The changing face (and nose and ears and eyes) of robotics...

Squishbot stands for Soft QUIet Shape-shifting robot (try that on for an acronym)... and the name's on the box. These little critters developed by the Robotic Mobility Group at Massachusetts Institute of Technology & Boston Dynamics have 'viscoelastic skeletons' that can literally change from squishy to hard at the mercy of programming. Modelled seemingly on weirdarse deep-sea citizens, they can morph shape and rigidity, giving them extreme creep power and ultimate nightmare appeal.


Via Gizmodo and Shannon

CareBot: Outsourcing your responsibility

It's seems only fitting right now, while you're sandwiched between towers of tinned Aldi peaches waiting for the Swine Flu pandemic to subside, to introduce GeckoSystems' hilarious new addition to the robot family, CareBot.

CareBot is an automated nursemaid designed to follow you incredibly slowly around the house and provide the kind of medical advice you would ordinarily get from your mum. CareBot will nag you to feed kitty, tell you what's on tellie, and deliver surly passive aggressive retorts if you tell him to bugger off. Presumably further generations of CareBot with get judgy on who you bring home and wander off to sulk if you don't buy them flowers on Mothers' Day.






Via gearlog

Automate your emotions

PaCo is the kind of robot you want to take out on your first date to impress that guapa chica you've been keeping your ojos on. Feed him some spare change, and he'll generate a poem for you, recite it, then spit it out in print. PaCo is a native Spanish speaker, so he's sure to impress, but don't let him boot into Antonio Banderas mode or he'll cut a "Z" into your chest faster than you can say "Mis Cojones!"

Via BotJunkie

Also, if you're bummed that robots have a handle on your emo, why not enlist one to beg for you too?

Stick it to me

I had no idea what made geckos stick to the roof, and now the magic of the internet reveals that they are harnessing the power of van der Waals forces. Lizards are pretty smart, right? Well, humans are catching up.

Metin Sitti and Ozgur Unver has created a sticky, wall-climbing bot destined for such ignominious household uses as removing cobwebs and/or "surveillance". Seriously, is there a nerd alive who has not at some stage dreamed of inventing a better machine for spying on hot chicks taking showers?

(PS: There is a much more highbrow and sciency article on the sticky-bots at New Scientist...)

Robot-a-day

Robot a day. Yea verily, the name is on the tin. Prepare yourselves for mechanically impossible amounts of cute:



Robotaday.com is a must-see blog for all lovers of robotic goodness. Once you have made the impossible task of choosing which robot reflects your programming best (I am dying of want for the Elvis Impersonator Bot), hie thee to etsy and see if you can't find one of these crafty cretins for your very own.

Bug in the system

My latest discovery in the world of robots has me literally squealing with joy. Firstly, the fact that parent company Vex Robotics exists solely for you to begin compiling your mechanical army from the finest start kits is a wonderous thing. Why didn't anyone tell me there were robot supply stores? You could have saved countless of household appliances from untimely (and in most cases quite violent) deaths.

Secondly, Hexbugs!



These critters fit in the palm of your hand, react to light and sound, and do awesome buggy things like scuttling under sofas until you shoo them out. They come in four awesome flavours of Crab, Original, Inchworm and Ant. I am allergic to real ants but I am planning on installing my own hexbug ant army in the kitchen to defend my precious food scraps.

Hexbugs also come in mega packs for fundraising, and quite frankly I can't see how that girl scout with the cookie has anything on these fistfuls of awesomeness.

And continuing on with the ant theme...

Japanese karaoke gameshow drives robot to hara kiri

More proof that the Japanese are so insane, even their robots can't handle the truth.