robots in pictures

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  11 cool robots you may not have heard of - ...
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  Sony's 10 greatest tech flops
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  SLIDESHOW: The cutest robots in the world
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  Robots, Gadgets and Toys - the best of CEATEC

• 11 cool robots you may not have heard of - check 'em out

  By Michael Cooney | 18 November, 2011 08:57

  What do Mars, the Terminator, an ostrich and hair-washing have to do with each other? Ask the robots

• Cyborg plants render humans even more obsolete

  By Rachel Martin | 21 September, 2011 04:25

  The cyborg plant is not a new concept. The robot plant replacement is even less new: You can buy one for a price of $4.19 from ThinkGeek, after all. But a team at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich isn't interested in solar-powered plastic toys or surgically-altered self-lighting plants that hang on a wall (creepy!) -- they're giving plants the ability to feed, water, and sun themselves, by augmenting them with iRobot technology and wheels.

• Google Blames a Human for its Robo-Car Crash

  By Paul Suarez | 07 August, 2011 10:45

  One of Google's self-driving cars got into an accident earlier this week. But Google is claiming the auto-pilot-equipped Prius was actually flipped into manual mode when the accident happened, making this a case of user error.

• Caterpillar robot rolls up, freaks out, goes fast

  By Kevin Lee | 28 April, 2011 06:43

  We’ve all seen the robots slowly trotting on legs or snaking along. But thankfully the GoQBot, designed by Tufts University, is looking to change that with break-neck speed. Inspired by the reactions of a caterpillar under attack, the GoQBot pops into a roll with an angular velocity of 300 rpm--which looks pretty quick based on the video published by Bioinspiration & Biomimetics—to cover a distance of 25cm.

• Robotic Herds Could Be the Next Step in Farming

  By Blair Hanley Frank | 01 March, 2011 12:39

  Fully autonomous herds of robots could be the future of farming, or at least that's what one roboticist thinks. Trossen Robotics forum member Vanmunch has developed an "Autonomous Micro Planter," which he's named Prospero.

• Robotic privacy curtain fails, but amuses the masses

  By Elizabeth Fish | 12 January, 2011 04:39

  More than ever, people are taking their online and real-life privacy more seriously. Swedish inventor Niklas Roy also felt that his privacy was being invaded on a more basic level--by passers-by looking in through his large workshop window. Most might have just opted for a normal curtain, but Niklas got inventive and created the robotic curtain.

• Get Snooping With a Nosy Japanese Robot

  By Elizabeth Fish | 26 October, 2010 09:49

  If you're a homeowner and have done any sort of do-it-yourself home projects, chances are you've had to get into the crawlspace beneath your home on some occasion. It's a dirty job, sure, but somebody's got to do it. However, a robot out of Japan can save the hassle.

• Behold the robotic future of cake decoration

  By David Daw | 20 October, 2010 11:55

  Developments are still continuing apace in the field of delicious-food-making robots. This time we have an automated cake decorator that extrudes designs onto your cake in a process that's one part frosting, one part spirograph, and 100% awesome.

• 10 tech research projects to watch

  By Ian Paul | 05 January, 2012 02:10

  Technology firms wowed us in 2011, delivering tablets, ultrathin laptops, innovative cloud services, and voice command digital assistants. Not so long ago, the technology underlying these products was nothing more than research and development projects. So, in an effort to peek into our not-so-distant tech future, here's a glimpse at ten promising projects percolating in tech research labs.

• Sony's 10 greatest tech flops

  By Martyn Williams | 03 November, 2010 10:53

  Since its founding in 1946, Sony has produced some of the biggest hits in consumer electronics. Brand names like Walkman, Handycam and Trinitron helped define the company as a giant in the industry and more recent hits like Cybershot, Vaio, Bravia and PlayStation have helped keep it there. But no success story is failure-free. Let's take a look back at some Sony products that didn't win consumers' hearts and minds.

• The 10 best hacks of 2010 (so far)

  By Alessondra Springmann | 26 May, 2010 03:14

  In honor of Towel Day, and the Glorious 25th of May, here are ten of our most favorite hacks featured in Geek Tech in the last five months, running the gambit from phone, car, and CPU mods. Read on for some great moments in geek!

• Robots improve safety, efficiency at Thai hospital

  By Dan Nystedt | 15 May, 2009 06:44

  A Thai hospital famous for medical tourism and celebrated for its use of new technologies is turning to robotics to become more efficient and improve patient safety.