Gizmodo: tmsuk

KOBIAN Emotional Humanoid Robot: Mime of the Future?

Odelia Lee — Thu, 21 May 2009 22:00:00 EDT

By adjusting its posture and wiggling its eyes and lips, this plucky android conveys several emotions. From the looks of it, they run the gamut from joy to absolute disgust. More pics after the jump.

I find it curious that KOBIAN is being developed for use in care facilities such as nursing homes. I'm not sure how much of this dramatic little robot the elderly (or anyone else) can handle. [Nikkei Net via Pink Tentacle]

Telerobotic Shopper Lets You Hit the Malls Using a Cellphone

Elaine Chow — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 10:00:00 EDT

Japan, the land of using technology to solve problems we didn't know we had, has come out with a new robot that will let people shop at malls without ever leaving their home. Robot developer tmsuk revealed a telerobotic shopper that can be controlled using NTT DoCoMo's cellphone technology.

In the demo, unveiled at the Izutuya deparment store in Kitakyushu, Japan, a sick grandmother went shopping with her granddaughter using the robot and a video-capable cellphone. Girl and bot sauntered to the hat section, shuffled through what was available, and picked out one to purchase.

So what about this makes it better than having your granddaughter surf Internet clothes outlets with you back at home? Being the kind of person that abhors shopping at malls, I really have no clue. Tmsuk, however, is convinced that its “3D communications” technology will soon have telerobotic machines wandering around all the world's fashion capitals. [Pink Tentacle]

Gigantic-Clawed Dragon Bot Terrifies and Helps at the Same Time

kevinhall2 — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 11:50:57 EDT

Updated: The Enryu T-53 "support dragon" has two powerful yellow claws at the end of each hydraulic arm, but, fear not, it's here to help. The 3-ton rescue vehicle is controlled either with joysticks or, à la Robot Jox, a system where the arms of the machine mimic the arms of the operator, though with slower movements. It's like a crazy robot version of the jaws of life.

The T-35 would be able to sort through a crumbled building far faster than human workers with its precision arms and hands capable of a fearsome 220-pound grip. Also, it's wireless LAN capable and is able to broadcast the video taken from cameras located atop the vehicle as well as on its arms, and has a plow at its front to move through debris. It's a bit of a hog though, as its water-cooled, 3-cylinder diesel engine can only keep the machine running for six hours. [Impress]