Servo - June 2010

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 —