The robots; they’re walking — and this one’s doing it under its own steam. This passive robotic frame requires no energy input, and is instead powered by its own weight and a gentle slope. The BlueBiped can be adjusted to match the proportions of any user, and researchers plan to use it to assist people who find it difficult to walk and transport unwieldy sports equipment. It already holds the Guinness world record for the longest distance walked by a bi-pedal robot, plodding 15 kilometers (9.32 miles) in a single 13-hour stroll. Those fearing the impending Robopocalypse can at least breathe a sigh of relief that — like some other homocidal robots — stairs still remain out of bounds.

Continue reading BlueBiped robot needs no power to walk for miles, as long as it’s downhill (video)

BlueBiped robot needs no power to walk for miles, as long as it’s downhill (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Oct 2011 15:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading SimLab SQ1: Korea’s adorably unstable robot dog (video)

SimLab SQ1: Korea’s adorably unstable robot dog (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Oct 2011 04:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just because it hasn’t happened yet, doesn’t mean it can’t; at least that’s what a Scottish research group is hoping as it attempts to create reproductive synthetic cells made completely from metal. At this stage, the idea of sentient metallic life remains a distant sci-fi dream, but researchers at the University of Glasgow have already birthed iChells — inorganic chemical cells. These bubbles, formed from the likes of tungsten, oxygen and phosphorus, can already self-assemble, possess an internal structure, and are capable of the molecular in-and-outs expected of its biological counterparts. Researchers are still tackling how to give these little wonders the ability to self-replicate, and possibly evolve — further cementing our doom post-Robot Apocalypse. Check out our future synthetic overlord’s first steps in a video after the break.

Continue reading Scientists attempt to give spark of life to all-synthetic metal cells

Scientists attempt to give spark of life to all-synthetic metal cells originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Sep 2011 07:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Smile, you’re on Vacucam! LG’s Hom-Bot (RoboKing in the US) was zipping around its own special playpen on the stage at the company’s IFA booth today, picking up the occasional speck of dust and using its dual cams to spy on bloggers and Germans, while also diligently avoiding a plastic family dog along its ten-square-foot cube of real estate. The bot’s Smart ThinQ technology enables it to interact with an Android or iPhone app, which you’ll use to watch a live video feed from its built-in cam, send it rolling to a specific point in the house in “Patrol” mode, or adjust settings. You can also log in remotely, assuming your Hom-Bot is powered up and has a WiFi connection. Official US and Euro pricing and availability hasn’t been announced yet, but an LG rep suggested we’ll see it in the €500-700 range (about $710-995 US). Cameras and interactivity are nice and all, but that’s a lot to spend on any vacuum cleaner. Today’s trade show sneak peek is probably the closest we’ll be getting to this pricey little vac, so roll past the break for some super action footage.

Continue reading LG Hom-Bot 2.0 Smart Robot Vacuum Cleaner hands-on (video)

LG Hom-Bot 2.0 Smart Robot Vacuum Cleaner hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Sep 2011 12:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Breakfast is the most important meal of the day for a growing robot — it’s also an easy and relatively quick way to lull a group of scientists into a false sense of security. Now, we’re not saying that James and Rosie here had an ulterior motive when they put together a breakfast of Bavarian sausage and baguettes for a group of researchers at Munich’s CoTeSys lab — as far as robotic couples go, they seem very nice. James, a US-designed PR2 robot, sliced the bread, while German-designed Rosie boiled up some sausages, as some hungry roboticists looked on patiently. Oddly, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen a robot prepare a morning meal — it’s nice to know, however, that after the robot apocalypse, at least we’ll all still be well fed. Super sped up video of cooking robots after the break.

Continue reading Robots make breakfast for scientists, bide time (video)

Robots make breakfast for scientists, bide time (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Jun 2011 22:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Although we usually prefer our computers to be perfect, logical, and psychologically fit, sometimes there’s more to be learned from a schizophrenic one. A University of Texas experiment has doomed a computer with dementia praecox, saddling the silicon soul with symptoms that normally only afflict humans. By telling the machine’s neural network to treat everything it learned as extremely important, the team hopes to aid clinical research in understanding the schizophrenic brain — following a popular theory that suggests afflicted patients lose the ability to forget or ignore frivolous information, causing them to make illogical connections and paranoid jumps in reason. Sure enough, the machine lost it, and started spinning wild, delusional stories, eventually claiming responsibility for a terrorist attack. Yikes. We aren’t hastening the robot apocalypse if we’re programming machines to go mad intentionally, right?

Schizophrenic computer may help us understand similarly afflicted humans originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 May 2011 09:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With an 80 percent success rate, there’s a pretty good chance that Justin here is better at playing catch than you are. This old German Aerospace Agency-designed robot, which we first saw in 2009, learned a new trick — he can track thrown objects as they approach, calculate their flight path, and snap his cold, soulless hands around them before they hit the ground. Better yet, he can catch two objects at the same time. For his encore, Rollin’ Justin uses his tactile finger sensors to prepare you a cup of coffee, just so you know there’s no hard feelings once’s he’s done schooling you at three flies up. The ‘bot can be controlled via iPad and acts totally grateful when you get him a tie for Christmas, even though it’s not what he really wanted. Video after the break.

Continue reading Rollin’ Justin robot plays catch, makes coffee, aims to replace your dad (video)

Rollin’ Justin robot plays catch, makes coffee, aims to replace your dad (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Apr 2011 02:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FROG has a long way to go before it can become a real dinosaur. It’s skinny, it’s awkward — in fact, the camouflaged robot is downright timid when compared to, say, the horn-wielding matador’s nightmare that is Boston Dynamics’ BigDog robot. It’s a heck of a start, though. FROG — that’s Four-legged Robot for Optimal Gait — is actually a prototype of a triceratops skeleton designed by Dr. Wei Wang and a number of PhD students at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Automation. It has joint angle sensors, acceleration sensors, a pan-tilt camera, and a number of other sensing devices. FROG’s got a Linux system inside and communicates wirelessly with a host computer — in order to power it, however, you’ve got to plug the thing in, which puts it at a decided disadvantage when doing battle with robotic tyrannosauruses. Inspiration for FROG came from small triceratops statue given to Dr. Wang by a Chinese film director working on a CGI animated dinosaur movie. The doctor hopes that the ‘bot will show up in museums or other dinosaur exhibits when it’s a bit more complete. Dr. Wang balks at comparisons to our beloved BigDog, however, since FROG has DC Motors and isn’t hydraulic, so don’t expect this herbivorous reptile to carry your luggage over rocky terrain any time soon.

Continue reading Chinese robotic triceratops skeleton packs Linux, no horns

Chinese robotic triceratops skeleton packs Linux, no horns originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Apr 2011 12:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While some bot makers are busying themselves designing AI to simulate humans’ natural and distinct lack of intelligence, it’s nice to see there are still old-fashioned researchers out there keeping the Skynet dream alive. Northrop Grumman‘s aeronautics gurus have paired together a Global Hawk unmanned aircraft with a manned Proteus ship way up in the skies — 45,000 feet, to be precise — with the vessels of ingenuity managing to fly in tandem at a distance as short as 40 feet. Unsurprisingly, this is the first time such intimacy has been reached between UAVs (the Proteus had a monitoring crew on board to ensure the insurance bill wasn’t through the roof) in high altitude, and the ultimate goal of having two Global Hawks doing the deed without any human intervention is said to be within reach by next year. That’s when these light and agile air drones will be able to refuel themselves and go on for a mighty 120 hours in the air… plenty of time to complete a well planned extermination down below, if one were so inclined.

Continue reading NASA’s Global Hawk completes unmanned airborne refueling simulation, will do it for real next year (video)

NASA’s Global Hawk completes unmanned airborne refueling simulation, will do it for real next year (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Mar 2011 03:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Augmented reality is swell, don’t get us wrong, but it’s no substitute for the real thing — especially when that thing is a badass tricopter equipped with a jury-rigged firework cannon to rain down miniature hell. Swedish R/C enthusiasts built this first-person flying contraption to carry out a single mission — destroy a series of hydrogen-filled balloons — which will hopefully be hard-coded into future automatons too. After all, balloons could serve as an excellent distraction when they inevitably come for you. Still, there’s no need to worry quite yet, so kick back and enjoy the video above while you contemplate humanity’s end.

Homebuilt UAV hunts down hydrogen balloons, shoots firework missiles (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 30 Jan 2011 14:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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