SYSCONE

Robot uses XBOX Kinect to see the world in 3D

admin — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 16:08:08 +0000

A PhD student at MIT’s Personal Robotics Group, has combined the Kinect motion controller with an iRobot Create platform to create a battery powered robot that can see its environment and obey your gestured commands. He used simultaneous localization and mapping code from OpenSLAM.org, some visualization packets from the Mobile Robot Programming Toolkit, and his own interaction, human detection, and gesture code.
The robot can generate detailed 3D maps of its surroundings and wirelessly send them to a host computer. It can also detect nearby humans and track their movements to understand where they want it to go.
Kinect has grabbed the attention of hackers trying to enable its motion-sensing capabilities in environments that don’t include an Xbox. The result has been open source Kinect drivers, multitouch capabilities, interaction with Windows 7 and Mac OS X, and 3D camera applications.

Impressive HRP-4 robot will make you bow in deference

admin — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 04:58:35 +0000

Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) is back with the mighty impressive HRP-4 humanoid. Created in partnership with Kawada Industries, this 151-centimeter (5-feet) tall, 39-kilo (86-pound) walking followup to the HRP-4C, HRP-3 and HRP-2 robots (pictured in the background) was developed to help take over manufacturing duties from a rapidly aging Japanese work force. The highly mobile HRP-4 features 34-degrees of movement with AIST proprietary control software running on a Linux core. Things get weird at the 5:30 mark of the video embedded after the break when a human enters the stage for a good ol’ fashioned stare down. Probably has something to do with his hot wife.

Self-driving taxi picks you up at the press of a button

admin — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 04:54:46 +0000

Who needs safety drivers? Not Germany’s Freie University, that’s for sure, which has just demonstrated a self-driving taxi to rival Google’s efforts without a soul at the wheel. This laser, radar and sensor-equipped VW Passat, dubbed “Made in Germany,” has a companion iPad app from Appirion to do all the hard work, too — you just start the program, punch in coordinates and wait for the car to extract itself from a nearby parking lot and pick you up from school. Ladies and gents, the future is now. Watch it right after the break.

Da Vinci robot-surgeon – First all robot surgery performed

admin — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 04:38:05 +0000

A team of surgeons at McGill University, including the da Vinci robo-surgeon and a robot anesthesiologist named, of all things, McSleepy, recently removed some dude’s prostate during what is being billed as the world’s first all-robotic surgery. The device transmits hi-def 3D images to a nearby workstation, where it is controlled by surgeons “with a precision that cannot be provided by humans alone,” according to MUHC urologist-in-chief Dr. A. Aprikian. Of course, the robots are being kept on a tight leash by their human operators, with McGill’s Dr. Thomas Hemmerling pointing out that “[r]obots will not replace doctors but help them to perform to the highest standards.” Just tell that to all the other medical robots we’ve seen in this space, eh, doc? We’ve heard they have plans.

BeBionic teases advanced bionic hand, Terminator 5 now has a prop supplier

admin — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 00:24:03 +0000

It won’t officially launch until May, but we’re already guessing that the folks over at DaVinci are casting quizzical glances towards BeBionic. The UK-based outfit is teasing what it calls the “next generation of fully articulated myo-electric hands,” which are said to provide “a range of naturally compliant grip patterns that provide repeatable accuracy” to those who have lost their own hand(s). Better still, the functions (speed, grip force, grip patterns, etc.) can be customized to suit each individual user, and the integrated wireless chip means that said tweaking can take place sans any troubling USB cables. The company’s also planning to reveal the planet’s first powered wrist with rotation capabilities as well as flexion / extension, and the range just wouldn’t be complete without silicone skin available in 19 tones. Hop on past the break for a couple of promo videos — we get the feeling the world of prosthetics is about to take a huge leap forward.

NASA and GM’s humanoid Robonaut2 blasting into space this September

admin — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 00:17:09 +0000

Remember Robonaut2, the gold-headed robot that first flexed its biceps back in February? He’s been called up — way up. NASA has given him a one-way ticket to the International Space Station aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery on a departure that’s currently scheduled for September. It’s not entirely clear what he’ll be doing up there beyond making awe-inspiring poses like the one shown above, but he is slated to help during spacewalks and will be the first humanoid robot to leave the atmosphere. We just want to know whose shirts he’ll wear.

AILA bot can recognize objects’ weight and fragility, render shelf stackers obsolete

admin — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 00:13:48 +0000

Now, this isn’t quite the height of innovation, but it’s a pretty cool compilation of existing technologies nonetheless. The femme-themed AILA robot has an RFID reader in its left palm, which allows it to obtain non-visual information about the objects put in front of it. Based on that input, as well as data collected from its 3D camera and two laser scanners, AILA can intelligently deal with and transport all sorts of items, without the pesky need for a fleshy human to come along and give it further instructions. The good news is that it’s a really slow mover for now, so if you do your cardio you should be able to run away from one in case of any instruction set malfunctions. See it on video after the break.

The future of robots

admin — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 03:13:04 +0000

New material could make robot muscles better, faster, stronger

admin — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 02:58:45 +0000

There’s already been countless advances in the always exciting field of robot muscles, but a team of researchers from the University of Texas have now made what appears to be a considerable leap forward, which they say could allow for “performance characteristics that have not previously been obtained.” The key to that is an entirely new material comprised of ribbons of tangled “nanotubes”, which can expand its width by 220% when a voltage is applied and return to its original shape in just milliseconds when the voltage is removed. What’s more, the material is not only “stronger than steel and stiffer than diamond,” but it’s able to withstand an extreme range of temperatures from -196 °C to 1538 °C, which could allow robots equipped with the muscles to operate with ease in a wide variety of off-world colonies, or, “harsh environments.” Head on past the break for a demonstration of the material in its non-robot form.

Robotic hand controlled by compressed air grasps the concept of delicacy

admin — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 02:56:40 +0000

The Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory (AKA the RoMeLa Project) at the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech has designed and built a prototype robotic hand that is controlled and operated by compressed air. Called RAPHaEL (Robotic Air Powered Hand with Elastic Ligaments), the robot can hold heavier, solid objects, as well as light or delicate ones such as a light bulb or an egg. The hand is powered by a compressor air tank at 60 psi and an accordion style tube actuator, with microcontroller commands operating and coordinating the movements of its fingers. It uses no other motors, and the strength of the grasp is controlled by a change in air pressure, making the hand quite dextrous. RAPHaEL -- which is part of a larger RoMeLa robot project named CHARLI -- has already won several awards, including grabbing first prize at the 2008-2009 Compressed Air and Gas Institute Innovation Award Contest. RoMeLa researchers envision CHARLI one day roaming the VT campus making friends with students and visitors. We look forward to that day, but until then, check out RAPHaEL holding some stuff after the break.

Dustbot takes out the Eurotrash

admin — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 02:55:19 +0000

Push up those Armani shades and tighten your white trousers, the Dustbot is coming to wash the scum off the streets like a Segway riding Travis Bickle. Give him a call from your mobile and the Dustbot will come to your house and dispose of the rubbish. At least that’s the plan for this Italian disposal-bot fitted with GPS navigation, gyroscope, and a bevy of sensors meant to keep it from crushing the innocents. Look, we get that it’s a prototype and is meant to traverse the narrow streets of ancient cities, but a trash collecting robot with the capacity of just two kitchen cans seems like a serious limitation. Watch the long slow ride after the break.

Aldebaran Robotics’ Nao

admin — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 02:53:18 +0000

Last we heard from Aldebaran Robotics’ Nao robot it didn’t exactly have all that many skills to show off, simply waving to the camera and uttering a few words to prove that it was more than just an illustration. It looks like it’s been spending the last few months learning some new tricks though, with it now able to stand on its own two feet and walk across the room. As you can see in the video linked below, however, it isn’t all that graceful, and it certainly doesn’t look like it’ll be challenging PLEN to a skateboarding competition anytime soon.

USB adapter to 4x Serial COM(TTL), Dynamixel, JTAG, SPI, I2C

admin — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:15:43 +0000

P/N: USB-AD43

Overview Description Specifications Pictures Downloads Support

The universal adapter USB-AD43 allows your PC to communicate with Dynamixel / Bioloid bus devices (AX-12, AX-S1, IMU, etc), provides 4 serial(COM) ports with TTL levels(0-5V), I2C standard interface, SPI interface, JTAG interface, an Enhanced Bit-Bang Mode interface and a Pony Programmer adapter (the famous memory / microcontroler programmer), with complete driver support across Windows, Mac OS X (including both Intel and PPC), Linux and many other operating systems.

Description

The USB to 4 serial ports adapter is great for connecting micro controller projects to a personal computer. It can be used also as a Dynamixel controller in projects that involve driving a servo and/or collecting signals from different modules such as a Sonar Range Finder, Compass, GPS modules, etc.

The USB adapter’s drivers make it seem like a standard serial port to the operating system, allowing you to connect to all of your existing software, such as servo controller interface programs via USB port. Drivers are available for Windows 98 through Windows 7, Linux, and Mac OSX.

The USB-AD43 adapter is based on the FT4232H USB Hi-Speed(480Mb/s) Four Channel USB-UART IC (can be configured in several different modes depending on the application):

USB to 4 channels UART(RS232/COM serial ports with TTL levels) or Bit-Bang interfaces.
USB to Dynamixel adapter – in this mode the COM4/forth channel is configured as a Dynamixel interface(3 pins).
USB to SPI interface – in this mode the COM2/second channel is configured as a SPI interface(5V levels).
USB to JTAG interface – in this mode the COM2/second channel is configured as a JTAG interface(5V levels).
USB to I2C interface – in this mode the COM1(3.3V levels) or/and COM2(5V levels) are configured as an I2C standard interface.
USB to PonyProg adapter – in this mode the COM2/second channel is configured as a Pony Programmer interface.

(the other remaining channels can be used independently in various modes, and the same port can only be used for one interface at the time)

USB-AD43 adapter – Connections

The Dynamix. Power will be connected to the external power supply (see servo manufacturer recommendations).

The Dynamix. Servos will be connected to the 3 pin (white) connector. NOTE: in this case COM 4 (Serial TTL port) will be occupied by the Dynamix. interface.

COM ports 1-4 (Serial TTL ports) are available for use, except when the port is used by other interfaces.

The I2C(TWI) interface (corresponding to COM 1) and the JTAG, SPI, Pony Programmer interface (corresponding to COM 2) are available for use, only if not simultaneously used by the corresponding Serial TTL port(COM1 or COM 2).

Specifications

PCB size: 2″ x 2″ (50mm x 50mm)
USB standard: USB 2.0 (full speed)
Connector: USB mini-B
Serial ports (COM): 4 (TTL levels)
Data In voltage levels: 3.3 V (5 V tolerant)
Maximum data rate: 12 Mbaud
Power supply: USB powered(No external power required)
Supply current(from USB port): 500 mA / 3.3V or 5V (see USB port limitations)
Buffered outputs(TTL) current: 25 mA / each port (50 mA/total)

Pictures

USB-AD43 Connections

USB-AD43 Serial COM adapter

USB-AD43 Dynamixel adapter

USB-AD43 I2C interface

USB-AD43 SPI adapter

USB-AD43 JTAG interface

USB-AD43 PonyProg adapter

USB AD43 Dimensions

Downloads

User Manual: USB-AD43.pdf
Drivers can be found at FTDI’s virtual COM port driver page: www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm
For JTAG .dll example/Source code: www.ftdichip.com/Projects/MPSSE/FTCJTAG.htm
For I2C .dll example/Source code click here: www.ftdichip.com/Projects/MPSSE/FTCI2C.htm
For SPI .dll example/Source code: www.ftdichip.com/Projects/MPSSE/FTCSPI.htm

USB-AD43 4x Serial COM Adapter – Support

admin — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:04:58 +0000

Documentation

User Manual: USB-AD43.pdf

USB-AD43 Connections

USB-AD43 Serial COM adapter

USB-AD43 Dynamixel adapter

USB-AD43 I2C interface

USB-AD43 SPI adapter

USB-AD43 JTAG interface

USB-AD43 PonyProg adapter

USB AD43 Dimensions

Downloads

Drivers can be found at FTDI’s virtual COM port driver page: www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm
For JTAG .dll example/Source code: www.ftdichip.com/Projects/MPSSE/FTCJTAG.htm
For I2C .dll example/Source code click here: www.ftdichip.com/Projects/MPSSE/FTCI2C.htm
For SPI .dll example/Source code: www.ftdichip.com/Projects/MPSSE/FTCSPI.htm

20-Channel Serial Servo Controller

admin — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:24:29 +0000

P/N: COM-SRV20

Overview Description Specifications Pictures Downloads Support

The COM-SRV20 servo controller is a very compact solution for controlling up to 20 radio control (RC) servos from a computer or microcontroller. The controller measures just 2.1? x 1.3?, it incorporates a 5V servo powered voltage regulator (no need for external power supply, it can provide up to 150mA power for an external microprocessor), and yet it is one of the most robust servo controllers available. Each servo range can be controlled independently, including any standard RC servos or the giant 1/4-scale servos.

Description

The communication protocol used is similar (compatible) with the MiniSSC II servo controller and any software written for it. The COM-SRV20 servo controller is less than half the size and price of similar servo controllers. This means that the servo controller is an ideal solution even if you need to control few or more servos. The interface to the servo controller is a standard RS-232 serial port with +/-15V levels or TTL-levels (5V or 3.3V Logic Levels), using 9600b/s baud rate.

The COM-SRV20 uses a very simple protocol(like the Mini SSC II)

Byte 1 Byte 2 Byte 3

[ sync marker "FF" (255) ] [ servo # (0-19) ] [ position (0-200) ]

To command a servo to a new position requires sending three bytes at the serial rate of 9600b/s baud, no parity check, and 1 stop bit (known as 9600N1).

These must be sent as individual byte values, not as text representations of numbers as you might type at a keyboard.

The Power/Activity LED on the COM-SRV20 board it lights steadily when power is applied to the board and stays on until data is received, when the data is received the LED will start blinking.

Specifications

PCB size: 2.1″ x 1.3″ (55mm x 33mm)
Controls up to 20 servos
Serial interface (RS-232 and TTL @ 9600)
Data In voltage levels: 5V (TTL) or +/-15V (from RS-232 connector)
Accepts 3.3V Data In from 0-3.3V (Logic) Interfaces (no 3.3V to 5V conversion needed)
Servo type supported: Futaba, Hitec, T-pro, EXI, etc.
Power supply: Servo powered(min. 5V) or external power(min. 5V to 12V)
Servo travel range: 0 – 180°
Servo resolution:1uS, .09° (200 steps / 180°)
Low power consumption: 15mA

Pictures

20 Ch Serial
Servo Controller

4 Servo Controller – Example

20 Ch Serial Servo Controller – Connections

20 Ch Serial Servo Controller – Utility

Downloads

User Manual: COM-SRV20 Serial servo controller.pdf
Servo Controller Utility: SYSCONE 20-Channel Serial Servo Controller-Utility.exe

20-Channel Serial Servo Controller – Support

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:09:43 +0000

Documentation

User Manual: COM-SRV20 Serial servo controller.pdf …return to the product page: COM-SRV20

20 Ch Serial
Servo Controller

4 Servo Controller – Example

20 Ch Serial Servo Controller – Connections

20 Ch Serial Servo Controller – Utility

Downloads

Servo Controller Utility: SYSCONE 20-Channel Serial Servo Controller-Utility.exe

USB-HDCAM camera, Low noise, Low light conditions

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:01:16 +0000

P/N: USB-HDCAM

Overview Description Specifications Pictures Downloads Support

The high sensitivity “USB-CAM480″ camera is dedicated for the Robotic Vision application such as “Open CV”, using a high performance CMOS Sensor(low noise in normal and low light conditions), 640 x 480 pixels resolution, automatic white balance and gain control. The low noise feature is specially required for Objects/Face recognition, in low light the noise(grain) will strongly interfere with the actual image causing errors or misinterpretations.

Coming soon…

Description

The USB Camera is great for Robotic Vision applications/projects where it require a High Quality image, Automatic control and a Higher integration/compatibility with the current Operating Systems(no need to install drivers – UVC standard). The USB-CAM480 measures just 1.1? x 1?, it incorporates a Color CMOS sensor 1/4″ diagonal(most of the cameras/webcams have a much smaller sensor, resulting in a noisy/grainy picture), Full automatic control, and it can be used also as a Webcam, Camera(pictures) or Video capture.

Specifications

Standard resolution: 640×480 pixels
Sensor type: Color CMOS 1/4″
Low-light gain technique, strong low-light compensation
High sensitivity for low-light operation
Flicker (50/60 Hz) auto detection
automatic exposure control (AEC)
automatic gain control (AGC)
automatic white balance (AWB)
PCB size: 1.1″ x 1″ (28mm x 25mm)
USB standard: USB 2.0 (full speed)
Power supply: USB powerd(No external power required)

The USB cameras’s drivers make it look like a standard UVC(USB video class) to the operating system, allowing you to connect to all of your existing software, such as video interface programs(Open CV), through a USB port.

Supported Operating Systems

Linux
USB video class support for Linux is provided by the Linux UVC driver.
Since Linux 2.6.26 the driver is included in kernel source distribution.

Apple Mac OS X
Mac OS X ships with a UVC driver included since version 10.4.3, updated in 10.4.9 to work with iChat.

FreeBSD
Not implemented yet, there are patches available which make Linux kernel USB mediadrivers work in userspace by using an asynchronous USB interface. It's the first OS allowing to have an entire highspeed USB driver in userland.

NetBSD
NetBSD added the uvideo driver for UVC devices in September, 2008; added in the 5.0 release.

OpenBSD
OpenBSD added the uvideo driver for UVC devices in April, 2008; it appears in the 4.4 release.

Sony PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 added support for UVC compatible webcams in firmware version 1.54 (only works for video chat, not games.)

Sun Solaris
Solaris includes support for UVC webcams in the form of the usbvc driver for OpenSolaris. The driver ships with Solaris Express build 56 and later.

Microsoft Windows
Windows XP has a class driver for USB video class devices since Service Pack 2, as does Windows Vista and Windows 7. A post-service pack 2 update that adds more capabilities is also available.

Pictures

USB-CAM480 Camera

USB Camera Board

Regular USB Camera in low-light

Downloads

No downloads/drivers need it.
(standard UVC drivers will be used)

USB-CAM480 Camera, Low noise, High sensitivity – Support

admin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:24:25 +0000

The USB Camera is great for Robotic Vision applications/projects where it require a High Quality image and no need to install drivers(standard UVC). It can be used also as a Webcam, Camera(pictures).

Specifications

Standard resolution: 640×480 pixels
Sensor type: Color CMOS 1/3″
Low-light gain technique, strong low-light compensation
High sensitivity for low-light operation
Flicker (50/60 Hz) auto detection
automatic exposure control (AEC)
automatic gain control (AGC)
automatic white balance (AWB)
automatic gain control (AGC)
PCB size: 1.1″ x 1″ (28mm x 25mm)
USB standard: USB 2.0 (full speed)
Power supply: USB powerd(No external power required)

Supported Operating Systems

Pictures

USB-CAM480 Camera

USB Camera Board

Regular USB Camera in low-light

Downloads

No downloads/drivers need it.
(standard UVC drivers will be used)

USB-CAM480 Camera, Low noise, High sensitivity

admin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:59:31 +0000

P/N: USB-CAM480

Overview Description Specifications Pictures Downloads Support

Coming soon…

Description

Specifications

Standard resolution: 640×480 pixels
Sensor type: Color CMOS 1/4″
Low-light gain technique, strong low-light compensation
High sensitivity for low-light operation
Flicker (50/60 Hz) auto detection
automatic exposure control (AEC)
automatic gain control (AGC)
automatic white balance (AWB)
PCB size: 1.1″ x 1″ (28mm x 25mm)
USB standard: USB 2.0 (full speed)
Power supply: USB powerd(No external power required)

Supported Operating Systems

Pictures

USB-CAM480 Camera

USB Camera Board

Regular USB Camera in low-light

Downloads

No downloads/drivers need it.
(standard UVC drivers will be used)