In the interests of medical research and the pursuit of Extreme Scientific Cleverness, biological researchers around the world have managed to grow a burgeoning range of miniature human organs in vitro in laboratories around the world in recent years. Now the ultimate organ1 – the human brain – has been nurtured into life from skin cells…
Darpa Robotics Challenge: Meet Tartan Rescue’s CHIMP
Meet CHIMP, brainchild of team Tartan Rescue representing Carnegie Mellon University’s National Robotics Engineering Center. Like the other ‘bots we’ve introduced you to, CHIMP is going to compete in the DARPA Robotics Challenge being held on June 5th and 6th in California. The DARPA Robotics Challenge aims to incentivise the awesome robot makers of the…
DARPA Robotics Challenge: Team Grit’s Cog-Burn
Team Grit’s Cog-Burn is one of the weirdest of the entries in the DARPA Robotics Challenge. Reminiscent of (but literally nothing like) the eminently cool Super Ball ‘bot being developed by NASA’s Ames Center for work in space, Cog-Burn isn’t humanoid, animalistic, or even a tensegrity structure. What the hell is Cog-Burn?! Awesome. It is…
DARPA Robotics Challenge: Meet THOR-MANG
THOR-MANG SMASH! Seriously, all on its own this robot look like an enormous, lumbering hulk. Well, it is lumbering, but it really isn’t ginormous, standing only 4′ 10″ tall. And wow! This little dude looks like it’s ready to compete in the DARPA Robotics Challenge right now! But, despite this excellent video from the qualification…