The Petman robot by Boston Dynamics is a mobile robot prototype on two legs which moves like a human being. Petman can walk at a speed of 6 km/h. Look closely at how its feet and legs move in slow motion; he walks like a man. Now imagine once this biped robot has been developed without cords, …
Acel by RobotBaka is a small humanoid robot that we really like. Provided with wheels, this mini transformer can ride like a motorcycle with two front wheels and two mini wheels in the feet. It's capable of hitting a ball, running, dancing and moving quickly. The Youtube link of Robotbaka: ht…
Here's a video which shows the full range of the capacities of Bioloid robots. They're dancing here to the song "Sorry, Sorry" (5 humanoids synchronized) and then one of them (transformed into a robot dog) opens the refrigerator so that a second one can help itself to what's inside. N…
AILA is a new humanoid robot prototype presented at Hanover Messe 2010 which is taking place right now in Hanover in Germany (from April 19 to 23). The robot uses RFID and SemProM (Semantic Product Memory) coupled with a 3D camera to grab and carry various objects. Aila is able to remember the …
The best Tetris players now have competition from this Lego robot that plays the Tetris game all on its own. Branislov Kisacanin has created a robotic player prototype with the help of Mindstorms parts, a webcam and a computer. A Texas Instruments DSP board (TI DM6437 DSP board) decrypts what happ…
Designer Kare Halvorsen has updated his Hexapod robot. It looks more like a giant ant, very realistic. Since 2009, Kare has been improving its operation and his prototype can now manipulate objects more easily. The hexapod has 2 degrees of freedom on the abdomen and 3 on the head, and has 6 leg…
South Korea is going to inject 20 thousand won, that's 18 million dollars, to develop underwater robots. The aim is to invent robots that can swim but also walk on sea beds up to depths of 6000 meters by 2016. The initiative is supported by the Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs in Sou…
Adept Quattro is known for being the world's fastest industrial robot in terms of packaging (picking/placing) objects. Watch the video below to be convinced. The speed is simply incredible. And, in order to make it more difficult, the person uses a Wii joystick which constantly moves the recept…
We were telling you yesterday about the new Robovie R3 robot prototype by ATR-Robotics and Vstone. Well, suddenly today we can finally find videos of this humanoid robot from Japan. As a reminder, the Robovie-R Ver3 is intended to act as a support guide robot for the elderly and people with impa…
Have you heard of Little Dog by Boston Dynamics? It's the miniature version of the famous Big Dog for military use. This robotic mule is able to transport material autonomously in hostile terrain. It's fascinating just how much this little quadruped robot looks like a real animal. The little …
After Robovie R2 in the desktop robot version 3 weeks ago, there's now Robovie R3, a full-size version. This humanoid robot is human sized and is intended to support the elderly and handicapped. Designed by ATR and VStone, this prototype moves at a speed of 2.5 km/h and its movements have alrea…
A Chinese farmer has created a human-sized rickshaw robot which can transport him while speaking in a loudspeaker and playing music! Wu Yulu, a well-known Chinese farmer and inventor, is getting ready to show the world his robotic creations at the Expo Shangai which starts on May 1, 2010. From …
The company Festo is currently working on a prototype of a robotic elephant's trunk, via its Festo Bionic Learning Network department. The trunk, which also resembles an octopus tentacle, uses an air pressure mechanism for movements as opposed to servo motors. Provided with a grabber, it has a …
Drones come in various sizes and with various functions (transport, surveillance, combat) but often the existing planes and helicopters are still rather on the large side. Fortunately at RobotShop we've already taken a step further in surveillance with our Skybotix helicopter drone. In terms of…
Stanford University has invented a lizard robot, an improved version of its previous prototypes (Stickybot), Stickybot III. StickyBot 3 is a lizard robot (gecko) which can climb up windows thanks to its special suction cups installed on each of its feet. These suction cups are not adhesives in …
Robonaut R2, the astronaut robot that we talked about in February, will take off for space at the end of this year. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY-SJyS18lA NASA has confirmed that the robot built with General Motors will be sent to the International Space Station (ISS) in the fall of 2010 on b…
