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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: robot

robot stories: 34 news summaries

1 - 20 of 34 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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 Japanese Dying to Get 
 Into Highrise Cemeteries 

High-tech facilities in demand as traditional grave prices top $100,000

Oct 13, 09 3:29 AM CDT
(Newser) - High-tech, high-rise cemeteries are sprouting across Japan as a shortage of land drives up prices in ground-level graveyards. The cemeteries, typically five or six stories high, store the dead in urns which can be retrieved by robots and delivered to mourning rooms by visiting family members with a swipe of... More »

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Japan • robot • mourning • cemetery

New 'Spider Pill' Roams Body Hunting Cancer

Camera pill first to be fully remote-controlled

Oct 12, 09 10:47 AM CDT
(Newser) - It sounds like something out of science fiction, but a tiny robotic spider could save your life. Scientists have created a pill-sized camera that, once swallowed, can deploy mechanical legs and roam the body looking for cancer or other maladies, the Daily Telegraph reports. The “spider pill” is controlled... More »

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cancer • medical breakthrough • camera • robot • pills

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

(Newser) - Cybraphon mimics a neurotic indie band by obsessing over its online presence and knocking out tunes to express its fluctuating moods, Wired reports. Designed by three UK artists, Cybraphon is a musical robot stuffed with an organ, cymbals, a Macbook Pro—and a highly volatile emotion meter. "The Cybraphon... More »

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robot • robotics • indie pop • bands

(Newser) - With Predator drones bombing villages and robots plugging themselves in, is Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey around the corner? Leading researchers met recently in Monterery Bay, Calif., to address such fears. Runaway superintelligence seems unlikely, they concluded, but speech synthesis technology could aid data-hunting crooks, and autonomous robotic... More »

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artificial intelligence • computer virus • robot • Artificial Intelligence Conference • computers

(Newser) - A Japanese fashion designer has enlisted a humanoid robot to model wedding dresses on the runway, the Sun reports. The robot, “Miim,” took to the catwalk like a pro, strutting and casting glances at the audience like her human counterparts. “We hope she can work in... More »

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Japan • robot • wedding dresses • fashion designer • runway model • catwalk

 Robot Learns to Smile 


Jul 10, 09 8:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - It's a milestone for robots: One has learned to smile and make realistic facial expressions on its own for the first time, Wired reports. University of California researchers put their Einstein robot in front of a video camera attached to facial recognition software, which gave it feedback as it randomly... More »

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artificial intelligence • robot • robotics • smiley face • facial expressions

(Newser) - The late David Foster Wallace once marveled at a Roger Federer forehand, saying, “It was impossible. It was like something out of The Matrix.” And now that Federer has passed Pete Sampras and holds the Grand Slam record, it’s time to wonder if Wallace was on to... More »

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Roger Federer • tennis • Wimbledon • robot • Pete Sampras • David Foster Wallace • Roger Cohen

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

(Newser) - Honda today demonstrated new technology it hopes will make the Jetsons look old-fashioned. The company unveiled a special helmet that allows its wearer to control a robot by thought alone, the Guardian reports. The helmet scans brain activity and relays it to a computer, which then instructs the robot what... More »

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technology • Honda • robot

Robot Fish
Will Help
Battle Pollution

High-tech 'carp' find chemical contaminants in Spanish harbor

Mar 20, 09 10:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - Robots will soon be patrolling the harbor of Gijon, Spain, and if all goes well, the local sea life won't notice a thing, reports the Financial Times. The pollution-detecting bots cost $30,000 each and are modeled after carp, complete with shiny scales and an undulating swimming motion. "We... More »

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technology • Spain • pollution • European Union • robot • carp • Gijon, Spain

Killer Robots Pose Danger
to Humans: Report 

Machines need 'warrior code,' says analyst

Feb 16, 09 1:58 PM CST
(Newser) - The warfare of the not-so-distant future will rely on robots that can make decisions for themselves—and for our own safety, they’ll need a firm code of conduct, says a US Navy report in the first “serious” study of robot ethics. “There is a common misconception that... More »

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artificial intelligence • robot • warfare

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

OBITUARY

 Bob May, 
 Lost in Space 
 Robot, Dies 

Actor moved the suit, but never said "Danger, Will Robinson"

Jan 19, 09 2:37 PM CST
(Newser) - Bob May, famous for inhabiting the robot suit on 1960s sci-fi hit Lost in Space, has died at 69 of heart failure, the AP reports. “He always said he got the job because he fit in the robot suit,” a co-star said. May did not voice the robot—... More »

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television • obituary • robot • science fiction • actor • Bob May • Lost in Space • stuntman

ANALYSIS

 Mission Accomplished on Mars

Time is up, but Phoenix keeps digging

Aug 29, 08 5:32 PM CDT
(Newser) - Time's almost up for NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander: With its 90-day mission complete, the $480 million project will continue testing soil samples until the punishing winter puts it out of commission. Wired recaps Phoenix triumphs with an interactive timeline, from its flawless landing at Mars' north pole to its... More »

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NASA • space exploration • Mars • Phoenix Mars Lander • robot • Wired

opinion

Pixar's Lovable Robot Has
Important Lessons For Us

Wall-E warns about our over-consumption

Jul 11, 08 11:06 AM CDT
(Newser) - Yes, Wall-E has environmental themes, but its main point is a moral one, writes Michael Gerson in the Washington Post. Not simply a critique of capitalism, as some conservatives have suggested, the movie sets its satirical sights on our self-imprisoning culture of consumption—and the snacking, reclining consumers in the... More »

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Earth • Pixar • consumption • robot • consumerism • computer animation • Wall-E

Thinking 'Bots May Probe Planets for Us

Gizmos could direct airships over Titan, Europa by 2017

Jul 6, 08 6:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - WALL-E they aren't, but future space robots may decide how and where we explore other planets, Space.com reports. Using what expert Wolfgang Fink calls “tier-scalable reconnaissance,” orbiting spacecrafts could choose where to deploy airships that drop rovers on planet surfaces. NASA and Europe may test the software... More »

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artificial intelligence • space exploration • planet • space • robot • Wall-E

 Japan Unveils Robot Girlfriend 

15-inch 'maiden' puckers up on command

Jun 20, 08 1:53 PM CDT
(Newser) - If you’re looking for love and the electronic variety is good enough, a Japanese company may have just the thing for you. Sega unveiled “EMA” today (that’s Eternal Maiden Actualization), a 15-inch robotic girlfriend that can find and kiss human faces on command, Reuters reports. The company... More »

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Japan • robot • Sega • girlfriend

Get Ready
for Some Hot Robot Lovin'

People will sleep with robots in 5 years, love them in 40, experts say

Jun 15, 08 5:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - Human-robot love is no longer the stuff of science fiction, AFP reports. At least one researcher predicts that 40 years from now, robots will tell you stories, make you laugh, and swear that they love you. As for sex, robots will be capable of it in 5 years: It's "... More »

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artificial intelligence • sex • love • robot • robot marriage

 Dogs Think Robo-Vacs Suck 

Pet owners try to keep the peace between high technology and 'bio-pets'

Jun 11, 08 9:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - Dogs are getting more suspicious as robots get more sophisticated, the Wall Street Journal reports. Dog owners find that jealous, territorial, or terrified pooches bark at the robots—and sometimes rip them apart. Some post videos of the battles on YouTube, while others are trying to find ways for canine... More »

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pets • robot • iRobot • robotics • Roomba • dog

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