This video of the HyQ hydraulic quadruped robot demonstrates the machine’s ability to walk over difficult obstacles and run at 2 meters per second. The robot is being developed by the Department of Advanced Robotics at the Italian Institute of Technology.

The Topps Star Wars # 207 C-3PO trading card from 1977 appears to show the golden robot with a golden rod. There is a question of how this legendary blooper card was published: some say it was a disgruntled artist that added in the “error” and some say that the official word is that it was an accident due to “timing and light” (ie. a wardrobe malfunction). According to Snopes.com, this card was later replaced with one that airbrushed out his robo-boner. In any event, there seem to be a few of the lewd ones available for sale on Ebay.

via Dangerous Minds

image via Dangerous Minds

Information Systems graduate student Nobuhiro Takahashi at Tokyo’s University of Electro-Communications has been working on SHIRI, a “humanoid buttocks robot” that is primed to express “various emotions with organic movement of the artificial muscles.” In the video, this butt robot is shown reacting to being spanked, slapped, caressed and stroked. The giver feels SHIRI brace (at the 2:32 mark) and express a “happiness” response (at the 2:47 mark).

via Gizmodo Japan and Kotaku

“Face Forward” by Christian Ristow is a 12 foot tall robotic sculpture of a human face. Made primarily of aluminum strips, the sculpture’s moving parts are controlled by 12 separate joysticks. It is therefore necessary for onlookers to work together in order to create recognizable facial expressions with the sculpture. “Face Forward” will be on display at Maker Faire Bay Area, May 19 and 20.

via MAKE

video by Wendy Shuey, photo via MAKE

An experimental bird-like robot lands on a human hand in this impressive demonstration. The robot is being developed by researchers Aditya Paranjape, Joseph Kim, and Soon-Jo Chung, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Aerospace Robotics and Control Lab.

via CNET News

Epipheo Studios interviewed Daniel H. Wilson, author of the book Robopocalypse, who provided some helpful tips on How To Survive A Robot Uprising.

via Tastefully Offensive

“Betsy” is the name of the KegDroid beer dispensing system created by Googler and longtime homebrewer Paul Carff. In this video, Paul describes its mechanics and gives a rundown on how it works. It operates on a touch screen Android tablet.

via The Next Web

images via Paul Carff

FPS Russia created a video that envisions what a prototype Quadrotor equipped with sub-machine gun might be like.

These iRobot Roomba vacuum cleaning robot commercials feature the awesome robotic dance moves of Marquese Scott (aka NONSTOP), Marie Poppins and others. The videos are part of Roomba’s Dance Robolution campaign. We have featured NONSTOP dancing videos in the past: Slow Motion Robotic Dancing To Dubstep Version of Pumped Up Kicks and Amazing Dubstep Dancing by NONSTOP on the Great Wall of China.

via Om Malik

This video shows humanoid robots by DARPA and Boston Dynamics successfully climbing stairs, doing push-ups, and walking on a treadmill. Versions of these robots will compete in the $2 Million DARPA Robotics Challenge in October. Robot competitors will face a series of disaster response scenarios.

via LiveScience, Teach Me Awesome, & Geekologie

Barcelona-based artist Axel Brechensbauer proposes that the United States abandon its use of armed drones in favor of the artist’s “Peace Drone,” a clown-faced aircraft that would spray America’s enemies with OxyContin.

Killing foreign people with predator drones is history. Let me introduce the peace drone.
Hovering over hostile settlements or cities playing loud clown music, smiling around and delivering clouds of oxycontin. A beautiful American drug described as a pharmaceutical grade heroin.

Happy people are better than dead people and best of all, they will be addicted to you!

Thanks to Axel Brechensbauer for the tip!

A research group at Keio University in Japan have been developing (somewhat creepy) interactive robotic rings that imitate human eye and mouth movements. This video from DigInfo TV shows the rings in action.

Find further information about the project at DigInfo TV:

“When you wear this robot on your hand, it forms a medium for communication using the hand. So the robot serves as a device for enhancing the animal-like, imitative ways that people use their hands.”

“The robot has electromagnetic motors in the eyes, which are controlled electrically. This bottom part contains a microcontroller to move the eyes, and a battery.”

“Until now, robots have usually communicated with people from a distance. That’s also true of pet robots like AIBO, and androids. Until now, robots haven’t been attached to the human body. We’ve designed this ring-shaped robot as an entertaining communication device, like an accessory that’s fun to wear, to help wearable robots progress beyond the research stage.”

via The Awl and Crunchyroll

Squacco has posted a short and very funny video in 2008 of her Japanese beer-pouring robot friend attempting to serve her a can of beer.

via Boing Boing and Brandon Boyer

photo and video by Squacco

RoboGames founders David Calkins and Simone Davalos have recently started a fundraising campaign on Kickstarter to help finance RoboGames 2012, a documentary film about their awesome robot competition.

Our goal is to record and edit a professional documentary featuring as many of RoboGames’ 60 events during the three days of frenetic robotic competition. The best matches and amazing robots will all be featured, along with interviews by the builders from around the world who built them.

We recently posted about RoboGames 2012 which happens Friday through Sunday, April 20-22, 2012 at the San Mateo Fairgrounds in San Mateo, California.

RoboGames 2012 artwork by Chris Kawagiwa

ECCEROBOT is a research robot with a human anatomy-inspired structure of mechanical bones, joints, muscles, and tendons (demo video). The European research team developing ECCEROBOT believes the robot will have more human-like behavior than standard humanoid robots, simply because it is built more like a human. They are also investigating whether having a human-like structure will help the robot develop a more human-like artificial intelligence.

via POPSCI & BBC

photos via ECCEROBOT

video by e-ScienceTalk

With the tagline “We Love Rice,” Japanese company Suzumo has been an industry leader in automated sushi making since the 1980s. They presented their latest high-speed sushi-making SushiBots at the World Food and Beverage Great Expo 2012 trade show in Tokyo last week. One of the SushiBots makes rice mound sushi bases at the rate of 3,600 an hour and the sushi roll machine can crank out 300 an hour. The Suzumo website states “We can say, now Sushi is going to be global standard food along with Sandwich and Hamburger.” Wired Gadget Lab has the expanded story on Suzumo’s SushiBots.

via Gigazine, Wired Gadget Lab and Eater

image via Gigazine

RoboGames, the world’s largest robot competition, is now in its ninth year. RoboGames 2012 takes place in San Mateo, California at the San Mateo Fairgrounds Friday through Sunday, April 20-22, 2012 (12 PM to 7 PM) and tickets to this great event are available to purchase online now.

RoboGames is the Olympics of Robots – we invite the best minds from around the world to compete in over 50 different events: combat robots, fire-fighters, LEGO bots, hockey bots, walking humanoids, soccer bots, sumo bots, and even androids that do kung-fu. Some robots are autonomous, some are remote controlled – but they’re all cool! As an open event, anyone can compete – this means you.

RoboGames 2012 artwork by Chris Kawagiwa
past RoboGames photos by Scott Beale

MorpHex is an amazingly versatile transforming robot by Norwegian roboticist Kåre Halvorsen (video). In “standard pose” MorpHex is a 6-legged walking robot, but it can transform into a tripod, rolling sphere, and many other configurations.

via Hack A Day

SandFlea by Boston Dynamics is a small four-wheeled robot that can launch itself 30 feet in the air—high enough to jump into a second story window (video). Funding for the robot’s development is being provided by the US Army Rapid Equipping Force.

via IEEE Spectrum

Researchers at Osaka University have created a robot hand that can be operated remotely, allowing for physical handshakes during teleconferences (video). The robot hand replicates the grip, temperature and feel of a human hand.

via DigInfo TV & Gizmodo

In addition to its primary role as a military robot, the Multi-Arm Unmanned Ground Vehicle can also serve as a robot barber. The robot shaved a volunteer’s head to raise money for St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a childhood cancer charity. The Multi-ARM UGV is by Maryland-based robotics company Intelligent Automation.

via IEEE Spectrum & io9

The TEK Robotic Mobility Device allows people who cannot walk due to spinal cord injury to stand up and move around with independence. As this intro video shows TEK RMD users can board the device without assistance, perform everyday tasks like cooking and shopping, and interact with others at eye level. TEK RMD was created by AMS Mekatronic, a Turkish research and development company.

via Reuters & Gizmodo

Wes Anderson directed Made of Imagination, a stop-motion animated television commercial for the Sony Xperia phone where a boy imagines how smartphones really work (Hint: robots). Wes also recently directed two spots for Hyundai’s Azera luxury sedan. Animation production company LAIKA/house created the wonderful stop-motion animation for the piece.

via The Verge

Wave Glider by California-based Liquid Robotics is an unmanned marine research robot that is powered by wave and solar energy (video). The robot is made up of two parts, a float and a tethered underwater glider—as waves move the float up and down, the vertical motion is converted to forward thrust by ingenious fins on the glider. The float houses solar panels which power onboard sensors for marine research or even intelligence gathering. The Wave Glider can travel at up to two knots and can operate for about a year without human assistance.

via The Daily

images via Liquid Robotics

The Cheetah by Boston Dynamics recently set a new land speed record for legged robots by galloping at 18 miles per hour. The design and movement of the robot is inspired by the cheetah and other fast running animals. The current version can only operate on a laboratory treadmill but a free running prototype is expected later this year. The robot is part of DARPA’s Maximum Mobility and Manipulation project.

via Gizmodo