Tag Archives: robotics

Willow Garage’s beer-fetching robot now on sale for $400k

September 8, 2010News, Technologyfor sale, hackers, on sale, PR2, PR2 robot, robot, robotics, Willow GarageScott Meisner

The tinkering geniuses at Willow Garage have decided to put their beer-fetching PR2 robot on the market for a cool $400,000. Besides grabbing you a beer and informing you when the fridge is out of stock, PR2 can also play pool, clean up your mess with a cart, plug in devices, fold towels, and open doors. The most exciting bit about PR2 is that the personal robot is open source; with the hardware platform and over 1000 software libraries open to potential buyers, developers, and hackers, Willow Garage is supplying PR2 owners with the tools to come up with their own applications. In fact, the company imagine a future where a Robot App Store exists. In this exciting (frightening?) world, human owners will have the option to purchase “robot apps” for their personal smart machines in effort to make life at home and work “more productive.” Today’s PR2 is the first major step in that direction. I’m excited to see what sorts of applications (people with tons of money to spend) come up with.

[Via WillowGarage; Engadget]

HUMAVIPS project to give robots key to our destruction

February 28, 2010News, TechnologyAI, artificial intelligence, communication, Judgement Day, research, robotics, robotsScott Meisner

A team of robotics researchers led by Radu Horaud began a project this year called the “Humanoids with auditory and visual abilities in populated spaces” (HUMAVIPS) project. The goal? To give robots the ability to possess “social skills” and mimic the “cocktail party effect,” which is “the human ability to focus attention on just one person in the midst of other people, voices and background noise.” Natural interaction between humans and robots, huh? If you were ever on the fence about Judgement Day being upon us…now what say you?

[Via Wired; Engadget]

Robots kiss, we ask “why?”

August 26, 2009Technology, Videokiss, robotics, robots, university, whyScott Meisner

“Developed by the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, the theatrical robots Thomas and Janet rehearse their kiss scene, part of a performance of Phantom of the Opera.”

If you are freaking out right now with a slight look of disgust on your face asking yourself “why…” this is normal.

[Via Engadget]