Beijing Robots Dance Like Michael Jackson [VIDEO]

Beijing Robots Dance Like Michael Jackson [VIDEO]: "Beijing Robots Dance Like Michael Jackson [VIDEO]
September 25, 2012 by Kenneth Rosen


One day we’ll have robots that fold our laundry, but for now we can settle for ones that can mimic Michael Jackson.

Beijing College hosted the first student robotic competition this week. Nearly 100 teams entered the competition and enrolled robots into several categories.

Each robot was programmed with software that choreographed three minutes of movement. Among robots that sang and played sports such as boxing and soccer, one robot danced Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”"

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Chatty, contest-loving robots now 10% of web traffic, says study — paidContent

Chatty, contest-loving robots now 10% of web traffic, says study — paidContent: "A growing army of bots are doing everything from leaving comments to entering sweepstakes, harming the online environment for both publishers and advertisers. Solve Media has a study on the problem.


A new study by ad firm Solve Media claims that 10 percent of all web traffic is now driven by bots, automated computer programs that can mimic humans by leaving comments or entering contests.

The study also cites a 400 percent rise in so-called “aberrant traffic” in actions like registration and voting, resulting in a costly nuisance for both publishers and advertisers. Solve Media says it conducted the 18-month study on the basis of 2 billion authentications performed across more than 5,000 publishing sites."

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I robot, would you like fries with your burger? - The National

I robot, would you like fries with your burger? - The National: "I robot, would you like fries with your burger?
Tony Glover

         
California's Silicon Valley is in the throes of giving birth to its next world-changing technology - robotics.

Start-up companies are scrambling to develop humanoid-stye robots to cater for a growing demand from both businesses and consumers.

Silicon Valley Robotics, which represents 40 organisations, reports a boom in robotics start-ups in San Francisco in addition to more established companies elsewhere in the area concentrating "

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These Robots Can Help Disabled Officers, Veterans Get Back to Work [VIDEO]

These Robots Can Help Disabled Officers, Veterans Get Back to Work [VIDEO]: "These Robots Can Help Disabled Officers, Veterans Get Back to Work [VIDEO]


The 1987 science fiction film RoboCop introduced us to a brave cyborg law enforcer who was “part man, part machine” and “all cop.” Today, the idea of a police officer who’s part-robot no longer seems so far-fetched.

Florida International University’s Discovery Lab is designing a “telebot” that can be controlled by a disabled police officer or war veteran off site, according to CNET."

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Sociable trash box: Proxemics in dynamic interactions

Sociable trash box: Proxemics in dynamic interactions: "Sociable Trash Box: Proxemics in Dynamic Interactions
ScienceDaily (Sep. 24, 2012) — Toyohashi Tech researchers use 'robotic social trash boxes' to investigate interactions between humans and robots for improving robot-to-human communications.

Humans regulate their interactions according to different contexts, the degree of the relationship, cultural factors, gender, age, and so on. These factors can be utilized as an interpersonal boundary-control mechanism which is totally dependent on encouraging or discouraging another person's interactions. Humans are expected to dynamically optimize the above mechanism according to the interpersonal distances and personal spaces (proxemics)."

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NASA plans to explore Mars using astronauts in robotic rover missions

NASA plans to explore Mars using astronauts in robotic rover missions: "NASA's future plans to explore Mars may end up using astronauts as space messengers.

The new idea surfaced as a special team looking for a new Mars robotic exploration plan released a preliminary report Tuesday.

One of the option calls for a Martian robotic rover to collect rocks on the red planet. Later, astronauts in a newly built spaceship would be used to pick them up from a cosmic delivery point somewhere between Earth and Mars and return them home."


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Wearable sensor system automatic maps building while wearer is moving

Wearable sensor system automatic maps building while wearer is moving: "Wearable Sensor System Automatic Maps Building While Wearer Is Moving
ScienceDaily (Sep. 24, 2012) — MIT researchers have built a wearable sensor system that automatically creates a digital map of the environment through which the wearer is moving. The prototype system, described in a paper slated for the Intelligent Robots and Systems conference in Portugal next month, is envisioned as a tool to help emergency responders coordinate disaster response."

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Intuitive visual control provides faster robot operation

Intuitive visual control provides faster robot operation: "Intuitive Visual Control Provides Faster Robot Operation
ScienceDaily (Sep. 25, 2012) — Using a novel method of integrating video technology and familiar control devices, a research team from Georgia Tech and the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is developing a technique to simplify remote control of robotic devices."

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How Rethink Robotics Built Its New Baxter Robot Worker - IEEE Spectrum

Robots in Higher Education: "How Rethink Robotics Built Its New Baxter Robot Worker - IEEE Spectrum
spectrum.ieee.org - In the center of an otherwise unremarkable office stand six large robotic torsos mounted on pedestals and positioned along a bench that’s covered with piles of plastic widgets."

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Robots: BEAM Robotics

Robots: BEAM Robotics:

Mark Tilden, discusses about the history beforeWowWee‘s RoboSapien and FemiSapien and about his belief that bottom up BEAM robotics (which stands for Biology, Electronics, Aesthetics, and Mechanics) is essential in creating low cost, competent, robust and flexible robots.

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BBC News - Robots join the fight against cancer

BBC News - Robots join the fight against cancer: "A 30cm (1ft) snake slowly moves through the body of a man on a spotless table, advancing its way around the liver.

It stops, sniffs to the left, then turns to the right and slithers behind the ribcage.

This is a medical robot, guided by a skilled surgeon and designed to get to places doctors are unable to reach without opening a patient up"

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Robotic dog unveiled by the US military

BBC News - Robotic dog unveiled by the US military: "The US military has unveiled its latest piece of hardware - a robotic dog.

The AlphaDog - developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) - obeys commands through a touchscreen device."

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Japanese Robot to Take University Entrance Exams - Computing Now | Newsfeed

Japanese Robot to Take University Entrance Exams - Computing Now | Newsfeed: "Researchers from Fujitsu and Japan's National Institute of Informatics are jointly developing a robot capable of taking the math portion of Tokyo University’s entrance exam. "

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Robots and humans could 'talk' via new software

BBC News - Robots and humans could 'talk' via new software: "Software that will allow robots to "talk" with people is being developed at the University of Aberdeen."

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BBC News - Cheetah robot 'runs faster than Usain Bolt'

BBC News - Cheetah robot 'runs faster than Usain Bolt':

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Jellyfish Robots Could Help the World’s Oceans - Computing Now | Newsfeed

Jellyfish Robots Could Help the World’s Oceans - Computing Now | Newsfeed:

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The latest biomimetic research is examining jellyfish locomotion in order to create autonomous robots that could one day be deployed in the world’s waterways. Researchers from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University’s College of Engineering are a part of a multiuniversity team developing different-sized versions of RoboJelly, which would propel itself through the water using either hydrogen or batteries. The military-funded research could be used for military reconnaissance, oceanic research, cleaning oil spills, and monitoring the environment. (PhysOrg)(Virginia Tech)