The University of Bonn’s Autonomous Intelligent Systems Lab has come up with an “omnidirectional mobile robot” that moves around using four Roombas. To keep the Roomba QuadDrive from walking at the direction where dirt is located, each Roombas is equipped with a Robotis Dynamixel RX-64 servo for steering purposes.
According to the AIS Lab, the QuadDrive can support loads up to 20 kilos and can move at a … Read More » 

The Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute (ATR) in Japan has unveiled its robotic creation that can be controlled using an iPod Touch (either by WiFi or touching the screen).  The robovie mR2 stands 30 centimeters and weighs about 2 kilograms.  According to ATR, this cutesy-sounding robot (who is a “he,” by the way) can “use information gathered with the iPod by means of gestu… Read More » 

Robots powered by smartphones are nothing new, but robots powered by Nokia smartphones are a rarity.  Make has recently introduced Niko, a robot made from Lego Mindstorm NEXT 2.0 components and uses a Nokia N900 as its brain.
This video shows Niko roving around and taking photos whenever it bumps into objects.  It can now also accept commands and post messages and photos on Twitter .  Of course, t… Read More » 

The Lego Mindstorms is not your nostalgic Lego.  This line of constructible toys is meant to create robots .  Many developers have done amazing things with the Lego Mindstorms such as a robot golfer, but imagine a robot completely made from Lego components aimed at solving Rubik’s cubes in seconds.
This is what Mike Dobson of Robotics Solutions have achieved with its Lego CubeStormer, which is att… Read More » 

At the Adult Entertainment Expo recently held in Las Vegas, a New Jersey-based company presented what they claim as the world’s first sex robot.  The lifelike robot, named Roxxxy, stands 5′7", weighs 120 pounds, and contains an anatomically-accurate mechanical skeleton encased in a flesh-like exterior. 
Representatives of True Companion, Roxxxy’s manufacturer, explained that the … Read More » 

At the recent All Japan Robot Tournament, Fuji Soft introduces its first commercial bipedal humanoid robot.  The unnamed robot, standing about 15 inches tall and weighing about 3.5 pounds, has 20 degrees of freedom on its legs, arms, and head.  It also has a LED array in its visor that would display various expressions, similar to the AIBO robot dog back in the day, and is capable of image and speech re… Read More » 

NEC’s PaPeRo helper robot, which has been around since 1997, was introduced in its 2009 version at a recent exhibition in Tokyo.  The PaPeRo R500 is 38cm tall and weighs 6.5kg.  This cute robot can perform up to 200 different operations, such as holding simple conversations with humans or even blushing when being kissed by a girl.  It also has a built-in face recognition software, so it can i… Read More » 

Many futurists worry that as our technology advances; robots could have the ability to kill humans.  This is probably the first step.
UK-based designers James Auger and Jimmy Loizeau introduce a series of prototype robots that contain fuel cells that run on blood.  These robots blend perfectly into homes as pieces of furniture that attract flies and mice, which fall into traps filled with blood-thirsty f… Read More » 

The Canadian company Dr. Robot introduces a humanoid, autonomous, and wireless robot named Hawk.  This unique robot has WiFi, a built-in GPS navigation system, an animated head, as well as a lot of other cameras and sensors that keep the robot functioning.
Originally intended for educational purposes, Hawk can only perform a limited range of tasks such as serving drinks and playing drums.  However, his … Read More » 

Robots used to exist only in sci-fi films. Today, however, manufacturers are developing models after models of robots. It is only a matter of time before robots become part of our everyday lives. For now, most robots are designed as toys. One of the cutest robots available in the market today is the Gogic Robot.
This Japanese robot from Elekit is a cute little one with a funny walking style. The Gogic player DIY … Read More » 

You need to clean gutters regularly to avoid overspills, water damage, ice dams, as well as insect infestation. However, it can be a messy and time consuming job, not to mention dangerous. iRobot came up with an innovative solution: the Looj Gutter Cleaning Robot. Last Christmas, however, iRobot cut the prices of the Looj 120, 130, and 150 models, with rumors that the company would discontinue these models.
But t… Read More » 

As you look over your neighbor’s lush, green lawns, remember that his garden didn’t turn out that way overnight. So stop turning green with envy and start working on your own yard by using the solar-powered automower.
This great technology advancement looks nothing like an ordinary mower. And indeed, it isn’t. The solar-powered automower is specially designed to keep your pre-wired green lawn sh… Read More » 

The Femisapien is the first female robot to be invented by WoWWee. This intelligent and dancing robot is also known as the Kissing Robot. Aside from having graceful movements, she also speaks her own language through emotive sounds.
Capable of sensing sounds, gestures and touch, it also has the ability to control and interact with the rest of the WoWWee family. It has speakers that allow it to record and play bac… Read More » 

Boston Dynamics, a robotics lab inn Boston has been given funding by DARPA, Defense Advanced Research Project Agency to make a military canine.  The aim of the project was to create a quadruped that could walk on mostly any terrain a dog can walk on, including snow, rubble, slick, rocks, woodland, virtually anywhere humans and dogs can walk.  And on top of that, unlike a real dog, it must be able to car… Read More »