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She’s not one of the fembots from the Austin Powers movies, but she’s the next best thing.  Her name is EMA, which stands for Eternal Maiden Actualization.  The maker is Sega Toys, and the target demographic is lonely dudes.  That’s right, according to Reuters she’s being marketed in Japan as a female companion.  She can sing, dance, hand out business cards (?), and of course give kisses.  EMA would make a great girlfriend because not only is she very affectionate, she’s also really low maintenance.  All she needs is some battery power, as that’s what she runs on.

She’ll be available in September for about $175, and Sega hopes for first-year sales of 10,000.  Maybe this could be like a Lars and the Real Girl situation, where not just the Lars character but everyone else could come to see EMA as real!  Except EMA is only 15 inches tall.  But her other measurements would make any girl jealous!

Speaking of robot women, check out this video for comments made about Madonna by singer Dan Gillespie-Sells of The Feeling.  Hilarious!  Unfortunately, unlike EMA, Her Majesty has been unavailable for some time.  But she can still sing and dance though.

Read [MSNBC]

Surely the holy grail for the engineering world is the ability to make a robot that is lifelike, and although the robots in question are not particularly lifelike in bodily form or in thought, they have some of the crucial things that will move us into the future. Festo, normally known for their heavy machinery, recognized this and moved into making life like ‘beings.’

The Jellyfish (plural) are designed for air and water, and they are incredibly sophisticated and built using automating techniques that create robots that not only use peristaltic motion but can communicate with each other to provide equal space for each other and take turns at the recharging station.

But it is not just this sophistication that is what makes these so remarkable, it is their beauty and symmetrical-ity that makes them so incredibly (attractive?) beautiful, and although they are undoubtedly useless, they are a step forwards into the future.

Via [kk.org]

For the technologies that fall into the catapult category, enter Robopult, the newest and most terrifying metallic sight since Godzilla crushed a city that got in the way of his last good will tour fifty some odd celluloid years ago. Robopult is unlike the others of its ilk; namely, the ballista and the catapult, as Robopult is perfectly capable of flinging fireballs and just about anything else you can imagine in the air! This industrial robotic arm that is transformed into a computerized demon hurler is not for everybody in more ways than one. 

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If you have money to burn, you might be interested in purchasing this project, which is sure to excite and whelm all who behold it size and/or shadow (as Mel Brooks used to say). The larger-than-life Gundam robot is expected to stand 60 feet tall and the unbelievable price tag doesn’t even include the cost of labor or the necessary infrastructure!

You can forget about flying this technological wonder or even taking it for a ride. The most you can hope for is a simple promenade with your new 43-ton robot.  And even that could present problems, as a simple walk is sure to result in the destruction of

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WoWWee Robotics, creators of Robosapien, have just introduced the new RS Media, a programmable robot that can play media and even be programmed to dance to it.  The robot is fully “hackable” via Java on your computer, storage device, or even an SD card.  The company is touting that the device can “hear, see and even speak,” and sports a color LCD screen, hand-mounted tweeters, and a back-mounted woofer.  It runs on Linux, and has a camera on its chest, which we were having fun playing around with at CES Unveiled in Vegas.  Thankfully, it also comes with a remote control so you can move it around without being a Java programmer.  The RS Media also has a media player, hence the name, that supports MP3 (audio) and MPEG 4 (video) playback via its integrated sound system.  The orange robot can also display virtually anything from your PC via its LCD display.

I personally enjoyed my time over at the WowWee booth at CES Unveiled because it was a break from all of the other “serious” technologies that were being announced.  The RS Media will be available in the US this fall, and will run you $299. Check out our hands-on peep show below:

RS Media Product Page [WowWee]

LEGOS, makers of the little bricks that have been damaging parents feet for decades, have come out with something else for parents to fear: programmable robots. The Mindstorm Kit, $249.99, centers around the NXT, a programmable brick with a 32-bit processor, four input sensors - light, sound, touch and ultrasonic - and three mini servo motors. The kit, which requires 6 AAA batteries, comes with the NXT brick, 519 LEGO Technic elements, seven 6-wire cords, a display screen and speaker.

It can be used with either a Mac or PC via USB or Bluetooth - control it with your friggin’ phone! - with software downloaded from the site. Some of the suggested uses are as a ball tosser, alarm clock and home security guard. Now maybe kids can learn how to program robots that won’t try to take over the world - damn Cylons.

Read [LEGO] Via [Play Library]

We covered Asahi’s beer pouring robot back in January when they had their contest to win one.  A video just hit YouTube of the robot in action - beer and all.  So if you’re too lazy to get yourself a beer from the fridge and pour it, prop this guy up next to you on the couch and he’ll be your best friend.

Read [TechEBlog] Via [NewLaunches]

It’s finally the weekend, who doesn’t love to get teased after a long work week. Here is a little off topic entertainment…

The Transformers were cool as a kid but nothing like this. Check out the movie trailer teaser for these robotic creatures. The movie will be hitting theaters on July 4, 2007. I just hope Optimus Prime doesn’t kill me for calling him a robot before I learn more.

Via [Forever Geek]

Reuters had this great story and image I just had to share.  Japanese scientists from Waseda University in Tokyo demonstrated their biped robot WL-16RIII on Wednesday.  They are currently developing the two legged robot robotic chair to aid elderly and handicapped individuals climb dubious stairways.  While it may take 5 years to develop, since the current prototype is still slow, somewhat cumbersome with heavy loads, and requires the occupant to “hop up” on the nearly 4 foot high seat, the duo’s ultimate goal is to create greater mobility for those with physical limitations.

Think we can get one of this to get up the stairs at the Gadgetell headquarters?

The Vex Robotics Design System (designed by Ignition, Inc.) is one of the CES “Best of Innovations” in the Robot category for 2006.

It’s time for all of us to be able to build our own robot for under $300.  This kit is sold by RadioShack and includes 500 pieces, three motors, lots of gears and a lot of fun.  You can make it lift, throw and race.  All of this is controlled by a remote that allows you set the frequency so you and a friend can control your own robots.  What’s next?  Even though it doesn’t say it in the product’s information, why not tie the remote control functions into a computer for even more fun. 

Read [RadioShack]