i-SOBOT goes haywire with stash of weapons, instills fear in mere mortals

We've seen these miniature robots dance and wrestle aplenty, so it's only a matter of time before they pick up weapons and murder us all for crafting their bulky looks and squeaky servos. Fortunately for now, this Takara Tomy i-SOBOT seems to be content enough with demolishing just balloons and polystyrene foam blocks, courtesy of its owner who blessed the bot with a range of "handmade" firearms and edged weapons. Don't be so quick to laugh, though -- that mini mini Gatling gun may be pointed squarely at your face one day. Until then, keep smiling and enjoy the video after the break.

Source:www.engadget.com

Tokyo robosuit could make you the sack lifting champion

In Japan, the ultimate merit of a robotic suit is measured in sacks of rice. We've seen it before with the HAL-5. The latest suit created by students at Tokyo's University of Science provides enough assistance to the wearer's back to lift an additional 15 to 20 kilograms (that's 33 to 44 pounds) -- in other words, another two bags of rice for five in total. The university's previous robosuit was heavier and more bulky by comparison, in that it provided assistance to both the wearers back and arms (though clearly some support is provided based on the image above). The suit will ultimately benefit factory workers or those with physical limitations when it goes into production sometime in 2010. Outstanding. Surprisingly, nobody from the university seems willing to talk about that kid with sawblade arms in the corner.


Source:www.engadget.com

Laziness on the move: robot plays Rock Band on the iPhone

Why confine your nerdy sloth to your living room, where large robots mime fake guitar and serve you sloppy mixed drinks? Take that zest for the sedentary life with you on the road by having one of your robot ninjas steal this iPhone Rock Band robot from its ingenious creator, Joe Bowers. The Arduino-based device uses ambient light sensors to detect the falling notes and then taps out the music with some conductive foam attached to some squeaky fake fingers. Joe did a fairly detailed write-up, and even uploaded his code, so there's presumably nothing stopping you from actually doing something with your life and building one of these with all that free time you've saved up by hacking your way through all the console-based guitar games. Video is after the break.

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Source:www.engadget.com

ROPID the adorable humanoid can jump 3-inches into the air, sweep you off your feet

It's been a while since we've seen a humanoid robot this size do anything very new or interesting -- mostly they seem busy with their slow-mo dance moves -- but the new ROPID bot by Tomotaka Takahashi, the man behind Panasonic's Evolta bots, not only has a few new tricks up its plastic sleeves, but has personality to spare. The bot can rotate its upper torso, which seems to help immensely in keeping it balanced while jumping, running and skipping around. It's still the tried-and-true "bent knees" method of balance, but ROPID is "rapid" enough to make it look almost lifelike. The movements are expressive enough, but with some slightly articulated hands and a moving mouth, ROPID ups the adorable-ness factor over some of its nuts and bolts counterparts. ROPID can also respond to a few voice commands and speaks as well. Takahashi designed and built the bot himself, which makes us wonder what we've been doing with our lives that's so-very-important for the past couple of decades. Video of ROPID in action is after the break.

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Source:www.engadget.com

Yamaha's singing robot quietly trolls, slyly frightens at CEATEC (video)

As with most robots that sing, Yamaha's demonstration at CEATEC was nothing short of terrifying. Oh sure, it's sort of impressive that the modified HRP-4C could take requests from a pre-selected list of jams on an iPhone, but after witnessing actual artists perform at Club Quattro in Shibuya, we'd say this chick has aways to go before she's accepted into the blossoming Japan music circuit. Judge for yourself after the break, Simon.

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Source:www.engadget.com