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Bots Are Hot

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I've done a few robot stories in the past, talking about how companies are creating armed attack robots, and some of the problems developers are going to face when building them. There's the 18-foot giant robot, and robot soccer champions by the year 2050. And none of that is counting the robotic exploration vehicles working today, like the mars rovers, or the ones that may come tomorrow, like the lunar penguin.
Let's face it: bots are hot. I've seen more robot stories in the last year than I have in the previous couple of years. This bodes well for the bot industry, because the prototype, "gee whiz" stories usually presage the actual revolution by at most a decade or so. Here are some more "Bots are hot" stories.

Robots To Watch Your Diet -- A ROBOT dog that monitors your daily food intake and exercise levels and warns you not to eat that cheesecake could encourage people to stick to their diets. The health-conscious pooch connects wirelessly to the dieter's pedometer and an electronic diary of their eating habits, to calculate their daily calorie intake and expenditure. New Scientist Story here.
Smile if You Like Me -- The ability to express feelings is difficult enough for humans, but now a humanoid robot named Kansei is able to frown or smile according to a flow of artificial consciousness. Kansei's ability to communicate feelings makes it one step closer to recognizing when humans are happy or sad, an important characteristic for machines expected to one day help care for the elderly, clean house, or greet people at a reception desk. Discovery Channel Story here.
Home Guard Bot for Japanese -- Worried about leaving your house empty while you go on vacation? Japan has the answer: a house-sitter robot armed with a digital camera, infrared sensors and a videophone. Stores across Japan started taking orders on Thursday for the Roborior — a watermelon-sized eyeball on wheels that glows purple, blue and orange — continuing the country's love affair with gadgets. MSNBC story here.
Aussies Working On Military Bot Also -- Australia said Wednesday it was developing battlefield robots capable of military operations that could free soldiers from some dangerous tasks. PhysOrg story here.

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This page contains a single entry by Daniel published on September 3, 2005 1:53 PM.

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Daniel Markham