Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Dexter Dynamically Balancing Humanoid Robot
Dexter is a remarkable dynamically balancing humanoid robot; this might be the first truly bipedal robot that walks the way we do, balancing from moment to moment.
Dexter is the creation of Trevor Blackwell; he's been working on this problem for six years. The key breakthrough was to dramatically improve the robot's own sense of balance. Commercial gyroscopes weren't good enough, so he built his own. Lighter feet helped too.
(Dexter Dynaically Balances like a human being)
On the morning of Valentine's Day, Dexter was walking so well that Trevor and Scott Wiley took the front off his rolling cage (which catches him when he falls) so that he'd have more room. And by that night, Dexter was really walking. The longest walk, which Dan Miller got on video, was over six feet.Now, a week later, Dexter is so good at walking that the limit on the length of his walks is the size of room he lives in. Next step: a cage that can operate outdoors, so Trevor can take Dexter for a walk in the park.
A dynamically balancing robot is really something to see. You can't turn away from it. It's so shockingly anthropomorphic.
The robot's creators claim that Dexter is different from other robots, like Honda's Asimo, because those bots require an absolutely level or regular floor and cannot learn to walk better.
Science fiction fans have been waiting for this for generations; we all have our favorites, but readers seem to like this one:
(C3PO [left] and George Lucas)
Thanks to Adi for writing in with this one. See here for a bit more descriptive info about Dexter.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 2/28/2007)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
DIY Robotic Content Farming
'The chief wheeled to the master machine and pressed a button.' - Schachner and Zagat, 1931.
Vero Robotic Dog With Vacuum Cleaner Feet
'Out of warrens in the wall, tiny robot mice darted.'
Boy Makes Biomimetic Turtle Robot
't came out into plain view. Darkington glimpsed a slim body and six short legs of articulated dull metal.'
Origin F1 Humanoid Robot's Facial Skin
'I could look down at that face of carefully molded synthetic rubber, tinted the exact shade of the doctor's living flesh.' - Rog Philips, 1950.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
DIY Robotic Content Farming
'The chief wheeled to the master machine and pressed a button.'
The Amazing Lightfoot Electric Scooter With Solar Assist
'The steel tortoise gave MacKinnon a feeling of Crusoe- like independence.'
Fully Electric, Fully Automated Vegetable‑growing Agribots
'...then back to their work, though little enough it was on these automatic cultivators.'
Vero Robotic Dog With Vacuum Cleaner Feet
'Out of warrens in the wall, tiny robot mice darted.'
AI Operates An Excavator
'So far as I could see, the thing was without a directing Martian at all.'
US Army IBEX Exoskeleton Walks Troops Out Of Danger
'The suit stands up and starts walking, gripping me round the calves and waist, taking the bulk of my weight off my throbbing feet.'
Boy Makes Biomimetic Turtle Robot
't came out into plain view. Darkington glimpsed a slim body and six short legs of articulated dull metal.'
Elon Musk Wants Data Centers In Space
'Internally it’s made up of millions of components, but the most important ones are the thinking and memory parts of the Mind proper.'
Origin F1 Humanoid Robot's Facial Skin
'I could look down at that face of carefully molded synthetic rubber, tinted the exact shade of the doctor's living flesh.'
Grok And The City Fathers From 'Cities In Flight' By James Blish
'Chris, the City Fathers are not interested in your welfare; I suppose you know that. They're interested in only one thing: the survival of the city.'
Why Not Move A Warehouse District?
'Did you never see a moving house before?'
Will An AI Found A New Religion?
'You must decide how you will worship Me.'
Terraformer Industries Make Methane
'Drake was the young spatial engineer he employed to terraform the little rock...'
I Need An Outdoor Spherical Display
'Usually a spherical display hovered in the centre...'
Worm Disrupts Physics Simulations Undetected For A Decade
'It diverts integers of the data, the fundamental message-units, so that they no longer agree.'
