Honda Asimo Can Handle Stairs Like a Pro Now
Asimo, Honda’s robot that they tote out at basically every single press event they’re at, made his requisite appearance here at CES, and boy is he excited. Witness him run, kick a soccer ball, and handle a set of stairs without falling and smashing his face in. Next step: making Asimo useful. CES 2007 [Gizmodo]
iRobot Launching an Edu-Bot?
iRobot is trying to expand their market beyond just mopping and vacuuming, with the iRobot Create. It’s basically just the body of the Scooba without the brushes or cleaning fluid tank. Instead they tacked on some ports so people can mod the system to attach things like reticulating arms. One insane example of what it’s…
Roboquad Crawls Into CES
We’ve all been waiting to see how the fabled WoWee Roboquad crawls. Now we know. The four-legged bot moves in all directions, has 3 different speeds, and a deep IR scanner to spot movements up to 13 feet away. Its sound sensors are reactive, and it can tell the difference between dark and light. Kind…
WoWee’s Elvis-Bot: Viva Las Vegas!
Elvis lives. WoWee, makers of the Robosapien and Roboquad, showed this singing and talking bust tonight at CES Unveiled. Based on the 1968 Comeback TV special, the King can be set to play his greatest hits or be operated with a microphone. Available this year for $349. –Noah Robischon with video by Richard Blakeley
Romi The Robot Can Follow Orders, Create Minor Mischief
It’s a new year and it’s about damn time I had a slave helper robot to clean the bathroom and take out the trash for me. Romi comes close, but probably not close enough for my liking. It’s able to follow simple commands in the form of “Romi: action,” like “Romi, place this banana peel…
Robots Entitled to the Same Rights as Humans in the Future?
The wheels are in motion to give robots the same rights that people currently enjoy. Huh? A recent inquiry by the British government suggests that within the next 20 to 50 years robots will be intelligent enough to warrant many of the same rights and benefits that us mere mortals now have. Robots would be…