Floods cut down more bridges than fire, wind, earthquakes, deterioration, overloads and collisions combined, costing lives and hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. The speed and turbulence of an overflowing stream scours away the river bottom that provides the support for a bridge foundation. In order to counter that, researchers at the Case Western ... »
A research group, consisting of people from International Rescue System Institute, Chiba Institute of Technology and Tohoku University, has developed a rescue robot named QUINCE. It will be used to collect rescue information in case of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRNE) disasters, including hazardous substance leaks in the underground malls or tall buildings, and ... »
In one of our previous articles we wrote about a robot developed to inspect the aging power lines in the USA, as well as about importance of preventive maintenance and inspection of the aging power lines. Many power lines in western Japan are 80 years old, so Tokyo-based HiBot worked with western Japan’s Kansai Electric ... »
As robotic devices continue to make inroads to our daily life, their ability to understand the presence and interaction with humans and other objects within a space becomes critically important. Peratech Limited, a company devoted to the development of new materials designed for touch technology, has announced that they have been commissioned by the MIT ... »
The lateral line is a hydrodynamic imaging system found in fish and aquatic amphibians enables them to accomplish a variety of underwater activities such as localization of moving prey or predators, detection of stationary objects, schooling without colliding and social communication. It consists of numerous hair cell sensors called neuromasts which are distributed all over ... »
After writing about E-Cleaner EC01 and Neato XV-11 we’re going to write about robotic vacuum cleaner(s) from LG Electronics. After the big failure of their too expensive (yet not more functional) first version of RoboKing, they decided to develop a better and cheaper robot that could compete with Roomba. Although the new RoboKing isn’t available ... »
It is estimated that there are between 15,000 and 20,000 annual casualties caused by landmines and unexploded explosive devices, according to the charity Handicap International. Some 87 countries contain minefields including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Somalia, Mozambique, Cambodia, Iraq and Afghanistan. Scientists have developed a simple, cheap, and yet accurate test to find undetected landmines. Students ... »
