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‘Robot’ Stories

SARCOS The Humanoid Robot That Dances And Can Take Some Bullying Around

Rue Liu, Apr 21st 2011 Discuss [1]

So we've seen plenty of robots in our time, from the recent ones working in Fukushima to the ones helping cure autism in children and others that just look eerily human for the sake of looking eerily human. But none so far have had quite the life-like fluidity of movement as the Sarcos robot developed by the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon. Not only can it dance, but it can take a good shove from behind without falling over thanks to its unique ability to constantly adjust its balance much like the way humans do. Continue after the jump for videos of it dancing and getting bullied. Read The Full Story

Your Daily Dose of LEGO

Kevin Fubar, Apr 21st 2011 Discuss [0]

Is LEGO better than coffee for getting through your day? I wouldn't skip the caffeine, but you can definitely check these out. We have here two separate LEGO projects, both impressive in their own right, for distinctly different reasons. They're both built with the Technic line. The first is an adjustable stand so that bad pixel over at instructables could play Game Boy on his Nexus One using a Wiimote. The second is a robotic factory line with four fully articulated picker arms, or as Chris Shepherd aka LegoShep aka TheOnlyShep calls it, the Lego Quad Delta Robot System. Read The Full Story

iRobot Packbots Enter Fukushima Reactor

Kevin Fubar, Apr 18th 2011 Discuss [0]

Sunday, iRobot packbots entered the Fukushima Daiichi reactor building 3 to explore parts of the plant that have been closed to people since the facility was evacuated. Japanese nuclear workers were entering some locations in the plant just after the disaster, but now they've mostly pulled back to safe locations. The shorter term radiation doses were relatively safe, but at sustained elevated levels the threat of damage grows. The repair efforts continue with support from a number of robotic helpers. Read The Full Story

Creepy Robot Afternoon

Kevin Fubar, Apr 15th 2011 Discuss [8]

Creepy robots all night long. These are some robots that inspire a mixture of fear, fascination, and "awwww, cute!". A couple of different designs here, each of them similar only in their relative size. They're both about two feet tall, but were built for completely different purposes. The Omnibot (the one with the glowing blue eyes), is a home watch-bot that wanders around this dude's house all day looking at stuff. The DONO is a specially designed beggerbot. It is designed to work in public spaces soliciting donations. Read The Full Story

iRobot 110 is a remote controlled spy robot

Shane McGlaun, Apr 7th 2011 Discuss [0]

Combine a robot with a spy camera and I am interested. This is exactly what iRobot has done with its cool new iRobot 110 bot. This thing is no kid's toy, it is designed for military and police use as a bot that is easy to transport and can be used to get valuable intel on a location without putting someone in danger. Read The Full Story

REETI PCBot tracks users, squirts video and blushes [Video]

Chris Davies, Mar 30th 2011 Discuss [1]

In the robotics world, silicone rubber can be either used for disturbing evil, such as the slug-like Elphoid P1 humanoid cellphone, or for bug-eyed good, like French firm Robopec's endearing REETI. The desktop companion is both a PC, a webcam and a telepresence 'bot, capable of streaming live video from his webcam eyes, responding to touch thanks to various embedded sensors, and making facial expressions. Video demo after the cut Read The Full Story

iMobot Intelligent, Reconfigurable Modular Robots

Samia Perkins, Mar 29th 2011 Discuss [0]

iMobot modular robots, developed by researchers at UC Davis, are small modules that link together like a chain to form larger robotic modules. The modules have two joints at the center which can rotate 180 degrees. The robots have four degrees of freedom, so they can stand themselves up, roll end over end, stack themselves, and inch along like a caterpillar. They can even carry cameras. And the researchers are looking to make them available commercially soon. Read more, and see a video of the iMobot in action after the break. Read The Full Story

Ornithopter Replicates Insect Flight

Kevin Fubar, Mar 25th 2011 Discuss [2]

A team at Cornell University's Computational Synthesis Laboratory has developed tiny hovering Ornithopters. These machines were the first type of design for mechanical flight that people began to experiment with. The team at Cornell has been working on the project design for the past few years, but last year they were able to construct a working model using 3D printing techniques. They mimicked the principles of insect flight to design their hovering machine. These little guys flit around like mechanical lacewings. Read The Full Story

Hexacopter Senses Motion and Breathing Through Concrete Walls

Samia Perkins, Mar 24th 2011 Discuss [0]

This week TiaLinx has unveiled its Phoenix 40-A unmanned hexacopter (helicopter with six blades) which can sense breathing and motion in buildings on the ground. This is the newest addition to the line of life-sensing bots that includes the Cougar20-H, a rolling ground-based robot that can detect breathing through a concrete wall. The US Army has provided development funding for this project. Read The Full Story

TEROOS shoulder robot sneers at your taste in clothes [Video]

Chris Davies, Mar 23rd 2011 Discuss [0]

Life-streaming cameras aren't new, but seldom do they have eyelids. Keio University's TEROOS prototype does, however; the shoulder-mounted webcam is in fact a telecommunication avatar, controlled by a remote viewer with not only six axis of movement to play with but a set of eyes that can show different expressions. Video demo after the cut Read The Full Story

Astronauts finally pull Robonaut 2 out of storage

Shane McGlaun, Mar 17th 2011 Discuss [0]

Poor old R2 made the trek to the ISS aboard the space shuttle last month after being crammed inside his storage crate for months on end. R2 or Robonaut 2 as his full name goes is the robot built by NASA and GM to study the interaction of people in space with robots. GM is using the project to develop technology for more safety in vehicles and on assembly lines here on Earth. Read The Full Story

Eye Robot: Teeny Robot Swims Through Eyes, Delivers Treatments

Samia Perkins, Mar 15th 2011 Discuss [0]

Recently, we reported on a millimeter-scale computer that can be implanted in the eye to treat glaucoma. Now, there is more technology that can help patients suffering from macular degeneration. The Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems (IRIS) has developed a new tiny robot that can be steered through your eye. Read The Full Story