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Mahru robot dances via telepresence, Kate Gosselin never had it so good (video)
We are such suckers for a cute robot. Take Mahru, for instance -- every time it does a jig or grabs a slice of toast we are charmed just a little bit more. And while the thing is impressive, it might be the manner with which they program the device that might be the most interesting part. Apparently, the gang at KIST have a system in place whereby an operator can wear a motion capture suit and send movements to the robot in real-time (well, mostly real-time -- there is still quite a bit of lag below the waist, so to speak). The video below shows said operator waving his arms and moving his torso, only to have the robot mirror his every move. Wild, huh? And if that ain't enough, the thing has learned a dance or two since we last laid eyes on it. Talk about giving Asimo a run for his money! Peep for yourself after the break.
KIST Mahru-Z waits on you very, very slowly
We've seen KIST's Marhu robot tooling around here before, but now they're showing off the latest models, the Mahru-Z (with some help from Mahru-M), in some super useful scenarios. Mahru-Z and M have been successfully demonstrating their service abilities by carrying cups of tea, and retrieving toast from toasters and delivering it as well. The Z-version bot is a bit shorter than previous iterations, and also sports different, more dextrous arms. He stands about 4 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 122 pounds. Both bots are networked and use 3D object recognition in their task completion. Overall, the improvements to the Mahru bots are iterative, but it sure is great to hear that one day we'll have someone to bring our breakfast to us in bed. Video is after the break.
Mahru the robot dances to mask its emotional insecurities
We've enjoyed watching KIST's Hubo do crazy things like wear the face of Albert Einstein and ride a Segway, but we haven't given as much attention to its brother Mahru. Feeling left out, the biped learned to dance with its upper body whilst walking around -- an impressive feat, considering it wasn't all that long ago that scientists first managed to get these things to take five steps without falling flat on their faces. Mahru also releases scents to express its artificial emotions, so you should be able to smell something fishy when it achieves sentience and begins angrily plotting to destroy its creators. Take a gander at a South Korean TV news report after the break.
