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An ornithopter is an aircraft that flies by flapping its wings. Designers seek to imitate the flapping-wing flight of birds, bats, and insects. Though machines may differ in form, they are usually built on the same scale as these flying creatures. Manned ornithopters have also been built, and some have been successful. The machines are of two general types: those with engines, and those powered by the muscles of the pilot.
A micro air vehicle (MAV), or micro aerial vehicle, is a class of miniature UAVs that has a size restriction and may be autonomous. Modern craft can be as small as 5 centimeters. Development is driven by commercial, research, government, and military purposes; with insect-sized aircraft reportedly expected in the future. The small craft allows remote observation of hazardous environments inaccessible to ground vehicles. MAVs have been built for hobby purposes, such as aerial robotics contests and aerial photography.
WowWee Group Limited, is a privately owned, Hong Kong-based Canadian consumer technology company.
An entertainment robot is, as the name indicates, a robot that is not made for utilitarian use, as in production or domestic services, but for the sole subjective pleasure of the human. It serves, usually the owner or his housemates, guests or clients. Robotics technologies are applied in many areas of culture and entertainment.
A radio-controlled aircraft is a small flying machine that is controlled remotely by an operator on the ground using a hand-held radio transmitter. The transmitter communicates with a receiver within the craft that sends signals to servomechanisms (servos) which move the control surfaces based on the position of joysticks on the transmitter. The control surfaces, in turn, affect the orientation of the plane.
Roboraptor is a robotic toy invented by Mark Tilden in 1999, and then distributed by Wow Wee Toys International. It is the successor to the RoboSapien robot and uses motion technology based on realistic biomechanics that give it fluid and natural movements. It has a multi-function remote control that uses infrared technology to talk to it. Unlike the original RoboSapien, the Roboraptor is capable of autonomous movement, using 3 realistic gaits.
Chibi-Robo! is a platform-adventure video game for the GameCube developed by Bandai and Skip Ltd. and published by Nintendo. The game was released in Japan in 2005, and in North America and Europe the following year. Originally conceived as a point-and-click adventure game, it was put on developmental hold until Nintendo producer Shigeru Miyamoto gained interest in the title and overhauled its production.
i-Cybie (爱赛比) is a robotic pet that resembles a dog. It was manufactured by Silverlit Toys Manufactory Ltd Hong Kong from 2000 to 2006. i-Cybie was developed for commercial distribution by Tiger Electronics. Outrageous International Hong Kong distributed the electronic pet from 2005 to 2006. The i-Cybie robotic dog responds to sound, touch, movement, and voice commands. The toy robot can autonomously recharge its batteries using a special docking station. I-Cybie was the first mass-produced toy that used advanced voice recognition technology.
Remote control animals are animals that are controlled remotely by humans. Some applications require electrodes to be implanted in the animal's nervous system connected to a receiver which is usually carried on the animal's back. The animals are controlled by the use of radio signals. The electrodes do not move the animal directly, as if controlling a robot; rather, they signal a direction or action desired by the human operator and then stimulate the animal's reward centres if the animal complies. These are sometimes called bio-robots or robo-animals. They can be considered to be cyborgs as they combine electronic devices with an organic life form. Because of the surgery required, and the moral and ethical issues involved, there has been criticism aimed at the use of remote control animals, especially regarding animal welfare and animal rights. A similar, non-invasive application has been reported which stimulates the brain with ultrasound to control the animal. Some applications use vibrations or sound to control the movements of the animals.
The Robosapien V2 is the second generation of Mark Tilden's Robosapien robot. It is nearly twice the size of the original robot, standing around 1.85 feet (56 cm) tall. Instead of the original caveman grunts, the V2 can speak a large list of pre-recorded phrases. It has infrared and basic color recognition sensors, grip sensors in its hands, touch or contact activated hand and foot sensors, and sonic sensors. For movement, the V2 has an articulated waist, shoulders, and hands giving him a variety of body animations.
A miniature UAV, small UAV (SUAV), or drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle small enough to be man-portable.
An Entomopter is an aircraft that flies using the wing-flapping aerodynamics of an insect. The word is derived from entomo + pteron. Entomopters are type of ornithopter, which is the broader term for any device intended to fly by flapping wings.
The Roboreptile is a toy robot manufactured by sphero Ltd. The Roboreptile has infrared and sound sensors, and is able to autonomously explore its environment while avoiding obstacles. It can also operate in different modes where it simulates behaviors of real animals. It is able to rear up on its hind legs and attack. Roboreptile was released in China on the 28 April 2006 and to the rest of the world later that year. It is superficially similar to a theropod or a prosauropod dinosaur but being quadrupedal it's better equated to a silesaurid or a monitor lizard.
Hexbug is a brand of toy automatons developed and distributed by Innovation First International, Inc. Hexbug, inspired by BEAM robotics uses many elements from it. First piloted in the US through RadioShack, it is now sold in most major retail stores. The original toy is based on six-legged arthropods but now comes in several different varieties. The name "Hexbug" relates to the six-sided packaging it is sold in, rather than to its number of legs.
The Looj was a rain gutter (eavestrough) cleaning domestic robot made and sold by iRobot.
Robosapien: Rebooted is a 2013 Canadian–American family drama film starring Bobby Coleman, Holliston Coleman, Penelope Ann Miller, David Eigenberg, Joaquim de Almeida, Kim Coates, Jae Head and Peter Jason, produced by Arad Productions Inc., Arc Productions, Crystal Sky Pictures and Brookwell McNamara Entertainment and distributed by Anchor Bay Films and TVA Films. It is based on the toy Robosapien.
TOSY Robotics specializes in designing and manufacturing robots and smart toys. The most famous products from TOSY Robotics are TOPIO Robot, DiscoRobo, TOOP and AFO.
RoboSapien is a toy-like biomorphic robot designed by Mark Tilden and produced by WowWee toys. The Robosapien X was made to entertain and will react to sounds and touch. The Robosapien is preprogrammed with moves, and also can be controlled by an infrared remote control included with the toy, or by either a personal computer equipped with an infrared PDA.
The Dragonfly is a failed crowdfunding project that was to build a miniaturized four-winged ornithopter UAV designed by TechJect. The Dragonfly supposedly was designed for: aerial photography, interactive gaming, autonomous patrolling for security and surveillance, etc. The project claimed that the UAV was going to manufactured by TechJect, but all development was canceled after crowdfunding IndieGoGo refused to release money.
The DelFly is a fully controllable camera-equipped flapping wing Micro Air Vehicle or Ornithopter developed at the Micro Air Vehicle Lab of the Delft University of Technology in collaboration with Wageningen University.
References
- ↑ Winerman, Lea (2002). Teen Biz Flies High, Science World, Sep 27, 2002
- ↑ Marriott, Michael (2007). If Leonardo Had Made Toys, The New York Times, Feb 2, 2007
- ↑ Block, Jeff (2004). Interview With Sean Frawley, Creator of the FlyTech Dragonfly Archived 2007-05-02 at the Wayback Machine RoboCommunity.com, Apr 20, 2004