Waching daily Aug 25 2017

[MUSIC]

>> TigerBot is a humanoid robot.

>> We were looking to build a humanoid research platform for different programs at RIT.

>> The project as a whole, it started in the research lab then went up through the college

and the university and the companies.

>> It started off with a robot that was about two feet tall.

Every year it's grown and grown, and the past three years we've been tackling the full-scale

humanoid, which is kind of a giant leap from what the previous years have been doing.

We built, from the ground up, a full-scale humanoid robot.

This year we focused a lot on trying to implement biomimetic design features.

And what that means is looking at how humans and other animals move and trying to replicate

that in a mechanical sense.

Because a lot of research has shown that that actually provides better control and lends

itself better to realizing a more human-like walking gate.

>> We are trying to mimic the biological systems of human beings and hopefully implementing

them on TigerBot and making sure that both intelligence and the controls are implemented

successfully.

>> Some of the examples of that are in our hips - the human hip is a ball joint.

What we've done is we've combined three motors.

And to replicate that exact range of motion, all three of those motors are oriented so

that their axes of rotation all intersect at one point.

And that one point becomes the center of our ball joint.

From now, doctoral students and masters students are going to take the humanoid robot and they're

going to work on walking gate algorithms.

What that will do for us is it's going to teach us how to make machines walk and move

more like humans.

As we learn from trying to replicate human motion, we're going to learn more about how

we can make improvements in prosthetics, in exoskeleton design and in regular old robots

that can help around the house or in business space or even in a factory floor.

For more infomation >> RIT TigerBot Humanoid Robot Project - Duration: 2:19.

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Hurricane Harvey video: Texas residents desperately flee storm of the decade - Duration: 2:47.

Hurricane Harvey video: Texas residents desperately flee storm of the decade

Hurricane Harvey is currently a few hundred miles south of Texas, with it expected to reach land by 8pm CDT.

The hurricane is forecast to develop into a major category 3 hurricane later on Friday, August 24, the third most powerful on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

This would make it the strongest hurricane to hit the US mainland in 12 years.  Families living along the Texas coast are scrambling to fill up sandbags, stock up on supplies and boarding up their properties as Hurricane Harvey approaches.   .

Footage shows queues of cars as people try to flee the area or gather supplies from local businesses. Several cities are handing out free sandbags so residents can protect their homes.

The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale says: "Well-built framed homes may incur major damage or removal of roof decking and gable ends. "Many trees will be snapped or uprooted, blocking numerous roads.

Electricity and water will be unavailable for several days to weeks after the storm passes." Texas Governor Greg Abbott has declared a state of disaster for 30 Texan counties, including Austin, Calhoun, Jefferson and Winsome counties.

Governor Abbott said: "I strongly urge all Texans to heed warnings from your local officials.

"I also urge that you immediately follow evacuation orders from all impacted counties, particularly in Corpus Christi and Houston where the storm surge and flooding from Hurricane Harvey are most likely.

"Please take all necessary precautions to save your life and minimise risk." Hurricane Harvey will be the first hurricane to hit Texas since 2008 when Hurricane Ike killed 21 people in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas.