This isn’t eerie at all: Geminoid DK, in conjunction with Professor Henrik Scharfe of Aalborg University in Denmark, has created a robotic version of the associate professor that looks identical to him. If it weren’t enough that the robot looked exactly like Scharfe, it also mimics the professor’s shrugs and facial expressions.
The …
Yes, you read the headline right–baby robots are being used to treat depressed seniors with Alzheimer’s in Japan. As strange as it might sound, some studies have shown that caring for dolls is therapeutic to depressed Alzheimer’s patients.
The babyloid, which is still a prototype, looks a bit like the strange lovechild of a robot and …
Run, robots! Run!
You missed one doozy of a marathon in Osaka, Japan over the weekend. “The world’s first full-length marathon for two-legged robots,” as reported by the AFP, took two days to finish at an average speed of less than half a mile per hour. The kicker, though, is that the race was decided by one second.
The winner was …
Lonely hearts, listen up: German designer Stefan Ulrich has created a robot that he believes could one day replace our societal need for real-life human relationships. Funktionide — a white, shapeless, pillow-like object — was developed using artificial muscle technology, otherwise known as electroactive polymers, which react to …
I’m neither manly enough to open up a bottle with my teeth or smart enough to open one up with a lighter, so the BeerBot Bottle Opening Shirt from ThinkGeek would make the perfect belated birthday gift for me, people. But something tells me too many beers in one night with that shirt will leave my chest bruised. How else am I going to …
Ah, college kids. The perfect mix of intelligence and idle time.
Here’s what happened, according to Facebook:
“Carleton’s Goodsell Observatory gets turned into R2D2 by an unknown group of enterprising students–complete with sound effects. All the ‘decorations’ appear to have been draped or taped onto the dome; there was no
…
I’m strangely aroused by Christina Hendricks dismembering herself in Broken Bells’ “Ghost Inside” video and I’m okay with that.
[via NYMag]
This will really put a stop to those uncomfortable wedding officiant tangents.
Japanese couple Tomohiro Shibata and Satoko Inoue recently tied the knot with the help of the I-Fairy bot, a ceremonial drone created by Japanese company Kokoro, where the bride works.
Inspired? The bot, one of only three in use, will set you back …
Robots… in… spaaace! General Motors and NASA have developed Robonaut 2, affectionately called “R2” to appeal to Star Wars fans, no doubt. Unlike the little garbage can on wheels, this R2 looks like it’s ready to do some pushups, smooch your girlfriend on the cheek for just long enough that you become uncomfortable, and then arm …
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Hey Techlanders! Here’s what’s going on in nerd news around the Web:
Happy Birthday, Episode V!: It’s been thirty years since what is renowned as the greatest film sequel of all-time, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, hit screens. In it’s honor George Lucus is releasing some never before seen …
Two years ago, did you know the name Neill Blomkamp? No? Well, take a minute right now to write down the name Federico Alvarez, because he may well be the new creative force to storm Hollywood.
He was paid a million bucks by a movie studio just a few days ago for bringing a new media focus to an old-school format: The short film. …
Basically it’s an alpha version of the T-1000:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbqHERKdlK8&hl=en&fs=1&]
“Each cell is filled with a jammable slurry.”
Mmmmm … jammable slurry …
(Via io9)
Also, Tim Berners-Lee is sorry about the //.