By Evan Ackerman

Some of the content in this post may be (who am I kidding, definitely is) NSFW. It includes naughty words and explicitly sexual interaction between a robot and a human. Click more if you’re okay with that. (Read more…)

If you’ve ever needed a break from your kids, the NANC-E Nannybot from Buy n Large is ready, willing, and able to take over. NANC-E is will automatically feed and ’stimulate’ your newborn child, while continuously monitoring health and happiness levels. And don’t worry, no unauthorized person or animal may approach NANC-E without providing the correct verbal cue, lest (I can only assume) some sort of defensive mode is activated. Find out where to get a NANC-E for your children at the Buy n Large website.

Are you appalled? If not, what’s wrong with you, of course this isn’t a real robot (yet). Actually, it’s all related to a new Pixar movie called Wall-E. More after the jump. (Read more…)

According to a study by Georgia Tech, some Roomba owners tend to get rather deeply involved with their robots. Like, we’re talking serious emotional attachment, on the furry pet level, even if (like pets) the Roombas have some flaws. Did I say flaws? I meant personality.

Professor Beki Grinter decided to study the devices after she saw online pictures of people dressing up their Roombas, disc-shaped, self-directed vacuums made by iRobot Corp. “This sort of notion that someone would dress a vacuum cleaner seemed strange,” she said. “A lot more was going on.”

Some Roomba owners included in the study “reported their efforts to “Roomba-ize” their homes so the robot can roam the floors more easily. Some bought new rugs, pre-cleaned the floors to clear the robot’s route and purchased new refrigerators with a higher clearance so their machines could clean under them easier.” That’s right folks, they pre-cleaned the floors to make artificial life easier for a floor cleaning robot. Just think about that for a second, and you’ll realize that we’ve already lost. They didn’t have to fire a single death ray, much less evolve intelligence. So take my advice, and drive a steak through your Roomba’s metal heart before it’s too late.

VIA [ News Tribune ]

This has got to be one of the creepiest music videos I have ever seen. I can easily see it brain-washing whole countries, preparing the way for our new metal masters. At the same time it’s hypnotically cool. Be warned, this is a real Earworm. Once you view and listen to this techno-creepiness, you won’t be able to get it out of your head.

The band consists of 3 humans up front and 3 robots in back. Not only do they have a robot guitarist, they also sport a robo-drummer. But the real star of the show would have to be the robot vocalist. Maywa Denki, (the artist) who has created an actual singing robot, thanks to a large mechanical bellows and a computer-controlled rubber vocal chord.

They are sure to be a hit, with lyrics like:

“The love we get used to, it always looks like an empty Panda.” or “Louise Brown: What are you looking at to dance?”. Then there’s my personal favorite, “Surprise hiccups, la cha cha cha”. There was also one about drinking white slime.

Good luck getting that little ditty out of your head now.

[Maywa Denki] VIA [Stateshirt]

Honda’s Asimo is back after taking a fall last year and literally breaking his face, when he fell down some stairs.

He is returning to the Disneyland stage, running at about 4 mph. Apparently, he is also doing a lot of interacting with a live host in the Say Hello to Honda’s ASIMO show which started on August 29. The show demonstrates all of ASIMO’s new technological advances, including his new speed and artificial intelligence capabilities for human interaction.

It is the only permanent installation in North America where you can see Honda’s robot, who is smarter and more mobile then ever before. ASIMO continues to advance closer to in-home applications.

Nice to see one of our favorites back in action and better than ever.

[Gizmodo]

Like a lot of people, I usually don’t pay attention to beer commercials. Apparently, Marketing knows this. So what did Heineken do? They merged a sexy robot and a beer keg, then threw in some dancing. Well, that got my attention.

First the sexy femme-bot (green tinted) comes on stage and does a little dance as a Heineken keg is extracted from her torso. Next, she sprouts robotic arms and pours herself a draft. As if that weren’t enough, she then proceeds to dance herself into 3 separate and equally sexy entities.

The end result? Product successfully sold to robot enthusiasts everywhere.

Keep up the good work Heineken.

The folks at Wilesco toy steam engines have been hard at work on a new steam powered bot that harkens back to the old days. Their steam engines are built just like they were a hundred years ago, to power vehicles, workshops, and generators. In short, this bot is powered by fire and water.

This model is being made in Germany and should be headed our way sometime around mid September of this year. Available colors will be red, blue, green and black.

While he may not be the fastest bot in the world, the fact that he runs on steam power, combined with his great retro look is enough to make me want one yesterday! Proof that Old Skool is still cool. It’s not always about batteries and electric.

[ Product Page ]

By Evan Ackerman

Here it is, nearly midnight, I have like 5 more hours of work, and what did I spend the last 4 minutes and 5 seconds doing? That’s right, gettin’ down and jiggy with a badass robot dance video. The music is catchy, but the little Keepon robot absolutely steals the show with his rhythmic dance moves. Check it out:

This video was sponsored by WIRED after Keepon’s wildly successful (in Japan) music debut, which you can watch here. Oh, and the band in the background is Spoon. Sadly, you can’t buy Keepon, since he’s a research robot, but the designers are working on a similar bot called Roillo who should have similar capabilities and may become commercially available.

[ Keepon BeatBot ] VIA [ Robots-Dreams ]

The Times (the UK one, not the NY one) has published a list of what they’re calling the 50 best movie robots of all time, ranked by the following:

-Plausibility (meaning how likely it would be that, with advances on currently existing technology, such a device could be built)

-Coolness (just how well designed, shiny or generally well-appointed the robot appeared to be)

-Dangerousness (scoring not only on built-in weaponry, but the robot’s eagerness to use it)

-Comedy Value (how effective the robot is at providing light relief in the film in which it appears)

Best of all, the entire list features links to YouTube clips of each robot in action. After the jump, experience my obligatory outrage at some of the rankings:

(Read more…)