Robot Gadgets

Looks like no matter how hard and tough-as-nails the Transformers robots look like, they all have a soft side to them in the form of a plush toy. What makes these plush toys all the more interesting is the latent ability to transform, for example the good ol’ Optimus Prime turns into one plush truck by moving the right parts into position.

I think this Transformers plush toy will appeal a whole lot to kids of either gender. After all, who can resist plonking down their head on a soft, plush pillow at the end of a tiring day? They also provide some form of comfort when watching scary movies or during tense moments when the Decepticons are hell-bent on laying waste to the Earth. Each Transformers plushie will retail for £9.99.

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Heart Robot thinks otherwise. His story goes like this: “On his home planet of Xerbix 319, the Broken Heart Robot was one of the rare robots built without a purpose. Saddened by this, he fled Xerbix 319 and traveled the galaxy to seek out his purpose. Along the way, the Broken Heart Robot met many interesting characters on various planets, moons and asteroids, and eventually landed on a small planet known as Earth. Though he has yet to find his purpose, he may just find a few new friends to help him with his quest!”

Why not keep him company by forking out anywhere between $32 to $45 for the Broken Heart Robot. He comes with a variety of qualities such as standard, glow-in-the-dark, and clear. Each purchase will come with an autographed box by the creator.

Product Page via Nerd Approved

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Most robots that we have seen so far look as though they’re of the male variety, and even in Japanese anime we get mostly testosterone-laden robots. Take a look at Transformers for example - how many of those ‘bots are the bionic equivalent of an Amazon warrior? Tomotaka Takahashi must have thought long and hard about this, and he turned his thinking into a practical answer by working on the Female Type (FT) girl robot. Now I know the idea of assigning genders to robots border on the ridiculous, but it does make them more personal during interaction.

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That’s what it looks like at the beginning, but fret not. The alpha males in the army aren’t turning soft anytime soon with the uber-cute Bear robot. Bear is actually an acronym for “Battlefield Extraction Assist Robot”. The name itself is pretty self explanatory, as you have injured soldiers out in the field who can’t make it to a safe point on their own. Rather than risk the life of another human, why not send Bear out to recover the wounded comrade?

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Looking like a mix between good ol’ R2D2, a lamp and a golf ball, here comes the Robocco from Asahi.
As you might have guessed from the title, this robot’s only task is related to beer: it should take one out of its belly, open it, and pour it in a mug. And this is what it does.

Initially only available as a prize for a contest, it is now on sale at CScout Japan.

It can hold a sixpack (of standard cans) in its refrigerating belly.
At the press of a button, a can will be lifted, opened and poured into the mug.
The whole operation will be accompanied by incessant nagging and lots of text on its display.

Click on for some more data and for a video of it in action.

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Tasked with the mission of determining if Mars was ever a habitat where life could thrive, the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) weighs nearly 1800 pounds, is practically the size of a VW and has a laser canon for evaporating and analyzing rock samples.

In fact, this new rover is so large, that scientists at JPL had to invent a whole new way to land it on the Red Planet. Using a hovering crane to gently place the MSL Rover on the Martial surface, the rover will touch down, waits 2 seconds to confirm that it is on solid ground and then fire small explosive devices to cut the cables from from the descent stage, which will then fly and crash a safe distance away from the MSL.

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U.S. Army troops have the advantage of using the Small Unmanned Ground Vehicles (SUGVs) in the battlefield as these diminutive robots double up as their eyes, ears, and potentially triggerfingers in tight situations. These robots are relatively cheap (considering the huge budget the Army has) and can be considered as disposable, enabling ground troops to check out the next corner or even hotspots without putting their lives on the line. What makes everything so surprising is the fact that there is no million dollar research involved when it comes to controller the SUGV - instead, the humble Microsoft Xbox 360 wireless controller will do just fine.

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Japanese seem to love robots of all kinds, and the Kansei robot is the latest in line to join the fray. What makes this robot very much different from the rest of his electronic brethren is the very fact that he responds to word associations, thanks to a silicon face mask and 19 movable parts. Kansei is able to express up to 36 facial expressions altogether from a self-updating online database of half a million words. For example, whenever he hears the word ‘bomb’, he’ll frown, mention ’sushi’ and he’ll smile (I would’ve grinned as I absolutely love sushi). The word ‘president’ brings about a scared and disgusted look.

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