#tobotics

Ever since college started, I no longer have the time to play around with robotics.

Study for 15 points 

El colectivo Random, formado por los artistas e ingenieros en robótica alemanes Florian Ortkrass y Hannes Koch (aunque su sede está en Londres), creó esta extraña instalación que emula el movimiento humano reducido a su mínima expresión -uno de sus temas característicos- con 15 leds que son articulados por una especie de araña mecánica. Otra de su piezas más famosas -y  por la que más se les recuerda- es una instalación llamada Rain Room, que creo que ya había dejado por aquí...

The initial sculpture from Random’s new body of work in progress, Study for Fifteen Points / I experiments with the minimal amount of information that is actually necessary for the animated form to be recognised as human; and the fundamental impact created by subtle changes within that information. When arranged and animated in order, the points of light represent the human anatomy. Instinctually, the brain is able to stitch the disparate points together and recognise them as one human form. Reduced ways of representing complex information have been a sustained source of inspiration to Random International over the past years.

Random International create artworks and installations that explore behaviour, reaction and intuition in relation to natural phenomena and the human form...

Researchers to use lasers to control weeds.

German researchers are developing a system to use lasers to control weeds, as a safer alternative to toxic herbicides. Using laser beams directed at the growth centre of plants they can be effectively controlled, without the risk of contaminating food with toxins, and without spray drifting onto nearby people or waterways.

Challenges the team need to overcome include being able to correctly identify and target weeds, and adjusting the intensity of radiation precisely for each plant - if the levels are too low it can actually encourage growth. The technology uses beams in the mid-infrared range.