RoboSavvy Forum

Re: Plastic Pals weekly round-ups - Boilerplate

2010-08-22T05:49:37+01:00

Paul and I just came across your post about Boilerplate--thanks for the mention. We wanted to let you know that there is, in fact, a lovely hardcover book called Boilerplate: History's Mechanical Marvel (Abrams Image 2009), which is how we got the movie deal with JJ Abrams. See www.boilerplaterobot.com

Best,
Anina Bennett

Robotbling wrote:
Here are the updates for July 19th ~ August 9th 2010:

Paul Guinan’s Boilerplate Gets Movie Deal
Paul Guinan’s sculpture has taken on a life of its own; now that life will hit the silver screen!

Statistics: Posted by bigredhair — Sun Aug 22, 2010 5:49 am

Plastic Pals weekly round-ups

2010-08-08T09:39:11+01:00

Here are the updates for July 19th ~ August 9th 2010:

M3-Neony & Others in American Media
The Associated Press reports on the baby robots made in Japan.

FloBi
A new robotic head attempts to avoid creeping people with the features of a doll rather than an actual person.

Olivia
Olivia, a receptionist robot built in Singapore, was unveiled at RoboCup 2010.

Autom’s On Her Way Next Year
Some new details about Intuitive Automata’s robotic weight-loss coach.

CHARLI-L Graces Pop-Sci’s August Issue Cover
Virginia Tech’s humanoid robot CHARLI-L, the first untethered bipedal humanoid robot built in the USA, is prominently featured in Popular Science magazine.

Programming by Demonstration: Flipping Pancakes
A video demonstration shows how a robot can be programmed to flip a pancake through direct physical instruction.

Pal Robotics’ Humanoid Robot Contests!
A couple of contests offering cash prizes for incentive ask you to design a robot and think up great robotics applications.

A Curious Robot
A curious robot learns to classify objects and how to grasp them.

REEM-H1
A multilingual service robot that can carry your bags developed in Spain.

Gundam Statue Fires Up Its Beam Saber
A video shows off the humongous Gundam statue’s cool beam saber upgrade.

HRP-2 Promet Tackles Uneven Terrain
A short video of the HRP-2 Promet walking on some uneven ground.

Robots Control Robot Wheelchairs At ROBOTECH
A few tidbits from the ROBOTECH Expo which was held this week in Tokyo, Japan.

Telenoid R1: Telepresence Just Got A Whole Lot Creepier
One of the creepiest androids yet; it wouldn’t look out of place at a circus freak show.

Acroban
A compelling humanoid robot that reacts to physical interactions in a flexible, lifelike manner.

Paul Guinan’s Boilerplate Gets Movie Deal
Paul Guinan’s sculpture has taken on a life of its own; now that life will hit the silver screen!

AISoy1, The Next-Generation Furby?
AISoy Robotics, a Spanish company, will begin selling a new edutainment robot this August.

Robot Stop-Motion Short of the Day
A stop-motion animated short film about a giant robot.

Photo: Rosie the Robot Maquette
Photos of some rare robot movie memorabilia that was auctioned off.

Wakamaru Hosts Shipbuilding Tour
With one of its shipyards in Shimonoseki, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has employed its humanoid robot Wakamaru to teach kids about shipbuilding this summer.

Kibo
Kibo was CIR’s first attempt at a small, expressive bipedal humanoid robot. It would later be replaced by a more sophisticated version (Kibo ver.1.2).

Kibo ver.1.2
Kibo ver.1.2 is a taller and more capable version of CIR’s small bipedal humanoid robot.

Namco’s Lost Robots from the ’80s
Some photos of Namco’s long forgotten entertainment robots from the 1980s.

General Robotix Gears Up To Begin Selling HRP-2m Next
Universities will be able to get their hands on a formidable new research platform beginning this September.

DLR-Biped – Could These Be Justin’s Legs?
DLR (German Aerospace Center) has developed a pair of robotic legs that are able to walk and resist external forces, all in less than 10 months.

Statistics: Posted by Robotbling — Sun Aug 08, 2010 9:39 am

Plastic Pals weekly round-ups #18

2010-06-27T13:07:07+01:00

Here are the updates for June 13th - June 27th 2010:

Robot Video Round-Up
A few videos, one is a brief clip from NHK about the new baby robots from Osaka & Tokyo University, the other shows the open source robot Qbo being controlled with a Wii remote.

Vstone Updates Site with M3-Neony & M3-Synchy
Vstone is now taking orders for the cognitive development robots M3-Neony and M3-Synchy.

Cute video of AIBO 311
A brief video showing off SONY’s AIBO 311 doing what it does best.

Robot Health Care with Robovie-mR2
ATR’s tiny robot, robovie-mR2, could remind your granny of her doctor’s recommendations.

PR2 Plays Pool, Hustles Its Own Programmers
Willow Garage’s versatile open source robot continues to impress by learning how to play pool.

CHARLI-L Introduces Itself
Virginia Tech’s large humanoid robot CHARLI-L speaks!

KHR-3HV Gets “Achilles”, A New Parallel-Linked Leg
Hobbyists can give their Kondo’s KHR-3HV robot kit a new set of legs thanks to Crafthouse’s new product.

I Can Put My Arm Back On, You Can’t, So Play Safe
Jaemi HUBO’s unfortunate accident in early May 2010 is now just a bad memory.

Photos: Aldebaran Robotics’ NAO at Shanghai World Expo
An army of NAOs perform Tai Chi at the Shanghai World Expo 2010.

TOPIO Dio
TOSY, a Vietnamese robotics firm, unveiled a new humanoid service robot in Germany.

Hitachi’s Lovable EMIEW 2 Gets Upgraded!
Hitachi has finally shown some progress on their EMIEW 2 helper robot.

DLR’s Justin Could Fix Satellites Someday
The DLR’s robot Justin may one day fix satellites in space!

Myon
A German design firm has created a modular humanoid robot.

Naro (Nautical Robot) the Robotic Tuna Fish
Research students at ETHZ designed and built a pretty cool nautical robot based on the tuna.

NIT’s e-nuvo HUMANOID Needs A Name
NIT is holding a contest to name their in-house e-nuvo HUMANOID robot.

Nesbot
A coffee-making service robot that can take your order through a web browser.

Photos: PALRO at Shanghai World Expo 2010
PALRO appeared at the Shanghai World Expo.

Ninomiya-kun Demonstrated Again
A storytelling robot is being demonstrated with some new features.

And the game reviews... I finished Super Mario Galaxy 2, and then went on to complete Zack and Wiki in about a week.

Super Mario Galaxy 2
Super Mario Galaxy 2 adds some fresh ideas to the mix while retaining the magic and fun of the original. You just have to play it!

Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure
Zack & Wiki is one Capcom’s original IPs on the Wii, and deserves a second shot at success!

Statistics: Posted by Robotbling — Sun Jun 27, 2010 1:07 pm

Plastic Pals weekly round-ups #17

2010-06-12T08:52:01+01:00

Here are the updates for May 30th through June 12th 2010:

Palette Takes Part in ISETAN Global Green Campaign
Palette, the robotic mannequin, was on display as part of an environmental campaign in Shinjuku.

Hobbyist’s T-800 is Better Than Late Late Show’s Robot
An Australian hobbyist has built himself a cool replica of the T-800 and a robotic crocodile to boot!

Mechanical Matrimony Mix Up
A Chicago couple claim that their wedding was the world’s first robot wedding, instead of the widely reported one that took place recently in Japan.

Vgo – Telepresence Robots On The Cheap
A new telepresence robot is hitting the market, and it is significantly cheaper than its competition.

Photo: March of the Mascots
Innocent photo or nightmare fuel? You decide!

Will Humanoid Robots Help Build Mega-Engineering Projects?
A couple of video clips showcasing AIST’s research into humanoid robots.

Qbo Gets Its Own YouTube Channel
The Corpora has an official YouTube channel for their open source robot Qbo.

JEAP Symposium Just Around The Corner
A symposium on baby robots will be rounded out by a demonstration at the end of the week.

Photo: Robot Statue Made from Old Truck
A real-life Transformer in statue form.

Chiba Institute of Technology’s Big & Small Robots
CIT’s Advanced Robotics Lab has created some unique robots, including a quadrupedal robot vehicle and small insect-like robots.

Vstone Tichno Just Wants to Have Fun
A promo video for Vstone Tichno, a character robot platform.

Vstone’s RYOMA Makes TV Appearance
Vstone has built a robot called RYOMA based on the former RoboCup champion, the VisiON 4G.

RoboErectus Jr. Gets Awesome Redesign
An awesome new look rounds out the new capabilities of the redesigned RoboErectus Jr..

Mung; The Robotic Blob with Noble Ambitions
KAIST and Yonsei University developed this odd looking robot in 2007 and have been coming up with new ways to use it since.

M3-Kindy & Infant Robot Noby
JST Erato Asada Project, with Osaka University, AIST, and Tokyo University, have developed two new child robots that will be used to study cognitive development.

And the game review:

Legend of Oasis
Easily one of the Saturn’s best games, Legend of Oasis manages to separate itself from the hordes of Zelda clones with many unique ideas and fantastic execution.

Statistics: Posted by Robotbling — Sat Jun 12, 2010 8:52 am

Plastic Pals weekly round-ups #16

2010-05-29T07:20:46+01:00

Here are the updates from May 9th ~ May 29th 2010:

One Step Closer to 28 with AIT-T7
A video of Aichi Institute of Technology’s 7th Tetsujin robot.

Aurora Kids
A Taiwanese company is displaying jade treasures along with the unusual addition of some robots at its pavilion.

Fujitsu’s Care Bear Shows Up At Fujitsu Forum 2010
A therapeutic robot in the shape of a teddy bear is being developed by Fujitsu to help alleviate loneliness and dementia in elder care facilities.

Fujitsu’s Teddy Bear Robot on Video
A video of Fujitsu’s therapeutic Teddy Bear Robot.

1:1 Evangelion Unit 01 Bust Under Construction
A new giant robot statue is going on display in Japan this July, from one of the most popular giant robot anime series ever created.

Speecys Still In The Game (With or Without SEGA)
Speecys is offering their years of expertise in natural language communication systems and cloud computing to companies looking to bring some built-in intelligence to their products.

Toyota’s Violin-Playing Robot at Shanghai Expo
A video showing Toyota’s Violin-Playing Robot performing a new song at the Shanghai World Expo 2010.

Video: FrostyDesign’s Robot Back Flip
FrostyDesign’s robot is back, and this time it performs a back flip!

Robot Marriages On The Rise
Kokoro’s I-FAIRY played the role of marriage witness at a Japanese couple’s wedding recently.

Photos: Robots Around China
Photos from China’s Science & Technology Week, Machinery Expos, and Toy Fairs from the week beginning May 17th, 2010.

Mini Robocue
Kikuchi Manufacturing reveal a smaller version of their rescue robot, which sucks victims of natural disaster into its belly to retrieve them safely from dangerous places.

Anybots Official Unveils QB Telepresence Robot
Anybots’ latest bot is all about connecting people over long distances.

Farrell Robotics Free-Styling at RoboGames 2010
A video showing some impressive hobby robots built by Farrell Robotics in the U.S.A.!

HRP-2 Promet Balances, Japanese Robotics Slide?
AIST’s humanoid robot shows its balance at the Shanghai World Expo 2010, but is Japan losing its balance in the field of robotics overall?

Robonaut R2 To Get Its Space Legs?
NASA sending Robonaut R2 to the ISS; may also walk on the moon – conceptual animations included.

Qbo’s Specs Revealed
Qbo, the open source communication robot, has its specifications divulged.

Acroban, A Playful Humanoid Will Appear At SIGGRAPH 2010
A playful humanoid robot will be presented at SIGGRAPH 2010.

NaviRobo
A small, crab-shaped navigation robot could help the elderly and hearing impaired make use of their GPS navigation systems.

iRobiQ Now Available in North America
RobotShop is now selling Yujin Robot’s edutainment robot iRobiQ in North America.

Mini Surrogates Available From “Little Island”
Little Island is now accepting orders for robot dolls through its website.

BERTI & BERT2
BERTI has gotten some upgrades, including a new face, arms, and hands.

Japan Plans Unmanned Moon Colony by 2020
Japan may invest up to $3 billion (USD) in a moon mission culminating in a unmanned base built in 2020.

Robots Podcast Interviews Aldebaran Robotics
Robots Podcast interviews Aldebaran Robotics about their humanoid robot NAO.

Willow Garage Knows How to Throw a Party
GetRobo has posted some funny videos from Willow Garage’s PR2 Launch Event.

The Gift (cool sci-fi short)
A science fiction short with high production values with a dark, eerie vibe.

Team NimbRo Kicking Butt at RoboCup German Open 2010
Team NimbRo competes in the Standard Class with the NAO for the first time this year, and made it all the way to the finals! Congrats!

Game review:

Chrono Trigger
I don’t throw around the term masterpiece often, as so few games deserve such hyperbole. Chrono Trigger, however, has managed to stand the test of time and remains one of the most beloved video games ever made.

Statistics: Posted by Robotbling — Sat May 29, 2010 7:20 am

Plastic Pals weekly round-ups #15

2010-05-08T07:24:32+01:00

Here are the updates for May 2nd to May 8th 2010:

JoiTech Humanoid
The University of Osaka and the Osaka Institute of Technology have teamed up to create a new full-sized humanoid robot.

Robots Entertain in Plays, Puppet Shows
Robots are increasingly being used in stage plays, including a puppet show in South Korea.

3rd Spanish Bipedal Robot Competition Held
Bipedolandia held the third Spanish hobby robot tournament in Madrid.

Hanool Robotics Signs $2.5M Deal With Saudia Arabia
Hanool Robotics will develop fire-fighting and security robots with KACST in Saudi Arabia thanks to a new partnership deal.

Photo: Toyota’s Violin-Playing Robot at Shanghai World Expo 2010
Toyota’s Violin-Playing Robot is only one of 30 robots at the Japanese pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo.

iCub: When Will Robots Learn To Think?
A short video about the iCub project.

Robovie-R Ver.3 Will Go Shopping This November
Robovie-R Ver.3 will go shopping this November as part of field trials to determine the robot’s commercial viability.

Honda’s Impossible Dream 2 (Commercial) an Instant Classic
A new version of Honda’s Impossible Dream tv commercial, this time with added Honda vehicles and my personal favorite addition: ASIMO.

CIT Brains’ 2nd Consecutive Win at RoboCup Japan Open 2010
CIT Brains took home the win at RoboCup Japan Open 2010 (videos).

Willow Garage Announces PR2 Recipients
Willow Garage has announced the participants in their PR2 Open Beta Program, a $4.4M research initiative.

JULIA
JULIA is a home entertainment robot built at the National Taiwan University.

Historical Recreation with Kokoro’s Actroids
Nara Prefecture is celebrating its capital’s 1300th anniversary with seasonal events, including this display presented by an Actroid.

Weird Alien Robots Spotted at Shanghai World Expo 2010
A trio of alien visitors climb the outer walls of a pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo.

CALLO & CALLY – The Cellphone Robots
A pair of cellphone robots that emote with simple facial expressions depending on the situation.

OUCH! Jaemi HUBO Suffers Stage Dive Accident
Jaemi HUBO suffered a bad fall in preparation for a ceremony, and was badly damaged as a result.

This week's movie and game reviews:

The Cove
The Cove’s heavy-handedness towards Japan clouds the bigger issue, but still delivers an important message.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Final Fantasy Tactics remains one of the most celebrated strategy RPGs – so how does its little brother on the Game Boy Advance hold up?

Statistics: Posted by Robotbling — Sat May 08, 2010 7:24 am

Plastic Pals weekly round-ups #14

2010-05-01T17:53:39+01:00

Here are the updates for April 25th - May 1st 2010:

Photo: Robot Statue in Dallas, Texas
A shiny, friendly traveler appears in Dallas, Texas.

ROBOTS Podcast Reaches 50th Episode!
ROBOTS podcast has bundled an ton of interviews into one huge megacast for its 50th episode! Check it out.

CHARLI-L
CHARLI holds the distinction for being the first complete (upper and lower body) full-sized humanoid robot built in the United States. Dr. Dennis Hong and his team at VA Tech’s RoMeLa will use CHARLI to compete in RoboCup’s Humanoid League (Adult class) this summer.

Photos of robots
....from various parts of China including mythic folk singers, beautiful model androids, and a huge rock-n-roll Transformer.

It Rubs The Lotion On Its Skin
Someone call the exorcist – this one seems possessed!

NAMO
KMUTT’s Institute of Field Robotics has developed a friendly humanoid robot to greet and guide people.

CHARLI-L takes its first steps
A video of Virginia Tech RoMeLa’s recently unveiled humanoid robot CHARLI-L taking a stroll.

An Open Source Personal Robot On The Horizon?
Francisco Paz has opened a website which will chronicle the 5-year development of an open source personal robot named Qbo.

Photo: Retro Robot Vending Machine
I want all vending machines to look like this.

Family Nanny Robot
Built by Shenyang Siasun Robot & Automation Co. Ltd., the Family Nanny Robot can speak, send text messages, and alert the authorities in the case of an emergency. For example its environmental sensors can detect a gas leak, and if no one is home it will contact the home owner through text [...]

Video Overview of DFKI’s Robotics
DFKI Robotics shares some of their work through an informative and entertaining 10 minute presentation video.

KIST’s Humanoid Robots Dance, Copy Movements
High quality videos of full-sized humanoid robots dancing? Sign me up!

Statistics: Posted by Robotbling — Sat May 01, 2010 5:53 pm

Plastic Pals weekly round-ups #13

2010-04-24T12:05:34+01:00

Here are the updates for April 18th ~ 24th 2010:

Chararobo Creates Robot Mascot for Cable TV
A small Japanese company that specializes in creating character robots has built one for a cable tv channel called Kyuchan.

Simon Cleans Up at HCI 2010
Another video from Georgia Tech’s demonstration of Simon at CHI 2010.

Videos of USC’s Robots
Some short videos showing a selection of the robots being used at USC’s robotics labs.

K. Moriyama Tours ROBO-GARAGE
Some notes from K. Moriyama from his tour of Tomotaka Takahashi’s ROBO-GARAGE.

ATR and VSTONE present Robovie-R Ver.3
ATR and Vstone formally present the Robovie-R Ver.3, including some new photos and videos.

A-pod the Ant-like Hexapod
A spectacular hexapod robot from last year is shown with new capabilities.

Photo: Chinese Robot Sketch Artist At Work
An unknown Chinese robot built to draw sketches based on visual input draws a crowd.

Bow tied Bioloid Premiums Dance to “Sorry, Sorry”
Bioloid Premium kits awkwardly dance while I reminisce about SONY’s canceled robotics projects.

Gundam Cafe Opens in Akihabara
A Gundam-themed cafe opens in Tokyo’s Akihabara district.

AILA
DFKI Bremen showcased a prototype robot called AILA at Hannover Messe 2010.

PETMAN, BigDog Video Updates
Boston Dynamics has updated videos showcasing the latest improvements to their BigDog and PETMAN robots.

Photo: Giant Robot Baby Snuggles Shanghai Expo
A giant baby robot that moves and giggles will delight/frighten visitors to the Spanish Pavilion at the upcoming Shanghai World Expo.

LOLA
The Technical University of Munich and Bundeswehr University are developing a bipedal humanoid robot named LOLA that navigates in real-time using its stereo vision system, and is capable of running at 2km/h.

Compilation Video of RoboCup German Open 2010
These robots kick ass at soccer.

This week's movie and game reviews:

Gentlemen Broncos
An offbeat comedy in the vein of Napolean Dynamite, only much more esoteric. If you like oddball movies then you’ll have a better chance of enjoying it.

F-Zero GX
During the Gamecube era Nintendo partnered with a number of big developers including Konami, Namco, and SEGA. F-Zero GX was the best game to come out of these partnerships.

Statistics: Posted by Robotbling — Sat Apr 24, 2010 12:05 pm

Plastic Pals weekly round-ups #12

2010-04-17T07:29:37+01:00

Here are the updates from April 4th to April 18th 2010:

Fujitsu’s Robotic Care Bear
A new therapeutic robot developed by Fujitsu in the form of a teddy bear can respond to a user’s facial expressions and behavior.

Geminoid-F
ATR and Kokoro Co. Ltd. have unveiled the latest in their line of realistic androids known as Geminoids.

RunBot2
A small quadrupedal robot built by the Tokyo Polytechnic University.

Crazy Home-made Crab Robot (Not Crabfu!)
A Japanese hobbyist has created a hexapod crab robot.

Craig Gets Really Crappy Robot, Conan Still King
A disappointing, and downright crappy robot sidekick disappoints Craig Ferguson’s fans around the world.

Video: Kobe Tetsujin
Society of Robots swings by the Kobe Tetsujin Monument while in Japan.

ATR’s robovie-mR2 Put To Work In Sales
ATR’s small robovie-mR2 is being tested in an experimental set-up that has the robot verbally hawking goods inside stores.

Hexapod Robots Having Fun
Japanese hobbyists get out there multi-legged robots for a bit of fun.

ASIMO meets Tsutenkaku Robo
The world’s most advanced humanoid robot got paid a special by the world’s most ridiculous robot.

BHR-1 & BHR-2 “Huitong”
Beijing University developed these humanoid robots, the 2nd generation of which has appeared on television performing Tai Chi.

ALSOK Security Robot Patrols Gallery
A security guard robot patrols an art gallery, distracting visitors from the masterpieces on display!

Mertz
Mertz is an active-vision robot head developed at the MIT Media Lab to learn from social interactions.

Simon at the Computer Human Interaction Conference
Simon showed off its machine learning capabilities at the CHI Conference.

Robovie R3
ATR and Vstone have announced the third version in their Robovie line of humanoid robots.

And the game and movie reviews...

Threads of Fate
Threads of Fate isn’t exactly mediocre, but there are some issues with its controls and level design that leave something to be desired.

The Black Hole (1979)
The Black Hole is a science fiction film that goes from kid-friendly to outright bizarre. Thankfully, despite its religious overtones the film presents robots as both good and evil rather than simple killing machines.

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
The Metroidvania design is really starting to show its age, but Portrait of Ruin checks all the boxes of a good action game.

Statistics: Posted by Robotbling — Sat Apr 17, 2010 7:29 am

Plastic Pals weekly round-ups #11

2010-04-03T07:02:57+01:00

Hey limor. In what way do they make you uncomfortable...? Are you arachniphobic?

Here are the updates for March 28th to April 3rd 2010:

GAIKING / Shogun Warriors Movie Teaser Hits Web
Shogun Warriors (aka GAIKING) is getting a live-action Hollywood makeover, and this is the teaser.

5 Axis CNC Robot Does Amazing Work
Last week Dartiop mentioned this video in the comments. It's pretty cool; a 5 axis CNC robot sculpts a 3.6kg helmet out of a 120kg aluminum cube.

TINYWAVE Bipedal Hobby Robot Now Available
Tomio Sugiura’s original bipedal hobby robot, TINYWAVE, is now up for sale. Mr. Sugiura designed the robot with Jeon Chang-Hoon of South Korea.

Behind-The-Scenes Video of HUBO 2
Dan Lofaro, PhD candidate at Drexel University, uploaded some behind-the-scenes videos of HUBO 2 from his visit to KAIST back in 2008.

Impressive Desktop Ballbot
A cool self-balancing robot that uses 2 gyro sensors to ride atop a single ball.

Dr. Jun Ho Oh Dishes on HUBO 2
IEEE Spectrum interviewed KAIST’s Dr. Jun Ho Oh, and shot some video of the lab’s humanoid robot.

The PR2 Learns to Fold Your Laundry
The PR2 is being taught to fold laundry, like a good personal robot should.

New Honda U3-X Promo Video Begs the Question Why
Honda releases a new video showcasing the technology inside their U3-X Personal Mobility Prototype, but at the end of the day one wonders if anything can top the simple bicycle.

NEC’s PaPeRo: The Robot Cashier
NEC is leveraging years of R&D in robotics to augment their self-checkout system.

Thai Hostess & Her Robot Waiters
Motoman robots are being put to work as waiters in a Japanese restaurant in Bangkok.

Robots at R&D Exhibition 2010
Robots at R&D Exhibition 2010, held at COEX in Seoul South Korea.

And this week's game review:

Legend of Zelda - Spirit Tracks

Statistics: Posted by Robotbling — Sat Apr 03, 2010 7:02 am

Re: Plastic Pals weekly round-ups #5

2010-04-03T03:00:29+01:00

Robotbling wrote:
The Pitter Patter of Multi-legged Hobby Robots
Multi-legged robots, the latest craze to hit Japanese hobbyists, do battle in this short video.

These things move so fast it almost feels uncomfortable seeing them

Statistics: Posted by limor — Sat Apr 03, 2010 3:00 am

Plastic Pals weekly round-ups #10

2010-03-27T07:07:53+01:00

Here are the updates for March 21th - 27th 2010:

robovie-mR2
ATR’s Intelligent Robotics and Communications Lab has developed a smaller, cuter version of their Robovie communication robot called the robovie-mR2.

Tsutenkaku Robo Appears at Nippombashi Street Festival
The Tsutenkaku Robo makes its debut to thunderous applause.

1:1 Gundam Gets Light Saber Upgrade
The Gundam statue returns, and this time he won’t forget to bring his sword.

Robovie R-2
ATR’s Robovie is a research platform designed for studying human-robot interactions. It has been used as a museum guide robot to test how humans would respond to it.

Takeshi Maeda completes latest robot!
New photos emerge of Takeshi Maeda’s latest monster robot!

New details emerge about Honda’s P4
New details emerge about Honda’s previously undocumented prototype P4.

Cam Baby robot toys bring home the Baby Bot fun
First there was robots, then robot babies. Now there’s robot baby toys.

ASIMO visits Canada!
Honda is airing a commercial specifically aimed at Canadians featuring their humanoid robot, ASIMO. (video)

YOTARO
Tsukuba University’s Uchiyama Lab created an odd luminous baby simulator called YOTARO.

SIGVerse, World’s First HRI Simulator
The National Institute of Informatics has developed a robot simulator specifically for testing human-robot interaction.

Kobayashi Lab’s SCHEMA, TRON-style
Waseda University’s Kobayashi Lab has updated their website with a new trailer showing off their awesome new conversational robot, SCHEMA. (video)

This week's game review:

Professor Layton & The Diabolical Box
Professor Layton & The Diabolical Box provides at least 20 hours of puzzle-solving fun, on top presenting the player with an engaging whodunnit.

That's it for this week. Don't miss Takeshi Maeda's latest bot, the new photos of Honda's P4 prototype, and Waseda University's teaser for their SCHEMA robot!

Statistics: Posted by Robotbling — Sat Mar 27, 2010 7:07 am

Plastic Pals weekly round-ups #9

2010-03-20T12:20:06+01:00

Here are the updates for March 14th - 20th 2010:

Gemini
A designer from Tsukuba University created this pair of conceptual robots as “talking assistants”, to be placed in museums and art galleries to discuss various works.

Prof. Minoru Asada on RoboCup & CB²
Prof. Minoru Asada recently gave an hour long talk about RoboCup and CB² in which he showed some previously unseen footage of the robots and experiments. (video)

Tsutenkaku Robo Coming Soon
Robot Force has almost finished building a character robot based on the Tsutenkaku Robo seen attracting visitors to Osaka in tourism commercials.

Up Close and Personal with Hai Bao
Hai Bao is the official mascot of the Shanghai World Expo, and will appear in robotic form throughout the venue. (video)

RoboPal
Given its name, I probably should have found this one sooner. RoboPal was designed by ATR’s Intelligent Robotics and Communications Lab to study how robots transition from one role to another, such as from a leader to a follower.

CIROMI, The World’s First Movie Theater Robot
ED Corporation’s ARO service robot gets a movie make-over.

Cody
Georgia Tech’s Healthcare Robotics Lab is developing a mobile robot with a humanoid upper body that can open doors, drawers, and cabinets with ease.

Bennett Robot Works’ Found Object Robot Sculptures
ordon Bennett’s robot sculptures are full of character and the whimsy one would expect of ’50s robots.

HOSPI
Panasonic’s autonomous hospital delivery robot is being sold to South Korea hospitals with the first being deployed in May 2010.

CT Scans & X-rays of SONY’s AIBO
Photos: The Mechatronics Lab at Mie University did some CT scans and X-rays of SONY AIBO robots back in 2001.

Bots High Documentary Needs Your Help
Bots High is a documentary in the making, but film director Joey Daoud needs a bit of help if his film is going to be completed.

This week's movie and game reviews:

Alice in Wonderland
Passable, but doesn’t even approach the film I imagined given the pairing of Tim Burton and Alice in Wonderland. (movie review)

Klonoa: Empire of Dreams
A solid puzzle-platformer awaits for those willing to give Klonoa a chance on Nintendo’s GameBoy Advance. (game review)

Statistics: Posted by Robotbling — Sat Mar 20, 2010 12:20 pm

Plastic Pals weekly round-ups #8

2010-03-13T08:06:07+01:00

Here are the updates for March 7th to March 13th 2010:

Honda Reveals Undocumented ASIMO Prototype (P4)
Honda is showing off a previously unseen prototype of their humanoid robot. The P4 is the last intermediate between the P3 and ASIMO.

Hinamitetu’s Acrobat Robot Successfully Grabs Horizontal Bar!
Hinamitetu’s acrobatic gymnast robot spins in the air, and then grabs back onto the horizontal bar. Pretty crazy stuff to do in your living room. (video)

WAMOEBA Project
Sugano Lab, one of Waseda University’s robotics laboratories, worked for more than a decade on robots with basic survival mechanisms that they hypothesized would give rise to emotion and intelligence.

Robita’s Ignis Has Strong Legs (video)
Robita has redesigned his robot’s legs and they’re quite powerful! (video)

Hai Bao
An entertainment / guide robot developed by Zhejiang University, Hai Bao will be out in full force at the Shanghai World Expo 2010.

Takeshi Maeda’s Latest Robot W.I.P.
Takeshi Maeda is building a new robot to compete at the upcoming ROBO-ONE tournament.

Dr. GIY’s Dancing Cat Robot
An exceptional dance routine by Dr. GIY using one of his Manoi AT01 robots. (videos)

BabyBot & BabyBot-R
KIST developed two robots in an attempt to research the cognitive capabilities of a 1-year old child.

ASIMO Teaching Kids To Respect The Environment
ASIMO takes some time out to teach kids about the environment.

Fukuiraptor Brought Back from Cretaceous with Robotics
Eleven animatronic dinosaurs are on display at the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum, most notably a pair of dinos unearthed in the area!

TWENDY-ONE
TWENDY-ONE remains one of the world’s most advanced humanoid robots in existence. Built on the foundation of years of research by Waseda University’s Sugano Lab, it was designed to serve and support the elderly to live independently.

Wheelie
Toshiba unveiled a household robot designed to carry trays of food called Wheelie. (video)

FrostyDesign’s Robot Running in Super Slow-Mo
FrostyDesign’s little biped robot sure can run its ass off. (video)

CB²
JST’s ERATO Asada Project developed this robot to study human cognitive development, such as sensory-motor organization, language acquisition, and more.

This week's movie and game reviews:

Avalon
Avalon at first appears to be something of a poor man’s Matrix, but it manages to successfully carve its own niche by exploring what may yet become the future of video games.

Ikaruga
Ikaruga is quite arguably the finest example of its genre, and is one of the few games deserving of a perfect score.

Three new robots unveiled this week: Honda's P4, Hai Bao from China's Shanghai World Expo, and Toshiba's Wheelie. Also check out what Takeshi Maeda (of OmniZero fame) has been up to.

Statistics: Posted by Robotbling — Sat Mar 13, 2010 8:06 am

Plastic Pals weekly round-ups #7

2010-03-06T10:48:33+01:00

Here are the updates for February 28th to March 6th 2010:

Hadaly & Hadaly-2
Hadaly and Hadaly-2 were developed in the mid-to-late ’90s by Waseda University’s Sugano Lab to be symbiotic robots capable of coexisting safely with human beings.

MeBot
MIT’s Personal Robotics Group has given birth to a small telepresence robot that looks downright silly.

Seisan’s Robot Museum Closing after 4 Years
A robot museum run by an industrial robot rental and repair shop couldn’t keep it afloat. Some videos of the attractions included.

Mega Man 10 Available for WiiWare
Mega Man 10 launched for the Nintendo WiiWare service, with XBOX and PlayStation 3 getting theirs at the end of the month.

Willow Garage on their PR2 Beta Program
Willow Garage has posted some nice videos that are adding fuel to the fire of their PR2 Beta Program that will soon be giving away 10 world-class robots.

WENDY
Following in the steps of Sugano Lab’s Hadaly-2, WENDY is a humanoid robot developed by Waseda University in 1998. It could successfully crack open eggs with its hands and has a high degree of compliance in its arms.

NAO gets ROS
Aldebaran Robotic’s diminutive humanoid robot NAO is running Willow Garage’s open-source robot operating system ROS.

RoboThespian RT3
A robot built specifically to perform as an interactive exhibit, RoboThespian has entertained crowds around the world.

Photo: Humans & Robots… Dreams of Communication
A cute photo of kids interacting with KIST’s Mahru-Z humanoid robot.

M3-neony & M3-synchy
JST ERATO and Osaka University unveiled two new robots: a baby robot called M3-neony; and a communication robot called M3-synchy.

Rihanna Gets Down & Dirty with a Pair of Robots
A video of Rihanna singing “Rude Boy” at the 2010 ECHO Awards with a pair of Titan robots.

Up Close and Personal with Kojiro
A video showcasing Kojiro, a humanoid robot with redundant actuators that simulates the human bone and muscle system.

Download & Build Your Own ASIMO (Papercraft)
An official ASIMO papercraft is now available for free to download, print, and assemble!

Here are the movie and video game reviews of the week:

A Tree of Palme
A beautiful, if somewhat impenetrable fantasy film inspired in part by the classic tale of Pinocchio.

Breath of Fire IV
Breath of Fire was a divisive game for longtime fans, but in my opinion it is arguably the best of Capcom’s RPG series.

Statistics: Posted by Robotbling — Sat Mar 06, 2010 10:48 am