Hasta La Gadget!

So you happen to be a smartphone user for the past few years already, and have more or less gotten bored of the device, so much so that you are thinking about the possibilities of a new kind of smartphone accessory which would make you a starry-eyed kid once again, with wonder written all over your face. Perhaps there might be something out there in the ever evolving consumer market, and the $149.99 Romo the smartphone robot could very well fit your desires to a ‘T’.

Romo might even end up being your new best friend if you are a social outcast, as Romo will learn and grow up with you the more time you spend with it and interact alongside. Basically, I guess you could call this the geek’s Furby, as the more you make use of him, the faster and more he will be able to learn. Sure, he looks cute as heck – at least getting near Wall-E levels, and is controllable via any Wi-Fi enabled computer or iOS device. The Romo the smartphone robot might be the perfect fodder to help you break down walls if you are not too good with kids, and it also brings your standard video chat sessions to a totally new level.
[ Romo the smartphone robot copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Do you think that robots are cool? If you think so, then you would be pleased to hear that scientists in the US have managed to come up with a robot that is as small as the size of a fly, where it is capable of performing the agile manoeuvres of the ubiquitous insects. Known as the “robo-fly”, it is built from carbon fibre, tips the scales at a fraction of a gram, and boasts of super-fast electronic “muscles” to power its wings. According to the robot’s developers from Harvard University, these small robots do resemble the real thing, and could eventually be used as an accessory when it comes to rescue operations. Definitely useful in the event of an earthquake, where it can navigate through tiny spaces in collapsed buildings to search for survivors.

Unfortunately, the flight of this small robot insect remains tethered, as it will take a few more years before this flying robot is able to carry a power source. touted as the world’s smallest flying robot, it will feature the fly-like agility which enables the insects to evade even the swiftest of human efforts to swat them. Of course, swatting a robot like this might break the heart of the inventor, since I am quite sure that these robots are not going to come cheap. Precise wing movements allow it to fly are swiftly and in an agile manner.

This robot will constantly adjust the effect of lift and thrust by acting on its body at an incredibly high speed, hence the insect’s (and the robot’s) wings will allow it to hover, or to perform sudden evasive manoeuvres. Similar to a real fly, the robot’s thin, flexible wings will beat at approximately 120 times every second. This wing speed is achieved using a special substance called piezoelectric material, and will contract each time a voltage is applied to it. Other than rescue operations, I am quite sure that the military would have more than a passing interest in such a robot, too.

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[ Smallest flying robot in the world copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Your local bartender might have a thing or two to say about the Bartendro robot mixologist, especially in these economically trying times, and to be made redundant at the workplace because of technology is definitely quite a bummer. The thing is, the Bartendro robot mixologist does not look as though it is going to replace the bald man behind the counter, wiping glasses, anytime soon, considering how one of the main draws of a local pub would be the bartender himself who lends a shoulder to cry on during times of trouble among its clientele, as well as offers some sagely advice from time to time.

Still, to see a robot function as a bartender is something else, but do not expect the Bartendro to be some sort of protocol droid like C3PO which you see in Star Wars. No sir, it will seem to be more of a contraption, but is a robot at the very base. Thanks to the presence of a Raspberry Pi processor, it is capable of crafting up a wide range of cocktails, as long as it carries the relevant information in its database.

The Bartendro robot is said to be able to handle up to 15 bottles of booze and mixers simultaneously, and is capable of dispensing precision cocktails in a swift turnaround time of under 10 seconds. Of course, the lack of a human touch will not see the Bartendro take over the human bartender duties anytime soon, but I suppose at clubs where folks just want to get a shot of their favorite poison without having to go through the motions of talking to other folks, will find some solace in the presence of the Bartendro.

Other than the Raspberry Pi processor, the Bartendro robot mixologist will also comprise of other parts such as peristaltic pumps, custom electronic dispenser boards, and food-grade tubing. Capable of churning out 200 cocktails in an evening, you can be sure that this is one robot which will not hit on your girlfriend, but neither is it capable of breaking up fights. Fancy getting the Bartendro? You will have to fork out a rather handsome $2,499 for it.

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[ Bartendro robot is an interesting mix, pardon the pun copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Do you think that our future will have robots that help mankind, such as those found in the science fiction movie I, Robot? How about droids that move around in the now Disney-owned Star Wars, those would definitely come in handy in solving the communications problem between different language groups, wouldn’t it? Sad to say, current technology is still far from achieving such high standards in robotics, but perhaps something like the Roboy is a good start.

Folks over at the University of Zurich’s Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (AI Lab) is currently working on building a robot toddler that they have dubbed “Roboy.” The implementation of “soft robotics” technology which will mimic the human body has resulted in this 1.2 meter (3 ft, 11 in) tall humanoid robot to be a solution down the road that will hopefully make people feel more comfortable in the presence of robots when it comes to day-to-day situations.

Granted, the Roboy is far from being the cutest thing in the market at the moment, as it resembles far more like a cyborg skeleton compared to a charming child whom you would like to cuddle, but bear in mind that this is because this is still a work in progress. The laboratory’s final goal would be to build an entire Roboy from scratch in a matter of nine months, and I find the parallel of the time required compared to carrying a baby to term cute.

Work on Roboy began last June, where 15 project partners and more than 40 engineers and scientists came together, and they intend to fund the development of Roboy by creative means, such as auctioning space on the robot for logos, while hiring it out for business functions when completed.

Roboy remains more of a research project than an engineering enterprise at this point in time, and the team has set their eyes on developing new technologies while engaging scalable production using CAD and 3D printing so that it takes a matter of days to fully roll out a robot.

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[ Roboy could be a robot for the future copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Having a human swim across an expanse of water like the English Channel is surely an achievement not to be trifled with, but rather, to be celebrated by the rest of the world, but do we do the same when it comes to robots? After all, robots do not have emotions, and they certainly are not out to chase records and all. The thing is, behind each robot is a human (at least that is the way things are at the moment, not until the robot apocalypse happens ala Terminator and we see robots start to make robots…), and certainly the human behind the robot’s conception and creation must be pretty darn proud if said robot was able to perform amazing tasks. Case in point, this particular self-controlled swimming robot which actually completed a journey from San Francisco all the way to Australia, covering a record-breaking 9,000 nautical miles (that would be 16,668km just in case you were wondering), a trip that required the PacX Wave Glider to spend more than a year in water to achieve.

Liquid Robotics is the US-based company behind the project, where the PacX Wave Glider’s main role is to collect data concerning the Pacific Ocean’s temperature, salinity and ecosystem from the drone itself. The company claimed that the success with PacX Wave Glider’s Herculean attempt is proof that such technology could actually “survive the high seas”, in their own words.

With a name like Papa Mau, this robot takes on a far more personal character, where it was so named in honour of the late Micronesian navigator Pius “Mau” Piailug, whose claim to fame was his innate ability to look out for ways to navigate through the seas without the need for traditional equipment.

Liquid Robotics said, “During Papa Mau’s journey, [it] weathered gale-force storms, fended off sharks, spent more than 365 days at sea, skirted around the Great Barrier Reef, and finally battled and surfed the east Australian current to reach his final destination in Hervey Bay, near Bundaberg, Queensland.” What other record breaking feats from robots that you would like to see?

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[ Swimming robot arrives at Australia, breaks record in the process copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]