Posts tagged Robot at Switched

Posts with tag robot

This Robot Makes Pancakes

by Donald Melanson, posted Dec 3rd 2008 at 12:02PM

Yaskawa Electric's Motoman SDA10 robot has been out and about for a little while now (along with its not-so-distant relatives), but it's apparently not just getting by on its good looks alone, and it recently took advantage of Osaka's International Next-Generation Robot Fair to show off its newly developed cooking skills. While there unfortunately doesn't seem to be any video available, the word is it was able to take an order from a customer using its voice recognition capabilities and whip up some okonomiyaki (a pancake, of sorts) from scratch, with it even going so far as to serve it to the customer and top it off with some condiments. As if one human-replacing activity wasn't enough, the bot also recently made an appearance on a Japanese TV show where it assembled a camera and, thankfully, there is a video of that -- check it out after the break.

Continue reading This Robot Makes Pancakes

Robots Pole-Dance for Art

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Dec 2nd 2008 at 6:02PM

Leave it to a British artist to look at the USB pole dancer and see art instead of a cheap novelty piece of landfill fodder.

An art gallery in London is displaying a collection of works called MuTate that features robots, interactive video screens, and even replicas of Soviet-era MiG fighter jets. One piece on display features a pair of life-sized robots grinding suggestively on poles, while a DJ plays danceable tunes.

The whole concept is kinda cool, but the whole thrusting-robotic-hips-thing makes us quite uncomfortable. Check out the BBC for video of the cyborg dancers in full gyrating glory. We need to go wash our eyeballs now. [From: BBC News]

At Last, the iPhone Robot

by Engadget Staff, posted Nov 6th 2008 at 10:02AM

Robots are awesome, we can all probably agree on that. Robots made from iPhones are basically an extension of that awesomeness, crossed with an element of unimaginable, ludicrous fun, which is why we're pleasantly surprised to see that such a device finally exists. Using a jailbroken iPhone 3G running some Ruby code, an Arduino CPU, a TA7291P motor, and 4 AA batteries, the creator is able to pilot the bot via Wi-Fi from a nearby computer, all the while recording its view for later playback.

The results look pretty cool, and trust us, you're definitely going to want to check out the video after the break. As far as we can tell, by the way, the lyrics to the song in the video are "iPhone with keyboard," which seemingly refers to this, um... iPhone with keyboard we saw earlier today -- apparently from the hands of the same craftsman, who seems like a very busy guy. Especially if he wrote the song!

[Via iPhone World]

Continue reading At Last, the iPhone Robot

Robot Bartenders Are All the Rage (and Here's the Latest One)

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Nov 2nd 2008 at 12:06PM

Beer pouring robot at TMCO open house from beerorkid on Vimeo.

It seems like every time we turn around, some enterprising boozehound is figuring out some way to automate the dispersal of intoxicating beverages. Some, like the RC Cooler, cater to the lazy party host, while others, like this Lego contraption, are for the geeky among us who have a need to make everything more difficult than necessary. Still others are perfect for cheapskate bar owners who don't want to pay a qualified mixologist.

The newest non-living suds jerker, featured in the video above, was part of an open house by Total Manufacturing Company (TMCO) to show off... well, we're not really sure, but it's pretty freakin' cool. A robotic arm with a skeletal metal hand and white apron pulls on taps to serve beer to guests. That is quite a gimmick. We wonder if they'll fly us out for the next opening. [From: BoingBoing]

Recon Scout Robot Gets New Job at Prison

by Engadget Staff, posted Oct 31st 2008 at 11:49AM

You may remember this little dumbell-looking Recon Scout drone we saw last year, when it had just been implemented in the military. If you'll recall, the robot selflessly allows itself to be thrown into wild and unpredictable situations deemed "too risky" for people, then transmits grainy video back to an Operator Control Unit.

Well, it turns out that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) was interested in this rugged bastion of self-sacrifice, too. The CDCR can apparently envision all kinds of nightmare scenarios in which prisoners have weapons and no human wants any part of it -- which is why they've agreed to a rental contract where they get ten devices and developer ReconRobotics gets feedback from the Department in exchange.

Seriously though, aren't there any jubilant tasks we could set this guy to? He's getting to be such a killjoy.

iPhone-Controlled LEGO Robot Pours Beer

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Oct 28th 2008 at 5:52PM

There is something about ingenious, geeky, DIY projects that sets our hearts aflutter, especially when they involve beer.

An intrepid geek has combined Lego building bricks, the iPhone, and Pownce (a Twitter competitor), to construct an automatic, beer-pouring robot. The Lego arm monitors a Pownce RSS feed for the instruction "pour." That word triggers the robot's arm, tilts the beer bottle, and pours a frothy brew into a glass.

Of course, the contraption needs to be loaded with a beer manually and a glass must be placed in front of it before activating the machine. It's pretty cool, but not particularly useful. We'll be sticking with our RC Cooler, which doesn't pour a beer for us, but it can deliver one from across your apartment. [From: CrunchGear, Via: Textually.org]

Islam-Preaching Fisher-Price Doll Freaks Out Texas Mom

by Kaiser Hwang, posted Oct 23rd 2008 at 2:02PM

Kids say the darndest things sometimes -- real or plastic. Just take Fisher-Price's twenty-dollar Cuddle & Coo doll, for instance. As seen in the linked video, one Texas mother's Cuddle & Coo doll clearly says, "Islam is the light!" in a creepy uplifting voice, no less. Now, as Colin Powell reminded us last Sunday, there's absolutely nothing wrong with being a follower of Islam (or any religion, mind you), but you can bet a number of mothers and fathers out there don't want the toys they buy their children swaying their religious beliefs.

This is just the latest in a slew of freaked-out-parent incidents this month regarding the Cuddle & Coo doll, which is why Fisher-Price's parent company, the Mattel Company, has issued a statement saying that the toy speaks only "baby babble," and that it's possible the sound is being distorted through faulty speakers. While that could very well be the case, once you hear it, you can never unhear it. Check the video yourself and let us know what you think. [From: News Channel 5]

House With Legs Can Walk. Seriously.

by Dan Reilly, posted Oct 22nd 2008 at 1:49PM

Wouldn't it be nice to have a portable home without the stigma attached to RVs? That's sort of, well, not really, the idea behind this walking house, designed by Danish art collective N55 and MIT engineers. The domicile sits on six hydraulic legs that can move at walking pace over any terrain. The legs are controlled by a computer inside the house, each moves independently and three are always on the ground for stability. The point of it all? Floods! If waters level rise, you just stroll away in your house.

The whole pod is about 10- or 11-feet high (different sources had different stats), contains a living room, toilet, bed, and a kitchen with a wood stove. The point of the whole thing is sustainable living, so the house is solar and wind powered. The whole thing costs just under $50,000, but the designers think it can be made for cheaper to gear it towards people on a modest budget. You may laugh, but according to the news, that could be all of us in like a week.

Seriously, though, we really want to know where you're supposed to park this thing, why it's better than an RV (yes, it's all-terrain but it's slow as hell), and does it come in any other colors? We're partial to something a little lighter. Don't miss the video after the break. [Source: The Daily Mail]

Continue reading House With Legs Can Walk. Seriously.

University Reinvents Nature with Oxygen-Emitting Robotic Plants

by Thomas Ricker, posted Oct 16th 2008 at 10:45AM

When the earth warms and the forests turn to dust, at least the robots will remain to re-oxygenate the Earth. The Chonnam National University developed robotic plant (pictured above holding a human child puppet) from Korea stands over four-feet tall; consists of a pot, stem, and five meat-eating buds; and emits oxygen, moisture, and even an aroma of human effluence, we presume. As people approach the "flower," the robot bends towards the person and begins to bloom and slightly shake in response to the startled victim's voice rising from a mute whimper to an alarmist howl. The robot also responds to music and light by dancing and opening and closing its petals in some kind of victory celebration. Project leader Park John-oh suggests building a robot garden from his creation -- sure, we'll get right on that just as soon as we get our Doomsday Machine back on-line.

[Via Hallyu Technology]

Bandai Blogging 'Bot Renders Human Writers Obsolete

by Paul Miller, posted Oct 15th 2008 at 12:34PM

We always figured this day would come, but so soon? We're obsolete, ladies and gentlemen. It's been a great ride, and we're glad we got to do just one more Stevenote with y'all before we fade into the night, but the robots have arrived, and they're going to blog harder, better, faster and stronger. We cannot compete.

Bandai just announced the Net Tansor Web, a Wi-Fi-equipped robot with a built-in camera for snapping his soon-to-be-award-winning exposés and posting them to the Web at regular intervals alongside witty commentary. The bot can react to reader comments like "a little to the right," or "you suck" and adjust accordingly. Net Tansor also can handle live video, reads RSS feeds out loud and knows no fatigue. Bandai's going to be selling this for 50,000 Yen (about $490 US) whenever it's ready.

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