Here's Octavia the android, presented at Fleet Week 2010 in New York, an annual meeting of Navy and American coast guard professionals. It was designed by the US Naval Research Lab to interact with humans (with its camera and sensors) and particularly with naval staff. The robot can express joy…
Here's a video demonstration of the Warrior 710 by iRobot, with an APOBS (Anti-Personnel Obstacle Breaching System). It's a robot for destroying anti-personnel mines used in the military which is capable of destroying bombs stuck in the sand at a distance without damaging the robot. The idea is…
Here's a 1.83 m (6 feet) tall robot based on the Terminator film. We don't have much more information on this ultra rare specimen except that the replica with the T-800 is almost perfect. This animated prototype has been built mainly out of steel and aluminum. It uses servos and is controlled …
Steve Norris of Norris Labs has developed a friendly beer serving robot. In fact, there are two separate robots. The first one, Baxter or ButlerBot goes to pick up the beer and brings it to the one who drinks it. When it arrives near the robotic refrigerator, Robofridge opens all by itself and…
Pleo, new smarts for its owners. The new PM 2 firmware is available by download for those who own the small friendly animal. And for those who don't, we recommend you purchase it from RobotShop: Pleo Ugobe Autonomous Robot Life Form Among the new updates we found: -the active Scripts increase…
KumoTek Robotics launches an exhibition of prehistoric robots in Chicago: Sue Escapes. The robots come from Kokoro, Japan. The main attraction is RoboSue, a Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaur always ready to entertain the kids! The realism of the animals and their interaction with visitors certainly p…
Here is Iron Man Baby, a video produced by two Quebeckers. The baby from Patrick Boivin appears in Iron Baby and Strob is the uncle of the baby who starts in this remarkable production with special effects worthy of a big Hollywood studio. These two men are not beginners and their portfolio is …
Willow Garage celebrated its PR2 launch event in style. Not one but a good dozen PR2s were there to dance to the rhythm of the music. What's more, the robots paraded holding the hand of their partner...human partner: -) A great moment for Open Source robotics. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGv…
Researchers at the University of Michigan in the US have developed a biped robot called MABEL, capable of walking without falling even when faced with improvised obstacles. Most surprisingly, this 57 kg robot has no vision (no video camera) but only sensors (encoders) which measure the angles of…
Scout Lego Robot Here's a prototype of the Lego robot made by Belisario Russefl de la Torre. The young man, aged 28 today, built his first robot when he was 10 years old. Scout is the project of a robotic helicopter with two fans. It still doesn't fly but the foundations of the project …
Here's a video introducing the latest model of the exoskeleton by Lockheed Martin. The purpose of an exoskeleton is to increase the physical strength and endurance of whoever's wearing it. It can allow soldiers to walk much longer and carry heavy loads without tiring. With the HULC by Lockheed…
The company, Bebionic, has just unveiled its new bionic robotic hand. It can do almost anything like a human hand (video below). Everything can be configured: speed, grip strength and estheticism. Its big advantage is that it's covered in silicone, giving it the impression of real skin. What's…
The violinist robot by Toyota recently made a good impression at the 2010 Expo in Shanghai. It's not its first appearance, far from it since it dates from 2007, but its movements and natural ease have made it seem even more human-like. The robot by Toyota appeared in Japan's pavilion at the Exp…
An unusual style for a robot, here's a prototype that you've surely never seen before: the bridge robot! Even if the model shown below is a miniature the size of a toy, the principle could certainly be replicated on a scale the size of a military vehicle, for example. The Stilzkin EXT3 robot …
Gundam, one of the animation stars in Japan, will from now on have its own giant robot figurine. This replica is 1.50 m tall and weighs 35 kg. It will cost 3400 dollars. It's not the first time that we've seen replicas of Gundam appearing in several forms. There's already been this giant 20 m…
Microsoft has been working quietly for some time now (very little publicity) on its Robotics Developer Studio software. And, it has announced a major shift in strategy: from now on Microsoft RDS will be FREE. By making software available for everyone to download, the Redmond company hopes to pr…
