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Thursday, June 27, 2013

Prosthetic Arm by DARPA

A team of researchers at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) demonstrated a type of peripheral interface called targeted muscle re-innervation (TMR). By rewiring nerves from amputated limbs, new interfaces allow for prosthetic control with existing muscles. Former Army Staff Sgt. Glen Lehman, injured in Iraq, recently demonstrated improved TMR technology. In this video, Lehman demonstrates simultaneous joint control of a prosthetic arm made possible by support from the RE-NET program.


Full story is available here.

Monday, June 17, 2013

Terrain Traversability Analysis Methods for Unmanned Ground Vehicles; A Survey

Motion planning for unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) constitutes a domain of research where several disciplines meet, ranging from artificial intelligence and machine learning to robot perception and computer vision. In view of the plurality of related applications such as planetary exploration, search and rescue, agriculture, mining and off road exploration, the aim of the present survey is to review the field of 3D terrain traversability analysis that is employed at a preceding stage as a means to effectively and efficiently guide the task of motion planning. We identify that in the epicenter of all related methodologies, 3D terrain information is used which is acquired from LIDAR, stereo range data, color or other sensory data and occasionally combined with static or dynamic vehicle models expressing the interaction of the vehicle with the terrain. By taxonomizing the various directions that have been explored in terrain perception and analysis, this review takes a step toward agglomerating the dispersed contributions from individual domains by elaborating on a number of key similarities as well as differences, in order to stimulate research in addressing the open challenges and inspire future developments.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.engappai.2013.01.006



Thursday, June 13, 2013

Nanorobots and their potential in medicine

A stimulating TED talk by Dr. Ido Bachelet, on how nanorobots could revolutionalize medicine (among other things...)