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Murata Seiko and her male counterpart get upgrades, we get another look at their awesome skills
Murata Seiko, or Murata Girl, is a pretty impressive, attractive little piece of work. The unicycling, dress-wearing robot brings smiles wherever she goes, we're sure (when we had the chance to see her in person that was certainly the case). You may or may not have known that Murata also has a bike riding male counterpart called Little Seisaku? Well, they've both just gotten their upgrades for the year, and that, of course, gives us another opportunity to admire them in all their cuteness. While there aren't any videos of their improvements yet, we know that Murata Girl's now able to traverse an S-shaped balance beam in addition to her straight one, while Little Seisaku's charging capabilities have been upgraded (he can now do so wirelessly), and he's more efficient, too. Check out another shot below.
Impressive HRP-4 robot will make you bow in deference (video)
Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) is back with the mighty impressive HRP-4 humanoid. Created in partnership with Kawada Industries, this 151-centimeter (5-feet) tall, 39-kilo (86-pound) walking followup to the HRP-4C, HRP-3 and HRP-2 robots (pictured in the background) was developed to help take over manufacturing duties from a rapidly aging Japanese work force. The highly mobile HRP-4 features 34-degrees of movement with AIST proprietary control software running on a Linux core. Things get weird at the 5:30 mark of the video embedded after the break when a human enters the stage for a good ol' fashioned stare down. Probably has something to do with his hot wife.
PALRO buddies with its first apps, busts new moves on video
Well, that didn't take long. Just a few months after Fujisoft's PALRO was formally introduced to the Japanese education segment, said humanoid is now set to receive a host of new applications as well as become useful as a people tracker. It's bruited that PALRO will soon gain a Twitter client (to read tweets aloud as best it can), a cooking app, a Japanese word game and remote monitoring abilities (among others), but it's unclear how these obviously commercial apps will help / not help the robot inch closer to a citizen's release. In related news, PALRO has been spotted with a few newfound abilities, namely the instinct to track people and objects via its built-in camera. We'll spare you the rhetoric on why teaching these things to watch our every move is a tragic, tragic mistake, but feel free to peek the video after the break if you're brushing the inevitable downfall of mankind off as a silly rumor.
Bina48 is one humanoid robot you're going to want to hang out with
The photo you see above is of Bina48, one of the most advanced humanoid robots around. Bina48 resides at the Terasem Movement Foundation in Bristol, Vermont, and while she doesn't exactly excel at conversation, she's far more coherent than many we've spied. Bina is a body-less robot modeled on a real Bina, who spent hours talking to the bot to give her human personality traits and vocabulary idiosyncrasies. While she often gives some pretty confounding responses, her existence and nearly constant evolution is pretty impressive and we're going to keep our eye on her as we move toward the future. Check out the video after the break.
Robonaut 2 enters final preparations before flying off into space
Tests, upgrades and final checks are being carried out on the Robonaut 2, the humanoid spacefaring robot that has been in the works since 2007. The baby of NASA and General Motors, this sack of metal and wires has already produced a catalog of 34 new patents and, according to GM, is setting the stage for new safety features in forthcoming generations of its road vehicles. Sensor technology being developed in the R2 could deliver better lane departure warning systems, adaptive cruise control, and more intelligent parking assistance. That's good news and all, but can we ship it out to the ISS already -- we'd rather it be off-world when its instruction set switches from "serve humans" to "serve human meat."
Iran's got a walking humanoid robot, too (update: video!)
Two years ago, Iranian students built Sorena, a white humanoid machine that reportedly wheeled about via remote control. For 2010, robots experts at Tehran University decided to update the creature -- and apparently, channel a little bit of Asimo. Surena 2 was unveiled by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad this week, its purpose unknown. Named after a famous Persian warrior, the robot stands 4.7 feet tall, and can walk about slowly carrying its own weight of 99 pounds. Gulf News reports the robot will get vision and speech modules later on down the road. If it ends up conducting orchestras or performing show tunes, we'll be sure to keep you informed.
Muon the humanoid robot is our ideal best friend
We don't speak German, and machine translation continues to be an intermittent and annoying bundle of failure, so bear with us on this one as we try to cobble together what exactly is going on here. This is Muon, the humanoid robot who is apparently being developed in Berlin by Frackenpohl Poulheim at the ALEAR Laboratory of Neuro Robotics at the Humboldt University in Berlin. Like other humanoid bots, Muon is about the size of an eight year old child so as not to creep out his human companions by being too threatening, and his design, while reminiscent of previous robots we've seen, is pretty original. It's actually hard to tell what stage of development Muon is in -- certainly many of the photos we have spied were concepts -- but we're going to keep our eyes peeled for him moving into the future. If you hit up the source link, you can check out a video of Muon's development. There's one more amazing shot after the break.
Virginia Tech researchers reveal full-sized CHARLI-L humanoid robot (update: video!)
Dr. Dennis Hong was kind enough to give us a glimpse the CHARLI robot on The Engadget Show this weekend -- or its leg, anyway -- but he and his students have just now finally revealed the full-sized bot that's been described as a "robot teenager." As we'd heard, CHARLI is actually a series of robots that initially consists of the 5-foot tall CHARLI-L (or lightweight, pictured above), and the forthcoming CHARLI-H (or heavy), both of which are completely autonomous, with a full range of movements and gestures thanks to a series of pulleys, springs, carbon fiber rods, and actuators (not to mention some slightly more mysterious AI). What's more, while CHARLI-L is currently restricted to walking on flat surfaces, CHARLI-H promises to be able to walk on the uneven ground around the Virginia Tech campus, and eventually even be able to "run, jump, kick, open doors, pick up objects, and do just about anything a real person can do." Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any video of CHARLI-L in action just yet, and it is still somewhat of a work in progress -- the researchers say it will be able to speak soon, and they're also busily working to improve its soccer skills in time for this year's RoboCup. [Thanks, Kyle] Update: Video is now after the break!
AILA bot can recognize objects' weight and fragility, render shelf stackers obsolete (video)
Now, this isn't quite the height of innovation, but it's a pretty cool compilation of existing technologies nonetheless. The femme-themed AILA robot has an RFID reader in its left palm, which allows it to obtain non-visual information about the objects put in front of it. Based on that input, as well as data collected from its 3D camera and two laser scanners, AILA can intelligently deal with and transport all sorts of items, without the pesky need for a fleshy human to come along and give it further instructions. The good news is that it's a really slow mover for now, so if you do your cardio you should be able to run away from one in case of any instruction set malfunctions. See it on video after the break.
ATR and VStone debut 'life-sized' Robovie R3 humanoid robot
It's been less than a month since the iPod touch-based Robovie-mR2 rolled into our hearts, but the folks at ATR and Vstone have now already moved on to their next creation: the Robovie R3 humanoid robot. Designed primarily to aid in research involving the elderly or disabled, the R3 is apparently "life-sized," and packs 11 touch sensors throughout its body, along with a pair of USB cameras for eyes, two microphones and a speaker, an optional laser range finder, and a top speed of 2.5 kilometers per hour. It's also apparently reasonably adept at getting around, with it able to move omnidirectionally and overcome small changes in floor height, and able to lend a hand thanks to its "gripper hands." Of course, "research" is the operative word here, as this particular bot will only be made available to various institutions working with robots, and at the decidedly un-consumer-friendly price of ¥3,800,000 (or just over $41,000).
ASIMO slims down, gains new capabilities in latest revision
We've been hearing about a few of ASIMO's new tricks as of late, and it looks like Honda's now finally showing off some of its hard work. The most noticeable change is that ASIMO (now sporting the P4 designation) has shed over one hundred pounds, and now weighs in at a slight 176 pounds -- letting it slip into a stylish new blue cover for its torso. That weight loss also comes with some added mobility, with the P4 boasting 34 degrees of freedom (four more than its predecessor), and a more flexible waist that makes it more adept at walking and even dancing. Yeah, we're as sad as everyone that there's no video yet, but you can at least check out few more pics at the link below. Update: It turns out this is not an updated ASIMO model, but rather an earlier ASIMO prototype that has only just been revealed at the Honda Collection Hall in Motegi, Japan. ASIMO's current dancing ability remains a mystery.
iCub gets upgraded with tinier hands, better legs
We're pretty familiar with iCub -- the humanoid robot modeled on a two year old -- around here. Just because we know him well, though, doesn't really change the fact that we get the slightest chill running down our spine every time we're reminded of his existence. Well, iCub's getting an upgrade which includes newer, lighter legs which will be more impervious to damage, and smaller hands. That's right, the youngster, who is about toddler-sized, has had until now, the hands of an eight-year old: pretty embarrassing for the little fellow. The new hands are the right size, and have the correct dexterity as well. Regardless, he's still a little creepy, but as you'll see in the video after the break, impressive none the less.
Fujisoft's PALRO humanoid robot in the running to be our new best bud
Fujisoft's recently taken the wraps off its latest companion bot, and they call this one PALRO. PALRO's 39 centimeters tall (just over a foot), and boasts a 1.6GHz CPU Intel Atom CPU, 1 GB of RAM, 4 GB of flash memory, a 3 MP camera, Wi-Fi, 802.11 b/g/n, and a lithium ion battery to top it all off. He's also equipped with a 3 megapixel webcam, but don't worry -- his specs don't make him unapproachable. As you'll see in the video which is after the break, PALRO's probably the kind of guy that you could spend a lot of time with... but see for yourself. Fujisoft plans to start shipping units in March for 300,000 yen (that's about $3,300 ). Hit up the source link for a lot more video.
Proto-2 humanoid robot auditions for Thunderbirds 2.0
While there are some robots like ASIMO still keeping it real with their classic robot looks, it seems that humanoid bots these days are increasingly falling into one of two categories: creepy and more creepy. Making no attempt to alter that trend are the researchers from Advanced Robotic Systems Laboratories (or ARSL), who are now showing off their new Proto-2 robot -- and apparently holding it against its will. Designed partly to aid in the study of human-robot interaction, Proto-2 packs an "expressive face" complete with moving, Peter Gallagher-esque eyebrows, and it apparently has a more natural walking gait than many other humanoid bots thanks to a new dynamic toe-joint that ARSL developed. Unfortunately, there's no video of it in action available just yet, but you can check out plenty more pics, and even an interview with its creator by hitting up the links below.
Meet Diego-san, the latest robot baby to haunt your nightmares
The Apple iPad wasn't the only magical and revolutionary thing revealed this week.
ATOM-7xp humanoid robot is indeed Atom-powered, Windows-based
Our enthusiasm for this particular walking robot is unfortunately a bit dampened by a lack of video, or any evidence of actual walking, but both of those are promised to be forthcoming, and the bot still has enough going for it to distinguish itself in the meantime. Proudly made in the USA by Futurebots, this so-called ATOM-7x robot is actually powered by not one but two Atom processors (a dual-core Atom 330 and an Atom 230), which themselves power two separate systems running Windows XP and Windows 7. Those, paired with slew of sensors, gyros and accelerometers, promises to give the bot a whole range of humanoid capabilities, including an advanced stereo vision system that its creators say will let it "take on real world problems." Complete details are otherwise still a bit light, but the bot can apparently operate autonomously in addition to being used as a telepresence robot, and it unsurprisingly wasn't cheap or easy to build ("2 mortgages and lots of sweat"). We'll be sure to keep an eye out for any sightings of this one in action.
Nippon Institute of Technology unveils educational humanoid robot
We really can't get enough of these humanoid robots. Researchers collaborating from the Nippon Institute of Technology, Harada Vehicle Design, ZMP and ZNUG Design have just taken the wraps off another addition to the crew. The newest version of the e-NUVO walk bot stands about 4 feet tall, making it roughly the size of an elementary school aged child, and will be incorporated into classes to teach children about humanoid robots in a hands-on environment. We'll admit that after seeing a video of the bot in action (it's after the break), we're pretty jealous of those school children.
Nao performs Star Wars homage, scores mad geek cred
While we're still busy thinking up legitimate uses for a humanoid robot, Aldebaran Robotics keeps finding newer and zanier ways to play with its Nao. The latest is a pre-programmed Star Wars routine that should have all you aging loyalists positively moist with glee, and even includes a terrific R2D2 impersonation that is not to be missed. Past the break, you shall find it. Oh, and as to real world uses, there are further videos of Nao reading out your emails and doing balancing acts, which may be found at the source link.
Toyota Partner Robots heading to the moon, offworld colonies inevitable
It started off innocently enough. Personal transporters, they told us, just robots to make life easier. Now look at them -- Toyota's Partner Robots are set for upgrades that include back-mounted solar chargers, spring-loaded jumping mechanisms, and a design hardy enough to withstand lunar temperature drops. Intended for the performance of exploratory missions on the moon -- alongside a four-wheeled robotic rover -- the new designs were introduced by Toyota in a presentation titled "Realization of Moon Exploration Using Advanced Robots by 2020." So, if the world doesn't actually end in 2012, by 2020 we'll have extraterrestrial robots plotting our demise anyway. More pictures of lunar colonization can be found after the break.
Kawada NEXTAGE humanoid robot just wants to help out (video)
In a world where the Headtime scalp massager not only exists but presumably even sells, is it any wonder that assistant robots like this here fella are cropping up? While keeping the design somewhat generic in order to be able to adapt the bot to the particular circumstances where it is employed, the designers at Kawada Industries are keen to promote the NEXTAGE as a step toward humans and machines co-existing and working together in harmony. Sounds peachy, doesn't it? Of course, some meatsack will have to be made redundant to make way for the machines, but humans were always going to be sacrificed for the greater robotic good. That was the plan all along. See the video demo after the break.
