Servo - November 2010

bots IN BRIEF

EMIEW2 IS BETTER THAN (FIRST) ONE

EMIEW2 is actually Hitachi’s new and improved second-generation EMIEW humanoid robot. They developed EMIEW in 2005 followed by the EMIEW2 in 2007 with the objective of creating a robot that can coexist with humans and serve in such environments as offices or hospitals as part of the Project for the Practical Application of Next-Generation Robots organized by NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Development Organization).

The first one was 130 cm tall and weighed approx 70 kg while EMIEW2 stands 80 cm high and weighs just 13 kg. The new version still moves at the average human walking speed of 6 km/h. The improvements include better recognition of voice commands (thanks to a 14-channel microphone system positioned within its head), smoother movement on uneven surfaces, and better handling of bumps up to 1.5 cm high thanks to the new “active suspension system.”

SHALLOW PAL

Apparently, South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Transport, and Maritime Affairs is planning to invest 20 billion won in an ‘underwater robot’ project until 2015. The project is about the construction of an “articulated, multiple-mobile” robot which will be capable of handling various tasks — at a maximum of 6,000 meters underwater — ranging from exploration and rescue operations to such environmental missions as maintenance of underwater flora. The development of the robot with capabilities to operate in shallow water is the first phase of the project and is scheduled to be completed by 2012. During the second phase from 2013 to 2015, the robot will further be improved to perform its planned deep water tasks.

I’M STUFFED!

In this R2D2, you’ll find a Nintendo Entertainment System, a Super NES, a Nintendo 64, a Nintendo GameCube, a Playstation 2, a Sega Genesis, a Sega Dreamcast, an Atari 1800, an XBox 360, and a computer, plus parts of a PS1 and an XBox 1, AND a PSP hidden in one of the legs. What’s really cool is how all of the switches, buttons, and ports for controllers and stuff have been distributed all over the case and integrated into the design. Lots of people build R2s based on the original ILM specifications, but there’s usually a compromise between various degrees of functionality because it seems to be more or less physically impossible to stuff a lot inside the case of an R2. That doesn’t seem to be the case here. Apparently, the hardest thing to do is a 3-2-3 conversion which is getting R2 to extend and retract a functional center wheel. If you’re interesting in building your own R2, there’s tons of information at www.astromech.net which is the official site of the R2D2 Builder’s Club.