Filed under: Robots

Robots that assist in taking humans to their desired level of inebriation are far from new, but Chassis is just too darn likable to ignore. The beer pouring creature itself has actually doled out a few pints in its lifetime, but apparently, the latest spotting showed off a snazzy new paint job and a few additional lights. Heck, there’s even a built-in microphone and speaker for “audience interaction.” Best of all, however, is that the operator of this fellow can make it talk to party goers in the vicinity, and while we’re currently unsure of its marital status, we have all ideas that it’s a real hit with the ladies. Check out a few more snapshots in the read link below.

[Via UberReview]

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Filed under: Robots

An MIT researcher has developed a tool for students learning to play the drums which can speed up the time it takes for newcomers to pick up the instrument. The device, a robotic arm designer Graham Grindlay calls the “Haptic Guidance System” (or HAGUS), uses a drumstick fastened to a set of motors which a user holds while being led on beat. A brace holds the arm in place while the machine plays back a pre-recorded pattern — in studies, Grindlay found that students with no drumming experience were able to hit the drum 18 percent more effectively after using the HAGUS. A spokesman from the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics at Stanford says the work does a “wonderful job” demonstrating the ability of haptic devices to train beginning musicians. So… can a Rock Band implementation of this be far behind?

[Via Digg]

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Filed under: Robots

It may be not be the only bot on the block for long but, for now at least, the Canadian-built Dextre robot has the spotlight to itself, with it set to blast off Tuesday on board the shuttle Endeavor for delivery to its new home on the International Space Station. As USA Today reports, the robot has been some ten years in the making (at a cost of $210 million), and is designed to handle many of the tasks that would otherwise be done by astronauts on spacewalks. Those astronauts will still have a job for a while yet, with one of the main tasks during Endeavor’s mission obviously being the assembly of Dextre, which is currently broken down into nine parts. Even after that’s done, however, Dextre apparently won’t start work until sometime in 2009, at which point it’ll be able to replace nearly 140 parts on the ISS, and be controlled either by mission control or the crew on the space station.

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Filed under: Robots

We’ve already seen cities turn to technology to combat graffiti, but it looks like the tables could one day be turned, at least if designer Stefan Rechsteiner has his way. As you can see above, his so-called “Couleur sur l’Objet” robot concept would be able to climb walls (relying on suction, it seems), leaving a trail of graffiti behind it. That would apparently be entirely done using software to plot out its course ahead of time, although we’re sure it could also be rigged with a remote control to allow for a little freestyle spraying. Of course, the chances of anyone actually releasing such a bot are pretty slim (at least for graffiti-ing purposes), although there’s nothing stopping you from taking a certain DIY-friendly solution and trying to build your own.

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Filed under: Robots

Apparently the Biorobotics Lab at Carnegie Mellon University has been quite busy as of late… building an army of robotic snakes. Though we’ve seen droid snakes before, bot-makers at the school have been investigating the myriad possibilities of single-task snakes, coming up with configurations for swimming, crawling, and climbing, amongst others. The program is concerned with enabling the bots to take on a diverse variety of terrain and tasks, made easier by the fact that the little guys aren’t limited to wheel-based movement. To really get an idea of the possibilities (and extreme creepiness), check the video after the break. We just hope you enjoy the techno version of Crazy Train as much as we do.

[Thanks, Andrew]

Continue reading Snakebots traverse terrain, plan silent, midnight attack

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Filed under: Robots

Move over Rolly, there’s a cheaper, craplasticer bot ready to stomp out your game. Sega Toys just announced their ¥5,250 ($51) I-Spin dancing robot. Apparently it responds to ambient sounds by rolling around and flipping its ears in time with the beat. After that novelty wears thin, you can directly attach the creature to any audio source where it will live out its remaining years as an external speaker.

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Filed under: Robots

We’ve seen paintball guns destined for robot mounting, but darkback2 reckoned it was entirely more wicked to actually construct his own paintballing overlord from scratch. Apparently, Gepetto wasn’t born to a be a killer (nor a lover, for that matter), but the idea of remotely controlling a security guard outside your domicile really gets our gears turning. Head on past the break to catch a couple of videos of this creature in action — oh, and Gepetto, we hear there’s a street down in Atlanta that could use someone like you.

[Via Technabob]

Continue reading Gepetto robot fires paintballs, demands respect

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Filed under: Robots

We’ll be honest — we’ve seen more snake-like robots than we care to count, but a new creature slithering out of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology is noticeably different than most. As you can see above, there’s a distinct lack of treads, tracks or wheels on Aiko, as it actually pushes off foreign objects it encounters in order to creep forward. Additionally, researchers have created a “virtual double” of the critter in order to help guide the development of the actual robot, though we’ve yet to hear if it plans on joining Anna Konda in war on fire.

[Via NewScientist]

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Filed under: Robots

Believe it or not, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen robotic falcons used to chase off actual birds, but rather than keeping pigeons at bay, the Falco Robot GBRS is reportedly able to keep pestering birds clear from airports and the like. Humorously hailed as a “Gregarious Bird Removal System,” the creature is reportedly a result of ten years of experimentation, and word on the street proclaims that the remote-controlled device was able to scare off a thousand seagulls at a Genoa airport. Mum and dad would be so ashamed.

[Via CNET]

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Robots, Wireless

The Nabaztag WiFi rabbit learned a new trick at CeBIT: reading RFID tagged children’s books. Violet already loosed a book in France at Christmas and now plans to launch its first English language book in the UK within the month. Right, that’s one less parental responsibility for you. It’s also cooking up “ztamps” which are RFID stickers you can attach to anything you like. When each unique sticker is held to Nabaztag’s nose, it responds with a predefined action like playing music, sending an email, reading off the latest headlines, etc. Really, it’s not as crazy as it sounds. Check the video after the break — now that they’ve fixed last year’s service issues caused to overwhelming demand, parents might want to give this critter a second look.

Continue reading Video: Nabaztag reads bedtime stories better than daddy

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