Jan 30 2011
Scientists at the University of Zurich have developed a robot that can balance a pencil. This robot is first of its kind because robots cannot respond quickly.
In order to recognize variations in surroundings, the video-camera included in the earlier robots needed them to process a complete video frame. However, the newly developed robot utilizes a couple of retinas made of silicon. The retinas respond to only unexpected variations in lighting. This method mimics biological vision by transmitting an ‘on’ or ‘off’ signal to reduce complicated data handling requirement.
The developers have also included two perpendicular sensors to enable the robot to assess the pencil position and to determine appropriate response for holding it.
Source: http://www.uzh.ch