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January 27th, 2012

Robots: Advances in Bipedal Locomotion - mp3

In this episode we talk to Subramanian Ramamoorthy from the University of Edinburgh about the recent progress in walking robotics. We then speak with Felipe Brandão Cavalcanti who is an Electrical Engineering student working on bipedal walking at the LARA lab at the University of Brasilia with Professor Geovany Borges.

Subramanian Ramamoorthy

Subramanian Ramamoorthy is a Lecturer in Robotics at the School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh. Previously, he received a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from The University of Texas in Austin.

His current research work focuses on autonomous decision making over time and under uncertainty, by long-lived agents and agent teams interacting with continually changing worlds. He has twice been a finalist for the Best Paper Award at major international conferences in the field of robotics – ICRA 2008 and IROS 2010. His team Edinferno, was the first UK entry in the Standard Platform League at the RoboCup International Competition.

Ramamoorthy tells us about the recent advances in humanoid bipedal walking illustrated by Petman and the latest version of Asimo. In particular, we look at the history of the field with work from Mark Raibert, Russ Tedrake and Daniel Koditschek and how different areas, such as machine leaning and motion capture, come together to accelerate progress.

Felipe Brandão Cavalcanti

Felipe Brandão Cavalcanti is an Electrical Engineering student who works with humanoids at the LARA lab at the University of Brasilia with Professor Geovany Borges. The project focuses on the study and implementation of gait generation and stabilization algorithms for small humanoid robots.

He tells us how they hacked a humanoid toy to improve its balance and the importance of math in his work.

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January 13th, 2012

Robots: From Reasearch to Industry in the AUV Market - mp3

Today David Lane from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh talks about his journey from research to business and back. He talks about how he got started in offshore work and robotics research and how that led him to develop new smarts for existing hardware. David shares his personal view on how the Thunderbirds, diving and the space race contributed to his focus on underwater technology. He also discusses his research on autonomous underwater vehicles, involving software architecture for decision making as well as complex sensors for understanding the world around you and underwater communication.
Further, David shares his experience of starting the company SeeByte, including the important first customer acquisition. In developing a working commercial solution, bridging the gap between where the university stops and industry starts, was an essential component.

David in the Ocean Systems Laboratory

David in the Ocean Systems Laboratory

David Lane

David Lane graduated in 1980 with a BSc in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, and again in 1986 with a PhD in Underwater Robotics. In 1979 he worked offshore in the North Sea as diver/maintainer for British Oceanics Ltd, and from 1980-82 as a Development Engineer at Ferranti Ltd. From 1982 he held a series of research and academic appointments, culminating in a Professorial Chair at Heriot-Watt University in 1998. In 2001 he founded SeeByte Ltd and as CEO until 2010 led the company’s organic evolution from startup to a multi-million dollar organization. He is now at the Ocean Systems Laboratory.

His technical interests are in autonomous systems, sensor processing and underwater robotics. Over a 30 year period he has published widely in the scientific literature, making contributions in underwater vehicle control, servoing, docking and obstacle avoidance. He has developed flexible actuator sensing and control technology for novel robot gripper and biomimetic underwater propulsion applications. In sensor processing, he has led projects applying novel signal processing and data fusion methods using sonar and video systems to marine science and mine countermeasures detection and visualization. He has also led work on robot architecture, autonomous planning and SLAM navigation, culminating in practical automated systems working offshore performing inspection, repair and maintenance.

This interview focuses a lot on the business side of robotics and Davids journey from research to industry and back.

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December 30th, 2011

Robots: Best of 2011 - mp3

In this episode, the Robots Podcast team looks at the robots and technologies that shaped 2011. We’ll be discussing industrial robots, cloud robotics, soft robots, service robots, aerial robots, autonomous cars, agriculture robots, bio-inspired robots, human-like walkers and swarm robotics.

To see the robots highlighted in our special, check out the YouTube channel below.

Tell us about your favorite robots of 2011 in the comment section of this post!

We’d also like to thank you for all the amazing holiday robot videos we received. Check them out below for one last pinch of Christmas spirit before 2012. We wish you all a wonderful New Year!

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December 16th, 2011

Robots: Turning Robots into Products - mp3

In today’s episode we look at robots made by Adept Technology Inc. with Product Marketing Manager, Erin Rapacki. She tells us about what it takes to make robots a product.

Erin Rapacki

Erin Rapacki has had a dream career, setting foot in many top robotics companies, including DEKA, iRobot, Anybots and now Adept Technolog Inc. where she is Product Manager.

Adept has been around for 28 years and is mostly known for its robot arms. She tells us about the future of manufacturing and current developments in soft manipulators.

Beyond the industrial world, Adept has been building expertise in mobile robotics. Their main platform, the Adept MT series, is able to autonomously navigate in human environments. The idea is to provide partners with a platform that solves core navigation challenges and can be extended with specialized payload. Example applications include transporting samples in hospitals, providing telepresence for specialists, and industrial scenarios.

Finally, Rapacki develops on her recent article on the Automaton blog entitled Dear Reader, I Have News for You: Robots Are Boring. In particular, she discusses the media hype surrounding robotics and the need to give people respect for robotics by showing them useful “boring” systems. We’ll also be thinking about the need for researchers to ask real world questions and the potential for cloud robotics.

Holiday Robots

Like last year, we ask our listeners to submit videos or audio related to robotics and the holidays! Content can be fictional, scientific or business oriented. We’ll be posting the material on our dedicated YouTube channel and select segments will be featured in the episodes until the end of the year. To submit material, simply go to www.robotspodcast.com/christmas or send us your material by email to christmas@robotspodcast.com.

Check out our first submissions below or go to our YouTube Channel.

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December 2nd, 2011

Robots: Robotics Roadmaps – USA - mp3

In today’s episode we discuss the national funding strategies of the USA, as a part of our special series on Robotics Roadmaps worldwide. Our first episode on the subject looked at funding in Japan with Tomomasa Sato. Today we’ll be focussing on the Robotics Roadmap in the USA with one of its main creators, Henrik Christensen.

Henrik Christensen

Henrik Christensen is the KUKA Chair of Robotics at the College of Computing Georgia Institute of Technology. He is also the director of the Center for Robotics and Intelligent Machines. His research focuses on systems integration, human-robot interaction, mapping and robot vision.

Christensen has been a major actor in building the Robotics Roadmap for the USA which was sponsored by the Computing Community Consortium (CCC) and led by 12 world class researchers from the leading robotics academic institutions in the United States.

The results of the workgroup were presented to congress in May 2009, and have led to a shift in robotics priorities in the US. The roadmap emphasizes three application oriented directions, namely manufacturing, healthcare/medical, and services robotics markets; plus a research core that addresses a number of enabling technologies that must be the focus of R&D in order for the US to remain a leader in robotics and commercial development.

In this interview, Christensen summarizes the current state of robotics in the US and worldwide, funding sources, and the balance between research, industry and the military. The interview was recorded at the International Conference on Human-Robot Interactions in Switzerland this spring. For latest updates about robotics roadmaps in the US, people can follow Christensen’s blog.

Holiday Robots

Like last year, we will be asking our listeners to submit videos or audio related to robotics and the holidays! Content can be fictional, scientific or business oriented. We’ll be posting the material on our dedicated YouTube channel and select segments will be featured in the episodes until the end of the year. To submit material, simply go to www.robotspodcast.com/christmas or send us your material by email to christmas@robotspodcast.com. To get in the spirit, check out the videos from last year, some of which gathered millions of views!

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