A Few Laps Around the Office with the iPhoneLego Robot
	Is there anything they can't think of using the iPhone for? The guys at BattleBricks have crafted out a simple Lego robot that can hold an iPhone and read the on-screen activity - remotely manipulated by you - to coordinate its move ... [read more >>]
	04 June 2008, 06:42GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Flame Walks as We Do
	A new highly advanced walking robot dubbed Flame was developed recently by researcher Daan Hobbelen from TU Delft as part of his PhD research focused on revealing the way people walk. For his research Hobbelen will receive his PhD next week, on May 30. Hobbelen's findings could provide a valuable insight into new techniques meant to diagnose, train and rehabilitate people with walking difficulties. People take bipedal wal ... [read more >>]
	23 May 2008, 10:40GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Robot Battle Tactics Brings Strategy to Mobile Phones
	Robots have always looked good in games and they always will. Leveraging on this unquestionable truth, LemonQuest has recently unveiled the release of "Robot Battle Tactics", one of the latest robot-themed games announced to hit the mobile market. In the ... [read more >>]
	21 May 2008, 13:00GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Fly-Inspired Robot Eyes Are Faster and More Accurate
	For most of us, a fly is a pest but, it turns out, its eyes could revolutionize robot vision (employed for unmanned vehicles, guided missiles, and high-speed industrial inspection robots in medical, commercial, industrial, and defense areas), improving and speeding up the detection of edges and boundaries of objects situated far beyond the capacities of traditional sensors – as is the case with tiny, moving objects. A team from the Nava ... [read more >>]
	12 May 2008, 04:21GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Automatic Wheelchair Docks with Van on Its Own
	The system proposed by Freedom Sciences, a company commercializing motorized wheelchairs along with a modified Chrysler minivan, uses automatic devices to open and close the doors of the car, to lower the seat of the driver and load the robotic wheelchair at the push of a button. Once the driver reaches the ... [read more >>]
	30 April 2008, 10:19GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Microsoft Introduces Worldwide Simulated Robotics Competition
	Microsoft is hosting a virtual robot smackdown via a new initiative debuted on April 25, 2008. RoboChamps is designed as a worldwide simulated competition that will bring the Redmond company's own robotics platform to the centerstage. Academics, hobbyists and developers are invited to take part in the challeng ... [read more >>]
	25 April 2008, 07:56GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Lego Crab-Robot to Facilitate Underwater Studies
	The crab-like robot prototype was invented by University of Bath postgraduate student Charles Gage as part of a project to develop an exploration independent underwater vehicle which would enable maritime companies, such as those in the oil and gas industry, to have better access to underwater equipment. The robot can operate both on land and underwater and is based on the anatomy of crabs. "Nature knows what works best ... [read more >>]
	23 April 2008, 09:36GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

MIT's Nexi Robot Expresses Facial Emotions
	Nexi is a MDS small humanoid robot, designed by MIT Media Lab's Personal Robotics Group, capable of expressing facial emotions much in the same way as humans do. MDS actually stands for 'Mobile/Dexterous/Social', meaning it can perform a multitude of tasks, by moving around on its dynamically self-balancing wheels, with its fully compatible arms that can grab and lift objects up to 4.5 kilograms in weight. Nexi ... [read more >>]
	09 April 2008, 06:56GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Walking Robot Sets New Distance Record: 9 Kilometers
	The unofficial record set by the Cornell Ranger robot on April 3rd at Barton Hall, by making 45 laps around the running track, more precisely 5.6 miles or 9 kilometers. The robot would have probably continued to keep on going, however at some point it stopped and fell on his back probably due to low power supplied from its battery, it's not yet clear, said the Cornell Ranger robot development team. "We need to do some careful ... [read more >>]
	08 April 2008, 09:19GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

RoboCup German Open 2008
	They say white men can't jump and robots can't play soccer. That may be true, however this didn't stop high-tech enthusiasts from organizing the RoboCup German Open 2008. The tournament will be held between 21 to 25 April in the Hall 25 of the Hannover Messe, Hannover, Germany, and expects more than 80 teams of researchers from 15 countries from all over the world. Soccer matches are believed to be an extremely complex a ... [read more >>]
	02 April 2008, 08:53GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Hot Updates for Even Hotter Sony Rolly
	Sony Rolly is truly so much more than the "little robotic music player that could" and for those who still don't know what Rolly really is, this movie should explain pretty much everything. Yet, the small football-shaped moving robotic and white MP3 player will get a nifty upgrade, ready to ... [read more >>]
	31 March 2008, 09:01GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

War Robots Should Be Banned
	Landmines are banned from use in more than 150 countries around the world, however the Landmine Action believes that autonomous robots capable of killing people should also be banned because they fall under the same treaty that had outlawed the landmines. The US Army is currently the proud owner of a few thousand military robots, carrying machine-guns, going about killing people throughout countries such as Iraq and Afganistan. Althou ... [read more >>]
	28 March 2008, 12:22GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

BigDog Robot Prototype Released
	It looks like a dog, walks like a dog... must be a robot! BigDog is a quadrupled robot created by Boston Dynamics, powered by a hydraulic system, run by a gasoline engine and controlled by a computer which monito ... [read more >>]
	27 March 2008, 12:26GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Robots Fight to the Death in Japan
	"Fight, fight, fight... kill the Robot!" would scream people in some futuristic movie. However, this is hardly the case for the Robo-One Championships that took place in Korakuen stadium hall in Tokyo. Instead, the robot fighters were accompanied by applauses. Don't expect any heavyweight machines either, as the contenders are diminutive humanoid robots built and controlled by the participants. There where 112 robots reg ... [read more >>]
	25 March 2008, 04:22GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

World's Largest Underwater Robot
	Weighing a massive 60 tons and with the dimensions of a small house, the UT-1 Ultra Trencher is now the biggest underwater robot ever made to be used for installing subsea cables for telecommunications and pipelines used in the oil industry. UT-1 Ultra Trencher is 7.8 meters long, 7.8 meters wide and 5.6 meters tall, cost 10 million UK pounds to build and may navigate through the water at speeds of 2 to 3 knots. Its XXL dimen ... [read more >>]
	24 March 2008, 06:59GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Antarctic UAV Makes Maiden Flight
	It is the first time when an unpiloted Unmanned Autonomous Vehicle is used in the antarctic continent to gather data of the harsh environment. The UAV was developed by a British-German collaboration between the British Antarctic Survey and the Technical University of Braunschweig, and it has completed successfully all the scheduled flights. According to Dr. Phil Anderson from the British Antarctic Survey, or BAS for short, th ... [read more >>]
	21 March 2008, 11:12GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Robot Returns Objects at a Click of a Button
	Robots, as most other computer controlled devices, probably will never be able to fully understand human language, or to differentiate between two images of the same object. That is the disadvantage of processing information in binary code. However, robots can be taught, or at least instructed. Such a robot was recently created by Charlie Kemp, director of the Center for Healthcare Robotics in the Health Systems Institute at the Georgia In ... [read more >>]
	20 March 2008, 07:58GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Android-like Robot Soon to Talk to Us
	According to University of Hertfordshire professors Chrystopher Nehaniv and Kerstin Dautenhahn, from the School of Computer Science, in the close future we may find ourselves surrounded by robots bearing human features. The first step in developing such machines is the robot created by the University of Plymouth, which will be presented on ITALK or Integration and Transfer of Action and Knowledge in Robots convention that has sta ... [read more >>]
	05 March 2008, 06:47GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

The Breast Massage Robot
	I understand that robots should replace men in tasks that are difficult, boring, discomfort inducing, dangerous or in which they are simply better. But what this robot does should have been a man's pleasure. It's about the Breast Massage Robot. The device is claimed to deliver a comfortable human-free massage session and, unlike the bras, the portable Breast Massage Robot simulates the professional massager's h ... [read more >>]
	28 February 2008, 14:06GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Here Comes Judgement Day, Robot Invasion!
	Except for the invention of the time machine, everything else is running as smooth as the script of the Terminator series, don't you agree? You know, building robots, then equipping robots with guns, then ever increasing artificial intelligence, so that in the end we lose control over them and total annihilation breaks loose. Yep, pretty smooth! And another thing, didn't we all swear this would never happen? Why is the opposite t ... [read more >>]
	28 February 2008, 10:18GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Toshiba 815T PB, the Coolest Phone for Robot Lovers
	SoftBank, the third largest mobile operator in Japan, will soon release Toshiba 815T PB, a mobile phone that will make an excellent gadget for all the robot fans out there. Besides being packed with lots of advanced features, the handset can also ... [read more >>]
	27 February 2008, 06:03GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

A Robot that Reads Your Dreams and Dances Them!
	Dreams should be something intimate, something that is deeply yours, like thoughts. But not any more with the Sleep Waking, a robot that can record your brainwave activity and REM sleep. The robot not only reads your dreams, but plays them back in an interpretive dance. The Sleep Waking robot is the fruit of a collaboration between artist Fernando Orellana and Computer Science Professor Brendan Burns of the Albany Regional Sleep ... [read more >>]
	23 February 2008, 03:48GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

The Robot Invasion Begins!
	So be it then! We should at least look at the bright side of the whole deal. No more stepping out of the car, no more getting dirty or smelling of petrol after a quick refuel. The automatic refueling unit was developed by an inventor from Netherlands who is also a gas station owner, and is the first of its kind in the world working in a gas-pumping station. Ouch! That will really drive some unemployed people mad. Nico van Staveren said ... [read more >>]
	07 February 2008, 09:44GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Snake-like Robot Dances with You
	Dance and robots. The worst possible combination in the world today; some aren't even able to walk, not to mention dancing. Or is it? Some robot developer from Merlin Robotics in collaboration with the Nottingham Trent University argues that you don't necessarily need by be human-like to be able to dance, thus he designed and built 'Robosnake', a vertical machine that moves in concordance with the rhythm set b ... [read more >>]
	04 February 2008, 05:42GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Applied Robotics Unveils Smart Gripper...From The Future?!
	Grippers are devices that allow the holding or manipulation of various objects. If you still cannot picture one, just think that it does the job of a human hand. But, besides that, they are important components of many automated systems. Notably, grippers get attached to the great majority of the robots released on the market, from industrial to humanoid ones, as most of them are developed to mimic the human body. Which means ... [read more >>]
	11 January 2008, 04:07GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

The Sperm-Robots of the Future
	The nervous swim of a sperm attempting to make you a father could soon have applications others than reproduction. Future minute nanobots could be empowered by whip-like sperm tail imitating structures, wandering around through your whole body. Sperm would solve the issue of energy supply for nanobots, implants and "smart" probes that would carry drugs, watch enzymes and accomplish other medical tasks, as revealed b ... [read more >>]
	03 January 2008, 13:56GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Touche! iRobot Wins $286 Million Army Contract!
	iRobot announced it has been awarded the xBot contract, meaning they just got their stainless steel hands on a 286 million cash cow. This is serious stuff, as iRobot talks about an "Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract given by the U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation (PEO STRI), on behalf of the "Robotic Systems Joint Project Office at Redstone Arsenal. ... [read more >>]
	21 December 2007, 05:23GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Google’s Robots Released Today
	The Google Robotics Division team have come open with what they have been working on, for the past year or so, and are finally ready to release their latest creation to the world. Yes, I know, it was a great surprise for me too, and by the looks of it, it is certain to change the face of things… if only it were true. Now I’m sad to say that the Robotics Division hasn’t done much lately, or better yet, hasn’t done anything at a ... [read more >>]
	19 December 2007, 14:51GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Top 4 Technological Advances That Keep off Diseases
	In Europe, diseases steal annually 500 million workdays. Decreased productivity and high medical costs are paid by all of us. And do not believe that only in developing countries people do not have access to medical care: 46 million people in US do not have medical insurance. Science fights hard to eradicate infectious diseases and massive campaigns of immunization are led in developing countries against diseases like TBC, diphteria, tetan ... [read more >>]
	14 December 2007, 07:02GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

ASIMO: The Superstar's Popularity Explodes!
	If robotry is a religion, then ASIMO is definitely Jesus! Considered the most advanced humanoid robot on the market, the bot is now giving its helping hand to make vehicles safer. But hey, after twenty-years of technology, the robot can see, hear and even dance, not to mention the media treats it like a real superstar. As you probably know, Asimo, a.k.a Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility, is currently engaged in a worldwide ... [read more >>]
	06 December 2007, 14:26GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

I, the Ping-Pong Robot!
	Forget about Wii! A new revelation in the robotic sports industry starred in the latest International Robot exhibition held in Tokyo. More surprising was the fact that it came from... Vietnam? Ever since the spectators saw the robot playing ping-pong like a pro, they've tried to get in touch with the official representatives from Tosy, the manufacturer of the first Vietnamese human-shaped robot. The best thing of all is t ... [read more >>]
	05 December 2007, 14:56GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Robo-Fair Reveals Bots Can Cry, Feel And Play!
	There is no doubt about it: Japanese are addicted to robots! They're so hooked on robotry they could actually use one bot for just about every need they have. In this regard, Reuters reports on the amazing International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo, which is opening today. The event is definitely going to prove the bots’ supremacy in some areas, such as education. The sliding population, the increased level of high tech they ... [read more >>]
	03 December 2007, 15:06GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Bomberman Action Replay Codes (DS)
	Bomberman DS will take advantage of the unique features of Nintendo’s handheld. The int ... [read more >>]
	03 December 2007, 09:43GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Could Robots Help us Get Rid of Cockroaches?
	You cannot get rid of cockroaches that easily and they are so hardy that they are amongst the few organisms that can survive in an area after atomic experiments. The disgusting insects also surprise us with a memory that makes them capable of advanced learning. But a new toy can change their behavior. Cockroaches always look for the dark shadow of a shelter. The new robot can make them choose the wrong placement. The tiny r ... [read more >>]
	16 November 2007, 05:00GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Go Fetch, Rhex! Wait, Don't Shoot, It's Me!
	Boston Dynamics have come up with something I have to admit I find extraordinary and quite funny when being in motion. In other words, they finally lunched a rugged robot that features the highest terrain mobility level of all. Rhex looks like a cute metallic puppy, but it can climb over rock fields, mud, sand, vegetation, railroad tracks, telephone poles, up steep slopes and stairways. And yes, it would have been even better wit ... [read more >>]
	13 November 2007, 05:44GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

SANYO Bot Is NOT Sexy, But It Saves Your Butt!
	Earthquakes are definitely a Japanese thing, so it’s only natural for the solution to come from the same place; well, not a solution against the natural phenomenon, but one that can reduce the number of casualties. In this regard, SANYO tries its best into robotic industry and introduces the ultimate bot, which the giant company has immediately dubbed Yuka. The robot is said to be useful if you've ever lived in an old hou ... [read more >>]
	08 November 2007, 04:56GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Pick-a-boo! Cute Robot Sees You!
	If you haven't read anything about FUDAN University, you should check it out on the net. It seems its students have invented an intelligent robot with a child-like ability to learn new things by following human voice commands. As shanghaidaily reports, the robot is on display at the ongoing Shanghai International Industry Fair. There’s nothing scary or ultra high tech about it, just a man-shaped multi-functional machine with a smal ... [read more >>]
	08 November 2007, 04:31GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Like Father, Like Son... Like Robot
	During the RoboDevelopment Conference and Expo 2007 that was held in San Jose the prototype robot ‘Zeno’ has been introduced by Hanson Robotics. ‘Zeno’ is a robot that has as its strong point its fully expressive face but that’s not by far all it can do. The robot can also keep track of where people’s faces are, turn around to so that it will make eye contact, and also learn the names and voices of the people that will interact with it. Ze ... [read more >>]
	31 October 2007, 14:32GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Manly Tomy i-SOBOT Does Push-Ups, Reminds Me of Brad Pitt!
	Tomy i-Sobot robot is surely the world's smallest humanoid robot in the industry. The best news is the bot has finally begun shipping yesterday from Amazon.com, after it went on sale at the same web store in early September. The cute bot is only 6.5 inch tall, but the best part is the robot can actually walk, talk and dance like crazy. The developers have also integrated a system that makes the bot understand up to 10 voice comman ... [read more >>]
	26 October 2007, 10:06GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Rise of The Stainless Middle Finger! "Terminator"' Android Uses Nonverbal Skills!
	Robots are more and more used as a way to improve productivity and support for the nation’s changing lifestyles and Japan knows it better. And, since much of human communication is nonverbal, researchers at Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) have developed a freaky skinless Terminator -like autonomous humanoid robot that they say can recognize and use body language. As reported ... [read more >>]
	26 October 2007, 04:05GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Are We Being Spied by Insect Robots?
	In fairy tales, the characters turn into flies and get everywhere they want, listening to what's cooking behind any door. Now, when you say ‘there are bugs in this room’, you automatically send a message with double meaning, one of which is related to the new-generation devices. Lately, increasingly more witnesses talk about some weird insects, dragonflies which they spotted at various political events in Washington and ... [read more >>]
	18 October 2007, 13:06GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Roboraptor Scares The Crap Out of Your...Cat!
	"God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs... ". First of all, the Roboraptor is not a toy. It's the plastic proof that technology and personality can nicely mix. The robotic dinosaur features realistic biometric motions, direct control and autonomous mode. The man behind the robot idea is Mark Tilden. A while ago, he admitted that Roboraptor is: &quo ... [read more >>]
	17 October 2007, 04:28GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Hot Digital Action! Marrying a Robot Could Save Your Sex Life!?
	Yeah, baby...I can’t say I wasn't expecting this, but what difference does it make if it's going to happen by 2050, when all of us we'll be old and pampering nephews? Well, it goes like this: apparently, artificial researcher David Levy, from the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands revealed to the fellows from LiveScience something really interesting: "My forecast is that around 2050, the state of Massachusetts ... [read more >>]
	16 October 2007, 06:29GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

The Zombie Harvester Robot
	I guess that everyone agrees that spam should be stopped as not only is it annoying but it can have nasty consequences too. A lot of people are fighting it, but it just keeps popping up again and again. No matter how great a spam filter is it still messes some things up – you either end up with false positives (legitimate mails flagged as spam) or the spam wave still hits the inbox. Of course, every company that has developed an ... [read more >>]
	04 October 2007, 10:46GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Everybody, This Is Spyke, The Perfect Skype Bot!
	It’s the first time I hear about the Spyke robot. So, I guess I have never seen one of these in action. Until now! At a first glimpse, I have to admit the bot is not as boring as normal Skype phones tend to be. The Spyke robot is said to be able to transform into another bot, totally different in appearance. In addition, the bot can double as a Wi-Fi web cam, which means it allows its users to use it as a regular Skype enabled webcam to re ... [read more >>]
	28 September 2007, 05:28GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

The Pooch of the Future: Military Robotic Dogs
	There’s quite a long way to go till we will have robotic wives and husbands around the house; so, for the moment, it seems that our dogs in the near future might just be … made of metal (or plastic). If not around the house, at least in the conflict areas. The four-legged dog robots are now the size of a Chihuahua, but could facilitate many military tasks. The robot called LittleDog could ultimately lead to more complex robotic assista ... [read more >>]
	27 September 2007, 06:36GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Cool Shape-Shifting WD2 Robot Freaks Me Out! Reminds Me of A Horror Movie!
	This might actually be the weirdest thing I have ever seen. The Waseda-Docomo's manufacturers have succeeded in creating a shape-shifting robot, which – as the name suggests – is capable of changing its face. At first, the creators decided ''the position of the necessary points to express the outline, eyes, nose and so on of a certain person. The robot expresses his/her face by moving all points to the decided positions" ... [read more >>]
	20 September 2007, 04:23GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Robots With a Sense of Touch
	Wouldn't it be good when another pulls your chestnuts out of the fire? Or at least a machine... This is what haptic technology deals with: the sense of touch, with an array of applications, from telesurgery and robotic remote control to improved immersive computer games. Haptic devices are now just simple "rumble pack" games controllers and force-feedback devices like the Phantom Desktop, a graspable pen on the tip of a ... [read more >>]
	05 September 2007, 03:32GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

How to Destroy Underwater Mines
	If the Japanese are sometimes hilariously straining to humanize the robots making them sing, dance or even make love, the Americans seem to have always a more pragmatic approach. The last "American" robot, a prototype, was conceived to destroy underwater mines which could kill Marines and Navy SEALs as they come on shore. A sort of suicidal robot that we might compare to a kamikaze. The device is 3-foot-long and c ... [read more >>]
	10 August 2007, 11:50GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

People Working, Robots Dancing!
	The Japanese… robots… and dance! And now let's try to make a sentence out of it. I know that everybody thinks about the same thing now: the Japanese are dancing the way robots do. This is partly true but it would be more accurate to say that robots are dancing like the Japanese and this because some Japanese researches, in their attempt to preserve some old, dying folkdances, put some robots at work (dance). The robot re ... [read more >>]
	10 August 2007, 05:22GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia