Most robots are functional. Only a few are edible, even nutritious.
Mickey McManus took five seedless cucumbers, carved them so they looked like fingers and anchored them to a hunk of Edam cheese. To this 'hand,' he attached a small electronic device, programmed to respond to sound; when someone laughed or clapped, the fingers flexed. He brought his cucumber robot to a wine-and-cheese party as an appetizer, along with a robotic Rice Krispies Treats man that pivoted whenever the lights dimmed.
Mr. McManus is neither chef nor computer scientist. He's a Pittsburgh executive who, along with about 500 other locals, recently became an amateur robot designer. They were taught by professors at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute, which last year launched a citywide outreach program to bring robots to the masses.
While scientists and engineers have built robots to search for life on Mars and clean out toxic-waste dumps, many of the civilian creators looked to the robots to solve problems in their own backyards. There was a robot that took photos of speeding cars, and another that waved its arms when the street noise got too loud. A robotic sheep mowed lawns, and robotic flags raised and lowered automatically.
'I wanted to try a robot waiter made of bread,' says Mr. McManus, CEO of Maya Design, a local design and research firm. The bread turned out to be too soft to work with, but the cucumbers were perfect. A local art gallery held a reception for the designers' creations and Mr. McManus's edible robots made an appearance -- and a disappearance.
The yearlong program, called Robot 250, coincides with the city's 250th birthday. Teachers fanned out to 13 neighborhoods, providing materials, instruction and troubleshooting. 'We wanted to put technology into the hands of as many people as possible,' says Illah Nourbakhsh, an associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute, who came up with the idea.
Often working in teams, participants built about 75 robots, ranging from small paper flowers whose buds opened and closed, to a working wooden roller coaster. Most of the robots reacted to simple inputs, like noise, light or movement.
Carole and Albert Borek were initially apprehensive. 'We're not arty. We're just old people,' says Ms. Borek, 64 years old.
But after seeing how easy it was to use a basic sensor, the Boreks decided to build a robot to monitor noise on their street, which they considered excessive. They called their creation Boombox Barney. It had a mannequin head and two fabric arms. When noise reached a certain level, Barney covered his ears, indicating that it was too loud and signaling people to pipe down.
The project came together smoothly for the most part, although the Boreks did something wrong at first, causing Barney's arms to go down instead of up when exposed to loud noise. Once that was fixed, Barney worked perfectly. The only problem was that people clapped and yelled at him just to see him cover his ears. 'It didn't keep people quiet,' says Ms. Borek.
Christina Papp, a graphic designer, built a robot that took photos of speeding cars in front of her house. She'd like to work on improving the image quality and eventually email photos of offenders to the mayor's office. Golan Levin, an artist, designed a large, elephantlike snout, dubbed Double-Taker, that turns and looks at passing pedestrians.
People in Pittsburgh have been building robots for decades. Seventy years ago, an engineer at Westinghouse Electric created Elektro the Moto-Man, who could walk and smoke cigarettes and had a 77-word vocabulary. His sidekick, Sparko the Moto-Dog, wagged his tail, sat and barked on command.
Today, there are more than 30 robotic companies in Pittsburgh. They make drowsy-driver warning systems, and robots that help with surgery, unload crates and search for life on distant planets. Alcoa Inc. has a 6-foot-tall robot spokesperson, Al, who hosted a recent Robot Block Party at the Carnegie Science Center.
Part of the Robot 250 event, the block party was billed as the city's largest and most diverse public gathering of robots. A solar-powered robot mingled with hazmat robots that search for explosives. Robots built by teenagers were on display. Red Rover, a four-wheeled robot that has become a local celebrity in robot circles, made an appearance. Red Rover and his creators are vying for the Google Lunar X Prize, a $30 million competition for the first privately funded team to send a robot to the moon and transmit video, images and data back to Earth.
Several other robots weren't able to attend. Moe, a six-legged Styrofoam sheep was busy roaming and trimming the grounds at the city's conservatory several miles away. Moe has a grass shearer in his mouth and ultrasonic range finders to keep him from crashing into things. An invisible fence keeps Moe from wandering too far, although he did get out once and trample the flowers when the fence became unplugged.
Moe is equipped with proximity sensors to avoid running into objects such as small children, as well as an MP3 player that features bleats and a recording of Thomas Edison reciting 'Mary Had a Little Lamb.'
'This is not just a fancy lawn ornament,' says Moe's creator, Osman Khan, a visiting assistant professor of art at Carnegie Mellon. Mr. Khan, along with several other local artists, was invited as part of Robot 250 to use robots to create a piece of installation art.
Mr. Khan thought an electric sheep would be whimsical, but also practical: It would arguably be better for the environment than a gas-powered mower. He hooked up with Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, which has a big yard and was delighted to have Moe, although he actually doesn't cut much grass. Unable to walk and cut at the same time, the robotic sheep goes into mow mode only when stopped. The conservatory uses its own mower to keep the grass in Moe's area clipped short so he doesn't trip.
Although Mr. McManus's edible robots have already been eaten, he created a how-to guide and video, which is helpful, since much trial and error involving other foods preceded the finished products.
Mr. McManus drilled holes in granola bars and shattered pirouette cookies before deciding both were too delicate. He found that apples had strong skin but not enough mass. Banana interiors were too soft. Licorice, which initially seemed promising, became brittle. String cheese, while pliable, lacked structural integrity.
After several frustrating efforts, he consulted Maya's chief technologist, Jeff Senn, who suggested vegetables, which are naturally flexible.
Cucumbers worked perfectly. 'We attribute the success of cucumber-based robotics to the strong exosurface and self-lubricating properties of the garden variety seedless cucumber,' the video explains. A mixture of Rice Krispies and melted marshmallows also worked, although Mr. McManus suggests periodic doses of Pam spray to counter stickiness.
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˶ɻֻʳã߱Ӫֵ
׻˹(Mickey McManus)ѻƹгָ״Ȼһߴ(Edam)Ұǹ̶סΪֻƹ֡˩һܹӦС͵˷ЦʱЩָĶ˹ƹ֡һѾƺɶϳ䵱θˣһܹڵƹ䰵ʱתı(Rice Krispies Treats)ˡ
˹ȷǳʦҲǵԿѧҡƥȱеһҵߡ˹͵شԼ500һΪҵʦǵʦǿͻ-÷¡ѧ(Carnegie Mellon University)оĽǡȥ꣬оƥȱзһռ֪ʶĻ
ȻѧҺ͹ʦ˵Ŀ̽жͨȴϣû˽ճеС⣺磬һܸٳյĻˣи˻ڽֵʱֱۡ⻹л޼ƺġ򡱺ܹԶĻġ
ڵо˾Maya Designϯִг˹˵ұһɵĻ˷ϣƹȴ֮ѡһһΪЩߵƷٰһдᣬ˹Ŀʳáƹ֡ǳ੤һɨ⡣
ΪһĻΪ250Ҳǡƥȱ250ꡣѧԺʦ߽13Ƿַ&#12289;нⲢгֵ⡣һ뷨Ŀͻ-÷¡ѧоŵͿʲ(Illah Nourbakhsh)˵ϣܹþܶ˽
ǷֳС飬Լ75ԶװãӻһһϵСֽľʹɽһ㡣Զװö&#12289;ƹ˶Щ򵥵ź
޶(Carole)Ͱء׿(Albert Borek)򸾹ء64Ŀ޶˵Ǳֱţֻϼһ
ڿʹûǳ֮󣬲׿˷򸾾һܹؽֵĻˣΪǼҵ̫ˡ˽ǵƷΪBoomboxᡱ(Barney)иģصԴֻϷƵֱۡÿﵽһֱͻס䣬ʾ̫ʾǰ
̴˵ǳ˳ֻǲ׿˷򸾸տʼʱ˵Сʱֱ۲Ͼٶ´֮󣬰һһ޿ˡΨһǣΪ˿סӲֽкᲢûǾ ޶˵
ƽƵĿ˹ȡ(Christina Papp)ԼҷǰһܹΪٳյĻװáϣͼµƬͨʼг칫ҡҸ(Golan Levin)Ƴһ޴&#12289;ӵΪDouble-Takerġ۾׷˵ӰŤ
ƥȱ˵ʷѾмʮˡ70ǰݵ(Westinghouse Electric)һʦܹ&#12289;̣˵77ֵĻElektroĸ੤Sparkoҡβָܹͣ»߷
ƥȱӵ30һ˹˾ǵĲƷֹʻԱƣͼʻľϵͳи&#12289;жػԼѰ̫Ļˡҵ˾(Alcoa Inc.)6ӢߵĻ˷Alڿͻѧ(Carnegie Science Center)һ˽ɶ(Robot Block Party).
Ϊ250һ֣ɶԾݳƥȱģҲĻ˴󼯻ᡣһ̫Ļ˺ը̽ǾһáĻҲչ֮СȦ׷ֻ˺ɫγ(Red Rover)Ҳࡣɫγǲμ˹ȸ(Google) Lunar X Prize̽¾Ļʤ齫3,000Ԫ𣬳Ϊ֧̽Ŷөʤ߽ѻ򲢽Ƶ&#12289;ͼ͸ݴص
һЩûܲμɶԡ磬ȵĭɽĪ(Moe)æڼӢͼݡĪﰲװиݻϻװзֹײĳǡһεġʡ֤Ī̫ܵԶȷʵܳȥ̤˻ݣԭǡʡĵԴϿˡ
Ī䱸о̽Էֹײϸ壬С⣬ֻϻװMP3ܷĽܲ˹(Thomas Edison)еġֻСᡷ(Mary Had a Little Lamb)¼
ĪǸĲƺװƷ Ī&#12289;ͻ-÷¡ѧϵڰ˹(Osman Khan)˵һЩҶû˴һװƷҲǡ250һ֡
ΪȻЩ֣ʵãΪܱĸݻڻӵһͥԺƥȱҺֲ԰(Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens)ȡϵǺܸ˵ؽĪʵϸ¶ٲݡ޷һһ߸ݣĪֻͣʱŻģʽһ԰ҪԼĸݹ˱֤ĪڵĲƺụ́ܶԷֹĪˤ
˹ĿʳûѾǵĶӣдָƵ⣬аΪȡóɹ֮ǰ˺ܶʳ
˹ڸŵ(granola bar)ףԹʹáPirouetteɣóֲۣ϶̫顣ƻƤʵȲ㽶Ĺֹƺϣĸʲ̫ࡣԺãױΡ
ڼܴ֮Mayaϯʽܷɭ(Jeff Senn)ɭ˹Ե߲ˡ
ƹϵЧʮ롣˹Ƶ˵ǽƹϻ˼ĳɹͨѻƹϼʵıƤ󻬵ԡ޻ǵĻҲȡ˳ɹ˹ҪʱԷֹճ
