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World’s first all-robotic surgery

Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Science,

The world’s first operation and anesthesia done by an all robot team was conducted at Canada’s McGill University Health Centre. The operation being one of extreme delicateness, a prostatectomy, was handled by two robots: DaVinci, a surgical robot, and McSleepy, an anesthetic robot. Both of whom were controlled by a team of surgeons from a workstation with 3D HD video control.

The robots allowed the team of surgeons to work with a precision not capable of by humans alone, allowing for a more precise and safe operation. The surgical team is planning to use this project to test more all-robotic surgery and anesthesia routines on more patients in different surgical situations. We are assured that the robots will not replace the doctors, but will only augment the surgical team to perform to their highest capabilities.

Help NASA Choose Node 3 Name

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Science, Transportation,

Node 3 NASA would like you to come up with a name for their new Node 3 and cupola, which houses a robotic workstation to control that giant arm. They prefer something along the lines of Unity or Harmony and, by the same token, would prefer you not name it something too common. Vote for your choice in their poll or suggest your own before March 20. The name will be announced in April and Endeavor will delivering “Fred” this December.

Jaimie Mantzel Giant Robot Project

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Science,

Jamie and Friend Trek into the mountains of Vermont this summer, and you may see an actual Giant Robot. Jaimie Mantzel has been working on his creation for a while now, and says that he is hoping for a springtime debut. When completed, the aluminum bot will be 12 ft. tall, 18 ft. across and Jaimie will pilot it via cockpit. Take a look at his site that is filled with video of the project and many of his other ones. By the way, if you like what you see and can’t wait for the time when Giant Robots dominate the planet, a donation would probably be graciously appreciated.

Drobo Gets Apps To Serve You

Posted by Aaron Zollo Categories: Accessories, USB, Internet, Movies, Music, Peripherals, Software, Storage, Videos,

Drobo Apps Drobo has been out for quite some time and serves the purpose of a “set-it-and-forget-it” backup solution. Drobo has added a few apps that bring a nice “value-add” to their storage capability. Data Robotics has released 19 applications for Drobo, and they seem to be highlighting three of those specifically due to their value to the average consumer. First, there’s the DroboApps Admin Utility, which allows you to manage your DroboApps via a web interface. The second is Yoics, which gives you remote access to your Drobo and DroboShare from a web browser or mobile device like the iPhone. Lastly, they are highlighting the Firefly iTunes Media Server that allows you to store all of your music, TV, and video content on the Drobo, and then serve that content to iTunes devices or computers around your home.

If you don’t yet have a storage solution and need a very reliable backup which also serves your media, then you should check out Drobo. They range in price from $349 to $1049 and offer USB 2.0 and Firewire depending on the model you choose. In order to take advantage of the apps, you’ll also need the DroboShare NAS module, which will run you $199, on top of the cost of the Drobo itself.

Tokyo University Develops e-skin

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Design, Misc. Tech, Science,

e-skin Japan’s Tokyo University researcher Tsuyoshi Sekitani and team have created e-skin. Carbon nanotubes are combined with an iconic liquid and then added to rubber. The result is that it can feel heat and pressure the same as human skin. Applications include being used in steering wheels to determine body temperature to see if the driver should operate his/her vehicle, as a mattress cover for those who are bedridden to gauge body pressure, and of course the obvious, robot skin.

Pleo Can Be Resurrected

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Hot Deals, Misc. Tech,

If you already have a Pleo but, for some reason, the robotic dinosaur bites the proverbial dust, send it back to its place of birth. If they cannot fix him/her, the UGOBE team will extract its “soul” and load it into a new one for a reduced price. We call that an incredible offer for those whose Pleo is more than just a robot. By the way, if you haven’t yet purchased one of your own, in honor of their 1 year anniversary, PleoWorld selling them for $235.00 off until July 11.

Robotic Foosball Table

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Design, Science, Toys,

Foosball players that can’t find enough competition can rejoice in the fact that they can now play against a robo-player. Engineering students from the Univ. of Adelaide won an award for their mechatronics project that took 8 months to complete. The system consists of a motions sensor system, software for decision making, and an actuation system for control manipulation. The 4 sets of rods can move side to side and rotate for kicking. The winners were sponsored by Sage Didatic and supported by Rockwell Automation.

Interaction Wall-E

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Movies, Science, Toys,

How could we not pay homage to our newest and favest bot? Wall-E debuted today and although we couldn’t make the premiere, we did notice that there are already a truckload of toys and other tie-ins, like this Interaction Wall-E. The little guy’s eyes light up, he moves his head and arms, and has the original movie voice and sound effects. If that isn’t enough, when you talk to him, he responds and, if you are too busy, can communicate with Interaction Eve. At a size of 6.5 x 10.5 x 8.5-inches and a weight of 2.1 pounds, we found one on Amazon for $43.99.

Flame Walks Like a Human

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Misc. Tech, Science,

Flame
ASIMO eat your heart out. Flame is now the most advanced walking robot to date. Created by Dutch PhD student Daan Hobbelen of TU Delft, his bot is both stable and energy efficient. To accomplish his objective, he studied how people walked for the first time. He then gave Flame seven motors and a balance mechanism created with stability algorithms. Daan is hoping that the technology will be used to help treat those with walking disabilities.

WowWee Tribot

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: CES, CES 2008, Misc. Tech, Science, Toys,

Tribot WowWee has finally moved on from their inane Chatterbots to bring us all the Tribot, which we first introduced you to in February from the CES. Obviously named for its three-wheeled base, the bot can move in 8 directions (including diagonal.)The kewl tilt trigger button allows you to move him in directions by just moving the remote around. He will also tell jokes and stories and refers to himself as “the most rad robot in the galaxy.”

Wait, there’s more. Use Tribot as a guard against alien bots or dogs, as an alarm that needs a tap on the head to shut him up, challenge him to a game of hide and seek, or play one of three driving games. We would have been happy if he just cleaned up our room.

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