Robotics

HAL Suits Could Help Support Nuclear Cleaners

A Tungsten vest provides its wearer fantastic protection from radiation’s damaging effects. Problem is—said vest also weighs about 132 pounds. So how does the Haz-Mat crew of tomorrow gird their loins in this radiation-resistant element? Exo-suits, obviously. Cyberdyne (the real Japanese company, not the fictional LA firm responsible for Skynet) has adapted their Hybrid Assistive…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Nov 8

Stanford Develops Nanotube-Infused Artificial Skin for Robots and People Alike

Man and machine might not be that different in the future—especially if they share the same synthetic skin being developed at Stanford University. The skin utilizes spray-on carbon nanotubes—in a liquid suspension—applied to a layer of silicon, which is then stretched to align some of the nanotubes into bundles that resemble tiny springs. These bundles,…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Oct 25

10 Words You Might Think Came from Science (But Are Really From Science Fiction  )

Last week it came to our attention that the phrase “blast off” was coined—not in a purely scientific context, but a science fictional one—by E. E. Smith, an early science fiction author often referred to as “the father of space opera.” The term appeared in Smith’s 1937 story Galactic Patrol, when one character inquires of…

io9 Jeff Prucher -- Oxford University Press Blog Oct 17

Come the robot uprising, Paraswift will climb the walls, attack from the sky

Its inventors say it could be used to create 3D models of urban environments for applications like Google Street View, but take one look at Paraswift — the vertical-wall-climbing, base-jumping robot featured in the video above — and you’ll know it to be true: come the robot uprising, we humans are totally humped. Paraswift is…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Sep 8

Would You Really Cut Off Your Own Arm for a Robotic One?

Filmmaker Rob Spence, otherwise known as the Eyeborg, has been toying with robotics for some time. Now, with the help of some engineers, he has a robotic eye that can record near everything he sees. He thinks voluntary prosthesis is the future. https://gizmodo.com/filmmaker-gets-his-cyborg-like-led-prosthetic-eye-5204545 Now, we’ve made some remarkable strides in replacing the lost body parts…

Tech News Kwame Opam Aug 27

We live at the dawn of the age of underwater octobots

Your underwater city was rocked by an earthquake and its protective dome has sprung a leak. You’ve evacuated most of the citizens, but as mayor, you must stay behind and try to contain the damage. The water is rising. The glass continues to crumple – it seems like the end. But look! An underwater robot…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Jul 21

Relax. Just Let the PossessedHand Electromagically Take Over Your Limbs and Create a Masterpiece

Having trouble learning the violin? Finges not moving as they should? All thumbs? Just be patient. In the future there will exist devices that take control of your limbs and use electricity to make them move on their own. One such device, unabashedly called PossessedHand, already exists and does exactly that by way of subtle…

Tech News Jack Loftus Jun 26

A Robotic Hand So Quick It’s Scary

The above video demonstrates extremely precise robotic hand and finger manipulation. It was designed to make use of a high-speed camera and tactile sensors to enable throwing, catching, and even grasping. I hope it’s only used for good. [BoingBoing]

Tech News Kwame Opam Jun 14

This Robot Is Basically a Ninja

What do ninjas do? They climb walls, conduct missions in the dark, and fight pirates. So does ReconRobotics’ Recon Scout Throwbot. ReconRobotics has made their fair share of throwable surveillance robots. But the magnetic-wheeled Recon Scout, sporting an IR optical system to help it see in complete darkness, is the first of its kind to…

Tech News Max Behrman May 18

Sadistic Researcher Takes Glee in Smashing Robot Arm with Baseball Bat

The DLR Hand Arm System is perhaps the most advanced in the world. It’s also, thanks to artificial kevlar tendons, one of the strongest. So how do you test that out? Smash the shit out of it with a bat. The German arm’s incredibly design allows it to absorb and evenly distribute major shock while…

Tech News Sam Biddle May 13

Meet Rollin’ Justin, the robot who’ll someday make your coffee (and play outfield)

This is Rollin’ Justin, a robot built by the German Aerospace Agency to accomplish tasks that require dexterity and spatial know-how. So far his robot does two things well: catch balls and brew hot java. Explains the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.: In the future humanoid robots are envisioned in household applications as…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Apr 30

Boy Scouts of America Dip Toe Into Robotics with Latest Geeky Merit Badge

The Boy Scouts, already no strangers to interesting, (if not controversial) modern-day badges like “video games,” have added what is an arguably more apt and useful skill to their badge-based repertoire: Robotics. https://gizmodo.com/cub-scouts-give-up-entirely-offer-video-game-badge-5526230 Gracing the face of the new badge is one of the NASA rovers currently stationed on Mars. Scouts will affix one of…

Tech News Jack Loftus Apr 10

Hexapod Robot Manages to Make Innocent Little Waves Looks Six Times More Creepy

New for Spring! Creepy pseudo-arachnid robots—great for going into even creepier, crawlier places so you don’t have to! Also, check out that cute little wave it does in the video! Aww. I say “pseudo” of course because this beastie boasts but six legs. As all arachnologists worth their salt know, spiders have eight wonderful legs,…

Tech News Jack Loftus Apr 9

Watch a Robot Really Go Nuts on an iPhone Game

At this time last year, the Adept Quattro was the world’s fastest pick and place robot. I don’t know if it still holds the title. It does, however, have a new distinction: world’s fastest “1to50” player. Here it is playing the game—it requires you to tap all the numbers, 1 through 50, in rapid succession—like…

Tech News Kyle VanHemert Mar 11

Crazy Realistic Geminoid Robot Now Comes in Cool College Professor Variety

Japanese roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro was responsible for the first Geminoids—super realistic androids capable of reproducing facial tics and other subtle mannerisms—but a team of researchers at Aalborg University in Denmark has fired back with their own fair-skinned take on the creepily realistic robot: the Geminoid DK. DK already looks startlingly familiar, like he’s the cool…

Tech News Kyle VanHemert Mar 7

See the world’s first robot marathon from the robot’s point of view

First we had marathon man. Now we have marathon machine. Osaka started the world’s first Robot Marathon yesterday. Four robots will be competing in this historic race, and although they are only around a foot tall, they will be made to complete a full 26.2 mile marathon. One of them even comes with a helmet…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Feb 25

Watch the amazing trailer for Robonaut 2: The next step in space robotics

The Space Shuttle Discovery’s crew today includes one special robot — Robonaut 2, who has way more lifting and manipulation capacity than existing humanoid robots. Check out this super-dramatic movie-style trailer, showing why Robonaut is the bot with a mission. I love the super-tense movie music interspersed with splashy captions and shots of Robonaut doing…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Feb 24

The Fantasyland Toyota Factory

Currently on display as part of the Prix Pictet Exhibition in Paris, Stéphanie Couturier‘s dense composite photograph of a Toyota assembly plant is probably what it feels like like to work in one of those crazy high-tech car factories, even if it isn’t exactly what it looks like to work in one. [Prix Pictet via…

Tech News Kyle VanHemert Feb 21

Mobility Master M1 Robot Has 80s Era Movie Star Looks

This real life Johnny Five is not alive (credit to technabob for noticing the resemblance), but that’s OK because it wasn’t designed to star in any movies—it was designed to move things. Called the M1 Mobile Manipulator, this robo hauler was created by former MIT roboticists at Maka Robotics to allow an operator to remotely…

Movies Jack Loftus Feb 19

Animatronic Eyeballs Freak Me Out