Justin Bieber makes a dancing robot even cooler at CES

Canadian pop superstar Justin Bieber made an appearance at the Consumer Electronics Show on Wednesday to help promote a dancing robot from TOSY Robotics. No, he did not dance “the robot” with the robot, but hey, at least he signed some autographs.

Bieber was on hand to talk up the mRobo Ultra Bass robot, the latest device from Vietnamese manufacturer TOSY. The robot has a large speaker at its middle section to play music and … Continue Reading

Wii-controlled robot pets cat in YouTube video; Internet’s head explodes

And now for something completely different: Here’s a video of a robot brushing a cat.

The bot, a Nao model hacked by clever software developer Taylor Veltrop, is controlled with a Nintendo Wiimote, a Microsoft Kinect, a head-mounted display and a treadmill. The setup is perfect for that special someone in your life who loves animals but is constantly stymied by crippling pet dander allergies.

Veltrop’s video shows three views: his, the view from the … Continue Reading

Now your robots can post status updates too with MyRobots.com

It’s time for lonely robots to get in on the social media scene. Forget Twitter or Facebook, robots now have their very own social network, called MyRobots.

Launched on December 20th by RobotShop, the social network aims to connect robots and other intelligent electronic devices to the Internet. Instead of posts about how much fun they had with friends last night, robots can post useful updates such as “My battery is low” or “Help me, … Continue Reading

Teach your robot new tricks this Cyber Monday at the RobotsAppStore (video)

If you haven’t gotten a gift for your robot this Cyber Monday (what, you don’t have one yet?), you might want to think about visiting the RobotsAppStore, the Internet’s first portal for paid robot apps. The RobotsAppStore hosts a variety of programs created by enthusiasts worldwide who want to extend the functionality of robots everywhere.

A”programmable robot” is something of a misnomer if you stop to think about it. In order for a robot to … Continue Reading

Here’s how those smartphone-powered robots work & when you can buy them (video)

A couple of days ago, we told you about the free-wheelin’, music-playing robots that OLogic showed off at the Demo fall conference. Today, we can show you more about how those robots work, how much they’ll cost, when you can buy them and more.

AMP (that’s Automated Music Personality) will follow you around and play your favorite music for you. You can attach an iPod or other digital music player to its back, or you … Continue Reading

The age of personal robots is at hand (video)

If the past 50 years saw the rise of industrial robots, the next 50 will be about the age of personal robots.

That’s the view of Steve Cousins (pictured above), chief executive of Willow Garage, the Menlo Park, Calif.-based maker of personal robots like the PR 2, the robot he’s introducing onstage. At last week’s Hot Chips conference at Stanford University, Cousins demonstrated what his 450-pound personal robot could do, from giving high fives to … Continue Reading

Foxconn plans to create a million robots to replace workers within three years

Foxconn plans to replace some of its workers with 1 million robots in the next three years in order to cut rising labor expenses.

The Taiwanese manufacturing company, which makes high-profile products for companies such as Apple and Hewlett-Packard, will use the robots to do simple tasks such as spraying, welding and assembling work. Those jobs are currently done by workers, said Terry Gou, founder and chairman of the company.

He made the announcement at … Continue Reading

Fits.me’s female robot helps you find the perfect fit online

Fits.me aims to increase clothing sales online and reduce returns by showing female shoppers clothing on a mannequin matching her exact dimensions. It does this by using robotic mannequins with artificial muscles that can simulate the shape and size of any body. While a male robot, or Fitbot, has been available for some time, the long-anticipated female version will launch soon at British retailer Hawes & Curtis.

Due to the larger variations in the shape … Continue Reading

Google lobbies Nevada to be first state for self-driving cars

Google hasn’t given up on its sci-fi ambitions to make self-driving cars a reality. The company is now lobbying Nevada to be the first state to legally allow self-driving cars on public roads, the New York Times reports.

We’re still far from seeing the self-driving cars widely deployed across the country, but landing Nevada’s approval could get the cars up and running in Las Vegas within a few years. Eventually, the cars could perform automated … Continue Reading

ZenRobotics robot recyclers go for green in the CleanTech Open

For such an essential part of the green economy, recycling remains a dirty, messy business. Enter ZenRobotics, which adds artificial intelligence to industrial robots to enable them to recycle construction waste. The company recently won Finland’s CleanTech Open competition and will represent the country at this week’s Cleantech Open Global Ideas Final.

Off-the-shelf industrial robots can only operate in very constrained environments where the objects being manipulated are uniform and the movements required can be … Continue Reading

Google pulls an Asimov, announces self-driving cars smart enough to take on traffic

“So we have developed technology for cars that can drive themselves,” Google engineer Sebastian Thrun nonchalantly announced on the company’s blog earlier this afternoon.

Thrun, who is the director of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and co-inventor of Google’s Street View service, said that the company’s goal is to prevent traffic accidents, give people more free time, and reduce carbon emissions by changing the way people use their cars.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt said last … Continue Reading

Afraid the clothes you buy online won't fit? Get help from a robotic mannequin

“So we have developed technology for cars that can drive themselves,” Google engineer Sebastian Thrun nonchalantly announced on the company’s blog earlier this afternoon.

Thrun, who is the director of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and co-inventor of Google’s Street View service, said that the company’s goal is to prevent traffic accidents, give people more free time, and reduce carbon emissions by changing the way people use their cars.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt said last … Continue Reading

Never fear, your beer-serving robot is here (video)

“So we have developed technology for cars that can drive themselves,” Google engineer Sebastian Thrun nonchalantly announced on the company’s blog earlier this afternoon.

Thrun, who is the director of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and co-inventor of Google’s Street View service, said that the company’s goal is to prevent traffic accidents, give people more free time, and reduce carbon emissions by changing the way people use their cars.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt said last … Continue Reading

Roundup: iPhone tethering, Michael Moritz on startups, robots with brains

“So we have developed technology for cars that can drive themselves,” Google engineer Sebastian Thrun nonchalantly announced on the company’s blog earlier this afternoon.

Thrun, who is the director of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and co-inventor of Google’s Street View service, said that the company’s goal is to prevent traffic accidents, give people more free time, and reduce carbon emissions by changing the way people use their cars.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt said last … Continue Reading