Punk band Neurotic and the PVCs perform with three discerning robots who pogo for punk. [Via]
posted on Jul 14, 2008 - View this thread

"I began to realize that "robots"-- in all their various forms-- can really be seen as a symbol of a larger relationship between people and technology." In 1988, Frederick Schodt wrote about the Japanese fascination and use of robots in his book Inside the Robot Kingdom, curious by the disparities between American and Japanese manufacturing processes . In 1988, the American public wasn't ready for the book, or for robots. Today, Japan still has embraced robotic automation in a way that arguably no other country has. For more similar topics, Mangobot is a column that reports on Asian futurism.
posted on Jun 22, 2008 - View this thread

Searching for animatronics that'll take you out and do you right? Long beyond their glory days, renowned Showbiz Pizza house band, The Rock-afire Explosion, is attempting a comeback. Not that they haven't tried before, but this reunion is driven on multiple fronts: the refocussed creator Aaron Fletcher, the head (and tail) of Creative Engineering; accomplished custom performances by Chris Thrash (previously on Metafilter) and his fellow fan programmer/collectors; and a cameo in the technicolor orgy of an MGMT music video. (Noticed on the fittingly titled Gorilla vs. Bear.)
posted on Jun 7, 2008 - View this thread

Build a robot for less than $50! Create your own evil robot of doom! Make an adorable red ladybug bot! Or a coat-hanger bot! Or another $50 robot! Or a 2-hour, $85 bot excellent for beginners!
posted on Jun 3, 2008 - View this thread

Fearless Fightin' Flash Fun for Friday: Robokill is a demo that recalls the overhead action of SMASH TV - though this time, you're placed in the metal shoes of a lowly salvage bot, sent to decimate your mechanical brethren who commandeered an orbital outpost. As you clear the halls for the benefit of some lazy humans, you can trade supplies and armaments with an alien merchant who mistakes you for one of Earth's fleshbags. It's a thankless job, sure, but you're supposed to be a remorseless machine...[via]
posted on May 30, 2008 - View this thread

In the seas and in the air...the minions of our Alien Overlords are preparing the way....via
posted on Apr 26, 2008 - View this thread

Superstar Scottish comics writer Grant Morrison is about to tear the DC Universe apart again with Final Crisis, the latest in a series of apocalypses and world ending events he's inflicted on various comics worlds over the years. But there was a time before fame when he wrote the tie-in comic for ZOIDS, the robot dinosaur children's toy. So what did he do? Ushered in the apocalypse, in the form of THE BLACK ZOID.
posted on Apr 17, 2008 - View this thread

Yellow Drum Machine (google video), one of the robots that you can learn to build via Let's Make Robots (.com). This little guy finds a surface to tap a beat onto, then taps a beat on it. The fun starts at about 35 seconds in (via b3ta).
posted on Mar 26, 2008 - View this thread

Got a question for God? Tough. But godsbot the Christian Robot might be the next best thing. A $10 donation (minimum) will get you one year of access--or at least click the Google ads. More in the press release. Oh, and via.
posted on Feb 7, 2008 - View this thread

This is a video of a robot playing baseball.
posted on Jan 5, 2008 - View this thread

In the early 1950's, Monsanto Chemical Company, MIT and Disneyland collaborated their resources and creative brainpower to build "the house of 1986." Using 30,000 pounds of plastic (The building's structure, carpet, chairs, sinks, appliances and floors were all plastic. About $7,500 to $15,000 worth.), the Monsanto House of the Future* was opened to an excited public in June of 1957. It was closed in 1967 as ideas of the future were beginning to change. Let's take a quick tour, shall we?
*(Not to be confused with Xanadu Homes of Tomorrow.)
posted on Dec 12, 2007 - View this thread

The Middleton Family at the New York World's Fair (1939). The Original Futurama. Featuring Elektro, the Smoking Robot.
posted on Dec 12, 2007 - View this thread

Scientists introduce "state-of-the-art robot" to a group of toddlers. By the time the experiment ended, the children were treating QRIO as a peer (Quicktime video of giggling, hugging, "displacement hugging,""night-night," and defiant assistance). Oh, and via.
posted on Nov 13, 2007 - View this thread

Reports have been circulating of insects hovering over anti-war rallies recently. Paranoia? Research? It's getting discussion in a lot of mainstream places.
posted on Oct 12, 2007 - View this thread

Lethal Injection Attack Droid Prototype

posted on Oct 6, 2007 - View this thread

Buy n Large. (flash) "Because at Buy n Large, we want you to leave your life to us."
posted on Sep 27, 2007 - View this thread

space war - a little animated clip by Christy Karacas.
posted on Aug 18, 2007 - View this thread

A better article about robots. More interesting robots than I posted about last time. Cute, tiny transforming robots. And for those of you less interested in real robots, 2-XL, the toy that got me obsessed with the whole thing as a kid.
posted on Aug 5, 2007 - View this thread

50 best movie robots of all time including D.A.R.Y.L, Eve VII, the Cylons, Daft Punk, Max, Box, but not Daleks, obviously.
posted on Jul 25, 2007 - View this thread

Bots've come a long way, baby. So everybody knows about Honda's flashy ASIMO, and the sadly canceled QRIO, but now Wakamaru, Mitsubishi's entry into the field, seems to have been first among semi-autonomous humanoid robots to find a job. I wish it luck, but it might need to grow up a little. Maybe it can learn from Domo, son of Cog, robot of yore.
posted on Jul 17, 2007 - View this thread

Farms Fund Robots to Replace Migrant Fruit Pickers
posted on Jun 26, 2007 - View this thread

The play R.U.R. (or Rossum's Universal Robots) and the novel The War with the Newts, both by the redoubtable Karel Čapek.
posted on Jun 24, 2007 - View this thread

Johnny 5 Finds a New Job in South Korea
posted on Jun 18, 2007 - View this thread

Mr. Woo, a chinese farmer, builds humaniform robots for fun and not much profit (to the consternation of his long suffering wife). [via, appropriately enough, William Gibson]
posted on Jun 2, 2007 - View this thread

Terrifyingly awesome giant robotic beetle. Sadly, only a sculpture... for now...
posted on May 22, 2007 - View this thread

Yipee ti-yi - zap! The original Singing Cowboy, Gene Autry, defends his Radio Ranch (Autry was a radio star at the time) from gunslingers and Indians evil scientists, and robots from an underground civilization, in a 1935 twelve-chapter movie serial. It's Autry's first movie role (playing a singing cowboy named Gene Autry), and the first talking science fiction film. Longer plot summary of Chapter 1 and Chapter 4.
posted on May 18, 2007 - View this thread

Meet Jules, a new humanoid robot from Hanson Robotics, the folks who built the Einstein and Phillip K. Dick robots, (the latter's head went missing a while back.) Jules loves you, as much as his newfangled software will allow. He also seems a little awkward and angst ridden for a robot, but it's not his fault; it must be the designers who made his software.
posted on May 4, 2007 - View this thread

Torboto: The Robot That Tortures People.
posted on Apr 23, 2007 - View this thread

Michael Jackson is in discussions about creating a 50-foot robotic replica of himself to roam the Las Vegas desert [firing laser beams!] , according to reports.
posted on Apr 16, 2007 - View this thread

Oskar, Ernest and Anatole are Les Music-Robots, a four ton punchcard controlled trio currently playing at the Berlin Museum for Communication. [More inside]
posted on Apr 14, 2007 - View this thread

Nice Ass! Jon Katz describes why he owns and loves his donkeys. Follow-up: what happened when Lulu fell during an ice storm.
posted on Apr 13, 2007 - View this thread

Keepon and Roillo are two robots designed for non-verbal interaction with children. Keepon is shaped approximately like a snowman, with two cameras for eyes and a microphone for a nose. After one bar of music, he starts getting down in his robotic-type fashion. (two videos that need flash are the attraction here)
posted on Mar 23, 2007 - View this thread

The FIRST ("For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology") robotics competition has recently begun it's 2007 competition season. The competition, which began and still enjoys it's greatest popularity in the United States, challenges high-school students and mentors to design and build a (teleoperated) robot to play a game in six weeks. Founded by Dean Kamen, of segway, IBOT, the first home dialysis machine, and clean drinking water fame founded the competition in 1988 to inspire students to enter the engineering profession. Every year a new challenge is put forth, and this year's game involves placing inner-tubes on a cylindrical rack in addition to lifting other team's robots. A sizeable community has sprung up around FIRST, with much attention paid to Dean Kamen's ideal of gracious professionalism which is like sportsmanship without the sports. The 2007 regional competitions provide teams an opportunity to show off their work. If you're interested in getting involved, or just watching the events, FIRST provides a handy Event Locator.
posted on Mar 8, 2007 - View this thread

Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto, domo...domo
Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto, domo...domo
Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto, domo...domo
posted on Mar 2, 2007 - View this thread

It skateboards, it rollerskates it DESTROYS ALL HUMANS! Meet the Plen Robot
posted on Feb 16, 2007 - View this thread

Tales of Future Past* — It's been a looong Monday. Do you want to get off the planet and out of the city to a place where you can really live? Well, here's some food for thought on the way home down life's highways. First, take a break from all this depressing war talk. Then empower yourself by giving yourself some space and maybe taking off for a few days. Drive just a bit slower, turn up the volume and imagine that your mechanic will say the tranny's OK after all. Once you're in the front door, take time to get slightly wired and forget all about politics. Get recharged for tomorrow: have a nice long bath, put your mind at ease, watch Ur Fave shOw, and listen to some soothing music. Now, don't things look a lot better? [*Note the 'Start the Tour' links at the bottom of each page.]
posted on Feb 12, 2007 - View this thread

Two industrial robots spin records.
posted on Feb 6, 2007 - View this thread

In the past, battlefields were loud. Death came in the form of a huge plane roaring overhead, in the boom of a cannon, in the whine of a bullet shooting through the air. In the near future, death might arrive quietly, in the form of an insect buzzing around your head . . .
posted on Jan 24, 2007 - View this thread

Steam Wars is the many decades long dream project of writer/illustrator Larry Blamire. Essentially the story of three soldiers set in a Victorian era war that features giant Jules Verneseque steam-powered mechrobots, the story has kicked around in Blamire's imagination since the 1970s. In an attempt to get the story made into a movie, he's put up a site with concept sketches, full color art & even faux memorabilia from the ficticious wars.
posted on Jan 3, 2007 - View this thread

Who needs great human masters? Tired of slaving away at art school? Don't have any talent? No worries, just let your robot do the art for you.
posted on Jan 3, 2007 - View this thread

"There is no feeling more satisfying than tearing into a beehive with a sledgehammer." This from Trainsaw, by way of introduction to their new Choose Your Own Adventure-style...er...literary adventure. If beehives, lasers, city destruction, robots, hot scientists, and the like aren't your style, try their many rants or reviews. Those lampooned include Bob Dylan, all the cool kids, diabetes, and a smattering of everything else. Definitely indebted to Real Ultimate Power and Maddox, but...definitely different.
posted on Dec 22, 2006 - View this thread

Sherry Turkle, who used to believe in the benefits of robot pets, has changed her tune and now "finds human-machine love unsettling (pdf)". Tyrell:"We began to recognize in them a strange obsession. After all, they are emotionally inexperienced, with only a few years in which to store up the experiences which you and I take for granted. If we gift them with a past, we create a cushion or a pillow for their emotions, and consequently, we can control them better." Was he referring to us or them?
posted on Dec 7, 2006 - View this thread

Everything you ever wanted to know about the Belshaw Donut Robot (Model 42.)
posted on Nov 20, 2006 - View this thread

Dear Fellow Flesh Slugs,
     The robots are coming, and they are hungry. This man may have helped them. Prepare yourself.
posted on Nov 9, 2006 - View this thread

GOBOTS! Remember Cy-Kill, Turbo, BuggyMan, the unfortunately named Dumper, the much-maligned Scooter, and the rest of the original GoBots? How about the Super Gobots? The commercials (1, 2)? The Challenge of the GoBots? And whatever this is? The last four links are videos, FYI.
posted on Oct 6, 2006 - View this thread

Miracles You’ll See In The Next Fifty Years (Feb, 1950)
Some more up-to-date predictions: science, invention, space travel, colonisation, immortality, water shortage, flooding, nanotech, techno-apocalypse, extinction, mental health, smart machines, robots, mind uploading, AI, Asia, economics, demographics, goverance, cities. What is your prediction?
posted on Oct 5, 2006 - View this thread

Come see the robots at Bennet Robotworks.
posted on Sep 26, 2006 - View this thread

Neill Blomkamp the director for the Halo movie does his first interview regarding the film. Tempbot, Tetra Vaal, Alive in Joburg discussed previously. New links for Tempbot, Alive in Joburg. A showreel that has Tetra Vaal, a 4 minute adidas "movie" called Yellow, his citroen ad which revived the possibility of live action Transformers (for good or ill) and 3 commercials. Also 3 videos he's done (apparently he doesn't have much taste in music, but likes hot girls in bands). Fluffy Starr Bif Naked LiveonRelease. Uwe Boll he is not (I hope).
posted on Sep 25, 2006 - View this thread

No one believes me when I told them that the swarms of robot cockroaches are out to get me.
posted on Sep 14, 2006 - View this thread

Don't worry. The painting understands. :)
posted on Aug 5, 2006 - View this thread