Go Honda go! Asimo is the best! For now…

My family has been using Honda products ever since I could remember. Inadvertently, I became a Honda fan too. I must say that while the intentions of building the Asimo robot might be a publicity seeking attempt on Honda's part to show off her engineering capabilities, nonetheless, the Asimo Robot is truly a remarkable engineering feat.

I truly believe that it is possible, though not within my lifetime, that humanoid robots will integrate with society. Their presence will be a sad one though, as their whole lives will evolve around helping human beings and Earth. As we can see from the various postings on i-heart-robots, robots can be found in a diverse range of industries including the medical , assistive, home and security industries. What differentiates the Asimo robot from the other robots though, is its degrees of movements and its ability to react properly, as trained, to commands.

I wish for the day when humanoid robots can truly integrate with this Earth. That seems so far away though. For now, we'll have to settle for the Asimo robot. And I’m proud to be the owner of an Asimo robot. The keychain, not the actual robot…

Wine -> Wine snobs -> Wine idiot. Yup, that’s me.

On the topic of wine, some people will always think about wine only as a source of alcohol. Others will take pleasure in impressing their peers by discerning the vintage of the wine or determining the location of its vineyard. In the presence of wine and their peers, terms such as full bodied, or tannins will occasionally erupt from the mouths of these people. It seems that they take pride in their ability to quantify the seemingly unquantifiable. Well, I shall reserve my comments on whether or not these people actually know what they are doing but I will let it be known that they are often being endearingly referred to as wine snobs.

On a more personal note, I think I will consider myself to be a wine idiot. You see, if the wine merchant tells me that the bottle of liquid in his hands is a merlot, then I will believe that it is a merlot. If he says that it is cabernet sauvignon, then I will believe it to be a cabernet sauvignon. So you see, there is actually no way for me to know if I am being cheated.

Well well... If I can get my hands on the wine tasting robot, then I can pay 20 dollars for a wine that costs 20 dollars all the time! The good thing is that the robot does not actually drink the wine. This means I get to drink more!

If the merchant says the wine is a chenin blanc when it is actually a chardonay, I can now call him a nincompoop. That, or I call the police.

This little bugger is going to save me a fortune.
Picture courtesy of here.

GarageGeeks beat me to it! I swear I would have thought about it too! As if…

Playing in the nude. Picture taken from this link.

When I first read about the guitar heronoid, my reaction is one of disgust. I am disgusted at how much time I have spent on the guitar hero games, instead of trying to come up with a robot that can play the game for me. The differences are pretty obvious.

One, if I play guitar hero, then I will just be a person that plays guitar hero. If I beat the game, I will be a celebrity in the comforts of my living room. Now, if I were to build a robot that plays guitar hero for me, imagine the fame and money that would come rolling in! Real fame! Real money! Oh... Just thinking about celebrity makes my head feel light...

Anyways, I admit that the Guitar Heronoid is a pretty cool invention. I mean, just look at the hands. Imagine how many man hours it must have taken to develop the hands. Also, I noticed that the robot played almost flawlessly. Some people may complain about lag and the other imperfections of the humanoid. I say to these people, "Give the robot a break! Even I can't play perfectly!"

Bomb users beware of Fido! Nope, I’m not talking about the dog. The robot…

First of all, I must say that today is a great day for all peace loving citizens of this Earth. (Check this out: Robots sniff out bombs). We can now sleep well knowing that less people need to die from the devastating weapon known as the bomb. By bomb, I do not mean just any form of explosives. Rather, I am referring to those sneaky contraptions that were made famous by suicide bombers.

I have always thought of modern weapons as devices meant for the cowardly. Let's put it this way, when you use modern weapons such as rifles or bombs, people get killed without knowing what hit them.

And worst of all, if the victims somehow manage to survive the attack, they would most probably be hideously disfigured, deformed, or be harassed by physical as well as psychological trauma for the rest of their lives.

With the invention of bomb-sniffing robots, everybody including myself just had their chances of being blown into bits and pieces reduced significantly since the robot is not only able to detect bombs, it will also serve as a form of deterrence for those bomb using cowards.

Some qualms I have with these robots is that they seem to be able to detect only certain types of explosives, and that they need to be controlled by somebody. Well, better let one person die than several I guess...

Picture taken from this link.

A Prelude to Minimally Invasive Surgery

Imagine popping into the clinic to get a quick fix for your flu, only to have the doctor remind you of the annual health check that you have been postponing indefinitely. He proceeds to offer an old adage, “Prevention is better than cure”, thus insinuating that you are deliberately delaying the health check. You smile meekly and apologize, yet again, as you show him your organizer (the one that is filled to the brim with appointments). You start feeling depressed. Is it depressing because you feel powerless in the presence of your doctor, or is it depressing because you suddenly realize that you have no time at all to spend on yourself?

If you are depressed because you feel powerless in the presence of your doctor, there is really nothing anybody can do about that. However, if you feel depressed knowing that you have no time at all to spend on yourself, rejoice in the fact that machines, especially robots, have always found ways to allow us to accomplish more in less time.

On the topic of Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS), researchers have come up with a miniature robot prototype that can be inserted through an incision. The robot can then be freely controlled to perform medical treatment and capture images when necessary. The prototype currently has image capture functions, medicine delivery systems, and tiny forceps for taking tissue samples. The possibilities are endless for this robot. With robots like these, it is possible to have health checks conducted when you are having lunch, and if there is a television, you get to enjoy the afternoon news.

Now that’s what you call multi-tasking!










Tiny Robot reduces need for surgery

http://www.pinktentacle.com/images/minibot.jpg

My First Post

This is my first post!