OmniSkin: 'Robotic muscle' that brings stuffed toys to life
This robotic skin can make any soft object move.
By ET Bureau | Updated:
Agencies
Let’s Talk About: OmniSkins
Skin replacement? Stem cells? What is this about? Not biology, you see.
No? Ok, what is the subject then? Physics, or more precisely, robotics.
So this is skin that you use on a robot? Yes, you could do that, but do not need to. See, the skin itself is robotic. So it can be wrapped around any soft object to turn it into a robot and make it move. Like if we wrap it around a doll or a toy. A sheet of OmniSkin showing the actuators used to move the material and whatever it’s wrapped around. (Photo by YouTube/Yale University) What is it made of then? Some kind of robotic muscle? Yes, they are called pneumatic actuators – something that makes stuff go back to their original shape like memory foam – it makes movement possible; plus sensors, packed together in elastic sheets.
I recall a new robotic innovation called Kengoro perspires. Yes, that exercising robot that came up in 2017, why bring it up?
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First we had a robot that perspires, and now this OmniSkins actually makes the robot soft – even more like a human, no? Ah, precisely. And a group of scientists have presented the idea in Science Robotics last month and have claimed that used of OmniSkins makes the robot more versatile. Use of multiple skins can produce complicated movements too.
Assisted Surgery, Flawless Backflip: Milestones Achieved By Robots
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A robot boat, SB Met, recently sailed into history by becoming the first unmanned vessel to cross the Atlantic. It completed an 1,800-mile trip from Canada to Ireland. But, it’s not the first robot to make news for achieving a milestone.
Here’s a brief account of milestones achieved by robots from surgery to sex:
(Text: Rajarshi Bhattacharjee)
A robot boat, SB Met, recently sailed into history by becoming the first unmanned vessel to cross the Atlantic. It completed an 1,800-mile trip from Canada to Ireland. But, it’s not the first robot t..
Read More
The first documented use of a robot-assisted surgical procedure occurred in 1985 when the PUMA 560 robotic surgical arm was used in a delicate neurosurgical biopsy.
In 2000, the da Vinci Surgery System broke new ground by becoming the first robotic surgery system approved by the FDA for general laparoscopic surgery.
(Text: Rajarshi Bhattacharjee)
The first documented use of a robot-assisted surgical procedure occurred in 1985 when the PUMA 560 robotic surgical arm was used in a delicate neurosurgical biopsy. In 2000, the da Vinci Surgery Syst..
Read More
Boston Dynamics’s humanoid robot Atlas broke the internet last year when a video showed its ability to do a flawless backflip.
The robot’s backflip was globally seen as a marvel of mechanical engineering and software control.
Atlas’s control system coordinates motions of the arms, torso and legs to achieve whole body mobile skills.
(Text: Rajarshi Bhattacharjee)
Boston Dynamics’s humanoid robot Atlas broke the internet last year when a video showed its ability to do a flawless backflip. The robot’s backflip was globally seen as a marvel of mechanical enginee..
Read More
Taekwon V made news by winning the world’s first robot skiing competition earlier this year in South Korea. Taekwon V is fitted with a camera sensor that enables it to ‘see’ as it skis around.
Every robot participating at the Ski Robot Challenge was mandated to be taller than 50cm, stand on ‘two legs’, and have joints ‘resembling elbows and knees’.
(Text: Rajarshi Bhattacharjee)
Taekwon V made news by winning the world’s first robot skiing competition earlier this year in South Korea. Taekwon V is fitted with a camera sensor that enables it to ‘see’ as it skis around. Every ..
Read More
The world’s first driverless electric racing car, Robocar, made its debut appearance at Times Square, New York last year and became the first driverless race car to complete Goodwood Hillclimb earlier this year.
The vehicle is powered by four 135kW electric motors for a combined 500-plus hp. A variety of sensors around the vehicle gives it a 360-degree vision of the environment.
(Text: Rajarshi Bhattacharjee)
The world’s first driverless electric racing car, Robocar, made its debut appearance at Times Square, New York last year and became the first driverless race car to complete Goodwood Hillclimb earlie..
Read More
Sophia continues to be a global sensation ever since she became the world’s first robot citizen of Saudi Arabia.
Modelled after British actress Audrey Hepburn , Sophia is known for her human-like appearance, behaviour and artificial intelligence, can display more than 50 facial expressions, and has participated in many high-profile interviews across the world.
(Text: Rajarshi Bhattacharjee)
Sophia continues to be a global sensation ever since she became the world’s first robot citizen of Saudi Arabia. Modelled after British actress Audrey Hepburn , Sophia is known for her human-like app..
Read More
Meet Harmony, the world’s first AI sex robot. It’s made of advanced robotic components and customisable AI to deliver the most enjoyable conversation and interaction you can have with a machine.
The silicone robot, created by Realbotix, has an app to help you interact with it better.
(Text: Rajarshi Bhattacharjee)
Meet Harmony, the world’s first AI sex robot. It’s made of advanced robotic components and customisable AI to deliver the most enjoyable conversation and interaction you can have with a machine. The ..
Biology. There is more biology in robotics these days. Been there all along, actually, and is called bio-robotics – how robotics can learn from human or animal movements, combines bionics, cybernetics and all that.
