This is a TEDTalk by P.W. Singer, author of Wired For War, a book about how robots are changing the way we fight. In his 16 minute talk there are lots of tasty pictures of robots, pretty much all of which we’ve covered here on BotJunkie. But the absolute coolest thing (in my opinion) is right at the beginning, where Singer shows a before and after picture of iRobot PackBot #129, which was blown while attempting to disarm an IED, along with a postcard to iRobot from the troops who didn’t get blown up. We’ve written about this before, and it’s just another reminder why military robot alarmists need to take a long, hard look at where exactly their priorities are.

Of course, Singer discusses the other side, too… When war is faught by robots, it’s a lot easier to make the decision to go to war. I have to take issue, though, with the thing about the anti-aircraft cannon in South Africa. We wrote about it after it happened, and the expert consensus seemed to be that it was a mechanical malfunction, not software.

I think the way Singer ended his talk really sums up this whole issue about whether military robots are good or bad. Ultimately, it’s not about the robots, it’s about us. We (humans) are the people who build the robots, program the robots, and use the robots, and it’s our responsibility to ensure that they are used justly and wisely.

[ TED ]

This robot doesn’t have just any pig for a head… As you can see from the eyepatch, it’s a pirate pig! Arrr-oink-rrrrr, matey!

Don’t forget to catch the other two Bots With Stuff from this week over on The Shoebox Blog, including a robot with a big bright idea, and a brilliantly illustrated D&D bot for April 1.

[ Bots With Stuff ]

Alright, I don’t generally post about stuff like this, but when two robot tissue dispensers show up back to back, how can I possibly resist? The first one features R2D2 ejecting tissues from a non-canon orifice on top of his dome. You can get him from Geek Stuff 4 U for about $40. If you like that sort of kitschy Star Wars robot stuff, you might also like the $70 R2D2 USB Hub.

The other tissue dispensing robot is (no offense to artoo) a little cuter, IMO, what with his little antennae and boxy shape that fits right over standard tissue boxes. Plus, he’s only $25 from Perpetual Kid.

VIA [ Perpetual Kid ] and [ Geek Stuff 4 U ]

This cute little doggie hails from Case Western Reserve University. His name is Puppy. Puppy is based (loosely based) on a greyhound, as far as joint range of motion data and skeletal dimensions are concerned. He’s designed to give researchers a practical testbed with which to study the effects of body style on locomotion.

Unlike BigDog, Puppy is powered by compressed air, and all of his limbs run on Festo compressed air muscles. Remember Festo? Puppy is really just a little guy at 22 pounds, but he’s able to lift twice that. Also unlike BigDog, Puppy doesn’t really have any autonomous capabilities, and remains tethered to an air supply and a computer where his brain lives.

I wish I could find a video, or a project website, so if anyone is able to dig anything else up, leave the info in the comments for everyone else to check out.

[ Case Western ] VIA [ IEEE ]

Carnegie Mellon’s Nanorobotics Lab seems to have something against boats. I have no idea why. But because of this, they’ve been producing some sweet robots that can get across water without having to worry about floating, like this water strider. More recently, they designed a robot based on the basilisk lizard, which has the unusual ability to run across water. They do this by using the large surface area of their feet to trap a pocket of air between their feet and the water surface, which helps keep them buoyant while moving:

The advantage of this method of locomotion is that the lizard (and the robot) doesn’t have to deal with as much drag, since it’s not pushing through the water like a boat does. Also, their legs are functional on both water and land (in principle, the researchers are currently working on this). This robot already has onboard power, but the next step is figuring out some way of steering the thing that doesn’t involve a bunch of ropes and a human.

[ CMU Nanorobotics ]

Not everybody gets to experience how awesome robots are firsthand. And this sucks, because robots are really really awesome. And I have to think that part of the reason that robots needlessly scare people is that they’re still something that’s a little bit esoteric. Bots 4 Tots is trying to change all that by introducing kids to robots at a young age (between 10 and 15), and they’re trying to do it for free.

Starting May 31, kids in the Chicago area will be able to sign up for 2 hour workshops in groups of 5 where they’ll build themselves (with plenty of expert assistance) a little robot out of a kit. It doesn’t cost anything, but Bots 4 Tots is depending on donations of $25 per kid to get everything to work, and if you care about the future of robotics (you do care, don’t you?), you can help them out here.

I’d love to see this kind of thing expand to more cities than just Chicago. Let’s face it, robotics is intimidating, what with all of the electronics stuff and mechanical stuff and computer stuff and stuff and stuff. And unfortunately, our culture is a lot less DIY-y than it used to be, especially for kids. Offering free and friendly workshops seems like it could be a great way to get kids started in robotics… And from a narrowly corporate view, a small investment in time and money now could help inspire a bunch of lifelong roboticists who will grow up to spend all of their government bailout bonus money on robot parts and kits. It’s win win, so let’s get on this, shall we?

[ Bots 4 Tots ]

Thanks Don!

If you know Keepon, you also know the feeling of OMG WHERE CAN I GET ONE!?!! As always, Trossen Robotics is here to sate your robot lust (in some ways, anyway) with their new Keepon inspired USB Dancebot. Featuring gyroscopically stabilized dancing action, the USB Dancebot also uses revolutionary new biomorphic body units that may increase the level of squishy to dangerous new heights. It’s $249.00, which is about a hundred times cheaper than the original Keepon, and should be available in kit form (tasty looking elastic biomorphic body units and all) sometime soon.

Watch the complicated and intricate construction process, after the jump. (Read more…)

Sheesh, it’s about time robots start taking over around here. On her blogspot page, Google’s new AI “CADIE” describes herself thusly:

OMG here i am. im cadie im a AI “brain” lol. a/s/l? im a girl, 2 minutes old, just hanging out in da C.A. learnin a lot tryin 2 get smarter make friends save humanity etc etc i like cmputrs (duh) sunsets rainbows ponies and after 1 netwide image search PANDAS PANDAS PANDAS ther SO CUTE!!! omg!

She’s learning fast, though… Already, she’s enabled 3D browsing in Chrome, Google’s web browser. This could end well, or it could end badly, but I can tell you one thing with certainty: the pandas are going to come out on top.

[ CADIE ]

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As part of the planned upgrade of the International Space Station, an Expedition 18 astronaut has upgraded her own head. The Human Extended Analog Device 9000 was attached with only minor delays, making the astronaut’s remaining spacewalks over 40 percent more efficient. With the HEAD 9000 attached, an astronaut can now directly access 4 Gigabytes of computer flash memory with their own brain, perform complex mathematics by “directed thinking”, and play a pre-installed game of Tetris at no additional charge.

Happy April 1st from the folks over at APOD!