Web sites
Article Type: Web sites From: Industrial Robot: An International Journal, Volume 39, Issue 4
Web sites
Willow Garage
Willow Garage is a privately-funded research company in California, USA, that develops hardware and open source software for personal robotics applications. Willow Garage’s inventive team consists of experts in robot design,control, perception, and machine learning.
Willow Garage’s creativity is also reflected in its multimedia web site which features its unique robots, software, and research. The Robots tab provides detailed information on the PR2 robotics research and development platform; the autonomous platform Turtlebot with Willow Garage’s open source software, Robot Operating System (ROS); and Texai, a remote presence system being launched by Willow Garage’s new spin-off company, Suitable Technologies, Inc.
With the mission of advancing the state-of-the-art in autonomous robotics technologies, Willow Garage supports an open source robotics community. The Software tab links to its five portals: Ros, OpenCV, PCL, Gazebo, and Player. The site’s research link breaks down into different research categories,publications, events, visiting scholars and interns, and a bio-link on each person.
Impressive robot application videos, images, and a blog are also presented on the web site.
Future Robotic Technology Center
This is the homepage for the Future Robotic Technology Center (fuRo) located at Japan’s Chiba Institute of Technology. fuRo’s goal is to contribute to society by creating the next generation of robotic technologies. This is done by collaborating with the private sector and by training young researchers.
The “works” tab highlights more than a dozen research projects that combine the integration of function and design and include: “core”,a two-leg robotic vehicle, “Hull”, a universal cockpit enabling intuitive robot maneuvering, “morph”, a humanoid robot with advanced functionality, “Hallucigenia 01”, an experimental prototype vehicle with eight wheeled modules, and “Quince” and “Kenaf”rescue robots. Each work contains a video and high resolution images.
A downloadable brochure and info on fuRo’s members and distinctive office space is also available.
Robotnik
Robotnik is a company located in Spain that specialises in national and international robotic development and R&D projects.
Robotnik’s well-designed and easy-to-navigate web site describes its comprehensive products of six mobile robots, six robot arms, three robotic hands, four humanoids; and extensive services in robotics, automation, and 15 R&D custom projects.
The site also covers pages on videos, news, company, and partners.
Robai
US based Robai manufacturers Cyton, a seven axis robot arm that works like the human arm. Robai’s easy-to-use Cyton humanoid manipulator starts at under US$4,000, and is designed for automating light duty tasks.
Robai’s state-of-the-art web site emphasizes its products: the Cyton light and standard arm; the two-armed bi-handed Cyton, the humanoid Dexterous Torso, and a 4-DOF gripper. A separate tab called “Developers Page”offers brochures, operator’s manuals, and HTML documentation. The link Actin-SE describes the robot control software which is developed by Energid Technologies.
Case studies, movie downloads, and news are also found on this informative web site.
ASORO Laboratory
A*STAR Social Robotics Laboratory (ASORO) was launched in 2008 as part of Singapore’s multi-year inter-institute program to advance robotic intelligence. The research projects in ASORO’s laboratory include speech processing,vision understanding, mechatronics, human-robot interaction, and cognitive processing.
ASORO’s excellent web site takes the visitor on a chronological timeline of its innovative Robots which range from a robotic butler to three new social robots introduced in 2010: a receptionist robot, a home helper robot, and a telepresence robot.
Under the Research tab are shown the Lab’s three key domains: Robotic Senses, Cognitive Intelligence and Robotics Engineering. The People link group the individual team members by their scientific area of specialty. The web site also lists all publications by year, and makes accessible a multitude of media formats.
