Jan 28

robuRIDE30 robot vehicle shuttles people into the future — with boredom

Posted in: robot, Today's Chili

The future has been so… boring lately! We used to dream of flying cars and nanotech, and now we’re lucky if we can get a GE SmartMeter appliance ’round our way. Adding one more to the list of things that do not particularly excite anyone, robuRIDE is a device that harnesses the power of cutting-edge robotry and puts it in what amounts to a bus stop. With wheels. Developed in France by a company called robosoft, previous iterations of the thing are in service at Vulcania Park and Simserhof Fort in France, while robuRIDE30, the latest prototype (captured on video after the break) will be wowing visitors to the Rome Exhibition Center soon-ish. The good news is that, since they top out at around 15 mph, these autonomous vehicles are probably too slow to be at the forefront of the coming robot invasion. Unless that’s just what we’re supposed to think…

[Via Robots.net]

Continue reading robuRIDE30 robot vehicle shuttles people into the future — with boredom

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robuRIDE30 robot vehicle shuttles people into the future — with boredom originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 10:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 26

Takara Tomy’s remote control robo-Q robot is tiny, incredibly cute

Posted in: robot, Today's Chili, toy, Toys

Takara Tomy never fails to impress, and with its latest robot, it’s done an excellent job at eliciting “awws.” You see, the February-bound robo-Q bipedal robot is about the size of a human thumb, yet its heart and mind are big enough to understand commands via remote control. There’s even obstacle recognition software built-in to keep it from toppling over gigantic foreign objects (you know, like toothpicks and push pins), which is awesome enough in and of itself to warrant the ¥3,675 ($42) price tag.

[Via TokyoMango]

Gallery: Takara Tomy’s remote control robo-Q robot is tiny, incredibly cute

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Takara Tomy’s remote control robo-Q robot is tiny, incredibly cute originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Jan 2009 08:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 25

Video: T-Mobile G1-powered Forknife robot goofs off, eats cupcakes

Posted in: Android, HTC, remote control, RemoteControl, robot, Today's Chili, video

It’s hard to tell from the absolutely riveting two minute and seven second video (hosted up after the break, just so you know), but somehow or another, the gurus at Macpod Software managed to get a T-Mobile G1 to control a robot. Actually, the code used to pull it off is hosted up for download, but a fair bit of robotics knowledge is necessary to pull it all together. The best part? Forknife just loves cupcakes — sorry, we couldn’t resist.

[Thanks, Corey]

Continue reading Video: T-Mobile G1-powered Forknife robot goofs off, eats cupcakes

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Video: T-Mobile G1-powered Forknife robot goofs off, eats cupcakes originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Jan 2009 00:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 24

Beetle Larvae Inspire Propulsion System for Robots

Posted in: robot, Robots Robotics, Today's Chili

larvae.JPG

Robots and tiny boats could soon move on water like how beetle larvae do. This new propulsion system is meant for small crafts used for monitoring water quality in oceans and other large bodies of water. Mimicking the movements of beetle larvae was the idea of Sung Kwon Cho from Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering.

The resulting system has no moving parts and hence is low-powered, requires little maintenance and is efficient. Beetle larvae can rest without sinking at the surface of the water because of the tension; to move, it bends its body downwards and the forward pull propels its movement. The same mechanism was applied to the Pitt propulsion system, with the body bending replaced by an electric pulse.

For videos of the tiny boat using the larvae-inspired propeller, check out PhysOrg.

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Jan 23

Tmsuk T-34 robot speaks softly, carries a big net

Posted in: robot, security, Today's Chili
Tmsuk T-34 robot speaks softly, carries a big net

We’ve seen robots controlled by cellphones before, but nothing quite like the T-34 from Tmsuk, creator of an amazing variety of bots that range from whimsical to menacing. The T-34 falls somewhere in-between, looking decidedly like a purple monster truck that’s been granted the ability to trap — or at least inconvenience — baddies. A remote operator can get a live feed of what the T-34 is seeing and then fire a large weighted net when the target is in range. As you can see in the video below it does look to be rather challenging for this loafer-wearing mock burglar to extract himself, but once free we’re not sure what else the T-34 can do other than bleat helplessly while waiting for someone with arms to show up. Just the same, if you’re looking to put a damper on your local criminal activity and have $9,000 to spare, Tmsuk will be happy to sell you one — in about two years when they become available.

[Via SlashGear, thx Chris]

Continue reading Tmsuk T-34 robot speaks softly, carries a big net

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Tmsuk T-34 robot speaks softly, carries a big net originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Jan 2009 09:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 15

Video: Kintore-Z robot is easily the world’s most bizarre

Posted in: Japan, robot, Today's Chili, video

Oh, we get it alright; Kintore-Z is a robot designed to compete in Japan’s Baca RoboCup (baka means “foolish” or “stupid” in Japanese). But that doesn’t explain why the child is absently holding a toothbrush now does it? Click through for one of the strangest, most bizarre videos you’ll ever see on Engadget… or anywhere else for that matter.

Continue reading Video: Kintore-Z robot is easily the world’s most bizarre

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Video: Kintore-Z robot is easily the world’s most bizarre originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 06:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 15

Video: TOFU robot probably tastes like chicken

Posted in: mit, robot, Today's Chili

If a Big Bird bender resulted in a bumpin’ of nasties with Keepon, well, this would be the genetic result. Meet TOFU, the “squash and stretch” robot with OLED eyes developed by the big brains over at the MIT Media Lab. Tofu applies techniques of social expression long used by 2D animators to explore the impact on robotics. If cute was the goal then we’d call this project a success — enslave us now oh furry overlords of doom. Video after the break.

Continue reading Video: TOFU robot probably tastes like chicken

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Video: TOFU robot probably tastes like chicken originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 05:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 13

Video: Chris the Carpenter shows off Walter the Robot’s servo-powered head

Posted in: diy, robot, Today's Chili
Chris the Carpenter shows off Walter the Robot's servo-powered head and drill-powered torso

We love us a good robot, the more clearly home-built the better, and it’s hard to get more DIY than a bot-to-be called Walter from Chris the Carpenter at Let’s Make Robots. Right now Walter exists in halves: a torso comprised of a custom chassis powered by some DeWalt drill motors, and a head with a small LCD display turned on three axis by a collection of servos. As of now everything is controlled by a remote, but the ultimate plan is for Walter to be able to locate a person, face them, and display a list of functions. We’re not sure what Walter’s purpose in life is to be in the future, but based on the second video below we’re reasonably sure it won’t be serving as a shuttle for reluctant wives.

[Via Hacked Gadgets]

Continue reading Video: Chris the Carpenter shows off Walter the Robot’s servo-powered head

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Video: Chris the Carpenter shows off Walter the Robot’s servo-powered head originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Jan 2009 10:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 10

Video: Gibson Dark Fire guitar hands-on

Posted in: Features, guitar, robot, Today's Chili, video

We’ll be honest — we’re totally in love with Gibson’s Dark Fire guitar. The $3,499 update to the Robot guitar we played with at CES last year is lighter, faster, easier to use and features new Chameleon Tone technology that actually reconfigures the individual pickups to deliver different sounds. The FireWire / MIDI breakout box enables you to record directly to a computer, but you can also tweak presets and control the guitar from the included Ableton Live / Guitar Rig bundle. It’s seriously hot — and it’s even hotter when it’s being demoed by German inventor Chris Adams, who might be the single coolest dude at CES. Check it out after the break!

Gallery: Gibson Dark Fire hands-on

Continue reading Video: Gibson Dark Fire guitar hands-on

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Video: Gibson Dark Fire guitar hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Jan 2009 17:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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