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  Ji-Dong Yim and Chris Shaw, scientists in Simon Fraser University's School of Interactive Arts and Technology (SIAT), are the proud parents of a robotic cell phone family that can walk, dance and express human-like emotions.

Yim, a doctoral student, and Shaw, an associate professor, first used cell phone technology to create Cally, a physically active robotic cell phone that stands roughly 16 centimeters high. She walks, dances and mimics human gestures. She can also help cell phone users make electronic eye contact with the person to whom they are talking by tracking human faces.
The SIAT researchers have most recently used wireless networking, text messaging and other interactive technologies to give birth to Callo. He is taller (almost 23 centimeters) and more emotionally sophisticated than his older sister.

Callo’s viewing screen registers text-messaged emoticons as human-like facial expressions. His robotic shoulders can slump and his arms can start waving frantically if he’s interactively triggered to respond to an emotional crisis, such as relationship break up. “Imagine you are video-calling with me through Callo,” explains Yim. “When you move your robot, my robot will move the same, and vice versa, so that we can share emotional feelings using ‘physically smart’ robot phones.”
Shaw, Yim’s doctoral supervisor, says the two are developing a wide range of human-robot cell phone service scenarios and prototypes of Cally, Callo and their siblings. He adds, “We’re using them to explore ways in which we can help social robotic products, such as GPS, interactively communicate with people and build long-term intimacy with them.”

More information:
-- Designing CALLY, a Cell-phone Robot, Ji-Dong Yim and Chris Shaw, Proceedings of CHI'09 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Design Practice, Boston, MA, Apr. 4-9, 2009, 4 pages, http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1520340.1520378
-- CALLY: The Cell-phone Robot with Affective Expressions, Ji-Dong Yim and Chris Shaw, Late breaking poster in HRI'09, La Jolla, CA, Mar. 11-13, 2009, 2 pages, http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=1514095.1514195
Provided by Simon Fraser University

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CHARLI takes a few steps while Seungmoon Song, a master’s student in electrical and computer engineering, observes.

(PhysOrg.com) -- As CHARLI takes his first steps, anxious onlookers stand ready to catch him if he falls. His stride is short, but upright, as one foot is placed in front of the other in the basement of Virginia Tech’s Randolph Hall. 

But CHARLI is no toddler.
He is a 5-foot tall humanoid robot built by graduate and undergraduate students with the Virginia Tech College of Engineering’s Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa).
After a long moment, CHARLI comes to a rest. An audible “Whew!” is heard from CHARLI’s main architect, doctoral student Jeakweon (“J.K.”) Han. Dennis Hong, associate professor of mechanical engineering and director of RoMeLa, can’t resist a joke.
“One small step for a robot, one giant leap for robotics,” he shouted.

Hong isn’t entirely facetious, though. CHARLI (that’s for Cognitive Humanoid Autonomous Robot with Learning Intelligence) is historic. CHARLI is the first untethered, autonomous, full-sized, walking, humanoid robot with four moving limbs and a head, built in the United States. His two long legs and arms can move and gesture thanks to a combination of pulleys, springs, carbon fiber rods, and actuators. CHARLI soon will be able to talk as well. Fans of robotics are taking note.
“This is a significant milestone in robotics engineering and is a testament to the technological leadership of Virginia Tech’s RoMeLa lab,” said Tom Atwood, editor of “Robot” magazine.
Of course it will be many years before CHARLI or his incarnations will be seen walking around campus or even in homes across America. Hong refers to the latter placement as his “Jetsons Goal” (named for the popular 1960s cartoon that featured Rosie, a robotic maid for the futuristic family).
“The environment we live in is designed for humans: The step size of stairs, the height of door handles, etc., are designed by humans for humans,” Hong said. “Thus for a robot to live among us and to serve us, it needs human size and form. Thus humanoids. But, manipulation with hands, perception, intelligence, and autonomy are all important and difficult research problems that need to be addressed.”
That research is under way. There are two CHARLIs.

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Derek Lahr, a Ph.D. student at RoMeLa, holds the leg of the humanoid robot, CHARLI H. This bulky, stronger robot will utilize various technologies that may allow it to walk outside.

The one now walking across floors and motioning his arms is CHARLI L, as in Lightweight. He’s meant to walk indoors on known flat surfaces, but not run or jump. Eventually, he will be able to kick soccer balls. The robot is expected to debut at this year’s RoboCup tournament in Singapore.

Then there is CHARLI H (for Heavy). This bulkier robot will utilize custom-designed actuators and other technologies that one day will allow it walk on the sloping, rising ground that comprises Virginia Tech’s campus. He also will be able to run, jump, kick, open doors, pick up objects, and do just about anything a real person can do.
“CHARLI H will be a fully functioning robot,” said Derek Lahr, a Ph.D. student from Charleston, S.C., who is spearheading the “H” project. For now, only one leg of CHARLI H is complete.
The students built CHARLI L with $20,000 in seed money from the Virginia Tech Student Engineers’ Council and donated equipment from National Instruments and Maxon Precision Motors. “The budget constraints actually inspired us to think of different solutions, ‘How can we actually make this happen with a small budget?' And that actually led us to new types of mechanical solutions,” Hong said.
Work on the robot began in 2008 with 13 undergraduate and graduate students working on the project at any given time. Inspiration came from science-fiction films and spouses.
“I hope CHARLI could help physically challenged people to cook, clean, and carry items like the NS-5,” said Han, referring to the humanoid robot at the center of the 2004 film “I, Robot.” Han’s design concept was assisted by his wife, Younseal Eum, who is an artist.
Atwood said he is excited for the future. “Eventually, there will be a robot in every home assisting families and individuals, and walking robots will find work in all kinds of places, from warehouses to manufacturing centers,” he said.
Indeed, Hong will have seen his “Jetsons Goal” come true.

Provided by Virginia Tech (news : web)

 

BigDog is the alpha male of the Boston Dynamics robots. It is a rough-terrain robot that walks, runs, climbs and carries heavy loads. BigDog is powered by an engine that drives a hydraulic actuation system. BigDog has four legs that are articulated like an animal’s, with compliant elements to absorb shock and recycle energy from one step to the next. BigDog is the size of a large dog or small mule; about 3 feet long, 2.5 feet tall and weighs 240 lbs.
BigDog's on-board computer controls locomotion, servos the legs and handles a variety of sensors. BigDog’s control system keeps it balanced, navigates, and regulates its energetics as conditions vary. Sensors for locomotion include joint position, joint force, ground contact, ground load, a gyroscope, LIDAR and a stereo vision system. Other sensors focus on the internal state of BigDog, monitoring the hydraulic pressure, oil temperature, engine functions, battery charge and others.
In separate tests BigDog runs at 4 mph, climbs slopes up to 35 degrees, walks across rubble, climbs a muddy hiking trail, walks in snow and water, and carries a 340 lb load. BigDog set a world's record for legged vehicles by traveling 12.8 miles without stopping or refueling.
The ultimate goal for BigDog is to develop a robot that can go anywhere people and animals can go. The program is funded by the Tactical Technology Office at DARPA.

To download a video of BigDog in action, click here. More BigDog videos are available at www.YouTube.com/BostonDynamics.
For a paper that summarizes the BigDog program, click here, or for overview slides click here.

More information: http://www.bostondynamics.com/robot_bigdog.html