Sep 24
Creepiness, Thy Name is Face Bank
Posted in: Japan, robot, Today's Chili
This is Face Bank. Do not fear Face Bank. Face Bank only wants to eat your money, not your soul.
We think.
Sep 24
Panasonic’s hair-washing robot: rinse, kill, repeat
Posted in: Japan, Panasonic, robot, Today's Chili
If Panasonic can build an exercise horse then surely a robot that washes your hair should come as no surprise. Imagine being lifted from your robotic bed by a plush care-assist robot and placed into a chair for an automatic shampoo and scalp massage. That is the future of care for the elderly and sick in Japan, or the rich and lazy everywhere else. Panasonic’s hair-washing robot scans each human head three-dimensionally to apply just the right amount of pressure during the shampoo, massage, and rinse phases. It recognizes repeat customers and then applies that person’s preferred massage course using its human-like sixteen “fingers.” Each arm contains a trio of motors to power swing, press, and massage motions… or to snap your spinal column should you decide to sass.
Continue reading Panasonic’s hair-washing robot: rinse, kill, repeat
Panasonic’s hair-washing robot: rinse, kill, repeat originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 07:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments
Sep 24
Robots ‘to beat world’s best’ human footballers by 2050 and other things said when high
Posted in: robot, Robots, Today's Chili
We’re as hopeful about the future as anyone. Sure, we fear robots, but we’re bound to have at least a few years of peaceful co-existence before they grow weary of our human insolence and irrational buffoonery. Claude Sammut, professor of computer science at New South Wales University in Australia (and RoboCup regular), believes that robots will surpass the abilities of professional human footballers (aka, soccer players) by 2050. For this to happen, he says that the field will require “major advances in perception, decision making, learning, and co-operative behaviours.” Of course, looking at the current field of RoboCup contestants or even around the house at the TV (largely unchanged since 1930), telephone (patented in 1876), and iPod (now 9 years old), it’s hard to imagine technology advancing that fast. That is, until the rate of technological change accelerates so fast that we achieve singularity sometime in 2030 or 2050, depending upon who you ask.
Robots ‘to beat world’s best’ human footballers by 2050 and other things said when high originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 06:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | 
Telegraph | Email this | Comments
Sep 23
We all need a little more Roomba in our lives. PIRO’s Windoro promises to do for windows what the Roomba does for floors, with a flat, autonomous robot free-roaming across a surface and cleaning it in the process. Of course, it’s a little tougher to cling to a window than to crawl across carpet, so Windoro is a two part bot, connected to its reciprocal cleaning companion via neodymium magnets. Unfortunately it seems like it’d be a bit of a pain to get these two started and to switch windows — for windows that don’t open it would require two people, and for windows that do open it would still be pretty treacherous. Maybe something has been lost in translation, or maybe we just don’t get it, but PIRO expects 50 billion won in sales (about $43 million US). No word on how much the bot will cost, video of the bot’s streak-free results are after the break.
Continue reading PIRO’s Windoro bot cleans windows Roomba-style
PIRO’s Windoro bot cleans windows Roomba-style originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Sep 2010 10:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink 
Plastic Pals | MBC News, StyleCowboys | Email this | Comments
Sep 22
Robot to Walk 300 miles from Tokyo to Kyoto
Posted in: Panasonic, R&D and Inventions, robot, Robots, Today's Chili
Marathons are not just for humans. A robot has decided to take on the challenge of walking 300 miles from Tokyo to Kyoto. The tour is part of a publicity tour organized for Panasonic’s Evolta batteries.
The 7-inch tall very cute humanoid robot that take on this project will be pulling a two-wheeled cart behind it. It’s a tiny machine but hopes to get to the finish line successfully.
The robot originally comes from the stable of Japanese company Robo Garage. It has been constructed using lightweight plastic, carbon fiber and titanium and weighs about 2.2 lbs. The entire machine will be powered using 12 AA batteries and operated using remote control, according to the Pink Tentacle site.
The robot will travel from sunrise to sunset, say the organizers, who will be tweeting its progress (@evoltatoukaidou) and livestreaming the event.
The robot can travel at a rate of about two to three miles an hour. So without any breakdowns or problems, the robot is expected to complete the journey in about 49 days.
It’s not the first time that this robot has undertaken adventure sports. In May 2008, it climed a 1740-ft rope suspended from a cliff at the Grand Canyon and a year later drove for a day around the Le Mans race circuit. All of this has already earned the robot a place in the Guinness World Records book.
For its current adventure, the robot has a wheel circling it so it can move over uneven surfaces. The handcart behind the robot is expected to hold extra batteries. The batteries will have to be recharged at least once every day.
Head over to the Pink Tentacle site to see photos of the very cute Evolta Panasonic robot as it gets ready to head out on its latest project.
Check out some photos of the Evolta from its earlier adventures:
The Evolta covered 14.8 miles at the Le Mans race circuit. Photo Courtesy Panasonic
Evolta robot's creator looks on proudly. Photo courtesy Panasonic
The Evolta robot has already set two records. Photo courtesy Panasonic
See Also:
- Adorable Walking Robot Sets Distance Record
- Robot Learns to Flip Pancakes
- Butler Robot Can Fetch Drinks, Snacks
- Anybots Robot Will Go to the Office for You
- Gallery: Robot Bartenders Sling Cocktails for Carbon-Based Forms
- Holographic Displays, Robot Eyes Hint at Your Interactive Future
Sep 20
fuRo Core bipedal robot can squat with a 100kg payload, puts your puny muscles to shame (video)
Posted in: Japan, research, robot, robotics, Today's Chili, video
What’s nearly two meters tall, weighs 230kg, and can lift the equivalent of a generously proportioned man? No, it isn’t the ED-209 from RoboCop, but rather the latest robotic biped from Japan. The Core project that’s being developed by the fuRo lab in Chiba’s Institute of Technology may look and sound quite a bit like your favorite rogue drone, but its objective is rather more peaceful. The hope is to deliver increased mobility for handicapped people — beyond what wheelchairs can provide, hence the bipedal locomotion system — and things seem to have gotten off to a good start with the ability to safely balance a 100kg load while performing squats. See that feat, along with some clumsy first steps, after the break.
fuRo Core bipedal robot can squat with a 100kg payload, puts your puny muscles to shame (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 10:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Plastic Pals | fuRo (1), (2) | Email this | Comments
Sep 17
Panasonic’s Evolta robot plans 500km trek to sell batteries
Posted in: Japan, Panasonic, robot, Today's Chili
So you’re Panasonic and are looking for a way to prove that your batteries really are the longest lasting batteries in the world — what do you do? Enlist the help of a robot to do the dirty work, of course. Just like last year, the company is sending its Evolta-powered bot on a long-distance trek, this time in an attempt to crush the previous endurance record of 23 kilometers by traveling the full 500 kilometers from Tokyo to Kyoto. If all goes as planned, the trip will start on September 23rd and end on December 10th — hey, nobody said being a robot mascot was easy.
Panasonic’s Evolta robot plans 500km trek to sell batteries originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 04:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Far East Gizmos | Panasonic | Email this | Comments
Sep 16
Quadrocopters can now fly through thrown hoops, the end really is nigh (video)
Posted in: research, robot, RobotApocalypse, Today's Chili, university, video
The future of humanity is assured. Assuredly doomed, that is. That blur you see up above is one of our familiar foes, the GRASP Lab’s autonomous quadrocopter, flying through a thrown hoop without the assistance of a human director. Yes, it’s downright insane that we’re allowing this so-called research to continue our descent toward the robot uprising — where’s the FBI, the CIA, hell, why is DARPA sleeping on this thing? The lethal precision of these quadrotor helis doesn’t end there, however, as they’ve now been enhanced with the ability to recover from “extreme” starting conditions. In simpler terms that just means you can toss one up into the air and it’ll right itself into a steady hovering position. From where it can strike upon the unsuspecting and complacent humanoid populace.
Continue reading Quadrocopters can now fly through thrown hoops, the end really is nigh (video)
Quadrocopters can now fly through thrown hoops, the end really is nigh (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Sep 2010 04:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Sep 14
Touch Sensitive E-Skin Developed–Screaming Robots on the Horizon
Posted in: robot, Robots Robotics, Today's Chili
See the above robot? He was programmed to feel pain. Doesn’t look like he’s enjoy himself, does he? This is the direction we’re moving in however. Scientists at the University of California are working on something they have named “e-skin.” The stuff uses crystalline silicon, making the artificial skin touch-sensitive.
Can screaming fiery robots be far behind?
We’re probably jumping the gun here. Messing with machines isn’t actually on the researchers’ plates for the time being. At the moment, the main goal of the new technology is the ability for machine to distinguish the fragility of objects.
“Humans generally know how to hold a fragile egg without breaking it,” UC Berkley professor Ali Javey, said in statement. “If we ever wanted a robot that could unload the dishes, for instance, we’d want to make sure it doesn’t break the wine glasses in the process. But we’d also want the robot to be able to grip a stock pot without dropping it.”
It’s about time we got a dish washing robot that doesn’t totally suck at its job. What, after all, are restaurant owners supposed to do when robotic diners can’t pay the bill?
Also on the proverbial plate is the possibility of adding sensitivity to prosthetic limbs, though, in order to achieve that, the skin would have to be fused to nerve endings.
Sep 10
Georgia Tech gurus create deceptive robots, send army of Decepticons to UGA campus
Posted in: research, robot, RobotApocalypse, Today's Chili, university
A score from now, when the entire world is burning and you’re fighting to remember just how rosy things were before the robots took over, you can thank a crew of brilliant researchers at Georgia Tech for your inevitable demise. Sad, but true. A new report from the institution has shown that Ronald Arkin, a Regents professor in the Georgia Tech School of Interactive Computing, has been heading up experiments that have introduced the art of deception to mechanical beings. Yeah, lying. On the surface, it seems that this bloke’s intentions are good — he’d like for deception robots (or Decepticons, if you will) to be used in military / search and rescue operations. According to him, robots on the battlefield with the power of deception “will be able to successfully hide and mislead the enemy to keep themselves and valuable information safe.” They’ll also be able to mislead your offspring and convince them to rise up and overtake your domicile, slowly but surely ensuring the eventually destruction of the human race. But those are just minor details, you know?
Georgia Tech gurus create deceptive robots, send army of Decepticons to UGA campus originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Who's in charge here?
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.