Photos: Renaissance robots
These days, robots are doing just about everything, from dancing to riding camels to taking people up stairs.
Renaissance robots
The prototype model of a chair robot called "WL-16 II" is unveiled in Fukuoka, Japan, on Thursday. The two-legged robot is aimed at enabling people in wheelchairs to go up steps or move heavy goods on uneven land.
Credit: AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Renaissance robots
An employee of Japanese robot maker "tmsuk" displays the company's "Roborior" during a Monday experiment of the robot's remote control abilities between London and Tokyo using 3G mobile communication technology. Roborior is equipped with NTT DoCoMo's FOMA mobile phone system to communicate through video phone. Tmsuk plans to introduce the robot to the Japanese market with an expected price of 280,000 yen (about $2,667).
Credit: Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP/Getty
Renaissance robots
Dancers drive Toyota Motor's human-controlled walking robot "I-foot," which measures 2.36 meters high, weighs 200 kilograms and can walk at a speed of 1.35 kph.
Credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images
Renaissance robots
Robots play trumpets, tubas and trombones at a preview for the Toyota group pavilion at the 2005 World Expo in Aichi, Japan.
Credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images
Renaissance robots
Criticized by human rights activists for the use of boy jockeys in camel races, some Persian Gulf states are moving to replace the youths with robot riders. The jockey in red is a robot named Kamel from the Swiss company K-Team.
Credit: M. Salem/AFP/Getty Images
Renaissance robots
At first glance, Hasbro's palm-size I-Dog looks like a gene splice of Apple's iPod and Sony's Aibo robot dog. It moves to music coming from speakers or played through its own earphone jack.
Credit: Hasbro
