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The robots are here, and they're winning your dogs' affections. Well, at least this one is. One dog owner, distraught over leaving his pup home alone every day, built a robot to keep him entertained. More »
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Brain implantation and manipulation is a mainstay of science fiction. Often, characters can gain extra memory or get smarter, by having chips placed within the brain. (Or you can wind up mind-controlled by a psychopath. It's a mixed bag.) More »
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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 another, "How long do you figure it'll be before it's safe for us to blast off?" More »
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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. More »
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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 octopus has come to your rescue! More »
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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. More »
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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 cam, so you can watch it run. More »
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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. More »
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Almost two millennia before the rest of humanity entered the industrial age, the Greek inventor Hero invented the steam engine, wind-powered machinery, and theories of light that couldn't be improved for centuries. And then he invented some really crazy stuff. More »
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Have you met Suzette? If you have, you might not know it — because Suzette has passed the Turing Test. This chatbot convinced a judge that she was a human. More »
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Robots won't only be going into space in November — they'll also be heading under the ice of Antarctica. More »
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Robonaut 2, a robot designed to help astronauts with difficult tasks, will leave the earth behind and start his new life on the International Space Station in November. Check out what he can do now — and in the future. More »
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You'd think hands would be the hardest part of a robot to put together, with all those bones and tendons. But somebody's managed to create a new robot hand out of objects that you can find around the house. More »
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This iCub humanoid robot learned how to hit a bullseye using a plastic bow and arrow after a mere eight attempts. Sure, it's only using suction cups, which provides some degree of cold comfort More »
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Ken Rinaldo shows us what happens when science meets art and goes nuts. More »
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Modern biomimesis makes solar cells grow like plants, molecules walk like people, and art run like centipedes. But it's a very old science. Take a look at ancient engineers who made lifelike machines fight, sing, flirt, and yes, poop. More »
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Robotics has made tremendous strides in replicating the senses of sight and sound, but smell and taste are still lagging behind, and touch was thought to be the most difficult of them all...until new pressure-sensitive electronic skin came along. More »
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A new remote-controlled helicopter is the first to use a robotic hand to pick objects off the ground and safely fly away with them. Check out a video of the Yale Aerial Manipulator in action. More »
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In what seems like a Cthulian moment of experimentation, scientists have fashioned a biotech "nose" by genetically engineering frog cells to behave like insect nose cells. And then they turned the hybrid cells into a control device for a robot. More »
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The Great Pyramid of Giza has been extensively studied (and looted) since its construction 4,500 years ago. But some tunnels are too small or too fragile for human archaeologists to explore - that's when they send in the robots. More »
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They're coming, and they'll be here by September! Robot teachers, programmed with a single mission: to save our failing schools. More »
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Would you trust this robot? It all depends on how well it is programmed to mimic the nonverbal gestures and tics that humans use to signal their trustworthiness. Yes, Nexi the Robot is cracking the code of why humans trust. More »
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What you see here is one of the 128 groups of "feet" that allow a centipede-like microrobot to move around. Made from an old microchip, this robot can carry a record-breaking seven times its own weight and has unprecedented mobility. More »
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No matter how perfectly designed, robots still run the risk of suffering a serious accident with no chance of repair. To figure out how robots could adjust to losing a limb, scientists are examining the remarkable adaptations of three-legged dogs. More »
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It took four guys one year, more than 100,000 legos, about $30,000, and a love for robotic awesomess to create Monster Chess. Keep watching, because it gets more and more impressive as it goes. [Topless Robot] More »
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A team of German researchers have conducted a series of tests — featuring robots equipped with slashing or stabbing tools — to see if a prototype safety system could minimize the potentially deadly damage inflicted. More »
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Nike Japan commissioned this spot, featuring a lithe pixie-rebel fighting a rad, bad robot. Why aren't US ads this kind of anime-cool? More »
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British material-design company Peratech recently inked a deal with MIT to create pressure-sensitive, electronically responsive "skin" for robots. This means, of course, that sooner or later we'll have a terrifying robotic version of Buffalo Bill. More »
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Science fiction has long played with the idea of projecting unified personalities/minds/"souls" into different bodies. The premise is baked into the plots of stories like Avatar and Caprica. But how would it work in the real world? More »
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Universal has created a web page for Union, the company that sells robotic organs to those in need — until they default on their payments, that is. Check out the goods and the highly sexualized commercials of our near future. More »
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Are humans doomed to find humanoid robots creepy? The widely-accepted "uncanny valley" hypothesis proposes just that. But when Popular Mechanics did an investigative report on this influential theory, they discovered it's not based any scientific research. More »
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Need a gift for the robot aficionado who has everything? A Japanese company is giving consumers the opportunity to buy a moving, talking robot that looks just like them, only creepier. More »
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Are we coming upon the era of bionic limbs? Another company has created a robotic hand that can be controlled by the wearer's thoughts and restores tactile sensation — and the subject claims it feels almost like a real hand. More »
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Current prostheses allow individuals who have lost a hand to grasp and hold objects, but regaining their sense of touch has been out of the question. But a new robotic hand is giving its wearers a new tactile sensation. More »
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There are two basic things you need if you are going to be superpowered: Mega strength and a giant brain. Two new university lab inventions - superfast robot hands and injectable brain tissue - could give you both. More »
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MIT's latest robotic fish may not look like much on land, but once it gets in the water, it swims just like the real thing. And it could be an ideal tool for underwater exploration. More »
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Where most humanoid robots have human-looking features on the outside but not inside, the Eccerobot team takes a different approach, giving their robot a humanoid skeleton, joints, and tendons so that it can better mimic human movement. More »
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Asimov's three Laws of Robotics were meant to ensure that robots would serve as safe and useful tools for humans, but some modern roboticists say the rules don't mesh with current technology, and propose a new set of robotics laws. More »
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Once upon a time, we hoped for robots that could beat humans at cultured, highbrow games like chess. But as society falters and falls around us, it's another game that we hope our robot overlords will master: Super Mario Bros. More »
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How close is the authentic robotic-human experience promised in upcoming movie The Surrogates? According to a new promo video, closer than you may think... or maybe that's just a comment on Bruce Willis' acting abilities. More »
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