Robotic Revolutions

Welcome to Casual Fridays at Robotic Revolutions. You could say it’s happy hour, because today features a pair of robots with a penchant for beer. This first robot is the work of a hobbyist that converted a micro fridge. We can tell his robot is a killer-app because David Letterman invited him to appear on the Late Show.

This next robot has been around for about a year, but now it is actually available for sale! To be honest, I would much rather pay $799 for a beer bot than $2,000 for a Sony Aibo. The Asahi Beerbot was created as part of contest, but just knowing it exists, we’re all winners.

Asahi Beerbot via [Maximum Robotics]

There has been a lot of anticipation building around Pleo ever since it grabbed the attention of the media at DEMO 2006. Pleo is a robotic-dinosaur toy designed by Caleb Chung, one of the co-creators of Furby. Pleo is modeled after a baby Camarasaurus, wrapped in polymer skin containing over 30 sensors, 14 motors and six processors.

According to Chung, “Pleo isn’t a toy. It’s aimed at the pet demographic. We’re trying to capture that ‘Awww!’ moment.”

In order to capture that moment, Chung and his team have programmed Pleo to evolve with its experiences. For example, the first time it is picked up, it may act scared, but with subsequent interaction it will grow more comfortable. Ugobe, the company behind Pleo, will encourage modifications by providing a graphical interface and API for programers.

Pleo features include:

• 14 servo joints (torso, head, tail, neck, legs) with force feedback
• 38-touch, sound, light and tilt sensors including nine touch sensors (mouth, chest, head, shoulders, back, feet) and 8 feet and toe sensors
• Fluid quadruped motion
• Ability to avoid obstacles and not walk off edges
• Sound output, stereo sound sensors and music beat detection
• Autonomous interaction with owner and environment including coughing, blinking eyes, chomping, twitching, sighing, sneezing, sniffing, growling stomach, tail drift, and yawning
• Distinct moods including anger, boredom, playfulness, hunting, cautious, cuddling, disgust, disorientation, distress, fear, curiosity, joy, sorrow, surprise, fatigue, hunger, and desire for social interaction
• Upgradeable, Life Form OS and Personality System
• SD card memory expansion
• Ability to communicate with other UGOBE Life Forms
• Rechargeable battery

In my opinion, the rechargeable battery is actually one of the most important features. I’ll admit, I bought a Roboraptor, but what kills me about it is the obscene number of batteries it requires and how quickly it chews through them. My Roomba, on the other hand, not only has a rechargeable battery, but it “smart” enough to find it’s docking station and recharge when it’s power is low.

Ugobe has raised $11 million to develop Pleo and has recently secured an additional $10 million to begin developing another half-dozen designs. If Pleo does well this Christmas, which is a 50/50 shot with its $300 price tag, then expect more Ugobe lifeforms to follow in Pleo’s footsteps - even if it does walk a little bit funny.

Read more: [CNN]

This week we observed robotic vacuums and floor scrubbers, but we have yet to discuss robotic lawn mowers and pool cleaners. Any of these robots could prove themselves useful, but none of them have achieved wide-spread adoption.

Looking at other robots like Robosapien or the Sony AIBO the questions arises, are these just expensive toys?

The Robosapien is certainly marketed as a toy. It is manufactured by the Wow Wee Toy company. It requires six D batteries and 7 AAA batteries (not included). As they say, if it walks like a toy and it talks like a toy - it’s a toy.

However, while the Robosapien takes small steps around the house, it has taken a giant step for robotkind. This was the first mass-produced bipedial robot made commercially available to the public and it captured market share from robot enthusiasts and children alike.

Recently, the Robosapien evolved to V2, so perhaps in the future this toy will become a tool. Additionally, there is a community of developers that hack the Robosapien in an effort to make it more functional. As soon as it can be programmed to get me a beer from the fridge, I’ll buy one.

The Sony AIBO is another robot that walks the fine line of being called a toy. It has built in motion sensors and speech recognition. Sony has provided a programmer’s kit for hobbyists that want to tinker under the hood. But ultimately, what can AIBO do? Not much, which is why it never caught on.

In January, 2006 Sony announced it was discontinuing AIBO.

“There just aren’t enough people out there who want to own a robot,” says Steve Rainwater, chairman of Network Cybernetics and co-founder of the robotics blog robots.net. “They want a vacuum cleaner or a lawn mower or a pool cleaner, something that does something for them. And it has to work.”

Above: Even the Scooba is no match for LOLCATS

Yesterday we discussed how the Roomba is fulfilling Ray Kurzweil’s prediction that household robots will emerge by 2009. Today, we’re taking a look at another member of the iRobot family, the Scooba. (Which ironically does not vacuum pools)

Released in 2005, the Scooba is a floor washing robot similar in appearance to the Roomba, although it is bulkier and heavier than its vacuuming cousin. The Scooba uses a proprietary Clorox formula, refered to by some as “Scooba Juice,” to prep, scrub and vacuum hardwood and tile floors until clean. Reports from enthusiasts claim the Scooba gets floors far cleaner than traditional methods because it perpetually uses fresh solution and clean water.

The Scooba shares the same software as the Roomba to navigate a room, which means it also suffers from the same lack of intelligence. Both of these robots simplify a necessary chore, but are equally simple in their approach. They have the potential to make life easier, as long as the proper steps are taken to prepare rooms for cleaning and the dustbins, water tanks and filters of the robots are frequently maintained.

In PC Mag, Lance Ulanoff provides a reasonable review of Scooba, explaining the challenge it has in market penetration:

At $399.99 list, the Scooba isn’t as obvious a purchase as the Roomba vacuum cleaner. Although consumers are used to paying a few hundred dollars for a good vacuum cleaner, most spend under $20 for a mop and bucket. Plus, the Scooba has consumable costs. The 8-ounce Clorox solution lasts for a few cleanings and then you have to buy more, at $17.99 for a three-bottle package. You can’t use anything else, because it could damage the Scooba and void the warranty. (I envision people trying to use the mop with water alone.) It does a better job of mopping the floor than you would do with just about any other standard bucket and floor mop, but since I know few people who actually scrub their floors, will anyone be willing to pay $400 plus consumable costs for this benefit? The Scooba can also clean sealed wood floors, but, again, most people I know sweep these and only occasionally damp-mop them.

iRobot has something here. This is a smart, powerful, effective solution for cleaning tile floors, but selling it to the American public could be a more uphill battle than they faced with the Roomba floor vac.

Owning a Roomba, this was exactly the thought process that kept me from buying a Scooba. However, I am very happy with my little robotic vacuum and impressed by the innovations of iRobot - so much so that I may still buy a Scooba someday. As such, if robots do become popular appliances, then expect iRobot to become a household name.

Above: The Roomba Discovery is a spot-on cleaning machine

Rev up those Roombas because it’s Consumer Robot week here at Robotic Revolutions!

In 1999, Ray Kurzweil wrote “The Age of Spiritual Machines,” which predicts “household robots [will] have emerged [in 2009], but are not yet fully accepted.” In 2002, iRobot released the Roomba, a robotic vacuum cleaner, which is helping Kurzweil’s prediction come true.

The Roomba is a 13-inch circular robot vacuum cleaner that uses simple algorithms, such as spiral cleaning and wall-follow to automate the monotonous task of floor sweeping. The Roomba has enjoyed moderate success, having sold over 2 million units. In fact, Kurweil’s prediction may be proven on the backs and dustbins of the Roomba.

Credit for the volume of Roombas sold is its reasonable price and reliable service. I purchased my Roomba about a year ago for less than $200 and have no complaints about its operation. It is not the smartest robot around, but it gets the job done.

The Electrolux Trilobite is another robotic vacuum, but as different from the Roomba as a Dyson vacuum is to a standard model. To begin, the Trilobite costs close to $1,500, but as they say, you get what you pay for.

The Trilobite uses advanced sensors and computing to sketch a map in its memory, which it uses to complete it’s task. Even while vacuuming, the Trilobite monitors the area in front of it, stopping an inch short of all obstacles in its path. Compare this to the Roomba, which rolls around the room, mindlessly bumping into walls, chairs and tables, adjusting its course as needed. It is clear the Trilobite is fair more advanced. But ultimately, either of these robots should be a welcome addition to any household.