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The Brain as a Model for Future Supercomputers

http://robots.net/article/3589.html

− at 20:37, 22. May. 2013

A news release from Sandia National Labs discusses the fall and rise of the human brain as a model for computers. They suggest a waning interest in the brain after IBM's supercomputer defeated Gary Kasparov in chess. But the brain is getting more respect these days, in part because of the rapid increase in knowledge about how it works. Some researchers now believe that brain-inspired computers could lead to a new industrial revolution. It's not that the brain is fast, but it is powerful and flexible. From the news release:

Slow signal speed didn’t faze Christof Koch, chief scientific officer of Allen Institute for Brain Science. “I have a modest proposal,” he told the group. “Imagine a 1-kilogram, three-dimensional block of silicon, or stacks of chips, all with 10 kilohertz clocks and each consuming microwatts of power. There’s much more silicon, and therefore it’s very expensive and heavy, like the brain! But, much less cost for heat sinks, much less air conditioning.”

The article goes on to question whether this is really the right approach and whether brain-like pattern-matching is actually well-suited to handle the sorts of problems we want to solve. Cultural and ethic questions are also brought up. Whatever the answers to these questions, it seems inevitable that the massive amounts of new knowledge about the human brain will influence the design of future computers in some way.

[original entry]

Here's Microsoft's New Kinect Sensor

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ieeespectrum/automaton/~3/zT7tphntprA/heres-microsofts-new-kinect-sensor

− at 16:42, 22. May. 2013

The new Kinect was announced yesterday, and it's better. Way better.

[original entry]

Robot Octopus Shows Off New Sculls

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ieeespectrum/automaton/~3/z9Enxum-mLM/robot-octopus-shows-off-new-sculls

− at 16:42, 21. May. 2013

What tentacled swimming gait works best for a robotic octopus?

[original entry]

Robotic Insect Eyes Destined for Next-Gen Micro Drones

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ieeespectrum/automaton/~3/HNBA8ABVPRk/epfl-curvace-artificial-compound-eyes-for-drones

− at 21:00, 20. May. 2013

This flexible new camera can see even better than bugs do

[original entry]

Robotbespreking in Amsterdam

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/IHeartRobotics/~3/kx6ylSjzNek/robotbespreking-in-amsterdam.html

− at 11:50, 19. May. 2013

Woensdag 22 mei zullen we het geven van een Open Source robotica praten en Turtlebot Demo.

[original entry]

Robots Podcast #130: Autonomous lethal weapons

http://robots.net/article/3588.html

− at 01:45, 19. May. 2013

Stop Killer Robots campaign logo

In episode #130, interviewer AJung talks with Peter Asaro (an Assistant Professor at The New School and affiliated with The Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School) about the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, a consortium of NGOs working to secure an international ban on autonomous weapons systems. This interview follows closely on an article about the Campaign, coauthored by AJung, which itself followed Robohub's focus on Robots and warfare.

Read On | Tune In

[original entry]

Ready for the Official Arduino Robot?

http://robots.net/article/3587.html

− at 21:54, 17. May. 2013

Via FreeIO.org comes news of a new open hardware robot: the official Arduino Robot. The Arduino Robot will be on sale at the Maker Faire in San Mateo immediately but will be generally available for online orders starting in July. The robot has two ATmega32u4 microprocessors. It has a standard differential drive arrangement with two DC motors but apparently no encoders. Sensors include a compass and five bottom-facing IR sensors for line following. There are several push buttons and potentiometers for input and, for output, a speaker and LCD screen. Multiple prototyping areas are available for adding your own sensors and actuators. The MAKE blog ran an interesting account of how the designers of this robot went from knowing nothing about robotics to designing this beginner robot for kids in just a few years. The most important aspect of the Arduino Robot is that, like other Arduino hardware, it's under a free license:

As always with Arduino, every element of the platform – hardware, software and documentation – is freely available and open-source. This means you can learn exactly how it's made and use its design as the starting point for your own robots.

There's already a lot of technical info available including the EAGLE CAD files for both boards, and documentation on the new Robot library that's included with the Arduino IDE 1.0.5 and later. We look forward to hearing more about this robot or doing a review if a one should end finding it's way to the Robots.net testing lab. For more about other open source robot platforms, see the recent FreeIO article, The State of Free Hardware for Robotics.

[original entry]