Robotic Penguins 118
Corporate Troll writes "Robotic penguins were unveiled by German engineering firm Festo this week. Using their flippers, the mechanical penguins (video) can paddle through water just like real ones, while larger helium-filled designs can "swim" through the air. The penguins are on show at the Hannover Messe Trade Exhibition in Germany.
Each penguin carries 3D sonar which is used to monitor its surroundings and avoid collisions with walls or other penguins."
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I hope these penguins don't start hassling me about Linux.
They're penguins. It is in their nature to hassle you about Linux.
Heck, they're computerized penguins! There is no escape! >:D
But... (Score:3, Funny)
...Does is run linux?
(We all knew this was going to be asked!)
Re:But... (Score:5, Funny)
Now imagine if someone could get Windows to run on it. That would be funny.
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Oh noes! Ballmer's private army!
What sweet irony if they were programmed to attack Red Hat HQ.
Forget it man. We're toast. (Score:2)
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Too late, we've done it. Atom PC + solar panel on a large mylar balloon.
I don't even remember why we did it now. Some inside joke gone horribly awry.
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Maybe you need this other penguin :)
http://www.kysoh.com/tux-droid [kysoh.com]
Now we need a robotic shark.... (Score:5, Funny)
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(frickin' laser sold separately).
Which is a good thing since at 1:37 they discuss the He penguins and claim "A micro-controller gives the penguins free will to explore this space"
Armed machines with free will never turns out to be a good thing for humans in the movies.
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Fortunately, the added weight of the laser will require H instead of He. That tends to complicate their experimentation.
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This is the future.. (Score:5, Insightful)
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The study was based on work on done at one Antarctic base and assumes massive Antarctic ice loss which is, at the present time, not happening at all ...
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/04/23/2550456.htm [abc.net.au]
Moreover, the study focused purely on the Emperor penguin populations in Antarctica which means these guys ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Penguin [wikipedia.org] ... are not included.
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That's only one specific kind of penguin (Emperor), not all of them.
Re:This is the future.. (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:This is the future.. (Score:5, Informative)
In Australia, you see them all the time: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Penguin [wikipedia.org]
You can even sometimes see them surfing at the beach :) (although what they're actually doing is chasing schools of bait fish inside the waves)
Re:This is the future.. (Score:4, Informative)
Great link. The geek in me of course loved seeing:
Linus Torvalds, the original creator of Linux (a popular operating system kernel), was once bitten by a Little Penguin while on holiday in Australia. Reportedly, this encounter encouraged Torvalds to select Tux as the official Linux mascot.[12]
Fuck me. After those first few posts /. went full circle there, I think.
Re:This is the future.. (Score:5, Funny)
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I usually ignore trolls, but this one does need a response.
No Minix code in Linux Ever -- More Evidence
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20090419181306570 [groklaw.net]
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I live in New Zealand and have had blue penguins swimming around me a few times when I've been surfing. I've also seen the tracks they make through the bush on the way to and from their burrows, they can walk a surprisingly long way and climb pretty steep hills. I haven't seen them at night on the tracks but my mother has. I have seen them in their burrows though, on an island which is a scientific reserve. The burrows are man-made and have lids you can look off to peek inside :-).
I've seen a couple of othe
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They already invented this (Score:2, Funny)
while larger helium-filled designs can "swim" through the air.
It's called a blimp.
Hell-o-o!! (Score:2)
These are "penguin shaped".
That key innovation went right over your head, didn't it?
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Not that they don't look cool and all, but whose bright idea was this anyway? ... Oh, I don't know, penguins?"
"To master energy efficient flight we'll look to nature. We'll learn from the graceful flight of birds, like say
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The obvious question (Score:3, Funny)
Re:The obvious question (Score:5, Funny)
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Not sure about the software, but in the video I clearly saw they're using XBee modules for RF comm on some of their projects... peer-2-peer, mesh networking, yadda-yadda.
http://www.digi.com/products/wireless/point-multipoint/xbee-series1-module.jsp [digi.com]
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The computer screenshot shown was of OSX.
Festo makes very nice tools, too (Score:1, Informative)
Festo makes the best power woodworking tools I've ever seen.
Wow (Score:1, Interesting)
Generally it's rare for me to see a job I'm truly envious of but those were some of the coolest projects I have ever seen, and to be paid to do that..
Holy crap! (Score:2)
Future plans (Score:1)
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wouldn't work in space, the fins need something (eg. air) to push against
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They don't work out too well [ign.com].
Just imagine ... (Score:3, Funny)
...a Beowulf cluster of these.
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What do they call that? A flock?
New "stealth" predator drone? (Score:5, Funny)
WTF?
Army Guy: "Hey kids, see the cute penguin?!"
Youngster: "But, mister, why is it flying around, shooting lasers out of its eyes at those Muslims?!"
Army Guy: "Penguins do that sometimes!
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Watch the video, it's really wild looking, and not even remotely usable for military application.
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Watch the video, it's really wild looking, and not even remotely usable for military application.
This is the dumbest thing I've seen anyone say all day, but it's early yet. You might get lucky, and get bumped up to #2 idiot.
There is nothing in this world which cannot be used for military applications. Period, the end.
If you don't think that swarms of autonomous robots can be used for military purposes, you are not smart enough for slashdot. And that's not saying very much.
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A peaceful mind?
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I really want an air penguin.
Eyes (Score:2)
Hey, sweet, they have fickin' laser beams for eyes ^_^
Thought this story was about RMS (Score:5, Funny)
I'm so disappointed! We haven't had a story about Stallman for ages now!
Are UWV's replace the sub? (Score:2)
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So like the way the UAV will probably replace (or mostly replace) the manned plane. Will these 'UWV'replaced manned subs?
Probably not, since water readily absorbs radio waves.
The year of... (Score:5, Funny)
Robotic Penguins? Skip the desktop -- 2009 will be the year of the Linux Apocalypse.
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When you can't beat Windows on a software battle, go hardware!
When will there be a Tamagotchi version of these penguins btw? It would be like a silent (and cute) world domination
How Happy Are Their Feet Now? (Score:2)
I get the sneaking suspicion that Disney is going to buy a whole fleet of these things and create a Happy Feet show at Disney World.
An entire army of dancing robot penguins with glowing eyes is the stuff nightmares are made of. Thanks, Germany!
Happy Feet was not Disney (Score:3, Informative)
I get the sneaking suspicion that Disney is going to buy a whole fleet of these things and create a Happy Feet show at Disney World.
Not all G- or PG-rated animated films with talking animals are produced or published by The Walt Disney Company. March of the Penguins was distributed by Warner. Happy Feet was also Warner. Surf's Up was Columbia. What was Disney's penguin movie called?
Cue "Head-Mounted Laser" Jokes in... (Score:2)
3...2...1...
(Or "Robot Penguin Overlord" Jokes.)
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What did it say? (Score:2)
In the video, when the pengiun is facing off with the diver, did I see it mouth "Sarah Connor?"?
Safe to say (Score:1)
I think it is safe to say that these will never ever take over the Arctic.
Too Complicated.
Obligatory (Score:1, Redundant)
Can't the collision avoiding tech be used in cars? (Score:2)
A lot of lives would be saved...
Cost (Score:1)
Pedantry: Penguins don't paddle (Score:5, Interesting)
Paddling is drag-based propulsion (i.e. the animal uses the drag from moving a paddle in the opposite direction to produce thrust in the direction they are moving). Paddling is not very efficient because it requires a recovery phase to reset the paddle. This is how most quadrupeds, such as muskrats, polar bears, even humans, swim.
Penguins use lift-based propulsion from pectoral oscillation, or literally flapping their wings, just like the birds that they are. They generate thrust from the forward component of the lift produced by their wings depending on the angle of attack. This is much more efficient, as there is no recovery phase and so thrust can be produced almost constantly. This is how penguins (both real and the robots) and sea lions swim. Seals, whales, and dolphins use the same type of propulsion, but use their flukes or rear flippers instead of their pectoral flippers.
Just to be pedantic, but for some reason, the idea of penguins paddling bothers me. :-/
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OK, so you're a paddling pontificating penguin pectoral propulsion pedant. Thanks for letting us know. :-)
Your point of course makes sense if you've seen how penguins turn into rockets the second they enter the water. Even in zoos the way they can zip around the tank is awesome.
Hackintosh (Score:1)
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Anyone else noticed the developers were using Mac OS on what looks like a PC? Come on Apple sue them! What are you waiting for?
All there was was a screen and a keyboard mac mini were sold on the premise you would use your screen and KB from your pc no hack required.
I FOR ONE (Score:1)
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Relax, dude. Penguins are birds and birds are supposed to fly.
Heaven help us though if Festo experiment with pigs.
Gunships? (Score:1)
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Flying Penguins (Score:2)
Video from The BBC [youtube.com]
Submit (Score:1)
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? (Score:2)
I can see the bionic octopii and flying robotic penguins but robotic jellyfish?? Is there, like, a need for those?
Did the German ISPs block all the scat-porn websites or something?
$6,000,000 Penguin (Score:2)
Though with inflation being what it is, and the American dollar increasingly valueless relative to more stable economies...$6 Million dollars doesn't buy what it used to.
In any case, I always knew penguins would rule the Earth.
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I know...I know...I just thought the dollar thing made the point more dramtically.
Frankly I can't figure out why it's happening either. With the massive amount of money your government is inventing out of thing air, I've yet to find anyone who's explained to me why the U.S. isn't suffering from the same kind of hyperinflation as places like Zimbabwe and Argentina have in the past (though the degree of that inflation might be different.) I personally won't be surprised by the eventual collapse when it happen
Penguinator (Score:2)
just what the cetaceans still (Score:2)
alive need is some more active sonar sources to really screw their world up. Can we make several 100K of these and let them loose in the oceans of the world, dolphins and whales have it too easy these days, this should start driving them on shore enmasse....