This robotic experiment recreates evolution

Sure, we’ve seen 3D printing used to manufacture products, extrude chocolate and even create an electric vehicle, but now one 3D-printed robot is helping explore the origins of mankind.

Writing for Wired UK, James Temperton has revealed that a group of University of Glasgow chemists have successfully created the first “synthetic cells” that can evolve outside of biology, simply using a 3D-printed bot and a PlayStation camera — without any human input. The research could one day help us understand how life first appeared billions of years ago.

“Right now, evolution only applies to complex cells with many terabytes of information but the open question is where did the information come from? We have shown that it is possible to evolve very simple chemistries with little information,” Professor Lee Cronin tells Wired UK.

“Creating life from scratch is hard — and we know little about the origin of life before biology — but the use of simple robots is speeding up our understanding. The robot places four droplets of the same chemical composition into a Petri dish and uses the camera to see what happens. This process is repeated over and over again with randomly different compositions of droplets.”

The team employed a robotically-controlled [Atmel based] RepRap 3D printer responsible for carrying out the experiments with synthetic cells, while a PlayStation camera snaps photos for further analysis. The robot extrudes droplets of a chemical composition into a Petri dish and tracks its development.

Each of the droplets behave differently — some divide, some move and some vibrate. They team used its robot to deposit populations of droplets of the same composition, then ranked these populations in order of how closely they fit the criteria of behavior identified by the researchers. Using a special computer algorithm, in true survival of the fittest fashion, the robot selects the “fittest” molecules and carries these into the next experiment.

The droplets consist of four different chemicals: 1-penatol, 1-octanol, diethyl phthalate and either dodecane or octanoic acid, suspended in an alkaline solution. This is extruded over and over and over again, each time with different results. Over the millions of experiments the robot performs, it has already become apparent that the various printed droplets behave differently, and clump together to form different compositions.

“By hacking together this kit we have in effect built a highly sophisticated machine that can fully automate the life cycle of a chemical protocell model. We’ve then used the robot to explore lots of different types of ingredients to try and come up with interesting recipes that show ‘life-like’ behaviors,” Cronin explains.

The initial experiments have proven to be a success in recreating the evolution process during its primordial stage, as the chemically created synthetic cells are seen evolving under the guidance of robotic selection.

“Although we used a robot, this can be viewed as a proxy for a random droplet generator and we can show that statistically, the chances of droplet evolution happening at the origin of life is higher than a complete biological cell just springing into existence,” the professor concludes.

Interested in learning more? You can read the entire Wired UK writeup, or watch the experiment in action below!

iRobot Create 2 is bringing DIY to Roomba robots

If there’s one thing we love about Roombas, it’s those hilarious cat-riding videos, right? Well good news cat lovers, your furry friend just got a sweet new ride! Oh, and you have a new toy to tinker with just in time to put on your holiday wish list, too!

That’s because iRobot has announced the newest member of its family, a doppelganger to its household Roomba vacuum cleaner. However, instead of sucking up dirt and removing those dust bunnies, the $200 Create 2 is actually a research “tool” for Makers and engineers alike.

Create 2 bots are comprised of the same remanufactured iRobot platforms, which bring the full collection of LEDs and sensors from the Roomba 600 series to DIYers’ fingertips. While it may be fun to create the next slick vehicle for your cats, the system was developed with students — particularly those exploring STEM fields — in mind. In fact, the system will fit right in at any lab, Makerspace or even living room, as it appeals to hackers of all levels — from beginner to even the most well-seasoned engineer.

Its Open Interface enables users to control the robot if a computer or microcontroller is tethered to the robot’s serial port. Meaning, a Maker can run now run commands from a computer or even an [Atmel based] Arduino or Raspberry Pi embedded in the robot’s bin. The Create 2 is also equipped with built-in modes that allow users to manually control it while connected, use a semi-manual mode that prevents it from falling downstairs, or simply read data from its sensors.

If you recall seven years ago, the iRobot unveiled the first version of Create. The DIY-friendly bot’s hardware was relatively simple, while the addition of its Command Module enabled endless possibilities. The Command Module was based on an ATmega168, featuring 16Kbytes of flash with about 2Kbytes used by the bootloader. The latter was also compatible with Atmel’s STK500 version 1 protocol.

What’s great is that the newest iRobot family member is a modular system, which not only lets Makers add on ‘duino units, but remotes, Bluetooth, and other accessories as well. The Create 2 will come with a range of projects, including a pair of examples to get started: a light painting tutorial to create LED-based images (“Light Bot”) and a roaming, robotic DJ that allows for easy control of music through a Bluetooth-enabled device (“DJ Create 2”).

For a decade, hackers have enjoyed rigging the vacuuming devices into multi-functional robots, ranging from [ATmega328P driven] air quality measuring contraptions to real-life games of Pac-Man. So, it’s no surprise that Makers have already taken quite the liking to the robot. According to The Boston Globe, one lab is currently developing a better way to sense and avoid objects, while another is creating robot arms that’ll allow to Create 2 serve as the basis for its “Franken-bot.”

Furthermore, the iRobot Create 2 unit will be even released with a number of 3D printer-friendly files that will give users the opportunity to create and attach at will. In other words, if you find yourself in need a part or a new project, in true open source style, the Create 2 lets you print ‘em out!

Think the Create 2 will make for a great holiday gift or a simple addition to your Makerspace? Head over to iRobot’s official page here.

Rewind: 13 products inspiring the next generation of Makers

With Computer Science Education Week in full swing and the holidays just around the corner, we’ve decided to list some of our favorite creations from this year that are inspiring the next generation of Makers to not only tinker around, but pursue STEM disciplines.

littleBits

Created by Ayah Bdeir, littleBits was launched with hopes of making DIY hardware accessible to everyone of all ages. While making things with electronics can be a difficult feat, the company’s open-source, modular components easily piece together to form larger circuits. Young Makers can even connect real world ’things’ to the Internet, program IFTTT recipes, and sync it all to an Arduino using its ATmega32U4 powered module.

LocoRobo

Drexel University professor Pramod Abichandani and a team of three undergraduate students recently developed the ATmega32U4 driven LocoRobo, a low-cost robot capable of being wirelessly programmed with minimal to no effort. Born out of his own frustrations with bots, Abichandani aspires to advance programming and robotics education for everyone — from first-graders to more experienced Makers — by combining a world-class programming ecosystem with a high-quality device.

Chibitronics Circuit Stickers Starter Kit

With Chibitronic stickers, young DIYers are able to make nearly any surface glow, sense or interact. An imaginative and simple way to create fun electronics projects, the kit not only allows users to easily affix their circuit sticker to a number of materials, but can even connect conductive materials like copper tape or even conductive paint to create elaborate designs, art project and entertaining birthday cards. What makes Chibitronic unique is its ability to converge the familiarity of stickers with electronic components, such as LEDs, sensor circuits and programmable MCUs (ATtiny85).

MaKey MaKey

Think of MaKey MaKey as an invention kit for the 21st century, which gives young Makers the power to transform ordinary objects into Internet-connected touch pads. Powered by an ATMega32u4 MCU, the MaKey MaKey has been on the scene since Jay Silver successfully funded the project back in 2012, attaining nearly $570,000 in Kickstarter pledges. When a user touches an object that is hooked up to the board via alligator clips, i.e. a banana, a connection is made which sends the computer a keyboard message. In essence, the computer considers MaKey MaKey as a regular keyboard (or mouse), meaning it can work with pretty much all programs and webpages.

Nübi

Developed by UX design from Slice of Lime, Nübi aims to teach basic programming skills to kids of any gender. The creation is described by its creator as an Internet-enabled toy that takes the form of a creature who just arrived on our planet and needs to be taught about everything, from colors to music to temperature. The toy is embedded with a series of sensors that enable it to wirelessly communicate like an RFID chip with other devices in its environment, such as a motion detector or light sensor. Kids use an accompanying flower-like wand, equipped with an [Atmel based] Arduino-controlled RFID reader, to talk to Nübi.

AERobot

A group of Harvard University researchers have developed an $11 tool to educate young Makers on the fundamentals of robotics. Dubbed AERobot (short for Affordable Education Robot), its team hopes that it will one day help inspire more kids to explore STEM disciplines. The bot  can move forward and backward on flat surfaces, turn in place in both directions, detect the direction of incoming light, identify distances using infrared light, as well as following lines and edges. With a megaAVR 8-bit MCU as its brains, most of its other electronic parts were assembled with a pick-and-place machine, and to reduce costs some more, used vibration motors for locomotion and omitted chassis. AERobot is equipped with a built-in USB plug that also allows it to be directly inserted into any computer with a USB port.

ArduSat Space Kit

Ask any classroom of kids what they want to be when they grow up, and undoubtedly a few imaginative youngsters will answer emphatically with “Astronaut!” With that lofty goal in mind, Spire (formerly Nanosatisfi) launched its ArduSat program to bring space exploration to the classroom. ArduSat is the first open satellite platform that enables the general public to design and run applications, games and experiments in space, while also steering onboard cameras to take pictures on-demand. More specifically, ArduSat is designed to give ordinary people – like students  – the chance to conduct experiments by controlling over 25 different integrated sensors including spectrometers, magnetometers, radiation measurement devices, gyroscopes, accelerometers and thermometers. With its space kit, ArduSat is supplying individual classrooms all of the tools they need to carry out space exploration. Each set contains an Arduino Uno (ATmega328), a series of sensors, LEDs, and other components. By linking the sensors to the Arduino, students can measure levels of temperature, luminosity, and magnetic fields. Currently, more than two dozen schools are using ArduSat, with plenty more to follow.

ScratchDuino

While the team may not have been able to garner its $105,000 Kickstarter goal, ScratchDuino is an incredibly customizable and accessible robot-building platform that any young Maker would find helpful in their tinkering endeavors. The educational platform’s ease of use will help foster the robot design process for Makers both young and old. Featuring plastic encased parts designed for extended durability and kid resiliency, ScratchDuino includes two light sensors, two contact sensors, two reflective object sensors, and an infrared eye. At its heart lies an Arduino Uno (ATmega328) programmed with the Scratch language, which was developed by MIT.

XPlorerBoard Student

Recently launched on Kickstarter, the XPlorerBoard Student is described by its creators as a fun and quick way to learn electronic circuits and programming. This revolutionary electronics system easily plugs into a Mac or PC, which enables Makers to run programs on its built-in ATmega328 MCU, which is also preloaded with the Arduino bootloader. The XPlorerBoard’s iPad and Android InventIT application features over 50 inspiring experiments, ranging from motion-activated burglar alarms to ping-pong video games.

Bare Conductive

When you think of painting, electricity isn’t probably the first thing that comes to mind. However, Bare Conductive is changing the game with its ATmega32U4 based Touch Board that lets Makers transform nearly all materials and surfaces into a touch sensor. Simply connect anything conductive to one of its 12 electrodes and trigger a sound via its onboard MP3 player, play a MIDI note or do anything else that you might do with an Arduino or Arduino-compatible device. Meanwhile, Bare Conductive’s Electric Paint — which works with a wide-range of materials from plastic to textiles — provides a great platform for discovering, playing, repairing and designing with electronics.

Pi-Bot

Coming off an extremely successful Kickstarter campaign, Pi-Bot is a uniquely designed and affordable kit for anyone interested in building and programming robots. Designed by the STEM Center USA crew, the hands-on learning platform is based on the versatile ATmega328. 

According to STEM Center USA CEO Melissa Jawaharlal, the team designed the Pi-Bot from the ground up to optimize functionality and ensure affordability to its widespread audience, ranging from students to experienced engineers. The kit currently uses standardized C programming language (specifically meant for its Maker-oriented audience), and offers flexibility with its modular chassis, and line following and ultrasonic distance sensors.

Hummingbird Duo Robotics Kit

BirdBrain Technologies (a Carnegie Mellon University spinoff) recently debuted its Hummingbird Duo, a robotics kit powered by an ATmega32U4. The Duo controller serves as the core of all new Hummingbird kits, with a second Atmel chip, an ATtiny24A, tasked with controlling motors and servos. Part of the fun of constructing a robot with this innovative kit is that it’s building material agnostic, meaning a Maker can anything that may be lying around!

Mirobot

Mirobot – created by Ben Pirt – is an an ATmega328 powered DIY robotic kit designed to help teach children about technology. Not only is the open-source bot fun to build and simple to start programming it to draw shapes, the chassis is laser cut and snaps together quite easily. Once connected to a Wi-Fi network, Makers can browse through its on-board webpage and experience its Scratch-like visual programming tool. In fact, Mirobot can even be be programmed in several different ways, including a web-based GUI which is similar to LOGO, albeit with drag and drop.

The Heart Bot creates art with your heart rate

A few months back, SMS Audio (created by hip-hop artist 50 Cent) teamed with Intel to launch its Biosport Headphone System. In celebration of the product’s launch, the companies partnered with Sid Lee New York to put together an art installation that merged both technology and physiology. The result? A drawing machine that could be controlled by each viewer’s heart rate.

Inspired by the robotic designs of both HEKTOR and the ATmega328 based PLOTCLOCK, The Heart Bot uses a small sensor to measure an individual’s heart rate and then translate it into a physical design. Aramique, the Interactive Director at Tool, says the idea behind the project was to create a collaborative piece of art that unfolded throughout the night by inviting all guests to spend thirty seconds with their finger touching a heart rate sensor, while the robotic machine would draw on the wall in real-time.

“Heart Bot consists of a pulse sensor embedded into a small pedestal, a wall with two stepper motors mounted 12 feet high and 10 feet apart, and a long belt stretched between them. Attached to the belt in the middle is a rectangular frame fitted with two pen-wielding robotic arms that can draw through the window in the middle of the frame,” Aramique detailed.

In order to interact with the experimental drawing machine, the user simply needs to place his or her finger onto the pulse sensor, then press a button on the pedestal for about thirty seconds. The heart rate readings are then sent to a small piece of software, which relays a combination of choreographed actions and pulse information to the motors and the robotic arms. This then commences drawings in real-time.

Essentially, the Heart Bot collected heart rate data from a group of people at a fixed time and fixed location to create a piece of generative art. Since all the participants’ “drawings” were created on the same surface, the resulting piece showed how each person experienced the moment and had a unique physiological response to the environment.

“The challenge with the design was keeping it generative, controlled by the heart rate and creating some kind of order so it wouldn’t become a mess of EKG lines. We decided on a radial design inspired by the hands on a clock and started each person’s contribution from the center of the circle working its way out. Each of the 60 people add their hear rate drawing to what corresponds with a second or minute on a clock dial,” Aramique revealed.

The Biosport headphones also use a biometric sensor that tracks the vital signs of the wearer while they are working out. At the launch event, about 60 people used the Heart Bot to track their physical data. After the event ended, the final drawing was donated to the Feeding America charity.

Amazon installs warehouses with 15,000 robots for the holiday rush

While delivery drones may still be a thing of the (near) future, Amazon has installed more than 15,000 robotic helpers across 10 of their U.S. fulfillment centers just in time for the Cyber Monday rush. The orange 320-pound bots from Kiva Systems are designed to expedite delivery time to customers while competing with brick-and-mortar stores.

These robots, which navigate across the warehouse floors on wheels, utilize vision systems to enable the unloading and receipt of an entire trailer of inventory in as little as 30 minutes — which pales in comparison to the hours of work by man. In addition, Amazon said its centers will be equipped with Robo-Stow, a gigantic robotic arm that shifts inventory, while employees will use high-end graphically oriented computer systems to fulfill customer orders in an effort to accelerate the process.

In fact, the robots have allowed Amazon to get packages out the door in as little as 13 minutes, compared to about an hour and a half on average in the non-futuristic facilities.

“The Amazon fulfillment teams are dedicated to innovating in our fulfillment centers to increase speed of delivery while enabling greater local selection at lower costs for our customers. The advancements in our latest fulfillment centers hit all three of these customer desires while continuing to provide a work environment that is great for employees,” said Dave Clark, Amazon’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations and Customer Service.

As Reuters notes, Amazon deployed the robots earlier this summer, ahead of the holiday quarter, when the company typically books about one-third of its annual revenue. The updated fulfillment centers are in five states — California, Texas, Florida, New Jersey and Washington.

 

This $11 robot can teach kids how to program

A group of Harvard University researchers — Michael Rubenstein, Bo Cimino, and Radhika Nagpal — have developed an $11 tool to educate young Makers on the fundamentals of robotics. Dubbed AERobot (short for Affordable Education Robot), the team hopes that it will one day help inspire more kids to explore STEM disciplines.

Fueled by the recent emergence of the Maker Movement, robots are becoming increasingly popular throughout schools in an effort to spur interest in programming and artificial intelligence among students.

The idea behind this particular project was conceived following the 2014 AFRON ellenge, which encouraged researchers to design low-cost robotic systems for education in Third World countries. As Wired’s Davey Alba notes, Rubenstein’s vast experience in swarm robotics led to him modding one of his existing systems to construct the so-called AERobot. While it may not be a swarm bot, the single machine possesses a number of the same inexpensive components.

So, what is the AERobot capable of doing?

• Moving forward and backward on flat, smooth surfaces
• Turning in place in both directions
• Detecting the direction of incoming light
• Identifying distances using reflected infrared light
• Following lines and edges

With a megaAVR 8-bit microcontroller as its brains, the team assembled most of its other electronic parts with a pick-and-place machine, and to reduce costs some more, used vibration motors for locomotion and omitted chassis. AERobot is equipped with a built-in USB plug that also enables it to be directly inserted into any computer with a USB port — unlike a number of other bots.

“Using this USB connection, it can recharge its lithium-ion battery and be reprogrammed all without any additional hardware. AERobot has holonomic 2D motion; using two low-cost vibration motors, it can move forward, backwards, and turn in place on a flat, smooth surface such as a table or whiteboard. It also has three pairs of outward-pointing infrared transmitters and phototransistors, allowing it to detect distance to obstacles using reflected infrared light, and passively detect light sources using just the phototransistors.”

In addition, the bot features one downward-pointing infrared transmitter along with a trio of infrared receivers to detect the reflectivity of the surface below, which is useful for line following. To aid in learning programs and debugging, AERobot also boasts an RGB LED.

On the software side, AERobot uses a graphical programming environment, which makes reprogramming easy for beginners. By modifying the minibloqs programming language, Rubenstein says you don’t really need to type code, instead you just drag pictures. He went on to tell Wired, “Say I wanted an LED on the robot to turn green. I would just drag over an image of an LED, and pick the green color.”

Interested in learning more? You can scroll on over to the project’s official page or read its entire Wired feature here.

 

This robot wants to add AI to everyday household objects

Sure, robotic concepts are dime a dozen these days. The question is, however, how close are we to an era of ubiquitous multi-function droids? According to Flower Robotics, soon. The company is envisioning a future where everyday household items, such as lamps and plants, come to life and move freely about our homes. In an effort to lower the barriers for development and adoption of in-house robots, the Tokyo-based design studio recently launched its futuristic device, Patin.

Patin, which is a French word for “skate,” is an open-source platform equipped with an interface that connects service units on an autonomously movable body through artificial intelligence. The robot’s AI is capable of navigating areas through observation and making real-time decisions based on its environment. By mounting existing products on Patin, the team believes a new lifestyle can be created, one in which human movement is coordinated with concepts such as lighting and planting.

Need an extra hand to carry your groceries? A little more light? A reminder to water your plants? To turn up the tunes? Each of these tasks (and more) can be accomplished by the bot.

Unlike other task-specific gadgets, i.e. the iRobot Roomba, Patin is comprised of a mobile base with an upper deck to which you can attach different modules, meaning homeowners will only need one device and the necessary attachments for new functionalities, such as moving a lamp closer to an individual reading, caring for a plant in need of nutrients, or blasting tunes from nearby speakers.

At the moment, Flower Robotics is still working on the prototype which boasts a set of Omni wheels, and is controlled by NVIDIA’s Jetson TK1 CPU and an [Atmel based] Arduino board. To navigate and detect nearby objects, the device is equipped with an assortment of cameras — including a depth-sensitive camera developed by ASUS — as well as several contact and proximity sensors.

Patin’s core structure is built around four parts: a main body, an application (the service unit), Pit (charging and communication unit) and a cloud. New functions can be added through a space perception sensor like a 3D camera, a Patin unit with AI autonomous function, and other service units with expandable functions. As its team notes, not only is it responsible for charging the main body, but the Pit unit transmits information to and from the cloud via Wi-Fi. The cloud then monitors and tracks the robot’s behavior and other pertinent information from each Patin, and distributes updated information accordingly.

Wait, it gets better. Patin will also include an Android-based SDK for developers, enabling them to design their own peripherals for the prototype. By providing third parties with technical support like SDK and simulators, designers and Makers alike will have the opportunity to partake in the its ongoing development. Embracing an open community model, individuals can contribute to and collaborate on the promotion and dissemination of this next-gen home robot, thereby lowering the its barrier of entry into the market.

“From now on, thirds parties will be able to develop their own ideas to build robots using our open source platform to provide platformatize tool based on open source idea, interface for service unit connection as an AI robot development platform for assuming the third parties will be joining service unit development.”

“For example, by teaming up with technology developers, manufacturers of existing products such as electrical appliances, furniture, and interior design could add a robotic element to their products,” the team writes.

Flower Robotics is currently working on its Atmel powered prototype and plans to commercialize Patin by 2016. Will you be welcoming one into your household?

Learning 3D-printed robotics with Maker Club

Whether a kid beginning to tinker around or a well-seasoned engineer looking for a hobby, there’s just something about robotics that Makers of all ages and levels love. Sure, pre-built ‘bots are great, but DIY droids are even better. Unfortunately, constructing custom robots at home can be quite costly and difficult to attain the necessary components.

That is why UK-based Maker Club has launched an Indiegogo campaign for its new project designed for both the consumer and educational markets that combines an Atmel based control chip, a mobile app, an online learning package and 3D printing.

The concept first originated after founder Simon Riley volunteered at his sister’s school teaching code to students ages 9-11. Riley realized just how much more the kids learned and enjoyed themselves when the activities were hands-on. After receiving a Rep Rap 3D printer as a present and a eureka moment, the idea for Maker Club was conceived.

The robots are each controlled with what its creators have named, MakerConnect. Its microcontroller brain and accompanying app were developed to control not just the bots but anything Arduino-based over Bluetooth LE. MakerConnect’s on-board chip and Arduino library make way for limitless possibilities, enabling Makers to control anything from RC cars and hexapods to household lights and sensors.

Why stop there? If all goes well, the team is also planning to leverage the power of a user’s mobile device to connect the app to the cloud, ultimately allowing Makers to remotely race cars or access sensor data in other parts of the world.

“It’s cross curricular and a perfect introduction to the world of robotics, giving young Makers the skills and confidence to invent anything, while allowing seasoned pros the chance to use our extensive Library of code to build even more complex creations,” the team writes.

The Maker Club has designed a range of interchangeable components, each ready to be built right out-of-the-box or directly from your 3D printer. The team has even developed a library of Arduino code, which it hopes to frequently expand with new ‘botlings.’

“Our kits use the same components that the professionals use to prototype their hardware. This means that once young Makers have gotten to grips with our robots, they can start using the thousands of commercially available sensors and outputs to prototype their own inventions.”

Maker Club assures its backers that they will provide all the necessary support in helping bring ideas to life, while future roboticists will be able to sell their own bot designs on its online portal. Don’t own a desktop 3D printer? No need to fret! The team will print all the requisite components and ship them directly with all of the necessary electronics for the build. These pre-printed kits include a Grabber robotic arm, a Carduino RC, Quadmonster and Insectoid — each of which make for a perfect holiday gift for those 12 and up!

Interested in learning 3D-printed robotics? Hurry on over to the project’s official crowdfunding campaign page here.

Dexmo is an exoskeleton glove that connects your digital and physical worlds

Virtual reality is fun, but what if you could actually touch the cyber world? With aspirations of connecting both the digital and physical realms, the Dexta Robotics crew has unveiled a pair of wearable exoskeletons, aptly named Dexmo.

The original glove, dubbed Dexmo Classic, is a wearable mechanical exoskeleton that captures 11 degrees of hand movement and can offer Makers an accurate model skeleton though inverse kinematics algorithms. According to its creators, it senses three degrees of freedom of motion for the thumb, and both the split and bending of the other four fingers. An embedded IMU sensor will even enable Dexmo to output its orientation along an X, Y and Z axis.

Later developments led to the creation of Dexmo F2, which possesses the same functionality as its older sibling as well as provides digital force feedback similar to a miniaturized join gear-braking system. The feedback on the index finger and thumb allows a wearer to feel a digital thing, i.e. an in-game object, on top of the hand motion capturing.

“When a collision is detected (either by the collision detector in a program or by a pressure sensor in real life), a signal is sent back to the device, then the actuators activate and brake the joint, the exoskeleton locks, preventing the finger from further bending inwards, thus creating a normal force on the user’s fingertip,” a company rep explains.

What’s exciting is that since Dexmo is wireless, a user can interact with the digital world much more naturally, without space constraints.

The team notes that the glove, which looks like something out of a bizarre sci-fi flick, offers a number of applications appealing to everyone ranging from roboticists to VR developers to Makers. Dexmo can be used to command all sorts of things, including home lighting, music and art through gesture controls, as well as hacked to take maneuver of a variety of RC devices.

Each Dexmo unit will come with some out-of-the-box software for users to tinker with, while raw data and an SDK will be available for developers and programmers interested in the gadget. For Makers, the team says it will also include an Arduino library for receiving data from Dexmo, opening up a world of endless possibilities!

Recently launched on Kickstarter, Dextra Robotics is seeking $200,000. With several weeks remaining, the team is well on its way of attaining its goal. Interested in learning more or backing Dexmo? Head over to its official Kickstarter page here. Those wanting to continue reading up on exoskeletons can browse our archive on the topic here.

Video: Robot plays ping-pong in Japan

Electronics maker Omron recently unveiled a 2.7-meter-tall ping pong-playing robot during CEATEC 2014 in Tokyo. Mounted on a metal frame that straddles one end of the table, the robot’s embedded sensors and computer-vision algorithms track an opponent’s movement and the speed of the ball. Contrary to popular belief, Omron says the robot isn’t designed to defeat its opponent; rather, it simply wants to keep a rally going.

Powered by five servo motors, the robot can grip the paddle with a four-axis manipulator commonly seen in pick-and-place industrial robots. A controller system can respond to serves in 1/1,000th of a second.

While ping-pong is probably most enjoyable when played against a live opponent, an automated ping-pong platform is definitely a good alternative for those looking to hone their skills with repetitive practice.