In recent years, the robot topic has been increasingly acute. Although robots have served the industry for a long time, the ones which will come to our homes and offices will be simple, cheap and small.
They will appear where least expected.
Initially, robots were developed and manufactured in Russia and worldwide mainly by heavy industry, such as the defense or aerospace sectors. However, step by step, as was the case with personal computers, the focus is shifting toward B2B and the mass market. Some compare it with the smartphone market – several platforms co-exist and third-party developers create numerous applications, which find their niche with the end customer in an evolutionary manner.
The undisputable centers of robotics are the United States and Japan. In Russia, it is so far an emerging industry. So, let us see what we have here and with what (or with whom?) we will have to live side by side in decades to come.
Snowplow Robot
The product is made by several guys in a garage leased for RUB 2,000 a month. The team consists of a resident Naberezhnye Chelny IT fleet and the first sample has already found its buyers in the Czech Republic. The robot is a tracked chassis with a front dump bucket, and is capable of determining on its own whether it’s time to plow or not. As the inventors say, its foreign counterparts cost at least $10,000 apiece, whereas the price of the Naberezhnye Chelny snow blower is about $2,000.
Petcube
In our recent article on pet services we have already written about these Ukrainian guys who make friends for pets. The guys forge ahead: as early as August 1 this year, they moved to the HAXLR8R incubator, in Shenzhen, China, for three and a half months (apart from its program, the incubator makes $50,000 available for a minor stake). The project plans include completing the production model of its device for remote pet entertainment. Furthermore, the Chinese from SOSventures and Semyon Dukach (angel investor from Boston) have invested in the startup. In early September, Petcube will announce the device price and intends to launch fund raising for Kickstarter. The company has already received around 2.5 thousand preorders.
xTurion
A next-generation mobile robot for monitoring apartments, cottage houses, offices and warehouse premises. Apart from the chamber, the robot can be equipped with smoke and leak detectors, flue gas analyzer, etc. xTurion can be used independently or supplement the existing security systems. For example, you are far from home and receive a phone call about the smoke detector activation requesting call confirmation. Previously, you had either to drop everything urgently and go home or to confirm the alarm, thus risking to pay for a false call. When integrated with the alarm system, your robot automatically approaches the point concerned and starts video broadcasting, which, in its turn, speeds up and facilitates the work of operators from the companies in charge of monitoring.
Robodrom
It is developed by the same team as xTurion. The guys’ objective is to create a next-generation Colosseum – a shooting ground for Internet-controlled robots. You can drive using your keyboard and game pads and receive feedback from video cameras through the game portal website. In June 2012, the project received $20,000 in investments from RSV Partners; in February 2013, the shooting ground alpha version was launched. Test with the potential target audience was scheduled to be completed in June 2013.
Glavbot
The platform (and games) which allows one to control radio-controlled tanks, robots, toy cars, etc. Gamers will be able to see not electronic graphics but a picture from controlled models transmitted through web cameras with the superimposed elements of augmented reality. The project is still under development. Glavbot is intended for gamers, game developers and those who are fond of robotics.
RoboCV
Navigation set, “autopilot for transportation robots” capable of operating as part of ground transportation or water robots, UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) as well as autonomous planetary robots on the base of machine vision, platformless INS and GLONASS/GPS technologies. “Autopilot” will allow a mobile robot to be aware of its location and environment all the time and to map the route to a preset destination with due consideration of static and dynamic barriers. According to its inventors, this solution is unique as it is the first market launch of a mass-produced standard navigation set with machine vision. Residents of Skolkovo Space Cluster.
Hyperbok
As the website says, Hyperbok is the world’s first robot friend project. Kolobok “has character traits and the ability to evolve. Every day he learns from the events around him and memorizes what his owner likes better and what less, at what time his master wakes up, when he comes back home, at what time he likes to play with him and when he prefers to watch TV. The master’s lifestyle and psychological makeup affect the robot’s personality, thus making each one unique. Hyperbok is autonomous; there is no need to use a remote control or to preset him. What you need to do is switch him on and to control voice commands”. You can already preorder from the website (26 units have been ordered). Its tentative price is 25,000 rubles.
TRICK
A project by CyberTech that allows anyone to create a robot. It is a construction set to which any parts you wish can be screwed. The robot’s behavior is controlled by an in-house controller with a fairly simple visual programming environment. The project is intended for educational purposes – kids learn with the help of robotics and adults assemble a toy for fun.
Zmeyelok
This snake robot was created by the employees of the Student Technology Design Bureau of the Russian State Scientific Center for Robotics and Technical Cybernetics in 2007. It is designed to move through holes, canals and liquid. Development was commenced 15 years ago. Recently, its third version was presented at Geek Picnic open air. As the makers say, the fourth one is already available but only the customer has seen it so far. Robots can only be made one at a time since their structure is too complicated for mass production.
Aerob
Aerob, a Skolkovo resident, develops civil UAVs, various civil UAV modules and provides aerial monitoring services. Such systems have the potential for broad applications, ranging from driving situation monitoring to aerial photography. Soon, UAVs will be available for viewing at MAKS 2013 International Aviation and Space Salon (August 27 to September 1).
R.BOT
The company was established in 2007 by the entrepreneur Alexei Knyazev for developing and implementing security and video surveillance system solutions. In 2008, the firm started developing its R.BOT (telepresence robot) project. It is a semispherical platform on wheels with a manipulator, resembling a swan’s neck. A tablet or a smartphone (Android) are affixed to it. The avatar is controlled through the browser. Robots are widely used for advertising purposes as promoters.
Webot
Another avatar robot from Wicron. It is not the only one available. For example, they also offer Venrobot for ventilation testing. The robot features a rotating “head” and a mobile platform. The robot’s vision is ensured by two video cameras. The first one is installed on its head and used for communicating with people. The second one looks under the wheels. The robot is equipped with a rear park system for easier robot control in narrow places. The robot is 1.5 meters tall and weighs 16 kg. Its application is similar to that of R.BOT and include merchandising, promotion, remote “bossing”, exhibition attendance, long-distance consulting, etc. The price per unit is 150,000 rubles. In order to make a purchase, you need to place a preorder one month in advance.
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