There are some things in the geek world that you can't combine without having issues, like Batman and Jim Carrey for instance. There are other things that you can combine to form something that geeks will gravitate too like light to a black hole. Robots and lightsabers are one of the things that geeks will gravitate too. What you see here is an industrial robot recreation of one of the few redeeming qualities to the first of the new Star Wars flicks.
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‘robots’ Stories
Yaskawa Industrial robots have lightsaber duel
Hasbro Android Robot Toys get I/O video playtime
Our new favorite monkey robot, Kibot, may be stuck in Korea, but Hasbro has wider ambitions for its Nexus S powered Robot Toys. On show at Google I/O this week, the Android-bots are basically self-powered motorized cradles into which the Samsung smartphone docks, hooking up via Bluetooth. You can then hold races and use object recognition, just as in the video after the cut.
Kibot robot hands-on [Video]
South Korea’s big companies Samsung and LG may be battling it out on serious playing fields like 3D TV and who can make the skinniest smartphone, but everybody knows that the most excitement is in pastel-colored monkey robots. Kibot is carrier KT Telecom’s attempt to condition children to the inevitable AI takeover, a trundling, warbling robot that uses NFC, two way video calling and WiFi to remotely monitor, entertain and generally play with them.
Sphero Robotic Ball Debuts Developer Program At Google I/O
Since the PlayStation Network is down, have you considered other forms of game play? Well, how about a robotic ball that can be controlled directly from your smartphone to do all kinds of crazy maneuvers in the real physical world? No? But Orbotix has. The company created a robotic ball called Sphero, the first of its kind. Now, they're opening up the API behind what controls this amazing sphere by unveiling their Sphero developer program at Google I/O.
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German Aerospace Agency DLR creates Rollin’ Justin robot
Robots are really cool. They also hold the promise of freeing humans from the drudgery of menial chores like vacuuming and cleaning in the future. A robot with the dexterity and agility to mimic human motion and our ability to manipulate tools is a big deal in the space industry. If we can get a robot that can work tools with fine motor control, we can use robots in instances where the environment is too dangerous for humans. This is one of NASA's goals with the Robonaut 2 robot that is aboard the ISS right now.
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SARCOS The Humanoid Robot That Dances And Can Take Some Bullying Around
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.
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Your Daily Dose of LEGO
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.
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iRobot Packbots Enter Fukushima Reactor
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.
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Creepy Robot Afternoon
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.
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SlashGear Science Week In Review
This week in science: a very different kind of "mystery meat", the climate dangers of contrails, and and artificial leaf that does more than make your office look nicer. And robots: a robot that puts the "personal" in PC, a robot that can build other robots, and a robot that makes paper airplanes (but is not a slacker). Also, fighting fire with electricity, a floating solar power plant and T-Rex's new cousin. Stay tuned!
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REETI PCBot tracks users, squirts video and blushes [Video]
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
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SlashGear Science Week In Review
Welcome to the first SlashGear Science Week In Review. Each Saturday, we will round up our favorite science stories of the week for your perusal. Some are stories that we covered, others we didn’t get to. A sample of this week’s stories: A new form of matter, a hexacopter with superpowers, a robotic cloud, a supercool brown dwarf star, playing music using only your mind, and our ancestors on Mars. Think we missed something? Let us know in the comments!
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REVIEWS
VIDEOS
- POPULAR STORIES THIS WEEK
- Temple Run for Android postponed, still coming this month
- iPad twin-tier pricing tipped to topple Android rivals
- iPad 3's biggest boost will be its massive resolution
- Google "next-gen personal communication device" in testing
- Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 pricing set for disaster
- Google: We want 2.25% of the iPhone sticker price
- Tesla Model X all-electric crossover unveiled and detailed
- Mattel Hover Board prepped for 2012 holiday release
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