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Sarcos, a Utah-based company,
developed the robot shown at left. With 30 joints
arranged in a torso supporting five branching
chains, this is the most kinematically complex robot I
have ever seen. Unlike most robots that are either
electric or hydraulic, this robot utilizes pneumatic
motors.
Sarcos has developed some of
the world's most sophisticated humanoid robots and virtual reality
interfaces. Sarcos entertainment robots are constructed not only to be
high performance, but also to be sensitive and graceful. Sarcos has
placed a great deal of emphasis on the aesthetics of its humanoid as
well as the engineering. Its corporate staff includes leading designers,
artists and craftspeople who style the robots. Concept development and
graphic renderings are supported by a complete sculpting facility, where
high-performance skins and other coverings are produced. They can be
teleoperated by a remote operator wearing a
SenSuit or by a computer-controlled playback of a preprogrammed show.
Recently, a Sarcos robot named DB has been used by the ERATO brain
project in Japan to enable motion learning. DB has 30 D.O.F. and
is nicely packaged in an 80kg, 1.85m body. A
tether connects
DB with its air supply and control computers.
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Any discussion of
entertainment robots has to include Disney. They have been doing
entertainment robots as long as anyone and they do them quite well. With
dancing
bears and singing pirates Disney's imagineers
have created thousands of robots.
The robot shown at right is new as of August,
2003. It is a robot dinosaur named Lucky. He walks on his two back legs
and pulls a very large cart of
"silk flowers". Really the cart is full of
batteries. Even Disney has not figured-out the
battery
issue that plagues mobile robots. This was the
only way
they could get enough battery life for the robot
to
spend a meaningful amount of time wandering the
amusement part.
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I don't do roller coasters,
but I'm
sure my kids would love this. According to the
manufacturer, KUKA Robotics, this is the first
robot
with world-wide certification to handle human
beings.
KUKA makes robots of very high-quality, so I
would let
my kids ride. Here's a description from the KUKA
site
"In the unique ROBOCOASTER from KUKA Roboter,
the advantages of the practically unrestricted freedom of motion and
excellent dynamic performance of an industrial robot have been exploited
in the leisure and amusement industry for the first time."
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And who can forget the consumer
entertainment robots that have come onto the market in
the last decade or so? From those little Furby's that go
for around twenty bucks to Sony's Aibo (two of which are
shown at right) that can top a thousand dollars a pop;
these have been the first robots to really pervade our
homes. One of the funniest things I have ever seen was
my dog running around the house with a "live"
Furby in its mouth. My dog would give it a shake every
now and then and the Furby was going off like it was,
well, like it was being shaken in a dog's mouth.
The Lego Mindstorms are also a big player in this
category. Future roboticists will likely remember their
first Lego Mindstorms in the same way today's computer
scientists remember their first TRS80 personal computer. |
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Some entertainment robots are not
much more than rolling, remote-controlled speaker phones
with video camera "eyes." They can wander
around at parties and play pre-recorded jingles or
display scrolling messages to promote a company's
products or distribute promotional literature.
Florida Robotics makes robots
like
these. They also make more complex robots that
have the
capability to talk with on-lookers and include
fiber optic
hair, remote controlled water guns, on-board
video camera and transmitter (robot can send video of what he sees to
remote monitor or video wall), sound effects and smoke.
Disney makes use of a Florida Robotics robot called "X1846" at Walt Disney
World in Orlando, Florida. X1846 serves drinks there.
Heck, I'll take a robot that can bring me a soda.
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