Nao humanoid robot gets its hands on Microsoft’s Surface

We’re no strangers to Aldebaran Robotics’ little humanoid robot, Nao — in fact, we’ve seen plenty of him over the years. We’ve also spied our fair share of Microsoft’s Surface table, too — but you know, we’ve definitely never seen the two together in the same room. Interacting. Sounds pretty interesting, right? It did to us too, so we popped some popcorn and sat back to enjoy a full minute’s viewing bliss of these two — and we have to say, it was well worth it. Nao demonstrates his dexterity at zooming in and out on a photograph of a tiger (which looks suspiciously exact to one we paint-by-numbered last year), and moves around a stack of various other photos, too. It’s all great, impressive fun, and we have to say, the fact that Nao is spewing French makes it all the cuter, and though it’s been a while since we cracked our college texts, we’re fairly certain he says “Microsoft Surface is so awesome, but I’m holding out for Windows 7” at one point. Video is after the break.

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Nao humanoid robot gets its hands on Microsoft’s Surface originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Sep 2009 08:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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English scientists set out to build first biological robot using mold

Researchers at the University of the West of England have snagged a grant to fund the building of a whole new type of robot — a non-silicon, biological plasmobot, built using plasmodium, a vegetative type of slime mold. The mold, which is commonly found living in forests and gardens, is, according to researcher Andy Adamatzky, a “naturally occurring substance with its own built in intelligence,” which is capable of carrying out complex tasks, like figuring out the shortest path between two points — all on its own. The aim for the plasmobot will be for it to sense objects, span them in the shortest way possible, and carry tiny objects along pre-determined routes, controlled by light and electromagnetic fields. The plasmobot should also be capable of complex “number crunching power,” enabled by parallel inputs and outputs. Long-term uses could include using the bots within the human body to deliver drugs to specific targets. Though much of this is still purely theoretical (and extremely complicated), we look forward to the day when we’re all covered in mold, don’t you?

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English scientists set out to build first biological robot using mold originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Le Petit Prince roving greenhouse robot is overwhelmingly cute, useful

Something about Le Petit Prince, the mobile, plant-loving greenhouse robot makes us indescribably sad. Is it his one, massive adorable eye? Or merely the fact that he’s named after one of the most depressing books ever written? Either way, we can’t really argue with his usefulness — the concept can carry about plants and care for them, all the while ravaging the terrain for further specimens. He’s also designed to learn about the optimal growing conditions of the plants he collects, which really makes us want one to care for a certain, finicky houseplant we won’t call out by name (but we’re looking at you, Venus Flytrap). Check out the darling video after the break.

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Le Petit Prince roving greenhouse robot is overwhelmingly cute, useful originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 Aug 2009 04:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Pleo gets new dance moves, alpha dev kit

We’ve seen the Pleo get shredded, overtaken by a Wii wand, and generally mocked for its status as a perennially endangered species. With no dignity left to protect, its makers have decided they might as well kick out an SDK, or PDK in this case, to let the great unwashed masses have their way with the originally autonomous bot. Still only in the alpha stage and not yet widely available, the dev kit has already borne fruit in the shape of a shockingly awesome dance video. We’ve got it for you after the break, but a warning first: prepare to fall in love all over again.

[Thanks, Eric]

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Video: Pleo gets new dance moves, alpha dev kit originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Human-carrying robot bear gets cuteness upgrade

The original RI-MAN may have had the whole human-carrying thing down while still managing to be somewhat soft and cuddly, but it looks like the robot-makers behind it have decided to go one step further with their new model, which has been given a complete bear makeover (sans teeth and claws, thankfully). Now dubbed RIBA (or “Robot for Interactive Body Assistance”), the new bot is still intended to more or less act as a robot nurse, and can reportedly lift patients up to 135 lbs out of bed or a wheelchair, while also making use of a full range of tactile sensors and some special “soft skin” material to ensure the short journey is as comfortable as possible. Did we mention there’s a video? Of course there is. Head on past the break to check it out.

[Via Pink Tentacle]

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Video: Human-carrying robot bear gets cuteness upgrade originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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]

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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.

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Video: Sony Rolly vs Nao in epic robot dance off

While Sony’s $400 Rolly never made much sense as a roll-about musical robot, at least Aldebaran Robotics’ Nao could walk upright and play a little football. Now the two have come together to battle on the dance floor. The 91 second video posted after the break is about 70 seconds too long, but consider this your moment of Zen for the day. Bonus points for any readers who re-enact this for Halloween.

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Video: Sony Rolly vs Nao in epic robot dance off originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Aug 2009 05:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: The first (televised) kiss between robots

Theatrical bots “Thomas” and “Janet” — who look complex enough to do non-theatrical work too — have been smacking lips since a December 2008 production of Phantom of the Opera in Taiwan, but only now has video evidence of their deviant activities surfaced on the interwebs. Causing equal measures of dread, horror and subconscious freaky thoughts, it’s a tour de force of science going down a very dark (and probably moist) path. Technically, it’s a fine exhibition of complex multidimensional coordination and intrinsic self-balancing mechanisms, an excuse you’re at liberty to use if someone catches you watching the videos after the break.

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Video: The first (televised) kiss between robots originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Aug 2009 20:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Simon the robot wins award, is super cute, seems pretty boring to hang out with

Simon — the creation of Georgia Tech labs and Dr. Andrea Thomaz — is a robot with an articulated torso and anthropomorphic hands — and a head that will stop you in your tracks. This handsome little fellow was designed to help study human – robot interactions, and he will be learning different social skills over the coming weeks and months. We don’t have many details as to what Simon spends his time doing, other than hanging out looking insanely cute, but check the video of him in action after the break — and by “in action,” we definitely mean putting a blue block into a little blue bucket super, super slowly.

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Simon the robot wins award, is super cute, seems pretty boring to hang out with originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Robot hand shows off amazing dexterity, speed

So you want something to look forward to in your fast approaching old age, eh? If robots playing baseball doesn’t quite cut it, how’s about a robohand that redefines what we understand by the word “dexterity”? The Ishikawa Komuro Laboratory is at it again, this time demonstrating robotic appendages with a reaction time of a single millisecond. Using harmonic drive gears and a (really) high-speed actuator, the three-fingered hands can tie your shoelaces, tweezer your brow, and even perform some kung fu pen spinning for the ladies. Video after the break — skip ahead if you must, but don’t miss out on the slow-mo action at 2:40 in the demo, it’s pure kinetic poetry.

[Via Hizook; Thanks, Thomas B]

Continue reading Video: Robot hand shows off amazing dexterity, speed

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Video: Robot hand shows off amazing dexterity, speed originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Aug 2009 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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