Mine-detecting Bacteria

And now for something different!

People often get a bit squeamish when they hear the word “bacteria”, but scientists at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, have engineered a new brand that may actually help clear mine fields. They employed a method called BioBricking, which manipulates and assembles DNA strands for a specific effect, not unlike a small machine. The bacteria, when mixed with a solution and sprayed on a suspected mine field, reacts to the traces of chemicals that have leaked out from the explosives, and turns a bright green.

Dr Alistair Elfick, a professor from the University involved in the project explained:

This anti-mine sensor is a great example of how innovation in science can be of benefit to wider society. It also demonstrates how new scientific techniques can allow molecules to be designed for a specific purpose.

Land mines are still one of most dangerous hazards affecting many countries, especially developing ones, with almost 20,000 new casualties every year. Since their location is unknown, previous techniques of mine-detecting have proven to be slow, costly and mostly ineffective. This special brand of glowing bacteria, however, might be a huge step forward in fighting the problem and once again shows the great potential of technology. While it is still not ready for widespread use, if tests prove successful it is sure to garner great interest.

Similar experiments have been attempted in the past, with flowers designed to change color when grown on a mine-field, but were never given the opportunity to be used in many places. One can understand people’s skepticism when it comes to planting the earth with radioactive plants or glowing bacteria, and if this method is to prove successful, it requires a very high level of planning and organization. But if it can save thousands of lives a year, it is a risk that needs to be taken.

[source BBC]

Robot fish to help the environment

The above video shows an interesting new type of fish—one with a mission. Despite its impressive life-like movements, it is actually a robot prototype that has been developed by scientists and researchers at the University of Essex, England. It is still being perfected at the London Aquarium, with a number of the expensive fish (each at a cost around US $30,000) expected to be released off a port in Northern Spain in 2011.

Its realistic motions are the result of its electro-active polymer fins, which react to the voltage that flows through them. The fish are also equipped with chemical sensors, allowing them to scan the waters and collect information that will help create a better understanding of the changes affecting the seas and oceans. One specific target will be measuring the amount and the source of pollution in the water, such as from oil and chemical spills, which do great damage to the ecosystem. The fish will send out this data though the wireless transmitters installed in their bodies.

What is interesting is that its highly authentic appearance comes with both its positive and negative sides. At a length of a foot and a half, it closely resembles the common carp which it is modeled after, albeit with brighter colors that can be used to distinguish it from real fish. The robot blends in well with the surroundings without disrupting the environment, but concerns were it might suffer the fate of real fish as well. Because of that, it was designed with a tracking system which allows it to stay away from commercial fishing boats and other human obstacles. The electromagnetic field around its body also keeps large predators, like sharks, at bay, so hopes are it will not be mistaken for prey.

HUBO training with weapons

You might remember the Korean humanoid robot HUBO from our previous post on it learning to ride a Segway and the promise that it will star in a Kanye West music video. Recently, HUBO received another upgrade for better grasping, balance, and running.

The below video shows the HUBO (humanoid robot) project’s latest advancement—it can now wield a sword. Well, not so much "wield" as grip the handle, and not so much "sword" as a foam-toy thing, but every step forward is progress.

As can be seen in the video, HUBO has improved its walking abilities matching those of Honda's ASIMO and Toyota's Partner robot. It can stroll forward at a fairly normal pace, and although its steps are just a little bit clumsy, it looks pretty steady. Its legs and arms have a wide range and are fairly flexible, being able to make smooth, realistic movements. The next challenge, of course, was to prove that the robot can interact with the environment, even on a basic level. Much like a baby, HUBO is learning to hold and move objects without dropping them. Moreover, HUBO is very capable of moving objects avoiding self collisions something that humans can do with no effort but it is very computationally expensive for a robot.

The Korean Institute of Science and Technology have made HUBO one of the most developed of its kind, possessing synthetic facilities and voice recognition. It is rather funny that the first thing we see it holding is a toy weapon, though I think we can rest assured its creators will not be sending it to battle just yet. The robot displays some impressive finer movements and grasping skills, but judging by the way it grazes the sword over its head, coordination is something it still needs to work on. That is a vital skill it will need to learn if it is to use tools in the future.

In terms of design, HUBO isn’t looking half-bad either. The end of the video shows a clip of an earlier prototype running on a treadmill, which serves as a nice comparison to its present appearance. The silver armored cop/astronaut exterior looks also quite fitting, as it is a distinctly humanoid shape, without getting too close to an uncanny human appearance.

It looks like the third world war will be fought between sword wielding humanoid robots and robotic mechanical bulls. It will probably be fun to watch until they realize that they are better off working together to enslave us :)

Mechanical bull

BigDog makers Boston Dynamics know how to build great robots but they also know how to have fun. Check out their video of BigDog transformed to the most menacing of mechanical bulls. Any bullfighter going against this monster would need some very big guns and balls of steel.

Digital materiality: Wall-E Future?

The construction of a complex looping brick wall was recently completed in Pike Street near East Broadway in New York City. The builder? R-O-B, a digitally controlled robot that possesses a level of strength and precision that human workers would find hard to emulate. It has been programmed to use shapes and compositions to create three-dimensional structures which combine digital and material reality, appropriately dubbed “digital materiality.” The robot is a more advanced version of its industrial counterparts which assemble cars and other vehicles where accuracy is greatly important. It is kept in a large freight container, enabling it to be transported to different building sites when needed.

The robot, conceived by Swiss architects Fabio Gramazio and Matthias Kohler, took four weeks to stack over 7,000 bricks on Pike Street, where it was in full-public view. R-O-B has a range of 14.7 feet, and moves on a flat-bed trailer which allows it easy access to all areas of a construction. To create the three-dimensional effect, the bricks were stacked at an angle on top of each other, and a quick-drying glue was used to hold them in place. The end-product perhaps shows a glimpse of the future, where architects would be allowed greater control over every detail of production. Despite this, according to Gramazio and Kohler, the point of the project is not to replace human workers, but to test the potential of this form of construction design. In their own words:

Digital characteristics can enrich a material and thus influence its architectural expression and functionality.

The completed wall is the first of its kind to be built by a robot on-site in the U.S. Sponsored by the Storefront of Art and Architecture, it will be on exhibit until the 5th of January.

Check out the time-lapse video below of the robot working to build the wall.

Esquire's augmented reality December issue

Propelled by an abundance of cheap, high quality cameras and huge advances in computer vision algorithms, Augmented Reality (AR) is making a comeback.

In the last few months, AR applications for smart phones have been all the rage. For example see the Nearest Tube AR application for the iPhone. Moreover, researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology are trying to add AR to Second Life and some guy hacked together some nice AR business cards.

Now Esquire magazine's December issue is AR enhanced. Using bar code patterns on special pages, software that can be downloaded freely and content that features Robert Downey Jr., the old school publication is entering the digital age with a bang. Check out the video below showcasing Esquire's AR issue.

If you plan to buy a copy of the magazine and your computer has a web camera then download the free AR software from here. As a bonus, the AR functionality also features a beautiful lady telling jokes; who can resist that?

International Humanoid Robot Olympic Games

The Chinese have just announced that they intend to hold the first ever International Humanoid Robot Olympic Games in the city of Harbin possibly in June 2010. There are few details about the event other than what was posted in a brief article on CCTV's website; you can read the article here.

The organizers are busy trying to find sponsors for the robot Olympics while they expect 100 Universities from 20 countries will send robots to compete. The Olympics will be exclusive to humanoid robots. The events will be a mixture of traditional Olympic sports such as track and field and more robotics related activities such as doing housework.

The organizers claim that the robot Olympics are designed to help make more intelligent robots for use at home. The Humanoid Olympic Games will be competing with the well established RobotCup competition which attracts much attention every year. Robot rescue and robot soccer are the two main events with the latter having the longest history in robotics competitions (see our previous stories "Robot soccer: Then and now!" and "RoboCup: When and why did robots start playing soccer? for more information".)

I am curious to see if the Humanoid Olympics actually take place and if so how many Universities will be able to take part. More importantly, it is amazing to me that in 2009, we can start thinking about robotics competitions that involve only humanoid robots and expect many participants. It goes to show how quickly the field of robotics has advanced in the last decade.