In more robot news from Asia, here's an interesting story about a sewer inspection robot that was used to locate a fugitive who'd hidden in the city sewer. The man, who'd stolen a woman's purse, escaped into a sewer pipe. Unfortunately, he'd been stripped of his clothes while fleeing, and he chose an exceptionally cold time to do so – the temperature was 34 degrees F.

The robot located the man, who'd apparently gotten lost in the pipes. The robot, a sewage pipe inspection robot, has six wheels and comes equipped with a camera.

Here's a video of a Korean Japanese news report on the event:





(more…)

Scientists from the Shiga University of Medical Science and Ritsumeikan University in Japan, have created yet another miniature robot to explore around the inside of your bod y. The robot, which is less than 1" x 0.5" is inserted through an incision and is moved by controlling a magnetic field surrounding the patient.



The robot is also equipped with an umbilical cord to send back images and other data. Here’s a link to the article in Japanese, if you’re so inclined.


(more…)

This is an update to our previous post about this miniscule but amazing 'hand' from UCLA . The hand, which measures 1mm across when closed, is powered by gas pressure, and is hoped to be one day used in micro surgery. Balloons at the finger joints inflate to close the hand.

You can also see a video of the hand grabbing a fish egg . It's pretty amazing.



(more…)

Here's an interesting post from Engadget . Disney has rolled out an interesting muppet mobile in its Disneyland themepark. The very Segway-esc creation is supposed to be the invention of Professor Bunsen Honeydew and his talkative sidekick, Beaker. The vehicle roams around the park and entertains visitors with light banter and "social experiments." With the aid of cameras, microphones, and speakers, park employees can remotely operate the vehicle and interact with visitors.  


The vehicle employs new Disney technology that allows it to be operate remotely from a long distance. The voice of Honeydew, Dave Goelz, and a team of Disney Imagineers were testing the vehicle for a week before making more improvements.

You can check out video of the Muppet Mobile Labs in the NY Times article or below:





(more…)