A robot hobbyist has developed an application that lets the iPhone 3GS function as the brain and face of a miniature humanoid robot. + Video The body of the robot -- named "Robochan" -- consists of a Kondo KHR-2HV humanoid. The iPhone head, which attaches to the body via the dock connector, displays various facial […]
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Video: Robot baseball
24 Jul 2009
To demonstrate the latest advances in high-speed industrial robot technology, researchers at the University of Tokyo have pitted a baseball-pitching robotic arm against a mechanical batter with a near-perfect swing. + Video The robot pitcher consists of a high-speed, three-fingered hand (developed by professor Masatoshi Ishikawa and his team from the Graduate School of Information […]
Robot chic: HRP-4C droid goes bridal
22 Jul 2009
HRP-4C, a female humanoid robot created by Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), made her first professional runway appearance at a fashion show in Osaka today. Here comes the robot bride -- HRP-4C models a wedding dress The chic robot, who stands 158 centimeters (5 ft 2 in) tall and weighs […]
Wakamaru robot to join ancient Osaka festival
14 Jul 2009
Engineers from Osaka University hope the lovable Wakamaru robot -- a high-tech android designed for domestic and office work by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries -- can breathe new life into an age-old tradition. The bug-eyed yellow robot is being prepared for participation in the dramatic Osaka Tenjin Festival, an enormous 1000-year-old event that runs through the […]
Realistic robot hand handles sushi like a pro
18 Jun 2009
It can't make sushi yet, but a human-like robotic hand developed by Kyoto-based factory automation firm Squse is dexterous enough to handle it like a pro. + Video The fleshy robot hand, which weighs 340 grams and consists of soft silicone skin stretched over a polycarbonate skeleton, has 22 pneumatically-powered artificial muscles that enable it […]
Ninomiya-kun book-reading robot
12 Jun 2009
While electronic books and texts may be the wave of the future, Japanese researchers have developed a literate, child-sized robot capable of reading old-fashioned paper-printed books. Ninomiya-kun, a 1-meter-tall, 25-kilogram aluminum-framed robot developed at Waseda University's Information, Production and Systems Research Center (IPSRC), was unveiled on June 11 at a robot trade fair in Kitakyushu, […]
KOBIAN: Emotional humanoid robot (pics/video)
22 May 2009
Surprise Researchers from Waseda University have teamed up with Kyushu-based robot manufacturer tmsuk to develop a humanoid robot that uses its entire body to express a variety of emotions. (Watch video.) Named "KOBIAN," the android integrates features of two previously developed robots -- the WABIAN-2 bipedal humanoid and the WE-4RII emotion expression humanoid -- into […]
Video: Japanoise robot does Detroit
14 May 2009
Here is some awesome turn-of-the-century footage of "Robo Alpha" (noise artist Government Alpha in robot disguise) rocking Detroit. (Best enjoyed at maximum volume.) [Via: Awesome Tag]
Fukitorimushi: Autonomous floor-wiping robot
07 May 2009
Move over, Roomba. Make way for Fukitorimushi, an autonomous floor-cleaning robot that crawls like an inchworm and uses a super-absorbent nanofiber cloth to wipe up microscopic dust and residue that ordinary vacuums leave behind. Unveiled at the recent Tokyo Fiber Senseware exposition in Milan, Fukitorimushi (lit. "wipe-up bug") is designed by Panasonic and incorporates nanofiber […]