Tech Digest

Zou Renti and His Robot Clone

Here we have a portrait of Mr. Zou Renti of the Xi'an Supermen Sculpture Institution and his robot clone at the 2006 China Robot Expo at the International Convention Center in Beijing.  They've come by to show off the robot's silica gel skin and lifelike features (and that he's basically a party droid).  He walks, he talks, he bobbles his head sympathetically, he stands still really well.  (If you're still confused about which is the man and which is the robot, there's a hint after the jump.)  [GT]

 

Crazy News via Engadget

Related stories: Actriod DER2 Fembot l Kao + Kelo = feels-like-skin for robots l Spot the robot

Surprise, the man's the one who feels comfortable sticking his finger in the robot's ear. Seriously though, the Japanese are doing crazy stuff with robots these days. If they invent one that can blog, we're all out of luck.

Actriod DER2 Fembot

Kokoro just brought out a brand-new robot, the Actroid DER2, who loves Hello Kitty and has improved movement patterns over the original Actroid DER. She's presently the guide-bot at the Sanrio headquarters in Tokyo. She has more accurate-looking limbs and a wider range of facial expressions making it now even more likely for the uninitiated to confuse her with an actual human being. But don't just take their word for it; you can rent her for £400 per day plus extra fees for technical support, delivery and choreography changes. So if you fall in love with her, I hope you have a good day job. [GT]

Actroid DER2 Fembot (japanese) [via Pink Tentacle]

Related stories: Kao + Kelo = feels-like-skin for robots | Rong Cheng, China's first 'beauty robot' | The Fembot Mystique

Driving Miss Penguinbot

Oddly resembling the good-natured younger brother of HAL 9000, the Pioneer Penguinbot is actually intended to improve your driving by warning you about red lights or speeding, letting you know when you're getting lost or passing by some point of interest, and also be the little avian friend you dreamed of every night since you were a child. Of course it's only in the prototype stage, but if the straw poll is any indication, Pioneer has a palpable hit on its flippers, er, hands. [GT]

The load robot of the pioneer (entertainingly machine-translated from Japanese) [via Engadget]

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Get your own C-3PO on eBay

He's everyone's favourite camp movie droid, and now C-3PO is available to stand in the corner of your living room. At least, he is if you have $2,500 to spend on a life-size replica that's for sale on eBay. He's grey, as based on the Episode II C-3PO before he went in to a droid garage for his golden respray, and has brand-new LEDs in his eyes. Sounds like a bargain.

Also today on Bayraider: a tribal torch prop from the original 1933 King Kong movie, and a man trying to flog a Steve Irwin doll for six million dollars, yet can't spell 'crikey'.

Kao + Kelo = feels-like-skin for robots

Skin is often the slight flaw in the robotic character, but the Kao Corporation and a team from Kelo University have come up with a false layer that ten out of twelve people (under, they admit, highly unscientific circumstances) felt felt like real skin. It involves a centimeter of silicone with 0.2cm of urethane faux epidermis embossed with tiny hexagons to give it the right texture.

Robot beauty goes skin-deep [via Yomiuri Shimbun (japanese)]

Related stories: New Japanese robot prototype identifies wine, cheeses | Rong Cheng, China's first 'beauty robot'

Robot X Sharpener

The Robot X Sharpener winds up with a key, or by your sharpening your pencil in his back. (We recommend you name him Julius.) He also has special grips to hold your pencil, and the shavings end up in his head, giving you the highly amusing opportunity to decapitate him routinely in the name of cleanliness. Available in blue, black, red, silver and EXTERMINATE. (Well, no, alas.) [GT]

Robot X Sharpener

Related stories: What does Rod Stewart have in common with a rare Radar Robot? | New Japanese robot prototype identifies wine, cheeses | Rong Cheng, China's first 'beauty robot'

Newest from iRobot: the Dirt Dog

Designed to pick up 40% more stuff than the standard Roomba, and with two huge heavy-duty bristles that spin at 1000 rpm in order to grab big debris (nails and woodchips, for example), the iRobot Dirt Dog is something you want to put in your kitchen or your workshop rather than your living room floor throw made from hummingbird beaks. While a regular ShopVac can do the same thing, the ongoing advantage of the Roomba is that it can go places that you can't (or, more likely, just don't want to). $129 USD. [GT]

iRobot Dirt Dog

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What does Rod Stewart have in common with a rare Radar Robot?

And no, the answer isn't that they both need a good oiling with WD40 before they can get up in the morning. At least, I think that isn't the answer... No, the link is that they've both been spotlighted on Bayraider today. The Radar Robot (pictured) was made by Japanese firm Nomura in the 1950s. Back then, he would've cost you just $2.98, but on eBay he's going for $765 at the time of writing. That's inflation for you.

You'll only have to spend $41 to get your hands on Rod Stewart's smelly old ball – but don't worry, it's been kept well, so isn't sagging at all. It's a football that Rod kicked into the crowd at a gig in Columbus, Ohio, and subsequently signed. I assume whoever caught it then brought it backstage. Rod's arms aren't that long.

Also today on Bayraider: a broken drumstick (musical, not chicken) signed by Led Zep's John Bonham, a Lindsay Lohan handbag hand-made from her Rolling Stone cover, and some Suri Cruise t-shirts.

Grab yourself a Big Loo robot on eBay

And no, that's not a cyborg that helps wipe your bum. The boffins haven't invented that yet. Instead, it's a quirky robot found on eBay by Bayraider. He's mostly green, a bit battered, and clearly didn't clean his teeth properly during his boyhood (bothood?) years, as there's plenty of gaps. Still, he has got his original box, which given he was made in the early 1960s is some achievement.

Today's other crop of cool items on Bayraider includes a Meat Loaf mirror, a Hellraiser-themed edition of Monopoly, and a cuddly alligator toy formerly owned by Her Out Of The Divinyls. You remember, she sang about touching herself. Hopefully not with the alligator.

New Japanese robot prototype identifies wine, cheeses

Not only does this robot recommend the right matches of wine and cheese it can actually learn what new flavours you might be interested in, and it even gives health tips if it thinks you're overindulging. Given three ripe, identical-looking apples to analyze, the robot was able without taking a bite to correctly single out one as sweet and the other two as a bit sour. It also mistook one reporter for ham and another for bacon. It uses a sensor to analyze the 'fingerprint' of the food or beverage, so it can tell how a wine is doing without having to open the bottle - which should prove invaluable once the sensors become affordable. I'd certainly like to know when that big-bodied red I've been cellaring has hit prime drinkability! [GT]

New Robot Can Identify Wines, Cheeses [via Miuro dancing robot takes your iPod for a spin | The Fembot Mystique | Rong Cheng, China's first 'beauty robot'