Termites be warned: Australian outfit Termicam is bringing the noise Predator-style with the Termibot, a dual-tread thermal imaging robot designed to eliminate insects. The bot scoots around inside walls and under houses relaying information from its thermal camera and moisture sensors back to an operator, and when termite (or other insect) activity is detected, it uses a probe to smash the nest and inject pesticides directly where they’re needed. While we’re not certain we need to help robots perfect the techniques they’ll use to ferret out the last remnants of the human resistance, we’re not too worried yet — the Termibot is currently tethered to its operator with a long cable. The designer says a fully wireless version is in the works and will be brought to market later this year, however — it’s being held up while the business experiences some growing pains. Termicam also says they’re also looking to expand the uses for the bot to other applications where that thermal camera might come in handy, like bomb disposal and search and rescue — looks like the PackBot’s got some competition.

[Via Crave]
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from engadget

Japanese researchers have developed a four legged “Spiderman” robot — made from metal and rubber — that boasts suction cups on each leg, enabling it to climb up walls.

Though still in development stage very soon the military might use such units for surveillance and even combat. So the government has been lying to us! I totally called this back in ‘47

[via Gizmodo - NewLaunches]
from techeblog

We literally see a new iPod dock hit the streets every single day (when you can find ten of them at Target, it would seem that the market is already a bit oversaturated), however, Japanese manufacturer’ ZMP’s Miuro is the first one we’ve spotted that will actually follow you around the house and shake its groove thing at your behest (well, except for maybe the KNG DJ dock). A not-quite-accurate acronym for “music innovation based on utility robot technology,” Miuro is a 14-inch wide, egg-shaped device that can either pump tunes from your docked ‘Pod or wirelessly from a PC through its Kenwood-built speakers. The 9-pound bot — available in either white, black, yellow, or red — responds to your commands via the included remote, and can gain a little more autonomy with the addition of optional cameras and sensors. Miuro goes on sale in Japan today for a rather pricey $930, and should be making it Stateside sometime in the second half of next year. This will certainly be a boon to us lazy Americans, as soon we’ll be able to shed our hefty ‘Pods and let a little robotic slave tote them around for us — until the eventual uprising, that is, when swarms of these things will repeatedly attempt to crush your jugular in your sleep while almost unoticeably piping out “Killing Me Softly.”

[Via The Raw Feed]
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from engadget

Created by Masaaki Nagumo, the “Land Walker” is a wearable robot suit — think Mobile Suit Gundam — that stands 3.4m high and weighs a hefty 907kg (1-ton) — “can walk forward, backward or sideways at 1.5 kph by operating four pedals, and shoots sponge bullets from two air guns installed beside the cockpit.” Available now in Japan, priced at a whopping $313,985USD.

(Thanks, Zipped)
from techeblog

That cute and cuddly Manoi robot we peeped in September is about to enter the market with a new and properly menacing visage. That’s fine by us ’cause if a robot isn’t throwin‘ flame or probing criminal orifices, well, then it isn’t really being true to its nature now is it? This 13.3-inch, 3.1-pound robot sportin’ a mean bag of tricks can be pre-ordered for about Â¥147,000 (or about $1,300) with shipment set for August.

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from Engadget

It seems fans of golf take every precaution to not get any exercise at all when playing the “sport”. Caddys to carry your clubs, golf carts to whisk you from here to there—why is Tiger Woods considered an athlete again?

To this end, the Automatic Golf Tee holds 35 balls and automatically feeds balls onto a tee. Lower the arm with the end of your club and a single ball gets placed for you to whack. The only question is, who’s going to fetch the balls once you’ve hit them?

Automatic Golf Tee [Hammacher Schlemmer via Uber Review]
from gizmodo

[Via Robot Gossip]
from engadget

Specifically built for 2005’s Burning Man event, this towering robot looms over the humans below. Click image for a full-sized verison.

[via Robots-Dreams]

From TecheBlog

The final version of Korea’s planned army of networked domestic robots may look nothing like this prototype, but it’s a start. The model is designed to do such mundane tasks as answering the door and playing media files. And, yes, it can connect to the net and download orders from the mothership. So don’t let that smiling face fool you. As the bard said, one can “smile and smile and be a villain.” Or in this case, a networked robot under the control of an AI managed by the government or a large corporation. As if there’s a difference.

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From Engadget

You know, we’re fairly sure there’s nothing Vstone‘s Tetsujin 28 can do that the the OMNIZERO.2 can’t, but damned if Gigantor doesn’t have a place carved out in our hearts / homes / wallets. We’ve been waiting a long time for you, Gigantor, and Vstone’s finally put it on sale (in Japan). This bigger than big, stronger than strong space-age robot — in your command or not — doesn’t come cheaply though: expect to fork out Â¥351,750 ($2980 US), a price close to what we understand the entire cartoon series cost to produce back in the 50s.

[Via Akihabara News]

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From Engadget

[Thanks, Palm Addict]

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From Engadget

Nuvo stands 39cm high and weighs 2.5 kilograms. The robot has a built-in camera that can be controlled via your cell phone and it also accepts voice commands. The soles of the feet have rubber tracks similar to those found on sneakers, hence the cooperation from Mizuno.
Dynamism.com is now exclusively offering this amazing robot. You can get the full specs and pricing info by clicking here.
Surely the gadget freak in your familiy would like to see this sitting under the tree, right?

From akibalive.com

From Gizmodo.com
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Black iDog from Amazon