Kelsey D. Atherton
at 12:36 PM Nov 19 2015
Robots // 

What's over six feet tall, 216 pounds, and poses no direct threat to America? If you guessed “the latest humanoid robot from Iran,” you can probably skip this story—but for everyone else, the Surena III is Iran's latest human-shaped technology demonstrator, as IEEE Spectrum reports.

LindseyKratochwill
at 11:56 AM Jan 11 2015
Robots // 

MEDi is 23 inches tall and 25 degrees of freedom, but what's most important about this humanoid is its mission. Created by RxRobots, MEDi works as a pain coach and companion for kids undergoing medical procedures.

Colin Lecher
at 05:03 AM Nov 26 2013
Tech // 

ATLAS - the totally incredible Boston Dynamics robot that strikes love and fear into the hearts of all who witness its humanoid stride - is having a tough time lately. Last month it broke its ankle during its first live demonstration, and now it crumples when trying to walk through some minor debris. This footage, taken by a team from Florida's Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, shows the rescue 'bot flailing and falling over a piece of wood while trying to traverse the rubble. Watch it fail in a strangely terrifying manner after the jump...

Rebecca Boyle
at 01:01 AM Feb 21 2013
Robots // 

A robot with an artificial brain is learning languages - even heavily accented ones - by stringing together words and sentences. Peter Ford Dominey and his colleagues at the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research taught an iCub toddler-bot to learn speech patterns, and it can think before it speaks.

Colin Lecher
at 05:57 AM Dec 12 2012
Robots // 

We see a lot of robots here, including some that mimic human movement. But this one gets a special prize for having the most muscles - or the robot equivalent, pulley-like contraptions - of any robot based on a natural creature. The final muscle tally for the University of Tokyo's Kenshiro robot is 160, with 50 in the legs, 76 in the trunk, 12 in the shoulder, and 22 in the neck. And it also has a slightly unnerving pair of tennis shoes.

Rebecca Boyle
at 08:57 AM Nov 14 2012
Robots // 

Researchers in Japan are using a brain-machine interface to control the actions of a humanoid robot. The goal is to allow people "to feel embodied in the body of a humanoid robot," in the words of one researcher.

Clay Dillow
at 04:23 AM Mar 15 2012
Robots // 

If you've been following the Twitter account of our favourite robot (and the only humanoid) in space, then you know Robonaut 2 is out of the box and getting to work aboard the International Space Station (this morning it is using a tool to take air velocity measurements). But R2's technological contributions extend further than the ISS. Using technology developed for R2's hands, a partnership between NASA and General Motors has unveiled a new robotic glove that gives humans a stronger grip.

 
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