MK-1 Robotic Arm Capable of Near-Human Dexterity, Dancing 56
An anonymous reader writes "The MK-1 Robotic Arm from HDT Global comes from a DARPA sponsored project to create a highly advanced prosthetic limb. The disco dance moves shown at the beginning of this video show off the impressive dexterity of the modular servo units that comprise the MK-1 Robotic Arm." Internet rudeness alert: the (impressive) video starts autoplaying, with sound; you have been warned.
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Actually, it's slow. 120 degrees per second according to the video (3 seconds for a complete revolution). That's not fast enough to wave, let alone kick.
Thanks to advancing technology (Score:2)
What about sinistrality? (Score:2)
Does this arm also achieve sinistrality, or is it restricted to dexterity? :-)
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Just means he's right handed.
Is having two right hands better than having two left feet?
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NeuroElectrical Interface (Score:3)
One wonders where the state of the art is as far as neuro-electrical interconnections.
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The latest that is available in the field is moving the nerves around so that what was once moving the arms and fingers now manipulate small muscles on the chest.
This is then mapped into the electronics.
Cost? (Score:1)
I predict that this will cost six million dollars.
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This is being touted as a way to work on bombs at a distance, thus keeping limbs attached.
Pretty cool (Score:2)
That's actually pretty cool. I'd like to pair it with an ABB, Kuka, or Fanuc controller and use it for something industrial, but then again, I'm an industrial nerd.
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Actually, to create a truly great dancing robot, you need to get one of the new-fangled model of the ABB, the ABBA.
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How come we've never invented the smiley for ::groan:: ?
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The video says that the servo control is handled on board the module. So, you would need a trajectory planner and interpolator, but not amplifiers or drives. There is no comment on how to set up the tuning (for good control, robots require non-linear control laws). I *think* the newest ABB robot controllers, with some undocumented options, can directly feed interpolation points out over CAN bus (accepted by these modules), so it might be possible.
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for good control, robots require non-linear control laws
No, because stability is too difficult to prove. You can achieve good control with classical control techniques.
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Fortunately there is a workaround [mozilla.org].
Wonderful news! (Score:1)
Wow (Score:2)
A dancing robotic arm ! Usually humans need legs to dance
Dancing without legs (Score:2)
A dancing robotic arm ! Usually humans need legs to dance
And here's one of the exceptions [telegraph.co.uk] to your "usually".
Also Works Away From Humans? (Score:1)
How well does the MK-1 Robot Arm work away from humans?
I see that it has Near Human Dexterity..
I guess this means mars missions are out?
please inform.
Last time I checked (Score:1)
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I never asked for this (Score:1)
How much power does it take? (Score:2)
I would hate to need to carry around a 50lb power pack to power a 2lb prosthetic arm.
On jobs and society (Score:2)
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Can't cross the uncanny valley in a few steps... (Score:1)
It depends. If robots take up some of the menial labor, humans are afforded more time to work on other problems. The calculator might have replaced pure number crunchers, but that doesn't mean people don't practice math anymore. There are still physicist, mathematicians, and engineers. Odds are, if I robot assistant is developed, we'll have robot repair shops, programming centers, and robot insurance; while having fewer fruit pickers and maids. Humans will probably be replaced for certain tasks, but since we define society as a group of humans, we will probably never be rid of one another.
I tend to agree with you about who will be displaced first, but I don't think we have to anticipate more widespread adoption of robots for a long, long time. We will probably have to cross the uncanny valley [wikipedia.org] in one quantum leap before society in general will accept robots in the roles of humans. As you suggest, roles that keep robots out of sight/out of mind will be about the only places robots can be effectively deployed until they are indistinguishable from us. Labor intensive tasks like agriculture a
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http://www.marshallbrain.com/manna1.htm [marshallbrain.com]
Two options then, a neo-luddite movement, as seen in AI and elsewhere, or bootstrapping a star trek like economy.
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It's a oldie, but it keeps on being relevant.
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You're right. Here is a 12 minute YouTube video I made that talks about a balance between five interwoven economies that shifts with cultural change and technological change:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vK-M_e0JoY [youtube.com]
"This video presents a simplified education model about socioeconomics and technological change. It discusses five interwoven economies (subsistence, gift, exchange, planned, and theft) and how the balance will shift with cultural changes and technological changes. It sugge
Rudeness Alert? (Score:2)
Annoying website: "I'm starting my annoying and intrusive process now!"
NoScript: *BITCHSLAP* "No you're not."
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opening half a dozen tabs in a spurt, then trying to find the one that started playing a video in the background, is annoying and intrusive
i'll start the video myself, thanks.
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I don't click a link then just go look at it. I find a few interesting things then go through the tabs I've opened. More efficient than waiting for loading from slashdotted sites.
Post-human arms (Score:2)
What really impressed me, though, was the modularity of the arm. Presumably this would allow configurations other than human-imitating arms. One could imagine post-human configurations - whether for prosthetic purposes, extending the capabilities of a normal human, or as a stand-alone robot for specialized tasks. E.g. (off the top of my head) would 7 fingers be more useful than 5, or perhaps an arm with two (or se
Can be sent thru a pipe.... Re:Post-human arms (Score:2)
You get the picture.
I recognize that move! (Score:1)
Its pretty nice (Score:1)
Im part of the software team that is developing the MK2, (previously MK1), we showed the robot at AUVSI last week. I developed the low level driver communications, part of the control software for each joint, the network gateway and UI interfaces for the system using C#. I can give some vague details:
Some details about the dancing:
- 27 degrees of freedom, 120 deg/s per joint.
- Capable of generating a lot of torque within a small package (I dont think we have competitors that can currently match us)
- About 2
Rude-blocked! (Score:2)
NoScript kept it from playing until I clicked.
Browser add-ons are q00l.
Similar modular robot for NASA (Score:1)