tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3911177348815304389Fri, 26 Feb 2010 10:03:31 +0000<p><b>Robots</b> is the podcast for news, interviews and discussions on all aspects of robotics. New episodes are released every two weeks, on Fridays at 9am GMT.</p>http://www.robotspodcast.com/podcast/podcast.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Robots Podcast)Blogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3911177348815304389.post-1820157782636571673Fri, 26 Feb 2010 07:38:00 +00002010-02-26T11:03:31.609+01:00In today's episode we speak with the lead scientist of the SPHERES project, Dr. Alvar Saenz-Otero from MIT, which aims at developing autonomous formation flight and docking control algorithms for nano-satellites. We then dissect a well known definition of a robot dating back to 1979. Alvar Saenz-Otero Alvar Saenz-Otero is lead scientist of the SPHERES project at the MIT Space Systems Laboratoryhttp://www.robotspodcast.com/podcast/2010/02/robots-swarming-satellites.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Robots Podcast)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3911177348815304389.post-101486326944621678Fri, 12 Feb 2010 07:46:00 +00002010-02-12T12:24:26.371+01:00Today we speak about two incredible missions conducted with Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (or AUVs). We first speak with Oscar Schofield from Rutgers University in the US about his fleet of gliders that can spend months at a time at sea, and some of their amazing achievements like crossing the Atlantic ocean. Our second guest is Mark Moline from the Center for Coastal Marine Sciences at Cal Polyhttp://www.robotspodcast.com/podcast/2010/02/robots-auv-missions.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Robots Podcast)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3911177348815304389.post-1738604477967915898Fri, 29 Jan 2010 07:10:00 +00002010-01-29T10:11:07.343+01:00Today's show is centered around robots in the air, and more specifically on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) of the quadrotor variety. We chat with Joshua Portlock from Cyber Technology about their portfolio of different-sized UAVs with special emphasis on the CyberQuad, a four-rotor helicopter with advanced autonomous capabilities. Near the end of the show we also start what will hopefully be anhttp://www.robotspodcast.com/podcast/2010/01/robots-quadrotors.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Robots Podcast)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3911177348815304389.post-86750591305622575Fri, 15 Jan 2010 07:15:00 +00002010-01-29T10:15:03.360+01:00In today's show we focus on the great depths of our ocean and robotic vehicles capable of taking us deeper than we ever imagined. Alberto Collasius Jr. tells us about his institute's highly-advanced remotely operated vehicle, or ROV, capable of bringing high-definition video from over 5km underwater. We then announce the winner of our Christmas contest and proud owner of two Didel SA robot kits. http://www.robotspodcast.com/podcast/2010/01/robots-deap-sea-exploration.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Robots Podcast)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3911177348815304389.post-6107965622706608676Fri, 01 Jan 2010 08:13:00 +00002010-01-12T15:06:08.350+01:00For this special episode, we'll be speaking with three people who made it into Christine's news section for a debriefing on why their robot was such a breakthrough and what they see coming up in 2010. Our first interview is with Cecilia Lashi, the co-coordinator of the Octopus European project that made the news with their soft bio-mimetic robotic octopus arm. Our second guest, Carl Morgan, is http://www.robotspodcast.com/podcast/2010/01/robots-new-years-special.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Robots Podcast)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3911177348815304389.post-7923214103725285424Fri, 18 Dec 2009 07:39:00 +00002009-12-18T10:07:40.093+01:00Take the 5-minute survey to help us improve ROBOTS! With the holiday season ahead of us and Christmas dinners already started, many of us are starting to feel the pinch at our waistlines and are planning some ambitious weight-loss goals as New Year's resolutions. To help with those resolutions, today's show will focus on robotic help for losing weight! We speak with Cory Kidd from Intuitive http://www.robotspodcast.com/podcast/2009/12/robots-weight-loss-coach.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Robots Podcast)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3911177348815304389.post-1528364233310488473Fri, 04 Dec 2009 07:37:00 +00002009-12-04T11:03:59.845+01:00Take the 5-minute survey to help us improve ROBOTS! Today's show is a special episode on space robots. We start by speaking with Julie Townsend from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology and her work with NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers and the lunar ATHLETE robot. We then speak with Sebastian Gautsch from the SAMLAB in Neuchatel, Switzerland, who tells us abouthttp://www.robotspodcast.com/podcast/2009/12/robots-planetary-exploration.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Robots Podcast)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3911177348815304389.post-5304296683964685740Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:40:00 +00002009-11-20T10:43:46.118+01:00In this episode we speak with two experts in robot learning. Andrea Thomaz from Georgia Tech looks at how humans can teach and humanoids learn with the hope to create good human-robot interactions. We then speak with Sethu Vijayakumar from the University of Edinburgh about machine learning and how it can be used to teach a robot hand to balance a pole. Andrea Thomaz Andrea Thomaz is professor http://www.robotspodcast.com/podcast/2009/11/robots-learning.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Robots Podcast)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3911177348815304389.post-4130725642224026173Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:28:00 +00002009-11-06T11:56:47.346+01:00In today's show we'll be looking at robots used for the rehabilitation of stroke patients. Our first guest, Ludovic Dovat for the National University of Singapore is part of a multi-national team working on robotic devices that help patients regain the use of their hands. Our second guest, David Brown, is co-founder of Kinea Design near Chicago that makes a rehabilitation robot called the http://www.robotspodcast.com/podcast/2009/11/robots-stroke-rehabilitation.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Robots Podcast)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3911177348815304389.post-8829476859352199942Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:44:00 +00002009-10-23T10:16:26.183+02:00In this episode we'll be speaking about snake robots slithering through pipes, disaster areas and even your body. We first speak with expert Howie Choset from Carnegie Mellon University about the big-picture concerning these reptile-like machines. We then turn to Erik Kyrkjebø from SINTEF Applied Cybernetic in Norway for an in depth coverage of their pipe inspection snake robots. Howie http://www.robotspodcast.com/podcast/2009/10/robots-slithering-creatures.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Robots Podcast)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3911177348815304389.post-3810388165064329737Fri, 09 Oct 2009 05:44:00 +00002009-10-09T11:10:46.046+02:00In today's show we'll be dabbing at the subject of active touch. Our first guest, Tony Prescott from the University of Sheffield in the UK has been looking at how rats actively use their whiskers to sense their environment and how this can be used in robotics or to help understand the brain. Our second guest, Elio Tuci, evolved a robot arm to touch an object and then figure out what the object ishttp://www.robotspodcast.com/podcast/2009/10/robots-active-touch.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Robots Podcast)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3911177348815304389.post-8047814740225456378Fri, 25 Sep 2009 06:01:00 +00002009-09-25T17:21:36.751+02:00In today's episode we deal with the question of communication, what it means, where it comes from, and how it can be applied to robots. We first speak with Sara Mitri, whose research spans both robotics and evolutionary biology and tries to answer basic questions on how communication evolved many millennia ago using high-tech robotics of the 21st century. We then speak with Prof. Jürgen Jost who http://www.robotspodcast.com/podcast/2009/09/robots-emergent-communication.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Robots Podcast)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3911177348815304389.post-5828730962456443826Fri, 11 Sep 2009 05:33:00 +00002009-09-22T12:38:10.775+02:00In this episode we have an exclusive interview with Dean Kamen, considered by some as the greatest inventor alive. He's the father of the insulin pump, the Segway and the new Luke Arm prosthesis for amputees. To encourage creativity and to break the stereotypes attributed to scientists, Kamen created FIRST which is attracting kids from around the world to robotics competitions. Finally, in the http://www.robotspodcast.com/podcast/2009/09/robots-celebrating-invention.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Robots Podcast)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3911177348815304389.post-1279108286251781100Fri, 28 Aug 2009 06:30:00 +00002009-08-28T10:21:36.859+02:00In this episode, we look at robots in the medical field, in particular those used in teleoperated surgery. We first speak with Rainer Konietschke from the German Aerospace Centre about the latest prototype of their MiroSurge robot for robot-assisted endoscopic surgery. We then speak with Woung Youn Chung from the Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul, Korea, about his experience in http://www.robotspodcast.com/podcast/2009/08/robots-robot-assisted-surgery.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Robots Podcast)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3911177348815304389.post-6256373356141667212Fri, 14 Aug 2009 06:13:00 +00002009-08-14T10:58:55.725+02:00In today's show we'll be speaking with two experts in the field of brain-machine interfaces. Our first guest, Charles Higgins from the University of Arizona tells us how he uses insects to control robot motion and how they might be used in the future to develop new biological sensors for artificial systems. We then speak with Steve Potter from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Instead of http://www.robotspodcast.com/podcast/2009/08/robots-brain-machine-interfaces.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Robots Podcast)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3911177348815304389.post-5516742217247827348Fri, 31 Jul 2009 06:22:00 +00002009-08-04T22:26:19.769+02:00In today's episode we look at how technology can improve the quality of life of people with dementia. Our first guest, Roger Orpwood, is the director of the Bath Institute of Medical Engineering, or BIME, in the UK. He presents his smart homes which are being used to help dementia patients stay independent and receive better care. Our second guest Andrew Sixsmith, is Professor at the Simon Fraserhttp://www.robotspodcast.com/podcast/2009/07/robots-smart-homes.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Robots Podcast)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3911177348815304389.post-2843090258237513842Fri, 17 Jul 2009 06:25:00 +00002009-07-17T13:40:37.964+02:00In this episode we interview Richard Jones, Professor of Physics at the University of Sheffield in the UK, on the future nanorobots inspired from biology: Soft Machines. After listening in, be sure to let us know if you think the frontier between robots and living systems will be inexistent in the future on this week's poll. Richard Jones Richard Jones is the author of the book Soft Machines:http://www.robotspodcast.com/podcast/2009/07/robots-soft-machines.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Robots Podcast)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3911177348815304389.post-298510655723625822Fri, 03 Jul 2009 06:26:00 +00002009-07-07T16:31:33.020+02:00In this episode we look at how FESTO, a worldwide leader in automation technology, has been copying nature to design bionic robots such as artificial penguins, manta-rays or jellyfish. Our first guest, Markus Fischer, is head of Corporate Design at FESTO and expert in transferring technology from biomimetic research to actual products such as grippers. Our second guest, Victor Zykov, finished hishttp://www.robotspodcast.com/podcast/2009/07/robots-from-animals-to-automation.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Robots Podcast)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3911177348815304389.post-3709855819587259521Fri, 19 Jun 2009 06:40:00 +00002009-06-22T16:19:49.310+02:00In today's episode we speak with celebrity robot maker Fred Barton who is best known as ROBOTMAN. As an expert in the Sci-Fi genre, he'll be giving us an overview of robots in the cinema from the first shoots to today with a special emphasis on his all time favorite, Robby the Robot from the 1956 Forbidden Planet. Finally, tell us who your favorite movie robot is for a chance to win a Sci-Fi DVD http://www.robotspodcast.com/podcast/2009/06/robots-celebrity-robots-brought-to-life.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Robots Podcast)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3911177348815304389.post-2781684400753994389Fri, 05 Jun 2009 06:13:00 +00002009-06-05T12:07:27.014+02:00Today marks Robots' 1-year anniversary, so Happy Birthday Robots!! In today's show we talk about a fresh and unique project coming from the Technical University of Munich under the supervision of Prof. Martin Buss. The Autonomous City Explorer or ACE, is a fridge-sized robot whose mission is to get around the city of Munich, but instead of using GPS or an in-built map, the ACE asks http://www.robotspodcast.com/podcast/2009/06/robots-autonomous-city-explorer.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Robots Podcast)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3911177348815304389.post-7292562891124834293Fri, 22 May 2009 06:26:00 +00002009-05-26T21:17:03.516+02:00In this week's show we take a closer look at Robots, not the podcast but the play that has been playing to sold-out audiences in Switzerland over the last 3 weeks. We first speak with Christian Denisart, the director of the play, who describes what inspired him to do a play featuring robot actors. We then speak with Nicola Tomatis from Bluebotics, the company responsible for the robots http://www.robotspodcast.com/podcast/2009/05/robots-robot-actors-at-theater.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Robots Podcast)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3911177348815304389.post-832314768710147399Thu, 07 May 2009 16:40:00 +00002009-05-08T10:39:25.704+02:00In this episode we look in depth at two shades of robot coordination, multi-robot area coverage and self-assembling robots. Our first guest, Nikolaus Correll, is a postdoc at MIT in the US. He presents his past research on swarms of minuscule robots to inspect reactor turbines and his latest research on cooperating networks. Our second guest, Rodrich Gross, will be speaking about his slightly http://www.robotspodcast.com/podcast/2009/05/robots-collective-coverage-and-self.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Robots Podcast)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3911177348815304389.post-3027458277644363176Fri, 24 Apr 2009 06:17:00 +00002009-04-24T10:39:03.335+02:00Today we'll be speaking about art, engineering and freedom with two robot-artists building gigantic robots. Our first guest is Theo Jansen, a physics major turned artist out of the Netherlands, about his walking beach creatures and how artists perceive robotics and build sculptures that can walk and sense their environments in a very different way than the robots we are used to. We then speak tohttp://www.robotspodcast.com/podcast/2009/04/robots-giant-roaming-creatures.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Robots Podcast)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3911177348815304389.post-7072119388684172943Fri, 10 Apr 2009 06:11:00 +00002009-04-10T10:13:36.049+02:00In this episode, we take-off for the moon with Prof. William "Red" Whittaker who is the director of the Field Robotics Center at Carnegie Mellon University in the US. Strong of his victory at the Darpa Urban Challenge and its autonomous cars, Red is now pursuing an endeavor which seems even more out of reach. His team is currently working on sending a privately funded robot to the moon, and then http://www.robotspodcast.com/podcast/2009/04/robots-race-to-moon.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Robots Podcast)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3911177348815304389.post-3010038619437441247Fri, 27 Mar 2009 07:17:00 +00002009-03-27T13:13:33.438+01:00In this episode we focus on engineering education at the elementary school level, and how robotics can play a key role in shaping the engineers of the future. We first speak with Chris Rogers, professor at Tufts University and developer of ROBOLAB, a framework for using LEGO Mindstorms sets to teach robotics in the classroom. We then speak with Liz Herron, the manager of the LEGO Education Centerhttp://www.robotspodcast.com/podcast/2009/03/robots-learning-with-lego.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Robots Podcast)0