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Filed under: Robots

Step off those treadmills OK GO, there’s a new indie music video on YouTube ready to help us nerds locate our groove muscle. Spoon’s “Don’t You Evah” features the toxically cute Keepon dancing robot developed by Carnegie Mellon and Japan’s National Institute of Communications Technology. Be sure to hang in ’til the end for the robot dance party which features Manoi, RB2000 and a Johnny Five wannabe getting tore-up from the floor-up in that mad servo style. Full vid after the break.

Continue reading Keepon dancing robot featured in Spoon’s latest music video

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Filed under: Robots

Aldebaran Robotics’ Nao robot didn’t exactly have all that many skills to show off at the recent RoboCup in Atlanta, but it apparently had enough to earn itself a place as the new de facto bot for the Standard Platform League (previously known as the Four-Legged League). Until now, that position had been held by Sony’s AIBO, who will now apparently be relegated to cheering on its bipedal successor from the sidelines. The Standard Platform League, as the same suggests, requires all competitors to use the same robot, placing all the focus on software development instead of hardware tweaking. Unfortunately, it seems that you’ll still have to wait a bit if you’re thinking about competing as, last we heard, there was still no word on pricing or availability for the long-in-development Nao.

[Via Robot Dreams]

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Filed under: Robots

It wasn’t all that long ago that Toyota’s “DJ Robot” was sharing the stage with the rest of its robot bandmates at the 2005 Aichi World Expo, but it seems that “DJ” now chosen a slightly less glamorous career path, with it soon set to start working for its parent company as a receptionist. According to Pink Tentacle, the robot has been working hard to improve its human interaction skills as of late, and is ready to go on the job later this month, working alongside human receptionists at Toyota’s Kaikan Exhibition Hall. After that, it’ll apparently take up a more permanent position at Toyota’s Nagoya office, with other versions of the robot also planned to fill other positions.

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Filed under: Robots

While these days robotics are no stranger to the battlefield, the UK Ministry of Defence is hoping to take things a step further with its “Grand Challenge” competition, which aims to bring autonomous, information-gathering robots to urban warfare situations. Fourteen teams have been picked as finalists, and the true test will come next summer when the robots roll into Copehill Down, an urban warfare training center built during the Cold War, and duke it out with mock targets. The MoD’s hope is for a robot to be able to identify potential snipers, enemy vehicles and other human threats, with a minimum of human guidance, and then report that information back to ground troops gearing up for an assault. Approaches to the challenge include miniature unmanned planes and copters equipped with high-def cameras, and combination setups that include ground units with radar and thermal detection along with aerial units. Points will be awarded for accuracy of recon and autonomy, and the winning team will receive a fancy trophy and military funding. The robots are in it for the glory and the hefty retirement benefits.

[Via BBC News]

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Filed under: Robots

Things didn’t turn out so well for Mitsubishi’s cute little Wakamaru house bot, which the company introduced in 2005. Initially expecting to sell 100 of the $14k+ bots, Mitsubishi received only a few dozen orders, and shipped even fewer, since certain customers with multi-story homes or no internet access wouldn’t have gotten much mileage out of the yellow robot. Other problems further limited Wakamaru’s acceptance in the home, like limited conversational abilities and lack of support for internet content beyond weather forecasts and email. People also expected Wakamaru to take over household duties like sweeping and cooking, and while the bot’s heart is in the right place, he’s not exactly handy with a broom. For now Mitsubishi is going to rent Wakamaru out to corporations, and is working on expanding arm functionality to allow for the carrying of drinks or newspapers, and to let him open doors. Teach him how to perform petty crime and spew cutesy catch phrases and we’re sold. [Warning: subscription required]

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Filed under: Robots

NASA is testing two new robots designed to for future moon landings in a crater in Canada, both of which are equipped with some high end kit designed to analyze their surroundings. Loaded up with “GPS, stereo cameras, laser scanners and sun trackers,” the K10 Black and K10 Red can laser map terrain over 3,000 feet away, and fire radar into the ground and detect features up to 16.4 feet down. Running on regular laptop batteries, the robots are able to cover over 120 acres of ground and operate for up to five hours at a time, providing far more information than the restricted space-suit wearing astronauts are able to gather. Now all NASA’s gotta do is get the robots onto the moon by the around-2020 date that the adminstration keeps mentioning.

[Via The Register]

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Filed under: Robots

Having already bested other bots in feats of robot athletics, the speedy RunBot has now apparently decided to take its game to another level, with it recently seen showing off some of tis newly-developed climbing abilities. While it’s apparently not quite ready to joining its rock-climbing counterparts on their next expedition, the RunBot can now automatically adjust its gait to different terrain, giving it the ability to walk uphill or downhill (albeit after enduring a few falls to get its bearings). No word on what it’ll attempt next, though its options would still seem to be somewhat limited, what with it not having an upper body and all.

[Photo courtesy of Popular Mechanics]

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Filed under: Robots

While the AIBO is certainly no slouch as it is, a researcher at the ITAM technical institute in Mexico City seems to think it still has plenty more to learn, particularly from rats. To that end, the institute’s Alfredo Weitzenfeld recently gave the AIBO a brain transplant of sorts, ditching its quasi-canine instincts in favor of some “rat-inspired” control software he developed. The result, it seems, was quite effective, with the AIBO able to navigate a maze in a manner “remarkably similar” to real rats, including the ability to recognize places it had already visited and distinguish between locations that look alike. As NewScientist reports, the goal of the research is to increase robots’ proficiency in simultaneous localization and mapping (or “SLAM”), which allows them to create maps of their surroundings while working out their location at the same time. In the meantime, it looks like a few poor robots will be suffering from a rather severe identity crisis.

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Filed under: Robots

Japan’s Squse looks to be doing its best to keep robots from (unintentionally) crushing anything they get their hands on, recently unveiling a new robotic hand that uses so-called “air muscles” to keep all that superhuman strength in check. Specifically, the hand is packed with artificial fibers that are controlled using air pressure, which makes its movement precise enough to pick up a raw egg without breaking it, yet still no doubt strong enough for it to toss that rule book out the window and go on a five-fingered rampage. While it’s one-of-a-kind for the time being, according the the AFP, the company expects to soon ship 50 prototypes to various firms and research institutes, after which it apparently plans to market the hand overseas.

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Filed under: Robots

It’s been a pretty long time since we’ve heard from this guy, but the HRP-3 is back with a fresh coat of paint and a redesign that bears a notable resemblance to Optimus Prime. The new waterproof bot, shown showering, walking on a floor scattered with sand, and using a screwdriver as a human would, is meant to take on typical jobs at construction sites, such as driving (?) vehicles. Kawada hopes to court contractor clients by 2010 with the attractive introductory price of $120,000 per robot.

Read - Translated Robot Watch story
Read - Physorg article

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Filed under: Robots

Apparently adrenalized by Bill Gates’s rousing Scientific American manifesto A Robot in Every Home, Congressmen Mike Doyle and Zach Wamp have called for the first robot caucus to convene in Washington. Spurred into action by the idea that “the robotics industry is developing in much the same way as the computer business did 30 years ago”, Doyle hopes to promote robot awareness, work on robot policy, and educate Congress on issues in robotics to ensure “that our nation remains globally competitive”. Wamp added that he looks forward to the caucus’s first order of business: identifying which congresspeople are, in fact, robots themselves.

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Filed under: Robots

It looks like Vision Robotics’ would-be fleet of agriculture robots is getting a little closer to reality, with the previous crude 2D sketches of ‘em now replaced with slightly less crude 3D models (among other developments). Last we heard from the company, its scout robot was still a long ways from hitting the farm, but Wired News is now reporting that Vision expects to have a prototype of it ready sometime next year, with the larger harvester bot expected to follow two or three years after that. As before, the company plans to have the scout robots plot out the best fruit-picking route, which the harvester would then follow, grabbing hard to reach fruit with the utmost delicacy — no doubt picking up a few humans’ jobs along the way.

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Filed under: Robots

Check it US Pleo hopefuls, UGOBE is now taking pre-orders for the hotly anticipated dinobot. The price? Well, it’s not $250, or even $300 as we were originally told. Rather, the cuddly killer is now pegged at $349. Pre-orders can be executed directly from the UGOBE website or via the usual array of on-line retail partners. Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait a few months before your Pleo can “inspire mystery and awe as a companion” — it doesn’t ship until October. Plenty of time to ponder the threat of inviting a robot and dinosaur into your home. Now head on over to Pleoworld for plenty of hot, groaning, dino-on-dino action.

[Thanks, Vladimiro]

Read — Press Release [warning: PDF]
Read — Pleoworld [warning: moaning robots, crank down the volume]

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Robots

Those looking for a little robot companionship but wary of them potentially turning on you when you least expect it may want to consider the latest creations from Japan’s Take G, which boast plenty of style without any of that pesky “technology.” From the looks of it, there’s plenty of different stationary contraptions to choose from, ranging in size from just a couple of inches to over two feet tall. Unfortunately, there’s no word on pricing or availability, although we’re fairly certain they won’t come cheap, if they’re even for sale at all.

[Via Boing Boing]

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Filed under: Robots

As we’ve seen, robots can be quite capable of making arrests (or at least helping police make arrests). But even the best robots sometimes meet their match, as evidenced by this latest turn of events out of the Netherlands Denmark. It seems that police were having trouble contacting a man that was holding out in a cottage, so they decided to send in their trusty “Rullemarie” robot on a mission of peace. The criminal doesn’t appear to have been in a mood to negotiate, however, and promptly shot the unarmed bot a few times before bludgeoning it with an axe. Sadly, the damage appears to have so extensive that even a robot MASH unit would likely not have been of any help.

[Thanks, J]

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Filed under: Robots

As we all know, the human-robot divide can be a tough one to bridge (what with them secretly plotting to destroy us and all) — but there’s a new robot out there that’s willing to tackle the problem, and he’s ready to lend a hand to anyone doing research on the subject (for a price, of course). With a head full of servos, RoboMotio’s Reddy robot can contort its face into a broad range of expressions, including joy, anger, sadness, surprise, and disgust, which the company says makes it ideally suited for various human-robot endeavors. RoboMotio appears to be a bit wary of Reddy getting too “emotional,” however, choosing not to give him legs or any other means of movement, although those willing to take the risk can attach him to “many standard or non-standard mobile robot bases.” Of course, robots can’t make a living on goodwill alone, so RoboMotio’s also talking up Reddy’s potential for various marketing and entertainment applications, which means you could be running into him any day now. In the meantime, be sure to hit up the link below for some not-to-be-missed shots and a couple of videos of Reddy in action.

[Thanks, Jake]

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Filed under: Robots

In a bit of a step down after serving as a security guard at last year’s World Cup, the German-designed ORFO robot is now being put on what amounts to chaperon duty at a middle school in South Korea as part of a trial project, which could eventually see the robots keeping an eye on students across the country. As at the World Cup, the robot packs a camera and microphone to monitor its surroundings, and can either be manually controlled or programmed to follow a specific route using its built-in GPS. Unlike some other security bots, however, ORFO isn’t able to directly intervene in problematic situations itself, with it only able to issue a warning that a human security guard is on the way.

[Via The Register]

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Filed under: Robots

KornTech, a Korean venture company (entirely unrelated to the nu-metal band KoЯn), has developed a one meter tall robot named Rogun that can identify faces, walk on two feet, and alert owners to intruders via cellphone. Rogun’s primary claim to robot fame is his facial recognition using embedded cameras and “high-end face-tracking software,” and his ability to walk (a skill which humans take years to learn). Proving once and for all that the Teletubbies were robots underneath their cuddly exteriors, Rogun has a 7-inch LCD in his stomach region for displaying brainwashing material entertainment for the kids. If adults don’t mind talking to Rogun’s middle region, his screen can even route through a video call thanks to included WiFi: just say “Eh-Oh.” Due to translation issues with the original article, we’re not completely sure that this is an accurate figure, but as far as we can tell the Rogun is going for $1 million, each. A rather large amount to plunk down on a security system that can be disabled through a well placed push, but as with all technology, the price will come down as things get more advanced.

[Via Engadget Chinese]

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Filed under: Robots

Forget all those cute and cuddly robots. We like our overlords menacing and if at all possible, dressed in a skirt. We’re not exactly sure what “Vinegar’s” purpose will be here on Earth. After all, the wee QRIO has been available to conduct orchestras for years. One thing’s for sure, when that stick points in your direction, you’d best get your meat sack a-dancin’. Video after the break.

Continue reading Vinegar: conducting the robotic uprising

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Filed under: Robots

We haven’t seen a whole lot of news come out of the annual RoboBusiness conference as of late, but it doesn’t look like it’s lacking for grand ambition, with a number of companies taking the opportunity to talk up various facets of the coming robot uprising. One such optimist is iRobis co-founder Peter Nordin, who claims to be well on his way to developing a “complete cognitive software system” for robots. What’s more, he says that the first version of the software, dubbed “Brainstorm,” will be available to researchers and developers later this year. Apparently, the software will give robots a “previously unseen level of autonomy in decision making and operation,” using reasoning and problem solving to learn increasingly complex tasks. According to Nordin, the software has already seen a fair bit of success, with robots in his laboratory starting out moving like babies and eventually learning to walk, climb stairs, and manipulate objects. Not surprisingly the military (the Swedish one) has been the first to express interest in the technology. They’re apparently hoping that it’ll give its autonomous vehicles and robots the benefit of evolution. Yeah, that’ll work out just fine.

[Thanks, Roger G]

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Filed under: Robots

This year’s RoboCup is still a few months away but entrants are already getting a chance to size up some of the competition, with Team Osaka unveiling its roster of players this week in Japan. As you can see in the videos on the site linked below, the bots are definitely built to impress, able to make diving saves and kick the ball better than many of their human counterparts, although they don’t appear to have quite mastered the head-butt just yet. From the looks of it, the VisiON 4G robot will make up the majority of the team, with the larger Vstone810 bot apparently playing the role of enforcer. The bots aren’t spending all their time on the pitch, however, with them also available to do your bidding at a cost of ¥1,000,000 or more (over $8,300) for the VisiON 4G and “several million” Yen for the Vstone810.

[Via Impress]

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Filed under: Robots

Got an immorally excessive amount of free time, and a good helping of patience to boot? Then peep the video after the break. We fell asleep a full three times watching the 1:44 video of David Wegmuller’s Lego “self tracker,” but that doesn’t mean we don’t recommend you give it a look yourself. The machine is basically a souped-up “train,” which can place its own track, Wallace & Gromit style. The sluggish bot rolls onto a freshly lain track piece, and then turns to grab the one behind and swing it around in front. We’re impressed greatly by the total lack of utility and all-around foolishness / ingenuity of the project, and can’t wait to see what David brews up next.

Continue reading Lego-built “self tracker” train does things at its own pace

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Last we heard from Aldebaran Robotics’ Nao robot it didn’t exactly have all that many skills to show off, simply waving to the camera and uttering a few words to prove that it was more than just an illustration. It looks like it’s been spending the last few months learning some new tricks though, with it now able to stand on its own two feet and walk across the room. As you can see in the video linked below, however, it isn’t all that graceful, and it certainly doesn’t look like it’ll be challenging PLEN to a skateboarding competition anytime soon.

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Filed under: Robots

While Kondo’s KHR-2HV robot is plenty capable as far as relatively inexpensive robot kits go, it isn’t exactly much of a looker. Kondo doesn’t appear to be quite ready to give up on the title of most eligible robot just yet though, with the company now releasing the A-621 GENEX suit to add a bit more style to our humble bucket of bolts. To show off his sporting side, Kondo’s also supplying a series of decals of soccer uniforms (sold separately), which should also help him stand out at the next RoboCup. Look for the entire wardrobe to be available in Japan in the next few weeks, with the GENEX suit setting you back ¥18,000 ($152) and the soccer uniform sets running ¥1,260, or about ten bucks apiece.

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Robots

Back in 1998, when BlackBerry was just starting to garner some attention with its messaging devices — voice was still but a dream at this point — RIM engineer Matthias Wandel found a low tech solution to a high-tech testing problem. The BlackBerry 950 was a 900MHz device and moving them a couple centimeters this way or that or changing the devices orientation produced significantly different test results. Eschewing high-tech wizardry for the kid’s Lego bin, Matthias was able to construct a device that could rotate the 950 through it’s horizontal axis and vertical axis, looked sweet, and likely cost all of 10 bucks to make. We commend anybody who can create useful real world tools with toys, though of course we expect RIM can now afford Robots for this type of chore, or at least Lego robots.

[Via Slashdot]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

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Filed under: Household, Robots

Robots and pools aren’t always so very chummy, but iRobot’s new Verro 600 (pictured) and Verro 300 pool cleaning bots are all about the water, and should be able to beat the pants (or hose, if you will) off of any standard pool vacuum. These aren’t the first robotic pool vacs we’ve seen, Aqua Products had the Aquabot T2 a ways back, and in fact iRobot has teamed with Aqua Products to build these new Verro bots. Both Verro models clean the entire pool “from floor to waterline” in 60 to 90 minutes, using iRobot’s patented AI and some fancy vacuum, jets, brushes and filtration systems. The $799 Verro 300 is designed for gunite or concrete surfaces, while the $1,199 Verro 600 does up vinyl, tile and fiberglass pools. Both are available now.

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Filed under: Robots

Just when you thought steampunk robots couldn’t get any nerdier, along comes Crabfu — creator of the steam-powered RC Rover and other magnificent creations — and totally raises the bar. The R2-S2 (R2 Steam Too) claims to be the predecessor of R2-D2, and while its steam engine makes this guy quite the sluggish one, we’re sure he still has that same heart of gold we’ve come to know in R2-D2. Crabfu built the bot out of an broken Hasbro R2-D2 Interactive Droid, and after gutting the electronics, he hooked up a fancy new pair of steam engines to the existing gears, squeezed in an old Cheddar Boiler and slapped on a few Victorian steampunk details for good measure. Peep the video after the break to see this puppy crawl.

[Via MAKE]

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Filed under: Robots

While we’re a bit skeptical of its claimed status to be “quite possibly the world’s smallest robot,” this so-called Pico bot is certainly impressive enough in its own right — especially considering that it’s the result of a DIY project. As you can see above, the bot is small enough to sit on a dime, yet it still packs enough brains (and power) to move around autonomously (if a little recklessly), motoring about at a top speed of 0.5 feet per second and lasting about 15 minutes before its battery runs dry. While it currently doesn’t seem to be capable of much more than the antics on display in the video after break, its creator does see plenty of room for improvement, including adding ZigBee wireless communication, as well as an on-board camera and built-in GPS. Of course, there’s also the possibility that someone could take things one step further and amass a pint-sized robot army, letting them annoy their co-workers on a hereto unheard of scale.

[Via MAKE:Blog]

Continue reading Homebrew robots reach dime size

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Filed under: Robots

If you’ve been admiring PLEN’s skateboarding and rollerskating skills from afar, you’re now only a massive credit card bill away from having one school you up close, with at least one store now stocking the pint-sized bot. Snagging it from AudioCubes will set you back a hefty $2,399, which we hope would also include his trusty skateboard, although the product description doesn’t state as such. Sure, it’s a little exorbitant, but we’re guessing that at least some of you will think it’s worth it, even if just to see the look on your Robosapien’s face when it skates out of the box. Better not take too long to decide though, as the company’s apparently only making 50 of ‘em to start with in order to judge interest.

[Via I4U News].

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Filed under: Household, Robots

If you’re willing to buy into this whole “doesn’t lose suction” song and dance, Dyson might have a robotic vacuum cleaner in the works just for you. A recent job advertisement on the Dyson website, is seeking a roboticist with “navigation and localization systems knowledge (Kalman filters, SLAM)” and “computer vision experience,” which sure sounds like shoe-in for robo-vac development to us. We know they were at work developing the $6000 DC06 a couple years back, but that early attempt at a Roomba-killer didn’t itself take life to the best of our knowledge. Of course, by the time they complete this new hire and s/he gets the next robotic Dyson bumping, we could be a good many months (or years) down the road. At very least the “machine vision” bit seems to imply something fancier than the Roomba dumbass-bumparound method, which will hopefully lead to some exciting floor cleaning times, and even more promising hacks whenever this device might possibly make it to market.

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Filed under: Robots

We’ve already seen androids that can knock you out, but now a team of researchers from the University of Tokyo have pieced together a humanoid robot with more peaceful intentions — or at least that’s what they’re hoping. Weighing in at 154 pounds and measuring just over five feet tall, the apparently unnamed droid can easily lift a 145 person out of bed or cart around heavy packages, which its creators say make it ideally suited for jobs in nursing care or the moving industry. While it’s not clear how the bot feels about that pre-determined career path, we wouldn’t recommend arguing with it if it one day scuffs up your furniture, or it could well put those people-lifting skills to a slightly more destructive use.

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Filed under: Gaming, Robots

If a lowly blogger could die from awesomeness, we’re pretty sure we’d be keeling over right about now. The Lego Mindstorms geekz0rs over at BattleBricks have managed to reach new heights of human ingenuity, melding a Mindstorms NXT kit, some clever programming and Nintendo’s Wii to create an unstoppable bowling machine capable of tossing a perfect game without breaking a sweat, growing a nasty mustache, or sporting a beer belly. While the BattleBricks folks don’t provide precise instructions on how to build this yourself, they’ve got plenty of evidence that it does, indeed, bowl like a champ. So peep the action video after the break, and then start plotting your own NXT creation conquer some other form of automated Wii Sports point inflation — we never could quite get the hang of tennis.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading WiigoBot melds Lego with Wii bowling, knocks down all 10 pins in our hearts

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Filed under: Robots

At a recent ROBO-ONE 11 event, which sees hapless robots performing various demeaning tasks to the delight of the onlookers and honor of their builders, OmniZero.4 from Takeshi Maeda took the top prize, with a demonstration score of 453. Of course, it doesn’t really take a whole lot to delight the judges — OmniZero.4 managed to climb some steps, perform a somersault, jump some rope and crack a couple of eggs without making a fool of himself, hardly worthy of a machine whose descendants will one day rule the earth. At least it makes for some decent entertainment, so peep the video after the break, and then get to working on your own very ninja-bot to whip up on next year’s domesticated competition.

[Via Robots Dreams]

Continue reading OmniZero.4 bot performs amazing feats of strength, rope jumping

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Filed under: Robots

While robots capable of kinda sorta dancing along with music are hardly anything new, few can match the moves this recently developed “Keepon” robot is capable of busting out — without arms or legs, no less. Developed by Carnegie Mellon’s Marek Michalowski and Hideki Kozima of Japan’s National Institute of Communications Technology, the little yellow bot uses a gimbal-based system to move through about as full a range of motions as two spheres are capable of, and is able to react to visual stimulation in addition to music thanks to some built-in cameras. Sadly, this dancing machine remains confined to the lab for the time being, although you can check out a couple of videos of it in action by clicking on the read link below.

[Via New Scientist]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Robots

It looks like Japanese manufacturer Figla isn’t wasting any time putting its latest cleaning robot to work, recently setting it loose on the streets of Osaka for all to see. While we can’t tell if it’s happy or disgruntled, the bot does talk while it’s performing its duties (as seen in the video after the break), and it can apparently be controlled using a remote control or PC via WiFi when you don’t want to just let it do its thing. It also appears to have learned a few more tricks than other cleaning bots, with its various parts able to be swapped out to perform different tasks, including waxing hardwood floors. While the company says the bot could be going on duty across Japan as soon as Spring 2008, it apparently won’t be available to the general public, with it aimed instead at companies ready to purchase at least 1,000 of the little suckers.

[Via Shiny Shiny]

Continue reading Figla robot cleans up indoors and out

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!