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Articles archive for February 2010

Bionics| Robotics»

Biomimicry of fish lateral line for future robots and submarines

By Rob Aid
14 February 2010
fish-neuromastThe 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… »

Robotics»

SAUVIM robot completed its first fully autonomous mission

By Damir Beciri
One Comment13 February 2010
sauvim-1The Autonomous Manipulation system, unlike teleoperated manipulation systems that are controlled by human operators with the aid of visual and other sensory feedback, must be capable of assessing a situation, including self-calibration based on sensory information, and executing or revising a course of manipulating action without continuous human intervention. Autonomous Systems Laboratory of the University… »

Tech»

NOMFET – an organic transistor that mimics a brain synapse

By Damir Beciri
3 Comments12 February 2010
digital-brainScientists have great expectations that nanotechnologies will bring them closer to the goal of creating computer systems that can simulate and emulate the brain’s abilities for sensation, perception, action, interaction and cognition while rivaling its low power consumption and compact size. Nanotechnology researchers in France have developed a hybrid nanoparticle-organic transistor that can mimic the… »

Architecture| Tech»

Green architecture – Bardessono luxury resort in Napa, CA

By Damir Beciri
11 February 2010
bardessono-3Bardessono, a 62-room boutique luxury inn and spa in Yountville, California, received the LEED Platinum certification. Destination design firm WATG provided complete architectural design services for the project. Bardessono, located on a 4.9-acre site in the heart of Napa Valley, was developed by Phil Sherburne, who also developed Willows Lodge in the Seattle area and Inn… »

Robotics»

Homemade robot Loki is a hobby project of one man

By Damir Beciri
2 Comments9 February 2010
loki-robotMost of the robots we wrote about are made by corporations or research laboratories. In this article we’re going to write about a robot made by a single man. Loki, which takes its name from the Norse god of Mischief, is a robot build for hobby. It was made by software engineer David Shinsel, who… »

Gadgets»

InFocus releases wireless projector adapter for PC and Mac

By Damir Beciri
3 Comments8 February 2010
infocus-displaylink-wireless-systemInFocus Corporation announced an enhancement to its wireless solution that eliminates the need to have wired connections between laptops and selected InFocus projectors. Successfully launched in August 2009 with initial support for Windows OS platforms, the system is now made available for MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air platforms with audio support. Based on wireless… »

Robotics»

Bioloid climbing robot finds its way up the climbing wall

By Damir Beciri
7 February 2010
bioloid-climbing-robotWe already wrote about various humanoid robots capable to perform different tasks, and in this article we’re going to write about a humanoid robot which climbs up a wall with ledges. You might ask yourself what is it good for, but it (or its algorithms) could be useful for the exploring or rescuing robots in… »

Bionics| Robotics»

NASA and GM developed strong and dexterous Robonaut 2

By Damir Beciri
6 February 2010
nasa-robonaut-2-2Engineers and scientists from NASA and GM worked together through a Space Act Agreement at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to build a new humanoid robot capable of working side by side with people. Using leading edge control, sensor and vision technologies, future robots could assist astronauts during hazardous space missions and help… »