The huge variety of robots is a thing to marvel at. Just a few years ago, the best they could do was roll around or walk stiffly on poorly-hinged limbs. Now we have robots that gallop, slither, and fly like a bird. This mode of transportation is totally new to me, though. The Paraswift climbs up walls by generating a suction, then gets itself safely down by jumping off and deploying a little parachute. Why not, right?
Check out the video inside. → Read More
We’ve been following DARPA’s Nano UAV program since 2009, and it’s really remarkable how it’s gone from clumsy to cool to creepy in just a year and a half. DARPA thinks so too, so they put together a little video tribute to the thing. There isn’t much in the way of new footage in this, but it’s nice to have everything in one place. → Read More
I’m not exactly enthused by the idea of these rolling/hovering hybrid robots crawling and zipping all over the earth. Sure, they could be useful in a military or rescue situation, able to conserve power by sitting comfortably on the ground but navigate freely in the air if necessary. But they could also be replicated at large by the machines when the Robocalypse comes, at which point they’ll roll over you and then hover over your lifeless body. → Read More
The Robocalypse, it’s coming nearer and nearer. Case in point: POLYRO (short for “oPen sOurce friendLY RObot”), a mini humanoid that apparently costs less than $2,000 to produce, all parts included. Developed by American robot researcher Timothy Payne, the little guy is meant to be used to explore human-robot interaction and can be built following these instructions. → Read More
ABC Television in Australia has put together an excellent program, or I suppose I should say programme, on the MAGIC 2010 competition, which is put on by the Australian Defense Department. I mean, Defence. It’s an open challenge to put together a team of robots that must navigate and map a large course, target “enemies,” and generally function autonomously — and the teams this year have put together some really amazing stuff. Unfortunately I can’t embed the video here, but you can watch it at ABC in glorious 400×220 resolution. It really is a very interesting little segment. And hey, it’s Friday. You deserve it. → Read More
Okay, this is pretty amazing, but also pretty scary. The DARPA “Nano-UAV” project we’ve covered here before is entering the uncanny valley. The aim was to create a small, winged robot that could hover in one place, perhaps providing video or carrying some tiny payload. The previous versions were very robotic-looking and could barely stay in the air for more than a few seconds.
This new one? Looks just like a hummingbird, has an onboard camera, and flies for ten minutes. → Read More
The Robocalypse is coming closer and closer: a team of researchers from the Italian Institute of Technology and Tokyo City University, led by Dr. Petar Kormushev, has “taught” Fujitsu HOAP-2, a mini humanoid, how to clean a whiteboard. In the amazing video embedded below, you can see a human showing the little guy what to do, followed by him replicating the actions. → Read More
This robot follows in the footsteps of its brethren peopling (if that’s the right word) factories and assembly lines. It’s a precision device with a sharp, sharp knife on the end, and its job is to take a big chunk of ham and separate the meat from the bone. It’s a good thing they’re fixed to the ground. A free-roaming flesh-stripping bot would be just a little too much. → Read More
It’s a well-established tradition at tech conventions, where nerds like us abound, to stock one’s booth with beautiful women — “come for the girls, stay for the iPod cases” seems to be the idea, and in general it works. But how do you attract the attention of highly-disciplined Lieutenants and cold-hearted strategists? Why, a robot with a .50-cal, of course. → Read More
I kid in the headline, but this is actually some important work. Robots are in our lives more and more, whether it be a floorbot, auto-manufacturing bot, or packbot. They’re designed to work around humans, but there are a lot of things to look into in order to make sure these bots don’t accidentally harm someone in the process of doing their job. → Read More
Big day for the robots today! First we give them custody of our elders during their most vulnerable moment (shampooing), and now we’re teaching them rudimentary combat skills. → Read More
I don’t think I need to point out the intrinsic dangers of having a robot that could crush your head like an egg lathering you up and “massaging” your scalp. You may as well stick your head in a tame (but resentful) lion’s mouth and ask it to tongue-bathe you. I guess this shampooinator is meant for old folks. Right, so they can hold them hostage when the Robocalypse comes? This robot, among others, will be shown next week at the International Home Care & Rehabilitation Exhibition in Tokyo. Right, rehabilitation. → Read More
We actually saw an earlier version of this snakebot do this same trick a couple years back, but its skills seem to have been improved somewhat, and this video is much better anyway. If you’re interested in terrifying biomimetic robots, the BioRobotics program’s webpage is probably going to be fun for you. → Read More
Well well! I think we all saw this coming! An unmanned robotic combat helicopter, losing its control signal, continues on its merry way into restricted airspace over Washington, DC. Really, what were they thinking? → Read More
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