President Obama Shakes Revolutionary Robotic Hand Of Paralyzed Man

live from the kdka broadcast center in downtown pittsburgh. this is kdka tv news as 6:00. president obama has now left pittsburgh. air force one took off in the last half-hour. the president spent the day touring cutting-edge projects during a white house frontiers conference. it was a show host cohosted by the university of pittsburgh and carnegie mellon university.

the president have the opportunity to look at several projects and one was a small autonomous drones that can surge disaster areas or look at hard-to-reach places such as bridges and the president loved every minute of it. [ clip playing ] i was doing pictures before i came out here with some folks and they said thank you for what you have done to science. i confess, i am a science geek. i am a nerd. i don't make apologies for it. there was another project that he was excited about. a decade after an accident left a man paralyzed with no feeling in his arms and fingers he is once again experiencing touch. it is all possible through mind control and robots.

professors, scientists, and astronauts, it is the white house frontiers conference. among the guests nathan koplan of dunbar, paralyzed from the chest down in a car accident 12 years ago. following brain surgery pa upmc collaborated to produce a robotic arm that can be moved by his thoughts and for the first time includes the sense of touch. we are using these devices, this person is able to reach out and control the movement and grab objects.

not only that, we can generate sensations that feel like they come from his own hand. he volunteered to help future generations. there are not a lot of people that could do it, when they asked me it was basically like why not? why would i not do it eventually this will help tons of people.

for now i get memories and i get to do cool stuff. a crowd gathers on fifth avenue, a special guest is coming. what a better exemplified the importance of that technology? what other than a visit from the president of the united states led by motorcycles, the presidential limo makes a turn towards alumni hall. nathan koplan, meet the president. [ clip playing ] the sensation you receive what we are shaking hands? yes. barack obama has shaken many.

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Shelley, Stanford's Robotic Car, Hits the Track

Stanford University. Let us know when we are clear to test. >> You are clear to test. [sound] >> We're here today testing our autonomous race car. [sound] This afternoon what we want to do is to get everybody out of the car, take off the speed limit, and let the car go as fast as it possibly can around the track. 

sound] One of the things that the car does very well is figure out exactly the right point on the track to brake, and also trade off between braking and steering, and it's doing this on a turn-by-turn basis. 

Thunderhill is a great track. It's a series of fifteen turns and each one of those turns is very different. Some of them are very high speed. [sound] Some of them are very sharp turns that come after long straights, so you're going in very fast and have to slow down very quickly.

Some of them are chicanes. They go from turning in one direction to turning in the other direction. [sound] And then there's a hill, where you actually have to turn at the top of a hill with no ability to see ahead of you. [sound] So each one of these really represents a separate challenge for the car and tests a different part of our algorithm. 

The basic idea here is also applicable to safety systems. If we can have cars that will drive up to the limits and recover if they go pass, this is something that could actually help ordinary drivers, for instance on a slippery road. [sound] For more, please visit us at stanford.edu..

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Robotic arm v0 1 composed of servos, an Arduino Uno and a Raspberry Pi

Each servo has a mass of 45g. With an arm length of 30cm and considering only the weight of the two servos on the right end of the lever we get a resulting torque of approximately 27Ncm which is equivalent to the maximum torque of the used servos. Thus, the servo at the first pivot point can't lift the robotic arm. When building the machine in such a way that all pivot axes are pointing to the earth's center, there is no gravitational force to overcome for the first three servos.

This construction principle is called "Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm". The weak servos can move all three joints with ease. Objects are grabbed with servo number five... ...and lifted with servo number four. The lever is just 5cm, by what the servo can lift objects with a mass of up to 500g - in theory. Because of friction the maximum force is just 3.6N... ...by what up to 250g can be lifted reliably. 

The servos are controlled by an Arduino Uno. As demonstrated in my video about servos, those devices are commanded by a pulse-width signal with a base frequency of 50Hz. The pulse width is usually between 1 and 2ms and the software can alter the signal in microsecond steps. The pulse width at the center position is 1.5ms, thus 1500 microseconds. A 30cm aluminum bar is mounted on the servo horn and the center position is marked by the tip at the end of the lever. Now, the pulse width is raised stepwise until a movement of the lever can be detected.

Initially, there is no movement... ...until the servo turns jerky at 1504 microseconds, deflecting the lever for 1mm. When lowering the pulse width, the servo turns clockwise at 1499 microseconds. As you can see, the lever did not return exactly to the initial position. One source of inaccuracy is the rotational sensor of the servo: A single turn potentiometer is used to detect the angle of rotation through the voltage output at the wiper. 


There is always some backlash between the pivot axis of the potentiometer and the servo horn. Another thing to be considered is noise at the input DC voltage of the potentiometer. The resolution can't be better than the random variation of the output voltage.

Thus the control loop of the servo can't balance tiny variations between setpoint and actual value. To avoid oscillations around the setpoint, only a fraction of the maximum power is forwarded by pulse width modulation to the motor whenever the error between actual value and setpoint is small. 

With increasing error, the servo motor is powered with a higher duty cycle. The motor has to build up a certain torque to overcome friction caused by the gear train in order to turn the servo horn.

That's what also causes a jerky movement and so worsens the accuracy of the servo. With no mechanical load, we get a deflection of approximately 2mm at the end of the 30cm lever which correlates to an angle of almost degrees. There are three joints in the assembled robotic arm, thus the deflection is added up to 15mm. 

There is another physical quantity that worsens the accuracy of a robotic arm: Inertia. There are noticeable oscillations, especially when turning the arm around the first pivot point. The slower the movement, the fewer oscillations. Friction absorbs oscillations. 

To get more friction, the screws on top of the pivot axes have to be be tightened, but be sure the servos are still able to turn the joints easily. The arm moves smoother with higher friction. Caused by the long lever, even a tiny side load effects a clear deflection from the set point. As mentioned before, the servo motor is not fully powered whenever there is just a small error between set point and actual point. As you can see, the movement isn't very smooth. To compose a high quality robotic arm you need high torque motors, you have to almost eliminate backlash and you must have excellent rotational encoders.

Those three demands are hard to implement which is why quality robotic arms are very expensive tools. Nonetheless it is worth spending some time to build even this cheap robot: Only by knowing the weak points you can start to improve the design of future machines. Furthermore you can study the software used to control this cheap robotic arm. As mentioned before, an Arduino Uno generates the control pulses of the servos. The commands are sent from a Raspberry Pi through the USB interface. The control software is a mix of HTML, Javascript and Perl, which is why the Apache web server runs on the Raspberry Pi.

You can open the page in a browser and control the robotic arm with your mouse or a touchscreen. With the control buttons you can turn the joints of the robot. Each position can be stored if needed. Multiple stored corner points result in a motion sequence. That sequence can be replayed by processing all stored coordinates. With that tiny robotic arm, composed of 4 potentiometers and a switch, you can also control the large arm. With the analog-to-digital converters, the Arduino can read the angles of all potentiometers at the tiny robot. 

The recorded values are converted into pulse width signals used to control the servos, by what the large robot follows the movement of the tiny arm. The analog-to-digital converters and the potentiometers are another source of error: Considering the backlash at the joints of the tiny arm and noise at the input voltage of the potentiometers, there is a noticeable discrepancy between set point and reading of the Arduino. Once more there is: Those simple constructions aren't precision tools, but they are useful to understand the working principles.

You don't need a screen on your Raspberry, because you can open the control page in any browser with a network connection to the pi. Thus you can control the robotic arm even through Internet. You can initiate stored motion sequences... ..by what the robotic arm is turned into a teleplotter. With all the weak points of the construction as explained in this video, you don't get straight lines or right angles, but you will notice the intention to draw a square. Don't use too small building bricks if your intention is to arrange objects. The wooden bricks I am using have the dimensions 22 times 8 times 50mm. To prevent oscillations, the robotic arm stops for one second at all stored corner points. Software is an essential part of a precise robotic arm. 

Nonetheless it's the hardware that needs improvement, first and foremost. You can see the arm shake from time to time and the speed is anything else but breathtaking. Programming the robotic arm through the browser interface is time consuming. Setting up this motion sequence took a whole morning.

I have marked the initial positions of the wooden blocks with thin pencil lines to be able to arrange them correctly multiple times. Surprisingly the success rate was very high: Only twice in approximately ten runs the robotic arm failed to place a brick upright. Robotic arm version is just the beginning of a series of such machines, trying to improve the precision with each evolution step. I will show what can be achieved with cheap materials and finally illustrate why fast and precise robotic arms are so expensive tools - or vice versa why the cheap ones are very likely no qulity machines.

You can get the build instruction of robotic arm on the project page. The tools needed are just a metal saw and a drill machine. Materials are aluminum angles, a 4 and 10mm threaded bar as well as some 3 and 4mm nuts and bolts. Things you can get in a DIY store. Finding a piece of wood for the base plate should be an easy job. The electronic parts are 5 servos, an Arduino Uno and a Raspberry Pi.

An old computer power supply feeds the arm with electricity. That's all about robotic arms for now. Thanks for watching and: "I'll be back!".

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Mother Robot can build and test its own Children

Researchers have observed the process of evolution by natural selection at work in robots, by constructing a ‘mother’ robot that can design, build and test its own ‘children’, and then use the results to improve the performance of the next generation, without relying on computer simulation or human intervention. 

Researchers led by the University of Cambridge have built a mother robot that can independently build its own children and test which one does best; and then use the results to inform the design of the next generation, so that preferential traits are passed down from one generation to the next. 

Without any human intervention or computer simulation beyond the initial command to build a robot capable of movement, the mother created children constructed of between one and five plastic cubes with a small motor inside.

In nature, organisms are able to adapt their physical characteristics to their environment over time. These adaptations allow biological organisms to survive in a wide variety of different environments – allowing animals to make the move from living in the water to living on land, for instance. But machines are not adaptable in the same way. 

They are essentially stuck in one shape for their entire ‘lives’, and it’s uncertain whether changing their shape would make them more adaptable to changing environments. Evolutionary robotics is a growing field which allows for the creation of autonomous robots without human intervention. 

Most work in this field is done using computer simulation. Although computer simulations allow researchers to test thousands or even millions of possible solutions, this often results in a ‘reality gap’ – a mismatch between simulated and real-world behaviour.

While using a computer simulation to study artificial evolution generates thousands, or even millions, of possibilities in a short amount of time, the researchers found that having the robot generate its own possibilities, without any computer simulation, resulted in more successful children..

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A humanoid robot

Today, one in 88 children is being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder or ASD. For them, mastering simple social skills that come naturally to most proves difficult. At Vanderbilt University, engineers and autism experts have teamed up to help. The NSF-funded team designed an interactive room including a very special robot that is helping ASD children, like 3-year-old Aiden. 

To develop, these children need to learn to focus their attention and master new skills. The study found that autistic children spent far more time looking at the robot than a typically developed child did and that humanoid robots can be almost as effective as human therapists in drilling young children with ASD in simple social skills that they have trouble mastering. ROBOT: Aiden, look. AIDEN: It's crazy! ROBOT: Good job. NILANJAN SARKAR: We demonstrated that if the children were really more interested towards the robot than human therapists then the robot might be able to use this engagement to some beneficial activities.

DENA HEADLEE: Capturing attention is critical for early intervention treatment for young children with ASD. The team hopes that Aiden's little robot buddy, Nao, will become an important new tool for therapists to utilize. Their findings have been published in the IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering. Researchers at the University of Michigan have found a way to bring x-ray technology into the 21st century by harnessing low-energy terahertz radiation. This technology could potentially enable doctors to see deep into tissues without the damaging effects of x-rays.

The NSF-funded team developed a laser-powered terahertz source and detector system that transmits 50 times more power and receives 30 times more sensitivity than existing technologies. The team believes the system's ability to provide 1500 times more detailed imaging and sensing, will result in safer, more efficient medical screenings as well as airport security and other applications. 

Researchers at Rice University have discovered that rocks in the earth's mantle beneath the ocean floor melt much deeper than previously thought. Happening as deep as 250 kilometers, the team says this process of deep melting magma helps shed light about life on earth.

Lead researcher Rajdeep Dasgupta explains. RAJDEEP DASGUPTA: What we are interested in is this process called partial melting in the mantle. This is the process by which magma in the interior of our planet forms and it is this key ingredient that eventually percolates upward to the surface of our planet bringing water, bringing carbon dioxide to the near surface environment. 

So if we understand how this magmas form in the interior, we understand how our life and other mineral resources come into being on the surface of our planet. DENA HEADLEE: Using high-powered hydraulic presses, the team reproduces high pressures and temperatures similar to what they believe is happening in the mantle, and subject small amounts of rock samples to these conditions to see what happens. Powerful hydraulic presses squeeze and melt the rocks, producing magma. 

The NSF-ARRA funded team believes the production and extent of this deep magma could affect geophysical and geochemical properties of the planet as a whole. It's official, Blue Waters, one of the world's most powerful supercomputers is now available for use nationwide at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign.

Its unparalleled processing power enables researchers to perform large-scale scientific applications at the cutting edge of computational science. THOMAS DUNNING: It's really a very balanced computing system. It's a computing system that could provide scientists and engineers with the computing resources that they need right now. Whether it's compute intensive, whether it's memory intensive, whether it's data intensive, Blue Waters can handle all of that type of computing requirements. It also has, however, new computing technologies built into it that will allow the scientists and engineers to prepare for the future. DENA HEADLEE: From tracking disease to tornadoes to climate change, Blue Waters is already providing unprecedented insights into our planet and our universe. For more information about these stories, visit us at NSF.gov. This is NSF Science Now, I'm Dena Headlee.

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BUDDY the robot play games with children with autism

Congratulations, you found the lion! Hello, Ready for the game? Please find the elephant. So, did you hear what he asked? Elephant! You must put the paper in front of the camera. It's here. Hello, Ready for the game? Please find the giraffe. Congratulations, you found the giraffe! Congratulations, you found the snake! My name is Melanie, I am an instructor and educator at The IME Oasis. Please find the lion. The boy whom I take care of is Mathieu. I have seen Mathieu adapt fairly quickly to working with Buddy. 

He was very happy to see that the answers he gave to BUDDY were quickly understood by the robot. And I think it made him really happy to work with something that responds to his demands. What do you want him to do? Great, You made the robot turn to the right. He enjoyed the moment when he got to make Buddy dance. 

I was surprised and I think he did not expect that the robot would be able to do this kind of thing. Well done Mathieu! Bravo ! I think at times when the robot’s head is down, that after awhile, the position of the head can be reset and become straight, otherwise you have to redo all the manipulations.

It is true that it may be a bit more complicated to reset the face’s angle every time. Otherwise, apart from that, it is a very good tool. I will turn it! If you want to turn the robot, ask him. Back, back! He will be back! My name is Sandra Lanurien. 

I'm executive assistant at the IME Oasis, that has provides services to 50 children with autism from the ages of 5 to 20. Well, we'll tell him to move forward, then you can press "new". So, we put this program in the trash. Yes, in the trash and now you press "new". Now, you make it scroll. I want it still rotating. 

Turn it again! This is on top and there, then press "dance". He turns by itself, he turns by itself! He’s dancing! What I have seen with Buddy and children that I had this morning, is really a mutual understanding between the robot and the child. Almost all children have understood very quickly how to use the robot, even if the interface design is not necessarily suited and the understanding of a rule of a game is perhaps a little difficult for them.

But anyway, they have a real interaction with the robot which uses an understandable language for children. So in terms of communication, it can be a professional tool, which would evolve the level of communication and understanding for children with Autism, concentration, memory, mobility. As with tablets, but with a robot that responds and that is interactive. although it still needs more tools, it is already really great! You want to try? You try? Do you want to press the button? Hello, Ready for the game? Please find the monkey. Great ! You found the snake! My name is Charlotte, I am an educator of young children at the IME Oasis, so in the younger group. You must try again to find the right animal. 

Great! you found the lion! It’s not the right animal. Great! You found the lion! Great! You found the monkey! The interaction with the robot and this boy was very interesting. The kid loved it. But it was too fast for him, as he required more time to respond. And for the cards, double-sided cards would be better, because there is a handling problem, as he is a child who has a mobility and accuracy problem, so it's a little complicated for him.

However, he still enjoyed the interaction and the fact that the robot speaks. Great ! You found the lion! Again? Great! You found the lion! Dance! let’s go, dance! The advantage compared to tablets is that there is a real interaction with a small robot that moves his head. It’s true that for children like Thierry, who needs much visual stimulation, the robot is really very interesting. but it should be just a little bit slower, because he is a child who needs time to observe and understand, so the robot is still a little too fast compared to his ability, to answer questions.

The cards are also somewhat difficult to handle. It was hard for him to take them off the floor. And they are not double-sided, making it hard for him to submit them to the robot. So those are some things to think about it for this type of child. This is a step at a time. Do you want to stop the game? Well done, Thierry! Emotionally in terms of reactions, I have seen that the children were really attracted by Buddy, because there are other children who have asked to participate in this session but I had not registered them in the group. They came spontaneously to see Buddy. They have not been afraid and they had no fear of this robot, and this is the first time that we used a robot here.

They were really pleased and excited by the robot singing and dancing so it's been pretty easy for them, to connect with BUDDY. And they looked so happy. We, the adults, we were delighted to get to know BUDDY..

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$8000 Robot Unboxing!

Was geht Leute? Lew hier, zurück mit einem neuen Video. Und dieses hier ist ein ganzes Stück anders als sonst. Das ist, warum wir hier sind. 

Im Hauptbereich. Es ist eine große Entwicklung Und vielleicht nicht das, was du hier auf Unbox Therapy erwartest. Heute werden wir einen Roboter auspacken Um genauer zu sein; den NAO Roboter Nun, dieses Ding ist nicht billig Aber der Preis wurde vor kurzem gesenkt Du kannst es für etwa sechs oder siebentausend Dollar haben. Und ich weiß. 

Das klingt nach einer enormen Menge Geld aber diese werden normalerweise in schulischen Institutionen genutzt. Für's lernen. Lasst uns den NAO Roboter auspacken. Ich sage zu ihm "Er" Normalerweise ist das ein Produkt, das keine Persönlichkeit hat. 

Aber ich nenne ihn "Er" Weil er ein Humanoid is! Schau ihn dir an Zunächst werden wir mit diesem kleinen Poster begrüßt. Zuerst musst du ihn hochnehmen, ihn anschließen Internetverbundung natürlich; drei bist fünf Minuten und er kann dieses Wort sagen: "Agnak ganu", was auch immer das bedeutet.

Trag eine IP Adresse ein und booya, willkommen! Nun, NAO, ich sage immer wieder "nun". Er heißt NAO und ich sage "nun", heh. Hier ist noch ein bisschen mehr Papierkram. 

Und dann hast du eine Box; einen gigantischen Ladestecker Der NAO Roboter Das ist wie eine Geburt für ihn Für uns ist es ein Unboxing, für ihn ist es sein Geburtstag. Ist das nicht etwas besonderes?.

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