This is cool if only for the head control thing, and the ability to annihilate the people in the cube next to you.
Incidentally, SRL did the head control thing with the Air Launcher way that many years ago, but if you have FREAKIN’ LAZZORS and the will to destroy you tend to always be ahead of the curve.
[Thanks Botjunkie!]
This is charming, thought up and done by Cinegraphic Studios. It’s also an adorable meditation on what the heck a robot actually *is*, anyway.
[Mange takk LaughingSquid!]
Christian Ristow makes giant robots. His wife, Christina, also makes giant robots. They are about to be blessed with a small robobaby of their own.
This is not a robobaby. This is a giant killer robot.
If that is not enough, he has started up a new blog about hauling large piles of metal from one place to another, and back again.
He is a little like these here inhabitant of the RoBunker, only, *way* cooler. Please extend you attention to words by the maker of the Hand Of Man, The Subjugator, and the Spiderbot.
This is also not a robobaby, this is a robot made to look like and arachnid.
You may have seen their work during SRL shows, exquisite classy gallery shows, or in the desert:
Photo Montage courtesy Mr. Nightshade’s Flickr stream
The new blog is about the pitfalls and triumphs that happen when you are an artist and do everything for yourself for a living. It is a window one doesn’t often get to see through when one is a spectator at a slick show or well done live perfromance. We over here are enjoying it immensely!
Yes, it’s
COMBOTS CUP V
October 23-24th, 2010 at the beautiful San Mateo Expo Center in beautiful San Mateo, Ca. Tickets are on sale now at Combots.net!
COMBOTS CUP V is so stupendous I am contractually obligated to spell it in all caps.
COMBOTS CUP V is robot combat at its best, with competition from the tiniest 1-pound ant weights to 220lb heavyweights (which are on the biggish side).
Thank You Mad Overlord for the hi-def videos from RoboGames 2010, whoo.
See the thrill of victory, and the smoke and flames of defeat! See small children getting into hard core mechanical engineering and software programming! See who wins some of our $3500 prize purse, and who goes home in a bucket.
Those of you familiar with combat robotics know it's way better live, with crashing, bashing, flaming and those interesting smells that usually spell catastrophe. All safety measures will be taken so you can see robots launch themselves at each other in a brilliant display of engineering and sportsmanship.
Tickets are available now at Combots.net, but why not compete? Build a robot for any one of our five weight classes, then register here!.
Not competing in October? Come get a taste of things to come, then go home and build your machine for THE INTERNATIONAL ROBOGAMES, coming April 17-19th, 2011
Spread it far and wide, like hydraulic fluid gushing from an injured heavyweight! Bring your friends! Bring your enemies! Enjoy delightful beer and snacks on a genteel afternoon filled with WANTON DESTRUCTION and delightful precision mechanics, with some of the nicest people you’d ever want to tear apart your lovingly crafted machine.
Seriously, it’s fun. You should go. And bring your robot.
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]
Here’s a really well done minidocumentary about robot builders, done up by our buds at Trossen Robotics. Edited and shot by Jennero Rossi, a Trossen Minion, valuable helper at RoboGames and a hell of a great guy, this short illustrates what it is to be a robot builder, where it can take you, and how you don’t need to be a PhD or engineer to get started.
Full Disclosure: Trossen Robotics is one of the dedicated long time sponsors for RoboGames, so please buy some robot stuff from them. Then come to RoboGames to test it out!
Mechanical Victorians -Mechtorians- look great in drawings, paintings, prints and prototypes. They also raise the bar for production-run, high end, limited edition vinyl toys.
Bruce Whistlecraft, aka Doktor A, employs an array of olde and nu skool craftsmanships to take the entire cast of fictional robots on a time-bending fantasmutational romp.
I’m completely charmed by the imagery from an actual past, informed by a recent past, reconfigured as robot characters from the past’s alternative future. Check it out for yourself.
This guy is totally using his powers for good. Canadian Rob Spence had an unfortunate mishap in his teens that led to losing an eye on his right side. He’s decided to one-up nature and become: EYEBORG. With the help of a few of his friends he has developed an eye prosthetic that can broadcast its video, and eventually will be available as a public feed for those who want to see through another (Canadian, filmaking) person’s eyes.
Eyeborg Phase II from eyeborg on Vimeo.
Never underestimate the power of bored nerds to solve excellent problems. How long ’til it’s elective, like tattoos or unusual piercings or suspensions or sideshow performers? I am excited about the cyborg revolution.
[Via Le Boing and IEEE, whee!]
Cris Rose has so many talent chops, that I’m thinking about writing this post in a spreadsheet.
Artist, Designer, Fabricator, Collaborator, Customizer, Collector Whew! He’s busier than a one legged man in an ass-kicking contest who designs, builds and sends original robot toys all over the world to collectors and galleries. Though the figures have no traditional “working parts”, they do have incredibly believable details and lovely backstories. Cris is particularly interested in the relationship between robots and nature, and each character shows its wear and tear with pride. I hope to catch up with Cris soon and find out more about his robots, their histories and the art of decay.
I’m not sure the housewife in me could be any more jealous. Check out the swivel armpit and wrist action.
Thanks, Dave Gessel!
Well, like the man said, that was a hell of a thing. Thanks to everyone who turned up: robot makers, cocktail appreciators, and especially the staff at DNA Lounge, who took care of stuff so we didn’t have to.
Here’s a nice piece from CNET News which gives a pretty good indication of how things went:
Here are a few photos from lovely folks who showed up to take them:
this is Nemomatic's "The Representative"
Well, the fabulous website WebUrbanist has totally done my home work for me this week by putting together an entire Gallery of Pseudo-Victorian, Steampunkesque and Retro Robot Art. THANK YOU FOR THAT.
Ahem, where were we? Oh yes.
at the world famous
DNA LOUNGE
a fabulous event waiting to unfold it’s called
and it’s
INSPIRED BY ROBOEXOTICA
(we love them)
SEE
Magical elixirs take shape before your eyes under the watchful gaze of their robotics engenderers!
HEAR
the loungiest lounge style lounge tunes ever to reverberate off of aural cilia!
DRINK
delightful concoctions courtesy the crack DNA Lounge bar staff and
yes that’s right we have actual real live
BARTENDING ROBOTS
(see there’s one now)
photo courtesy Daniel Terdiman he’s great
along with robots that
PLAY MUSIC
and
MAKE NOISES
and
OFFER WITTY COMMENTARY
so
it will most certainly be the
BEST NIGHT OF DRUNKEN ENGINEERING OMG EVAR
(seriously we’re not even kidding about this)
THERE WILL BE SPEECHES
there will also be
PANELS
stay tuned to this space to find out about yet more
WONDERFUL SURPRISES
that will exist but you will only experience them if you
yes you can
BUY TICKETS RIGHT HERE $10 ADVANCE $15 ON THE DOOR
don’t forget
THIS SHOW IS 21+ ONLY
come between the hours of
7-9 PM WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY, FEB 17H-18TH
at the stupidly awesome
oh boy
WE’LL SEE YOU THERE
Jan 25th, 1978: First recorded death of a human being at the hands of a robot
From Wired’s This Day In Tech:
1979: A 25-year-old Ford Motor assembly line worker is killed on the job in a Flint, Michigan, casting plant. It’s the first recorded human death by robot.
Williams died instantly in 1979 when the robot’s arm slammed him as he was gathering parts in a storage facility, where the robot also retrieved parts. Williams’ family was later awarded $10 million in damages. The jury agreed the robot struck him in the head because of a lack of safety measures, including one that would sound an alarm if the robot was near.
The future is coming, people. Wear a freaking helmet.
Cover that delicate flooring, hide the dog and spray for hippies, The Orb Swarm is gong to India!
Your favorite vivacious rolling globes are packed and headed halfway around the world to meet their adoring public in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India for the annual Techkriti Festival for Technology and Entrepreneurship held at IIT Kanpur.
Techkriti will be feature innovative and creative minds from all over the world:
“After a certain high level of technical skill is achieved, science and art tend to coalesce in aesthetics, plasticity, and form. The greatest scientists are always artists as well.”
- Albert Einstein
Techkriti is a celebration of that fusion – where the beauty of form is merged with inspiring ingenious innovations. It is about creation that moves beyond barriers. Techkriti has always been synonymous with excellence. Graced with the presence of “Nobel” minds, inspiring inventors and young mettle competing to dazzle, Techkriti has been the stuff that dreams are made of. This year we go a step further and combine a flavor of business with the festival. We strive to have a fine balance between the world of science and the real world where we live our day-in day-out lives. Techkriti is about ideas that inspire. For those who wish to know of what use is a new idea, Faraday’s answer is most apt – “Of what use is an new born baby?” Techkriti is about attenuating surly bonds of our mundane existence and going a step further. Over the years, the festival has witnessed the very best coming forward and showcasing their talent.
This being the Golden Jubilee year promises to be bigger and better. No matter what you like – Competitions, Talks, Workshops or Exhibitions- we have it all. And to top it all off, numerous fun events enliven the atmosphere and make the festival a grand treat. So be there from February 11-14, to witness it all live. We are making you an offer that you will not be able to refuse.
@mister_robotics went a few years ago with a team from San Francisco State University to show off their then-new combat robot Beer Bash (more on him later). They had loads of fun.
What’s more, Lee Sonko, Orb tweaker extraordinaire, is speaking! The other speakers at this conference include a couple of Nobel Laureates, A Gödel Prize winner, and a director of the Max Planck Institute of Biological Cybernetics, so, well done Lee!
No pressure or nothin’.
Follow the Orbs on Twitter here!
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