"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

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

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

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

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

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

DUBAI (AFP) - The United Arab Emirates is to mount robot jockeys on racing camels later this year after a ban on using children in the region's popular sport.
posted on Apr 11, 2005 - View this thread

The World Expo 2005 opened doors to visitors today. Attractions include robots, a mammoth, and participating countries from Australia to Zimbabwe. Some think that in the age of the Internet and intercontinental travel, world expos are becoming obsolete; others think the Aichi Expo might spawn a new industry: industrial tourism. The last Expo in Japan was held in Osaka in 1970, and brought us arguably the world's ugliest artifact.
posted on Mar 25, 2005 - View this thread

Bonding with your robot vacuum
posted on Jun 16, 2003 - View this thread

Have Home Robots become a "thing of the now" rather than "thing of the future"? This company seems to think so. It's even got a list of the Top 25 things to do with their new robot, the ER1. This is certainly a big step up from the "toys" that The Sharper Image and other shops sold in the 80's and early 90's, which would bring you a drink on your tray via remote control, etc.
posted on Dec 12, 2002 - View this thread

Introducing ... Ratbot! Leave it to the good folks at SUNY to come up with a remote-controlled rat. Best of all: "If the rat correctly followed the cue and turned left, its reward-centre was stimulated, filling the rat with a feeling of well-being."
posted on May 1, 2002 - View this thread

Teeny tiny robots - Neato!
posted on Feb 24, 2001 - View this thread

More than meets the eye. Next stop, Cybertron!
posted on Jan 19, 2001 - View this thread

Boba Fett hired by NASA.
posted on Jun 14, 2000 - View this thread