Word: robotics
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Meet the latest in Japanese robotica: a droid that cares ... for old people. A team of scientists at Riken's biomimetic-control research center in Nagoya has developed RI-MAN (for Robot Interacting with Human) to look after the elderly. Standing 5-ft. 2-in. tall, the robot can hoist 77 lbs; its 320 pressure sensors and soft silicone skin allow the robot to safely carry a human body. RI-MAN can also pinpoint where sound is coming from and "smell" eight scents--including urine, which signals "diaper change." But RI-MAN needs a brainpower boost before it's ready...
...dimly lit Harvard basement, robots are on the move. They kick, shoot, pass, and score. And they may soon dominate the world—the soccer world, that is. Since last spring, the Cambridge Robotic Futbol Club (CRFC) has been creating a team of robots that can play soccer without any human involvement for 20 minutes. The club, which consists of 35 Harvard and MIT undergraduate robot enthusiasts, hopes to qualify for the international showdown of simulated soccer players: the RoboCup World Cup. “The ultimate goal of RoboCup is to create a team of robots that...
Butterscotch, a life-size plush pony from Hasbro that nuzzles and eats carrots, debuts at the 2006 American International Toy Fair in New York City along with hundreds of other high-tech amusements, including a tweenage doll with artificial intelligence, an interactive easel and a musical robot fueled by MP3s. Here's a look at some of the most promising playthings hitting the show floor this week--and store shelves across the U.S. later this year. --By Maryanne Murray Buechner...
...which they have a known fondness, during a break at Google's recent sales conference in San Francisco. Page, who as a student built an ink-jet printer out of Lego bricks, is snapping pieces together to make a kind of endlessly ascending staircase; Brin is working on a robot. Schmidt seems too grownup for this...
BRIN: I was hoping to build a Lego nuclear reactor, but I think I have a bazooka-wielding robot...