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You don’t think the Robot Apocalypse is upon us, but we assure you, it is. The HUMAVIPS project, which will span three years and hopefully result in robots being developed with “social skills,” may seem innocent — even beneficial — at first blush, but let’s think about it. Will “humanoids with auditory and visual abilities in populated spaces” have more power than you, as an Earthling, would like? If all goes well, these robotic dudes and dudettes will be able to mimic what’s known as the “cocktail party effect,” which is better explained as “the human ability to focus attention on just one person in the midst of other people, voices and background noise.” So yeah, this definitely goes two ways — on one hand, you could finally have a live-in robot that pays attention to your feelings as the world around you crumbles, but on the other, these guys won’t have any issue overlooking your wailing when it’s them bringing everything down. Yikes.

HUMAVIPS project could lead to humanoids with social skills, humans being tricked originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DARPA job posting talks of developing an autonomous, grenade-wielding robot originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s a well documented fact that the Robot Apocalypse is only a matter of weeks, moments or scores away, but today we’re facing the grim reality that it may already be underway in certain sections of Germany. Thanks to a tie-up between whiz kids at the Technical University of Dortmund and University of Manitoba, the so-called Bioloid you see above can actually scale walls on its own. As in, autonomously. The robot doesn’t rely on a predefined motion sequence; instead, it looks up and figures out the most efficient way to get from the bottom to the top based on the X / Y positions of the grips. Future versions of the critter will utilize a full-on vision system, but hopefully we’ll have outposts established on Mars by then in order to maintain some semblance of freedom. Peep the horror show after the break (if you must).

Continue reading Bioloid robot goes climbing on its own, will one day rip you from your hiding tree

Bioloid robot goes climbing on its own, will one day rip you from your hiding tree originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jan 2010 22:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Judging by the comparative explosion of robo vacuum releases this month, you might think 2010 is all set to be the year of the automated floor sanitizer. Augmenting that impression is ASUS, who has now made its heavyweight presence known with the newly announced ECleaner, to be released under the AGAiT brand. This new bot comes with a UV light for disinfection, a fragrance slot, the usual photo sensor to prevent it from falling off a cliff, and naturally a remote control for the hands-on househusband. The biggest attraction though — beyond that killer paintjob — is likely to be the $150 price tag, which significantly undercuts most of what’s out on the market right now. Video of the little spherical hipster lies after the break.

Continue reading ASUS ECleaner is ready to rumble with the Roomba

ASUS ECleaner is ready to rumble with the Roomba originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Dec 2009 06:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know, we know — the original Roomba saves children from peril, plays real-life Pacman, and steals its owners’ hearts away, but let’s give LG’s refreshed autonomous robovac a chance, shall we? Now equipped with two cameras (claimed to be an industry first) and lowering operational noise to a more bearable 50dB, the RoboKing is back in town and pining for your attention. It’s more compact than its previous iteration, stretching up to only 90mm, and it’s also said to be 30 percent faster on the job. Nice gains, to be sure, but we’d still like to see how this machine handles before we’re convinced. Bonus video after the break.

Continue reading LG RoboKing adds second camera, seeks to escape Roomba shadow

LG RoboKing adds second camera, seeks to escape Roomba shadow originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 06:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/gadgets/NSF_backs_development_of_laser_guided_robot_wheelchairs’; It’s been well over a year since we last saw the laser-guided, self-docking wheelchair developed by folks at Lehigh University, and now the team is back with an altogether more ambitious project. According to associate professor John Spletzer, the recipient of a five-year CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation, the goal is to “extend the autonomy of the wheelchair so it can navigate completely in an urban setting and take you wherever you need to go.” This will be done by equipping robotic chairs with laser and camera sensors (which the team developed for the 2007 DARPA Grand Challenge) as well as exhaustive, Google Street View-esque maps of the city where they will be operating. Of course, these guys will be operating in a busy urban environment, so in addition to large-scale 3D maps, they must be equipped with motion planning features for operating in dense crowds and a changing environment. It’s too soon yet to say when these things might become available commercially, but if you’re a resident of the Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital in Allentown, PA, you might have your chance to test one soon enough.

[Via PhysOrg]

Filed under: Robots

NSF backs development of laser-guided robot wheelchairs originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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