Jack Conte is an Internet musician who became an Internet sensation and now, thanks to Patreon, he’s an Internet entrepreneur. → Read More
Sure, we have our Roombas and a few AR Drones here and there, but researchers expect that we’ll have many more – and better – robots within the next few years and that the overall market should hit $6.5 billion by 2017. → Read More
We were lucky enough to meet with Vernon Kerswell at ExtremeFliers, a 20-something inventor with a passion for little flying things. His latest creation, the Microdrone 2.0, puts a surprisingly powerful brain inside a drone that is about as big as a baseball. → Read More
Since we started Makers I’ve made it a priority to try to visit Adafruit Industries, the amazing Manhattan-based electronics shop run by Limor Fried. Fried started her company out of her dorm room at MIT, building cool electronics kits for her friends. She slowly expanded into other hobbyist realms including Arduino add-ons, how-to books, and cases. Now her store is bustling with 1,302 items for… → Read More
Just as we share all sorts of tidbits about our lives over the web, The scientists over at RoboEarth have created an open source network that robots can use to share and reuse knowledge amongst themselves. Called Rapyuta, think of it as an Facebook for robots. → Read More
While I hate using Buzzfeed-style headlines, this video warrants the hyperbole. We’re all familiar with the magic of quadcopters – they can fly in formation, roll around obstacles, and even interact with each other. This video demo, however, takes the cake. These little fellows are flying in formation while balancing a reverse pendulum. They’re essentially doing baton tricks in mid-air. → Read More
Ready to have your brain blasted to bits? U-Tsu-Shi-O-Mi is a “virtual assistant” that is actually a green-clad humanoid robot. Users look at her using virtual reality goggles and instead of seeing a mildly creepy, ninja-like blog they see an actual face and body. You can reach out, touch the body, and even shake hands with your robotic pal. → Read More
In the underground world of robotic tentacle makers, there are two rules: 1) don’t talk about underground tentacle-making and 2) don’t talk about underground tentacle-making. Both of those rules have been shattered by Matthew Borgatti, a robotics designer who has created a life-like, 3D-printed tentacle that flails around quite disturbingly using Arduino boards and a set of mini air compressors. → Read More
“The middle class is being hollowed out,” says James Altucher. “Economists are shifting their attention toward a [...] crisis in the United States: the significant increase in income inequality,” reports the New York Times.
Think all those job losses over the last five years were just caused by the recession? No: “Most of the jobs will never return, and millions more are likely to vanish as… → Read More
Gael Langevin wants to give you a robot. The French artist is posting 3D printer files for a humanoid robot he’s building as he completes the various parts, allowing us all to create our very own plastic helper/lover with some ABS plastic, a few Arduino boards, and some motors. → Read More
When we look back on the events that led up to the rise of our Robotic Overlords, I think this will be a day that will live in infamy. Some foolish mortals at Mad Lab Industries have, for their own twisted reasons, connected a Phantom AX Hexapod robot to a six-rotor helicopter kit, thereby creating a flying/crawling insect hybrid that can walk through tight spaces and then take off. → Read More
The smartphone market, some argue, really took off after Apple introduced the first app store to make its iPhones more useful. Now a new startup hopes that the same might be the case for the fledgling world of robots: RobotAppStore, an online marketplace for apps for robots, has raised $250,000 from Grishin Robotics, the Robot-focused investment vehicle of Mail.ru CEO Dmitry Grishin, which earlier… → Read More
I’ve seen a few transforming robots in my day but few are as fluid and fast as this odd creation from Brave Robotics, a Toyko-based company that is selling its creation for a mere 1.98 million Yen. The little robot starts out as a car and then quickly transforms into a standing humanoid complete with FREAKING ARM MISSILES. Sadly, that many Yen translates to about $26,000, which could fund the… → Read More
Just in time for post-holiday guilt comes Autom, the diet robot that reminds you to eat healthy, asks you how much you exercised per day, and generally sits there being judgmental as you stuff your face with pecan pie. The robot, originally announced in 2007, is coming to life thanks to an Indiegogo campaign and the help of gadget masters PCH International, a manufacturer in Shenzhen, China. → Read More
Researchers at Georgia Tech have created a robotic dragonfly that can hover, dive, and climb like a real insect. With the help of a $1,000,000 grant from the Air Force, the team has built multiple prototypes of the consumer device and is now working on an Indiegogo project to sell the basic dragonfly for $99 and an upgraded version for $179. The ultimate version will cost $399 although they expect… → Read More
Researchers from the Korean Institute of Science and Technology’s Center for Intelligent Robotics (CIR) have been working on a robot named CIROS to help around the house. Earlier versions were fairly life-like but this third-generation model, able to cut cucumbers and pour salad dressing, is positively Julia-Child-like. → Read More
If you told me yesterday that today there would be a robot that balances on a single ball and can locomote itself around the room on said ball, I’d say you were a crazy person. Well, you’re not a crazy person. Bossa Nova Robotics, makers of the Penbo line of robotic toys, has just launched the mObi [sic], a robot that “is based on technology that allows the robot to balance on a ball and move… → Read More
The world is becoming increasingly populated with robots, and consumers are eating it up. Now, the latest robot to hit the market will help you keep your calories down in the process. PCH International, the company that teams with startups and bigger brands to help manufacture and distribute hardware products, has announced its latest project: a partnership with Intuitive Automata to develop … → Read More
The first Romo was a cute little hand-made robot with a cute little face that roamed around the room, turning your phone into a rat-sized telepresence rig. The Romo folks, Romotive, are based in Las Vegas and they assembled each Romo 1.0 by hand and shipped them out last winter. → Read More
BIB is a line-following robot that just took a job at the Technical Museum in Malmo, Sweden. She leads guests around the exhibits, talking about each one, and she stares at them malevolently with her single LCD eye. Voiced by Swedish comedienne Anna Blomberg, BIB can keep herself from hitting other patrons and will ask for help if she falls over or falls off her line. → Read More
Just as man-hacks can repair their trajectories as they whiz towards Gordon Freeman’s head, these little robots from the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems can now pick themselves back up when they crash. This little feature solves a problem that has long been the bane of flying robotics hobbyists everywhere as they watched their AR Drones and other bots fling themselves to pieces against walls and… → Read More
Investment fund Grishin Robotics just poured $250,000 into Double Robotics, a telepresence system that uses an iPad and self-righting wheeled base to allow remote users to survey a scene.
Grishin is a Moscow-based fund aimed at making personal robots part of the home and office. The company did not disclose the terms of the deal. → Read More
While I doubt this guy will replace the Homer Simpsons of the world, Baxter by Boston-based Rethink Robotics is a robot that could definitely give the average button pushers a run for their money. The $22,000 robot essentially does chores. You tell it to stand in a room and watch something or to pack boxes and, with some programming, it can get the job done. Then you move Baxter to the next task … → Read More
Robots can do almost anything – build cars, explore Mars, and run through the woods like a monster – but now they can sing and dance and even play songs after hearing their rhythm lines clapped out by their owners. Launching at TechCrunch Disrupt SF, Tovbot is one of the coolest robots you’ll see today. → Read More
I know you guys might have forgotten to get your favorite robotic horse a gift today, but this is International Creepy Robotic Boston Dynamics Robotic Horse Day, and it’s important to get out there and celebrate the magic of the creepy robotic horse. → Read More
Computer vision/robotics company Blue River Technology announced today that it has raised a $3.1 million Series A round of funding from Khosla Ventures. Steve Blank, Ulu Ventures and Stanford Angels and Entrepreneurs also participated.
Blue River is designing weed elimination robots for agriculture. No, the company’s not making marijuana crop destructobots — these machines will kill the bad… → Read More
OMGERD! RBRTS! Another day, another robotic Kickstarter project. This sassy little fellow is called Multiplo and it’s a cute robotics kit for DIYers and students. It will include servos, plates, arms, and a little Arduino controller to keep things rolling. → Read More
Robotic arms haven’t been the same since Tomy stopped making the Armatron but that doesn’t mean you have to live your life without a robotic helpmate. The Fixbot Robotic hand is a DIY project that requires a bunch of time, servos, and 3D printed parts, but it’s easy to make if you have a little time. It’s part of a marketing campaign by Sugru, a self-setting moldable rubber for repairing… → Read More
Big Dog is the huge quadrupedal robot that stomped its way into our hearts a few years ago with its wild gait and hydraulic whine. Now, however, there’s a new Dog in the mix, the StarlETH, a smaller robot made at ETH Zurich. This guy may be tiny but he’s uniquely suited to running through and over obstacles and in environments that Big Dog may not be able to tackle. → Read More
Last week The New York Times ran a story by John Markoff about robots replacing human workers. Andrew McAfee, co-author of the excellent Race Against The Machine followed up with a post of his own. The gist: technology and automation lead to more job creation than job displacement in the past, but that may be changing.
Writing is one of the few areas that McAfee and his co-author Erik… → Read More
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