Hasta La Gadget!

It’s not quite war-ready, but a new Skynet-like initiative called RoboEarth could have you reaching for your guide to automaton Armageddon sooner than you think. The network, which is dubbed the “World Wide Web for robots,” was designed by a team of European scientists and engineers to allow robots to learn from the experience of their peers, thus enabling them to take on tasks that they weren’t necessarily programmed to perform. Using a database with intranet and internet functionality, the system collects and stores information about object recognition, navigation, and tasks and transmits the data to robots linked to the network. Basically, it teaches machines to learn without human intervention. If the introduction of this robo-web hasn’t got you thinking of end times, maybe this will do the trick: it’s already taught one robot, the TechUnited AMIGO, to deliver a box of creamy fruit juice to a bedridden scientist. You can check out video of the newly appointed automated waiter after the jump.

Continue reading RoboEarth teaches robots to learn from peers, pour European fruit beverages (video)

RoboEarth teaches robots to learn from peers, pour European fruit beverages (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 22:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The GRASP Lab quadrocopters were impressive enough by themselves, all slashing and swooping through the air with unerring precision, but then their makers had to go and give them the intelligence to work in groups and today the inevitable has happened: they’ve learned how to construct things! Sure, the structures are rudimentary, but we can recognize the beginnings of human containment cells when we see them. Skip past the break for the bone-chilling, teamwork-infused video.

Continue reading Quadrocopters learn to build things, when will humans learn to fear them? (video)

Quadrocopters learn to build things, when will humans learn to fear them? (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 Jan 2011 18:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This week at GigaOM‘s NetWork 2010 conference in San Francisco, we briefly mingled with our robot overlords and survived to tell the tale. Anybots was letting its $15,000 QB telepresence robot decimate roam the crowd, and we were invited to interact with one and then take another for a spin by way of remote control. The experience was entertaining but still rather impersonal, mostly due to the lack of two-way video, something that’s billed as “coming soon.” There’s no word on whether the robots — which are starting to (literally) roll off the assembly line — were amused or not. Based on our abysmal remote-control skills, we can only assume our lives were spared for one reason: to write this post. Take a look at our videos after the break!

Continue reading Anybots QB hands-on

Anybots QB hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 14:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When the inevitable Robot Apocalypse goes down, you can credit SRI International for helping the forces assimilate. The aforesaid entity has apparently been toiling around the clock on a technology it’s calling compliant electroadhesion, and to put things simply, it gives robotic climbers the ability to scale all sorts of walls made of all sorts of materials. Tests have shown wall-gripping robots climb surfaces made of steel, brick, concrete, glass, wood and drywall, which effectively eliminates any hope of you surviving the fallout based on the construction choice of your bunker. Thankfully, it does seems as if this could also be applied to human footwear, giving Earthlings at least a fighting chance of standing toe-to-toe with these guys on the side of the Menara Kuala Lumpur. Head on past the break if you’re looking for a horror film. Or a demonstrative video… same difference.

Continue reading SRI’s electroadhesion tech enables new army of wall-climbing robots

SRI’s electroadhesion tech enables new army of wall-climbing robots originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Nov 2010 09:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ah, the Fujitsu bear cub social robot. What child or elderly person should go without a “people-friendly terminal” with snuggly-soft fur and a camera in lieu of the ever-popular button nose? The little guy made the rounds briefly earlier this year, but this is our first time making acquaintances. The duo waved at us, waved with us, laughed with (at?) us, and then at some point, decided to arbitrarily fall asleep and ignore us — just like our actual friends! The representative told us this prototype — with a reported 300 actions from 12 actuators (three face, three neck, and six in the body), 13 skin touch sensors, hand grip sensors, a tilt sensor, and a microphone — is a ways off from hitting the childcare / nursing home market. For now, enjoy the pictures below and footage after the break… and if all this seems eerily familiar, hey, we’re with you. A wink and a nod in that direction can be found via the second video.

Continue reading Fujitsu’s social robot bear is the supertoy of Kubrick’s dreams, almost (video)

Fujitsu’s social robot bear is the supertoy of Kubrick’s dreams, almost (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Oct 2010 02:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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