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WiiBot Kuka Robot Controlled WiiMotely
WiiBot is the pet project of two engineers who apparently have way too much hardware and time on their hands. On the other hand, maybe they should be running a company that actually makes real things that work (as opposed to companies that just spit out business plans).
(Wiibot video)
As long as you have a Kuka KR16 industrial robot to work with, why not see if you can control it with the WiiMote from the new Wii interactive video game? First, you program the Kuka robot to perform the basic motions of tennis and fencing using a mouse-driven interface. Identify points in space, and the robot will follow them.
Then, you need to feed the signal from the WiiMote to a computer that would recognize the same basic motions, and then tell the robot which motion to perform. If hacking a program to do this on your Saturday off doesn't sound like fun, you're not an engineer. View the results in the video below.
(Wiibot)
Science fiction fans of course recall that in Frank Herbert's 1965 novel Dune, members of royalty must be able to defend themselves using swords and knives. A special fencing robot and mirror system are used by a trainer to help royal family members, like Paul Atreides, to prepare:
He [Swordmaster Gurney Halleck] gestured to the practice dummy. "Now, we'll work on your timing. Let me see you catch that thing sinister. I'll control it from over here where I can have a full view of the action. And I warn you I'll be trying new counters today."
(Read more about the fencing robot and mirror)
The fencing robot/mirror system also had higher and higher skill levels available; it could defeat even the most skilled human practitioners (unless they were prescient, of course).
Check out the prior art: the Fighting MUSA Kendo Robot from the Manufacturing & Mechatronics Lab of Seoul National University.
Check out these Kukalinks:
- Juke Bot Robot - Kuka Kicks It
Industrial-grade techno music w/Kuka DJ. - Snake-Arm Robot In A Plane
No, really. They are inspectors. - RoboCoaster G2 - Extreme Robot Roller Coaster
Next-generation extreme ride.
Story via Robots.net via Gizmodo via Hackaday via Slashgear. (Break this chain and your server crashes.)
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 1/30/2007)
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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.
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