Robots

Robot in teddy bear's clothing

A couple of months ago for Halloween, we bestowed the completely made-up Demented Genius Award upon the Evil Mad Scientists Laboratory, in recognition of the modification of a Lego man by sticking an LED in it. This created a disturbing modern version of Ichabod Crane's nemesis, the Headless Horseman.

Today we present the second Demented Genius Award to Evosapien member Nocturnal and his alter ego, who prefers to go unnamed. We were able to confirm that it's Mr. Nocturnal, and not Ms. Nocturnal, who took WowWee's popular Robosapien toy, gutted a teddy bear, and merged the two in an unholy union. … Read more

Robot lobster invades the deep

The invasion of the robots is heading into the sea.

Just a few days ago, we witnessed an underwater robot lumberjack that bore an unsettling resemblance to Spongebob Squarepants. Now the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum is showcasing a bionic lobster that is joining the denizens of the deep, mimicking its living counterparts for research purposes in coastal waters.

As Ubergizmo points out, the Crustastun may have finally met its match.

A robot USB that can take on Godzilla

A word of caution: If you have kids, don't get this. And if you do, be prepared to it within the first 24 hours of purchase.

As much as we love this robot USB key, we feel obligated to issue that warning from personal experience. But if you're not a parent, guardian or schoolteacher, then by all means have a look at this neat little device from Japan's SolidAlliance. Sure, 256MB isn't much storage space by today's standards, but how many other USB keys can you dispatch to do battle with Ultraman?

Robot is underwater lumberjack

The untrained eye may find some resemblance to Spongebob Squarepants, but this underwater lumberjack is far more useful and probably nowhere near as irritating. As surface dwellers continue to ravage the planet, we may need help increasingly from technologies like "the Sawfish," a 7,000-pound "underwater harvesting specialist"--or, as we would call it, a submarine that cuts down trees.

Proving once again our desperate ignorance on many subjects, we were surprised to learn that underwater forests are routinely created when hydroelectric dams are constructed and flood terrestrial timber that can still be harvested for decades … Read more

RC 'Dragonfly' may be in the wings

When we started seeing remote-controlled mini-helicopters and mosquito choppers buzz into the market, we kiddingly warned that a locust-like invasion must have been imminent. We're now sorry to say that the joke may be on us.

RoboCommunity is reporting that WowWee--maker of the hugely popular Robosapien--has submitted applications with the FCC for a remote-controlled "FlyTech Dragonfly." Quoting a user manual submitted to the agency, RoboCommunity says the device "has wings (like a dragonfly) and a tail rotor like on many helicopters, and is supposed to be 'crash-proof' due to what they term the 'high-flex' design. … Read more