Form Robot Living, a tree planting concept machine. . .

. . .that looks suspiciously like this tree harvesting machine of doom:

Here’s footage of the Kali-like tree creator-destroyer in action:

Yeah, that’s what we thought.

From those forward-thinking Scandahoovians over at Scandicraft, we have ingenious, Ikea-fabulous autonomous drone hangars that will keep even the hardest-working quadrotor spycam snug and safe.

This is the perfect gift for the evil supervillain in your life, especially if they lack a suitably heebie-jeebie inducing perimeter security system. And it’s also stylish! They do come in flat packs, though, so make sure you get all the boxes and that little wrench thing before you install.

[Big ups to the robot lovin' gnomes over at <"http://www.botjunkie.com/2010/08/12/norwegian-mailbox-drone/">BotJunkie]

A cunning little thing from Japan that is a lot cooler than it looks at first blush:

Thanks Ralf Burgert!

More cool stuff at Citadrobo’s YouTube page.

Israeli Scientists are doing a thing with some handshake robots, it should be cool (sorry for the lack of liguistic precision but it’s late and I’m tired and PopSci has done a better job on this anyway).

Image Courtesy Robot Magazine

From Popular Science:
Sure, you can make a robot walk or cook or even play beer pong, but can you make a robot friendly? Ben-Gurion University of the Negev wants to know, so the Israeli university will host the world’s first international competition to build a robot that can shake a human hand.

This is actually a lot cooler than it sounds, because handshaking is a more complex problem than puny humans realize. The conditions, pressure, etc are different every time; differences between hands necessitate decision-making on the fly and – okay remember what I said before? They do a better job explaining things over there at the bigfancy tech magazine, so read and enjoy.

I will indulge in one wholesome and heart-swelling demonstration of sentiment and say that it would be super swell if the folks who sign up for this competition refine their creations, and come to RoboGames 201l as a lovely demonstration of symbolic friendship and brother hood across all nations, creeds and climes. Science and love conquer all.

Yeeegh okay that’s enough. Back to the carnage-loving and haphazard robotic reporting so near and dear to this website’s heart. LOOK! Here’s a contest that rewards the robot who does the most inefficient and laboriously done trivial task! Stupid robot trick yeah!

Okay now I really have to go to bed.

O robot fans the world over: in an effort to open myself up to as much drunken heckling by my friends as humanly possible, while also spreading the love for robots and, especially, RoboGames, I am giving a 50 (!) minute talk this Saturday, May 22nd, at Makerfaire!

The talk is “Build A Robot, Be A Rock Star: RoboGames” and it will be about various and sundry interesting tidbits about our seven years producing RoboGames.

So, grab a giant can of Tecate, camp out in the parking lot, and troop in to hear me talk a bunch about robots, games, and other things.

MakerFaire is this Saturday and Sunday May 22-23rd at the San MAeo Convention Center in lovely San Mateo, California. See everything cool you could possibly think up in the wildest realms of your imagination, all in one place, and learn how you can make each and every single thing yourself.

Whee! So much will be going on, you won’t even be able to absorb it all in one weekend. Yay!

It’s been quiet here in the Uncanny Valley, as we stand around awkwardly in our black suits next to the buffet, finding comfort in funeral potatoes and leftover hamentashen, trying to find something to say that will alleviate the great sense of loss upon hearing of the demise of one of our own, ABE the undersea explorer, out of Wood Hole Oceanographic Institute.

ABE in happier times

Brought out of retirement for an expedition off the coast of Chile, ABE, and autonomous exploratory submersible, was searching for hydrothermal vents on the sea floor when both acoustic transponders on his hull stopped responding.

Dr. Dana Yoerger, senior scientist and a member of the team who built ABE, speaking from the expedition ship Melville, said in ABE’s New York Times Obituary: “For both to die at exactly the same time means probably something very bad and very violent happened,”

Dr. Chris German, a Woods Hole senior scientist who was also in Chile with ABE at the time of the accident, soldiered on admirably, though shaken.

“You’re stuck at sea and you can’t just cry and go home,” he said. “So you figure out what’s the best you can do with what’s available.” That has involved using more conventional equipment to sample the water for other evidence of hydrothermal events, compiling data that can be used when researchers come back.”

Dr. Dana Yoerger reflects:

Dr. Yoerger said he had tried not to become too emotional about the loss of ABE, particularly given the human suffering nearby in Chile from the recent earthquake. “This is aluminum, glass and silicon,” he said. “We can build a new one.”

Still, he said, there had been some trying moments. “The most difficult one was writing the e-mails to my children and grandchildren telling them that their robotic friend was gone.”

::sniffle:: Goodspeed, ABE, tell Cthulhu “Hi” for us as your survey the streets of downtown R’Lyeh for all eternity.

[Tip of the cocktail napkin to OtherMichael]

RoboGames 2010 is coming up quickish, and with it we will be featuring in this space some recaps, explanations, and OMGWTFSPARKLEPONIES!!!1!1! moments for your edutainment. First up: Mech Warfare!

Here’s a video, courtesy those prolific bastards over at Botjunkie:

Ah Mech Warfare, developed in part by the kindly loons at our very favorite Trossen Robotics, it consists of several little robots going head-to-head with several other little robots, all on their cute and merry way to totally obliterating each other with airsoft guns. Good Times!

You can find a whole world of options and excitement for mechwarfare and a bunches of other stuff at the Trossen Robotics Community. As for parts, you can pick em up here! And here! And here and here!

To register your masterpiece for RoboGames 2010, go here! Questions and abuse, please direct to knickers at suicidebots.com. Thanks for playing!

tip o’ the hubcap to Bruce Sterling

More from the irrefutable Magnus Würzer:

This is Mr. Robotics’ progress on his Mechwarrior, which so far he has spent exactly a day and a half on, using parts we had lying around at home, deep down, as a procrastination tool. He will still kick ass and/or take names.

Magnus Würzer of RoboExotica and Shifz fame has taken this video in my very own kitchen. It is of our Intern’s marshammlow roasting robot, a fine tetrix-based contraption that results in burned sugar par excellance:

See more awesome like this at this year’s RoboGames, oh boy that’s a lot of robots.

I have been inundated with these photos, which are cool, so I am passing the savings on to you:

Lobsterbots, LEMURs, ATHELETEs, Mr. Wu, NASA rovers, Big Dogs, plant putters, dino bots, rescue remedies, warehouse automatons, Philip K. Dicks and mechanical men, from all over the world, rendered in breathtaking technicolor.

If this doesn’t bring it home that robots are already the big thing. . .Mr. Saffo? Any comments?

[Thanks to Scott Beale and RICK! for the links]

The advent of this robot clearly means Rosie the Robot is imminent, so people can stop asking, already.

From Bre Pettis and Adam Cechetti, here are the fruits of a long, punchy night at NYC Resistor:

Bre has established that Skynet will enable itself via tasty cheese-filled snacks:

This is one of those robots that I swear is alive. The noises it made were like an animal and it seemed that everytime we looked the other way, it was coming to life and changing things with the setup.

It shows that the revolution will come via Arduino and reprap controllers, and will be commented on by XKCD.

. . and now you too can have a Bar2D2 of your very own! Jamie Price, mentioned in this space before, has been ever so kind to put up an Instructable on how to make your very own Bar2D2!

Jamie also demonstrates the axiom that you don;t necessarily need to get all fancy with the education to build something completely extraordinary:

Just a quick note about me – I am a regular DIY’r and don’t have any formal robotics, electronics, or mechanical training. I have picked up most of my skills from various hobbies and projects, as well as my father who is a skilled woodworker. If you have a basic knowledge of woodworking and working with low voltage power, then you can build a mobile bar! Enjoy!

Quantas Jet computer “malfunctions”, tries to jellify passenger meat puppets:

A Quantas jet at cruising altitude suddenly plunged twice, injuring 74 passengers. “The two plunges – lasting 20 seconds and 16 seconds – sent passengers slamming into the cabin’s ceiling and walls, causing serious injury in 14 people who were treated for broken bones, concussion and lacerations,” according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s report on the event, issued today, says that an onboard computer system suddenly sent “ERRATIC AND ERRONEOUS INFORMATION” to the airplane’s controls. The error was reportedly caused by a bad component… Or is that just what the computerized analysis system is telling us?

Okay now usually, we are all for computer copntrolled aircraft, they are generally way safer than some drunk reprobate pilots we have heard of. In fact, most jets are completely flown by wire on takeoff and landing with minimal human intervention, and this is good.

Or maybe they are just lulling us into a false sense of security?

[via The Raw Feed]

This is not good.

Now the robots are blogging themselves. In particular, it’s that wacky yellow Wakamaru who’s to blame. Yep, she/he/it/whatever’s even on Facebook.

Hey Waka, be nice to us useless humans when you and your yellow plastic buddies take over, ‘K?