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Dolls, pets, drones: six ways that robots will change the way we live
Robotics has long been touted as the solution to humanity’s woes, only for the reality to fall short of the hype. But today’s inventions really could change our lives for the better
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The rise of human-like robots, cars and drones
Should we add more humour and humanity to robots, cars and drones? David Robson reports on a new breed of machine designed to make us love them.
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Startup wants to raise $1.8 million to build giant fighting robots
The folks at MegaBots Inc. dream of making humongous machines: 15-foot-tall, 15,000-pound piloted robots to be exact. And they don't want to build them for rescue missions or military use -- nope, these robots are designed to duke it out in an arena à la Real Steel, except instead of using fists, they shoot each other with high-powered paint guns. A now-defunct convention called RoboGames used to have a real-life robot combat event, but this startup's plans are obviously a lot grander in scale.
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WATCH: The Robotic Baby Penguin That Spies For Scientists
The emperor penguins of Antarctica are adorable. They're also pretty skittish when humans come around to collect data. Researchers at the University of Strasbourg have a solution: a penguin rover.
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Ozobot Gaming Smart Robot
Measuring slightly over an inch in stature, Ozobot is the world’s most compact intelligent toy and its ability to navigate between both worlds created a new realm called “hybrid gaming.” Ozobot follows the path of the lines you create on your tablet, Android or iOS device, and even on paper, and responds to color and more than 1,000 different instructions using SmartCodes.
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How Universal Basic Income Will Save Us From the Robot Uprising
Robots are poised to eliminate millions of jobs over the coming decades. We have to address the coming epidemic of "technological unemployment" if we're to avoid crippling levels of poverty and societal collapse. Here's how a guaranteed basic income will help — and why it's absolutely inevitable.
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Robots are starting to break the law and nobody knows what to do about it
Maybe it’s a sign that robots are growing up, and thus hitting the rebellious stage.
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If Professional Athletes Were Replaced By Robots, Would You Still Watch Sports?
Assume that MLS announced a plan to replace all human soccer players with hyper-performing robot athletes. Instead of human teams competing on human terms, you’d have super-fast, super-strong, supercharged robots competing on superhuman terms, with bicycle kicks and backflips becoming the norm instead of the exception. Would you watch these new competitions, or would the loss of the human be enough to steer you away?
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The New ATLAS Is Stronger, Faster, Scarier, and Battery-Powered
As if the original version of Boston Dynamics' ATLAS robot wasn't unsettling enough, ahead of the upcoming DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals in June about 75 percent of the robot has been redesigned and rebuilt to make it stronger, faster, quieter, and less encumbered by cables thanks to a battery-filled backpack that will now keep it powered during the upcoming trials.
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We Can Now Build Autonomous Killing Machines. And That's a Very, Very Bad Idea
Clearpath Robotics is a 80-person company founded six years ago by three college buddies who had a passion for machine building. They specialize in all-terrain test vehicles, such as the Husky, a stout four-wheeled robot vehicle that’s used by the Department of Defense as a test machine. They make drones too, and have even built a robot boat called the Kingfisher. But there is one thing the company will never build: a robot that can kill.
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ABC Revives 'BattleBots' As Summer Reality Series
The battling robots are back! Twelve years after BattleBots ended its run on Comedy Central, ABC has picked up a reimagined take of the killer robot combat sport, from Whalerock Industries and the creators of the original BattleBots franchise, Ed Roski and Greg Munson. Former ABC topper Lloyd Braun executive produces the project, which has received a six-episode order to air this summer.
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World’s First Robot-Staffed Hotel to Open in Japan
A theme park in typical Dutch style has unveiled plans to open the modern hotel with robot staff.
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Introducing: Spot - A four-legged robot that helps to navigate rough terrain
Spot is a four-legged robot designed for indoor and outdoor operation. It is electrically powered and hydraulically actuated. Spot has a sensor head that helps it navigate and negotiate rough terrain. Spot weighs about 160 lbs.
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In Japan, Dog Owners Feel Abandoned as Sony Stops Supporting ‘Aibo’
Yahui and Tatsuo Matsui met because of their dogs, Ai and Doggy. So, at their wedding reception, the couple dressed up their pets as a traditional Japanese bride and groom and seated them at the head of the table. That was in 2004, when Ai and Doggy were still pups. Now they are 15 and 13 years old. Ai’s stride has slowed and Doggy’s neck is so stiff he can barely move his head. “Whenever Doggy finds...
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This Incredible Hospital Robot Is Saving Lives. Also, I Hate It
The robot, I’m told, is on its way. Any minute now you’ll see it. We can track them, you know. There’s quite a few of them, so it’s only a matter of time. Any minute now. Ah, and here it is. Far down the hospital hall, double doors part to reveal the automaton. There’s no dramatic fog or lighting—which I jot down as “disappointing”—only a white, rectangular machine about four feet tall. It waits for the doors to fully part, then cautiously begins to roll toward us, going about...
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How robots will choose who lives and who dies
Massive computers were born behind the ivory walls of universities and the thick concrete of military complexes before transitioning into popular culture during the late 1970s and early ’80s. Similarly, automation—the birthplace of robots—has been around for some time, existing outside of the public consciousness. Today, robots are more useful, cost-effective, and pervasive; the mid- to late teens of this millennium frames the dawn of robotics.
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Robear robot care bear designed to serve Japan's aging population
The way Robear was designed allows its joints to be faster and more responsive, to have softer movements and to be able to lift and help patients in a safe and comfortable manner. "We really hope that this robot will lead to advances in nursing care, relieving the burden on caregivers today," says Toshiharu Mukai, leader of the Robot Sensor Systems Research Team. "We intend to continue with research toward...
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Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2015
Technology is perhaps the greatest agent of change in the modern world. While never without risk, technological breakthroughs promise innovative solutions to the most pressing global challenges of our time. From zero-emission cars fuelled by hydrogen to computer chips modelled on the human brain, this year’s 10 emerging technologies offer a vivid glimpse of the power of innovation to improve lives, transform industries and safeguard our planet.
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A Robot That Collapses Under Pressure (In a Good Way)
If NASA plans to send robots to other planets, it’s going to need some new designs: ones that are easy to land, easy to move around, and easy to fix. That means they probably won’t look like a bipedal T-1000 chasing the one hope for mankind. They probably won’t even look like the four-legged galloping critters Boston Dynamics is building. Nope. Those robots will look like a hexahedral tent stripped of its fabric.
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Robot room service
He brought me a lot more stuff last night!! :)
1 comments by MissyE
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