Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
RI-MAN Face Tracking, Electronic Nose Robot Update
RI-MAN, the healthcare robot, was featured in an earlier article (see RI-MAN And Roujin-Z Robots: Elder Care Fact And Fiction). Since that time, the RIKEN Bio-Mimetic Control Research Center team has updated and expanded the RI-MAN site, giving us more information on this great 'bot.
(RI-MAN feedback using tactile information)
The upper and left forearms of the RI-MAN robot have soft area tactile sensors that measure the magnitude and position of contact force when the 'bot picks up a patient.
(RI-MAN controllers distribute the computational load, reduce size)
RI-MAN robot also uses fifteen small controllers that operate the joints of the robot. These controllers perform dedicated motor and sensor control tasks. This distributed controller network avoids the concentration of computational loads on the main computer and also dramatically reduces the wiring complexity. Besides improving speed, it also helps make RI-MAN small and compact.
(RI-MAN has sound localization)
Using simple, cup-shaped "ears", RI-MAN can determine the horizontal direction of sound; changes in the sound spectrum enable judgement of front or rear direction for sounds.
(RI-MAN uses face recognition)
The RI-MAN robot can track human faces by integrating auditory and visual information. Stereo cameras record the scene; the position of human faces can be extracted. The robot also determines the position of a sound source (like the voice of a human being) using its "ears" as described above.
(RI-MAN robot has smell discernment [an electronic nose])
The RI-MAN robot has a gas sensor module that can identify smells that provide important information to caregivers, like the smell of urine from an incontinent patient. The sensing method is based on the nonlinear dynamic output of a gas sensor in response to periodic heating. Differences in dynamic response are used to determine the gas type and concentration. The two sensors installed on the right and left sides of RI-MAN's torso provide the information.
Finally, take a look at the video below which provides a good overview of the RI-MAN robot in operation.
(RI-MAN Healthcare robot)
If you are interested in other healthcare and homecare robots, take a look at these 'bots:
- InTouch Companion: Medical Rounding Robot
InTouch Health is now leasing a remote-controlled telepresence robot called The Companion to hospitals and nursing homes nationwide. - RI-MAN And Roujin-Z Robots: Elder Care Fact And Fiction
Hospital robots can go either way, according to sf writers and anime creators. Will we see both? - Smart Home Provides Elder Care
The University of Florida has created what they call "an assistive environment" which goes far beyond the assistive devices that we are used to hearing about.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 11/7/2006)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
Athena Smart Security Guard Robot With Face Recognition
'You are who we say you are, Dr. Dakin,' Turner said.' - Greg Bear, 2003.
SpaceHopper Microgravity Robot Lands On Its Feet
'...a slender-legged tripod surmounted by a spherical body no larger than a football.' - Arthur C. Clarke, 1972.
No Tips! Robotic Food Delivery In Phoenix
'...he rewired the delivery robot so that it would serve him midnight snacks.' Robert Heinlein, 1962.
Micro-Robots Are Smallest, Fully Functional
'With a whir, the Scarab shot from the concealing shadows of the corner where it had hidden itself.' - Raymond Z. Gallun, 1936.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Athena Smart Security Guard Robot With Face Recognition
'You are who we say you are, Dr. Dakin,' Turner said.'
The FLUTE Project - A Huge Liquid Mirror In Space
'It's area, and its consequent light-gathering capacity, was many times greater than any rigid mirror...'
Robot Preachers Found To Undermine Religious Commitment
'Tell me your torments,' the Padre said, in an elderly voice marked with compassion.
CyberCab - Tesla Renames The Robotaxi
'A cybercab dogged their heels...'
SpaceHopper Microgravity Robot Lands On Its Feet
'...a slender-legged tripod surmounted by a spherical body no larger than a football.'
Brin's 1990 Novel Earth Still Full Of Predictions
'... making the point that their likenesses, every move they made, were being transmitted.'
'Whisper Mode' ala Blue Thunder Researched At Bristol
'Forest Lawn.'
Gaia - Why Stop With Just The Earth?
'But the stars are only atoms in larger space, and in that larger space the star-atoms could combine to form living matter, thinking matter, couldn't they?'
Microsoft VASA-1 Creates Personal Video From A Photo
'...to build up a video picture would require, say, ten million decisions every second. Mike, you're so fast I can't even think about it. But you aren't that fast.'
Splendid View Of Eclipse From Orbit Visualized And Repurposed By Arthur C. Clarke
'The area affected was five hundred kilometres across, and perfectly circular.'
Bespoke Environment Music From AIs
'Call 'em Winter Mute," said the other, making it two words.'
Goldene - A Two-Dimensional Sheet Of Gold One Atom Thick
'Hasan always pitched a Gauzy - a one-molecule-layer tent, opaque, feather-light, and very tough.'
SpaceX Wants A Moonbase Alpha
'And he had been sent with troops, supplies and bombs to command Russia's most trusted post, the Moonbase.'
Vast Apartment Living Will Get Even More Vast
'What is your population', I asked. 'About eighty millions.'
NASA Wants Self-Driving Or Remote-Controlled Vehicles For Lunar Astronauts
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street of Hydropole. Robot-guided, insulated from noise and cold...'
Elon Musk Says Robotaxis Will Be Ready This August, 2024
'The car had no steering wheel, and no one drove!'
