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Tag Archives: Robot

For Wannabe Felines: Robotic Tail Wags or Swings, Depending on Your Mood

By Hazel Chua on 03/08/13 • 1 Comment

Fox Tail

Animals can’t talk, but they have other ways to express themselves. For example, when a dog is excited, he wags his tail. When he’s waiting for you to do something (like walk him), he’ll sit patiently and swing his tail back and forth while looking at you. At least, that’s what my Shih Tzu does when he’s asking for a walk.

Humans don’t have tails because we can communicate perfectly without them, and besides, we don’t really need them. You can buy them and wear them, but you can’t control them… Until now, that is.

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Larry the Robot Vomits So Researchers Can Study What Happens When Sick Humans Do

By Hazel Chua on 01/04/13 • Leave a comment!

Everyone, meet Larry, the robot that vomits so researchers can study what happens when real humans do. It sounds like a funny and improbably story, but it’s true, and it has everything to do with noroviruses. In a nutshell, noroviruses are responsible for inducing fits of nausea, abdominal pain, and forceful (and sometimes projectile) vomiting.

Scientists from a British lab needed to come up with a way to study how other people got infected with the virus after standing in proximity to a vomiting norovirus sufferer. Their solution was Larry, which can spew projectile vomit up to ten feet. It sounds pretty gross, but hey, it’s all in the name of science!

VIA [ Dvice ]

This Robot Wants to Wish You a Happy New Year

By Hazel Chua on 01/02/13 • Leave a comment!

Happy New Year Robot

Happy New Year!

Who did you kiss on New Year’s Eve? We’re into the second day of 2013 and thankfully, the world hasn’t ended. We might be a little late to the party, but this little robot from Alderbaran Robotics wasn’t, because he was dancing up a ton while wishing everyone a happy new year. In case you missed him, you can hit the break to check out his little performance.

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It Takes Five People Coming Together to Form Voltron, the Defender of the Universe

By Hazel Chua on 11/27/12 • Leave a comment!

Voltron Costume

All hail the mighty Voltron! I literally grew up watching reruns of the series on television when I was a kid, so he’s pretty much my favorite robot of all time. He’s got a huge following, too, so it’s uncommon to see people dress up as Voltron during cons.

Voltron is larger than life, so it makes sense that one person is not enough to portray this character. A dude who goes by the handle of Crazy Ray agrees, which is why he spent over two months painstakingly cutting, gluing, and putting together five costumes that come together to form a single giant Voltron Force figure.

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Giant Inflatable Robot Fists Are Great for Costumes, Not So Great for Boxing

By Hazel Chua on 10/03/12 • 1 Comment

Giant Inflatable Battle Fists

It’ll take a while to knock someone out if you don’t really know what you’re doing. It might take even longer if you happen to be wearing these Giant Robot Battle Fists on both hands. That’s just as well, because they weren’t made for use in fights in the first place anyway.

They’re great for cosplays (Mega Man, anyone?) and for costumes. And with Halloween coming up in just a few weeks, you can kiss your costume woes goodbye. ThinkGeek says they’re forged from Cobalt Flame and Robotonium, but we all know better. They’ll ship out flattened, of course, but just pump in some air (or blow some in if you feel like showing off) and you’ll be good to go.

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Awesome Cheetah-bot Now Runs Faster than the World’s Fastest Human

By Hazel Chua on 09/06/12 • 2 Comments

Cheetah Bot

Remember the Cheetah-bot that was featured here a couple of months ago? It looked pretty scary as it galloped on the treadmill with its spindly legs moving at an astounding 18 miles per hour. It might have looked as scary as heck then (it still does now), but you can’t deny it was an impressive feat that Boston Dynamics achieved with the support of DARPA.

When the Cheetah reached 18 mph during its run last March, it broke the land speed record for legged robotic machines. The Boston Dynamics team decided that that wasn’t enough, so they tweaked a couple of things and now the Cheetah is faster (and scarier) than ever. Breaking the record that it had previously set, the leggy robot can achieve a peak speed of 28 mph. Yes, that’s right folks, it’s now even faster than the fastest man in the world, Olympian Usain Bolt, who reached 27.78 mph during a 20-meter sprint.

Check out a video of the Cheetah doing its thing after the jump. It’s both scary and impressive at the same time.

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Inebriator is a Robotic Bartender that Mixes Drinks on Command

By Hazel Chua on 09/04/12 • Leave a comment!

Inebriator

Some robots were meant to scare people while others were created to provide people with companionship (but really, when will people learn that live pets just can’t be replaced with robotic ones?) And then there’s the awesome and amazing robot that has been programmed to mix drinks and cocktails on command to serve thirsty crowds at the party.

It’s called the Inebriator and it’s a cocktail-mixing machine that uses an Arduino microcontroller to do the deed. It’s pre-programmed with 15 drink recipes so you and your guests are bound to find something you’d like on the menu. It’s not for sale though, so if you want it, you’re going to have to build your own.

Check out a clip of the Inebriator in action after the jump.

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The Pentagon is Working on an ‘Attack-Proof’ Robotic Worm Called the ‘Meshworm’

By Hazel Chua on 08/15/12 • Leave a comment!

Worm Robot

An ‘attack’ proof robotic worm? What will the government think of next?

The Pentagon has reportedly teamed up with a group of universities to develop a robotic worm that’s immune to attacks from, say, a sledgehammer. Dubbed as the ‘Meshworm’, the robot looks like a bunch of rolled-up electronics that work together to crawl and creep along like earthworms do.

So out of all the creatures they could’ve chosen to base their robot on, why’d they choose the earthworm? As they say, the structure “allows the machine to be made of soft materials so it can squeeze through tight spaces and mould its shape to rough terrain.” That’s scientific-speak for saying that the robot’s got potential to become an indestructible spy–but we’ll see.

Hit the jump to check out a clip of the Meshworm in action.

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SmartPet From Bandai Could Look Cute If It Didn’t Look So Creepy

By David Ponce on 03/27/12 • 1 Comment

By David Ponce

The SmartPet is being released by Bandai, the same company that made the Tamagotchi. So we know there’s likely going to be an element of long term care and nurturing to this little creation. It uses your iPhone as its brain (and face) and the (free) associated application allows for a variety of interactions. It can make over 100 faces, and uses the front facing camera to try and recognize gestures. As it gets more emotionally attached to you it’ll be able to learn more and more gestures. It can even interact, sing, and dance with other dogs through Bluetooth.

The application will be released March 31st, but you’ll have to wait until April 24th, in Japan, to be able to buy one for $78. In the meantime you can entertain yourself sans dog, but retain some of the dignity you will inevitably lose if you’re anywhere over the age of 12 and in possession of this somewhat creepy toy.

[ Press Release (Japanese PDF) ] VIA [ The Verge ]

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