Oh no! I’ve been wrong all this time! The Robocalypse won’t be a sudden proliferation of hunter-killers and corpse-eating tanks — it’s going to be a Cutezkrieg! Japan will be, I am afraid, the first to fall. They are already a slave to the kawaii. This little bugger is called the Scandicraft, and it lives in that mailbox until there is a perimeter breach, at which point it emerges and flies around, looking for the intruders and transmitting a live video screen. Irresistible (and terrifying). [via BotJunkie and Dvice] → Read More
Ah, how refreshing. Another reminder of the upcoming Robocalypse. People, if we do the machines’ work for them, we have no chance. We’re honestly designing autonomous killer robots?! This is a Thai project, but I’m going to go ahead and blame Korea anyway. → Read More
I’m torn here. Not literally torn, as I expect to be when the robots take over and my body is used for spare parts, but morally torn. On one hand, here we have a little robot that could venture into dangerous situations via remote control and detonate bombs or flush out enemy dudes. Could save lives. On the other hand, here we have a little robot that, given the spark of strong AI, could rumble by the thousand through the wreckage of our world, checking every cranny for human insurgents. Just blast ‘em and let the EATRs clean up.
So as you can see, I can’t tell whether to cheer on our robot-loving military or cower under my bed, crying. → Read More
I for one welcome our new robot overlords.. And I have the sinking feeling that this particular robot will be the enforcer of the group. It’s a damn good thing that the Cylons didn’t have one of these, or it would have just chewed through the side of the Galactica and made for a very short series. → Read More
This is a great demonstration of the speed and precision with which things like car factory robots can manipulate things. Remember those arms that were throwing a baseball back and forth? Throw in a little human interference and this is what you get. → Read More
Happy National Robotics Week everyone! Have you hugged your robot today? I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords! Did I say overlords? I meant protectors. → Read More
Well, there goes Zion. That rave-lovin’ excuse for a remnant of humanity would have been taken out in a trice by these Robotic Underground Munitions. And so it will be once the Robocalypse hits. Why are we doing the machines’ job for them?
Here, I’ve got a better name for these bunker-busting subterranean missiles: Drill-based Earth-Asploding Terrifying Horrorbots. → Read More
I hear you asking: what is it good for? Unlike war, it’s actually pretty useful. I mean, useful if you really care about growing plants systematically… and you liked Gladiator. My only objection to this setup is that it’s a pretty obvious way of culling humans once the Robocalypse comes. If the robots are able to feel pleasure, they’ll feel it when they employ on us the same device we once employed on lesser species. Hope you have tall genes. → Read More
There’s a reason robots have traditionally been portrayed as evil in our entertainment. It’s because they are evil. Or, I should say, amoral, which isn’t even close to evil, but is possibly more dangerous. But I wax philosophical, friends, at a time of imminent danger. A bad habit I’m trying to break. So here’s the issue: when you populate a theme park with all manner of robots, from robot cooks to robot guides to robot security, you’re asking for a goddamn horror movie outcome. → Read More
When LEGOs and a laptop can solve a puzzle that I’ve never been able to, it either means our children will be enslaved by evil robot overlords or I need to apply myself a bit more. → Read More
So NASA has developed these robots to basically do the work of humans. There was a previous version, which the R2 you see above (yes, “R2″) is a refinement of, and now as you can see he’s quite a performer. Is he doing a tango move there?
Check out this video. The money shot is at 3:30, where you can really see how gentle and precise the movements are. → Read More
Meet AIDA, the Affective Intelligent Driving Assistant. This is a prototype robot that utilizes sensors inside and outside the car to create “a platform comprising of a personal robot and an intelligent navigation system that aims to bring an innovative driving experience.” I don’t own an automobile, so practically every driving experience is innovative to me right now! Rather than traditional destination-oriented GPS navigation, AIDA posits “a navigation system that mimics the friendly expertise of a driving companion who is familiar with both the driver and the city.” Hopefully AIDA won’t complain about my driving the way all my friends do. Video and more inside! → Read More
It’s not enough that they make ramen, juggle, and play catch — now robot arms need to play with their food? This robot arm on the right is teasing the one on the left. Want a Fanta? You can’t have one! Your feeble manipulator navigates this six-pack in vain. → Read More
I wanted to tell you guys to watch this without seeing the description, but it’s difficult to do so. Better find someone nearby, tell them to close their eyes, and then open them when they think they’ve got it figured out. This piano-based voice synthesizer breaks down the morphemes of normal speech into components which can be built up using piano keys. Sounds crazy in theory of course, but actually seeing the keys playing themselves and a voice coming out of it makes me think the end times are coming. → Read More
Way back in March I wrote about the HRP-4C robot that walks and talks. At CEATEC today I saw this thing in person. And now it sings! Watch the video! → Read More
Are you sitting comfortably? Then let’s begin. Comfort is overrated anyway. And robot spiders are underrepresented on this (otherwise excellent) website. That’s why I decided to put two, two, TWO SPIDER ROBOT VIDEOS in one post. We’re falling behind other blogs in spiderbot video density. Click on through and be squicked/entertained. → Read More
And here I thought that these drones were born to kill. In fact, they’re being put to good use, and such as the ones they’ve got cruising in the ocean, or these, which they’ve deployed to help combat wildfires. The drones can go into dangerously smoky areas and use IR cameras to point out hot spots for firefighters — man and machine working alongside one another like brothers. Heartwarming!
My mind, of course, immediately jumps to the fact that those “hot spots” could just as easily be warm, fleeing humans after the Robocalypse, but for the moment that’s not a danger. For the moment. → Read More
I’m beginning to think the Robocalypse is going to be less Terminator and more Dinobot. I mean, we’ve robotic fish, dog-monsters, and hummingbots already, and that’s just off the top of my head. And if it isn’t based on an animal, it’s named after one. The BEAR robot, in contrast, isn’t actually bearlike, but is just a handy acronym for the Battlefield Extraction-Assist Robot. → Read More
Looks like the Robocalypse is going to have to wait on battery technology. The Hummingbot/Hunter-seeker we saw last month has improved somewhat, and is now capable of more than falling while flapping its wings. It can, in fact, hover in a controlled fashion for up to 20 seconds. If you’re quick, that’s enough time to get it through the ducts and assassinate the Kwisatz Haderach, but I’d wait until they can get it up to a full minute. → Read More
