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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: robots

robots stories: 20 news summaries

Robot-Assisted Prostate Surgery Linked to Problems

Study finds potential issue with non-invasive surgery option

Oct 14, 09 6:28 AM CDT
(Newser) - Men who undergo minimally invasive, robot-assisted prostate surgery were more than twice as likely to suffer from impotence and incontinence a year and a half later, compared to those receiving conventional surgery, a new Harvard study has found. Some 4.7% of those treated with laparoscopic surgery, using remote-controlled techniques,... More »

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prostate cancer • surgery • robots • robotics • laparoscopy

movie REVIEW

 Surrogates: 
 Silly But Suspenseful  

Bruce Willis, in weird wig, tops 'smart' sci-fi flick

Sep 25, 09 10:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - Critics are lukewarm about Surrogates, the new sci-fi flick starring a surprisingly hirsute Bruce Willis, in which humans command tricked-out robots who do their work and play for them.
  • It's a "preposterous movie that luxuriates in its own silliness," says Stephanie Zacharek of Salon. There's a "
... More »

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movie review • fantasy • robots • robot • science fiction • Bruce Willis • Surrogates • Jonathan Mostow

Sims Creator Leaving EA for Think Tank

'Stupid Fun Club' incubator will partner with video-game giant

Apr 9, 09 7:14 AM CDT
(Newser) - The creator of The Sims is departing Electronic Arts to focus on "strange products and ideas," the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Will Wright plans to work full-time at his Stupid Fun Club think tank, which develops ideas for film, games, and TV. Wright says he has already cooked... More »

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robots • robot • Electronic Arts • The Sims • Will Wright • video game developers • video games

Robots Begin Takeover
of Retail Warehouses

Enslave no one, but do increase efficiency

Jan 28, 09 1:48 PM CST
(Newser) - The age of robots is upon us. Or at least, you might think so if you walked into one of the dozen retail warehouses currently manned by Kiva System’s robotic workers. The bots, which look a bit like a giant orange toaster, zip autonomously around the warehouse, completing orders... More »

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retail • robots • robot

OPINION

 Leave Space to Robots

President Obama would be well-served by removing costly manned exploration goals

Jan 24, 09 2:58 AM CST
(Newser) - Barack Obama is poised to chart a new direction for America’s exploration of the final frontier, writes the Economist. While George W. Bush supported continuing manned space exploration in the tradition of the previous century, Obama is considering scrapping some of NASA’s planned upgrades to the space shuttle... More »

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Barack Obama • NASA • space exploration • Mars • methane • satellite • robots • Obama administration • President Obama

 I, (Gay) Robot?
 Radar Rates
 the Androids 

Just how fabulous are the robots of the silver screen?

Jun 29, 08 2:44 PM CDT
(Newser) - 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... More »

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robots • Star Wars • science fiction • gays • gay robots

 Army to Speed High-Tech
 Gear Into Combat 

New weapons could hit Iraq, Afghanistan by 2011

Jun 27, 08 2:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - 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... More »

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

Home Is Where the Robot Is

New breed of metal humanoids can see, touch, and don't mind housework

Jun 21, 08 5:01 AM CDT
(Newser) - 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,... More »

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artificial intelligence • Toyota • Asia • robots

Shuttle to Launch
Giant Robot
Into Space

It's 12 feet tall, and its name is Dextre

Mar 10, 08 2:05 PM CDT
(Newser) - 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... More »

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Canada • space • International Space Station • robots • Endeavor • space robot • Dextre • Canadian Space Agency

Terrifying Robot Is Ready
to Massage Breasts

Business proposal lists many potential customers

Feb 25, 08 3:08 PM CST
(Newser) - 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... More »

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robots • breasts • breast massage • Wang Wei • Beijing BUBBY Robot Technologies • Breast Massage Robot • gadget • massage

A.I. Will Match Human Brain
in 20 Years

But nanobots in our neurons will make
us smarter, too

Feb 16, 08 6:54 PM CST
(Newser) - 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... More »

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

Robots Battle for Championship

Tokyo's 12th Robo-One Grand Championship match

Dec 3, 07 4:05 PM CST
(Newser) - 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... More »

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electronics • robots • robotics • research and development • Robo One Grand Championship

Robots, Start Your Engines

University and research lab teams to compete on mock city course

Nov 2, 07 12:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - 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... More »

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

Feed Me, Seymour! Lab Decodes Floral Intelligence

Plant 'brains' may help build better robots

Oct 30, 07 3:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - 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... More »

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artificial intelligence • intelligence • Mars • plants • robots • telecommunications • venus flytraps

Get Ready for Robot Love

Relations with the shinier-sex 'inevitable' according to study

Oct 13, 07 12:28 PM CDT
(Newser) - 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... More »

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artificial intelligence • marriage • robots • robotics • robot marriage

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

"Robots can be loved too," inventor says

Sep 13, 07 8:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - 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’... More »

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robots • Zeno • David Hanson • Hanson Robotics • Massive Software • Brian Aldiss • social robots

Kick-Ass Jobs of the Future

Aug 16, 07 2:47 PM CDT
(Newser) - 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 »

MORE ABOUT:
technology • work • list • robots • job search • information engineer • emerging fields • career

Hot Mommas:
Squirrels Use Heat to Scare off Snakes

Rattlers steer clear
of hot pieces of tail

Aug 14, 07 4:07 PM CDT
(Newser) - 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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
heat • snake • robots • infrared • squirrel • rattlesnake • tail

Robots Get Their Own Surge

Military wants 3000 new war-bots ASAP

Aug 13, 07 4:59 PM CDT
(Newser) - 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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
technology • Pentagon • US military • robots • iRobot • packbot

Gun-Toting Robots Patrol Iraq

Aug 4, 07 4:43 PM CDT
(Newser) - 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.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • technology • military • robots • robo soldier • warfare

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