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Humanoid Powered by Linux
lems1 was among the avalanche of people who submitted this Linux powered Humanoid. The website has
pictures and videos if you're curious. We're not exactly worrying about him seeking out the blue fairy or anything, but its nifty.
They may be running linux on the controller, but I wouldn't call it linux powered. Unless there are robot-control drivers built into the linux kernel, it isn't really "powered by linux" -- it is "powered by xyz robot-control code".
Tarsnap: Online backups for the truly paranoid
A great many of the Japanese humanoid robots are powered by Linux. For example, the PINO microhumanoid from the ERATO Kitano Symbiotic Systems Project runs on RT Linux. I saw that one at IJCAI this year, very nice. Of course, the most famous of 'em all, Honda's P3, runs on Solaris. I hung out at the P3 facility at Honda in north Tokyo for a while while staying at Sony. They have a bunch of SPARC rackmounts stored in their backpacks, and run off a remote radio link controlled by UltraSparc stations sitting on a table a ways away.
I am constantly amazed how Slashdot can get its underwear bundled up in a wad over almost trivially insignificant, highly redundant facts.
The cubicle next to me has been occupied by a linux-powered humanoid for the last two years.
Treatment, not tyranny. End the drug war and free our American POWs.
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It looks like a silver Pusher/Shover robot. does it protect you from the terrible secret of space?
... but unhelpful - sure, the movement's natural-looking, but how good is the software at analysing its environment to adjust its walking pattern, and so on; also, it evidently needs an in-built fusion pack to keep it going, or something - trailing wires is no fun in difficult conditions :-)
/still/ think it's cool.
;-)
Basically, how useful is this prototype; IANAE, but I'd guess that this technology still has some years to go before being useful.
But I
PS: Of course, given it's running (RT-)Linux... "How about a beowulf cluster of these?"
James F.
He twists her knobs, she watches his antenna rise.
What I wouldn't give to be able to "unwatch" the last half of that stupid movie!
On the other hand, if only they could make the batteries in my cellphone or laptop last even a fraction of David's power source, it might be worth it. (How long did he and that bear sit watching that damm fairy?)
Whenever robots like this come up, the actuators always seem to use motors and gears. I've often that using that method is rather limiting, since they are very bulky.
Are there any good methods for more of a muscle-type actuator? Something very narrow that contracts. It seems like if you had something simple and cheap enough, you could use lots of them to give much better mobility.
I'm guessing there isn't anything really good, otherwise people would do it that way. Still, could you have some telescoping rod kind of thing with a coil to contract it? You wouldn't even need to go both directions -- just do what a muscle does, and wait for the opposing actuator to move it back out. It seems like there has to be something simpler that works better than motors and gears.
Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
Come on guys, if we are going to make a robot, why not make a really cool robot that can pick up chicks? Instead, this robot just looks like one of us nerds. We have failed to create our saviour "coolio chick-pickin-upper" robot that will help us get dates.
...and God created manbot in his image... as a nerd.
Funny ... when I first got to this page, the first humanoid picture I've seen was the one above "gates unveils XP". I didn't know he was running on linux after all ...
Here is a good site that gives a good reference on what are, and how they work.
The are electric linear actuaters as well, that work on a telescoping lead screw rod type system, as well as solenoid based, and SMA (shape memory alloy) actuators - however, none of these have as fast response times, and waste more power.
Even air muscles aren't perfect, but they are interesting...
Reason is the Path to God - Anon