humanoid
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Manoi AT01 -- depressed, but ready for action
We're really not so sure what Kyosho's new Manoi AT01 has to be so glum about. It is his launch day after all. But manic depressiveness aside, he's sounding just like he did a couple of weeks ago, except now we've got real pics instead of concept renders. From what we can make of the release docs, he should be appearing in a limited run of 50 on July 31st, followed by a full-on release in September for $1,300. For the most part it appears Manoi's main goal in life is to walk around and provide a flexible platform for hobbyists to program their own motions for the unit, which could be what's getting him down, but we're sure in a few weeks, once he's subjugated the earth to his svelte iron fist, he'll cheer right up. Check out some action shots after the break.[Via Impress]
Promet's little bro, the HRP-2m "Choromet" humanoid robot
It's no secret that we love us some humanoid robots around here, and while their skiing, fighting, and temp skills are always impressive, all we really wanna do is watch the little guys dance. Unfortunately for us, most of the dancing bots we see around here are crazy expensive -- see the Partner Ballroom Dance Robot, for example -- including the HRP-2m "Promet" model that costs over $70,000-a-year just to rent. Well apparently Promet's manufacturer, Kawada Industries, haven't found much of a market for their pricey life-sized bot, so they've teamed up with Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and three other firms to build a smaller, cheaper version of the HRP-2m called the Choromet. Powered by Linux, this 35-centimeter tall version can perform most of the same tricks as its big brother (such as standing on one leg, or delivering a killer Voltron impression) at a much more reasonable $4,450, and is being targeted towards the academic and research communities (which is where Promet originally learned to shake his groove thing).[Via I4U, thanks Bram V.]
"Internet Renaissance Robot" shuns chores, entertains instead
Ah, just what we needed, another way to digest media floating around the interwebs. This time it's a robot that wants to present us with info, but instead of merely reading text off of an RSS feed or blaring a few music streams, the ITR bot works with its very own "RTML" language to present media with motion, voice, and emotion. Of course, this means content developers will have to create RTML content to be displayed by the humanoid bot, but it's an interesting concept at least, and we look forward to seeing what happens. We can't say we're as optimistic as the Speecy Corporation, which dreams of the ITR being fifth major form of household media after radio, TV, PC, and mobile phone. The robot itself runs on a NetBSD-based OS, houses 168 LEDS, stereo speakers, a USB port, and a miniSD slot.[Via Pink Tentacle]
