volcanic springs that spew mineral-rich water at
temperatures hot enough to melt lead (about 620°F).
Apparently, the vents “support lush colonies of deep
sea creatures that thrive in the otherwise sparsely
populated abyss,” and the researchers intend to find out
more about them. The expedition includes a deep sea
vehicle called HyBIS which can be remotely controlled from
the surface ship to film the ocean floor, and collect samples
An Autosub6000 being readied for
launch from the Royal Research
Ship James Cook.
of rocks and wiggly little creatures. The researchers will
also leave instruments on the ocean floor to monitor
currents and deploy experiments to investigate how deep
sea creatures colonize new habitats. If all goes according
to plan, the voyage will end on April 24, so you should be
able to view some of the results at www.thesearethe
voyages.net.
Return of the
Geminoid
Several years ago,
Hiroshi Ishiguro, a professor
at Osaka University
( www.osaka-u.ac.jp/en),
creeped out the world by
building Geminoid HI-1: a
robot that looked exactly like
him and imitated Ishiguro’s
own movements. Well, he’s
back with Geminoid-F — a
female version based on an
unnamed woman in her
twenties. In a demonstration,
the bot smiled and furrowed its brow to mimic the real
thing, using programming based on a video of the model.
“I felt like I had a twin sister,” the woman later told
reporters. The F model is designed to work in places like
hospitals where it gives patients under examination
“psychological security via comforting smiles.” The new
model uses just 12 actuators versus the HI-1’s 46, and built-in air valves that power some of its movements. You can
pick one up for a mere $110,000.
Geminoid-F’s inspirational
model touches her own cheek.
Towel Boy Automaton
It seems unlikely to
generate much
excitement anywhere
beyond steam rooms
and pool cabanas, but
apparently teaching a
robot to fold towels is
quite an achieved. This
has been accomplished
by a team at US
Berkeley’s Department
of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences
( www.eecs.berkeley.edu) using a PR2 bot from Willow
Garage ( www.willowgarage.com). According to the
team, “the task involves one that’s proved a challenge for
robots: perceiving and manipulating deformable objects —
Willow Garage’s PR2, modified at
Berkeley to fold towels.
8 SERVO 06.2010