robots

It's hard not to get freakishly excited when science fiction becomes scientific fact -- especially when the origins of that science are rooted in Star Wars.

Think back, young Jedis, to the scene where a fresh-off-Tatooine Luke Skywalker is honing his light saber skills under the tutelage of Obi-Wan Kenobi. A round, floating robot called a remote helps Luke practice his Force-finding mojo. Now, NASA is running experiments with miniature satellites, or nanosatellites, that were inspired by that fictional robot.

Roughly the size of a soccer ball, these robots that fly freely in space are called Spheres (which is … Read more

Turning to robots for speech and physical therapy may not be everyone's idea of high-quality, personalized health care. But for stroke patients -- particularly those in rural, isolated areas -- therapists can be difficult and expensive to come by, and rehabilitation can be elusive.

So a speech language pathologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is studying the interactions of stroke patients with the uBot-5, a child-size humanoid robot with arms and a computer screen through which therapists can interact with people. And for at least one stroke patient, the bot appears to be doing a stand-up job.… Read more

We first met Salamandra robotica back in 2007 when it was helping researchers study vertebrate locomotion. Like a real salamander, the manmade critter has evolved over time and we now have Salamandra robotica II, the next generation of the creepy-crawly-swimmy thing.

The original robot looked like a bunch of blocks stacked together. The new one looks like it could star in a sci-fi movie called "Robo-salamanders on a Spaceship." (Hey, isn't that already in production on the SyFy channel?) The robot didn't just get an upgrade in the looks department, it also can swim twice as fast, has foldable limbs, and sports more powerful micro-controllers that simulate muscles.… Read more

Oreo wants you to devote some mental space to cookies again, and has taken to social media with an effective campaign for your neurons.

Its Cookie vs Creme ads have featured a Rube Goldberg-style contraptions to separate the two Oreo elements.

The ads are set to vintage NES music by Anamanaguchi, a heady digital stew that sounds like a sonic Oreo made of YMO and Polysics. But I digress.

The coolest video in the series stars Carnegie Mellon University's HERB robot butler. Under development for seven years, HERB has multi-joined arms and a camera on its head. … Read more

The last time we checked in on Boston Dynamics, its "robot bison" was busy demonstrating what it could do out in the field. And we were impressed.

Today we get to see a different kind of robot animal in action. I'll give you a hint on the type: fetch!

Awww... who's a good boy? The robot on display in the video is BigDog, a DARPA-funded all-terrain cyber-canine meant for military use. It can tackle slopes up to 35 degrees, rubble, snow, mud, and water, and can carry a 340-pound load. Boston Dynamics writes of the monster dog's latest trick: … Read more

Some tasks are better left up to computers, like playing "Jeopardy," calculating pi, and mixing cocktails. Wait ... mixing cocktails? If you don't think a computer can whip up a compelling cocktail, then you haven't met Bartendro.

A creation of the awesomely named company Party Robotics, Bartendro is a robot mixologist crafted from peristaltic pumps, Raspberry Pi, custom electronic dispenser boards, and food-grade tubing. It may simultaneously be the least-necessary and most-desirable robot in the world.

… Read more

Is a robot about to excise your prostate? Well stop right there, mister. Here's some litigation that might interest you.

In a surreal twist to the ads you often see for legal help with accidents, arrests, or debt, law firms in Louisiana and Alabama are fishing for victims of what they call "bad robot surgery."

The ad below from Becnel Law Firm, LLC and Riley & Jackson looks like something that would play in the background of a sci-fi film, but it's serious. The campaign Web site Badrobotsurgery.com says, "Robotic surgery can severely injure the bowel, bladder, and blood vessels. Some of these injuries can even occur without the surgeon knowing it, which can lead to severe complications if left untreated." … Read more

Can you toss a pole by its tip and catch it by the other end? These flying quadrotors can.

Researchers at ETH Zurich posted a video showing two quads tossing a pole in midair.

Dario Brescianini and colleagues at ETH Zurich's Flying Machine Arena developed algorithms for the game based on a 2D mathematical model of the ideal trajectory.

To test the model, the machines were fitted with 4.7-inch circular plates that they used to both throw and catch the pole, which was fitted with flour-filled balloons at the tips to act as shock absorbers. … Read more

James Bond and robotic spy-camera penguins have a lot in common. They both wear tuxedos and they both sneak into precarious places to do spy work. The robot penguins were unleashed by John Downer Productions for an up-close BBC documentary look at penguin life.

"Penguins: Spy in the Huddle" documents nearly a year hanging out with penguins through the surrogate eyes of 50 different spycams. Some of the spycams were disguised as chunks of snow or small boulders, but the most adorable cameras were those in the guise of robotic penguins.… Read more