MetaFilter posts tagged with robot

Immigration or Robots?

Extopalopaketle — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:50:53 -0800

Japan is facing a demographic crisis that will shrink the population dramatically. The Japanese aren't having babies, and the country won't accept immigrants to help bolster the population. Japan: Robot Nation looks at a uniquely Japanese solution. Cheat: Robots come in at the 15 minute mark.

"Our system allows you to clone your best, most reliable people"

orthogonality — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 23:39:53 -0800

Strongly Disagree: It bothers you a long time when someone is unfair to you. Other people's feelings are their own business. When people make mistakes, you correct them. You are a fairly private person. You don't believe a lot of what people say.
Strongly Agree: Any trouble you have is your own fault. It is maddening when the court lets guilty criminals go free. When someone treats you badly, you ignore it. You agree with people more often than you argue. You are careful not to offend people. You can wait patiently for a long time. You finish your work no matter what. You know when someone is in a bad mood, even if they don't show it. Your friends and family approve of the things you do. Your moods are steady from day to day.
....the expected answers... are always "Strongly Agree" or "Strongly Disagree." You actually have four options to choose from, when asked whether a statement applies to you or not... [but] "Disagree" or "Agree" are NEVER the right answer to any question, even though any sensible person will have mixed feelings about all these questions.

Benito was notoriously good-natured. People said of him that he could have got through life without ever touching soma. The malice and bad tempers from which other people had to take holidays never afflicted him. Reality for Benito was always sunny.

Show your bones

Artw — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:08:30 -0800

ECCEROBOT - Embodied Cognition in a ~~creepy looking~~ Compliantly Engineered Robot, an anthropomimetic robot whose plastic bones and joints imitate the body structures of the fleshy ones.

Automatic Pancakes

rschroed — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 23:22:44 -0800

Good Morning, New pancakes. And that should about do it. $3500 will get you your very own pancake machine. 200 pancakes/hour in fact.

Amazing Robot Dexterity

mhjb — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:34:09 -0800

Astounding robotics demo featuring three dribbling, catching, stick-twirling fingers from the future, but right now

Wouldn't that be L'Ira di Khan?

WCityMike — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:15:22 -0800

Le Wrath Di Khan. This is too much of a geekgasm not to share. Mike Fasolo, Writer: "I only wish we could have gotten the Kirk puppet to make that ridiculous face Shatner makes in the movie when he yells Khaaaaaaan!! Other than that it may be the perfect sketch." You mean this ridiculous face, Mr. Fasolo? (not the traditional "KHAAAAAN!" link) (more)

Yet another reason to get a laser-cutter

mhjb — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 21:24:31 -0800

Build your own strandbeest (laser-cutter required) [via] Theo Jansen's Strandbeest has been discussed previously, but this is the first time I've seen the movement explained. I'd like to see the 'springy-tuned legs' concept applied to this design.

A robot Hitler?

supercres — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 06:33:44 -0800

Electronic Evolution: Research Show Robots Forming Human-like Societies

Within fifty generations of this electronic evolution, co-operative societies of robots had formed - helping each other to find food and avoid poison. Even more amazing is the emergence of cheats and martyrs. Transistorized traitors emerged which wrongly identified poison zone as food, luring their trusting brethren to their doom before scooting off to silently charge in a food zone - presumably while using a mechanical claw to twirl a silicon carving of a handlebar moustache.

When Steam Wasn't Punk.

The Whelk — Tue, 19 May 2009 11:41:54 -0800

The Brazen Android by William Douglas O'Connor, is a 19th century science fiction story based on the myth of the Brazen Head, a steam-powered head that told fortunes. It's available as an audio book from the Internet Archives. (Via)

Our new alien overlords, and all that

Chocolate Pickle — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:38:52 -0800

A giant robotic beetle (YT) built in Japan by a man in his garage -- and it works. It's a long clip, so if you want to see it move you can skip ahead to about 7:15.

Robot ant on youtube

joelf — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:46:50 -0800

I, for one, welcome our new sigle link youtube post overlords!

He's a big boy now

Vamier — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 07:09:52 -0800

A bald, child-like creature dangles its legs from a chair as its shoulders rise and fall with rythmic breathing and its black eyes follow movements across the room. It's not human -- but it is paying attention. (via)

You will be assimilated

Chocolate Pickle — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:48:03 -0800

The future is now! Her name is HRP 4C, coming soon to your dreams (or nightmares) from JapanCorp. Feel fear: "The robotic framework for the HRP-4C without the face and other coverings will go on sale for about 20 million yen (US$200,000) each, and its programming technology will be made public so other people can come up with fun moves for the robot, the scientists said."

For the good of the Union!

Lord_Pall — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 10:14:42 -0800

Build giant steam powered robots to defend the Union in the American Civil War.

Vampire Lincoln meets Zombie Platypus

BuddhaInABucket — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 09:41:55 -0800

The Official Creebobby Comics Archetype Times Table

movers and shakers in London town

flapjax at midnite — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 16:07:54 -0800

I'll tell you one thing: if I was in London, I'd mosey on over to the Kinetica Art Fair. It looks like fun.

Danger Will Robinson!

Muddler — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 08:00:26 -0800

R.I.P. Bob May - better known as "The Robot" in the 60s T.V. series "Lost in Space." Bob began his career in 1941 at the age of 2, helping out his grandfather's act. According to his bios, he worked with his family playing theaters, nightclubs, and hotel supper clubs all over the world, along with their many television shows. Aside from a career on broadway, he also hit the USO circuit as an in-house performer for the soldiers, various TV and movie rolls, and the stage - but we all know him best as perhaps the most famous robot voice of all time. Websites about Bob abound, but I have a feeling this is what you will all be looking for.

LEMUR's Gamelatron

flapjax at midnite — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 15:07:44 -0800

Introducing the Gamela tron, "the world's first and only fully robotic gamelan". Brought to you by the Brooklyn-based League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots, affectionately known as LEMUR.

Kill all humans / assemble self into chair

Artw — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 09:18:21 -0800

The Best Robots of 2008 (via)

SexCCTV.

gman — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 15:24:57 -0800

Giles Walker created fully animated robot pole dancers to see if it was possible to make CCTV cameras sexy using simple mechanics. Part of the “Mutate London” exhibition at the Behind the Shutters Gallery. SFW

"She can even butter your toast"

Marisa Stole the Precious Thing — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 02:48:29 -0800

Inventor Le Trung, creator of Aiko the female robot, awaits investors to give his creation life.

Nerd trifecta

grouse — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 23:42:49 -0800

A robot made out of Lego bricks that solves a Rubik's cube. Video of the robot in action. Includes full blueprints for building and source code.

The name of this post is Talking Heads.

nebulawindphone — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 15:19:42 -0800

The Waseda Talker has been turning heads (har har) lately. It's a mechanical simulation of the human vocal tract, from the motion of its synthetic lips down to the hypnotic undulation of its rubbery vocal folds (compare the genuine article here). Think this is new? Well, these days we do most of this stuff electronically — but talking simulacra have a long and weird history, starting back when electronic synthesizers were just a pipe dream. Here's a talking pair of bellows from 1791, and a head you can play like a trumpet as recently as 1937. The granddaddy of 'em all are the Kratzenstein resonators (not Frankenstein, Kratzenstein!) from 1779. Make your own with pipe insulation and a duck call.

Military-Grade Moe-Anthropomorphism

mccarty.tim — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 12:30:08 -0800

Military equipment drawn as anime girls. Probably SFW, but good luck explaining it to the boss. Wikipedia explains.

Bulbous Beings

Kronos_to_Earth — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:02:02 -0800

"The common point of all my characters is that they aren’t nice, [they’re] either nasty or mean. They all have a personality with good and bad sides." Olivier Bucheron creates striking alien and robot meanies. Zamak.... (some images mildly nsfw)