Courtesy those masters of modern problem solving techniques, Willow Garage (proud and beloved Sponsors of RoboGames, full disclosure, natch)

Bruce Whistlecraft, aka Doktor A, employs an array of olde and nu skool craftsmanships to take the entire cast of fictional robots on a time-bending fantasmutational romp.

I’m completely charmed by the imagery from an actual past, informed by a recent past, reconfigured as robot characters from the past’s alternative future. Check it out for yourself.

Eyeborg Phase II from eyeborg on Vimeo.

Never underestimate the power of bored nerds to solve excellent problems. How long ’til it’s elective, like tattoos or unusual piercings or suspensions or sideshow performers? I am excited about the cyborg revolution.

[Via Le Boing and IEEE, whee!]

Thanks Ralf Burgert!

More cool stuff at Citadrobo’s YouTube page.

Image Courtesy Robot Magazine

From Popular Science:
Sure, you can make a robot walk or cook or even play beer pong, but can you make a robot friendly? Ben-Gurion University of the Negev wants to know, so the Israeli university will host the world’s first international competition to build a robot that can shake a human hand.

This is actually a lot cooler than it sounds, because handshaking is a more complex problem than puny humans realize. The conditions, pressure, etc are different every time; differences between hands necessitate decision-making on the fly and – okay remember what I said before? They do a better job explaining things over there at the bigfancy tech magazine, so read and enjoy.

I will indulge in one wholesome and heart-swelling demonstration of sentiment and say that it would be super swell if the folks who sign up for this competition refine their creations, and come to RoboGames 201l as a lovely demonstration of symbolic friendship and brother hood across all nations, creeds and climes. Science and love conquer all.

Yeeegh okay that’s enough. Back to the carnage-loving and haphazard robotic reporting so near and dear to this website’s heart. LOOK! Here’s a contest that rewards the robot who does the most inefficient and laboriously done trivial task! Stupid robot trick yeah!

Okay now I really have to go to bed.

Artist, Designer, Fabricator, Collaborator, Customizer, Collector Whew! He’s busier than a one legged man in an ass-kicking contest who designs, builds and sends original robot toys all over the world to collectors and galleries. Though the figures have no traditional “working parts”, they do have incredibly believable details and lovely backstories. Cris is particularly interested in the relationship between robots and nature, and each character shows its wear and tear with pride. I hope to catch up with Cris soon and find out more about his robots, their histories and the art of decay.

[Via Neatorama!]

You can see MonsterChess in action at Brickworld 2010 this weekend in Chicago.

iPad walking robot!
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Whee.

[Thank Lem!]