Not all robots are as cute and lovable as Johnny Number 5. They’re often as cold and mechanical as the parts they were built from. That has now changed with the Emotional Humanoid Robot that’s just been unveiled in Japan capable of a full range of human emotions. The Emotional Humanoid Robot, which likes to be known as Kobian uses clever tech to show that human-like emotion isn’t entirely out of robots reach.

via mirror.co.uk

"The computer is the devil incarnate,” says visual-effects guru Scott Farrar. “It wants to be perfect, and we’re doing everything we can to blend this natural world back into the mix.” For the Oscar-winning Industrial Light and Magic veteran, working on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was largely about getting it wrong. “You wouldn’t believe how mired we get into what aberrations of the lens should be seen,” he says of using digital trickery on computer-generated characters to emulate the distortion of analog lenses that capture human performers and physical environments.

via chron.com

ZMP Inc is releasing the RoboCar, a car robotics research platform, which can be used by researchers of automotive technologies and autonomous movement technologies as well as by universities and companies as an educational material. The platform is a 1/10-scale car robot and weighs r 3kg. The main body of the platform is equipped with CCD stereo cameras, an image recognition module that employs the IMAPCAR image recognition chip manufactured by NEC Corp.

via newlaunches.com

Gary Sandvig reached over to stroke the neck of the newest member of Sacred Heart Hospital's Rehabilitation Center - a robotic baby dinosaur. Like a real animal, the blue-eyed, green-and-tan Pleo Dinosaur lifted its head and stretched its neck to take advantage of each caress of Sandvig's fingers. "He really likes this," Sandvig said as the dinosaur purred. Hospitalized last month after a motorcycle crash, the 48-year-old Cadott man broke a leg and suffered a spinal cord injury that affected the use of his hands.

via leadertelegram.com

The concern that robots may take away the jobs of their human counterparts has been around as long as automation itself, but that's not likely to happen, says a maker of supply chain robotics systems -- and the companies that use them echo that reassurance. There are legitimate concerns, however, that have more to do with refining the technology. Still, the benefits are likely to be great.

via crmbuyer.com

Jack Buffa, left, 5, and his 7-year-old brother, Cole Buffa, both of Delray Beach, build robots during the opening day of Robots: The Interactive Exhibition at the Museum of Discovery & Science in Fort Lauderdale. (Josh Ritchie, Correspondent / May 16, 2009) FORT LAUDERDALE - Cole Buffa and his brother Jack worked like mad scientists Saturday, creating robots like the kind they see in movies. "It's cool because robots can do cool stuff," Cole, 7, said. "I'm going to give it one head and four arms."

via sun-sentinel.com

Wreck-tangle ruled the region this season. The Allentown High School Redbird Robotics Team's 5- foot-tall robot, admired for its simple design and unique drive system that used a PlayStation controller, won the FIRST (Foundation for the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) New York City Regional Competition and placed in the semifinals at the FIRST New Jersey Regional Competition this season. The winning team also earned the honor of competing at the FIRST championships in Atlanta's Georgia Dome April 16-18.

via examiner.gmnews.com

I just ordered what appears to be a fun and somewhat geeky cookbook for kids and parents alike. Combining my son’s love for Aliens (ala Ben Ten) and Robots (VEX, LEGO, and others) this should be a hit and I hope it gets him past this chicken nuggets and french fries stage. The book is “An Alien Robot’s Cookbook” and it is aimed directly at picky eaters. Whimsical recipes like Pigs in Spaceships and Realistic Corn Fritters that the kids can help prepare it should be a good opportunity to teach more cooking skills to the Geeklets.

via wired.com

Adult Swim aims to clone the success of its highest-rated show, "Robot Chicken," with "Titan Maximum," a new comedy series from the creative team behind "Robot" that shares DNA with its predecessor: It too is a stop-motion animation series about robots.
"Titan," which will launch in September with an initial order of nine episodes, was created by "Robot" co-head writer/producer Tom Root and co-creator/executive producer Matthew Senreich.

via reuters.com

The same robot technology that guides massive machines around Australian mine sites could be delivering cups of tea in aged-care homes within a decade, a robotics expert says. Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte says the era of the robotic "healthcare assistant" was closer than many people thought, and innovation in mining and agriculture sectors was driving the technology.

via news.brisbanetimes.com.au

Super Robot Taisen OG Saga is one of the best RPGs you'll ever play on the Nintendo DS. Period. The combat system is addictive and well rounded, while the excellent localization by Banpresto and Atlus yields some genuinely funny dialogue that fills out the colorful cast of characters. If you like giant robots, sci-fi action and cleavage-laden androids (and you don't live in Japan, where such things are commonplace), this is the game you've been waiting for your whole life.

via gamepro.com

Moral Machines: Teaching Robots Right from Wrong is the first book-length discussion of issues arising in the nascent field of Machine Ethics, offered by two of its more veteran thinkers. The authors do an admirable job at using language accessible to an interdisciplinary audience, which also makes the book open to a more general public readership. It will be of interest to anyone concerned with the ethical, social, and engineering issues that accompany the quest to develop machines that can act autonomously out in the world.

via metapsychology.mentalhelp.net

For the first year, Battle Lake students have the opportunity to apply math and science concepts in a new robotics course. Students, ranging from freshmen to seniors, made the move to enroll in the class to break from the daily grind of textbooks and exams. “It sounded fun; the idea of getting creative with school work,” said student Aaron Burton. Rather than testing, students are challenged to not only learn how a robot works, but put their knowledge to the test by creating a robot capable of performing a set of tasks.

via fergusfallsjournal.com

I was taking inventory of my VEX robot creations the other day and realized that I've done a very poor job of documenting their existence, let alone their capabilities. I've got enough built and still running to fill a couple months of weekly posts. If I extend the scope to my co-workers, and the rest of the web I should be able to keep this up indefinitely. First up is Spatulabot, my lastest "working" robot. He (yes, all my robots are male) started out as an idea after I'd looked at the rules for the VEX Elevation game.

via blog.wired.com

Alan Mannus has compared life as a Linfield player as being like a robot — due to the never-ending demands and expectation that is placed on every player that pulls on the blue shirt. And after the Irish FA last night gave Cliftonville the go-ahead to use on-loan goalkeeper Paul Murphy in tonight’s Irish Cup semi-final replay, the Windsor Park number one is programmed and ready to go for the Oval meeting.

via belfasttelegraph.co.uk