Well, it sounds like a great idea… Control robots by thinking! All it takes is about a thousand electrodes pasted to your skull and some computer hardware about the size of a refrigerator, and you too can get ASIMO to raise its hand just by looking at a card with a picture of a hand on it:

Alright, so maybe in practice, this isn’t the slickest system yet. But when you’re trying to sift very specific thoughts/actions (like right hand as opposed to left hand) out of frothy brain juice that’s mostly preoccupied with boobies and that newfangled rock ‘n roll, it takes a lot of sensors and a lot of processing power and it’s STILL impressive that it works 90% of the time. Honda’s concept of thinking about things and having automated systems fulfill your every desire is undeniably cool, and if you’re not too picky about it, this sort of technology may be here sooner than you think.

Honda’s full press release, after the jump. (Read more…)

It sings. It dances. It’s 24 feet tall, and it breathes fire. Need I say more?

I can say a little more… and it’s name is TORAYAN. It’s described by the creators (Yanobi Kenji Art Works) as “the ultimate child’s weapon” since it uses voice recognition to only take orders (to torch people, I can only assume) from kids. This can only end well. The only thing I’m wondering at this point is whether this thing is more or less creepy/demonic than this.

[ Giant Torayan ] VIA [ Robot Watch ]

TORC, one of the winning teams from the DARPA Urban Challenge, has taken some of the technology behind their autonomous cars and simplified and repackaged it to be suitable for small, teleoperable and semi autonomous robots. TORC is offering two systems… The first, called WaySight, is a scope of sorts with a viewfinder, a laser, and some simple buttons. Using the scope, you sight the laser in on a point, click a button, and the robot will create a GPS waypoint at that location and navigate to it. You can set up a whole series of waypoints this way, if you like. If that’s not simple enough, you can also use accelerometers in the WaySight to steer the robot directly by tilting the unit around. The other system is called the AutoNav-Mini, and it’s a GPS/IMU system that’s compatible with a whole suite of obstacle avoidance sensors which allows for simple autonomous navigation between waypoints. Basically, you provide the data, and the AutoNav-Mini is the brain that drives the robot.

TORC says that these technologies are designed to be less expensive than other comparable hardware and are therefore more accessible to non-government and non-military organizations, but since they don’t specify the price anywhere I can find and this stuff still IS military hardware (it uses a JAUS integration system), my guess is that you won’t be able to bolt it onto your ComBot without taking out a second and third mortgage. I’d love to be wrong.

Engineering TV has some cool hands-on walkthroughs of both the WaySight and the AutoNav Mini.

[ TORC ] VIA [ Engadget ]

With a few exceptions, we don’t post that much about women who aren’t in reality really weird and freaky robots. So enjoy this picture while you can, because I can’t imagine that you’ll get to see supermodels and robots at the same time that often around here… Even though that’s what I see, every time I close my eyes. Mmmm, yeah. Just without the supermodel in the way.

[ Allure ] VIA [ Gizmodo ]

Japan, understandably, is worried about earthquakes, and as robotics technology has been getting progressively cheaper and easier to work with, we’ve been seeing a variety of search and rescue robots. Search is the relatively easy part; the hard part comes when you find someone and have to get in there and rescue them. Bari-bari-II is a sort of robotic jack system that is able to wedge itself underneath heavy pieces of debris (up to 600 kilos) and then lift them up to 25 centimeters. By doing this over and over, it can burrow down into areas of rubble that would be otherwise inaccessible to humans or robots, and send images back from an onboard camera through an umbilical cable.

The robots, under development by the Tokyo Institute of Technology, can cooperate to lift much heavier debris in teams, perhaps enough to make room for one of these to get in there and rescue people. Failing that, you could always throw one of these into the mix, which will solve all your problems.

[ Tokyo Tech ] VIA [ AI Robotics ]

Hey you guys! If you don’t get this cartoon, go rent the movie tonight. There are no robots in it (sadly), but it does take place in Oregon, and that almost makes up for it.

Don’t forget to catch the other two Bots With Stuff from this week over on The Shoebox Blog, including a robot with buns of steel, and a robot with the mummy’s curse.

[ Bots With Stuff ]

In a nutshell, this is why I don’t understand Japan at all but still desperately want to live there:

This is an official tourism promotion video produced by the city of Hakodate, in Japan. Pink Tentacle explains what’s going on:

The invaders here are alien cephalopods from the planet Ikaaru, who seek revenge on the people of Hakodate for eating too much squid. The aliens hijack an enlarged version of Hakodate’s tourism mascot , a mechanical squid named “Ikabo,” which was built by Future University-Hakodate (FUN) in 2007 , and send it on a rampage through the city. A pair of giant robots are called into action to protect Hakodate’s precious historical buildings from destruction. Hakodate’s Gory┼ìkaku Tower transforms into a deadly fighting machine…

I know, that first video kinda ends on a cliffhanger. But don’t worry, parts 2 and 3 are right after the jump. (Read more…)

I try not to post too many random things that are simply robot shaped (as opposed to actual robots) but for whatever reason this R2-D2 pepper mill caught my eye. Maybe it’s just that the whole idea of twisting R2’s head around while he makes grinding noises and black dust that makes you sneeze drops out of his butt is somehow fascinating to me. Yes, I’m easily amused. He’s about $20, direct from Japan via the UK.

[ Lazybone ] VIA [ 7Gadgets ]

The Year is 2027. A robot pest controller turned serial killer has embarked on a murderous rampage, carving his way through the population of Atro City. Following in the wake of his destruction are a tough robot homicide detective and a sinister robot psychiatrist. Their investigation will take them on a terrifying journey into a twisted technological nightmare, more terrifying than you can ever imagine.

Plus a bunch of pornstars, because the robots only kill women with big boobs. Don’t look at me that way, I haven’t seen it, I was just reading a review… The movie is called Exterminator City, and it was released in 2005. Seriously. You can view the NSFW trailer here.

If you’re feeling gypped out of a good robot sword fight, try this or this.

VIA [ Fark ]

When you get serious about building robots, even little robots, sooner or later you’re going to have to learn how to solder. There’s really no way around it. But, you can make it later rather than sooner with this conductive glue. It works like glue, but it conducts electricity like wire, thanks to a whole bunch of electron friendly complex carbon molecules like nanotubes and buckyballs. At least, that’s how they say it works.

It looks like a neat product, and I’m sure it works well, but if you’re thinking of getting this rather than learning how to solder… You should just learn how to solder. It’s cheap, it’s fun, and you get to melt metal and make stuff. Give it a shot, and then after you burn yourself, you can go ahead and buy the glue without feeling guilty. It’s $4 for 0.3 fl oz from ThinkGeek.

[ ThinkGeek ] VIA [ OhGizmo ]