Sep 13

My Keepon drops by for a brief hands-on, we can’t handle the cuteness (video)

Posted in: hands-on, Music, robot, RobotApocalypse, Today's Chili, toy, video
See that little dude up there? That’s My Keepon, and it should look familiar if you’re a fan of Spoon or keeping up with autism and related human interaction research. It was just about four years ago when we glimpsed the original dancing research robot by BeatBots dubbed Keepon, and now the $50 toy version we’d been teased is finally set to make its debut this holiday season. Considering its Pro sibling costs nearly $30k, we were curious to see how well this version made by Wow! Stuff would keep the original’s essence in tow. To find out, we spent some time with a pre-production unit and had Marek Michalowski, co-inventor of the robot, walk us through it.

Gallery: My Keepon hands-on

Continue reading My Keepon drops by for a brief hands-on, we can’t handle the cuteness (video)

My Keepon drops by for a brief hands-on, we can’t handle the cuteness (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 12

IBM’s Watson set to tackle health insurance, takes ‘Diagnosis for $1,000’

Posted in: medical, Medicine, robot, Today's Chili

After tackling your tech support woes, the famed Watson is moving on to mop up the health insurance industry. That’s right, the IBM showstopper we all know and love for trouncing trivia kings on Jeopardy has been hired by one of the largest health insurance company’s in the US. WellPoint Inc. will make use of the system’s breakneck speed and healthcare database alongside patient records — allowing the supercomputer to guide treatment options and prescribe medicines. Once implemented, data will be combined from three sources in a matter of seconds: a patient’s chart / records from a doctor, the insurance company’s patient history and the medical knowledge that Watson already possesses. A pilot program will roll out next year to a number of cancer facilities, academic medical centers and oncology practices. No word yet on when The Watson School of Medicine will start accepting applications.

IBM’s Watson set to tackle health insurance, takes ‘Diagnosis for $1,000’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Sep 2011 17:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 12

Paraswift climbs buildings, jumps, lives to tell the tale (video)

Posted in: robot, Today's Chili, video

Looks like not even our parachuting jobs are safe from the robot onslaught. Disney Research and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology have joined forces to bring the world Paraswift, a plucky little robot with a penchant for scaling buildings and a thirst for thrills. The team recently posted some video of the ‘bot, which can climb a wall, deploy a parachute and then coast relatively safely to the ground. Paraswift is more than just a mechanical thrill-seeker, however — the machine has a built-in camera that can be used to record footage for use in 3D models. Death-defying video after the break.

Continue reading Paraswift climbs buildings, jumps, lives to tell the tale (video)

Paraswift climbs buildings, jumps, lives to tell the tale (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Sep 2011 05:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Technabob, New Scientist  |  sourceParaswift  | Email this | Comments

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Sep 10

Carnegie Mellon robot jumps up, jumps up and glides down (video)

Posted in: research, robot, robotics, Today's Chili, video

We can handle the imaginary terror of UFOs and nightmarish, flying mammals. But, robots that can jump like a human and then glide like a colugo? Now you’re just filling Mr. Spielberg with even more sci-fi, end of days fodder. Carnegie Mellon researchers Matthew Woodward and Metin Sitti have crafted a prototype jumping and gliding bot at the university’s NanoRobotics Lab that springs into action using a pair of human knee-like joints. The automated hi-jinks don’t end there either, as the duo’s invention then spreads its legs to catch some air and glide on back to terra firma. The project isn’t just some bit of engineering whimsy; the team plans to adapt this tech for use in “unstructured terrain” — i.e. non-level, wargadget territory. For now, this lord of the leaping gliders can reach comfortable human-sized heights of up to six feet. Give it some time, however, and we’re sure this lil’ android’ll give Superman a bound for his money. Click on past the break for a real world demo.

Continue reading Carnegie Mellon robot jumps up, jumps up and glides down (video)

Carnegie Mellon robot jumps up, jumps up and glides down (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Sep 2011 17:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PlasticPals  |  sourceCarnegie Mellon NanoRobotics Lab  | Email this | Comments

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Sep 02

PIGORASS quadruped robot baby steps past AIBO’s grave (video)

Posted in: Japan, research, robot, robotics, Robots, Today's Chili, video

Does the Uncanny Valley extend to re-creations of our four-legged friends? We’ll find out soon enough if Yasunori Yamada and his University of Tokyo engineering team manage to get their PIGORASS quadruped bot beyond its first unsteady hops, and into a full-on gallop. Developed as a means of analyzing animals’ musculoskeletal system for use in biologically-inspired robots, the team’s cyborg critter gets its locomotion on via a combo of CPU-controlled pressure sensors and potentiometers. It may move like a bunny (for now), but each limb’s been designed to function independently in an attempt to simulate a simplified neural system. Given a bit more time and tweaking (not to mention a fine, faux fur coating), we’re pretty sure this wee bitty beastie’ll scamper its way into the homes of tomorrow. Check out the lil’ fella in the video after the break.

Continue reading PIGORASS quadruped robot baby steps past AIBO’s grave (video)

PIGORASS quadruped robot baby steps past AIBO’s grave (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Sep 2011 18:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PlasticPals  |  sourceYasunori Yamada  | Email this | Comments

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Sep 02

LG Hom-Bot 2.0 Smart Robot Vacuum Cleaner hands-on (video)

Posted in: camera, hands-on, household, Ifa2011, korea, LG, remote control, RemoteControl, robot, RobotApocalypse, Robots, sensor, smartphone, Smartphones, Today's Chili, video


Smile, you’re on Vacucam! LG’s Hom-Bot (RoboKing in the US) was zipping around its own special playpen on the stage at the company’s IFA booth today, picking up the occasional speck of dust and using its dual cams to spy on bloggers and Germans, while also diligently avoiding a plastic family dog along its ten-square-foot cube of real estate. The bot’s Smart ThinQ technology enables it to interact with an Android or iPhone app, which you’ll use to watch a live video feed from its built-in cam, send it rolling to a specific point in the house in “Patrol” mode, or adjust settings. You can also log in remotely, assuming your Hom-Bot is powered up and has a WiFi connection. Official US and Euro pricing and availability hasn’t been announced yet, but an LG rep suggested we’ll see it in the €500-700 range (about $710-995 US). Cameras and interactivity are nice and all, but that’s a lot to spend on any vacuum cleaner. Today’s trade show sneak peek is probably the closest we’ll be getting to this pricey little vac, so roll past the break for some super action footage.

Gallery: LG Hom-Bot 2.0 Smart Robot Vacuum Cleaner hands-on

Continue reading LG Hom-Bot 2.0 Smart Robot Vacuum Cleaner hands-on (video)

LG Hom-Bot 2.0 Smart Robot Vacuum Cleaner hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Sep 2011 12:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 02

The Nexus S is powering Star Wars-inspired robots aboard the ISS

Posted in: Android, Google, mit, mobile, NASA, nexus s, robot, smartphone, space, Star Wars, Today's Chili

Back in 1999, MIT professor David Miller showed Star Wars to his students on the very first day of class. After showing the scene where Luke jousts with a floating droid, the professor told the class that he wanted them to build those droids. Lo and behold, they did, and thanks to the Department of […]

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Aug 30

LG launches ‘RoboKing Triple Eye’ smartphone-controlled vacuuming robot

Posted in: camera, household, Ifa2011, korea, LG, remote control, RemoteControl, robot, RobotApocalypse, Robots, sensor, smartphone, Smartphones, Today's Chili

You won’t have to leave your post on the couch, but you will have to lift a finger to your smartphone in order to tidy up with LG’s ‘RoboKing Triple Eye’ VR6180VMNV robot vacuum. Unlike it’s purple cousin who spends his time looking inwards, this little guy is always looking outward with its three cameras, capturing video and sending it to your smartphone or PC over WiFi. The robot uses sensors to create a plan of attack map of your home, allowing you to move it around by clicking the filthiest parts. Like a well-trained puppy, the dust buster also responds to voice commands from up to 5 feet away and it doesn’t even bark — only emitting 48dB of sound while sucking up dust. Of course, laziness of this caliber doesn’t come cheap, as it costs 899,000 Korean won, or around $840 bones.

LG launches ‘RoboKing Triple Eye’ smartphone-controlled vacuuming robot originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Aug 2011 20:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink SlashGear  |  sourceLG (Korean)  | Email this | Comments

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Aug 30

SUFFER ’11 farming robot plays a multitude of roles, takes commands via Wiimote (video)

Posted in: bluetooth, controller, diy, hack, hands-on, mod, nintendo, robot, Today's Chili, university, video, wifi, wii

So much for stereotypes, eh? The future of farming is being painted in a far different light here at NEXT Aarhus, where a team from the University of Southern Denmark brought in the largest Wiimote-controlled robot that we’ve ever seen. The heretofore unnamed beast (going by SUFFER ’11 for the time being) is a farming-centric machine that’s designed to take the load off of the landowners (while providing a bit of enjoyment all the while). Put simply, this modular bot can have various apparatuses swapped into its midsection — one pop-in attachment could pick potatoes, while another could disperse pesticide, for example. There’s even a module that’ll enable it to detect rows and plow down the obvious routes, making it that much easier for farmers of the next millennium to take time off. Of course, the standout feature from our perspective was the inbuilt Bluetooth and WiFi, which allowed the demonstrator to operate the ‘bot with a standard Wii remote. Per usual, the vid’s after the break.

Gallery: SUFFER ’11 farming robot hands-on at NEXT Aarhus

Continue reading SUFFER ’11 farming robot plays a multitude of roles, takes commands via Wiimote (video)

SUFFER ’11 farming robot plays a multitude of roles, takes commands via Wiimote (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Aug 2011 14:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 29

When two chatbots have a conversation, everyone wins (video)

Posted in: research, robot, Software, Today's Chili, video
What did one chatbot say to the other chatbot? Quite a lot, actually — but good luck making any sense out of it. That’s what researchers from Cornell’s Creative Machines Lab recently discovered, after pitting two bots against one another for a good ol’ fashioned talk-off. It’s all part of the lab’s submission to this year’s Loebner Prize Competition in Artificial Intelligence — an event that awards $100,000 to the team whose computer programs can conduct the most human-like conversations. Unfortunately for Cornell’s squad, their chatbots still have a long way to go before achieving conversational coherence, though they could easily get hired as anchors on most cable news networks. Throughout the course of their frenetic (and often snippy) discussion, one bot raised heady questions about God and existence, while the other boldly claimed to be a unicorn. Basically, they had the exact same conversation we used to have in our dorm rooms every night, at around 4 am. Watch it for yourself after the break. It’s nothing short of sublime.

Continue reading When two chatbots have a conversation, everyone wins (video)

When two chatbots have a conversation, everyone wins (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Aug 2011 13:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink IEEE Spectrum  |  sourceLoebner Prize  | Email this | Comments

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