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Nov 26 2008

Mars Phoenix lander goes silent, NASA ends mission

Posted by: in Rebots

The inevitable has happened. Our friend, the loved and loving Mars Phoenix lander has gone quietly into that long, good night once and for all. Even though we joyfully joined the lander on its adventures as it Tweeted from beyond the stratosphere, and thrilled at its explorations, pitfalls, and pratfalls, try not to feel the familiar sting of humanity at the thought of our tiny robotic buddy facing that call to interminable sleep we all must answer one day. Let’s rest simple knowing that the NASA-spawned craft served dutifully and fearlessly right up to the end, when it was overpowered by a horde of space zombies and turned into an undead killing machine. We’ll miss you, pal.

Filed under: Robots

Mars Phoenix lander goes silent, NASA ends mission originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 25 2008

Roomba 530 Wall-E edition proves even robots are corrupted by money

Posted by: in Rebots

It’s 2008 and we’ve finally reached the ultimate goal of modern robotics. No, not singularity… better: a cross-promotional marketing deal between the world’s leading robots. Meet the Wall-E edition of iRobot’s Roomba 530. The special edition Roomba is just like the original 530 only with the addition of that magnificent sticker for a extra

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Continue reading Meet Sparky, the DIY Mac mini telepresence robot

Nov 24 2008

Meet Sparky, the DIY Mac mini telepresence robot

Posted by: in Rebots

When robot builders try to put a human face on their creations, the results usually range between mildly creepy and downright disturbing. Sparky, the Self Portrait Artifact Roving Chassis, dodges that problem entirely by displaying the face of a real, live person on an Erector- and bungee-mounted LCD, creating a package that’s far more charming than iRobot’s ConnectR. Based on a Mac mini, the bot uses Skype for the video and chat, with a plugin enabling the disembodied head to steer the thing about the room, tossing out Max Headroom quotes all the while. A short vid below gives the basics of how to bolt one of these together, while full instructions are at the read link. We just wish they could instruct us how to build ourselves a charming smile like that.

Filed under: Desktops, Robots

Meet Sparky, the DIY Mac mini telepresence robot originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Nov 2008 13:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 24 2008

Caterpillar and CMU team up to create world’s largest robotic monster truck

Posted by: in Rebots

We’re always hearing about some fantastical, nigh-mythical creation that Carnegie Mellon University is in the midst of cobbling together from spare parts, crazy ideas, and pure, simple genius, so maybe we shouldn’t be frothing over the new robotic truck they’ve partnered up with Caterpillar to create, but this one promises to be the “world’s largest.” Adapting software CMU used in the DARPA Urban Challenge, the team hopes to end up with fully automated, 700-ton trucks capable of moving up to 42 miles per hour which will be used for mining. The trucks would theoretically reduce costs, increase productivity, and save lives. The Frankenstein-ed cars will boast GPS, laser range finders to identify huge obstacles, video equipment, and a “robotic driver.” The scientists somewhat predictably foresee some (as of now) rather far-fetched consumer applications in automobiles and trucks over the “next five to ten years,” but we’re taking that with a few salt grains for now. The trucks aren’t ready quite yet but we hear their arrival is imminent, and and we have the ability to only imagine that somewhere in the world, Grave Digger is crying to himself.

Update: We’ve changed the title to reflect the accurate arrangement, which is a teaming up of CMU and Caterpillar, not DARPA. Thanks to the commenter who pointed that out.

Filed under: Robots, Transportation

Caterpillar and CMU team up to create world’s largest robotic monster truck originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Nov 2008 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading iPhone robot is ambulatory, still wants physical keyboard

Nov 23 2008

Anthropomorphized Mars lander in terminal “Groundhog Day” mode, tugging heartstrings

Posted by: in Rebots

Dear Phoenix lander, you always find new ways to both delight and torture us. We listened anxiously for your updates about the weather on Mars, watched you “think” your way out of nearly fatal situations, and marveled at your liquid discoveries. It seems like only yesterday we were preparing for your send off. And what new violence is this you’re doing upon our souls? Oh, that’s right: you’re dying. Not shutting down. Dying. Not quickly, either. And you’re going to suffer from what’s essentially a NASA-induced nightmare terminal case of Alzheimer’s now, too. As early as tonight, the NASA team will upload repeating commands designed to “wring a few additional weather measurements” out of Phoenix by placing it in “terminal science mode,” meaning that the lander will repeat the same sequence of actions over and over again, every day before shutting down for 19 hours. The team has also discovered that the craft is now unable to fully recharge its batteries, causing it to lose its memory each night when it shuts down. So the lander wakes up in the morning, does some science, goes to sleep, wakes up again, doesn’t remember a thing, does some science… oh, you get the idea. The Phoenix team doesn’t know how much longer the lander is going to survive, but they indicated that it could be “several weeks.” Please, just let the pain end. Hit the read link for the long, sad story.

Filed under: Robots

Anthropomorphized Mars lander in terminal “Groundhog Day” mode, tugging heartstrings originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Nov 2008 02:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 22 2008

iPhone robot is ambulatory, still wants physical keyboard

Posted by: in Rebots

Robots are awesome, we can all probably concur on that. Robots made from iPhones are basically an extension of that awesomeness, crossed with an element of unimaginable, ludicrous fun, which is why we’re pleasantly surprised to see that such a device finally exists. Using a jailbroken iPhone 3G running some Ruby code, an Arduino CPU, a TA7291P motor, and 4 AA batteries, the creator is able to pilot the bot via WiFi from a nearby computer, all the while recording its view for later playback. The results look pretty cool, and trust us, you’re definitely going to want to check out the video after the break. As far as we have the ability to tell, by the way, the lyrics to the song in the video are “iPhone with keyboard,” which seemingly refers to this, um… iPhone with keyboard we saw earlier today — apparently from the hands of the same craftsman, who seems like a very busy guy. Especially if he wrote the song!

[Via iPhone World]

Filed under: Cellphones, Robots

iPhone robot is ambulatory, still wants physical keyboard originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Nov 2008 01:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 21 2008

Oki’s robot chair heralds a new age of robot-aided seating

Posted by: in Rebots

The chair is a tool of extreme simplicity and antiquity, and many would argue that it’s foolish to mess with something that obviously attained perfection with the advent of air conditioned seat cushions. Of course, those people have never seen Leopard, the high-tech “concept chair” that takes technology originally developed for Oki’s Robot Leg (an entire robot with design principles based on the human leg) and places it under your posterior for “seating comfort akin to being held in someone’s arms.” This is a chair that adjusts itself to your back, cradles your bum, and gives you a helpful tiny boost when it’s time to stand up. Sound wasteful? Extravagant? How about totally awesome? Hit the read link for more details, and feel free to check out the fun tiny picture of the Robot Leg after the break.

Continue reading Oki’s robot chair heralds a new age of robot-aided seating

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Oki’s robot chair heralds a new age of robot-aided seating originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Nov 2008 23:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 21 2008

Even robots love Obama

Posted by: in Rebots

You know you’ve tapped into a cross section of America when even the robots come out in your support. The $250 ObamaBot stands 6-feet tall and regurgitates stump speeches by the president-elect while presumably cleansing the Earth of any naysayers. ObamaBot’s University of Florida creators see the world as so imperfect, that they’d prefer to pal around with robots who would target their own planet. Run tiny girl, run… change is coming.

[Via The Wired Campus, thanks Egloskerry, pic credit David Cumming / Alligator]

Filed under: Robots

Even robots love Obama originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Nov 2008 04:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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