Miniature Human Robot

A new humanoid robot,certified as the world's smallest,was released by Japanese toy manufacturer Tomy Company.On OCTOBER 25,2007,the Omnibot I-Sobot is scheduled to hit the market as well as the 2008 edition of Guinness World Record ,which will list the product as "The Smallest Humanoid Robot In Production.Robotics fans look forward to I-Sobot as a fun toy to add to thier collection,but aslo as a leap forward in miniaturization of the advanced parts that go into these high-tech tools.

Surprising Size And Price :



I-sobot stands just 16.5 centimeters tall and weighs only around 350 gms.While the robot fist in the palm of your hand.It remains a fully outfitted bipedal machine,with 17 moving joints.Used throughout the body are tiny,custom servomotors developed by TOMY.The robot's onboard gyro-sensors allows it to maintain its balance automatically as it goes smoothly through its programmed motions.I-Sobot comes with an infrared remote controlunit (as u can see in the picture above),but users can also use Voice commands to control it.Tomy's I-sobot architecture, the control system developed to operate this new robot,makes use of 19 IC(integrated circuit) that works in tandem to enabel the toy's complex action's.

I-Sobot will be sold for 248$ in fully assembled form,complete with rechargeable battries and its remote control, which features twin Joysticks, programmable buttons and an LCD screen. According to the manufacturers, this prince is quite affordable for a robot of this complexity.In addition to its release in JAPAN, the robot will make its way in the U.S.A and else where in ASIA.In 2008 Tomy intends to extend its asles to EUROPE as well.To reach its global sales target of 300,000 units the company is localization I-SOBOT software in English and Chinese in addition to Japanese.

Four Model For Action:



An attractive feature of this versatile robot is its 4 separate models for controlling the action.In RCM(Remote Control Mode),the user manages the robot's movements directly with the command buttons and joysticks on the wirelsee remote.In programming Mode the user has the option to easily choose commands from a lost of available actions-182 in all-or to use the controller to create original actions, or use a combination of the two to program complex sequences that can be upto 240 steps long,with 80 steps stored in each of the robot's 3 memory slots.Special Action Mode, meanwhile includes 18 more complex preprogrammed actions, such as "hula dance" and "air drumming",and Voice Control Mode lets the user give the robot one of 10 commands,to which the I-Sobot can respond with a range of actions.

This robot is entertaining to the ear as well as the eye.As it goes through its actions it plays sounds from its library of nearly 100 sounds effects and songs.The speaker can be turned off,too when silent action is preferable.The toy is HUMANOID in form, but the designers have included playful actions in its repertoire that have it imitate the adorable movements of animals.

Tomy has taken steps to make I-Sobot eco-friendly.The toy manufacturer is shipping the robot with three rechargeable AAA batteries from SANYO Electric Co. whose Eneloop nickel metal hydride batteries let users keep the robot running for months without sending dead batteries to landfills.Tomy is also collaborating in SANYO's Energy Evolution Project by making I-Sobot part of the program carried out at japanese elementary schools.The companies hope to boost children's awareness of environmental issues by powering the fun robot with rechargeable cells.

Robo's in Hospitals

Has it come to this?Robots standing in for doctors at the hospital patients bedside?Not exactly,but some doctors have found a way to use a video conferencing robot to check on patients while they are miles away from the hospital.

At Baltimore's Sinai Hospitaloutfitted with cameras ,a screen and a microphone,joystick controlled robot is guided into the rooms of Dr Alex Gandas patients where he speaks to them as if he were right there."The system allows you to be anywhere in the hospital from anywhere in the world"says the surgeon who specialises in weight loss surgery.

CLICK ON IMAGE FOR BETTER UNDERSTANDING

Besides his normal morning and afternoon in person rounds,Gandsas uses the$150,000 robot to visit patients at night or when problems arise."they love it.They'b rather see me through the robot"he said of his patients' reaction to the machine.

Gandsas presented the idea to the hospital administrators as a method to more closely monitor patients following weight loss surgery.Gandsas an unpaid member of advisory board for the robot manufacture who has stock options in the company, added that since its introduction the length of stay has been shorter for the patients visited by the ROBOT.

A chart review study of 376 doctors' patients found that the 92 patients who had additional robotic visits had shorter hospital stays.Gandsas study appears in the july issue of the Journal Of The American College Of Surgeons.

Nicknamed Bari for the bariatic surgery Gandsas practices, the RP-7 Remote Presence Robotic System by InTouch Technologiesis one of a number of robotic devices finding their way into the medical world.About 180 of the robots are in use in hospitals world wide.

A similar robot is used for Teleconference with a translater for doctor who dont speak their patient language.Robotic devices have also been used to guide stroke patients through therapy.

Nurse Florence Ford, who has worked with the robot since it was introduced about 18 months ago,said patients have reacted well, particularly because "seeing the doctors faces gives them confidence".