Snake robots built by Howie Choset’s team can twist in many directions and move — slithering, swimming — like their namesake animal.
Credit: Howie Choset
34 comments:
Nick
said...
I thought this is pretty interesting. Robots are reinventing not only science, but the world around us. The fish robot could help disasters like oil spills. The snake robot can be used in combat as a type of drone. And the humanoid robot reinvents robots entirely.
I thought this wasn't interesting, but fascinating. I knew that technology would progress, maybe even evolve into something else, but I never knew that it would happen so soon, even as we speak. Like Nick, I would say that the humanoid robot is a reinvention of robots entirely, as well. If there were many fish with the fish robot, they would follow it, leading then away from an oil spill, or something disastrous like that. If he keeps this up, he can greatly change the future.
The technology used is amazing though I still don't understand how the snake robot propels itself, up a pole, by rolling if it has no momentum. It's amazing that the snake robot can swim but that is only another way that it acts strange compared to a snake. I still don't understand why they call it a snake robot if it just looks like one but doesn't move like one.
The technology of a robotic fish was really cool but it wouldn't be a good idea to put it in the ocean. If a fish could follow its trail, then how about a huge predatorily animal, like a shark. Not only will the robot be destroyed but the predator would die too. The robotic fish could also get caught in a fishing. Another bad thing that could happen to a robot fish is that it could run out of battery while underwater. This would add to the amount of junk in the ocean.
The humanoid robot doesn't even look very human. According to the video, the humanoid robot only has only a few joints which are either in the neck or its arm/hands. When the humanoid robot showed disappointment, it didn't even seem like it. One of things that I found wierd with the humanoid robot was that instead of having the most human like thing, an ego, it shot out bubbles.
Overall I thought it was really cool though I found it annoying that they didn't give important information like how much it took or cost to make.
I thought that this was really interesting. I thought that this was cool because all of these robots, like Nick said, could be used to help the world and disasters around us. I thought it was really cool and weird at the same time, that the snake robot could swim. That is because real snakes can't, and the technology is advancing so quickly. Also, I didn't even think about what would happen if the robots ran out of battery. This would make the environment even worse, so thanks for pointing that out, Sergio.
This is really cool. I think it will help science the most with helping mentally disabled people. The problem with the fish is that I don't think the fish would follow a new leader if they already had a school leader. In conclusion, I think this is a great discovery, just with some obstacles.
I do agree with Sergio that 1 they left out some fairly important points, and 2 the humanoid robot didn't show some human-like behavior. But I do dissagree with Sergio and Amanda on one thing. Actually most snakes can swim, just almost none can dive. I also agree that sending out a robotic fish into the ocean would be a potential environmental impact, but they could improve some of this.
I do agree with Sergio that 1 they left out some fairly important points, and 2 the humanoid robot didn't show some human-like behavior. But I do dissagree with Sergio and Amanda on one thing. Actually most snakes can swim, just almost none can dive. I also agree that sending out a robotic fish into the ocean would be a potential environmental impact, but they could improve some of this.
Some snakes can swim, yes. There are such things as sea snakes. It's an interesting point that the robotic fish could get caught in a fishing net or destroyed by a shark. Solar power might work to power the fish- it goes through a few layers of water, so when the fish is at the top of the water, it could get power, and then it could be retrieved when the task is done. The snake robot was really cool. It probably has a motor inside to propel it, or something. It's neat that they can use it for surgeries, too.
This is cool because of all of its possible implements. It said that they could help doctors in surgeries, but if I was getting one, i would most likely opt out of the "Robot Devision." The progression of technology couuld some day lead to androids (like Data from "Star Trek: The Next Generation") who could help with every-day tasks, like cleaning windows or washing your car.
There are so many possibilities with these robots! So many lives could be saved!
First off, I thought the snake robot was pretty cool. At first, when I saw the video, I thought, "Meh, it can roll, it's okay..." but once it climbed the human's leg, my jaw dropped. I was amazed at how realistic it was. And then they demonstrated how it can fit in such tight spaces! Even though they're planning on using these robots to navigate fallen buildings, if they could somehow fire-proof the robot, it could also be used to find survivors in building fires.
The fish robot was another surprise for me. Yes, I've seen little robot fish toys that try to mimic a fish, but they never work. This, however, swam and attracted other fish. The idea to attract other fish away from dangerous areas, such as oil spills, was great. I think if they practice some more, they could easily pull that off. However, like many other people have said, this could be a very helpful robot, or a disastrous one. If it's charge died while swimming, it would create pollution. And the fish would be confused that their leader just instantly stopped swimming. Another con with this robot is larger, predator fish. If a shark saw this fish, it might try to eat it. The shark might lose some teeth (which it would quickly grow back, but the robot would be completely destroyed, and if the shark swallowed the robot, the shark's health could be contaminated.
Who would've guessed that a person who designs, builds, or programs robots would be called a roboticist? Choset must've been a really smart kid to have put motors on Tinkertoy cars and make them move. I think the snake robots that could basically swim in water were the coolest from the video. I also think the part where one of them was climbing up a crook in the wall was really awesome. I wonder how long it takes to design, build, and program these. Thank you Ben for the article! It was super cool.
It is amazing what you can do with a bucket of metal and a bunch of wires. I think, however, that the researchers who created the robots did think of the fact that the robot might lose charge on a mission. However, the robotic fish and the snake, as you may have seen, were hooked up to wires which may cause a problem.
I think that this was really cool. It is amazing that scientists are developing technology like this. I do agree with Ben on the fact that it might be a problem if the robots were hooked up to wires. They should try to create wireless versions, and then the robots could be fully functional.
I think these robots are a very good sign that our technology is progressing very quickly. However, I'm fairly sure that these robots would be quite expensive to make. Perhaps their next step should be to provide a much more efficient way to make these types of robots. However, if this is achieved, this would prove to be quite useful, as many people have already pointed out.
Sergio, do you really think an ego will really encourage an autistic person, really? They are easily set off, so I think bubbles was a very good replacement. Anyway, I thought this was really cool. These robots could help in so many ways. I thought that the idea to use them in surgery was very good and robotics will only get better, and soon the best surgeons will be the battery operated ones.
There are some brilliant people out in the world. I can't believe that scientists made robots that can help not only humans but animals as well. I find it amazing that the scientists programmed the robots to give gestures such as happy looks, gestures of disapproval or even to blow bubbles. How fun.
I thought the fish robot was really cool. It could really help real fish get out of oil spill disasters and stay alive. The snake robot looked really cool in the video, how it swirled up that tube like that was so cool. I agree with Sergio in the fact that if a predator such as a shark were to "attack" this fish, it would probably die. That is a problem.
I love the snakes and fish, but I agree with Sergio; it's annoying that instead of an ego, the robot has a bubble machine. For instance, if a young boy were to play with the robot he could come upon the idea that all humans had buttons in their bellies to activate bubble machines. I can imagine the mayhem that would cause... "I wanna poke ur bellah! Lemme poke! I wanna play wis bubbles!" I really loved how the snake curled around the pole and ROTATED itself to get up. That was ingenious. I have an answer to the shark problem; upon a shark attack the fish should start flashing bright colors and leading its school away from the shark. The school may stop following the leader because they can tell that the leader is not one of them, or they can just keep following him because it is easier to swim behind him. Either way, the shark is safe unless it is stupid and tries to eat a flashing ball of light.
This was amazing! All of these roboticists are inventing robots to help various people/animals. The snake robot was designed to help in emergencies and surgeries, the fish robot was designed to lead fish away from certain areas, and the human-ish robot was designed to help people with disabilities.
Snake robot: The snake robot was really cool. The way it could roll, slither, inch forward, climb and swim is amazing. It seems kind of creepy to put a "snake" inside someone's body to perform a surgery, but this new technology could really help operate on people by slithering into small places, and other things too. For example, maybe if there is a special surgeon that specializes in something, but the surgeon lives in a different country than the patient, the surgeon might someday be able to operate on the patient from far away by controlling the snake robot.
Fish robot: I thought that it was very interesting that depending on how fast the fish robot's tail moved, the fish swam close to it for different amounts of time. This robot might help save many fish's lives.
Human(ish) robot: I didn't like this robot as much as the other ones. I thought that it was kind of creepy, so a little kid might be scared of it, especially because of the noises it makes. I didn't like the noises. The robot didn't talk, but it made strange noises. I also didn't like the hand gesture it made to try to encourage the child to come closer. But I do like the bubbles much better than an ego.
I thought this article was a very interesting article. I really like how the snake could be able to climb up a tree, like if there is something up there that has to get down, you can use the snake to climb up it. I also think its cool how it can slither over small hills. I think it's interesting on how the fish robot's tail moved, and I agree with Emma. This fish may save many fish's lives.
This is interesting. I wonder if, like they say, these robots can search for earth quake victims or help perform a surgery. That would be amazing! It is so cool that it can climb up a person's leg! I can't believe what tiny spaces it can fit into. Max is right, the fish robot could help clean up oil spills if technology advances enough. The humanoid robot could hopefully be used for tasks like helping people with disabilities. The was so cool!
This is so cool. I loved when the snake robot propels itself. I agree with Nick. This could save thousands of lives. During fires the snake robot might come in handy. You know those swimming fish toys you can buy for your pool? Well this is just a super advanced version of that. It is so cool how the snake robot can fit in such small places!
The thing that I found to be most interesting was that all the roboticists were from America. This is interesting because I would have expected most of them to come from technological advanced countries that are great at robotics such as Japan.
This article is very interesting. I think the snake robot has more use than the other one that helps people recover from a stroke. I think the snake robot would be useful for locating people in earthquakes and other disasters. However, there is still a problem. A tiny snake robot cannot save a person's life or drag it to safety, or give the person medical attention. If the person is in a tight space or a collapsed building, a human still has to go in and rescue the person. Although I think the snake robot has negative sides and positive sides, I think using the snake to do medical operations is more skeptical. There are many things that could go wrong if the snake was used in an operation. If it malfunctioned, or if it was not able to then get out of the body, it could lead to a person's death or more pain than needed. Also, it's just plain creepy to have a snake crawling around in your body. I wouldn't want that. It's the same situation with a lot of other things. It might be helpful, but a lot of people wouldn't want it because it is weird.
I agree with Sergio that they did not mention whatsoever how much it would cost. My guess is that it would be an incredibly expensive medical operation and very expensive to make them to clean up and find survivors in disasters. Just because it might work doesn't mean it will be used often in an operation. I don't think the robot(s) that might be used for stroke recovery are very useful. First of all, getting a human to show these exercises is far less expensive than getting a robot to. The woman who invented this robot says there are not enough people to do teach these exercises, but I don't think that is entirely true. It might require some intelligence to come up with these exercises, but a person doesn't have to be that smart to teach someone the exercises. So, there are plenty of people in the world to do these exercises and robots are completely unnecessary.
This was so cool! I think it's so amazing how robots could improve science so greatly by being able to save lives. Roboticists should definitely try to perfect these and more robots so they can use them to help people and animals! I wonder how long it took to make those robots and how much it costs to manufacture them. This is so interesting!
This article proves that our technology is improving and very much. 20 years ago, we would have never thought that there would be robots with personalities that help people with diseases or disabilities. And who knew that we could later on use a snake like robot for surgery.
This is very cool. The idea to come up with a snake robot is genius. It can do so many things a human cannot do. The fish robot seems useful, but not as important as the snakes.
Robots can do amazing things, but I’m not sure why they’re using robots to work with autistic children. Autistic children have trouble communicating and interacting with people, so the robot is supposed to help them practice their social skills. Engineers built Bandit to interact with them. But some of the kids have a positive reaction to Bandit, and others have a negative one. Robots don’t seem very good at social interaction. They can be programmed to do and say certain things, but they don’t really understand emotions or how to communicate with people. I have an autistic friend, and she has trouble understanding peoples’ facial expressions. A robot doesn’t have facial expressions. Also, loud noises can upset some autistic children. A robot reminds me of an autistic child. I think they need to do a lot more work before they have robots working with autistic children.
It’s also interesting that people recovering from a stroke practiced their tasks longer when the robot’s personality was similar to their own (forceful or shy).
This is so interesting! These robots could definitely save lives and could be sO useful in life. It is amazing that it can do such a variety of stuff, also. The only problem is that the robots can malfunction and cause problems. What if that happened in the middle I a surgery? That would be catastrophic. I still think we need real people to do jobs also, though. It would be amazing if we got them to work without flaws, though!
34 comments:
I thought this is pretty interesting. Robots are reinventing not only science, but the world around us. The fish robot could help disasters like oil spills. The snake robot can be used in combat as a type of drone. And the humanoid robot reinvents robots entirely.
I thought this wasn't interesting, but fascinating. I knew that technology would progress, maybe even evolve into something else, but I never knew that it would happen so soon, even as we speak. Like Nick, I would say that the humanoid robot is a reinvention of robots entirely, as well. If there were many fish with the fish robot, they would follow it, leading then away from an oil spill, or something disastrous like that. If he keeps this up, he can greatly change the future.
The technology used is amazing though I still don't understand how the snake robot propels itself, up a pole, by rolling if it has no momentum. It's amazing that the snake robot can swim but that is only another way that it acts strange compared to a snake. I still don't understand why they call it a snake robot if it just looks like one but doesn't move like one.
The technology of a robotic fish was really cool but it wouldn't be a good idea to put it in the ocean. If a fish could follow its trail, then how about a huge predatorily animal, like a shark. Not only will the robot be destroyed but the predator would die too. The robotic fish could also get caught in a fishing. Another bad thing that could happen to a robot fish is that it could run out of battery while underwater. This would add to the amount of junk in the ocean.
The humanoid robot doesn't even look very human. According to the video, the humanoid robot only has only a few joints which are either in the neck or its arm/hands. When the humanoid robot showed disappointment, it didn't even seem like it. One of things that I found wierd with the humanoid robot was that instead of having the most human like thing, an ego, it shot out bubbles.
Overall I thought it was really cool though I found it annoying that they didn't give important information like how much it took or cost to make.
I thought that this was really interesting. I thought that this was cool because all of these robots, like Nick said, could be used to help the world and disasters around us. I thought it was really cool and weird at the same time, that the snake robot could swim. That is because real snakes can't, and the technology is advancing so quickly. Also, I didn't even think about what would happen if the robots ran out of battery. This would make the environment even worse, so thanks for pointing that out, Sergio.
This is really cool. I think it will help science the most with helping mentally disabled people. The problem with the fish is that I don't think the fish would follow a new leader if they already had a school leader. In conclusion, I think this is a great discovery, just with some obstacles.
I do agree with Sergio that 1 they left out some fairly important points, and 2 the humanoid robot didn't show some human-like behavior. But I do dissagree with Sergio and Amanda on one thing. Actually most snakes can swim, just almost none can dive. I also agree that sending out a robotic fish into the ocean would be a potential environmental impact, but they could improve some of this.
I do agree with Sergio that 1 they left out some fairly important points, and 2 the humanoid robot didn't show some human-like behavior. But I do dissagree with Sergio and Amanda on one thing. Actually most snakes can swim, just almost none can dive. I also agree that sending out a robotic fish into the ocean would be a potential environmental impact, but they could improve some of this.
Some snakes can swim, yes. There are such things as sea snakes. It's an interesting point that the robotic fish could get caught in a fishing net or destroyed by a shark. Solar power might work to power the fish- it goes through a few layers of water, so when the fish is at the top of the water, it could get power, and then it could be retrieved when the task is done. The snake robot was really cool. It probably has a motor inside to propel it, or something. It's neat that they can use it for surgeries, too.
This is cool because of all of its possible implements. It said that they could help doctors in surgeries, but if I was getting one, i would most likely opt out of the "Robot Devision." The progression of technology couuld some day lead to androids (like Data from "Star Trek: The Next Generation") who could help with every-day tasks, like cleaning windows or washing your car.
There are so many possibilities with these robots! So many lives could be saved!
First off, I thought the snake robot was pretty cool. At first, when I saw the video, I thought, "Meh, it can roll, it's okay..." but once it climbed the human's leg, my jaw dropped. I was amazed at how realistic it was. And then they demonstrated how it can fit in such tight spaces! Even though they're planning on using these robots to navigate fallen buildings, if they could somehow fire-proof the robot, it could also be used to find survivors in building fires.
The fish robot was another surprise for me. Yes, I've seen little robot fish toys that try to mimic a fish, but they never work. This, however, swam and attracted other fish. The idea to attract other fish away from dangerous areas, such as oil spills, was great. I think if they practice some more, they could easily pull that off. However, like many other people have said, this could be a very helpful robot, or a disastrous one. If it's charge died while swimming, it would create pollution. And the fish would be confused that their leader just instantly stopped swimming. Another con with this robot is larger, predator fish. If a shark saw this fish, it might try to eat it. The shark might lose some teeth (which it would quickly grow back, but the robot would be completely destroyed, and if the shark swallowed the robot, the shark's health could be contaminated.
Who would've guessed that a person who designs, builds, or programs robots would be called a roboticist? Choset must've been a really smart kid to have put motors on Tinkertoy cars and make them move. I think the snake robots that could basically swim in water were the coolest from the video. I also think the part where one of them was climbing up a crook in the wall was really awesome. I wonder how long it takes to design, build, and program these. Thank you
Ben for the article! It was super cool.
It is amazing what you can do with a bucket of metal and a bunch of wires. I think, however, that the researchers who created the robots did think of the fact that the robot might lose charge on a mission. However, the robotic fish and the snake, as you may have seen, were hooked up to wires which may cause a problem.
I think that this was really cool. It is amazing that scientists are developing technology like this. I do agree with Ben on the fact that it might be a problem if the robots were hooked up to wires. They should try to create wireless versions, and then the robots could be fully functional.
I think these robots are a very good sign that our technology is progressing very quickly. However, I'm fairly sure that these robots would be quite expensive to make. Perhaps their next step should be to provide a much more efficient way to make these types of robots. However, if this is achieved, this would prove to be quite useful, as many people have already pointed out.
Sergio, do you really think an ego will really encourage an autistic person, really? They are easily set off, so I think bubbles was a very good replacement. Anyway, I thought this was really cool. These robots could help in so many ways. I thought that the idea to use them in surgery was very good and robotics will only get better, and soon the best surgeons will be the battery operated ones.
There are some brilliant people out in the world. I can't believe that scientists made robots that can help not only humans but animals as well. I find it amazing that the scientists programmed the robots to give gestures such as happy looks, gestures of disapproval or even to blow bubbles. How fun.
I thought the fish robot was really cool. It could really help real fish get out of oil spill disasters and stay alive. The snake robot looked really cool in the video, how it swirled up that tube like that was so cool. I agree with Sergio in the fact that if a predator such as a shark were to "attack" this fish, it would probably die. That is a problem.
I love the snakes and fish, but I agree with Sergio; it's annoying that instead of an ego, the robot has a bubble machine. For instance, if a young boy were to play with the robot he could come upon the idea that all humans had buttons in their bellies to activate bubble machines. I can imagine the mayhem that would cause... "I wanna poke ur bellah! Lemme poke! I wanna play wis bubbles!" I really loved how the snake curled around the pole and ROTATED itself to get up. That was ingenious. I have an answer to the shark problem; upon a shark attack the fish should start flashing bright colors and leading its school away from the shark. The school may stop following the leader because they can tell that the leader is not one of them, or they can just keep following him because it is easier to swim behind him. Either way, the shark is safe unless it is stupid and tries to eat a flashing ball of light.
Click on my name, it's different this time.
This was amazing! All of these roboticists are inventing robots to help various people/animals. The snake robot was designed to help in emergencies and surgeries, the fish robot was designed to lead fish away from certain areas, and the human-ish robot was designed to help people with disabilities.
Snake robot: The snake robot was really cool. The way it could roll, slither, inch forward, climb and swim is amazing. It seems kind of creepy to put a "snake" inside someone's body to perform a surgery, but this new technology could really help operate on people by slithering into small places, and other things too. For example, maybe if there is a special surgeon that specializes in something, but the surgeon lives in a different country than the patient, the surgeon might someday be able to operate on the patient from far away by controlling the snake robot.
Fish robot: I thought that it was very interesting that depending on how fast the fish robot's tail moved, the fish swam close to it for different amounts of time. This robot might help save many fish's lives.
Human(ish) robot: I didn't like this robot as much as the other ones. I thought that it was kind of creepy, so a little kid might be scared of it, especially because of the noises it makes. I didn't like the noises. The robot didn't talk, but it made strange noises. I also didn't like the hand gesture it made to try to encourage the child to come closer. But I do like the bubbles much better than an ego.
I thought this article was a very interesting article. I really like how the snake could be able to climb up a tree, like if there is something up there that has to get down, you can use the snake to climb up it. I also think its cool how it can slither over small hills. I think it's interesting on how the fish robot's tail moved, and I agree with Emma. This fish may save many fish's lives.
They should coat the "fish" in that bad-tasting anti-swallow paint. Then if the sharks taste the fish, they would spit it out.
This is interesting. I wonder if, like they say, these robots can search for earth quake victims or help perform a surgery. That would be amazing! It is so cool that it can climb up a person's leg! I can't believe what tiny spaces it can fit into. Max is right, the fish robot could help clean up oil spills if technology advances enough. The humanoid robot could hopefully be used for tasks like helping people with disabilities. The was so cool!
This is so cool. I loved when the snake robot propels itself. I agree with Nick. This could save thousands of lives. During fires the snake robot might come in handy. You know those swimming fish toys you can buy for your pool? Well this is just a super advanced version of that. It is so cool how the snake robot can fit in such small places!
The thing that I found to be most interesting was that all the roboticists were from America. This is interesting because I would have expected most of them to come from technological advanced countries that are great at robotics such as Japan.
This article is very interesting. I think the snake robot has more use than the other one that helps people recover from a stroke. I think the snake robot would be useful for locating people in earthquakes and other disasters. However, there is still a problem. A tiny snake robot cannot save a person's life or drag it to safety, or give the person medical attention. If the person is in a tight space or a collapsed building, a human still has to go in and rescue the person. Although I think the snake robot has negative sides and positive sides, I think using the snake to do medical operations is more skeptical. There are many things that could go wrong if the snake was used in an operation. If it malfunctioned, or if it was not able to then get out of the body, it could lead to a person's death or more pain than needed. Also, it's just plain creepy to have a snake crawling around in your body. I wouldn't want that. It's the same situation with a lot of other things. It might be helpful, but a lot of people wouldn't want it because it is weird.
I agree with Sergio that they did not mention whatsoever how much it would cost. My guess is that it would be an incredibly expensive medical operation and very expensive to make them to clean up and find survivors in disasters. Just because it might work doesn't mean it will be used often in an operation. I don't think the robot(s) that might be used for stroke recovery are very useful. First of all, getting a human to show these exercises is far less expensive than getting a robot to. The woman who invented this robot says there are not enough people to do teach these exercises, but I don't think that is entirely true. It might require some intelligence to come up with these exercises, but a person doesn't have to be that smart to teach someone the exercises. So, there are plenty of people in the world to do these exercises and robots are completely unnecessary.
This was so cool! I think it's so amazing how robots could improve science so greatly by being able to save lives. Roboticists should definitely try to perfect these and more robots so they can use them to help people and animals! I wonder how long it took to make those robots and how much it costs to manufacture them. This is so interesting!
This article proves that our technology is improving and very much. 20 years ago, we would have never thought that there would be robots with personalities that help people with diseases or disabilities. And who knew that we could later on use a snake like robot for surgery.
This is very cool. The idea to come up with a snake robot is genius. It can do so many things a human cannot do. The fish robot seems useful, but not as important as the snakes.
Robots can do amazing things, but I’m not sure why they’re using robots to work with autistic children. Autistic children have trouble communicating and interacting with people, so the robot is supposed to help them practice their social skills. Engineers built Bandit to interact with them. But some of the kids have a positive reaction to Bandit, and others have a negative one. Robots don’t seem very good at social interaction. They can be programmed to do and say certain things, but they don’t really understand emotions or how to communicate with people. I have an autistic friend, and she has trouble understanding peoples’ facial expressions. A robot doesn’t have facial expressions. Also, loud noises can upset some autistic children. A robot reminds me of an autistic child. I think they need to do a lot more work before they have robots working with autistic children.
It’s also interesting that people recovering from a stroke practiced their tasks longer when the robot’s personality was similar to their own (forceful or shy).
This is so interesting! These robots could definitely save lives and could be sO useful in life. It is amazing that it can do such a variety of stuff, also. The only problem is that the robots can malfunction and cause problems. What if that happened in the middle I a surgery? That would be catastrophic. I still think we need real people to do jobs also, though. It would be amazing if we got them to work without flaws, though!
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