Robotics

Heard about NASA’s latest endeavor but haven’t had a chance to check out the pictures or read about it? No worries. I’ve got ya covered. Here’s a quick roundup on various coverage of NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander: The latest high-resolution photo from Mars, direct from NASA. Follow Phoenix via the official site. The Guardian’s take on the mission. Don’t raise ...

While the HOAP-3, Fujitsu’s robot chef, can’t quite crack its own eggs with one-hand like an expert chef, it can make a delicious-looking ham and cheese omelet. It’s by no means a Pee-wee Herman breakfast machine, as you wouldn’t let it cook your breakfast unaided. It’s a nice thought though, having a robot prepare your breakfast while you engage in ...

If you’ve ever wondered what goes on inside the head of Lando Calrissian’s cyborg-liaison, Lobot, engineers at Caltech have created a robotic device intended to be used as a brain to computer interface. By positioning electrodes in neural tissue, we’ll be able to turn organic beings into mindless robot drones. This technology is at a primitive stage in time, but ...

Perhaps the greatest use of a remote controlled device in history: a flying penis flew into the middle of a speech from former chess master and Russian political activist, Garry Kasparov. It seems someone took the time to turn an RC helicopter into a flying cock. After the security guard swatted it to the ground, Kasparov says, “I think we ...

Larry Ludlow might not be completely bald, but if he ever wanted to sport Moe’s haircut, this robot is his ticket. Restoration Robotics of Mountain View, a California-based company, has created a robot that has the ability to perform hair transplant surgery quicker and less painfully than doctors. Once it’s plucked enough hair from your head using a hollow needle ...

I seriously doubt we’ll get attacked by aliens anytime soon but in case we are, we’ll be prepared to bluff their assault with these quirky ceramic ray guns from Muddy Mountain Pottery. The Raku Ray Gun series of creations feature classic sci-fi names such as “Van Vogt Defractor” and “Nemo Squidulator.” The median price of the guns you’ll find is ...

The big buzz this week at the Roboexotica event in San Francisco are robots that mix drinks. Specifically, a robot dubbed “Chapek” is capable of making a small variety of mixed drinks: gin and orange juice (laid back), a gin martini, a vodka martini and a screwdriver. Hilarity ensued during a press run when Chapek spills a screwdriver all over ...

� When I was a kid I must have subconsciously wanted to become a businessman or something along those lines. At least I knew I wanted to use the phone a lot. I remember playing with my fake phone for hours, and then when I wasn’t playing with my fake phone, I’d be holding two fingers up to the side ...

The beautiful month of May is now upon us and you know what that means! Lots of warm, hot days eating ice cream, swimming in the pool and mowing the goddamned lawn. Lucky for you, radio controlled gadgets are becoming increasingly popular. Enter the radio controlled lawn mower. Instead of busting your ass mowing your grandmother’s three acre property, you ...

While the product is designed with RC model airplanes in mind, the Pilot View Realtime First Person Video system is an all-inclusive kit for the hobbyist that wants to take their project to the next level. You attach the kit to your plane, throw on the goggles and let loose. In turn, you can experience a view from the skies ...