Robotics Category

Sharp Cocorobo Vacuum Cleans Up, Chats With Users

The Sharp Cocorobo Takes The Roomba One Step Further By Letting It Communicate
By on Tuesday, 8. May 2012

If you’ve ever looked at your Roomba, deeply saddened and wishing it could actually answer you when you talk to it, then you’re in the wrong brand of semi-autonomous robot vacuum devices. And if that last sentence sounded like complete insanity to you, then brace yourself, because I meant it. [...]

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South Korean Prison Brings Out Robot Guard

South Korean Prison Experiments With Robotic Prison Guard, Feature Set Surprisingly Limited
By on Monday, 16. April 2012

It’s been a long time since we last had a robot story for you, folks, and of all the robots I never figured I’d see, this one has to take the taco. It’s the first ever, to date, robotic prison guard, and it’s currently being tested in, of all places, [...]

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Toshiba Brings Out The Smarbo Robot Vacuum

Toshiba Looks To Take On Roomba With Its New Smarbo Vacuum
By on Thursday, 25. August 2011

I admit, I’m not what you’d call a great housekeeper. Tales of robotic vacuum cleaners are to me a vague hope that one day I’ll actually be able to fully vacuum under the bed without having to contort myself into positions that would make some circus acts green with envy. [...]

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Robot Makes Birth Of Healthy Irish Baby Possible

Robot Conducts Minimally-Invasive Procedure So Baby Girl Can Have Healthy Birth
By on Thursday, 28. July 2011

After miscarrying a baby boy a year ago, an Irish couple is able to have a healthy baby boy thanks to the help of a robot. Because of the precision the doctors were able to get with the help of this robot, a normally much more invasive surgery turned into a minimally [...]

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Willow Garage's PR2 Robot Finds New Success Shaving Quadriplegics

The Willow Garage PR2 Robot Learns A New Task Of Huge Benefit To Society
By on Thursday, 14. July 2011

It’s been almost a year–ten months, roughly–since we last heard anything out of the Willow Garage PR2 robot, and man, do we have an update for you! Turns out the PR2 has discovered a purpose that’s of huge value to society: shaving quadriplegics.

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Hanako 2 Robot Serves Surprising Value To Society

Hanako 2 Robot Comes With Variety Of Upgrades Over Previous Models To Provide Unexpected Value
By on Thursday, 30. June 2011

It’s been a while since we’ve last heard anything in the robotics beat, so it’s exciting to bring out word of the Hanako 2. Speaking for a moment as someone who has seen his share, and then some, of Japanese horror film, I know from where I speak when I [...]

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OptoFidelity Creates Robot That Plays Angry Birds

We've Seen Computers Play Chess And Win At Jeopardy, Now A Robot Plays Angry Birds With Unsettling Skill
By on Monday, 9. May 2011

We all know that Angry Birds is something of a big deal as far as mobile gaming goes. And we all know that robots are exciting pieces of technology that accomplish great things on a regular basis. But what happens when you combine the two? You get Finnish tech company [...]

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Don-8R Renders Human Panhandlers Obsolete

Don-8R Robot Collects Spare Change From Passersby, Seeks Them Out, Looks Adorable
By on Tuesday, 26. April 2011

Well, this may well represent one of the strangest things I’ve seen in the gadget beat thus far. If you’ve been walking in any major city of late, you’ve likely seen people called panhandlers out begging for coins in the street. They’ve got various tools to make themselves stand out; [...]

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Japan Sends In 23 Robots To Help Out At Fukushima Reactor

Japanese Robots Designed To Withstand High Radiation, Operate In Tight Spaces
By on Thursday, 7. April 2011

You’ve probably heard a little bit about this already, but the effort is expanding. Japan’s International Rescue System Institute has dispatched a team of 23 robots geared to take over some of the most dangerous work out at the beleaguered Fukushima nuclear power plant.

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Geminoid-DK Robot Looks Terrifyingly Real, Largely Immobile

The Geminoid-DK Robot Is Limited To Largely Shoulder And Head Movement Only, Accuracy Is Frightening
By on Friday, 4. March 2011

Folks, take a good look at that pic below. Do you think I put up a picture of a robot…or the person who created it? As you take that look I requested of you, you’re probably going to be astonished to find that that’s actually the robot. Specifically, you’re looking [...]

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