Archive for December 20th, 2006

Interview with Davin Sufer, CTO of WowWee

Wednesday, December 20th, 2006
robo-kill-emo

We couldn’t find a pic of David Sufer so we thought this pic of a Robosapien crushing Elmo’s head would do.

RoboCommunity has posted their interview withy David Sufer on their website.

“RoboCommunity is pleased to present an interview with Davin Sufer, WowWee’s CTO, who operates out of WowWee’s office in Hong Kong. Davin waxes philosophically about his role at WowWee, robots in society, and gives us some insight into what exciting prospects the future may hold for WowWee customers.”

Read the Interview Here

Robot ‘Flying’ Underwater at the Bottom of the Planet

Wednesday, December 20th, 2006
Robot
robot

Dec. 14, 2006 — An underwater robot glider that appears to “fly” as it gathers scientific data will soon be deployed in the frigid waters off the coast of Antarctica. But the scientists controlling its every move will be in New Jersey, about 7,600 miles away.

Researchers say the technology will help demonstrate the future of scientific exploration near the planet’s south pole using remote controlled vehicles, while also helping provide a clearer picture of the effects of global warming on the region. Read More

robot

Link ABC News

Video: Rescue Robot Contest held in Kobe, Japan

Wednesday, December 20th, 2006

Video of the 6th Rescue Robot Contest held in Kobe, Japan (the city that had a great earthquake in 1995). It’s facinating to look at all the different approaches to building rescue manipulators.

via Digg

Samsung develops machine gun sentry robot costs $200k

Wednesday, December 20th, 2006
Sentry

Samsung has partnered with Korea university and developed the machine-gun equipped robotic sentry. It is equipped with two cameras with zooming capabilities one for day time and one for infrared night vision. It has a sophisticated pattern recognition which can detect the difference between humans and trees, and a 5.5mm machine-gun. The robot also has a speaker to warn the intruder to surrender or get a perfect headshot. The robots will go on sale by 2007 for $200,000 and will be deployed on the border between North and South Korea.

Link via robots.simra.net via TechEBlog

UAVs are Coming and We Want One!

Wednesday, December 20th, 2006
SoldierTech_WASP

THIS IS NOT A TOY: Micro Air Vehicle Weighs Less, Flies Longer

About as long as a No. 2 pencil and as heavy as a cellphone, the Wasp may look like a toy, but this tiny Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) has broken records with a flight time of 1.5 hours and can fly like a helicopter — just don’t point it at your sister or the family pet.

Read More

UAV

Mini Helicopter Thinks for Itself — On the Fly — to React to Dangerous Situations — Now Transitioning to Military

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are one step closer to someday matching — and possibly surpassing — their human-piloted counterparts, thanks to the completion of a project successfully tested by Georgia Tech and sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory. The project was supported by DARPA’s Information Exploitation Office with Dr. John Bay serving as the program manager.

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