robots news stories on Newser

Inside Google X Lab: Office Robots, Space Elevators

Matt Cantor — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 06:57:00 CST

To Google is to search, but in the future it could mean much more. Google operates a secret lab in the Bay Area devoted to projects far beyond the cutting-edge: ideas like robots that go to the office for you and dinner plates that communicate with your social network, the...

Soon, Drones Could Kill Without Human Guidance

Kevin Spak — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 09:54:05 CDT

Could robots be the soldiers of the future? The Pentagon is currently working on drones that can identify—and will eventually be able to eliminate—targets without any human controlling them. The Washington Post details a demonstration last fall in which a pair of model-sized planes, working in tandem, located...

Robot Detects Radiation Still Too High for Japan Workers

Mark Russell — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 04:59:44 CDT

An American robot sent into the crippled nuclear reactor buildings at Fukushima Dai-ichi has detected radiation levels too high for workers to enter, more than a month after a quake and tsunami crippled the plant, reports the AP . Reactor Unit 1 measured 49 millisieverts per hour, and Unit 3 reached...

Roomba Maker Shows Robot Industry's Potential

Luke Kelly-Clyne — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 17:33:21 CDT

Whether you need to measure radiation levels, go into battle, or clean the living room rug, IRobot Corp. apparently has the gizmo for you. The LA Times profiles the Roomba vacuum maker and sees its success as a sign that the robot industry "is becoming more mainstream." So-called home robots—...

Don't Fire Up Nuclear Plants Without Robots

John Johnson — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 13:51:05 CDT

An easy first lesson is emerging from Japan's nuclear mess: No nuclear reactors should be in operation anywhere unless they have robots ready to fend off disaster, writes William Saletan in Slate . He's not talking about run-of-the-mill robots that replace humans at menial tasks. He means expensive, radiation-resistant robots that...

Japan Has Robots All Over —Except at Nuke Plant

Nick McMaster — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 14:32:39 CDT

Japan has built robots for all kinds of distinctly human tasks—from playing instruments to officiating at weddings—but none have been used in this nuclear mess, notes Reuters . Instead, humans are still being asked to risk their lives. Robots are common elsewhere in the nuclear industry, so what gives?...

The New Gambler: Poker Bots

Matt Cantor — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 14:57:52 CDT

Online poker’s not just for humans anymore: Robots have entered the game, and they’re winning tens of thousands, the New York Times reports. Such bots have existed for a while—but only recently have they gotten good at the game, thanks to advances in artificial intelligence. Top game sites like...

Lego Robot Builds Stuff—With Legos

Nick McMaster — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 18:15:48 CDT

Could this be the first step toward a robotic apocalypse? A software engineer has created a machine made of Legos that builds objects made of Legos, based on 3D models. The MakerLegoBot (see video in gallery) takes advantage of the brand's new Mindstorms set, which incorporates motors and moving parts....

Robot Beats Up Volunteers

Rob Quinn — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 08:25:40 CDT

Six Slovenian volunteers have been getting beaten up by a robot in the name of science. The men have been punched repeatedly in the arm at different strengths by said robot and rating the resulting sensation on a scale that ranges from "painless" to "unbearable." The robotic lab's chief researcher...