Robot Hanako, the Japanese dental patient simulator we have shown you last year, just got an upgrade: Hanako 2 still behaves, in many ways, like a human patient, and she still lets dentists practice “real-life” procedures on her before they do the same on human patients. But the new version has been improved. → Read More
I am aware we have covered the Sense-Roid, a robotic device that lets you hug yourself (don’t ask), last week already. But now our friends over at Diginfonews in Tokyo went out and shot a professional video that shows the tactile communications apparatus in action and explains it in more detail (and in English). → Read More
As part of a $500 million package aimed at funding homegrown innovation and high-tech jobs, the National Robotics Initiative is $70 million intended for “the development and use of robots in the United States that work beside, or cooperatively with, people.” Sounds good to me! We’ve already got enough hunter-killers and such. → Read More
China-based JUST GOOD Technology Corp. and UNIS Corp. must really like the PaPeRo, NEC’s super-cute mini robot that was first shown to the public back in 1997. Or how else can you explain the existence of their so-called UNISROBO? As Plastic Pals points out, both robots are very much alike from a design perspective. → Read More
This looks like something straight out of “Minority Report”: Japan-based robot venture Double Research & Development Co. [JP] has developed a 5-finger mouse [JP] that can track the movements and pressure of individual fingers and send the information to a computer to trigger actions. → Read More
Radiolab has an excellent story about one of the most fascinating clockwork automatons ever made, a 15-inch high figure of a well-known miraculous monk, San Diego de Alcalá. The story is a bit apocryphal but the gist is this: the son of the King of Spain, Don Carlos, fell down a set of stairs in 1562 and fell into a deep illness due to his injuries. The King prayed to God, asking for his son to be spared with a miracle and promising a miracle in return. In a few days the boy began to heal and in the end he was perfectly fine. The King then commissioned this monk as a celebration of prayer, piety, and faith. → Read More
First the strawberry-picking robot, now another super-efficient industrial robot from Japan. This one is the brainchild of Mayekawa Manufacturing, and it can automatically debone chicken breasts – quickly and accurately. → Read More
We have shown you quite a few obscure Kinect videos in the last few months, but this one is a bit special: it shows a robot geek from the Nara Institute Of Science And Technology (NAIST) in Japan dancing rumba with a Roomba, with the Xbox device capturing his movements. → Read More
Imagine cracking open a cold one and, before the sweet nectar hits your lips, the freaking can turns into a walking, rolling, transforming beerbot. Scary, right? Well this young Japanese man has created a canbot to end all canbots. It is controlled via Wiimote and it can transform, roll around, and even walk using a shuffle technique straight out of my worst nightmares. → Read More
Remember HRP-4C? I saw her once in real life with my own eyes, and I am still not sure what to think of one of the most realistic humanoids out there. Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology developed the fembot two years ago, and she keeps getting better and better - at singing and dancing. → 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
Ollie is a blimp. He flies around and follows people and doesn’t want to intrude but just wants to chat if you’re not too busy. It gets excited when you talk to him and then floats around “exploring” his surroundings until he notices something interesting. He likes funny stuff. He’s also made of foil and floats around autonomously and flaps his cute little fins when he’s happy.
Yep. It’s a robotic blimp that has the emotional range of a shy, flying toddler. And he’s amazing and you can build one yourself. → 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
We’ve covered quite a few rescue robots in the past, but Helios IX, developed at the Tokyo Institute of Technology is certainly one of the most versatile models. The robot is designed to be used in post-disaster situations, as it can climb up and down stairs, overcome uneven ground, open doors and pick up objects. → Read More
If you’re a robot otaku who happens to be a Star Wars otaku, too, then this video is for you. Japanese robot maker Yaskawa recently showcased its Motoman 7-axis robo arms at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Shanghai (which ends this Friday). → Read More
Slowly but surely we’re moving to an era immortalized by Blade Runner where robots become our boon companions and electronic friends with benefits, a helpmate and, in the cold reaches of deep space, a tender lover. Take Luna, for example. She is a robot made by Schultze Works for a company called RoboDynamics. → Read More
Another day, another set of robotic quadrocopters flying in formation. In our continuing series featuring the GRASP manhack quadrocopters, we present a video of the wee robots flying in perfect formation in their string cage. → Read More
An anonymous robot otaku from Japan has created a video that shows a mini desk robot battling it out against a human. The human wants to switch it on, but the robot just won’t let him. → Read More
The store downstairs from your apartment specialized in junk. Its owner was a small man, his face sagging and acne scarred, his front shirt pocket bulging with a pack of Marlboros and his hands always, always fiddling. He died a week ago and his shop has been locked since. At night you hear a baby crying through the floor. A mewling, a squeal, silence for an hour, maybe two. You stare in the near dark at a stain on the ceiling, straining to hear the noise again. There it is. A baby’s cry. → Read More
