DARPA has put up an interesting job posting. It involves a new research and development program called ARM. DARPA wants to build a robot that can use its arms to autonomously grasp objects.

The robot should be able to “hold an inert grenade with one hand, and pull the pin with the other hand” without any help from humans. The human who is the target should be able to leap up in the air, paddle his feet furiously and then zip away like Bug Bunny.

Thanks DARPA. You sure don’t make it easy to sleep at night.

[PP]

Fuji Heavy Industries in Japan has a new bot which they are calling “the first” autonomous farming robot. It’s about six and a half feet long and runs on gas, using laser signals to orient itself via reflective plates which are set up 30 feet from each other. It uses the plates to figure out distances. It doesn’t look like much, but it will grow fruits and vegetables on it’s own and is suitable to work in greenhouses. It should be available next year for about $100,000.

[Engadget]

Fuji Heavy Industries, Sumitomo and Subaru hve teamed up to develop a new robot that will clean office buildings autonomously. The robot with no name can maneuver even along narrow paths as it vacuums the floors and picks up garbage.

It’s powered by a 24V battery that has a battery life of 2.5 hours and it can go as fast as 30 meters per minute, avoiding obstacles along the way through built-in sensors and a laser system. The one on the right is an earlier model from last year. By the end of the year they plan to commercialize the new version, which will be priced between $35,000 and $46,000.

[CG]

Barnacles are the bane of seafaring life. That’s why the Office of Naval Research is looking for a way to autonomously scrub a vessel’s hull on a regular basis. Scraping off barnacles improves a ship’s speed and reduces fuel consumption, so it ain’t all about just being tidy.

The Bio-inspired Underwater Grooming (BUG) robot is a good solution. It uses suction to stick to a vessel, and features biofilm detectors and flourometers to help it plot its path toward the buildup. The BUG could clean a vessel during its voyage, saving the Navy money on maintenance costs.

[Dvice]

Some dude spotted what he thinks appears to be a secret US military robotic research and field test.

The device in question is easily seen and appears to be constructed of very advanced technologically and apparently is fully autonomous. It was located using GE and was found high up in the Southern Groom mountains of Nevada. It’s design is also unlike anything that I’m currently aware of in the public domain which is why I believe it to be a military project.

Sure it kind of looks like a robocop-like killing machine, but really? Maybe this guy is onto something. Maybe he hit the crack pipe a little too hard. You decide.

[Abovetopsecret]

The army has created a lot of different technologies such as drug sniffing ferrets. Now, instead of robots that work in the field with the soldiers, they have robots that work with the doctors in the back lines. Since this special robot does not need any humans to control it, it will easily replace them.

Just like in the sci-fi movies, it’s a table top robots that hovers over you and has 3 axis for it to move around. In order to find the bullet, it uses 3D ultrasound to identify it and then it takes a needle to retrieve the bullet. I’m sure that in its built-in artificial intelligence it will cleanse the wound too. This robot definitely has potential.

[Gizmowatch]

You kids today. You think you’re so cool playing chess against computer opponents. You’ve never had to face this robot from Russia, who is designed to crush you. The robot is engineered to beat the best in the game and to do that the bot has been outfitted with the latest technological advancements in artificial intelligence and robotics.

The robot can play all forms of the game, and that includes the fastest version of the game, clicking move per move on the chess clock.

[Gizmowatch]

If you think your car has personality, think again. It’s got nothing on RoboCar. In the nearer future, this cute RoboCar will be used by researchers to experiment with autonomous vehicle systems. Each robot is outfitted with a bunch of sensors, from CCD stereo cameras image recognition sensors to accelerometers, proximity sensors and Wi-Fi.

It will act as a platform on which to test their vehicle control tech that’s smaller, more hackable and cheaper than a full-size car. By cheaper I meant about $6000, which is much less than a car.

[Gizmodo]

AE Ventures, operators of the Electronic Security Expo (ESX), has broken new ground in media by offering not only exhibit space at ESX, but also robot space. MobileRobots, Inc.’s talking, robotic advertising kiosks will travel the ESX show, sporting advertiser logos, displaying advertiser videos, describing products, and offering advertiser materials to passersby.

“Space ads” on robots will be sold by the hour, but can also be tuned by spatial location. For instance, during lunch hour, the robot can wander to various café areas on the tradeshow floor and perform routines for diners.

MobileRobots, Inc. robotic kiosks use MobileRobots’ proprietary autonomous navigation and personality creation software which allows non-roboticists to set up and create robot routines with drag-n-drop software. Narration for audio ads is saved as digital files for the robot to play from speakers.

[alarm.org]

You know, we often fear robots, but once in a while one comes along that wins our hearts. Trilobot is a solar-powered robot that’s fully autonomous and able to control it’s own energy acquisition. Everyone should have one. Just look at how cute he is. He would make a great pet.

[Engadget]