Robot

Thin skin will help robots ‘feel’

by Haitham Sabbah August 16, 2005

Japanese researchers have developed a flexible artificial skin that could give robots a humanlike sense of touch. The team manufactured a type of “skin” capable of sensing pressure and another capable of sensing temperature.

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The Female Robot!

by Haitham Sabbah July 28, 2005

Japanese scientists have unveiled the most human-looking robot yet devised – a “female” android called Repliee Q1. She has flexible silicone for skin rather than hard plastic, and a number of sensors and motors to allow her to turn and react in a human-like manner. She can flutter her eyelids and move her hands like [...]

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Kamel, the Robot Jockey

by Haitham Sabbah April 25, 2005

October 2004, I posted a news article about the intentions of Qatar to substitute robots for jockeys in camel races. Now the robot is ready and was tested last week. The following photos shows ‘Kamel’, the robot jockey, rides Ghazil, a Qatari camel, during a test-run at the Shahaniah camel race track in Doha, Qatar. [...]

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Qatar to use robots in camel races

by Haitham Sabbah October 20, 2004

Qatar is set to substitute robots for jockeys in camel races, a favorite sport in the oil-rich Gulf region which has faced widespread criticism over the use of child jockeys from the Indian subcontinent. But the sport’s supremo in Doha insists Qatar never abused child camel jockeys in the first place and that the plan [...]

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Robots Searching the Skies for Earth-Like Planet

by Haitham Sabbah September 22, 2004

Wired News reports that a British astronomers have just begun to operate RoboNet-1.0, a global network of the world’s biggest robotic telescopes, controlled by intelligent software to effectively act as one giant eye that can be focused anywhere in the sky within a minute. They developed the network to allow astronomers to follow up unpredictable [...]

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Cockroach Robots

by Haitham Sabbah September 6, 2004

My nights are not filled with enough vague horror, now science gives it a name: Cockroach robots.

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Flying Robots

by Haitham Sabbah July 25, 2004

Fort Benning’s International Aerial Robotics Competition tests ingenuity. What if there was a robot that could fly? Perhaps, even save a life or gather information on an enemy? That’s what future scientists and engineers set out to do Thursday at the 14th Annual International Aerial Robotics Competition at Fort Benning’s McKenna Urban Operations Site. The [...]

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Locally-Built Robot Set To Become Hong Kong’s Latest Cop

by Haitham Sabbah March 11, 2004

New Robotcop III Set to Fight Crime in Hong Kong. There is a new cop patrolling the streets of Hong Kong and teaching children how to prevent crime. But it’s a robot, named Robotcop III, designed and built in Hong Kong, tells us Channel Newsasia. Robotcop III can walk, dance, move in any direction, display [...]

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Mini-copter Stars At Robot Show

by Haitham Sabbah November 20, 2003

The world’s lightest and smallest robot helicopter has been unveiled at a Tokyo exhibition by the Seiko Epson company. The designers say the 70-mm-tall device could be used as a “flying camera” to enter earthquake-shattered buildings. The prototype four-legged robot weighs 10 grammes and although it flies by remote control, it has to be linked [...]

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The Unlikely Human Frankenstein

by Haitham Sabbah October 27, 2003

Chicago researchers at Northwestern University have fused the brain stem of an eel to a robot the size of a dollar coin, creating a crude cyborg, or cybernetic organism. Kept alive in a saline solution, the brain adapts to changing light conditions and directs the robotic wheels to move towards light beams like a bull [...]

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Robot Dog Fart Causes Airport Crisis

by Haitham Sabbah October 26, 2003

According to a UPI story, there was a security scare at a Norfolk, Viriginia airport when a British man attempted to pass through a security check point with his robot dog. The robot dog farted at an inopportune time, leading security experts to conclude it was a bomb. At this point, “Dave Rogerson, told the [...]

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Robot Skin Stretches To The Task

by Haitham Sabbah October 25, 2003

Better Android Skin. According to a NewScientist.com article, researchers Sigurd Wagner and Stephanie Lacour of Princeton University’s Macroelectronics Group have developed an elastic metal film that can stretch up to twice its own length while remaining conductive. It can be embedded in silicone and still stretch up to 15%. The material should be ideal for [...]

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