Robots - SlashGear

‘robots’ Stories

PETMAN humanoid robot ready for the US Army

Rue Liu, Oct 31st 2011 Discuss [5]

Known for developing the quadruped robots the BigDog and AlphaDog, Boston Dynamics has unveiled a new addition in the form of a biped humanoid robot called the PETMAN. Although still sporting a flashing red light in place of a life-like head, the movement and capabilities of the PETMAN is eerily human-like, walking, squatting, doing push-ups and even resisting efforts to push it off balance. See for yourself in the video after the cut. Read The Full Story

Neato robotics XV-12 robot vacuum heads to Target in white

Shane McGlaun, Oct 11th 2011 Discuss [0]

Neato Robotics has announced that the cool robotic vacuum cleaner we reviewed not long ago is going to be sold in Target stores around the US exclusively. The exclusive version of the XV-12 vacuum is going to be offered in an exclusive Misty White color. The version we reviewed was in a gray color. The exclusive color is going to land in Target locations on October 16. Read The Full Story

Oxford University designs robot car

Shane McGlaun, Oct 11th 2011 Discuss [3]

Some of the British geeks at Oxford University have developed a new robotic car. It sounds a lot like the robotic cars that Google has been testing around the country for a while now. The Oxford vehicle is an off-road style truck that I thought was a Land Rover, but it an off-roader called the Wildcat. The car from Oxford is called the robotic Wildcat. Read The Full Story

US Army drops $4.8M on 315 Recon Scout XT robots

Shane McGlaun, Oct 6th 2011 Discuss [0]

The military in all branches is starting to adopt robots and other devices like unmanned drones that can be used to survey a hostile battlefield and keep soldiers out of harms way. There are large robots that can be mounted with weapons of their own to fight the enemy and there are some that are small and meant to help the solider get eyes on a target. Read The Full Story

Desk Pets launches cool TankBot that can navigate a maze

Shane McGlaun, Sep 21st 2011 Discuss [2]

I am a sucker for remote controlled toys. I have seen a bunch of RC toys that are controlled by a smartphone recently. Most of that stuff is for the iPhone and I have used a helicopter and an RC truck that you can control from the smartphone. A new toy has turned up from a company called Desk Pets International. The toy is called the TankBot and it's a little gadget that looks like a cross between an army tank and a robot puppy. Read The Full Story

Toshiba debuts new Smarbo robot vacuum to battle Roomba

Shane McGlaun, Aug 25th 2011 Discuss [1]

Vacuuming really sucks. It's no fun and I think if most of us could find a way to get out of vacuuming the floors at home we would. There are a few robot vacuums on the market already with Roomba being the most common. Toshiba has announced a new robot vacuum for Japan called the Smarbo and it's aimed at home users. The robot has some interesting features and one of the coolest is that it has two CPUs. Read The Full Story

Microsoft’s Surface 2.0 stress testing robot called Patty shown off for first time

Shane McGlaun, Aug 19th 2011 Discuss [1]

I never really stop to think much about the testing behind the scenes that goes into perfecting new products, especially the touch screen sort that will be handled a lot by the end user. Microsoft's cool Surface 2.0 screens have a lot of testing that goes into bringing the products to market. To help speed the testing of the Surface 2.0 device Microsoft uses a cool custom robot called Patty to press and fondle the screen. Read The Full Story

Stanford students create robot arm that wields foam sword SLOWLY

Shane McGlaun, Jul 19th 2011 Discuss [2]

If the Jedi were to induct a robotic Jedi master that was gifted with the speed of a sloth, this robotic arm could be the inductee. Engineering students at Stanford have created a robot arm that is able to have a real sword fight with you using foam swords rather than light sabers. The bot senses each time the human blocks an attack and then resets itself for another attack. Read The Full Story

Willow Garage explores ways to allow paralyzed man to use PR2 robot as a surrogate

Shane McGlaun, Jul 15th 2011 Discuss [1]

Of all the robots that are on the market today, one of the most useful and expensive is the PR2 from Willow Garage. We have talked about the PR2 a few times and the bot is capable of all sorts of things. Generally, the bots are used for research in colleges and elsewhere, but they have more capability than that. Willow Garage has teamed up with a man named Henry Evans that had a stroke at 40 and is now a mute quadriplegic. Generally, a quadriplegic can't move any of his limbs, but after extensive therapy, Evans regained the use of a single finger and the ability to move his head. Read The Full Story

Remote controlled, DIY Android mascot surfaces

Shane McGlaun, Jul 15th 2011 Discuss [1]

If you are a fan of the Android operating system, you will recognize the geeky remote controlled robot you see in the photo below. This is the Android mascot and a geek from Taiwan made the bot using some elbow grease, a trashcan, and Arduino among other things. The bot is very cool and the body and head are made from a trashcan that was modded for the project. Read The Full Story

Robotic Exoskeleton Helps Paraplegic Student Walk

Samia Perkins, May 16th 2011 Discuss [0]

We love robots here at SlashGear, especially when they can help people do things they wouldn't normally be able to do. This weekend, a paralyzed student at UC Berkeley was able to walk across the stage to receive his diploma thanks to a metal robotic exoskeleton developed at Berkeley. It was an exciting moment for the student, and for the researchers who have been working on this technology for over a decade. Read The Full Story

Featured

SlashGear Science Week in Review – Robot Edition! May 14th 2011

Samia Perkins, May 14th 2011 Discuss [0]

This week’s SlashGear Science Week in Review is all robot. We always try to include at least one robot story in each edition, but this week, there were so many robot stories to choose from, we decided to feature all of them. These robots range from robotic arms engaging in an epic lightsaber duel, a cute and cuddly robot toy, a jumping robot (kind of) named after a famous frog, and one robot that seems to be channeling Rosie from the Jetsons. Then, those crazy German engineers who brought us the Rollin’ Justin robot are back and this time, they’re coming out swinging, as in gleefully whacking a robot with a baseball bat. Also, a couple of robot concepts that we encountered at Google I/O this week. And last, a rolling trash can that isn’t a robot, but plays one on TV. Of course, there are lots of videos included as well. Read on for all the robot goodness.

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