I, Robot

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March 2009
- Robot Fish Will Help Battle Pollution
  
  Financial Times (UK) | 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 are building on a design created by hundreds of millions of years’ worth of evolution which is incredibly energy efficient," said a researcher on the project. More »
February 2009
- Killer Robots Pose Danger to Humans: Report
  
  Times (UK) | 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 robots will do only what we have programmed them to do,” its writer tells the Times of London. More »
- Roomba Maker Actually a Big-Time Defense Contractor
  
  Valleywag | Feb 11, 09 1:03 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - It’s common knowledge that the Defense Department is the progenitor of modern conveniences like the Internet. But would you, for a minute, think it has a $286 million contract with the company that makes your Roomba automated vacuum? That fact surprised Owen Thomas, who writes about it on Valleywag, and also happened to watch the Daily Show segment that divulges the shocking information. More »
- New Robotic Arm Takes Cues From Brain
  
  New York Times | Feb 11, 09 10:50 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Artificial limbs have come a long way from the wooden legs and plastic arms of old: Today's prosthetics take messages directly from the brain. Their performance far exceeds that of the previous generation of devices, which required concentrated effort to make ungainly motions. "You think, and then your muscles move," a woman who has one of the newer artificial arms tells the New York Times . More »
January 2009
- Leave Space to Robots
  
  Economist | 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 program. This would leave space exploration to the robots, an idea the Economist heartily endorses. More »
- Robotic Suit Helps Paralyzed Take Big Steps
  
  CNN | Jan 12, 09 8:14 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - People paralyzed from the waist down may soon be parking their wheelchairs in favor of a robotic walking suit, CNN reports. Designed by Dr. Amit Goffer, a disabled engineer in Israel, the lightweight exoskeleton of motorized leg supports and motion sensors enables users to walk around. "I don't have to look from the bottom up," one user said. "Now I am eye to eye with everybody." More »
October 2008
- Space Tourist Video Gamer Blasts Off
  
  Reuters | Oct 12, 08 4:44 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - US video game magnate Richard Garriott blasted off into space today aboard a Russian rocket—and all it cost him was $35 million. The "space tourist" was cheered on by his father, a one-time NASA astronaut, Reuters reports. "I can see he is really enjoying it like a little kid in a candy shop," said Garriott's girlfriend. The craft is already in orbit and will dock with the International Space Station in two days. More »
July 2008
- Thinking 'Bots May Probe Planets for Us
  
  Space.com | 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 on a planned 2017 mission to Titan and Europa. More »
June 2008
- I, (Gay) Robot? Radar Rates the Androids
  
  Radar | 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 at cinema’s most fabulous robots. R2-D2, C-3P0, Star Wars : 9 Hal, 2001: A Space Odyssey : 7 More »
- 'You Might Be Able to Grow Asparagus' on Mars
  
  Reuters | Jun 26, 08 4:47 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Samples of Martian soil analyzed by instruments onboard the Phoenix lander have earth-bound scientists “flabbergasted.” Why? Readings indicate that the extraterrestrial loam could, perhaps has, and possibly will, support life, Reuters reports. Along with ice the lander discovered earlier, “We basically have found what appears to be the requirements, the nutrients, to support life,” a scientist said. More »
- Home Is Where the Robot Is
  
  Economist | 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, see, and may even respond to commands. More »
- Japan Unveils Robot Girlfriend
  
  Reuters | 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 hopes to sell 10,000—mainly to lonely adult men—in the first year; the retail price is $175. More »
- Computer Woes Slow Mars Craft
  
  Associated Press | Jun 19, 08 3:16 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Phoenix Mars Lander stopped digging yesterday to give its memory a rest after a computer glitch caused the loss of photographs and scientific data, the AP reports. Scientists were alerted to the problem after the lander transmitted a single piece of information 45,000 times. "It's unfortunate to lose any bit of science," one scientist said. "But it's not really critical stuff that you kick yourself over." More »
- Dogs Think Robo-Vacs Suck
  
  Wall Street Journal | 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 and robot to live together peacefully. More »
- Astronaut Waves Robot Arm
  
  Reuters | Jun 9, 08 3:25 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A Japanese astronaut on board the International Space Station successfully unfolded a massive robotic arm from the newly installed Kibo laboratory today, Reuters reports. The arm moved slightly on Saturday, but today’s extension of the 33-foot device was the first full test, Space.com reports. The Japanese-built robot had nothing to grab; the equipment the arm will tend to arrives next year. More »
May 2008
- Robot Offers Hope to Would-Be Spidermen
  
  MIT Technology Review | May 29, 08 3:30 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Researchers have created a wall-climbing robot that uses electrically activated adhesion to get up any surface—dusty, wet, glass or concrete. Other Spiderman-imitating machines use a different kind of gecko-inspired technology and generate stronger sticking power than the new ‘bot, but the simplicity of the approach means it could work for human wall-climbing, MIT Technology Review reports. More »
- NASA Deploys Mars Probe's Robotic Arm
  
  Associated Press | May 29, 08 1:00 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - NASA’s Phoenix Mars lander extended its robotic arm for the first time late last night, the AP reports, a day late because of a temporary radio blackout. The arm, which will unfurl over a 2-day period, will eventually be used to take samples of ice below the surface in Mars’ arctic regions to search for evidence of life. More »
- Robo-Maestro Takes Baton
  
  Guardian (UK) | May 14, 08 3:27 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - It was classical music, but when the Detroit Symphony Orchestra hit its final note last night, it sounded an awful lot like the future. Honda’s Asimo robot led a real, live, human orchestra, and though the android was only repeating the recorded movements of a human, the performance went beautifully, impressing the musicians and delighting the crowd, the Guardian reports. More »
April 2008
- Gates to USAF: Straighten Up and Fly Right
  
  Washington Post | Apr 21, 08 4:46 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Robert Gates chided the Air Force today for being slow to change and for not providing enough help in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Addressing American and international student officers in Alabama, the defense secretary said getting the USAF to adapt, particularly in the use of drone aircraft, has been "like pulling teeth," the Washington Post reports. More »
March 2008
- Tech Toy Splurges for That Tax Return
  
  ComputerWorld | Mar 30, 08 8:33 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - This year, the government’s economic stimulus package will add $600 to the average $2,300 refund each taxpayer receives. That’s a sizable chunk of change, perfect for a little tech-toy indulgence, reports ComputerWorld. Casio Exilim Pro Ex-FI high-speed digital camera: Snag 60 frames in a single second, to score a shot in which everyone’s eyes are open. More »