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July 23, 2008 8:53:08 PM CDT

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Stories related to: robots

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15 Stories

  • June 2008

    • I, (Gay) Robot? Radar Rates the Androids

      newser  |  Radar  |  Jun 29, 08 2:44 PM CDT

      I, (Gay) Robot? Radar Rates the Androids

      Gay marriage in California and Brokeback Mountain's emergence on the opera scene all point to an America that’s "getting its gay on," writes Evan Mulvihill in Radar —including its androids. Using a 'Homometer' (0: asexual; 1: beer and steak; 5: bisexual; 10: flaming), he takes a look at cinema’s most fabulous robots. R2-D2, C-3P0, Star Wars : 9 Hal, 2001: A Space Odyssey : 7   More »

      Tags

      robots  • Star Wars  • science fiction  • gays

    • Army to Speed High-Tech Gear Into Combat

      newser  |  Popular Mechanics  |  Jun 27, 08 2:33 PM CDT

      Army to Speed High-Tech Gear Into Combat

      The US Army has moved up the timetable for its high-tech weapons program, hoping to get new devices into the field by late 2010, 5 years ahead of its original schedule, Popular Mechanics reports. It’s also shifting focus away from conventional warfare tech like tanks and artillery and toward the communications and unmanned vehicles, including robots, infantry in Iraq and Afghanistan covet. More »

      Tags

      Robert Gates  • robots  • weapons  • drones  • Future Combat Systems  • new weapons systems

    • Home Is Where the Robot Is

      newser  |  Economist  |  Jun 21, 08 5:01 AM CDT

      Home Is Where the Robot Is

      A kinder, gentler, smarter Frankenstein may soon be mowing your lawn and folding your unmentionables. Manufacturers are developing a new generation of metallic humanoid that will not only carry heavy objects, but pull their weight around the house and at work, the Economist reports . These new-age robots can touch, see, and may even respond to commands. More »

      Tags

      Toyota  • Asia  • robots  • artificial intelligence

  • March 2008

    • Shuttle to Launch Giant Robot Into Space

      newser  |  Houston Chronicle  |  Mar 10, 08 2:05 PM CDT

      Shuttle to Launch Giant Robot Into Space

      When the shuttle Endeavour launches at 2:28am tomorrow, it will carry what has been pure sci-fi until now: a giant space robot. After astronauts assemble it, Canada’s Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, known as “Dextre,” will roam the outside of the International Space Station completing repairs considered too dangerous for spacewalkers, the Houston Chronicle reports. More »

      Tags

      Canada  • International Space Station  • space  • robots  • Dextre  • Endeavor

  • February 2008

    • Terrifying Robot Is Ready to Massage Breasts

      newser  |  Gizmodo  |  Feb 25, 08 3:08 PM CST

      Terrifying Robot Is Ready to Massage Breasts

      The developer of a new robot designed to massage women's breasts is full of ideas for the gadget, reports the Gizmodo blog. Wang Wei of Beijing BUBBY Robot Technologies suggests numerous potential customers for the Breast Massage Robot, including "girls who are reaching or having reached puberty, hope to improve the growth of breast," and "women, who are under pressure, want to relax themselves." More »

      Tags

      gadget  • robots  • breasts

    • A.I. Will Match Human Brain in 20 Years

      newser  |  BBC  |  Feb 16, 08 6:54 PM CST

      A.I. Will Match Human Brain in 20 Years

      One engineer and futurist says it’s only a matter of time before machines are as smart as people, and people are part machine, the BBC reports. Ray Kurzweil claims that artificial intelligence will produce human-level smarts and even emotions by 2029. Humans, meanwhile, will inject nanobots into their brains to improve intelligence. More »

      Tags

      brain  • intelligence  • robots  • artificial intelligence  • nanotechnology  • Ray Kurzweil  • futurism

  • December 2007

    • Robots Battle for Championship

      newser  |  Reuters  |  Dec 3, 07 4:05 PM CST

      Robots Battle for Championship

      Robots battled for the title of world champion Saturday at Tokyo's 12th Robo-One Grand Championship match, where amateur-built bipeds competed to stay on their feet. With companies giving up on consumer robotics projects due to high costs, "the future of robotics depends on amateurs," the chairman of the Robo-One committee told Reuters. More »

      Tags

      electronics  • robots  • robotics  • research and development

  • November 2007

    • Robots, Start Your Engines

      newser  |  Forbes  |  Nov 2, 07 12:30 PM CDT

      Robots, Start Your Engines

      Some of the most high-tech vehicles in the world will compete for big money by zipping around a race course tomorrow, all without one low-tech component—a human driver. Eleven robotic vehicles will race in a simulated city environment at a former Air Force base in California, Forbes reports. The winner gets $2 million and a crack at military contracts. More »

      Tags

      US military  • robots  • DARPA  • autonomous cars  • Urban Challenge

  • October 2007

    • Feed Me, Seymour! Lab Decodes Floral Intelligence

      newser  |  Wired  |  Oct 30, 07 3:30 PM CDT

      Feed Me, Seymour! Lab Decodes Floral Intelligence

      Plants have signaling and response systems that could make major contributions to robotics and communications research. The controversial field of “plant neurobiology” starts from the assumption that plant biology mirrors the human nervous system—and has a lot to teach scientists and engineers, Wired reports. The head of the world’s only plant intelligence lab says smarts aren’t “only about having a brain.” More »

      Tags

      Mars  • telecommunications  • intelligence  • robots  • artificial intelligence  • plants

    • Get Ready for Robot Love

      newser  |  LiveScience  |  Oct 13, 07 12:28 PM CDT

      Get Ready for Robot Love

      It’s a small step from Roomba to betrothed, says researcher David Levy, whose Ph.D. thesis predicts humans will have sex with and marry robots within half a century. Robots have moved from factories to homes—witness the popularity of Roomba vacuum cleaners—and are becoming more human in appearance. “The question is not if this will happen, but when,” Levy told LiveScience . More »

      Tags

      marriage  • robots  • artificial intelligence  • robotics  • robot marriage

  • September 2007

    • Robot Toddler Learns to Walk, Talk, Behave Like a Human

      newser  |  Associated Press  |  Sep 13, 07 8:14 PM CDT

      Robot Toddler Learns to Walk, Talk, Behave Like a Human

      Zeno is an energetic toddler learning to walk and talk. He’s also a robot, the brainchild of engineer David Hanson. Hanson's Texas company has been working on lifelike “social robots” for five years and says they are akin to any other artist’s sculpture or painting. “We’re trying to make a new art medium out of robotics,” Hanson told the AP. More »

      Tags

      robots

  • August 2007

    • Kick-Ass Jobs of the Future

      newser  |  CNN  |  Aug 16, 07 2:47 PM CDT

      Kick-Ass Jobs of the Future

      Doctors and lawyers are so old-school— CNNMoney lists the movers and shakers of the future: Disease Mapper: Use satellite technology to track and predict epidemics. Robot Programmer: Today's robots can analyze blood samples and mix cocktails—if someone shows them how. More »

      Tags

      list  • technology  • work  • robots  • job search  • careers

    • Hot Mommas: Squirrels Use Heat to Scare off Snakes

      newser  |  Sacramento Bee  |  Aug 14, 07 4:07 PM CDT

      Hot Mommas: Squirrels Use Heat to Scare off Snakes

      Squirrels aren't squirreling out of their ongoing battle with snakes, but they may be turning tail. California ground squirrels are able to intimidate rattlesnakes, researchers have found, by heating their tails 3 degrees; the rattlers perceive infrared waves, and back off. Even more surprising, the squirrels are savvy enough not to bother with the heat show for gopher snakes, which don't have the thermal sensors. More »

      Tags

      robots  • heat  • snake  • infrared  • rattlesnake

    • Robots Get Their Own Surge

      newser  |  Wired  |  Aug 13, 07 4:59 PM CDT

      Robots Get Their Own Surge

      The military wants more robots, and it wants them fast. The Pentagon is looking to enlist more small, maneuverable 'bots that can look out for insurgents and bombs—1,000 by the end of this year and 2,000 more over the next five years, Wired reports. The military is kicking off a competition for the 'bot-building contract, which will be awarded in September. More »

      Tags

      US military  • technology  • Pentagon  • robots  • iRobot

    • Gun-Toting Robots Patrol Iraq

      newser  |  Wired  |  Aug 4, 07 4:43 PM CDT

      Gun-Toting Robots Patrol Iraq

      Heavily armed, remote-controlled robots are on the ground in Iraq—a first in military history. Only three of these robo-soldiers, armed with M249 machine guns, are currently deployed, but the Army has requested 80 more. Their location is classified, but officials report they're involved in reconnaissance and street patrol missions. The 'bots  "haven't fired their weapons yet," the program manager tells Wired . "But that'll be happening soon." More »

      Tags

      Iraq  • technology  • military  • robots  • warfare

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