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SPhinX battles over $263 mln in Refco bankruptcy
Thu Jun 7, 2007 5:29PM EDT
By Shurna Robbins
GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands, June 7 (Reuters) - A year and a half after the abrupt collapse of commodities broker Refco Inc. (RFXCQ.PK: Quote, Profile, Research, a battle still rages over a $263 million settlement deal that plaintiffs are now trying to reverse.
The chief litigant is the SPhinX Funds, a group of Cayman-registered hedge funds which were valued at $2 billion when Refco's failure pushed them into bankruptcy.
The settlement deal has already been approved by a U.S. bankruptcy court, but the $263 million remains frozen while SPhinX liquidators appeal the agreement by SPhinX's former directors and lawyers, claiming it was never legal.
"The money for the investment portfolios should have been placed in segregated accounts under Cayman Companies Law," said Kenneth Krys, the Cayman-appointed liquidator for SPhinX. "Instead, Refco combined these moneys with its own, leaving those funds vulnerable to all Refco's creditors when it became insolvent."
Refco attorneys declined to comment on the case. But in court filings they contend the original settlement was above board. Using the bankruptcy court as a "one-stop forum empowered to do justice to all comers under the guise of equity" abuses the system, they said.
Hedge funds are investment pools for sophisticated investors with high-risk tolerance. But experts say that it is unlikely investors could have anticipated the alleged fraud and collusion in another company's failure - raising the stakes for more due diligence within this lightly regulated industry.
Refco collapsed in October 2005 when its former CEO, Phillip Bennett, was accused of hiding $430 million in fraudulent loans. Just two days after the fraud disclosure and five days before Refco filed for bankruptcy, SPhinX's investment manager transferred $312 million from Refco to SPhinX accounts before those funds could be secured for general creditor distribution.
Over the next several weeks, tens of millions of dollars were redeemed before Refco filed a preference action seeking to get the $312 million back.
The lawyers and directors for SPhinX would eventually agree to give back $263 million to Refco and waive all future claims in what the liquidators now say was an illegal deal.
But outraged with the terms, SPhinX investors hired their own attorneys and launched an appeal, claiming the SPhinX directors, attorneys and other Refco-affiliated persons shut them out of meaningful negotiations.
Among the issues SPhinX investors raise against Refco and its affiliates is that it exploited a ten-week delay between the $312 million transfer and filing the preference action so unidentified investors could redeem $110 million of SPhinX funds at other investors' expense.
Those primary beneficiaries were former Refco CEO Bennett and Austrian bank, BAWAG, which helped set up the fraudulent loans that brought down Refco.
Raising another conflict of interest is a SPhinX director involved in the settlement, who allegedly set up offshore companies in Anguilla to help Bennett and BAWAG hide Refco's fraudulent loans.
"This case is rather unusual for a liquidator to come into court proceedings and discover the party entering into a settlement agreement was effectively entering into an illegal agreement, because the hedge funds were set up as [Cayman] SPCs," said attorney Gary Lee of Morrison & Foerster, who represents the SPhinX liquidator.
Based on a cellular model, SPCs are not separate legal entities; but a hallmark is the assets of one cell cannot be used to pay for the liabilities of another. To pay off the settlement, money was taken out of several cells' accounts to pay the liability of other cells, breaking the basis of an SPC.
If the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan upholds the original settlement this month, the $263 million will be paid out to all remaining Refco creditors, effectively shutting out SPhinX investors.
http://www.reuters.com/article/mergersNews/idUSN0726208620070607
Hedge funds push for TD Ameritrade merger
Stephanie Baum
07 Jun 2007
Two hedge funds are pushing for Canadian online broker TD Ameritrade to merge with a rival in the latest demonstration of investor activism.
Jana Partners and SAC Capital want TD Ameritrade to merge with online broker E*Trade Financial or US mutual and retirement fund provider Charles Schwab. They called for the brokerage to set up a special committee to investigate strategic alternatives for the company, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Joe Moglia, chief executive of TD Ameritrade, said at a Sandler O’Neill conference today the company was looking at offering a broader range of services for long term investors. When he was asked why the company had not merged with E*Trade and "what are you waiting for," Moglia said the company would only consider M&A deals if they were a suitable fit for the business.
"The risk associated with any of these trades is very, very significant and I have no problem taking a little longer if it is what is best for the company."
According to documents filed with the SEC, the two hedge funds have a combined stake of 8.4% in the business or 50 million shares and each has sought regulatory approval to buy shares worth another $600m (€444m).
In a letter addressed to TD Ameritrade’s board of directors, the hedge fund firms argue that the Toronto-Dominion Bank, which has a 40% stake in TD Ameritrade, is impeding a possible deal.
A recent report looking at investor activism from Wharton Business School found hedge fund firms make the best returns when pushing a company to sell. The report cited 98 examples in which companies averaged excess returns of 10.9% measured over 40 days before and after the hedge funds make their intentions known.
http://www.financialnews-us.com/?page=ushome&contentid=2447976749
no prob fringe. hopefully people will add to it over time, instead of always just shouting "Hedge Fund!!!" as a conspiracy theory focused on NSS.
the news above is really interesting though, in terms of guys like Steven Cohen (SAC) pushing for retail brokerages to combine (i could come up w/some possible conspiracy theories on that subject).
not saying that shorting micros doesn't happen, but from what i've seen so far, shorting is connected to financing.
saw that - VWAP perhaps?
there have been post-closing "t" trades almost daily for a while.
heh, not mgmt!
wouldn't shilling Playboy soda plop be considered harîm?
technically, this guy wasn't "removed" either...
fyi robo
Posted by: HarryOsbornJr
In reply to: chunga1 who wrote msg# 3619
Date:2/27/2007 8:38:09 PM
Post #of 8101
The word I got was the Settlement was Substantial.
Main Entry: sub·stan·tial
Function: adjective
Pronunciation: s&b-'stan(t)-sh&l
1 a : consisting of or relating to substance b : not imaginary or illusory : REAL , TRUE c : IMPORTANT , ESSENTIAL
2 : ample to satisfy and nourish : FULL <a substantial meal>
3 a : possessed of means : WELL -to-do b : considerable in quantity : significantly great <earned a substantial wage>
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?Message_id=17451252
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/msgsearchbymember.asp?SearchStr=settlement&SearchID=15494
IMO HO's posts are about as credible as the claim that weisel and Bill Gates are supposedly "friends" IMO.
"Microsoft has a huge desire to get to the factory floor," says Weisel, who is a friend of Bill Gates. "They’ve had huge intentions but never made it."
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=20233635
would further call into question this claim that Softee has any desire to "get to the factory floor." have yet to see any indication that MSFT has ever had any desire, let alone "huge," to market direct to industry in the way that quote seems to suggest. if MSFT has a "huge desire" to ever do anything, even the most pedestrian DD should easily bring that to the surface.
The Promise of Robotics - Innova is betting its software will reanimate a disjointed industry.
Remember that amazing robot you were promised when you were a kid? You know, the one that would fold the laundry, clean the toilets...
The Promise of Robotics
June 2007
By Kevin Allen
Photo by Alex Stafford
Remember that amazing robot you were promised when you were a kid? You know, the one that would fold the laundry, clean the toilets, do your homework? On TV and in the movies, such machines have been with us for quite a while, from Gort in The Day the Earth Stood Still to R2-D2 in Star Wars and T-800 in The Terminator. Along with flying cars and teleportation, it seemed just a matter of time before we all would have our own reliable robot.
So what happened? It’s 2007. Where’s my RoboButler?
There was a little problem. Turns out that real-life robots are, well, dumb. They can weld just fine and lift and push and even see and talk. They’re great when it comes to chores that are monotonous, dirty or dangerous. But like many of us, they don’t cope well with change.
“The nice thing about robots is they just don’t break down mechanically,” says Walt Weisel, CEO of Fort Myers-based Innova Robotics and Automation. However, “They suffer from brain problems.”
It’s Weisel’s business to fix that. He’s building a better robot brain.
“The brain of the robot is software. We don’t particularly care what the robot can do. If you want motion, we can make it happen,” he says.
His company has been operating in Fort Myers in one form or another since 1991, and so far it’s a business still based largely on promise and optimism. Weisel estimates the company was more than $5.5 million in the red in 2006. Still, he remains convinced that Innova is on the verge of something big.
“This company is a gold mine for technology, employment and growth,” he says.
industry has always been about selling the future, and there has always been something about seeing a machine perform lifelike tasks that sparks wonder. Weisel recalls the precise moment when he was seduced.
It was 1966. Joseph Engelberger, the acknowledged father of robotics, appeared on The Tonight Show with the Unimate, a small, one-armed robot.
With Engelberger at the controls, the Unimate picked up a golf club and sank a 10-foot putt, then popped the tab of a can of Budweiser and poured it into a glass. Next, the robot plucked up a baton and led The Tonight Show band. When the song ended, the Unimate snatched an accordion and smashed it to the stage floor, then raised its robot arm triumphantly. Johnny, Ed and the studio audience roared.
“The next day I quit my job and went to work for Joe Engelberger,” Weisel says.
There was nothing, it seemed, that robots couldn’t do to extend humans’ reach.
Almost all industrial robots are mechanical arms with six axes of movement: The arm itself can rotate, move up and down and side-to-side. Its “wrist” can perform the same three motions. Those six movements can reproduce almost any human motion, and when a robotic arm is combined with other robots, the manipulative power is virtually endless, Weisel says. Even 30-year-old robot arms—and there are thousands of these in Detroit—can be retro-fitted with Innova software and controllers to work faster and smarter, he says.
Typically, a robot on an auto assembly line can perform one function—say, make a spot weld—per second. Innova technology can communicate 1,100 movements per second. It can enable a robot to draw a perfect line on a compound angle one-quarter of a hair thick.
But for all Weisel’s innovation and optimism, Innova struggles financially. The company reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it incurred losses of $1.4 million in 2004 and nearly $1.9 million in 2005, when it claimed zero revenue. Its auditors reported that Innova will require additional working capital to develop its business until it either achieves enough revenue to generate sufficient cash flows from operations or obtains additional financing. The audit report concludes, “These conditions raise substantial doubt about Innova Holdings, Inc.’s ability to continue as a going concern.”
For 2006, Innova reported revenue of $1.3 million, but still had a net loss of $5.6 million. Weisel blames the losses primarily on reinvestment into the company. From January through April of this year, stock traded at a high of $.33 and a low of $.13.
In a February 2007 recap of the company’s performance in 2006, Weisel highlighted the fact that the company repaid more than $1 million in debt, completed the sale of the company’s 10 percent secured convertible debentures, and accomplished a 1-for-10 reverse stock split. The moves, Weisel says, would allow Innova to invest in its core technology, explore new applications for its products and hire and retain key personnel.
In March, Innova announced a $3 million settlement of an intellectual properties infringement lawsuit. Weisel is counting on the company’s patents. “The biggest asset any company has is its intellectual property,” he says.
A huge challenge for Weisel is tapping into what he thinks is a huge aftermarket in robotics. This is particularly important in the automotive industry, where many of the robots are “brain dead,” he says. Many are old, controlled by antiquated software. It’s expensive to replace these machines and update their controls. Weisel offers his universal robot controller as a cheaper, more efficient and ultimately more profitable alternative.
For a while, Ford was convinced. In 2000, the automaker invested $3 million in Weisel’s company and planned to retro-fit its aging robots with the company’s new controllers. A Ford vice president joined Innova’s board of directors. But before the first controller was delivered, Ford, along with the rest of the U.S. auto industry, saw its sales plummet after Sept. 11, 2001. The automaker cancelled its order. Unable to attract new investors in the post-Sept. 11 economic downturn, Weisel was forced to substantially shut down his operation in December of 2002.
The experience illustrates an uneasy fact of life in the robot business: It remains tied to the auto industry. After a record-setting year in 2005 for North American sales of robots, orders dropped 30 percent in 2006, according to the Robotic Industries Association (RIA), a trade group in Ann Arbor, Mich.
On the bright side, non-automotive sales of industrial robots accounted for 44 percent of total orders in 2006, compared with just 30 percent in 2005, a healthy trend for the industry. The trade group estimates that some 166,000 robots are now in use at U.S. factories.
“Our members understand that while the automotive industry has traditionally been and remains the largest customer for robotics, changes are occurring in the auto industry that may negatively impact future robot sales to automotive OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] and their suppliers,” executive vice president Donald A. Vincent said in an RIA report on industry results and trends for 2006. “Therefore, it becomes more important than ever to find new markets.”
Walt Weisel is counting on it.
Since he founded Innova, Weisel has been working to redefine the industry. “We really don’t care what’s out there to control,” Weisel says. “I can control a wheelchair as well as a robot. We based our business on a hunch that computers are going to get faster, smaller and more powerful. PCs are going to control the world.”
Innova and its subsidiary businesses make robot brains using the same familiar, household technology and equipment on which these words are processed. “Everything we’ve done for 16 years has been based on Microsoft,” Weisel says.
Back when Innova was still Robotic Workspace Technologies, Weisel introduced the world’s first PC-based controller using commercially available, off-the-shelf hardware and software in the Microsoft Windows environment. The company spent $6 million and six years developing the system and holds patents for its Universal Robot Controller and RobotScript universal programming language. Because the technology is so familiar and accessible, Innova products can be adapted to control all things robotic.
Weisel leads the way to the crowded shop at the company’s humble headquarters in a warehouse on Pine Ridge Road, where a technician tests the company’s newest controller, equipped with the fastest Dell processor available on the market. The interface for the controller is a standard Windows desktop, and with a few clicks, the technician opens the robot controls. With a few flicks of a joystick, a six-foot robot arm comes eerily to life, moving at the operator’s commands with the grace of a dancer.
Once the robot has been “taught” to perform a task—say, produce a series of spot welds—Innova’s computer brain can have the robot duplicate the series of movements while keeping track of any malfunctions or interruptions. All of this on a computer screen that is as familiar as the one you’d use to check your e-mail.
Another strength of Innova’s products is their universality, Weisel says. Not only can the software be used by robots of virtually any age and manufacturer, it’s also easily transmitted over the Internet Weisel says.
“It’s basically converting motion to software to worldwide communications,” he says.
A recent, dramatic example of this long-distance control is the Hubble telescope. In 2006, Innova fulfilled a contract with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center for a high-speed PC-based control system for use on space missions such as the one planned to adjust the Hubble telescope’s flight path. The speed and power of the controller allow NASA engineers to accurately simulate conditions in space and plan the Hubble mission.
Weisel has focused on strategic alliances in areas as diverse as healthcare to unmanned flight to homeland security. Former Attorney General John Ashcroft, a longtime friend of Weisel, joined Innova’s board of advisors last year. Ashcroft currently heads a Washington-based homeland security consulting firm, and Weisel sees the relationship as a valuable entrée into providing robots and controllers for port security and border surveillance.
In March, Innova announced its acquisition of Altronics Service Inc., a Port Charlotte company that produces devices used with automatic manufacturing equipment. That followed the May 2006 acquisition of CoroWare Technologies, headquartered on the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Wash. CoroWare was founded by Microsoft employees and works with Microsoft’s Robotics Studio, which opened in June 2006 and represents the software giant’s first major push into the field of robotics.
“Microsoft has a huge desire to get to the factory floor,” says Weisel, who is a friend of Bill Gates. “They’ve had huge intentions but never made it.”
There are some parallels between the current state of the art in robotics and the computer industry of 30 years ago.
“A handful of well-established corporations sell highly specialized devices for business use, and a fast-growing number of startup companies produce innovative toys, gadgets for hobbyists and other interesting niche products,” Microsoft’s Gates wrote in Scientific American in December 2006. “But it is also a highly fragmented industry with few common standards or platforms. Projects are complex, progress is slow, and practical applications are relatively rare. In fact, for all the excitement and promise, no one can say with any certainty when—or even if—this industry will achieve critical mass. If it does, though, it may well change the world.”
Walt Weisel is ready.
“Ninety percent of what you need to do is based on those six axes,” Weisel says. “Our job is to show the customer how to cost-justify it.”
http://www.gulfshorebusiness.com/details.asp?5957
iRobot newsletter - June 2007
click HERE
Robots to Guard Israeli Border Kill Zone
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) are deploying automated weapon robots along the border of the Gaza Strip to create a buffer kill zone to prevent unauthorized infiltrations.
The system, called the "See-Shoot" system, is currently being installed and will be fully operational by the end of 2007. It consists of automated weapons stations connected through a command center to visual, ground andairborne sensors.
The system is the culmination of years of development by defense contractors Rafael, Elbit Systems and IMI.
The system is part of an IDF strategy of low-signature/no-signature warfare. The no-signature doctrine strives to keep soldiers out of harms way as much as possible.
However, "no-signature" warfare does not mean 'no responsibility' yet.
Eventually the See-Shoot system will be able to operate as a completely autonomous closed-loop system. But for now, the sensor data will be monitored by soldiers and a commanding officer will approve activation of the automated kill function.
The system is designed to enforce a 1500 meter(almost 1 mile) wide area along the border. Future plans include adding anti-tank missiles to extend the width of the no-mans land to several kilometers.
I wonder if they made plans for removing the dead bodies from the kill zone. Will they have to disable the whole system or do they have a robot that can drive through the zone and clean up? Maybe they will just leave the dead bodies laying around to mark the boundary of the buffer zone.
Similar automated systems are under development for the border in Korea.
DefenseNews.com - Israel Wants Robotic Guns, Missiles To Guard Gaza Border - 06/01/07 17:55
Braintech Partners with ABB Robotics at Robot & Vision Show
Companies to Exhibit Cognitive Robotics Technologies
Vancouver, British Columbia CANADA, June 05, 2007 /FSC/ - Braintech Inc. (BRHI - OTCBB), a leading provider of robot vision technologies will exhibit its latest version of eVisionFactoryTM, featuring advanced 3D Vision Technologies. Additionally, Braintech personnel will support ABB Robotics, (NYSE:ABB) exhibition of TrueViewTM Cognitive Robotic systems.
Owen Jones, Braintech's CEO says, "Since 1999, we've been working with the ABB Robotics group developing a comprehensive suite of robot vision technologies for manufacturers. With the introduction of SC3DTM in 2001, it became evident that robots with vision can do things that were never before performed by unattended machines. Through collaborative R&D, we're continuing to develop more powerful robot vision technologies, now giving ABB robots Cognitive capabilities. Our goal is to provide manufacturers with the means to automate processes that require a high degree of reasoning and in-doing so allow manufacturers to locate plants close to their markets and not be disadvantaged by globalization".
At the ABB booth, attendees will have a chance to see examples of systems already working in the field and gain first hand knowledge of how they're making a difference. Also, Braintech's Chief Technologist, Babak Habibi will discuss the latest advances in bin picking as part of Session 6: Advances in Bin Picking, Wednesday June 13th, 8-10AM.
The Robot & Vision Show will be held at the Donald E. Convention Center, Rosemount (Chicago), IL June 12-14, 2007.
Braintech's exhibit is booth #515 in the Vision Section.
ABB's exhibit is booth #1611 in the Robot Section.
(go to http://www.robots-vision-show.info/robots_vision_show_info.html for more information)
About ABB Robotics: visit: - http://www.abb.com/product/us/9AAC910011.aspx?country=CA
About Braintech eVF: visit - www.braintech.com/
Trueview is a trademark of ABB, Inc.
SC3D, and eVisionFactory are trademarks of Braintech, Inc. and its subsidiaries
*** DISCLAIMER***
Statements in this document that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and reflect the current views of management with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Forward-looking statements in this news release include the statements that Braintech is continuing to develop more powerful robot vision technologies and that Braintech's goal is to provide manufacturers with the means to automate processes that require a high degree of reasoning. It is important to note that the Company's actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include risks and uncertainties such as technical difficulties in developing the products; competition from other suppliers of similar products; pricing that may not be acceptable to potential markets; and many other known and unknown factors. Readers should also refer to the risk disclosures outlined in the Company's 10-KSB and 10-QSB Forms filed from time to time with the SEC.
Contact Information:
Braintech:
Owen Jones
Braintech Inc.
#102 - 930 W 1st Street
Vancouver BC V7P 3N4
(604) 988-6440 x 200
ojones@braintech.com
Source: Braintech Inc. (OTCBB: BRHI) http://www.braintech.com/volts-iq" target="_blank">http://http://www.braintech.com/volts-iq
Maximum News Dissemination by Filing Services Canada Inc.
Ph: (403) 717-3898 Fx: (403) 717-3896 www.usetdas.com
http://www.usetdas.com/TDAS/NewsArticle.aspx?NewsID=8684
info about the Intl. Robot & Vision Show here --> http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=20129851
Braintech Partners with ABB Robotics at Robot & Vision Show
Companies to Exhibit Cognitive Robotics Technologies
Vancouver, British Columbia CANADA, June 05, 2007 /FSC/ - Braintech Inc. (BRHI - OTCBB), a leading provider of robot vision technologies will exhibit its latest version of eVisionFactoryTM, featuring advanced 3D Vision Technologies. Additionally, Braintech personnel will support ABB Robotics, (NYSE:ABB) exhibition of TrueViewTM Cognitive Robotic systems.
Owen Jones, Braintech's CEO says, "Since 1999, we've been working with the ABB Robotics group developing a comprehensive suite of robot vision technologies for manufacturers. With the introduction of SC3DTM in 2001, it became evident that robots with vision can do things that were never before performed by unattended machines. Through collaborative R&D, we're continuing to develop more powerful robot vision technologies, now giving ABB robots Cognitive capabilities. Our goal is to provide manufacturers with the means to automate processes that require a high degree of reasoning and in-doing so allow manufacturers to locate plants close to their markets and not be disadvantaged by globalization".
At the ABB booth, attendees will have a chance to see examples of systems already working in the field and gain first hand knowledge of how they're making a difference. Also, Braintech's Chief Technologist, Babak Habibi will discuss the latest advances in bin picking as part of Session 6: Advances in Bin Picking, Wednesday June 13th, 8-10AM.
The Robot & Vision Show will be held at the Donald E. Convention Center, Rosemount (Chicago), IL June 12-14, 2007.
Braintech's exhibit is booth #515 in the Vision Section.
ABB's exhibit is booth #1611 in the Robot Section.
(go to http://www.robots-vision-show.info/robots_vision_show_info.html for more information)
About ABB Robotics: visit: - http://www.abb.com/product/us/9AAC910011.aspx?country=CA
About Braintech eVF: visit - www.braintech.com/
Trueview is a trademark of ABB, Inc.
SC3D, and eVisionFactory are trademarks of Braintech, Inc. and its subsidiaries
*** DISCLAIMER***
Statements in this document that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and reflect the current views of management with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Forward-looking statements in this news release include the statements that Braintech is continuing to develop more powerful robot vision technologies and that Braintech's goal is to provide manufacturers with the means to automate processes that require a high degree of reasoning. It is important to note that the Company's actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include risks and uncertainties such as technical difficulties in developing the products; competition from other suppliers of similar products; pricing that may not be acceptable to potential markets; and many other known and unknown factors. Readers should also refer to the risk disclosures outlined in the Company's 10-KSB and 10-QSB Forms filed from time to time with the SEC.
Contact Information:
Braintech:
Owen Jones
Braintech Inc.
#102 - 930 W 1st Street
Vancouver BC V7P 3N4
(604) 988-6440 x 200
ojones@braintech.com
Source: Braintech Inc. (OTCBB: BRHI) http://www.braintech.com/volts-iq" target="_blank">http://http://www.braintech.com/volts-iq
Maximum News Dissemination by Filing Services Canada Inc.
Ph: (403) 717-3898 Fx: (403) 717-3896 www.usetdas.com
http://www.usetdas.com/TDAS/NewsArticle.aspx?NewsID=8684
see post in reply for link to expo.
Japanese robot likes sushi, fears president
Tue Jun 5, 6:11 AM ET
TOKYO, June 5 (Reuters) - Kansei frowns when he hears the word "bomb," smiles at "sushi" and looks scared and disgusted when someone says "president" -- and he isn't even human.
Japan's latest robot, called Kansei and created by a university research team, can pull up to 36 different facial expressions based on a program which creates word associations from a self-updating online database of 500,000 keywords.
The English keywords then trigger the most appropriate facial expression, which ranges from happiness to sadness, anger and fear.
"What we are trying to do here is to create a flow of consciousness in robots so that they can make the relevant facial expressions," said project leader Junichi Takeno, a professor at Meiji University's School of Science and Technology.
"I believe that's going to be a key to improving communication between humans and robots," he said.
The robot has 19 movable parts underneath the silicone face mask. When the robot hears the word "president," the online database picks up associated words such as "Bush," "war" and "Iraq" and creates an expression which the researchers said is meant to mix fear and disgust.
Takeno says that in a few years, Kansei will also have speech abilities and will be able to convey feelings, which could be useful in places such as nursing homes for the elderly.
Japan is hooked on androids, with several companies selling robots that mimic human action such as playing drums or dancing to music.
With Japan's population expected to slide by around a quarter by 2050, and immigration a sensitive issue, some laboratories have developed humanoid robots that can work as maids.
Earlier this year, a university researcher created a robot that looks and moves exactly like him.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070605/tc_nm/japan_robot_tech_dc
Yahoo! robotics photo slideshow - http://news.yahoo.com/photos/ss/events/tc/111104robots;_ylt=A0SOwlGdgWVGbjoAhhRk24cA
Japanese robot dances to iPod music
By HIROKO TABUCHI, Associated Press Writer Thu May 31, 1:05 PM ET
TOKYO - A Japanese robot twists and rolls to music from an iPod in an intricate dance based on complex mathematics, a technology developers say will enable robots to move about spontaneously instead of following preprogrammed motions.
Tokyo-based venture ZMP Inc.'s 14-inch long Miuro robot — which looks like a white ball wedged between two halves of an egg — wheels about in time with music from the iPod player that locks into the machine.
At a demonstration in Tokyo on Thursday, the 11-pound Miuro pivoted about on a stage in time to beats of a pop music track played through its speakers. The dance wasn't preprogrammed, but generated by the robot itself.
Scientists involved in the robot's development believe the technology could lead to robots capable of spontaneous motion. Miuro uses algorithms, or mathematical rules, to analyze music and translate the beats into dances, said ZMP President Hisashi Taniguchi.
"We aim to create a new form of life that moves freely and spontaneously in ways human beings can't predict," Taniguchi said. "We're hoping to turn Miuro into the ultimate virtual pet."
Unlike older Miuros, which hit stores last August, the prototype is fitted with software based on what scientists call chaotic itinerancy, a mathematical pattern similar to the movements of a bee circling from flower to flower as it collects nectar.
That allows the new Miuro to act spontaneously and unpredictably — "just like a child playing," said Tokyo University researcher Takashi Ikegami, who developed the software.
Other improvements will let users set the Miuro like an alarm clock so it wheels into the bedroom and blasts music at a certain time. Future versions of the Miuro will also use built-in sensors to seek out people to play tunes to, Taniguchi said.
ZMP has already shipped 500 units of the original Miuro, which isn't equipped with the intelligent software but instead responds to a remote-control handheld manipulator.
The 108,800 yen ($895) original Miuro can also receive wireless signals from a personal computer to play iTunes and other stored digital files. Separately sold options add a camera that beams images to PCs or lets owners control their Miuros by mobile phone.
Miuro, short for "music innovation based on utility robot technology," is only on sale in Japan. ZMP did not give a date for the release of the prototype.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070531/ap_on_hi_te/ipod_robot_5
Baby robot that can walk, talk and feel
Last updated at 11:41am on 5th June 2007
It is not quite as sophisticated as C-3PO from Star Wars or Data from Star Trek, but earth engineers have managed to create a young android.
Covered in a grey putty-like silicone skin the baby bot can roll around and 'speak'. It can even take a few steps if encouraged enough.
Built by Japanese scientists Minoru Asada and Hiroshi Ishiguro (who famously created an android twins of himself), the robot called CB2 weighs 33kg and stands 130cm tall.
It has 197 tactile sensors embedded in its outer layer and 51 compressed air-powered actuators, which allow it to react to touch.
When CB2's shoulders are tapped, it blinks as if surprised, stops moving, and turns its gaze toward the person who touched it. It will also try and grab a toy dangled in front of it.
Future research at the Japanese Science and Technology Agency in Osaka will attempt to improve the body functions of CB2 - whose full name is 'Child-robot with Biomimetic Body.'
They also want to write software allowing it to walk and talk like a three-year-old.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/technology/technology.html?in_article_id=460015&i...
Robot to stand guard at SKorean school
Thu May 31, 2:28 PM ET
SEOUL (AFP) - A robot is to be deployed as a security guard at a South Korean school in what its creators claim is a world first, the Korea Times reported Thursday.
The robot, dubbed OFRO, will be posted at a Seoul middle school to test its potential before going on sale.
Makers DU Robo said it could be used to alert staff to attempts by outsiders to seduce students.
"One possible scenario is that OFRO will alert officials when it detects someone trying to seduce a student," the firm's CEO Kang Jung-Won told the newspaper. Teachers could then either warn the offender through a loudspeaker or send human security guards.
The firm claims it is the first time a robot has been used to guard an educational institution.
"After going through the feasibility test, we (will) look to commercialise the feature-rich OFRO that retails at around 100,000 dollars as a school guardian," said Kang.
OFRO moves at a leisurely maximum of five kph (three mph) and can either patrol pre-programmed routes or be manually controlled. It has a camera and microphone link to teachers or a security firm.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070531/tc_afp/skoreaeducationrobot_070531182843
semi-OT: Calling John Ashcroft
The House and Senate Intelligence Committees have asked the former attorney general to testify about his role in a dramatic showdown over a controversial eavesdropping program. Will he play ball?
By Michael Isikoff
Newsweek
Updated: 8:51 p.m. ET June 1, 2007
June 1, 2007 - The Senate and House Intelligence Committees are asking former attorney general John Ashcroft to testify about a March 2004 hospital-room confrontation during which he refused to sign off on a continuation of President Bush’s warrantless eavesdropping program, according to congressional and administration sources.
The sources, who asked not to be identified talking about sensitive matters, said the Senate Intelligence Committee has tentatively scheduled a closed-door hearing for later this month. The panel plans to question Ashcroft, his former chief of staff David Ayres and former deputy attorney general James Comey about a heated dispute with the White House that roiled the Justice Department three years ago. The House committee is also planning a separate closed-door hearing with Ashcroft, according to a spokeswoman for Ashcroft.
The requests for Ashcroft’s testimony reflect the mounting frustration on the part of committee leaders in both chambers who feel they have been denied vital information about the wiretapping issue by the Bush administration. Despite having received numerous private briefings from senior administration officials over the last year, members were stunned to learn just how deeply troubled the Justice Department was about aspects of the program—a glimpse they got only when Comey publicly testified about the program at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last month.
The invitation from Capitol Hill could also create a dilemma for Ashcroft, who prides himself on his loyalty to President Bush—despite clear tensions that arose with the White House over wiretapping and other issues related to the war on terror. Ashcroft, 65, now a Washington lobbyist, has steadfastly refused to make any public comment about the eavesdropping dispute. While confirming the House request, his spokeswoman, Juleanna Glover Weiss, said he was out of town and would be unavailable to discuss the matter until next week.
Administration officials and congressional staffers say Ashcroft will have difficulty finding a reason to refuse to talk about it at this point—especially in closed-door hearings, given that Comey has already publicly recounted the dispute. Although Ashcroft is a private citizen, Justice officials expect that he will likely seek their guidance on how far he can go in discussing the issue. A meeting has been scheduled for this Monday by Senate Intelligence Committee aides and Justice Department officials to discuss the “contours” of the testimony, one official said. If Ashcroft declined to cooperate, the committees could ultimately issue subpoenas.
In startling testimony May 15, Comey recounted how Alberto Gonzales, then White House counselor, and Andrew Card, then White House chief of staff, went to George Washington University Hospital on the evening of March 10, 2004, in an attempt to persuade a barely conscious Ashcroft, who had just undergone emergency surgery for gallstone pancreatitis, to sign a document recertifying what Comey called a “particular classified program.” (He indicated that a just-completed internal Justice review had led him to conclude that the department could no longer certify its legality.)
But Ashcroft refused—and deferred to Comey as the acting attorney general, according to Comey—who said that when President Bush reauthorized the program anyway the next day, he, Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller were all prepared to resign. A story in this week’s NEWSWEEK magazine reported that as many as 30 senior Justice Department officials would have resigned over the matter. “This was a showdown,” a former senior Justice official was quoted as saying in the story.
Comey refused discuss publicly the nature of the disagreement. But he indicated that, after a meeting with Mueller, President Bush subsequently agreed to changes that the Justice Department was prepared to accept. But that has still left the two intelligence committees—which have oversight responsibility for the surveillance program—with a host of unanswered questions.
In December 2005, The New York Times first publicly disclosed that after September 11 the White House began a highly classified program designed to intercept phone calls and e-mails of U.S. citizens speaking to Al Qaeda suspects abroad without seeking approval from a special foreign-intelligence surveillance court. In the aftermath of that disclosure, the administration downplayed reports that there were any legal disagreements over what was being done. Michael Hayden, who headed the National Security Agency when the program began, told the Senate Intelligence Committee last year that the Justice Department and the White House had given “consistent” guidance that the program was legal. Gonzales, in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee last February, said that, “there has not been any serious disagreement … about the program that the president has confirmed."
At the same time, the Senate committee has been consistently rebuffed in their requests to obtain key documents related to the program—including memos and opinions about the program from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) and the actual presidential orders authorizing the eavesdropping, according to a report released by the panel this week accompanying its passage of a new authorization bill for the intelligence community. Although the Justice Department has turned over internal OLC memos to Congress in the past, and frequently makes them public on its Web site, they have refused to do so in the case of the wiretapping program under orders from the department’s client: the White House. Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller, the panel’s chairman, said the committee will refuse to consider the president’s request to revise the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to accommodate the wiretapping program until it receives the documents it is seeking. A Justice Department spokesman declined comment, but pointed out that in a public statement following Comey's testimony, the department said Gonzales had acknowledged there had been "disagreements about other intelligence activities" and that "the fact and nature of such disagreements have been briefed to the Intelligence Committees.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18990233/site/newsweek/page/0/
BTW, is he even still involved with this company?
hey clippy, you might be the new straw that stirs the drink.
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/HotBoardsRelative.asp
Rank Board Rate Posts Today Last Post Category
1 Coastal Technologies Inc. (CTTJ) 1,069% 165 06/04/2007 04:03:17 PM Computers - Software
2 Innova Robotics and Automation Inc (INRA) 632% 83 06/04/2007 04:09:24 PM Computers - Software
hi Aries! do you know if the warrant share component of the SB-2 could be used for conversions, redemptions, etc.?
TALON contract rises to $150m
Source: The Engineer
Foster-Miller's contract to supply TALON robots and replacement parts for service in Iraq and Afghanistan has been increased from $63.9m to $150m.
Military personnel at the Joint Robotic Repair and Fielding Activity (JRFF) 'Robot Hospitals' in Iraq are repairing more than 400 robots a week from bomb damage to put them back into service remotely neutralising improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Soldiers, sailors, marines and air force personnel conduct more than 30,000 counter-IED missions per year in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Insurgents have been blowing up robots, but they are reportedly being repaired and returned to action within four hours. JRFF records show that TALON robots, because of their ruggedness and durability, represent 75 percent of the bomb-damaged robots that are rebuilt and returned to action so the robot hospitals need to be constantly restocked with TALON replacement parts.
'We appreciate and admire the commitment of the Robotics Systems Joint Program Office and the service members manning the robot hospitals doing everything humanly possible to make sure our military personnel have robots to send out to investigate and neutralise suspected IEDs,' said Dr William Ribich, president and CEO of Foster-Miller.
Source: The Engineer
Date Published: June 04, 2007
http://www.scenta.co.uk/Gadgets/1699245/talon-contract-rises-to-150m.htm
FYI: Foster-Miller recently acquired CoroWare partner Applied Perception.
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?Message_id=19065055
no mention of UAC in this PR
http://new.marketwire.com/2.0/rel.jsp?id=737543
SOURCE: Innova Robotics & Automation, Inc.
May 29, 2007 00:57 ET
LM Industrial Places First Order for Innova Robotics & Automation's "AL"
New PC Controller From Altronics Service Subsidiary Enables Fully Functional Automation Lines
Highlighted Links
Innova Holdings, Inc.
FORT MYERS, FL--(Marketwire - May 29, 2007) - Innova Robotics & Automation, Inc. (OTCBB: INRA), a robotics technology firm, today announced that LM Industrial, Inc. has placed the first order for the newly unveiled "AL" controller through the company's Altronics Service subsidiary. AL will be implemented to increase the productivity and value of the Orlando-based industrial metal fabricator's CNC (Computer Numerically Controlled) plasma punch.
Innova will provide training on the use of AL while installing new drive motors, a CNC controller, cabinet, and PC at LM Industrial. Product testing will also be conducted during the initial implementation. Once installed, AL will essentially bring new life to the existing equipment allowing the Altronics customer to use the equipment more efficiently for the punching and shape burning of steel products it delivers to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and other customers.
"We are looking forward to upgrading our plasma punch with AL. Because AL is a PC controller, it will help increase productivity by shortening our set-up time. With AL, we will have all the tools we need at our fingertips to write and change programs directly on the machine," said Tim McGinnis, owner of LM Industrial, Inc. "Currently, changes to the programs are written on a computer in the office, saved to a disc, walked over to the machine, and copied into the outdated controller. If even the smallest change is required, we do it all over again."
McGinnis continued, "We have been extremely impressed with Altronics' level of customer service to date, and are excited that the Company is now bringing control of the various aspects of our production process by bridging outdated machinery with new technology."
Designed to meet the growing complex maintenance and production requirements of manufacturers, the new AL controller is an industrial PC-based CNC controller that can be networked with other PC equipment. AL is easily integrated with automation equipment such as Programmable Logic Controls (PLCs) and CNCs. Key capabilities and benefits of AL include state-of-the-art electronics, a PC-based controller with Microsoft Windows XP, an easy-to-use touch screen, a fully functioning control panel, and full networking capabilities thru Ethernet, PROFIBUS, CANopen, and DeviceNET for downloading programs and uploading production information. A plasma cutting interface is also standard.
"Innova recently acquired Altronics Service to widen the range of service, training, and maintenance solutions it provides," said Ken Vanden Berg, COO and CFO of Innova Robotics & Automation. "We are thrilled to see our newest subsidiary already increasing our product offerings with AL, and pleased to be expanding business with an existing customer that expressed early interest in this automation manufacturing solution. New orders like these are key to fulfilling Innova's growth strategy."
Altronics' products offer a practical and economical solution to manufacturing floors using Whitney Punch Presses. The Company has a strong position in the controls market, with over 1,200 accounts located throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Great Britain that include small and mid-sized companies as well as companies listed on the Fortune 500.
About Innova Robotics & Automation, Inc.
Fort Myers, Fla.-based Innova Robotics & Automation (OTCBB: INRA) pioneers innovative control and communication solutions that make robotics and automated systems more productive, powerful, and profitable for customers in the telecommunications, manufacturing, aerospace, research, and service industries. The company is chartered to continue expanding its growing suite of technologies through acquisitions and organic growth. Innova operates through four subsidiaries, Robotic Workspace Technologies (RWT), CoroWare Technologies, Altronics Service, and Innova Robotics, which offer convergent technology and expertise that bridges robots, CNC machines, facilities, and business systems for greater functionality and ROA. Visit Innova online at www.InnovaRoboticsAutomation.com.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
MEDIA CONTACT
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thanks chunga - up 3,000 from your last check.
posted this in reply to your last TA post w/89,404,430 OS on May 22, 2007.
re things that are "free."
yes, HO, many things are "free," just like your iHub membership.
as you may have noticed, you have been given nearly free reign to post, and your "opinions" are worth every penny you pay to post them here, and every penny that people pay to read them.
by the same token, i am free to note your history of rampant inconsistency and contradiction.
you are free post whatever you want here w/in the boundaries of the TOU, and others will remain free to make inquiries about your posts.
mmmmmmkay?
wouldn't that seem to be a bit of a branding problem?
on the one hand they call it the UAC, on the other, you can call meeeeeee AL.
which is it?
yes, but you have a lengthy history of contradiction.
and your first remarks about it were that it was your opinion and only later did you recant that and claim it was a joke.
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=20123568
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=20123649
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=20123809
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=20124024
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=20124224
you also claimed misappropriation... more or less.
"The cat wasn't so fat until he pocketed our 3 million bucks imo."
clippy, maybe you can clarify this?
is it your understanding that the "UAC" (Universal Automation Controller) which was hinted many times in the past, is actually the same device that was referred to as "AL" in a recent PR?
tia.
RWT/ABB settlement 8K exhibit -->
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?Message_id=17644969
original is here -->
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1156784/000114420407011059/0001144204-07-011059-index.htm
An easier way to get to moon
NASA should make lunar lander part of competition
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/4856240.html
By MARK R. WHITTINGTON
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
This photograph is an artist's concept of a lunar mining facility. NASA plans to launch a probe to the moon in late 2008. PAT RAWLINGS: NASA
The Lunar Robotics Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., will be staying put, at least for another six years at $20 million a year. The office was originally slated for closure by NASA Administrator Michael Griffin as part of a cost-cutting move. Unfortunately, Griffin did not reckon on the wrath of Sen. Richard Shelby, Alabama's senior senator. Shelby balked at the closure and, working with other senators and representatives of both parties, successfully prevented it.
The office is currently managing the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, which is scheduled to launch to the moon in late 2008. A third lunar probe, which was designed to land in the permanently shaded area of the Lunar South Pole, was also cancelled, though it is now said to be under review.
When the lunar lander mission, known as the Robotic Lunar Exploration Precursor 2, was cancelled, its estimated cost had ballooned from about $400 million to $750 million. NASA decided that because of budget shortfalls caused by both congressional action and the burgeoning cost of returning the shuttle fleet to flight after the Colombia disaster, a lunar lander was no longer needed or affordable.
Unless the lunar lander mission, which was originally slated to launch in 2011, is restored, the Lunar Robotics Office will have little to do after the missions of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite have concluded.
But if the lunar lander is restored in the same form it was when it was cancelled and NASA's budget outlook remains the same, some very hard choices will have to be made. Something else will have to be cut. With the exploration program already slipping six months behind and with Congress already complaining about cutbacks in NASA's science and aeronautics accounts, there would seem to be very little give.
It is true that Congress could provide more money. Indeed, there is some talk of doing that. Space supporters in Congress have complained that NASA's budget is being shortchanged by the White House and that the space agency hasn't enough resources to accomplish everything that is on its plate.
There is one way, though, to make the stress on NASA's budget that would result from the restoration of the lunar lander a little easier. That would be to make the lunar lander a part of the Centennial Challenge competition.
The Centennial Challenge is an innovative program run by NASA in which teams of people compete to build and demonstrate various technologies that would be useful in the exploration of space for cash prizes. Challenges that have already run have involved tethers, beam power, vertical takeoff and landing vehicles, robotic excavation of lunar soil and more flexible astronaut gloves. With the exception of astronaut gloves, none of the competitions have had a winner yet.
The Lunar Robotic Lander has been suggested for being part of the Centennial Challenge competition, but has so far not been funded. The way it would work is that a prize — of, say, $50 million — would be awarded to the first group to land an instrument package in a predetermined area of the lunar surface, such as the South Pole, and return data. NASA would define what sort of data it is looking for, but it would be up to the private competitors to determine how to obtain it.
If such a competition were to be funded, there would be no reason why the newly saved Lunar Robotics Office could not manage it. It would give the office something to do after the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite finish their missions.
Everybody would win.
The private sector would get a chance to develop some innovative technology, which would be useful to both NASA and the private sector.
NASA would get a lunar lander mission for a fraction of the cost it had originally contemplated.
It would be a different kind of space race, in which the country would be the winner.
Whittington, of Houston, is a space policy analyst and is the author of "Children of Apollo."
Surgical robot is 'a huge jump'
Ball Memorial Hospital's surgeons are using a new high-tech tool.
By KEITH ROYSDON
kroysdon@muncie.gannett.com
MUNCIE -- The flying cars and hovering houses of old TV shows and movies are still a long way in the future.
But surgery by robot? That particular future is here today at Ball Memorial Hospital.
The daVinci Surgical Robot in use at the Cardinal Health System flagship hospital doesn't replace the skills and judgment of experienced surgeons. The robot is a tool of the surgeon.
But the daVinci robot's ability to enhance the vision and dexterity of surgeons has the potential to improve patient outcomes. Incisions are smaller than in typical surgeries, meaning less blood loss and faster recovery.
And daVinci makes Ball Memorial Hospital one of a handful of sites in the state with such a high-tech medical tool.
Roberto Darroca, the first surgeon to use the daVinci locally, said robotic surgical systems were among the most important leaps forward he had seen in 20 years of practice.
"I think this is more of an advance than most of what we've seen in that time," Darroca said. "It makes surgery so much easier and more accurate. It's a huge jump."
The $1.6 million daVinci will be the subject of an upcoming session of the Dr. and Mrs. M.G. Schulhof Lecture Series. The lecture will be held 8-9 a.m. Tuesday, June 12 in the hospital auditorium. Mark Bade of Intuitive Surgical, the firm that makes the daVinci, and Samuel Kim, another Ball Memorial surgeon who uses daVinci, will speak at the session.
Eleven in Indiana
In recent decades, robots and the field of robotics have gradually moved from the realm of science fiction to modern-day science. Robots have become common in manufacturing and technology.
In July 2000, California-based Intuitive Surgical won approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its daVinci Surgical System. That first robotic surgical system was followed by at least two more from other companies.
Intuitive has 500 robotic surgical systems in hospitals around the world. The daVinci prostatectomy procedure is the fastest-growing treatment for prostate cancer, the company says.
Indiana hospitals are among those using daVinci, Bade said.
"Eleven daVinci systems are in use in Indiana," Bade said. Five of the robots are in use in Indianapolis hospitals, two are in Fort Wayne and one each is in South Bend, Munster and Muncie.
"Muncie is our smallest market," Bade said. "It's being accepted very well. Kokomo, Richmond, Evansville are markets where this technology has not yet been brought into the community. Is it going to happen there? Time will tell."
Acceptance at Ball Memorial Hospital was gradual. Jody Hornaday, coordinator for the daVinci robot and assistant nurse manager for the hospital's main operating room, said 30 surgeries have been done with daVinci so far this year. Four surgeons and a team of nurses and nurses and technicians perform radical prostatectomys and hysterectomies with the system.
But there were some issues when the robot system was announced late last year.
Enhancing skills
"It was not received very well at all initially," Hornaday said. "Someone says, 'We're bringing a robot in,' the questions are, "Where do we put it? Is it coming out of our budget?' None of our surgeons had been trained on it and no one had said they wanted to use it.
"We put our heads together, came up with a plan and things worked out," she added.
After intensive training, surgeons like Darroca began using the system. The hospital recruited Kim, a urologist who had been working in Indianapolis and had used daVinci.
The robotic surgery system is operated by remote control by the surgeon, who might be 20 feet away. Cameras give the surgeon a clear view inside the patient and the surgeon manipulates the daVinci's small surgical instruments.
Surgeons found they could, instead of making one incision that was four inches long, use the robot to make four small incisions.
"There's so much less blood loss," Hornaday said.
The robot surgical system wins converts because it helps surgeons and patients, those familiar with the system agree.
Key to daVinci's acceptance by surgeons is its ability to enhance their skills, Bade said.
"It enables them to overcome the normal limitations," he added.
Darroca agreed.
"If you have a muscle twitch in your hand, using the robot, that's removed," he said. "If someone is watching, they think, 'This guy's got the steadiest hands in the world.'"
Hornaday said the daVinci system will see an increasing role at Ball Memorial Hospital.
"We really want to target our community and provide the best care for our community," Hornaday said. "We want our patients to know they'll get not just the newest, but what's best. They came come here and get a procedure done and their outcomes will be great."
Contact news reporter Keith Roysdon at 213-5828.
http://www.thestarpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070603/BUSINESS/706030330/1046
is that post some sort of code lingo HO?
maybe you should perform a new google earth search?
the one from the date of the HO post linked here projects a very different view.
there was nothing that was not "nice" in my prior reply. it simply noted that you were hyping a $1 pps when the stock was > 100% higher than it is today. it too was premised, at least in part, on supposed parking lot activity.
just seems like more smoke and mirrors from the Ft Myers crew IMO.
BTW, where's MrF been lately?
HO wrote this around that same time...
"I hear the " hang in there" and the "their going to a $1 soon" from those who think their in the know about the company."
my post is a reply to the original, fwiw.
you posted the same thing in 2006.
click link to see, it's 6,108 messages back.
maybe HO should go to the Chicago bot show and check out the booth for
Xi'an Superman Sculpture Research Institute?
http://www.xsm.cn/xsmEn/about_jj.asp
gs121, this bot recipe concept seems to be consistent w/what CoroWare is doing with the CoroBot and their "OTS" ("off-the-shelf") approach.
as testers, designers, etc. the CoroBot seems to be an extension of the R&D development CoroWare did for Vassar College a year or two back.
and part of the perceived value of the CoroBot would be that they have fiddled and faddled with all sorts of components in various combinations, and developed this device as the residue of that deep knowledge base.
seems perfect for lab settings (universities), clubs, etc., and might even find niche roles in other stuff like building monitors, etc.
more info here >>> http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=19688599
now you claim you are joking?
"until he pocketed our 3 million bucks imo."
last night you posted it was your HOpinion.
which comic book character are you today?
CoroBot continues to get attention...
ADDICT3D 06.02.2007
CoroWare's CoroBot encourages DIY robotic deployment
May 16 2007 11:04:36
Source: Engadget
Homegrown robotics have been sneaking around the scene for quite some time, and while we've seen instances of DIY kits coming in at (somewhat) reasonable prices, CoroWare is apparently hoping to nab a bit more of that untapped market.
Hailed as an "affordable and flexible mobile robot for researchers, hobbyists, and developers in the industrial and service robot segments," the CoroBot indeed packs quite a punch.
Judging by the 1.2GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, 20GB hard drive, front and rear IR sensors, 640 x 480 resolution camera, and eight digital inputs / outputs that this thing sports, we don't envision it shipping out to many newbies regardless of the marketing.
Furthermore, the device is compatible with Microsoft Robotics Studio, sports an option for a robotic arm capable of four degrees of freedom, and even boasts five pounds of base payload capacity.
Unfortunately, for those of you still hoping to snap one up on the cheap, chances are you'll be sorely disappointed by CoroWare's definition of inexpensive, as the June-bound bots start at $2,499 and head north to $3,499 when tricked out.
http://www.addict3d.org/news/117488/CoroWare's%20CoroBot%20encourages%20DIY%20robotic%20deployment
KUKA Robotics To Present Research On Automation Strategies At Robot & Vision Show
5/31/2007
Clinton Township, MI - KUKA Robotics Corporation, one of the leading global manufacturer of industrial robots, recently announced it will present its latest research on emerging trends and advancements in robotics at the Automation Strategies forum at the Robot & Vision show to be held June 12-14th at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont (Chicago), IL. John Nelson, plastics industry product manager for KUKA Robotics, will be presenting new trends in six axis robotic applications for injection molders on Thursday, June 14th from 8:45-11:00am. The forum will feature presentations from KUKA Robotics and other leading robotic manufacturers who will also be taking questions from attendees. Patrick Duda, plastics industry engineering manager for KUKA Robotics, will be presenting KUKA research on advancements in robot software and simulation on the same day at 10:15-11:15am.
“As a leading robotics event, the Robot & Vision show showcases emerging trends and advancements in the robotics field and is an excellent forum to learn about the latest technology available," said Stuart Shepherd, president of KUKA Robotics Corporation. “In addition to the conference presentations we will be featuring live demonstrations of our robotic technology on our booth that will show attendees real world advantages of robotics.”
KUKA Robotics’ robots are used in a widely diverse range of industries. At this event the KUKA Robotics’ booth #1823 will feature multiple KUKA robots demonstrating milling, welding and plastic applications. More information on the International Robot & Vision Show can be found on their website at http://www.robots-vision-show.info/robots_vision_show_info.html.
SOURCE: KUKA Robotics Corporation
http://www.plasticsnet.com/content/news/article.asp?docid=c9312587-562f-4916-86e2-8e2408effa07&a...