ASIMO COMES TO EDINBURGH

To kick off the science festival in Edinburgh, I went to see Honda’s amazing humanoid robot, ASIMO. A short video showing just some of its capabilities can be found on the home page of my web site – http://www.trevorelliott.co.uk

22 Years of Research
The product of 22 years of research, ASIMO is a phenomenal piece of engineering via which Honda’s research teams have solved the problems of creating true biped motion. Whilst we may view walking as a simple task, for a machine, it is a very complex combination of mechanical and computer technology involving simultaneous feedback from numerous sensors. Human walking involves a stage where the body is actually falling but the ability to adjust automatically our centre of gravity using hips, knee, ankles etc., means that we can unconsciously compensate and maintain an upright gait. As anyone who has taken a little too much alcohol will know, any disruption to this unconscious processing can quickly reveal the complexity of biped motion. Standing 1.3 metres tall, ASIMO can not only, walk but also, run, adapt to uneven surfaces, climb and descend stairs, use tools like a spanner to tighten and loosen nuts, shake hands (without crushing you hand) respond to spoken instructions and much, much more.

Through a child’s eyes
Most of the audience watching ASIMO probably took it for granted assuming that robots, like those found in science fiction, were quite common, whereas through the eyes of this rather grown up child Honda’s achievement is quite staggering. Apart from the engineering achievement let’s hope that ASIMO can help to stimulate young people’s interest in engineering and science. After the debacle of the financial crisis, I for one, would like to see a return to a more sensible approach measuring a country’s economic performance using its innovation, design and manufacturing activities.

For more information on ASIMO click here http://asimo.honda.com

RIP THE PLASTIC MILK BOTTLE!

Packaging is one of the most controversial aspects of modern life and one in which we often find ourselves unwilling participants in the creation of waste.

Plastic has largely replaced glass for the packaging of milk and whilst plastic milk containers are convenient, they generate considerable waste and milk cartons are not only a pain to open but comprise mixed materials which required specialist separation processes in order to recycle. From my own experience, a large proportion of my neighbours don’t bother to crush the empty bottles and cartons before placing them in the recycle bins greatly reducing the efficiency of the collection process.

A Great Idea!

Moyra recently discovered a very simple alternative, which I hope will become widely available. Called the JUGIT milk bag it comprises a large disposable milk sachet/bag and a re-usable jug. The makers claim that a 2 pint milk bag, which is made from strong, recyclable low density plastic, contains 75% less packaging than the equivalent plastic milk bottle. We were given the jug free as an incentive to buy the bags and have used the product for a couple of weeks. Like the best ideas it’s very simple and very effective. There is a small cost saving over bottled milk and the full bags take up less room in the fridge or freezer. When empty, all that remains for disposal is a small plastic bag.

JUGIT Web Site- click here:

Currently the product (milk and jug) are available from Sainsbury and Waitrose but hopefully distribution will grow in response to demand.

We say goodbye to the QE2

Oct 7th saw us braving a cold wet day to drive down to South Queensferry where the QE2 was docked for a farewell visit as part of its round Britain final voyage before leaving for Dubai and a new life as a floating luxury hotel.The rain stopped and the weather cleared a little just in time for us to see this beautiful ship leave and steam down the Forth and past our house. Unfortunately, the traffic was so dense she beat us to Granton so we did not see her pass.