I, Robot

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December 2007
- Robots Could Care for Elderly
  
  AFP | Dec 6, 07 6:29 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Toyota’s new robot can play the violin, and the car-maker hopes it could be used in the future to care for the elderly, AFP reports. The 5-foot-tall robot has 17 hand and arm joints, giving it enough dexterity to play an error-free “Pomp and Circumstance” today. Toyota wants to put human-assisting robots on the market early next decade. More »
November 2007
- In Japan, Robots Tackle the Dirty Work
  
  Times (UK) | Nov 30, 07 12:13 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - With the birthrate sinking and the government showing no inclination to loosen immigration restrictions, Japanese businesses are turning to science for help with the impending worker shortage. The London Times visits a Tokyo exhibition that showcases the possible answer: robots. "Robots do the D-work"--dirty, dangerous, and difficult--"that Japanese shy away from," one proponent says. More »
- Roaches Fooled by Robots, Follow Their Lead
  
  Nature | Nov 17, 07 6:57 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Scientists have created robot cockroaches that genuine roaches accept into their communities—and even follow. The robots were covered in roach scent and programmed to like the same things roaches do—darkness and the company of other cockroaches. A Belgian theoretical biologist Jose Halloy and his colleagues found that the impostors could lead the real bugs, sometimes even to places they would normally avoid, Nature reports. More »
- Carnegie Mellon Wins $2M in Robot Car Race
  
  Popular Mechanics | Nov 4, 07 11:02 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - A robot car built by Carnegie Mellon University and General Motors beat out ten others to win a race for self-driving vehicles, race officials announced today. The cars had 6 hours to complete a 60-mile course—including missions like parking and merging into traffic—in pursuit of a $2 million grand prize. Second-place finisher Standford University won $1 million and third-place Virginia Tech took home $500,000. More »
- Robot-Man Behind Google Phone
  
  New York Times | Nov 4, 07 11:33 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The man behind the Google Phone is gadget guru Andy Rubin, a robotics fanatic whose love of cutting-edge toys puts him at odds with the Google anti-conspicuous-consumption ethos. A Times profile finds Rubin at home in a palace of technology, with a retinal scanner at the door and a robotic arm that rings the doorbell. Ironically, Google itself isn't making any such hardware for phones, just software other companies will use. More »
October 2007
- Get Ready for Robot Love
  
  LiveScience | 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 appearance. “The question is not if this will happen, but when,” Levy told LiveScience . More »
September 2007
- Robot Toddler Learns to Walk, Talk, Behave Like a Human
  
  Associated Press | 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’re trying to make a new art medium out of robotics,” Hanson told the AP. More »
August 2007
- Can Keanu Outact a Robot?
  
  Variety | Aug 27, 07 4:49 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Keanu Reeves is coming back to sci-fi—the Matrix star will play the mysterious alien Klaatu in an upcoming remake of 1951's The Day the Earth Stood Still, Variety reports. In the original, Klaatu threatened Earth with destruction if humans didn't stop fighting amongst themselves. No word yet on the casting of Gort the robot. More »
- Military Battles for Drone Control
  
  Financial Times (UK) | Aug 20, 07 1:45 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - New enemies are hovering over America's unmanned drone aircraft—branches of the US armed forces battling each other for control of the high-tech flyers. The Air Force is lobbying Congress for exclusive control over purchasing and developing the spy planes, a move opposed by the Army, Navy and Marines. More »
- Robots Get Their Own Surge
  
  Wired | 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 kicking off a competition for the 'bot-building contract, which will be awarded in September. More »
- Robot Geologist Heads to Mars
  
  Associated Press | Aug 4, 07 7:05 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - An unmanned rocket carrying a robotic excavation machine is on its way to Mars following a successful launch from Cape Canaveral this morning. The AP reports that the Phoenix Mars Lander should arrive on Mars in May, 2008, when it will collect and analyze soil and ice in search of organic compounds on the red planet. More »