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DaVinci Minds, Partners, Adds VEX Robotics To Academic Classrooms |
It was our pleasure, this issue, to catch up to Cliff Zintgraff, CEO of DaVinci Minds, Inc., to learn how his San Antonio, Texas based company is using VEX Robotics in core classroom curriculum to prepare students to become tomorrow’s innovators. DaVinci Minds offers products and services for middle schools, high schools, community colleges and universities in a broad array of programs that center on the intersection of technology, education and workforce development. |
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Universities For Robotics |
You want to study robotics. They want the brightest minds. Now what? Don’t worry. We’ve got you covered. |
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Georgia Tech's Shimon Can Jam! |
When most of think of robots, we think of task-orientated machines, not grooving hep-cats laying down the sound with their bandmates while bobbing their head to the beat. However, that is what the team at Georgia Tech’s Center for Music Technology created when they designed Shimon, a marimba-playing robot that can improvise jazz solos and backup human musicians based upon their playing—not based on a pre-programmed sequence of notes and rhythms. And it learns over time to improve its virtuosity, accompaniment and improvisational skills! |
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FIRE Unveils Robot Virtual World Games |
Computing and computer science (CS) have changed the world. Try to think of an industry that has not been impacted by CS… sports, entertainment, manufacturing, health care, automotive, energy – you name the industry and it has been affected by computer science in the past 10 years. According to the department of labor, by 2018 computing related occupations will account for nearly 60% of all new science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) jobs; STEM leads to innovation and innovation leads to wealth. |
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LATEST UPDATE: Fostering Innovation through Robotics Exploration (FIRE) |
Robot magazine interviewed key associates working at the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy to get an update on FIRE programs now in development. Here’s a snapshot of work that is proceeding with respect to MultiRobots (collaborative swarmbots), RobotC expansion to include the Arduino controller and simulator software, Cognitive Tutor technology and what is coming in FIRE Virtual Worlds that will enable students to program and test robots online. |
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THE NEXT BIG THING! Service Oriented Architectures - Two leading systems, MRDS and ROS, point to the future of robotics |
A revolution is coming, and it is time to choose sides. Microsoft + .NET or Linux + Python. Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio (MRDS) and Robot Operating System (ROS) are the major contenders for service-based robotics libraries. The lines have been drawn, and whichever side you choose, you should be prepared for a new paradigm: distributed computing. |
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Robots Of China |
The opening ceremony began with something familiar. Two smaller humanoid robots from South Korea were set on the stage to autonomously perform like twins. The duo was obviously of the same family to the original Robonova humanoids, having a similar number of DOF, build and motions. They went through very interesting performances on their own, including dance, martial arts, acrobatics and spectacular motions. On occasion, one would fall down, then get back up and continue performing. |
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LEGO® MINDSTORMS™ Revolution! |
ROBOT had the privilege of meeting with Soren Lund, International Director of LEGO® MINDSTORMS™, and with Kristin Greene (Flashpoint PR), who has been helping coordinate the public relations side of MINDSTORMS since its inception in 1998, to learn more about the new LEGO MINDSTORMS release. It was for us, an extraordinary interview—ROBOTwas given an opportunity to take pictures and video clips of the new technology in action. |
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Programming Solutions for the LEGO Mindstorms NXT - Which approach is best for you? (Part 2) |
Three different programming environments are available from LEGO for the NXT– NXT-G, ROBOLAB and ROBOTC, and they all make it quite easy to program Mindstorms robots. In addition, the open source community has developed other alternative programming solutions for the NXT. This article provides an introduction to the rich selection of programming approaches available today. This online expanded version of the Winter 2007 article features an extended comparison table and a lot more technical details behind this article. |
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Programming Solutions for the LEGO Mindstorms NXT - Which approach is best for you? |
Three different programming environments are available from LEGO for the NXT– NXT-G, ROBOLAB and ROBOTC, and they all make it quite easy to program Mindstorms robots. In addition, the open source community has developed other alternative programming solutions for the NXT. This article provides an introduction to the rich selection of programming approaches available today. This online expanded version of the Winter 2007 article features an extended comparison table and a lot more technical details behind this article. |
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The Evolution Of A Roboticist - Mark Tilden |
He is a standout not only for what he has accomplished in the world of robotics but for who he is. Not content with turning the robot world on its head by establishing a brand-new school of thought known as ”BEAM” robots (derived from “Biology, Electronics, Aesthetics, and Mechanics,” see the July-August Robot , page 78), Tilden has since gone on to succeed in academic circles, build robots for the US military’s Los Alamos Labs and for NASA’s space program. And, get this—he can even lay claim to stupendous commercial success with his robots—with 22 million sold and counting! |
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EXCLUSIVE GALLERY!!- The Rise and Fall of Unimation Inc. |
A story of robotics innovation and triumph that changed the world--Supplementing the feature article by George Munson appearing in the September/October issue of Robot Magazine now on-sale (issue No. 24)Our thanks to Leslie Ballard, who condensed and edited the manuscript for publication, and who prepared this gallery in collaboration with George Munson--Tom Atwood, editor-in-chief |
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THE RISE AND FALL OF UNIMATION, INC. - Story of robotics innovation & triumph that changed the world! |
In the spring of 1951 the Korean War was in full swing, and I was sure I would be drafted. I saw no point in interviewing for employment, despite my newly awarded degree in physics from the University of Connecticut. When I heard about a starting position for a physicist at Manning, Maxwell and Moore (MM&M) in Bridgeport, Conn., I figured I had nothing to lose and made an appointment. A young engineer, sporting a bowtie, by the name of Joseph Engelberger, interviewed me—he hired me on the spot. Little did I suspect that this decision sealed my fate, as our association would change manufacturing the world over. Nor could I know that with his combination of entrepreneurship, marketing, and natural affinity for promotion he would become the “Father of Robotics.” |
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Carnegie Mellon Launches a Mega Million Dollar Robotics Education Initiative |
In this column we like to highlight successful growing robotics programs, competitions, initiatives and the robots used in them—and this issue, we have a mega-story that in a compelling sense encompasses practically all of our past columns. Robots are inherently interesting and they attract the curiosity of students and hobbyists alike in a way that makes learning computer science, science, technology, engineering and math (CS-STEM) engaging and fun. For this reason, robotics competitions and programs, both in-class and extracurricular, have been growing like wildfire domestically and worldwide— the attraction of robots make them natural teaching and learning tools. |
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Fostering Innovation through Robotics Exploration (FIRE) |
Hundreds of thousands of students in the U.S. alone are involved in competitions and robotics programs each year, in and outside the classroom, and that number has doubled in recent years as educators and students have come to understand the magic of robotics. A new $8+ million dollar initiative launched by the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy in concert with the School of Computer Science, the Robotics Institute, and others is likely to accelerate this growth profoundly. |
