The bot set is available for $33, won't be confused with bedroom gadgets, and is almost cute when at work:

Now, I'm certain these bots are somehow evil and will take over the world, but frankly I don't care if they spare me from any more singed tablecloths or hair. [Suck UK via Nerd Approved via Foolish Gadgets via Geeky Gadgets]

As part of a project under the EU's Joint Action Science and Technology team, the Teamworkbot was designed with the goal of having it be able to monitor progress, ask questions, and anticipate what you might do next, helping to prevent errors along the way.

But I really just can get over how peeved the robot seems when you mess something up. [Pop Sci]

The actual tech behind Mech Virus, on display at Maker Faire 2009, is pretty simple, it's just a motor and a power supply that allows Mech Virus to waddle and spit out a Norton Anti-Virus CD every 30 seconds or so. The actual motherboard components don't work at all, making Mech Virus more about appearance, and less about action. But still I love it. [Maker Faire 2009]

[io9]

Created by three Malaysian university students, there's currently only photos available of the TCR, so how well this thing actually functions remains to be seen.

Aesthetic gripes aside, what the TCR will someday do is pretty cool. Using ultrasonic sensors, it can search far and wide for any loose pieces of garbage, then, using a dual pair of conveyor belts, pick the rubbish up and deposit it into its back. A sound sensor is used to issue voice commands and a light sensor is used to detect colors. Right now, the bot is only able to classify red-colored balls as trash and blue-colored balls (heh) as not trash.

Simplistic, sure. But like I said, the road to the future happens in baby steps. [TCR-2009 via Gizmo Watch via Dvice]

The T-34 is essentially a remote-controlled security drone. It can be controlled from afar—by cellphone if the operator chooses—and putter around a building at a healthy 6mph, sending visual data to its remote pilot. This data is kind of the point of the T-34, as it is intended to be deployed in situations where a security system alerts, but doesn't provide enough actionable information to be useful.

It's not just a surveillance drone either; the T-34 will start throwing net if you don't cooperate. It seems like it ought to be pretty easy to escape a 6mph, cell-controlled robot, but I'm not one to discourage Cyrax-esque net-throwing capabilities no matter where they crop up. [Dailymail]

UPDATE: Now with video, thanks to BotJunkie.

Well, we can't really say. The iCub will undergo pretty basic tests, such as shape analysis, nesting different sized cups and stacking wooden blocks, as well as speech development tasks, meaning iCub will be able to name actions it carries out, which will lead to a commentary of its routine. The overall goal was laid out by Angelo Cangelosi, Professor in Artificial Intelligence;

"The outcome of the research will define the scientific and technological requirements for the design of humanoid robots able to develop complex behavioral, thinking and communication skills through individual and social learning."

From first viewed to last viewed:

• Mr. Clock Radio by Geewiz Entertainment ($99.99), is primarily an alarm clock radio. However, it does have a line-in jack, making it usable as a personal speaker set. It also has some three-hundred different wake-up message (half are aggressive, half are charming), and a fun/pointless "fortune telling" mode. The price is a little steep for the basic tech it implements, (flashing lights, portable speakers and pre-recorded messages), but we can't help loving the guy for his fantastic witticisms. [Geewiz Entertainment]

• Comprehensive Robot Kit by Bioloid ($869.00), one of the most complete and versatile robotics kits we saw on display at CES '08. The Comprehensive Robot Kit is really a a super-glorified Lego kit. It comes with various robotic bits'n'bobs, including IrDA receivers for dual robot communication, microphones for sound detection, luminosity detectors, piezo-electric speakers, essential battery packs and a full software suite for programmable characteristics in your robot's behavior, all via your PC. At this price, the kit is strictly an educational tool or for serious enthusiasts. [Bioloid Comprehensive Kit]

• Wrex the Dawg by WowWee ($TBA), has three emotional modes (happy, sad and angry), 14-motors for movement and a remote control for general locomotion. Expected to ship this Spring; if Wrex's quirky styling does not have reaching for your wallet, perhaps his mechanized wagging tail will? [WowWee]

• Tribot by WowWee ($99.99), is the robot that will replace the much loved Robosapien. The Tribot comes pre-loaded with a series of games that rely on the user to position the bot in various different orientations, it has three wheels that allow it to have a wide range of movements, a motion sensing controller that allows for Wii-esque navigation and it will hit the shops this summer. [WowWee]

• iRobiQ by Yujin Robot has been doing the rounds since CES 2007. It is a home information service that is able to display the news, weather, cooking recipes, photos, videos and sing some karaoke if you get bored. All this information goodness is displayed on a 7-inch LCD screen, but the iRobiQ also accepts voice commands for various jobs, like sending images to a cellphone, ordering a room to be cleaned by pairing with a Roomba type device and even read books that are stored on its central server. The iRobiQ, at present, has no US distributor, so do not expect it to ship anytime soon. [Yujin Robot; Korean link, via Tech Digest]

• E1 by Roboware ($1,500), recognizes set voice commands via a Bluetooth headset, connects to your network to transmit pictures captured via the on board camera, which it can also display on its tiny LCD screen and boasts bi-pedal motion, generated by a ton of different joints. At present, it is not ready for shipping, as the engineers are working out the bugs in the system. The final model will come with a full software suite, as well as an online developers community that will be launched along side the bot. Roboware hopes to ship the E1 by March, and envisions a truly malleable robot that can be completely defined by its users. [Company website is not live at present]

• Zeno by David Hanson (concept stage); we have covered Zeno an awful lot here at Giz, but the creepy bot was displaying his moves at CES '08, still in prototype stages. Zeno did not look so horrific in the real "frubber," but he still made us a little unsettled. Zeno will be able to talk, recognize faces and detect specific sounds, as well as be user upgradeable via an online community, with which Zeno can remain wirelessly connected thanks to the inbuilt support for Wi-Fi connectivity. [Hanson Robotics]

• FemiSapien by WowWee ($TBA), the FemiSapien is coined as Robosapien's girlfriend, and when the two interact, hilarious girlfriend/boyfriend rifts take place. The Femisapien is able to control Robosapien, but not visa versa. The female bot will be able to dance, move, sing and carry out a range of movement like her out-dated boyfriend. We are not sure the robot god approves of them living in sin, but we did not see them romp. However, if Robosapien carries on acting like this (VERY NSFW), we are sure robot god will be most displeased. Expect the FemiSapien to ship this summer. [Robots Rule]

That's the best of the robots we uncovered at CES '08. It looks like it is going to be a great year for fans of this genere of toys, but Sony, if you are reading, we wouldn't mind Aibo joining in the festivities at some point. Until then folks, there should be more than enough here to tide you over.

You've probably seen website sign-up forms with a graphic of some crazy-looking twisted alphanumeric characters that you're asked to type into a form. That's to ensure that an actual human being has to do the signing up. It's called text Captcha (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart).

A novel approach to this concept is to display a series of pictures and instruct the website visitor to click on the kittens, or in the case of Hotcaptcha, click on the three attractive young ladies (or men, your choice) in the picture. Even though looks are subjective, machines can't tell the subtle differences between a plain Jane and a hot babe, at least not yet. The code is available to use on your own website. Looks like more fun than just typing in text. Nice idea. – Charlie White

Product Page [Hotcaptcha, via Propellerhead]