Category:
Robots
Robots
The Shark From Jaws
Actually, it's the shark from Jaws 2, but I assume Spielberg used something similar for Jaws. For full body shots of the shark, he used an animatronic model called Bruce.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Jan 13, 2013 -
Comments (4)
Category: Movies, Robots, 1970s
The EyeSee Mannequin
It's the newest innovation in mannequin technology. It watches customers with the camera installed in its eye, recording details such as age, race, and gender. It also keeps an eye out for shoplifters. Be cool to have one of these as a home security camera. Keep it standing in the window, watching everyone who walks up to the door. [Yahoo! News]
Posted By: Alex - Sat Nov 24, 2012 -
Comments (4)
Category: Inventions, Robots, Technology
If typists were robots, what would they type?
"To Serve Humanity" was the first title that came to mind. Any other possibilities?
The robot in the ad was a 1930s-era model that went by a number of names including Mary Ann, The Roboter, Alpha, and Astra. Read more about her here.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Aug 11, 2012 -
Comments (10)
Category: Robots, Advertising
Delivery Boy
Posted By: Paul - Sat May 26, 2012 -
Comments (6)
Category: Explosives, Geeks, Nerds and Pointdexters, Mad Scientists, Evil Geniuses, Insane Villains, Movies, Robots
Tobor the Great
Does the world need a sequel to Tobor the Great?According to wikipedia, someone at Diamond World Pictures thinks it does. But this is a case where I'm not sure whether to believe wikipedia.
Bonus strangeness: some guy built a full-size Tobor replica.
Posted By: Alex - Tue Jan 24, 2012 -
Comments (7)
Category: Movies, Robots
Robot Clappers
Posted By: Paul - Wed Nov 02, 2011 -
Comments (4)
Category: Robots, Asia
Leave It to Roll-Oh
Posted By: Paul - Sun Mar 13, 2011 -
Comments (2)
Category: Domestic, Robots, Advertising, 1940s
Cool Robots TV promo
I guess this is from the T4 channel (England?) and a mash-up of some robot promotional spots.T4 idents from double g studios on Vimeo.
Fun stuff -- gotta love the robots!!
Posted By: gdanea - Mon Jan 17, 2011 -
Comments (3)
Category: Robots
Robot Beats Up Scientists
You knew it was coming. The day the robots took over and started bullying the scientist in the schoolyard. But in this study, Borut Povšej subjected himself to the 18 punches before his other volunteer scientists.He is trying to help design the systems for robots to obey the first law of robotics -- "a robot may not injure a human being".
At one time or another, these tests would have to be run to determine what hurts a human, but I don't know if I'd want to be one of the test subjects. They were subjected to two kinds of punches -- blunted and sharp.
Here's the link to the story from "The New Scientist":
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20827826.700-robot-arm-punches-human-to-obey-asimovs-rules.html
The findings were presented this week at an IEEE conference in Turkey this month. Click here for a list of what else was presented:
http://www.smc2010.org/
Some cool cyborg stuff is there!!
Posted By: gdanea - Sat Oct 23, 2010 -
Comments (3)
Category: Robots
Weird Science – Watch and Learn
Outside it is not much to look at, little more than a discoloured rock dredged up from the sea floor. But an x-ray scan of the object, actually a pocket watch recovered from a 17th century shipwreck, has revealed that the internal mechanism has been perfectly preserved. The computer aided tomography system used was sensitive enough to pick out the tiniest details, included the engraved name of the master watchmaker, one Niccholas Higginson of Westminster, London (Gizmodo).
As if more proof were needed that they don’t build them like they used to, a UK group has started collecting donations to build the first fully working version of Babbage’s “Analytical Engine”. The original design, dating from 1837, was never completed, possibly due to a combination of the strict engineering tolerances needed and Babbage’s notoriously prickly temperament. If the final machine works as advertised, it will be very strong confirmation of the claim that Babbage designed the first general purpose, programmable computer (BBC News).
Meanwhile, in Slovenia, Borut Povse and his team are busy teaching a modern descendant of Babbage’s design to hit people. Somehow Povse has convinced six volunteers to let an industrial robot hit them on the arm with various sharp or blunt implements in an effort to determine how much pain each blow causes. Obviously this has a beneficial use in that robots can be programmed not to exceed certain levels of force near a human obstacle, but will also be of immense interest to the machines during any future robot uprising (New Scientist).
Another robot out to supplant humans is HRP-4, a gynoid (female android), that has learnt to sing by copying the inflection and expressions of a human performer, right down to the breathing. The hope is to make robots behave in a more convincingly natural way, and so overcome the so called ‘uncanny valley’. From the video, it looks like they’ve still got a way to go (Daily Mail).
More in extended >>
Posted By: Dumbfounded - Fri Oct 22, 2010 -
Comments (5)
Category: Anthropomorphism, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Charities and Philanthropy, Futurism, History, Archaeology, Injuries, NGOs, Robots, Science, Technology
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |