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NEC crafts a robotic helpmeet from PC parts
03/23/2001 (EE Times)
Researchers at NEC Corp. are giving new form to relatively mature PC technologies in the person of Papero, a "partner personal robot" that follows in the footsteps of Honda's Asimo and the pawprints of Sony's Aibo.
Wanted: Animated monkey with business plan
03/22/2001 (CNet News)
Sony's Aibo robot dog is getting into the software business. New programs, written on Sony's Memory Stick format, turn the plastic hound into a dancing party pooch or let you train him from puppy to adult.
Robots Can Learn Much From High-Tech Playthings
03/22/2001 (New York Times)
At the annual Toy Fair last month, the huge annual show in New York where the toy industry promotes its newest creations, robots were everywhere. Tiger Electronics, a division of Hasbro, showed off no less than two dozen interactive robotic toys that it plans to unleash next holiday season.
New Canadian Robot Destined for Space Station
03/22/2001 (Yahoo News)
The space shuttle Endeavour rolled atop a mammoth crawler to its launch pad on Thursday, the first step in a mission to deliver Canada's new-generation robot arm to the International Space Station where it will mimic many abilities of spacewalking astronauts.
Prototype pooch at your command
03/21/2001 (CNN.com)
What inventors claim is the world's largest and most sophisticated four-legged automaton is set to give man's best friend a run for its money. The prototype pet can understand and respond to verbal commands, see in colour and read out e-mails using a permanent wireless Internet connection.
Robodog Let Off the Leash
03/21/2001 (Yahoo News)
Robodog goes for his first public 'walkies' on Wednesday, with his British master saying the world's biggest four-legged automaton will scare off smaller robo-puppies from Japan. As tall as a grown Labrador, the artificial dog can climb over obstacles, play football, do handstands and even move like a crab.
Israeli Police Tackle Car Bomb in Jerusalem
03/21/2001 (Yahoo News)
Israeli police worked to neutralize Wednesday a bomb placed in the trunk of a car in a Jewish area of Jerusalem that was bombed earlier in the six-month-old Palestinian uprising. A bomb disposal robot trundled along streets cleared of people and probed the trunk of the parked vehicle.
Pilotless planes take off
03/20/2001 (MSNBC.com)
While the 20th century put pilots in airplanes for the first time, the 21st may take them out. Unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, may soon do nearly everything conventional planes have done since the Wright brothers first took to the skies nearly 100 years ago.
US image experts may have found doomed Mars spacecraft
03/20/2001 (New Scientist)
A US military organisation is rumoured to have caught sight of the doomed Mars Polar Lander spacecraft on the Martian surface. NASA's Mars Polar Lander was due to land near the Martian south pole in December 1999. But mission controllers failed to contact it following the descent.
Robot Installs Fiber in New Mexico
03/16/2001 (Excite News)
Robot technicians fit a Sewer Access Module or SAM with an attachment used to install stainless steel circular cable mounts in downtown sewer lines. Albuquerque is the first city in the USA, and third in the world to have commercial fiber-optics installed through its sewer system via robot technology.
Space Shuttle Discovery's Robot Arm Hangs
03/11/2001 (Excite News)
Space shuttle Discovery's robot arm hangs over Leonardo module in the cargo bay Sunday, March 11, 2001, in this image from television. The $150 million Leonardo module will be docked with international space station Alpha and unloaded later in the mission.
S. Illinois U. students prepare for Battlebots
03/08/2001 (Excite News)
James Potter is looking forward to entering the Battlebox and face kill saws, pulverizers and hell raisers. Potter, a sophomore in mechanical engineering, and other members of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering at SIUC are building a robot to compete on Battlebots, a robot combat program on Comedy Central.
'Smaller, faster' computers possible
03/07/2001 (BBC News)
Scientists in Britain have made a technological advance that could lead to faster, smaller computers. They have forced silicon to emit light, a discovery that may make it possible to use light rather than electricity to carry signals around a chip.
Computer talks like a toddler
03/01/2001 (MSNBC.com)
An Israeli technology firm is claiming a breakthrough with a computer capable of teaching itself to speak and allowing its user to operate it using voice alone.
Robot pets get domesticated
03/01/2001 (BBC News)
The good thing about a robot pet is that you do not have to feed it or take it for walks, and it does not stain the carpet. And soon you will be able to change its personality to suit your mood.
Sega unveils humanoid robots
02/28/2001 (MSNBC.com)
Poo-chi, a robot dog that has growled its way into the hearts of Japanese consumers, was united with its new family on Wednesday after its creator, Sega Corp., unveiled a line of humanoids.
Unmanned Aircraft Design Revealed
02/27/2001 (Excite News)
Northrop Grumman Corp. unveiled a design for an unmanned aircraft it plans to fly this year to test technology for stealthy robot warplanes. The company believes the remote-controlled craft could conduct surveillance missions, fire missiles and operate from an aircraft carrier.
U.S. Deep-Sea Robot Finds Sunken Japanese Ship
02/17/2001 (Excite News)
A deep-sea robot has located the wreckage of the Japanese fishing vessel that sank after being ripped apart by a U.S. Navy submarine that was practicing an emergency-surfacing maneuver, the Navy said on Saturday.
Plastic that repairs itself
02/16/2001 (Australian Broadcasting Corp.)
US researchers have developed a synthetic material that can heal itself when cracked or broken, and could be used in everything from spacecrafts to prosthetic organs. The work by University of Illinois professor of aeronautical and astronautical engineering Scott R. White and colleagues is published in the current issue of Nature.
What’s wrong with ‘kick the can’?
02/16/2001 (MSNBC.com)
Big Sarge in Charge has a square jaw that rivals a Ken doll, but Sarge is real "man" much taller and bulkier than your typical G.I. Joe, and with a booming voice perfect for the barracks or the battlefield.
Coming soon: Smell-O-Vision?
02/16/2001 (MSNBC.com)
An Indian inventor said on Friday he had been given a U.S. patent for a device that would allow advertisements, movies and music to generate scents.
Tiny Silicon Devices Measure, Count and Sort Biomolecules
02/15/2001 (Science News)
Researchers at Cornell University are using nanotechnology to build microscopic silicon devices with features comparable in size to DNA, proteins and other biological molecules -- to count molecules, analyze them, separate them, perhaps even work with them one at a time. The work is called "nanofluidics."
Scientists develop artificial 'skin'
02/15/2001 (BBC News)
A self-repairing plastic "skin" has been developed and tested by US scientists. The smart type of plastic, which automatically knits together when cracked or broken, could one day be used to make artificial organs. The material contains microcapsules filled with a special healing agent. It could also prove useful for making rocket and spacecraft components.
Techno toys rule the market
02/15/2001 (MSNBC.com)
Robotic toys have been turning heads all week at the 98th annual Toy Fair in New York City, leaving no doubt that they are among the hottest playthings on the market. Ask store clerks how robot dogs such as Poo-Chi, Tekno, and Rocket have been doing and they will answer you by recounting how many times their store ran out of inventory.
Mimicking Biological Systems, Composite Material Heals Itself
02/15/2001 (Science News)
Inspired by biological systems in which damage triggers an autonomic healing response, researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a synthetic material that can heal itself when cracked or broken.
Making Workhorses Out of Minibots
02/14/2001 (Business Week)
It's about the size of an average bug, and it crawls along on track wheels at a top speed of about 20 inches a minute. At that rate, the tiny robot will never win a race against a cockroach. Nor is it very smart. About the only thing it can do to stay out of trouble is reverse its direction when it senses heat. Despite its shortcomings as an ersatz insect, this mechanical mite has broken some records.
Scientists Create "Molecular Rulers"
02/14/2001 (Science Daily)
Scientists at Penn State have discovered an effective and precise way to make ultraminiature metal wires in very close proximity to each other. Their work is expected to serve as a testbed in the rapidly developing field of molecular electronics.
Dynamite Fear Prompts Evacuation
02/14/2001 (Excite News)
A 1 1/2-mile-long stretch of Interstate 5 was closed at 12:30 p.m. while bomb disposal experts removed items from the unit. The highway had been closed briefly in the morning while bomb squad members used a robot to peer inside.
Philips puts wireless Ethernet on single chip
02/14/2001 (EE Times)
Philips Semiconductors will introduce a single-chip radio for 802.11b wireless LANs at the Penton Portable and Wireless Symposium this week. Philips believes the device, which is expected to sell for about $7.50 in high volume, will make the Ethernet LAN cost-competitive with Bluetooth wireless implementations.
Robot to be used to find fishing boat
02/13/2001 (Excite News)
The Navy will use a deep-sea robot to investigate the ocean floor where a Japanese fishing vessel sank after it was struck by a US submarine, a Navy spokeswoman said today. No decision about a salvage operation had been made.
U. Utah students explore world of mechatronics
02/12/2001 (Excite News)
The sudden hush of anticipation falls over the crowd of 200 students and faculty. "The Magic School Bus," a rectangular ping pong-shooting robot, is slowly navigating its way around a mini course, shooting the spheres at designated targets. Suddenly it begins to spin uncontrollably.
Seeking Next Mega Hit at N.Y. Toy Fair
02/11/2001 (Excite News)
Robots are in, Pokemon is out, video games are all the rage and Harry Potter is simply magic. And the U.S. economic slowdown? Not to worry, kids, parents, lovers and friends will still buy toys, say the experts.
Jobs for the bots
02/10/2001 (New Scientist)
In the next few years robots will be moving into your home and taking over your life. The only danger these bots pose is getting under your feet as they busy themselves around the house. Humanity is about to domesticate the robot.
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