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The News -
Hobbyiest
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Written by William Cox
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Friday, 01 February 2008 |
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Today UGOBE has released initial details on the upcoming software development kit for Pleo. The Pleo Development Kit, or PDK, will allow users to create applications that will run on top of Pleo's "Life OS". The applications will be written in PAWN, which is ...
... a simple, typeless, 32-bit extension language with a C-like syntax.
If you know C, you know PAWN! PAWN was designed for execution speed, stability,
simplicity and a small footprint. The PAWN language has been built into the Pleo™ firmware
to allow arbitrary code execution, accessing the functionality of the Pleo firmware.
The initial PDK release will focus on giving users access to Pleo's motors, sensors, and other low-level OS features. Future PDK releases will expose all of Pleo's Life OS to applications, creating a huge array of potential applications.
Applications will be allowed to override built-in Pleo behavior, which UGOBE calls "shadowing", to allow users to take total control of Pleo and his behavior.
Unfortuntely, it will still be a while before the PDK is released (no word on an exact date). In the meantime, UGOBE says to play around with the "My Skit" performance editor for Pleo, and to brush up on your PAWN skills. More information can be found on the PleoWorld website and the new developer section of the PleoWorld forums. If you're getting excited about writing custom applications for Pleo, you can go ahead and purchase one from our buddies at TrossenRobotics.
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The News -
Site News
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Written by William Cox
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Friday, 01 February 2008 |
Way back in 2001 I created a website called, The Robot Directory. It was designed to be a place for robot buliders to showcase their creations, see other people's creations, and generally get inspired. It worked out well until the scope of the site overstepped my abilities to do code. Chris Jorgenson then stepped in and together we created Version 2. That was over 3 years ago, and once again the project has languished because my inabilities to keep the software side updated.
But, now it's time to resurrect the site, and I'm calling on you, faithful readers, to see if any of you out there want to help me redesign/code the Robot Directory and make it something useful for all robot builders out there. I've been eyeing Ruby on Rails as the new application framework, but I'm open to other options. Send me an email (
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
) and we'll talk . Maybe we can pick up some extra pizza robot part money.
We now return to your regularly scheduled robot news.
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The News -
Military
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Written by William Cox
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Tuesday, 08 January 2008 |
You may remember our posts on the sad plight of iRobot, who had accused their ex-employee, Jameel Ahed, of stealing their design, only to have the US Military award a whopping $280 million dollar contract to said ex-employee, and rejecting iRobot. Oh the injustice!
Weep no more, fellow shareholders and Roomba lovers, because justice has been served! Unfortunately, the price of that justice was a cool $2.9million dollars. But, nobody said good ol' Lex Rex came cheap.
In addition to the judges in both lawsuits rulling in favor of iRobot - one ruling that Robotic FX had infringed iRobot's patent, and the other ruling that, Robotic FX stole proprietary information - Robotic FX will now be dissolved and its assets given to iRobot as payment.
In a related settlement, Robotic FX will be dissolved and certain
residual assets retained by iRobot at iRobot’s
election. Ahed is prohibited from participating in competitive
activities in the robotics industry for five years.
In response to the news, the US DoD awarded iRobot the $280 million dollar contract that was previously awarded to Robotic FX. While iRobot's stock price has a long way to go from the $24 high it was before all of these events transpired, the future is looking much brighter.
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The News -
Military
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Written by William Cox
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Friday, 04 January 2008 |
 The US Department of Defense (DoD) has released a report detailing the future of robotic military equipment and how the US military should proceed. The 188 page report (pdf) covers the next 25 years of unmanned military systems in the air, and sea, and on land.
“The publication of this most-recent
roadmap will further our strategic planning and our overall objective
of developing, procuring and integrating unmanned systems into the
force structure of the Department of Defense to support our various
military mission capabilities,”
This report is unique in that it address both ground and sea vehicles in addition to the much more "popular" and oft-used arial systems. This reinforces the Department's position that integration of air, land, and sea systems is a vital part of the future of US military systems.
The report details recomendations made by field commanders and how further AI developments can lead to "thinking" systems.
"The DoD will develop and employ an increasingly sophisticated force of
unmanned systems over the next 25 years (2007 to 2032). This force must
evolve to become seamlessly integrated with manned systems as well as
with other unmanned systems. The Department will pursue greater
autonomy in order to improve the ability of unmanned systems to operate
independently, either individually or collaboratively, to execute
complex missions in a dynamic environment."
Another fascinating aspect of the report is a huge appendix listing all the unmanned systems currently in use by the military. The image to the left is a shot of the Lockheed Martin Protector Umanned Surface Vehicle.
If you have a hard time downloading the document, Roland Piquepaille provides a good outline.
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The News -
Latest News
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Written by William Cox
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Friday, 28 December 2007 |
Dubai, that wonderful country city that gave us a private island paradise shaped like the world, and the world's first underwater hotel, is now going to be host to a dinosaur theme-park, called "Restless Planet." It will be home to the world's largest collection of animatronic dinosaurs of various shapes and sizes. Ultimately, the park will be home to 109 robots and will cost $1.1 billion USD to construct.
"The Restless Planet provides a visual, audio and tactile experience
allowing visitors to experience some of the exciting things that have
gone on in the Earth's history,"
The 11 acre park will be a central feature to the glitzy City of Arabia, and will provide education along with thrills. Special effect-laden rides will guide vistors through Earth's past and the age of the dinosaurs. The project is being created with help from The Natural History Museum in London and prominent palaeontologists. The robots themselves are being created by the Kokoro Company in Japan and will have "life-like" motions and be able to track visitors with their eyes and heads. Some robots may even lunge at visitors scaring the mess out of them.
I'd also like to remind readers that "dinosaurs + theme park" idea has been tried before, with disasterous results. For now, I'll stick to my cute-and-loving robot dino.
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The News -
Latest News
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Written by William Cox
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Wednesday, 26 December 2007 |
The Miami police force will begin experimenting with using Honeywell Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs) starting in 2008. They plan on using the drones in SWAT operations. These operation will be closely watched by the FAA to see if unmanned vehicles can be effectively (and safely) used in urban environments.
"We are aware it is a great responsibility. The FAA is looking at us to
see if we can professionally manage this program," said Lt. Cliff
Nelson of the police department's aviation unit.
The article references an event two years ago where a police helicopter was shot by an armed suspect, and the pilot was forced to land in someone's back yard. MAVs would be significantly smaller and ligher and would pose less risk if such an even were to be repeted. The police force only plans to use these vehicles in specific operations, which should reduce the privacy concerns that are raised by these "eys in the sky."
The Houston police force was also given permission by the FAA to use similar drones in their operations. Let's hope that such operations prove successful and open up the US skies for unmanned vehicles.
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