Robots for the masses

By Ed Frauenheim

Jan. 9 — A start-up company says it has developed a navigation system that is cheap enough to bring robots to the mass consumer market. Pasadena, Calif.-based Evolution Robotics said its technology that lets a robot determine its position relative to its environment is based on wheel sensors and a Web cam that cost less than $50. That’s a fraction of the cost of current robot navigation systems relying on laser range finders, which can cost $5,000, the company said.

Honda's Giant ASIMO Robot to Tour U.S.

January 28, 2003
Honda's Giant ASIMO Robot to Tour U.S.
Godzilla Rumored To Be Moving Toward NYC For Epic Showdown In Central Park (Just Kidding, Honda)
By Lance Ulanoff, PC Magazine

ASIMO, Honda's four-foot tall walking robot wonder, has arrived on US shores to kick off a nationwide, 15-month educational tour that will culminate in a visit to the North America school that comes up with the best essay on robotics. The tour, fully funded by Honda, is aimed at students from grades five through high school.

Spider-bot joins NASA’s robotic zoo

Network of tiny bots could fan out over Mars
The 7-inch high spider-bot has six legs and feeler-like antennas.
By Tariq Malik
SPACE.COM

Jan. 29 — Engineer Robert Hogg’s spider sense is tingling, but he’s no superhero. His spider sense comes from an insect-like robot with a leg up on its wheeled counterparts because it walks instead of rolls. The spider-bot, developed by Hogg and his team of researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), is the latest affordable addition to the agency’s robot family. Its legs step over obstacles, clamber up rocks and reach areas of interest that would normally be inaccessible to wheeled rovers that run on flatter paths.