Proto-2 humanoid robot auditions for Thunderbirds 2.0

Proto-2 humanoid robot auditions for Thunderbirds 2.0 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Jan 2010 18:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  ARSL, Plastic Pals interview  | Email this | Comments

KIST Mahru-Z waits on you very, very slowly

We’ve seen KIST’s Marhu robot tooling around here before, but now they’re showing off the latest models, the Mahru-Z (with some help from Mahru-M), in some super useful scenarios. Mahru-Z and M have been successfully demonstrating their service abilities by carrying cups of tea, and retrieving toast from toasters and delivering it as well. The Z-version bot is a bit shorter than previous iterations, and also sports different, more dextrous arms. He stands about 4 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 122 pounds. Both bots are networked and use 3D object recognition in their task completion. Overall, the improvements to the Mahru bots are iterative, but it sure is great to hear that one day we’ll have someone to bring our breakfast to us in bed. Video is after the break.

Continue reading KIST Mahru-Z waits on you very, very slowly

KIST Mahru-Z waits on you very, very slowly originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Jan 2010 18:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Plastic Pals  | Email this | Comments

Japanese researchers develop robotic, heroic hummingbird

This is not the first time we’ve heard about a robotic hummingbird, but they’re still a rare enough species to warrant our attention. Japanese researchers at Chiba University near Tokyo have developed a new bot which behaves much like the quick-winged bird, which is controlled by an infrared sensor. The little birdie weighs in at less than an ounce and can fly in a figure eight, moving up, down, left and right. Next steps for its development — which the researchers say will arrive by 2011 — include the ability for it to hover mid-air, and have a small camera attached to it. Ultimately, its creators see the robot (which has cost around 2 million dollars to develop) being able to help search for people in dangerous situations, such as destroyed buildings, or aiding in the search for criminals. We haven’t gotten a look at the little guy yet (the above photo is merely to whet your imagination), but we anxiously await its arrival.

Japanese researchers develop robotic, heroic hummingbird originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Dec 2009 12:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Physorg  | Email this | Comments

Nippon Institute of Technology unveils educational humanoid robot

We really can’t get enough of these humanoid robots. Researchers collaborating from the Nippon Institute of Technology, Harada Vehicle Design, ZMP and ZNUG Design have just taken the wraps off another addition to the crew. The newest version of the e-NUVO walk bot stands about 4 feet tall, making it roughly the size of an elementary school aged child, and will be incorporated into classes to teach children about humanoid robots in a hands-on environment. We’ll admit that after seeing a video of the bot in action (it’s after the break), we’re pretty jealous of those school children.

Continue reading Nippon Institute of Technology unveils educational humanoid robot

Nippon Institute of Technology unveils educational humanoid robot originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Dec 2009 01:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Plastic Pals  |  Nippon Institute of Technology  | Email this | Comments

Kawada NEXTAGE humanoid robot just wants to help out (video)

In a world where the Headtime scalp massager not only exists but presumably even sells, is it any wonder that assistant robots like this here fella are cropping up? While keeping the design somewhat generic in order to be able to adapt the bot to the particular circumstances where it is employed, the designers at Kawada Industries are keen to promote the NEXTAGE as a step toward humans and machines co-existing and working together in harmony. Sounds peachy, doesn’t it? Of course, some meatsack will have to be made redundant to make way for the machines, but humans were always going to be sacrificed for the greater robotic good. That was the plan all along. See the video demo after the break.

Continue reading Kawada NEXTAGE humanoid robot just wants to help out (video)

Kawada NEXTAGE humanoid robot just wants to help out (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Plastic Pals  |  Kawada Industries  | Email this | Comments

Robonica Roboni-i rolling robot takes aim at WowWee, holiday shoppers

Upstart toymaker Robonica has been making promises about its Robini-i programmable robot for a little while now, but it looks like it’s now not only managed to get the bot out the door, but land it on the cover of the new Hammacher Schlemmer holiday catalog as well. Headed up by a former Hasbro exec, the company is clearly taking aim at the likes of WowWee, but hopes to one-up them by also letting its robot with a “serious attitude” become an avatar in an MMO of sorts when it’s not tormenting your pets. What’s more, the Robini-i can also apparently interact with other bots both online and in person, and the more adventuresome folks out there can also take advantage of some basic programming capabilities provided by the included software (Windows only, for the time being). Slightly less entry-level, however, is the $299.95 that Hammacher Schlemmer is charging for the kit, although it appears that could drop to $250 as it rolls out to other retailers.

Read – Hammacher Schlemmer
Read – Xconomy, “Robonica President, an Ex-Hasbro Exec, Hopes to Put Boston Back on Toy Industry Map with Rolling Robots”

[Via IEEE Spectrum, thanks Ken R.]

Filed under: Robots

Robonica Roboni-i rolling robot takes aim at WowWee, holiday shoppers originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Video: Robohopper gets wings, Icarus complex

Remember the tiny 5cm robot grasshopper that could leap like a superhero but had trouble landing its, um, landings? Well, it still hasn’t figured out those basics, but its Swiss developers are already marching ahead with plans to endow it with a pair of wings and light awareness. Now described as a self-deploying microglider, the wannabe locust will be able to identify light sources and fly toward them, an act known as phototaxis, which will make it about as intelligent as your garden variety moth. All the same, you can’t stick a camera on a moth and use it to search disaster areas for survivors … or can you? Videos of the underlying tech can be found after the break.

[Via Bot Junkie]

Continue reading Video: Robohopper gets wings, Icarus complex

Filed under: Robots

Video: Robohopper gets wings, Icarus complex originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments