Have you ever seen a Roomba that Tweets? We've never! But, this CoolestRoomba Twitter account announces that a Roomba forgotten in the darkness of an old garage has finally found a home. Better yet, it is in the process of resuming its life and wants to talk to humans. Where? on Twitter... We…
The Volkswagen Automotive Innovation Laboratory in Stanford (VAIL) has presented to the press a prototype of a car which drives and parks all by itself. Botjunkie was on hand to report this video in which we see a Passat driving on its own and reversing in a parking lot. The ceremony took place i…
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 …
Nearly 9 million robots in the world in 2008 (8.6 million exactly). That's according to the official report by IEEE Spectrum using 2009 data from World Robotics. Of the 8.6 million, there are 7.3 million service robots (RobotShop's core business), that's 85 %, and 1.3 million industrial robots.…
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…
This video shows images of the Robo-One competition and mentions that the ultimate aim of combat robots is to be able to fight humans. As RD says, that's never been the goal of Robo-One. Rather, organizing robot competitions allows robotics to advance quicker. Plus, if there were fights between …
Robosoft in France has created a completely autonomous robotic car capable of transporting visitors without a driver while avoiding obstacles. The CTS, for Cybernetic Transport System, uses a hybrid GPS navigation system to make its way around and anti-collision detectors so as not to run into p…
We've just received in store the Jaguar mobile robotic development platform. This beast is a real all-terrain vehicle that can go anywhere, including up and down steps with a 45 degree angle. The platform contains the chassis and motors only. It has two tracked arms which facilitate it to move…
Do you really know the world of robots? See also History of Robotics on RobotShop.com. Here is an illustration on the history of robots and robotics that will teach you everything that you don't already know. For example, did you know that the first robot was built by the Greeks in 400 B.C. ? T…
This year, the International Confrence on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) will take place in Anchorage, Alaska, from May 3rd to 8th 2010. Major players in robotics, such as iRobot, Aldebaran Robotics, Boston Dynamics, Gostai, Willow Garage and Kuka will be present. The theme of the 2010 ICRA is …
Simon the Robot made its first appearance during The Atlanta Conference on Human-Computer Interactions. Simon is the result of 3 years of research on Technology institute of Georgia. The prototype understands what is being said (voice recognition) and has a OpenCV [Open Source Computer Vision] …
The US Navy's Fire Scout helicopter robot detected a drug deal (cocaine) at sea during a test flight. The Fire Scout has conducted tests since being based in the high seas aboard the American warship, the USS McInerney. It had completed testing when it saw that a suspicious boat was speeding du…
What a wonderful idea to send a Drone to scan the Tyrolean Alps. This drone is equipped with a High Definition camera; the pictures taken show the beauty of this magnificient landscape. It skims the trees and the summit of the mountains while flying. This is very daring since its prototype coul…
We offer you this moment of inspiration for National Robotics Week. A student from Togo, Sam TODO, has succeeded in creating a robot prototype with some used television parts. The imagination knows no limits. Even without the financial means. His robot is called SAM10. Sam wants to try to mak…
A week ago we told you about the skeleton robot by CBS. Well, just imagine that this prototype was such a hit with the public that CBS has decided to give it a job on Craig Feguson's Late Late Show. It's even been given a name: Geoff Peterson. The humanoid skeleton was built by Grant Imahara f…
