Z94 - The Rock Station » Robots

Watch This Giant Real-Life Robot Dog Fling Cinderblocks Across the Room

Mike Moody — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 14:33:27 +0000

The mad scientists over at Boston Dynamics have created a four-legged dog-like robot they call BigDog robot. In this video released by BD earlier this week, you can see BigDog’s sole purpose, which, apparently, is to creep everyone out while flinging things across the room. Go technology! We’re calling the cops if this thing starts [...]

AC/DC's 'T.N.T.' Performed Live by Robot Band Compressorhead

Graham 'Gruhamed' Hartmann — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 20:09:58 +0000

Get ready to be both entertained and terrified for the eventual extinction of the human race at the hands of sophisticated musical robots. Have real-life engineers never seen the 'Terminator' flicks? Robot band Compressorhead recently performed the AC/DC classic 'T.N.T.' live on television, and the next step is likely world domination.

Massage Robot On Wheels Could Disrupt Massage Industry, Or Not

Joe Student — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 17:49:18 +0000

Robot technology is often spectacular when's it's on full display, like the Mars rover, military drones and the Roomba. These incredible machines often complete tasks that humans can only hope to achieve. One company is putting robotic technology to its best use yet: providing automated massages through the use of a tiny car that motors across your body.

Jam Out With All-Robot Band 'Compressorhead'

Tom Blunt — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 15:30:34 +0000

The all-robot band Compressorhead makes those Chuck E. Cheese animatrons look like a bunch of clowns! The 78-fingered guitarists are both playing their bolts off, but the four-armed, mohawked drummer robot with is programmed head-nodding steals the show right out from under them. Compressorhead (“the world’s heaviest metal band,” according to their website) can be seen [...]

Quadriplegic Woman Feeds Herself With Robotic Arm

Tom Blunt — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 19:41:53 +0000

This incredible video shows a woman’s journey from almost total immobility to being able to pick up and move objects, thanks to surgical brain implants connected to a robotic arm named ‘Hector.’ The goal that Jan Scheuerman set for herself before her surgery? To be able to feed herself a piece a chocolate. You may [...]

Robotic Mannequins Are Being Used to Spy on Shoppers

Amanda Ferris — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 22:08:12 +0000

If you ever get a creepy feeling that the mannequins in the department store are watching you, you just might be right. Some fashion brands are now using mannequins equipped with technology used to identify criminals at airports to watch shoppers at their stores.

Is Sex With Robots the Key to Living Longer?

Cameron Simcik — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 19:39:20 +0000

As guys, we’re pretty much open to any sort of sexual experience out there, except like, dolphin humping. That's weird. So, when we heard there’s some research going on about sex with robots, we lost a little of our faith in the human race, but were also slightly intrigued.

Dad Uses Amazing Terminator Arm For Good, Not Evil

Emerald Catron — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 21:18:09 +0000

This amazing video makes us wonder — is there some sort of psychological evaluation before somebody is given a robot-Terminator arm, or do doctors just cross their fingers and hope for the best? It seems like that could go really wrong. Fortunately, Nigel Ackland, 53, is using his bionic arm for cracking eggs and pouring [...]

RoboCop in Real Life? Crime Fighting Robots Coming to New Jersey

Eric Walkuski — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 14:27:22 +0000

Your childhood fantasy (or fear?) of seeing an officer of the law who is part man/part machine may be coming true soon, thanks to Researchers at Florida International University's Discovery Lab and a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Reserves. These folks are working to build "telepresence robots," which would patrol the streets while being controlled by disabled police officers and military vets. Let's pause to allow the awesomeness sink in.

Most Americans Would Love to Have Their Own Robots to Help Around the House

Shauna Wright — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:32:07 +0000

Full-time household help can be expensive — but how would you feel about having a domestic robot? According to a new survey, 68 percent of us would welcome the mechanical assistance. And what exactly would we use it for? Online research company Persuadable Research Corporation says more than half of us would put a robot [...]

Could Prisons Soon Be Guarded by Robots?

Danny Gallagher — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:00:27 +0000

South Korea is hoping to become the first country to hire robots to help guard their prison populations. The nation’s Ministry of Justice rolled out its plan to implement the robotic guards starting next March at a prison in Pohang. The robots, developed by scientists at Kyonggi University, are designed to monitor prison settings and [...]

Designer Creates Prototype for Robot Armpit That Smells Like Real Armpit

Shauna Wright — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 15:18:21 +0000

Look closely. What you’re seeing isn’t chewing gum that’s been left on the floor of a hair salon. That’s a robot armpit prototype, built by designer Kevin Grennan as part of his studies on the role of smell in human-robot interaction. He’s also developed ideas for adding scent glands to industrial robots — like a surgical robot that releases the trust-building hormone oxytocin.

Sense-Roid Gadget Lets You Feel the Sensation of Your Own Hugs [VIDEO]

Jordan Breindel — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 15:17:23 +0000

If you’ve ever longed to feel your own gentle caress, long no more. Produced by the Kajimoto Laboratory at Tokyo’s University of Electro-Communications, the Sense-Roid is electronic apparatus consisting of two sensor-filled jackets and a mannequin that allows the user to feel the sensation of hugging him or herself.