Popular Science reports that California-based Anybots are producing telepresence robots that could act as surrogates for telecommuting workers.

Researchers at Vanderbuilt University have conducted experiments which explore ways of filtering information.

The 6-in-1 Solar Craft Kit is an environmentally-friendly multiple toy set. With this kit, you can make a windmill, a boat, a plane, an airplane dock, mini-car, and even a puppy.

Advancements in robotics are being made at a rapid pace. From machines that carry out tedious domestic tasks to highly specialized devices, we’ve gathered a selection of innovative robots from Japan.

Taizo is a robot built by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Japan, designed specifically to lead the elderly in exercise.

A hacked Industrial robot writes out real time messages for UK politicians.

Scientists in the UK are working on creating a robot out of mold.

We’ve  collected 1o examples of unique ways that perforated, laser-cut and cut-out designs have been used around the world. The list runs the gamut from architecture to shoe design to screens created with lasers utilizing the assistance of robots.

The casualties of catastrophic events not only affect the victims but can extend to rescue workers and inhabitants of the surrounding areas. However, risking the lives of rescue workers may now be limited with the aid of artificial intelligence. Pink Tentacle points us to a version of the Tokyo Fire Department’s Robo-Q. The machine–manned from a different location, is able to transmit video and images of victims to the machine’s pilot; the pilot, in turn, navigates the machine to handle the victim and protect he or she within its shell.
Below is a demonstration.

[via Pink Tentacle]

Fresh off the optimistic idea of artificial intelligence improving our lives, an article in the Times Online warns of a secret emergency conference with leading artificial intelligence researchers about the growing possibility of computer-based systems turning against us.
The alarmist article lists many possible technologies that could prompt an nightmare scenario, including an autonomous sentry robots that can shoot-to-kill and an army of “nursebots” that simulate empathy to hospital patients.  Fortunately, the scientists at the conference admit that we’re a long way from technological singularity and suggests new artificial intelligence technologies should undergo a review board like many other scientific endeavors, [...]

The Cybraphon is a handmade musical robot contained in an antique wardrobe made up of instruments, antique machinery, and found objects, all of which are operated by over 60 robotic components.
Although musical robots are certainly something we’ve seen before, the Cybraphon differs from the rest in its relentless obsession with its own online popularity. It scales the web for references to itself, in addition to keeping track of Facebook and Myspace friends. The Cybraphon’s “mood” is determined by how much online attention it gets. Since Internet popularity is a fleeting thing, the Cybraphon emotions are always fluctuating.

It also [...]

The Tweenbots project by Kacie Kinzer examines the random kindness of strangers.  She designed tiny smiling cardboard robots that rely on the help of pedestrians to get to their destination. The Tweenbots roll at a constant speed, in a straight line and are dependent on humans to steer them in the right direction to reach their final location (which is printed on a flag attached to the robot’s body).
Kinzer talks about the results of the experiment:
The results were unexpected. Over the course of the following months, throughout numerous missions, the Tweenbots were successful in rolling from their start point to [...]

Brain-machine interfaces are interesting control systems that promise to make things happen just by thinking about them. Though not a new technology, researchers are working to make BMI’s more functional and compact.
One exciting development in the BMI world, is a project by Honda that uses human thought to control an Asimo robot. Users wearing a sensor-filled helmet think about moving their arms or legs, and the Asimo will respond in kind. The system analyzes electric potential changes on the skull surface, and data about how blood is moving inside the brain, translating this information into instructions for the robot.
[Pink Tentacle [...]

Intelligent robots that can learn from their environment, and figure out how to execute novel complex tasks are looking like a very real possibility. Researchers from Iowa State University are working on software that will help robots learn at the level of a two year old child.
Scientific American explains:
In one set of experiments, the robot was presented with 36 different objects, including hockey pucks and Tupperware. It could perform five different actions with each one—grasping, pushing, tapping, shaking and dropping—and had to identify and classify them based only on the sounds they made. After just one action the robot had [...]

As part of the 2009 Human-Robot Interaction Conference, researchers from the University of Calgary have released a paper describing their efforts to make a household machine – in this case, a Roomba vacuum robot, aware of it’s owner’s emotions. Using a special headband that reads bioelectrical signals, they were able to control the Roomba based on the unique physical indicators of human emotions. The researchers are hoping to design robots that are more responsive to human needs. So, if a human seemed upset, the robot could sense it, and comfort them. Or, on the flipside, when people get angry, these [...]