robot

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US Sending Robots to Fukushima

Radiation-hardened robots to assist at stricken plant

(Newser) - The Energy Department is sending a squad of robots—and people—to help Japan in its battle to regain control of its Fukushima nuclear plant. A shipment of "radiation hardened robotics" is being sent to Japan along with 40 people and thousands of pounds of other equipment, a top...

Japan Has Robots All Over —Except at Nuke Plant

Humans are still being asked to risk their lives

(Newser) - Japan has built robots for all kinds of distinctly human tasks—from playing instruments to officiating at weddings—but none have been used in this nuclear mess, notes Reuters . Instead, humans are still being asked to risk their lives. Robots are common elsewhere in the nuclear industry, so what gives?...

Canadians Aim to Send Hockey Pucks to Moon

Team seeks Google Lunar X Prize

(Newser) - A team of Canadians is aiming to send a few hockey pucks up to join Neil Armstrong's golf balls on the surface on the moon. The Canadians are one of 29 teams from 17 countries competing to win some of the $30 million in prize money Google is offering to...

Robots to Get Their Own Internet, Wikipedia

'RoboEarth' would streamline programming

(Newser) - Robots might be getting their own Internet, or something very much like it, reports the BBC . "RoboEarth" as it is being called, would allow robots to access a database, upload and download information, and generally get about their business more efficiently. "Most current robots see the world their...

Robot Probes Mexican Ruins
 Robot Probes Mexican Ruins 
Nov 11, 2010 4:13 AM CST

Robot Probes Mexican Ruins

Archeologists send scout into Teotihuacan tunnel

(Newser) - The robot equivalent of Indiana Jones has given archeologists the all-clear to investigate a long-hidden tunnel under the ruins of Teotihuacan, Mexico. The remote-controlled robot—named Tlaloque after the Aztec rain god—was sent through the recently discovered 2,000-year-old tunnel under the temple of Quetzacoatl to determine whether it...

Robonaut Joining Space Station Crew

'A giant leap forward for tinmankind'

(Newser) - International Space Station astronauts won't need to worry about the newest crew member hogging the oxygen or clogging the toilet. Robonaut 2 will become the first humanoid robot in space when he heads to the station this week on the space shuttle Discovery's final mission, AP reports. "R2" will...

Robot Beats Up Volunteers
 Robot Beats Up 
 Volunteers 
IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE
Oct 14, 2010 8:25 AM CDT

Robot Beats Up Volunteers

Researchers actually trying to create robots incapable of harming humans

(Newser) - Six Slovenian volunteers have been getting beaten up by a robot in the name of science. The men have been punched repeatedly in the arm at different strengths by said robot and rating the resulting sensation on a scale that ranges from "painless" to "unbearable." The robotic...

Robot to Explore Secret Pyramid Passageway

 Robot to Explore 
 Secret Pyramid 
 Passageway 
in case you missed it
Aug 22, 2010 6:52 PM CDT

Robot to Explore Secret Pyramid Passageway

'Djedi Rover' aims to find out where mysterious tunnel leads

(Newser) - A high-tech robot is setting out to solve one of the Great Pyramid of Giza’s long-standing puzzles. Armed with a drill, a snaking camera, and other state-of-the-art bells and whistles, the “Djedi Rover” will scamper up the mysterious 8-inch tunnels in the Pyramid of Khufu’s so-called “...

Pentagon Unleashes 'Transformer'

'Origami bot' first step in shape-shifting warfare

(Newser) - Pentagon designers working mightily to create their own brand of "Transformers"—vehicle-warriors that can morph from robot to boat or plane—have unveiled an origami-like model of a small, thin sheet of metal that can change itself itno a rudimentary boat shape to something resembling a paper airplane....

BP Gets Cap Back on Well After Robot Mishap

Oil was gushing at 104,000 gallons an hour

(Newser) - A cap was back in place on BP's broken oil well after a deep-sea blunder forced crews to temporarily remove what has been the most effective method so far for containing some of the massive Gulf of Mexico spill. Engineers using remote-controlled submarines repositioned the cap late yesterday after it...

I, Robot, Now Pronounce You Husband and Wife

Creepy. Creepy. Creepy.

(Newser) - Almost everyone stood when the bride walked down the aisle in her white gown, but not the wedding conductor, because she was bolted to her chair. The nuptials at this ceremony were led by "I-Fairy," a 4-foot-tall seated robot with flashing eyes and plastic pigtails. Today's wedding was...

Robot Should Replace Punxsutawney Phil: PETA

Groundhog Day is too stressful, group says

(Newser) - PETA has taken on the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, alleging that the famous clairvoyant groundhog is abused by the annual festivities and suggesting it be replaced with a robot. In a letter, a PETA representative claims that the crowds, flashbulbs from cameras, and handling involved in Groundhog Day stress out poor...

Japanese Dying to Get Into Highrise Cemeteries

High-tech facilities in demand as traditional grave prices top $100,000

(Newser) - High-tech, high-rise cemeteries are sprouting across Japan as a shortage of land drives up prices in ground-level graveyards. The cemeteries, typically five or six stories high, store the dead in urns which can be retrieved by robots and delivered to mourning rooms by visiting family members with a swipe of...

New 'Spider Pill' Roams Body Hunting Cancer

Camera pill first to be fully remote-controlled

(Newser) - It sounds like something out of science fiction, but a tiny robotic spider could save your life. Scientists have created a pill-sized camera that, once swallowed, can deploy mechanical legs and roam the body looking for cancer or other maladies, the Daily Telegraph reports. The “spider pill” is controlled...

Surrogates : Silly But Suspenseful
 Surrogates: 
 Silly But Suspenseful  
movie REVIEW
Sep 25, 2009 10:30 AM CDT

Surrogates: Silly But Suspenseful

Bruce Willis, in weird wig, tops 'smart' sci-fi flick

(Newser) - Critics are lukewarm about Surrogates, the new sci-fi flick starring a surprisingly hirsute Bruce Willis, in which humans command tricked-out robots who do their work and play for them.
  • It's a "preposterous movie that luxuriates in its own silliness," says Stephanie Zacharek of Salon. There's a "heavy-duty
...

UK Artists Invent 'Neurotic' Robot Band

(Newser) - Cybraphon mimics a neurotic indie band by obsessing over its online presence and knocking out tunes to express its fluctuating moods, Wired reports. Designed by three UK artists, Cybraphon is a musical robot stuffed with an organ, cymbals, a Macbook Pro—and a highly volatile emotion meter. "The Cybraphon...

Experts Fear Robots Will Outsmart Humans

(Newser) - With Predator drones bombing villages and robots plugging themselves in, is Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey around the corner? Leading researchers met recently in Monterery Bay, Calif., to address such fears. Runaway superintelligence seems unlikely, they concluded, but speech synthesis technology could aid data-hunting crooks, and autonomous robotic...

Here Comes the Robot Bride
 Here Comes 
 the Robot Bride 
Jul 24, 2009 1:38 PM CDT

Here Comes the Robot Bride

(Newser) - A Japanese fashion designer has enlisted a humanoid robot to model wedding dresses on the runway, the Sun reports. The robot, “Miim,” took to the catwalk like a pro, strutting and casting glances at the audience like her human counterparts. “We hope she can work in fashion...

Robot Learns to Smile
 Robot Learns to Smile 
Jul 10, 2009 8:45 AM CDT

Robot Learns to Smile

(Newser) - It's a milestone for robots: One has learned to smile and make realistic facial expressions on its own for the first time, Wired reports. University of California researchers put their Einstein robot in front of a video camera attached to facial recognition software, which gave it feedback as it randomly...

No, Seriously, Federer May Be a Robot

(Newser) - The late David Foster Wallace once marveled at a Roger Federer forehand, saying, “It was impossible. It was like something out of The Matrix.” And now that Federer has passed Pete Sampras and holds the Grand Slam record, it’s time to wonder if Wallace was on to...

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