Nanoparticles Give Robots Precise Sense of Touch
Researchers at the University of Nebraska have developed a new film that can give robots a sense of touch similar to a human's in sensitivity. The film is constructed from layers of metal and semiconducting nanoparticles which are sandwiched by two layers of electrodes. When the film touches a surface, the pressure squeezes the particles together, which changes the current of the film and produces a small amount of light that can be detected by a camera. Prior to the development of this film, most tactile sensors could only achieve a mere fragment of the sensitivity of the average human finger tip. The creators of this film hope that it can be applied to minimal access surgery and advanced robotics. It warms my heart to know that the robot nannies of the future will be able employ exacting touch as they pick up babies by their soft, malleable heads and place them safely away in the specially-designed drawers and cabinets the future babies call home.
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Tomotaka Takahashi noticed the dominance of male robots in the industry and decided he'd create a female one, that not only looked female but moved in a feminine way as well. The FT (female type) robot was shown at New York Japan Society's Tech Epoch, where it struck poses à l... / Continue →
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The inventer of a bear-protection suit has created a much slimmer version which has been designed to stave off bullets, explosives, knives, and clubs. The suit is called Trojan and the inventer describes it as the "first ballistic, full exoskeleton body suit of armour" and he hop... / Continue →
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The new Japanese music robot Miuro, designed to turn an iPod music player into a scuttling boombox-on-wheels, is shown during a press conference in Tokyo Thursday, Aug. 31, 2006. Equipped with speaker systems developed with Japanese audio-maker Kenwood Corp., the 35-centimeter ... / Continue →
