Are we becoming an overly mechanized society? Let’s just not think about it too hard, or else…

Brought to you by The Onion.

VIA [ Communist Robot ]

Considering the sheer magnitude of the cute+awesomeness that Keepon packs into his squishy little body, it’s somewhat surprising that we don’t see him around more, which makes this new(ish) video a treat. Plus, the guy he’s chillin’ with is Daniel H. Wilson, author of How To Survive a Robot Uprising and most recently How To Build a Robot Army. Buy and read them both immediately, but be sure to read the first one BEFORE the second one, or you’ll be sorry.

[ BeatBots ] VIA [ Suicide Bots ]

The blind have been using seeing eye dogs for a long time. In fact, the relationship between man and dog has worked out very well for those with handicaps. Some dogs even help paralyzed humans do all kinds of things around the house. So it was only a matter of time before robot dogs start showing up to help ease the workload of their flesh and blood counterparts. After all, no matter how useful a dog is to a handicapped owner, there are some things it just can’t do.

When was the last time a seeing eye dog read a book to it’s blind owner, for instance? RED the robotic dog, an acronym for Reading Eye Dog, does just that for the blind and reading impaired. Just hold a book up for RED to see and it’ll read the words on the page out loud so the person or persons can hear. Plus, the screen on the back of the dog allows viewers to follow along as RED reads, visually matching the highlighted words with RED’s voice.

It’s a concept for the moment, but is a great replacement for the audiobook, and would be a great addition to the classroom.

[Onomy] VIA [Red Ferret]

Maybe that title is just a wee bit sensationalist, but how else am I supposed to describe this?

The robot doing the tossing is a Kuka industrial robot, which can also be quite dexterous. What I want to know is how the heck these guys got their destructive little hands on one, so that I can get my fair share of playtime… Not that I’d have a clue how to program a robot to chuck bowling balls over a hundred feet based on a custom made visual targeting system. Impressive, most impressive.

[ RoboPult ] VIA [ Hack a Day ]

It’s always kinda fun to see how animals interact with robots; since robots aren’t something that are generally designed to work with animals (with some exceptions) or vice versa. Now, everybody knows that dolphins are the second most intelligent form of life on earth, so it’s especially interesting to see them checking out this little robotic seaplane:

To the researchers, it appeared that the dolphins thought the UAV was a pelican diving for fish, said Ella Atkins, a researcher from U-M’s Aerospace Engineering Department. Finding the craft wasn’t a bird that had spotted tasty fish swimming below, the pod of three dolphins began playing with it, repeatedly swimming in formation with the little seaplane and diving underneath on one side to surface again on the other.

The autonomous seaplane is called Flying Fish and was built by the University of Michigan on (guess what) a DARPA grant. It’s about 20 pounds with a 2 meter wingspan, and can take off, circle, and land autonomously in even 6 foot seas. It’s designed to provide long duration surveillance of an area of ocean, and it currently being outfitted with solar panels, which should enable it to keep on station indefinitely.

[ Flying Fish ] VIA [ LiveScience ]

Meet FemiSapien, the latest in the line of sophisticated, walking, talking, personality-packed robots from WowWee. Intelligent and interactive, FemiSapien speaks her own language of emotive sounds- and responds to users’ gestures, touch and sound. She can even interact with, and control other WowWee robots. FemiSapien is a real 21st century girl- dynamic and sophisticated, she will be your favorite muse, and best friend!

- Interacts with other WowWee robots
- Head movements select modes
- Attentive mode (interactive wandering, seeing, hearing, and dancing)
- Learning mode (program a routine of movements)
- Responsive mode (repeat routine of movements)
- 36 functions, 20 interactive routines
- 68 “hidden” functions (!)
- IR obstacle avoidance
- 5 motors, tilt sensors, IR transmitter/receiver, mic, speaker
- MSRP $99.99
- Available late summer

[ WowWee ]

“Wrex the Dawg is a mischievous robotic pal and a real junkyard dog! Built from discarded mechanical and electrical parts, Wrex the Dawg is the ultimate loveable “cross-wired” pooch, despite a few loose nuts and bolts! He can roam around autonomously, but when he “malfunctions” you’ll have to reset his circuits straight!”

- Three moods (happy, angry, crazy)
- Three desires (exercise, hunger, call of nature)
- Eye icons combine to show 10 different expressions
- Edge and obstacle avoidance
- Guard mode; IR sensors and speakers
- 9 motors
- Requires 4x C and 2x AA batteries (remote uses 3x AAA)
- MSRP $149.99
- Available early fall

[ WowWee ]

The Tokyo fire department has a well rounded robot helper, saving lives and keeping fire fighters safe. It moves using caterpiller tracks, so can roam over just about any terrain. Equipped with a camera and various other sensors, it is capable of measuring the level of carbon dioxide and combustible gases in the air.

If it encounters obstacles, they are not obstacles for long, thanks to two arms which can be controlled to clear obstructions in it’s path. The arms can be fitted with water or foam dispensers to aid in battling the fires themselves. Should fire fighters need to get an unconscious victim out of harm’s way, the robot has a special area where the patient can be secured and then taken away quickly.

I can easily imagine this robot coming in very handy for fire fighters in many areas, but somehow I don’t think they get much use out of it’s special features in the streets of Tokyo.

[New Launches]

“TriBot is one of the latest in the line of personal robots from WowWee. This innovative talking companion is more than just your average robot- TriBot is fresh off the robot assembly line and is ready to interact with you whether it is playing with his built-in games or telling you jokes. Remember though, he’s only a young robot so he will need help from you to give him commands using the remote controller. TriBot- the junior robot with REAL personality!”

- Triple holnomic wheels, can move in any direction
- Gyro-enabled remote can control Tribot via tilt sensing
- 3 IR sensors and a built-in speaker
- Runs on 8x AA batteries
- MSRP $99
- Available March 2008

[ WowWee ]

WowWee has introduced Rovio, a new “telepresence” robot with the latest in micro-GPS technology from Evolution Robotics. Rovio has a Wi-Fi-enabled Web-cam that allows you to patrol your home while you’re away, from an Internet-enabled PC, console or mobile phone.

With the new GPS system you can drive the robot with shortcut “go-to” commands, like “go to the kitchen”, to make it easy to control the robot remotely over the Web or from your mobile phone. It also has a “patrol mode” where it will automatically send you pictures of specific locations you want to check.

Another cool feature is it’s ability to autonomously guide itself back on course if, say your kids pick it up and move it. When it gets thirsty for energy, it can navigate to its charging station from anywhere in the house, and dock with pinpoint accuracy.

It’s expected to launch in the second half of the year.

[Wowwee]