Tag Archives: robots

Robotic Animals Decode Animal “Talk” and Behavior

One of the latest bits of information about technology and science concerns robotic animals that are being used to help decode animal “talk” and animal behavior. Scientists are building all sorts of robotic animals from squirrels to slugs and using them to interact with real animals in the hopes of gaining new information about animal behavior. Other robotic animals (and insects) currently being used include lizards, parrots and roaches. The robotic animals range from just hidden speakers that are controlled remotely by computers to full-on animated animals, complete with gestures and sounds. Scientists set these robotic animals up near real … Continue reading →

YouTube Roundup: Amazing Robots

I’m fascinated by all of those household robots that promise to do everything from make toast to hand wash the dishes. Here is a round up of some of the most interesting, scary or fascinating YouTube videos of household robots. Readybot gets put through its paces as a kitchen helper. Set to peppy music the Readybot opens a can of soup, grasps and moves dishes around and scrapes garbage off of the counter. To watch the Readybot, click here. This next video scares me a bit. In it, a very humanoid-type service robot pours a cup of water and then … Continue reading →

Robots Come Home

Want to have a cleaner home or clean your gutters from the ground? With the new breed of robots, it is all possible. Welcome to the age of the Jetsons. Most of us have heard of the Roomba vacuum cleaning device. It is a little robot that goes around your home vacuuming up the crumbs and then happily returning back to its base, saving you the trouble of sweeping or vacuuming yourself. The company that makes the Roomba, iRobot, now has a whole array of helpful home robots to do a variety of jobs. And, they are all available right … Continue reading →

Computing Review: October 8th Through October 14th

From robots that give you a massage to cataloguing your books online, there are certainly a lot of new developments in the world of technology. Just in case you missed those stories, or any other stories from last week, here is the week in review for the Computing Blog: October 8th Through October 14th. October 8th Computing Review: October 1st Through October 7th Are you ready for Halloween and Fall? Maybe some of the Halloween pages that we showcased last week will help. I also introduced a news roundup format in order to bring you the current technology headlines as … Continue reading →

Want A Facial Massage? Ask A Robot

Like something out of a science fiction movie or the Jetsons, robots have now been called into service to give facial massages. Researchers in Japan have developed a robot that was specifically designed to give a therapeutic facial massage to patients in hospitals and spas across the country. The creators, located at Tokyo’s Waseda University hope to see the robot employed first for patients with jaw-related medical problems and then later for beauty and relaxation massages for the general public. The robot was also developed with Japan’s Asahi University. The robot, dubbed the WAO-1 robot, or the Waseda Asahi Oral … Continue reading →

Wall*E Goes Beyond Disney Scope

Wall*E is not going to be a traditional Disney or even Pixar release for that matter. It goes beyond the Disney scope and actually broaches more into the realm of science fiction. According to Andrew Staunton, the creation of Wall*E is based on the question : What if mankind had to evacuate Earth and someone forgot to turn off the last robot? Evolution & Robotics There has been a great deal of literary speculation over the years about the evolution of man and machine. Chief among the speculators was Isaac Asimov in his works that I, Robot was based on. … Continue reading →

Wall-E is Coming from Pixar

In the summer of 2008, Disney and Pixar will be bringing us a new character to add to our collection of beloved favorites. From the creators of Woody and Buzz (Toy Story), Mike and Sully (Monsters Inc.) Dory and Nemo (Finding Nemo) and so many more – the next big Disney Pixar project is about a sad little robot named Wall-E. The movie is scheduled for release June 27, 2008 (give or take a day) and tells the story of a little garbage robot who works on a sad, lonely planet packaging up garbage day after day. But after 700 … Continue reading →