Category: Robots
Martin Buehler's prototype jockey-ridden hopping robot will guarantee you look like a moron
Remember those insane little hopping-machines in playgrounds, shaped like little animals attached to springs, and you sit on it and can jump up and down by about 5 inches? This is the adult, Jackass-esque version. Hours of fun! Hours spent in A&E!
According to the designer, Martin Buehler, it’s a ”prototype jockey ridden hopping robot that controlled forward speed, hopping height, and pitch balance, the jockey did sideways balance and steering.” I had to read that sentence over about five times before it made sense, you too?
Check out the video of it…
Photos reveal life with an iRobot ConnectR robot
I’ve written about the launch of iRobot’s ConnectR robot already, but the company has released several photos showing just how the bot fits into your lives. Here goes…
The “Daddy might be holed up in another late night meeting with his secretary, but he can still log in to read you a bedtime story, kids” shot.
iRobot launches ConnectR remote-controlled VoIP video robot
Having unveiled the Looj gutter-cleaning robot earlier today, iRobot has now shown off another new bot, the ConnectR. It’s a ‘virtual communication and interaction’ robot designed for families.
Basically, it hooks up to your home Wi-Fi network, and lets you dial in remotely to have videochats and VoIP calls with people in the house (or pets, weirdly – if your dog doesn’t mind woofing into a communication robot).
iRobot Looj: the robot that cleans your gutter
Still think robots aren’t useful? Check this one out. It’s called the iRobot Looj, and it cleans your gutter so you don’t have to spend half a day shinning up and down a ladder doing the job yourself.
It stands 2.25-inches high, and sweeps out dirt, leaves and other debris while you settle down for a nice cup of tea. Or, if you’re like us, gather all your neighbours round to boast about your new gutter-cleaning robot.
Robot watch becomes desk clock: cool metallic time-telling gadgetry
If you're hooked on the Transformers idea, and you'd like a watch and a desk clock in one gadget, then these Japanese metal robot watches are just the thing. They can be worn on the wrist as a standard watch,…
Japanese students waste their time making virtual cat whiskers
They are making “artificial, wearable, light-based hairs (or antennae)”.
The idea is that little infra-red sensors constantly scan the environment – those are your virtual antennae – with miniature vibration feedback…
Old Japanese people bored of robots already
The novelty of $4,300 “communication robot” Ifbot wore off after about a month of active service in a Kyoto nursing home, with elderly residents preferring the silent, unconditional love of teddy bears.
Most old people “see robots as overly-complicated and unpractical” says Ruth Campbell, a social worker in…
Sony AIBO-like robot, the New4LR, is open-source and speccy
Yet another robot for you, this time in the shape of a wee lil puppy. Watch women all around you swoon at the sight of it. Coochie-coochie-coo! Coochie-coochie-coo!
As your robot-savvy eyes can tell, it’s slightly Sony Aibo-like in its appearance, but has a lot more to it than what meets the eye. The German University working on the robot has developed open-source software for the product, ‘New4LR’, powered by two AMD Geode 500Mhz processors…
Mega Mech Airmagination inflatable robot at Wal-Mart is largest in market!
Just what every little Timmy and Tricia needs, a giant inflatable robot. Maybe kids can program it to steal their Mummy’s Brooks Brothers’ cardigans, and key-scratch their Daddy’s Rolls Royce?
Ok, so it’s only $40 from Wal-Mart, so is unlikely to be given to little bourgeoisie kiddywinks in America, but still, does a child really need something twice the size of them to play with? The Mega Mech Airmagination inflates to 48 inches tall…
Zeno: childlike robot with artifical intelligence doesn't look quite right
"Zeno", the brainchild of Hanson Robotics, is a robot complete with vision, decision-making and learning capabilities, as well as the ability to change its facial expressions and move based on what it "sees". This Artificial Intelligence also allows for speech…