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
 |
Ubiko Robot A Fireman's Friend
Ubiko is a new robot that can sniff out the odor of fire. Ubiko is the result of a collaboration between robot-maker tmsuk, Kyushu University and the Kanazawa Institute of Technology.
(Ubiko checks for fire)
Ubiko is forty-four inches tall, and weighs about 132 pounds. Ubiko is described as having a humanoid appearance, but to me it looks sort of cat-like. It moves on wheels.
Ubiko is equipped with a set of olfactory sensors that are designed to detect the odors of smoke and ash. In a recent test at Kyushu University, Ubiko patrolled four rooms. One smelled of perfume, a second of garlic, a third of cigarettes while the fourth room was odorless.
Ubiko correctly identified the room with cigarettes has having the smell of materials on fire.
I hope frequent readers of Technovelgy will forgive me the obvious reference of the mechanical hound from Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, which also had olfactory capabilities. It appears that the cat-like Ubiko would be handier for firemen, though, since Bradbury's hound was better at catching individual people through their olfactory indecies. And, of course, there's that whole thing about the firemen in Fahrenheit 451 actually setting the fires, rather than putting them out...
Don't miss the rest of the robot sniffer news:
- Sniffer Robot With Infotaxis Algorithms On The Hunt
- RI-MAN Face Tracking, Electronic Nose Robot
- SPOT-NOSED Nanobiosensors For Doctors
Tmsuk is one of those companies that just keep bringing out the science-fictional in robotics; take a look at the shopping assistant that carries your bags.
Via Ubiko robot knows where the smokers hang.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 2/22/2007)
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 ")
Mika The Robot-Boss
'the robot-boss was busy at the lip of the new lode instructing and egging the men on to greater speed...' - David C. Cooke, 1939.
Sensitive, Soft Robot Skin
'...tinted material that had all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.' - Harl Vincent, 1934.
Finger Sensors For Robot Hands
'What strange sensitivity! What an amazing development of science was manifested in every move and act and word of this Robot!' - Ray Cummings, 1931.
A Vacuum With An Arm - Engineers Create Heinlein's Hired Girl Robot
'Anything larger than a BB shot it picked up and placed in a tray...' - Robert Heinlein, 1956.
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
Wearable Energy Harvester
'... he had tightened the chest to gain maximum pumping action from the motion of breathing.'
Drones Participate In Buddhist Rites
'...a prayer wheel swung into view and began spinning at a furious pace.'
Anna Indiana AI Singer-Songwriter
'She is a personality-construct, a congeries of software agents'
Video Manicuring ala Schismatrix
'The program raced up the screen one scan line at a time'
'Feel the AGI' OpenAI Leader Now OpenWorship
'And are all the people willing to be governed by a machine?'
NASA Tests Prototype Europa Lander
Why have legs if they don't walk around?
Tailsitter Drone Aircraft For SAR
'...it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair.'
Forward CarePod The AI Doctor's Office
'It's an old model,' Rawlins said. 'I'm not sure what to do.'
Mika The Robot-Boss
'the robot-boss was busy at the lip of the new lode instructing and egging the men on to greater speed...'
Yamaha Motoroid 2 No Handlebars Self-Balancing Motorcycle
'He rode the bike with an intense lack of physical grace...'
San Francisco Autobus
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street...'
Should Your Car Decide If You Can Drive?
'Okay. Maybe the car was right...'
Lucid Dreams On Demand From Prophetic and Card79
'the peeper did not operate by virtue of its machinery alone, but by the reaction of the brain and the body of its user...'
Honda UNI-ONE Hands-Free Wheelchair Follows 100 Year-Old Design
'Noiselessly, on rubber-tired wheels, they journeyed...'
EBS-260 Handjet Free Hand Dot Matrix Printer
'McKie held a chalf-memory stick over the dusted surface.'
Sensitive, Soft Robot Skin
'...tinted material that had all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.'
