Iran's Humanoid Robot 'Surena 2' Listed in World's Top 5 Robots

Hamid Taahbaz Tavakkoli, the secretary of development and technology institute of Iran's Industries and Mines Ministry, told that Surena 2, the humanoid robot made by Iran, has been included among the top five outstanding robots of the world after assessing the performances of the world's advanced robots by ‘Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)’.

According to recent report issued by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE); the performances of the robots Asimo (Japan), Reem-B (Spain), Justin (German), Charli (US) and Surena (Iran) were assessed, Mr Tavakkoli added.

He further told that the Association tagged Surena as an "unexpected development."

Surena 2, which weighs in at 45 kilograms and is 1.45 meter high, has a total of 22 degrees of freedom: each leg has 6 DOF, each arm 4 DOF, and the head 2 DOF.

Automower 305 From Husqvarna - - Robotic Grass Mower to Ease You Up in This Autumn

We are still on the last bit of winter, but soon will come the time to keep up with your yard. Though we don’t mind the exercise, (or sometimes we do) mowing the yard can be quite the task if it’s insanely hot outside.

Husqvarna is known for their lawn and garden care product, but their newest offer makes the future of robots doing all out work a reality. I’ve seen robots that sweep floors, and clean windows, but now we have the Automower 305 which lifts the burden of mowing the land manually. Though it only runs about 35 centimeters a second, and can only go for about 40 minutes, this little guy is sure to help cut your mowing time in half. Though it can cover 500 meters of grass for you, it’ll cost $2000, and likely routine cleaning to keep it in optimal condition.

“Romeo”: Adult-sized Humanoid Robot Designed by Paris-based Aldebaran Robotics - - Designed Specifically to Help the Old and Handicapped

The French are jumping into the field of development of advanced adult-size humanoid robots with the introduction of “Romeo”; specifically designed to help the old and handicapped persons in their daily activities like carrying food from the kitchen, taking out the garbage, and acting as a loyal companion who entertains its owners and keep check on their health.

‘Romeo’, 1.4-meter-tall and weighs 40 kg, designed by Paris-based Aldebaran Robotics set to be unveiled in first quarter of 2011. Expected to cost about 250,000 Euros around $330,000, Romeo will be available first to project partners and university researchers. An enhanced version will later be offered to hospitals and nursing homes and after that to individuals as well.

Aldebaran claims that Romeo will introduce several improvements including a four-vertebra backbone, articulated feet, a partially soft torso, a composite leg exoskeleton, and a new kind of actuator that lets the robot control its limbs in a safer way.

Autonomous Robots in Field Action - - U.S Navy Planning To Develop The Robots That Might Be Seen in Action in Near Future

The world of robotics that can not only help you in your daily chores and even provide surgical medical assistance is now started to dominated by the needs of the U.S armed forces. Not long ago, U.S has disclosed its arsenal of unmanned aerial vehicles that are designed to watch and even to kill. Now, the U.S Navy has set its eyes upon a new breed of robots that, the Navy hopes to build and then use them in combat areas and threat intensive situation so as to eliminate the need to human operators for robots entirely.

According to various reports, the U.S Navy has already issued four new contracts, in an effort to turn this vision into a reality at the earliest, where the robots under the command of the U.S Navy will be able to execute orders. To make sure that its views and vision are taken seriously by the public at large, the U.S Navy has currently put on display a robot designed by the Naval Research Laboratory called, Octavia. This friendly robot is more than capable of speech, playing games with humans and this incredible robot is able to register the visual and verbal cues given out by humans. The man behind the development of Octavia, Greg Trafton, has stated that, it is too soon to tell whether or not the $200,000 Octavia robot will be suitable for bomb defusing operations in Afghanistan. The name of the robot, Octavia, is essentially a program that has been devised to assist the humans in learning how to collaborate with machines, without having to input each and every command.

Pet Care Robot - - Let You Play With Your Pets and Keep an Eye on Pets in Your Absence

The Pet Care Robot not only lets you keep an eye on your animals while on vacation, it even lets you play with them! These robotic pet-sitters come equipped with two webcams, a microphone, a speaker and a remote-controlled ball. This ball is operated by a touchscreen remote and stylus to help you entertain your furry friends from miles away.

Further, there is a speaker built into the base of the Pet Care Robot to let your pet hear you as well. This Pet Care Robot is an excellent way to give you peace of mind and make sure you don’t miss your cute critter too much while you’re away.

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Lego Mindstorms NXT Robot With dSolar System From Dexter Industries - -

Imagine powering your Lego Mindstorms NXT robot using nothing but the sun. Well, a new solar panel from Dexter Industries promises just that. The dSolar System includes one 9V solar panel, providing approximately 250mA, enough to power the NXT and a single motor in direct sunlight.




The system comes equipped with dSolar Power Cord and a dSolar NXT Adapter. They also sell capacitor banks, battery pack rechargers and Solar Parallel that can connect three panels together. The dSolar System is reasonably priced at $90.

‘IKEA Robotics’: An Interestingly Cool Seating And Table - - Conceived by NYU ITP Student Adam Lassy

Given the choice, we would always pick the comfy furniture that looks classy too. But ask the tech freaks they would opt for something that’s geekier even though not that comfortable. The IKEA Robotics is all about being techie.

Conceived by NYU ITP student Adam Lassy, the ‘IKEA Robotics’ is an interestingly cool seating and table that encourage lazier living for at your beck and call via a clever technological tweak. These furniture pieces are nothing more than IKEA table and chair modified to create mobile, wireless robots that can reconfigure an interior space in response to people present in the room.

Remote Catheter Manipulation System - - Reduces the Risk of “Clinician Fatigue And High Cumulative Radiation Exposure"

Considering that the heart is essentially the life-force behind our entire being, only the best of the best would be acceptable when performing any type of emergency procedures on it—enter the Remote Catheter Manipulation System. Allowing doctors to perform remote heart surgeries, it not only helps the patient, it also helps the doctor.

Essentially, the Remote Catheter Manipulation System reduces the risk of “clinician fatigue and high cumulative radiation exposure,” according to Dr. Andre Ng, who performed the first ever remote heart surgery. Ushering in a new realm of procedural possibilities, this is the beginning of something very promising indeed.

'Autom' New Age Diet Guru - - Super Robot That can Make You Fitter, Slimmer and Healthier

After every meal do you check the calories, feel guilty and then forget about it. Or have as much as you want thinking you will start dieting tomorrow onwards. And well that tomorrow never comes. Or you list out a chart but find it too boring to follow.


Here is an interesting way to stick to what you promise yourself everyday. Yeah, there is someone dedicated to make you eating healthy, exercise, control your weight and so on. 'Autom' that’s what this super robot is called. A robot which can make you fitter, slimmer and healthier. Well it won’t beat you up to burn those extra calories but keep a track of your daily diet and exercise regime. You can talk to this 15-inch wonder using its LCD screen. It is your new age Diet Guru with a deceptively pleasing demeanour. Linked to the internet, it is designed to automatically keep track of calories and weight loss progress. All that with a cute face and batting eyelashes.

Autom is developed by Corry Kid, who is planning to launch it end of this year. The starting price would be $ 400, which is not much considering that Kidd has an expected target group of 80 million people in the states. It can well be successful with people looking for newer ways to lead a healthier life. In fact, as per the research conducted by Kidd,a robot helped people stick to their regimen for nearly twice as long as the other tracking methods.

CHARLI: First Complete, Full-sized Humanoid Robot Unveiled by Virginia Tech -- To be Competed in the Adult Size Humanoid League at This Year’s RoboCup

We’ve seen many humanoid robots developed in the USA, but none have been developed to the full size. Now, with an objective to better that in a complete version, Virginia Tech’s Robotics & Mechanisms Laboratory has officially unveiled the first complete, full-sized humanoid robot ever built in the US.




Dubbed CHARLI (Cognitive Humanoid Autonomous Robot with Learning Intelligence), the autonomous humanoid available in two versions, the Lightweight that stands about 135cm (4′5″) tall, weighs 12.5kg (27.5 lbs), and has 20 degrees of freedom and the Heavy, which is a more sophisticated bot with different set of legs with actuators for better performance. The CHARLI will be readied to compete in the Adult Size Humanoid League at this year’s RoboCup competition.

Robot Rickshaw Created by Chinese Farmer, Wu Yulu - - Made Up of Almost Entirely From Recycled Scrap Metals

An indomitable urge for formulating something unusually usable has led a Chinese farmer, Wu Yulu, 48, to create a robot rickshaw almost entirely from recycled scrap metals. Until date, he has erected 47 such robots. Huge debts, frequent exposure to battery acid and a broken marriage is what he had to show forbearance toward through 25 long years of perseverance.

Already awarded with numerous prizes and contracts with universities, the creator has now been invited to the Shanghai World Expo 2010 where he will display more than 30 of his robots. These honors have not allowed his urge to excel to decline. Instead, he is still working to come up with more bots in upcoming years.

Curby: The Recycling Robot - - Exhibited by TREES Inc. and Indiana State University As a Part of An Environmental Education Program

Seeing Curby, the recycling robot, talking to kids at Franklin Elementary School proved to be an exhilarating experience for them. The robot looked straight into their eyes, while blinking at times. The specially designed robot, actually a trash dispenser, nimbly spun around and sometimes, produced siren like noise. As a part of an environmental education program to observe the Earth Day/Arbor Day celebrations, TREES Inc. and Indiana State University’s Recycle Center exhibited this robot.

Judy Hogan, vice president of TREES Inc., shed some light on the concept of recycling and went on to illustrate how some materials can be recycled and why it’s more prudent to recycle than to create a new product. The first-grade and second-grade students were allowed to interact with the robot. Curby also let the kids to know about recyclable items, such as boxes, plastic pill bottles, soup cans and plastic water bottles.

PR2 Robot Created by UC Berkeley’s Pieter Abbeel - - Must See Video That Showing The Towel Folding by Robot

If you’ve been waiting for the day when a robot helper can tidy your house and fold towels dropped on the floor, that day has just edged a little closer.

UC Berkeley’s Pieter Abbeel has created an algorithm that allows his PR2 robot to fold towels and other rectangles. See the video after the jump to believe it.

But the clever thing is, the robot is unfamiliar with all of them and can fold from piles of towels of various sizes and styles with ease.

The PR2 robot picks up each towel, inspects it, and figures out how it should be folded. The folding algorithm even closes with a pat ‘n smooth gesture.

"Manga-Bot": A Cool Robot - - Not Only Wake You Up in The Morning But Offer You a Cup of Coffee

Life is a drag, and when you have to get up in the morning and make a cup of coffee for yourself, it becomes worse. If there is no slave around you to take care of your needs, you should at least get some mechanized hands in order to help you with your morning chores. Here is a cool robot that would make coffee for you in the morning and wake you up.

It would not only make your mornings less terrible but it would also make you look forward to something in the morning. Clockwork’s little manga-bot can make a cup of coffee for you every morning and when you look at the video below, you sure would love to get it for yourself. It is not clear of this robot is for sale but even if it is not, you could certainly dream about getting one for yourself.

Japanese always have a fetish for robots, and that is perhaps why they are so robotic anyway. The Manga Robot could just be a way of reminding you that soon our world would be taken over by mechanized beings who would master us instead of serving us. If you are game with the idea, try and get a robot somehow.

BristleBot - - Adjust BristleMotor to the BristleBrush and Enjoy BristlePlay

This BristleBot is a perfect marriage of toothbrush and vibrating electric motor, brought together in that glorious union known as – robot. You can decorate them, battle them, gaze at them in rapt adoration. What you cannot and should not do however, is stick them in your teeth to get rid of some spinach. $7.99.



Just snap the BristleMotor to the BristleBrush and you are ready to BristlePlay. If you want to decorate your BristleBot Toothbrush Robots, you can use the wire included to add arms, legs, more legs, antennae, or weapons. That’s right: you can get two BristleBots and have them fight.

R2-D2 Replica by Modder Called Victor - - Build Your Own R2-D2

Have you always fancied building your own R2-D2? One clever modder called Victor has made his own R2-D2 replica which looks exactly like the original R2-D2, and he has compiled a guide of the complete build which might give you an idea on how to build you own.

Check out the video below which shows the build from start to finish, as you can see Victor put in a serious amount of time and effort into making this awesome R2-R2.

You can find out more details about the built over at Victors website.

Smart Robot G182 vacuum cleaner available from Chinavasion - - Cool Robot Vacuum Cleaner With WiFi Enabled IP Camera and Microphone

I’m sure that by someone inventing this Smart Robot G182 vacuum cleaner available from Chinavasion we take ourselves one step closer to HAL. It’s an autonomous robot vacuum cleaner that will patrol your house keeping down the rampant dust bunnies.

But, that’s not all. It’s also a security device with wireless IP enabled camera (1-25fps @ VGA resolution) and microphone so you can not only monitor what’s going on in the house but also interact with the people burgling it via the built-in microphone and speaker. You can also control it remotely. All via WiFi.

It runs for 70 minutes on a charge, and will recharge itself in 3.5 hours via the charging station. It can clean most surfaces except thick shag-pile carpet and it also comes with an IR fence that you can use to stop it from trying to vacuum down the stairs. The only thing you have to do is empty it. It needs software to use the IP camera (Windows only, 2k and later, plus IE4 or later). US$494.78.

If the security, remote control and camera bit don’t appeal, there’s also a smaller Smart Robot Vacuum Cleaner for US$158.33

This cool robot vacuum cleaner with WiFi enabled IP camera + microphone comes with a 360 degree pan and tilt IP camera design and an onboard MIC that can be easily installed on the robot vacuum cleaner. A software CD is provided with all the proprietary software applications along with a user friendly instructions manual, in order to get the G182 up and running with ease.