Filed under: Robots

From what we've seen, the British military is pretty savvy on its robotics. Apparently mechanical beings aren't integrated enough, however, as the British Ministry of Defense has launched its first ever Grand Challenge, which "encourages participants to turn their ideas into prototypes for machines the army can use in urban environments." The six finalists that were chosen each received around $600,000 in order to construct their contraptions, and this August, we'll see an unmanned buggy that can analyze a gunman's movements, a self-propelled, remote-controlled camera and minuscule helicopters used for reconnaissance missions. Best of all, these creations won't just be propped up on some shiny display -- oh no, they'll be taking part in a mock battle in Copehill Down, with even more loot and an enviable trophy on the line.

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Filed under: Robots

It's not that we've never seen the insides of Pleo, it's that we've never seen it splayed so inhumanely. During Maker Faire 2008, a middleweight ComBot known as Vicious Verdict was placed in the ring with UGOBE's cuddly dinosaur, and suffice it to say, Pleo didn't stand a chance. The entire death lasts about three minutes, but there's a solid minute of taunting that goes on before the ComBot starts the decimation process. Straight up, this is one of the more haunting things we've ever seen happen to a poor, helpless, animated robot. Vid's after the break for your sickos who dare.

[Via Tech Digest]

Continue reading Pleo gets thoroughly obliterated by demented ComBot

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Filed under: Robots

We're a little ambivalent about robots performing surgery autonomously and unattended, but there are clearly cases where it'd be beneficial, and it seems like an inevitable future. Duke researchers working on robo-doc lab feasibility studies announced this week a proof of concept using 3D ultrasound mapping to enable machines to "see" what they're doing. The first test procedures have focused on use of those ultrasound transducers in catheter-based procedures using fluoroscopy, so it sounds like we'll still have a few years before we say ahhh for a machine.

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Filed under: Robots

Never mind getting tesla coils to fix your supper, just hit the on switch on your own personal humanoid. Reportedly, the creature you see above has been loaded with learning algorithms that enable it to repeat actions that it learns. Wonder if anyone realized that this totally demented critter just learned to slice more than ham? Stay sharp, kids -- the video's after the break.

[Via Hacked Gadgets]

Continue reading Humanoid learns to cook breakfast, fend for himself

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Instructables (http://www.instructables.com/) and RoboGames (http://www.robogames.net/) have teamed up to create a robot building contest (http://www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Enter-Instructables-and-RoboGames-Robot-Con/). The task is to design and document one specific aspect of your robot. Good robot design is highly detailed, so we're asking you to document specific parts of your robot for this contest. Maybe you built the ultimate manipulator arm, designed a killer sensor array, reused some great trash, or just made a gorgeous housing - pick something you're proud of, and share how you made it. The grand prize is a trip to the 2009 RoboGames, with the flight and hotel room included. 2nd place winner will receive a RoboPhilo Walking Android kit, and the 3rd place entry will get tons of cool robot schwag. Entries are judged based on six categories: Locomotion, Manipulators, Brain, Sensors, Asthetics, and Reuse and Recycling . The deadline for entries is June 29, 2008. Send us a link to your projects in the comments!

Filed under: Robots

Alright, so maybe the recently announced Ultimate WALL-E robot doesn't actually get down and dirty on video, but he does maintain a pretty positive attitude after being poked, prodded and generally invaded for a full five minutes. The latest collaborative effort from Disney and Thinkway Toys was spotted recently at Maker Faire, and if you're interested to see what exactly $190 will net you later this summer, head on past the break and click play.

Continue reading Disney / Thinkway Toys' Ultimate WALL-E robot cleans up on camera

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Both Jawa Lunk (http://wall-egamecube.blogspot.com/) and Scot Washburn have sent us some cool updates from the Wall-E builders group (http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/wallebuilders/). For those not familiar with the Wall-E builder's group, it's an array of hobbiets that are building scale models of Wall-E, the star of the upcoming Pixar film about a robot named Wall-E (The-News/Latest-News/Pixar%27s-Latest-Movie-%11-Wall%11E-the-Robot/). The group currently has over 600 members who have, grouped together to build a real working, 1:1 scale Wall-E from Disney / Pixar's latest movie which isn't even in theaters until the end of June 2008. The group is making good progress with building several Wall-E models, including the Game Cube Wall-E model, by Jawa Lunk (http://wall-egamecube.blogspot.com/). Reader Scot Washburn sent us some pictures from his Wall-E model: You can find plenty more cool Wall-E models on the Wall-E Builder's Group Flickr page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wall-ebuilders/).

Filed under: Robots

We know that you love swarming bug-bots as much as we do, so of course we were thrilled to tell you about BAE Systems' MAST project the other day. Luckily, the Army-contracted company didn't stop at mere photos to scare the living daylights out of humanity, they also created a really cheesy, yet deeply frightening video to go along with them. Enjoy a glimpse of the Skynet-controlled / shredding-guitar future of warfare after the break -- and don't say we didn't warn you.

Continue reading Bug-bot video reveals swarming drones, extreme rocking

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The Automaton blog (http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/2008/04/28/npr_science_friday_talks_robots.html) is reporting the NPR featured robots on its weekly Science Friday (http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/2008/04/28/npr_science_friday_talks_robots.html) talk show. Can't find anyone to hang out with? Maybe you should invite a robot into your home. In this segment, Ira and guests talk about developing robots with personalities -- moving on beyond the mechanical arms found in today's factories, to devices that could interact with people on a social level. According to Automaton (http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/2008/04/28/npr_science_friday_talks_robots.html), Guests include Helen Greiner (chair and co-founder of iRobot (http://www.irobot.com/)), Peter McOwen (a computer science professor from Queen Mary, University of London (http://www.qmw.ac.uk/)), Dean Kamen (inventor of the iBot, Segway, and founder of FIRST (http://www.usfirst.org/)), and Grant Cox (member of FIRST champion team The Thunder Chickens (http://www.thunderchickens.org/updates.html)). I haven't had a chance to listen yet, so let me know what you think.

Filed under: Robots

Most of the squirrels on our college campus were massive, hyper-intelligent little beasts that were best dealt with by vigilant avoidance, but it looks like Hampshire College professor Sarah Partan is taking the opposite approach, using a robotic squirrel named "Rocky" to interact with the local rodents up close. Rocky is controlled wirelessly from a laptop, and can realistically move his tail and body to communicate with other squirrels, as well as play pre-recorded squirrel noises from built-in speakers. The goal is to study how animals communicate, and it looks like Rocky's doing a good job -- the local squirrels seem to respond to him just like any other. That's pretty impressive for a bot (or pretty weak for the squirrels, depending on your point of view), but we're just waiting for Partan and her team to discover the shocking truth: that the squirrels are really studying them.

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