Robotics

My lovely Vietnamese house boy might give a decent facial massage, but I don’t think he would quite compare to this robotic massager. Researchers at the Waseda University in Tokyo have developed the WAO-1 Face Massaging Robot, hoping for its use in the medical field. The movement of the robot’s arms is programmed using a complex set of algorithms made ...

The 8-foot Transformer “Optiumus Styro” art project was developed by artists Kevin and Tywen Kelly over the course of 2 years using only select pieces of styrofoam. Their geeky hearts were in the right place, but a Transformer like this would prove useless in battle. He’s buoyant, I’ll give him that – but it would only take a stiff breeze ...

It appears that no matter where you live, you can be sure that the government is wasting time on your dollar. For example–a Japanese bureaucrat was reprimanded recently for neglecting his duties so that he could contribute 260 modifications to the Japanese-language Wikipedia entry on Gundam. Apparently, the problem is not confined to one man and his love for gigantic ...

Swami is a creation from outrageously expensive retailer Neiman Marcus. This fortune telling robot lives up to the expensive reputation and then some. This glass entombed animatron can recognize family members� and answer the questions you ask of it. Swami has a character-engine artificial intelligence, micro-camera eyes, and around 30 robotic mowers to make this bot one fantastic, yet realistic ...

This arachnid looking creation is actually a musical genius. Well, genius for a homemade robot that is. Xilo is a machine made of Lego’s that can play the xylophone. Xilo strikes the metal tubes based on your movements. To create this yourself you don’t necessarily need a xylophone, a wind chime would work just as well. Xilo uses a vision ...

Weighing less than 1 ounce with a mere 1/4 cubic inch in total volume doesn’t stop these micro-bots from tearing up a obstacle-laden desktop. Throw anything at it: loose change, a pice of fuzz – the Sandia can handle it all with it’s tracked drive system. Developed by Sandia National Labs, these little beauties come equipped with an 8K ROM ...

While my parents look at a computer as if it were powered by witchcraft, the elderly in Japan have become bored with robots. They prefer “everyday products adapted to their needs.” In the end, cute robots that were intended to help old folk maintain their cognitive abilities, monitor blood sugar and other vital functions have given way to the old ...

Even if you don’t appreciate art, you can’t deny that this Walking Head Robot by Australian artist Stelarc is captivating. Among other features, the Walking Head has a scanning ultra-sound sensor that detects a human presence. When a person does enter the gallery, it will stand and go through a pre-programmed series of movements – using its tilt sensor system ...

I’m not sure whether or not this Robot Coke Chick is actually affiliated with Coca Cola in Japan, but I can tell you that Pepsi is dead to me now. Check out the link for a full video. � Sean Fallon Link [via]

Old fashioned Laser Tag was fun and everything, but it never included robots – much to my dismay. Fortunately, the folks at HotProceed have remedied the situation with their new Blaser Tag System. The game is simple: each manually controlled robot has a laser and a sensor – if you get shot first, it will trigger a pre-programmed routine and ...