MetaFilter posts tagged with robots and technology

Homo Evolutis

homunculus — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 21:15:35 -0800

Juan Enriquez: Tech evolution will eclipse the financial crisis. "Even as mega-banks topple, Juan Enriquez says the big reboot is yet to come. But don't look for it on your ballot -- or in the stock exchange. It'll come from science labs, and it promises keener bodies and minds. Our kids are going to be ... different."

Robots at War

homunculus — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 23:16:38 -0800

Robots at War: The New Battlefield. "It sounds like science fiction, but it is fact: On the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, robots are killing America’s enemies and saving American lives. But today’s PackBots, Predators, and Ravens are relatively primitive machines. The coming generation of 'war-bots' will be immensely more sophisticated, and their development raises troubling new questions about how and when we wage war." [Via]

Kill all humans / assemble self into chair

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

The Best Robots of 2008 (via)

The Uncanny Island

artifarce — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 19:22:12 -0800

"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.

Never mind the Black Helicopters, look out for the Dragonflies.

Mcable — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 12:37:53 -0800

Reports have been circulating of insects hovering over anti-war rallies recently. Paranoia? Research? It's getting discussion in a lot of mainstream places.

Robots: Where Are They Now?

StrikeTheViol — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 23:44:53 -0800

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.

Robot Love

sluglicker — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 02:25:04 -0800

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?

Miracles You’ll See In The Next Fifty Years

MetaMonkey — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 23:24:03 -0800

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?

Empathic Painting

Tlogmer — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 05:27:54 -0800

Don't worry. The painting understands. :)

Robot camel jockeys

Tlogmer — Mon, 11 Apr 2005 23:57:37 -0800

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.

Nature's Wisdom

sour cream — Fri, 25 Mar 2005 06:13:31 -0800

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.

The Future Is Now (Spiffy!)

Tlogmer — Mon, 16 Jun 2003 05:16:44 -0800

Bonding with your robot vacuum

Robots @ Home?

djspicerack — Thu, 12 Dec 2002 10:53:34 -0800

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.

risenc — Wed, 01 May 2002 14:16:38 -0800

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."

plinth — Sat, 24 Feb 2001 10:35:08 -0800

Teeny tiny robots - Neato!

jjg — Fri, 19 Jan 2001 12:17:00 -0800

More than meets the eye. Next stop, Cybertron!

Nyarlathotep — Wed, 14 Jun 2000 11:08:20 -0800

Boba Fett hired by NASA.