Robotics: A Professor + Gecko + Petman + Guide Dog

choi

(1) Daniel de Vise, An Engineering Professor Who Combines Mechanical Know-How With Creativity, Dennis Hong Is the US Star in Humanoid Robotics. Washington Post, Nov 3, 2011
http://www.washingtonpost.com/li ... QArrGviM_story.html
(Virginia Tech Professor Dennis "Hong, 40, the son of a famed Korean aeronautical engineer, is the Leonardo da Vinci of robots")

My comment:
(a) I read it the day it was published. I did not think it was worthy of attention. I still do not. So just read the first several paragraphs, up to the quotation above, AND view the photo galery.
(b) Regarding double-pulley ankle. Read only what I present to you.
(i) This short discussion has no citation, but it is pretty good--and gives you a bird's-eye of the issue.

Why even-toed ungulates have two trochleae on each talus bone?  Yahoo Answer, "1 year ago."
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100830055113AApMMfc

(ii) even-toed ungulate
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Even-toed_ungulates
(Latin is Artiodactyla; A further distinguishing feature of the group is the shape of the astragalus (talus), a bone in the ankle joint, which has a double-pulley structure. This gives the foot greater flexibility)

* artiodactyl (n; New Latin Artiodactyla, from Greek artios fitting, even-numbered + daktylos finger, toe; First Known Use 1879):
"any of an order (Artiodactyla) of ungulates (as the camel or pig) with an even number of functional toes on each foot"
www.m-w.com
(iii) Artiocetus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artiocetus
(an extinct genus of early whales; cetus is Latin for whale)
(iv) Using Trees to Make Predictions About Fossils: The whale's ankle. Understanding Evolution, University of California, Berkeley, undated
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/phylogenetics_10
("Compare the ankle bones of the two ancient whales on the left and right (the specimen on the right is missing some bones) and those of a modern pronghorn (center). Notice the double pulley structure boxed on all three.  nkle bones photo courtesy of Philip D. Gingerich, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor")
(v) Nancy Ross-Flanigan, Whales of the Desert. Michigan Today, University of Michigan, June 15, 2011
http://michigantoday.umich.edu/2011/06/whales.php
(Professor Philip D Gingerich, University of Michigan)


(2) Mike Hager, SFU Creates Robotic Gecko That Climbs Walls. Vancouver Sun, Nov 2, 2011
http://www.vancouversun.com/crea ... /5643660/story.html
(Jeff Krahn--lead author of the research published Tuesday in the British science journal Smart Materials and Structures; climb smooth surfaces like glass or whiteboards; can climb up and over corners onto walls at up to 3.4 centimetres a second; . relying on Van der Waals forces)

My comment:
(a) Simon Fraser University
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Fraser_University
(a public research university; its main campus in Burnaby, immediately to the east of Vancouver; named after fur trader Simon Fraser [1776-1862]; ranked 1st among Canada’s Comprehensive Universities in 2009, 2010, and 2011 by Macleans Magazine; Established 1965)
(b) Simon Fraser was born in New York State, by a loyalist family who had immigrated from Scotland in 1773. His father fought on the side of the Crown, captured in 1777, and died a prisoner of war. After Independence War, his mother moved the family to Quebec. Wikipedia
(c) Scientists Reach the Heights With Gecko-Inspired Robot. YouTube.com, uploaded by InstituteofPhysics on Oct 27, 2011.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tont-BzM1II

* Institute of Physics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_of_Physics
(IOP; is the main professional body for physicists in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland; Formation 1874; headquarters London)
(d) This is the holy grail for a climbing robot. The conundrum is easy to attach but hard to detach, or vice versa.


(3) Petman. Boston Dynamics, undated.
http://bostondynamics.com/robot_petman.html

Note: Erico Guizzo, Stunning Video of PETMAN Humanoid Robot From Boston Dynamics. IEEE Spectrum, Oct 31, 2011 (robotics blog)
http://spectrum.ieee.org/automat ... ics-petman-humanoid
("It can walk, squat, kneel, and even do push-ups. * * * Today, the company is unveiling footage of the robot's latest capabilities. It's stunning.")

(4) 盲導犬型ロボットを開発. NSK, Oct 27, 2011  
http://www.jp.nsk.com/company/pr ... /press11102702.html
(my translation of the Japanese title: Developing Guide-Dog Robot)

Note:
(a) The Japanese 盲導犬 became 導盲犬 in Taiwan.
(b) NSK Ltd
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NSK_Ltd.
(日本精工株式会社; inaugurated its business in November 1916 and produced the first ball bearings made in Japan)

This company is different from the watch maker Seiko Holdings Corporation  セイコーホールディングス株式会社 ("Seiko" for short; founded by Kintarō HATTORI 服部 金太郎 in 1881 in--and remained based in--Tokyo and shop name changed in 1992 to 精工舎 Seikosha)  
(c) In collaboration with 電気通信大学  University of Electro-Communications
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Electro-Communications
(a national university in the city of Chōfu 調布市 [located in the western end of Tokyo Metropolis 東京都]; founded in 1918)
(d) "The latest prototype, the third created by the Japanese company NSK since 2005, can only move 3.8 kilometers per hour, so it isn’t quite ready for the fast-paced visually impaired."
Torie Bosch, The Week’s Coolest Robot Videos, Animal Edition. Slate.com, Nov 4, 2011 (blog).
(e) Jaime Keene, Kinect Gives NSK Robotic Guide Dog Sight. The Verge, Nov 5, 2011.