#robots

io9

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#observationdeck, #tips, #calendar, etc.

San Francisco, 9:58 PM
Tue Feb 9
26 posts in the last 24 hours

IO9 TEAM

Roklimber 02/07/10

NASA, GM Take Giant Leap in Robotic Technology
[www.sciencedaily.com]

#tips #sciencetips #robots #nasa Reply

#robotart

Re-Elect PresidentBot! You Know It Makes Sense.

Vote for DominatorDroid 3000 in this year's Presidroidal election. We gave the old PeaceBot regime a chance, and it suffered fatal Blue Screen errors. You can register your vote by going to the robot art show at Gallery 242. More »

02/03/10

1,524

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By Charlie Jane Anders

#repomen

Repo Men's Organ Home Shopping Channel Offers Sex For Mattresses

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 »

02/03/10

6,399

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By Meredith Woerner

#conceptart

Celebrate 20 Years of Futuristic Freedom With Mecha Armor

After fighting for civil liberties in the futuristic world of high tech for twenty years, the Electronic Frontier Foundation is throwing a mega-party. And their anniversary poster is an homage to science fiction. More »

02/02/10

2,465

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By Annalee Newitz

#conceptart

The City Poses Many Dangers For Giant Robots

How often do you find yourself rounding a corner to discover a giant robot is collapsing in the street? This is one of those giant robot tragedies that happens more often than you realize, especially in cities. More »

02/01/10

6,184

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By Annalee Newitz

#capricarecap

Caprica Takes Us Inside The Tragedy Of Robot Consciousness

Friday night's first episode of Caprica, "Rebirth," was fast-paced and thoughtful - a combination that's difficult to pull off. The best part was glimpsing the psychology of a freshly-born cylon, followed closely by watching gangster Sam Adama in action. More »

02/01/10

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By Annalee Newitz

#conceptart

Little Robot Boy Challenges The Mighty Sky Cephalobot

In a sky the color of the sea, a young robot undergoes his rite of passage. He must leap from a tiny flying vehicle onto the back of the massive mechanical squid who rules this volume of atmosphere. More »

01/30/10

7,617

24

By Annalee Newitz

#art

Could This Be The Beginning of the AI Revolution?

A devious device looking suspiciously like the pain box from Dune — or a minimalist sculpture from the '60s — is now selling on eBay. In fact, that's all it does. This robot sells itself on eBay every week. More »

01/25/10

8,146

70

By Scott Timberg

#robots

New Robotic Maid Does Your Laundry, Shuffles Around Like a Drunk

Researchers at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology have created a robot that can do a number of basic household tasks. It's not exactly sprightly, but what are you going to do — program the microwave yourself? More »

01/24/10

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By Alex Eichler

#robotmyths

Is The "Uncanny Valley" Pseudoscience?

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 »

01/21/10

8,467

82

By Annalee Newitz

#goodcauses

Robots And Monsters To Help In Haiti

Cartoonist Joe Alterio's charity, Robots + Monsters, is raising money for relief efforts Haiti. Donate, and you'll get a custom-drawn robot or monster created to your specifications by some pretty awesome artists. More »

01/21/10

1,599

10

By Annalee Newitz

#retrofuturism

Kraftwerk's Robotic Journey Into An Oppressive Past's Future

Kraftwerk's 1977 single "The Robots" is anchored in 1930s ideas of futurism - both Soviet and Nazi - and it illuminates something about our relationship with artificial life forms, argues blogger Justin E.H. Smith. More »

01/20/10

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By Charlie Jane Anders

#caprica

Caprica Is Not A Show About Lovable People

One thing Caprica will have in common with its parent show, Battlestar Galactica: Gnarly, uncompromising characters who'll make choices you won't like. We talked to star Paula Malcomson and producer David Eick about the bad mother who birthed the Cylons. More »

01/19/10

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52

By Charlie Jane Anders

Roklimber 01/18/10

Wow... a LOT of science-related news circulating the internets today... Here are some of the things I've seen:

==========

#asteroids

Earth to Get Close Shave Wednesday From Newly Discovered Asteroid
[www.wired.com]

Wednesday’s Near-Earth Asteroid Caught on Film
[www.wired.com]

==========

#spaceporn

Nice photo of Atlantis taking off to orbit
[antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov]

No, not the Atlantis from the Pegasus galaxy...

===

Awesome picture of a solar eclipse
[antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov]

===

Yet another proof that Anders really did take the Galactica and fleet into the sun:
[antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov]

==========

#physics

Physicists develop 3D metamaterial nanolens that achieves super-resolution imaging
[www.physorg.com]

Beating the diffraction limit is quite an achievement and is an amazingly useful technological feat.

===

Jetting into the Quark-Gluon Plasma
[www.physorg.com]

This is about recreating one of the most peculiar forms of matter, not "seen" since the very beginning of the universe.

===

Physicists Tie Light in Knots
[www.sciencedaily.com]

Other than showing that no branch of math is esoteric enough for nature to use, I can't see what this is good for. (And I'm typically quite open-minded when it comes to finding applications for theoretical ideas)

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#biology #medicalscience

Artificial Muscles Restore Ability to Blink, Save Eyesight
[www.sciencedaily.com]

Synthetic muscles? What's next? Synthetic alcohol and synthetic lieutenants? (If you don't get the reference, watch the episode "Relics" of Star Trek The Next Generation)

===

Search for an Artificial Blood Substitute
[www.sciencedaily.com]

Vampires rejoice! TrueBlood is coming...

===

Why Mice Develop 'Knots' While Exploring a New Environment
[www.sciencedaily.com]

Torturing mice for the sake of science...

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#robots #cylons

Walking Robot Switches Gaits Autonomously and Flexibly
[www.sciencedaily.com]

Next step, cylons...

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#NASA

NASA to sell space shuttles, at a discount
[www.huffingtonpost.com]

===

Cocaine found near shuttle hangar
[www.huffingtonpost.com]

For astronauts, there's more than one way to get high...

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Other stuff...

Darpa: U.S. Geek Shortage Is National Security Risk
[www.wired.com]

Time for geeks to step up...

===

Flying cars and other promised goods that we're still waiting for
[www.huffingtonpost.com]

===

7 Common Survival Tactics (that Will Get You Killed)
[www.cracked.com]

This is not only useful but the writing is hilarious too!

===

Pink snow hits Buffalo (video)
[www.huffingtonpost.com]

==========

Phew! Good thing I don't sleep much, or else I wouldn't have time to read all this stuff!

Enjoy!

#tips Reply

See 2 replies

#gigantor

Gigantor Lives Again, Thanks To Ghost In The Shell Director

Innovative director Mamoru Oshii is taking on one of anime's best-loved robots from the Tetsujin 28-gō series, or as Americans know it Gigantor. The Iron Giant can suck it — this is our boy-robot love story of choice. More »

12/28/09

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By Meredith Woerner

#scifisnowmen

Fun and Fantastical Snowmen to Make Your Winter Bright

If you live in one of the snowy parts of the world, you could make a boring snowman out of three round balls. Or, you could take your cue from these folks and make snowy robots, aliens, superheroes, and monsters. More »

12/24/09

11,668

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By Lauren Davis

#conceptart

The Man-Faced Mechas and Bug-Shaped Vehcles of Our Future Wars

Concept artist Rael Lyra designs rusted, well-worn mechas with shapes inspired by fish, insects, and the human body. And sometimes human faces — and human skulls — turn up in unexpected places. More »

12/22/09

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By Lauren Davis

#futuremascots

In The Future, Our Pride May Be Robotic

PETA has asked the University of Georgia to replace their recently-deceased dog mascot with an animatronic robot or costumed human. We're hoping that all college football teams use robotic mascots, which can wage epic battles during halftime. [Photo from SportsbyBrooks]

12/19/09

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By Emmett Plant

#robotics

Fall Into the Uncanny Valley With Your Own Robot Double

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 »

12/14/09

2,171

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By Lauren Davis

#conceptart

Relive the Human-Machine War with Matrix Concept Art

Even if you prefer to pretend that the latter Matrix movies don't exist, you can still appreciate these gloomy pieces of concept art from The Matrix trilogy, filled with sinister machines and the interminable levels of the human city Zion. More »

12/14/09

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By Lauren Davis

#crime

Giant Dinosaur Robot Puppet On The Loose

Dino theft! A five foot tall robotic dinosaur has been stolen from the Walking With Dinosaurs exhibit in Mexico. It's worth about $89,650. Meanwhile some kid South of the border is having the best birthday party ever. [BBC]

12/08/09

2,630

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By Meredith Woerner

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