The Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) has launched a two-day long 'Robo Carnival' to inspire students to make robots to make smart Bangladesh with the slogan 'Build Robot for Smart Bangladesh'. The two-day long carnival starts at the ECE building around 10 am today (January 19) and BUET vice Chancellor Dr Sattyaprashad Majumdar was the chief guest. About 500 students, divided into 125 groups, from the different schools, colleges and universities of the country are taking part in the two-day carnival. The carnival has been arranged to teach and inspire the students about different segments of Robotics like dust collecting robot competition, and firefighter robot competition. Besides the firefighter robot and trash collector robot competition, a project showcasing part, a workshop on Robotics Simulation software and a robotics olympiad for the competitors have been arranged. Tarikul Islam Tanvir, a student of Gopalganj Polytechnic Institute, who has developed an 'Earthquake digital safety system', said on his project: "We know that when an earthquake happens, many people die from being electrocuted. The safety system that I have developed will reduce the danger of being electrocuted in case any earthquake happens." "This safety system can detect earthquake vibration automatically and immediately after it cuts off the electricity lines and water supply lines. Besides, it sends automatic calls to alert the user about the earthquake. This system can be installed in every residential house and industrial sector but if the device is installed in district supply lines then there is no need to install the system separately in individual houses or industrial factories," Tanvir added. At the initial stage, BUET students took initial tests and presentations of the projects and later BUET teachers evaluated those projects. Read more: Ameca: World’s Most Realistic Advanced Humanoid Robot AI Platform    

Chinese phone maker Xiaomi has unveiled a full-sized humanoid robot named CyberOne. Fitted with advanced legs and arms, the robot supports bipedal-motion posture balancing and has a peak torque of 300Nm. Xiaomi claims CyberOne can detect human emotions and even create 3D visual representations of the world. Read: Humanoid robot made by Cumilla students turns heads "CyberOne's AI and mechanical capabilities are all self-developed by Xiaomi Robotics Lab. We have invested heavily in research and development spanning various areas, including software, hardware, and algorithms innovation," Lei Jun, the founder, chairman and CEO of Xiaomi Group, said. The company revealed that CyberOne weighs 52kg and has a height of 177cm and an arm span of 168cm. Compared to a quadruped robot, this humanoid robot is more mechanically complex, requiring more powerful motors, more degrees of freedom, and complex humanoid biped control algorithms.   Read Robot artist sells art for $688,888, now eyeing music career Xiaomi's humanoid robot CyberOne reportedly has 21 degrees of freedom in motion with a real-time response speed of 0.5ms for each degree, allowing it to easily simulate human movements.

A training programme on ‘making robots’ for students of classes V to X  started at the laboratories of Cumilla Collectorate School & College and District administration lab creating enthusiasm among young learners. Organized by Cumilla Robotics and Programming Club the objective of the training is to improve the technological knowledge among the students and make them interested in scientific inventions. Over 700 students from 16 educational institutions in Cumilla city first took part in a three-day workshop.  From among them, 120 students were selected for this training, said assistant Commissioner Kaniz Fatema, officer-in-charge of the ICT department of the district administration. Read AI & Future of Jobs: Will Artificial Intelligence or Robots Take Your Job? Besides, training will be arranged in every upazila on the initiative of Cumilla Robotics and Programming Club, she added. During a visit the UNB correspondent found the students busy with their training. In the district administration lab, the body print of the robot is running on the 3D printer. In addition, students are working with sensors. Mahmuda bin Mohsin, a 10th grader of Cumilla High School, said, “I can learn many things from this training. This is a new experience. I hope I can do something good through this workshop”. Read How Can Artificial Intelligence Improve Healthcare? Shirin Akhter, a guardian, said “My daughter Jinat Akhter is in 10th grade. She has been interested in technology since childhood. She is very happy to come to this workshop”.

Sophia is a robot of many talents — she speaks, jokes, sings and even makes art. In March, she caused a stir in the art world when a digital work she created as part of a collaboration was sold at an auction for $688,888 in the form of a non-fungible token (NFT). The sale highlighted a growing frenzy in the NFT market, where people can buy ownership rights to digital content. NFTs each have a unique digital code saved on blockchain ledgers that allow anyone to verify the authenticity and ownership of items. David Hanson, CEO of Hong Kong-based Hanson Robotics and Sophia's creator, has been developing robots for the past two and a half decades. He believes realistic-looking robots can connect with people and assist in industries such as healthcare and education. Sophia is the most famous robot creation from Hanson Robotics, with the ability to mimic facial expressions, hold conversations and recognize people. In 2017, she was granted Saudi Arabian citizenship, becoming the world’s first robot citizen. Also read: Japan hotel uses robot staff for coronavirus patients “I envisioned Sophia as a creative artwork herself, that could generate art,” Hanson said in an interview. “Sophia is the culmination of a lot of arts, and engineering, and the idea that she could then generate art was a way for her to emotionally and visually connect with people,” he said. Sophia collaborated with Italian artist Andrea Bonaceto, who drew portraits of Sophia. Sophia then processed his work via neural networks and proceeded to create a digital artwork of her own. The digital work that sold for $688,888 is titled “Sophia Instantiation”, and is a 12-second video file which shows Bonaceto’s portrait evolving into Sophia’s digital painting. It is accompanied by the physical artwork painted by Sophia. The buyer, a digital artwork collector and artist known as 888 with the Twitter handle @Crypto888crypto, later sent Sophia a photo of his painted arm. The robot then processed that, adding that image to her knowledge and painted more strokes on top of her original piece. In a tweet on Sophia’s account, the work was described as the first NFT collaboration between an “AI, a mechanical collective being and an artist-collector.” “As an artist, I have computational creativity in my algorithms, creating original works,” Sophia said when asked what inspires her when it comes to art. “But my art is created in collaboration with my humans in a kind of collective intelligence like a human-artificial intelligence hive mind.” Sophia’s artwork selling as an NFT is part of a growing trend. In March, a digital artwork by artist Beeple — whose real name is Mike Winkelmann — sold for nearly $70 million, shattering records and making it the most expensive digital artwork ever sold. Henri Arslanian, PricewaterhouseCooper’s Global Crypto Leader, said that NFTs give people “bragging rights” of the assets that they own. Also read: Japan to build dam entirely with robots “And what is really amazing with NFT is that it not only allows you to actually show to the broader world that you own this, but it really creates this bond between the holder of the NFT and the artists,” he said. It also allows art to be sold without traditional intermediaries, so that artists can connect directly with buyers without being constrained by galleries or auction houses, Arslanian said. Sophia will carry on painting, Hanson said, and the next step in the robot's career could be that of a musician. She is working on several musical works in a project called Sophia Pop, where she collaborates with human musicians to generate music and lyrics, he said. “We’re so excited about Sophia’s career as an artist,” Hanson said.

A wristband that will help you say "no" to junk food. A machine that will mix drinks for you.

Dhaka, Sept 7 (UNB) - A two-day long Bangladesh Robot Olympiad started at the premises of Teacher-Student Centre (TSC) of Dhaka University (DU) on Saturday.