Robotics

Straight from the depths of hell, otherwise known as the Machine Perception Laboratory at UCSD, comes Diego-San, the freakishly big-headed one-year-old simulated robot. …Aside from joy, he’s bundled with a high resolution camera and 6-axis accelerometer. And while his coordination is limited to standing from a chair and holding a bottle, Diego-San’s face has 20 moving parts to convey emotion ...

No, R2-D2 didn’t get stuck outside overnight on the planet Hoth. This snow droid was hand crafted by one clever winter-y geek. And lord knows this winter has already spilled a crap load of snowy art material in my neck of the woods. Maybe the next snowstorm we can see a Snow Vader? Link

Sort of like peeing in the snow after being exposed to a strong dose of radiation, these lined “lightdrawings” really glow. But unlike urine, these drawings don’t smell like last night’s asparagus. At least, we assume they don’t. The Lightdrawing Robot by German designer Nils Voelker creates lit photo designs by moving colored LED lights as a camera shoots a ...

This gutted UNICAT TerraCross all-terrain vehicle has been modified into a pretty slick living environment. An apartment on wheels. Sort of like an RV with attitude. While I’m not one for living on the road, I’m sure many of you who love to travel would all-but sell your soul for a mobile apartment like this. I’ll stick to my non-wheeled ...

Japan’s University of Tsukuba maintains the trend of horrifying child bots with their new Yotaro baby simulator / stuffed bear thing, which aside from causing terror, is supposed to mimic the needs of a baby. The baby’s emotions display via an interactive screen. A water tank supplies realistic tears and an infrared camera picks up your every move, so don’t ...

So most of us would be all like “yippee” over the fact that bee populations have been steadily declining. Hooray! No more pretending to ignore them so they just leave us alone! No more running like a little girl! But see, losing bees could be bad… very bad. Pollination is crucial for the survival of all of our yummy crops. ...

This unsuspecting ball of rodent doesn’t know it yet, but its days are numbered. In fact. its seconds are numbered. But somehow, I think he does knows. If it was ever possible to see a rodent give a look of self-awareness, I think this is it. He’s come to terms with his death. He plans on savoring every last morsel ...

If you don’t think your neighbors would think too kindly of your having a live-in robot posing a wine rack, no worries. This Robot Wine Rack ships with an incognito mustache. Guests will wonder who your new debonair house guest is. Just tell them its your little secret. Of course, the mustache is purely optional, but why not? Lacking a ...

When we claimed that Michael Jackson might just be a cyborg, we weren’t that far off. Apparently, MJ was planning to create his very own robotic doppelganger, even going as far as creating blueprints for the mechanical beast. Detailed 3D scans were made of Jackson’s body before he died with the intention of creating an “eerily-lifelike robotic duplicate.” The late ...

If there is one talent I’ve always dreamed of having (aside from being able to roar like a Wookie), it’s the ability to be a good drawer. Just being able to draw something in which someway resembles what I was trying to draw would be cool. But no. God blessed me with the uncanny ability to find awesome shit online, ...