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	Robotic prison wardens to patrol South Korean prison Posted: 25 November 2011 Robot wardens are about to join the ranks of South Korea's prison service. A jail in the eastern city of Pohang plans to run a month-long trial with three of the automatons in March. The machines will monitor inmates for abnormal behaviour. Researchers say they will help reduce the workload for other guards...

	Dutch engineers make 'robot legs' for stroke patients Posted: 23 September 2011 Scientists in the Netherlands are using robotic legs to try to improve the movement of stroke patients. The prototype device is called the Lower-extremity Powered ExoSkeleton, or LOPES, and works by training the body and mind of a patient to recover a more natural step. The machine is also being tested on spinal injury patients who have recovered some restricted movement in their legs. It is hoped a commercial version could be made available to rehabilitation centres around the world as early as next year...

	MABEL Bipedal Robot is Fast Enough to Run You Down Posted: 16 August 2011 It was only a year ago that the University of Michigan's MABEL biped robot was breaking its ankles trying to walk over rough terrain. Now the robot is defying death once again by becoming the world's fastest bipedal robot, with the ability to sprint at up to 10.9 kph. More specifically, MABEL is the world's fastest "kneed" bipedal robot, which just means that it's the fastest robot that can run in a similar manner to us humans, leaving those Toyota robots (4.3 kph) and ASIMO (3.7 kph) in the dust...

	Robots venture inside Fukushima Posted: 18 April 2011 In pictures: With radiation levels too high for humans, robots are being used to explore inside the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan. UK defence technology firm QinetiQ has supplied a range of remote controlled machines that will enable engineers to look around inside the Fukushima nuclear plant. The Talon robot is known as a "radiation first responder". Its main job will be to move through rubble inside the plant and send back radiation readings. Talon was previously used at the World Trade Centre site in New York City to monitor hazardous chemicals...

	"Jamming" Robot Gripper Gets Official Posted: 25 October 2010 The hand works best on hard, dry, geometrically complex objects like screwdrivers and toy jacks. It has more trouble with flat objects like plastic discs and porous objects like cotton balls, because the air holes weaken the suction. It also can't grip anything bigger than half its size-the biggest items the team picked up were two one-gallon jugs of water...

	Canadian Mars rover gadget awaits launch Posted: 22 September 2010 A Canadian instrument designed to analyze elements on Mars is ready to help scientists figure out whether the red planet was ever able to support life.The APXS (alpha ray X-ray spectrometer) will be carried aboard NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity when it is launched into space aboard the Atlas V 541 rocket in fall 2011...

	"HRP-4" Humanoid Platform for Robotics Posted: 15 September 2010 National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology and Kawada Industries, Inc. Ltd. (AIST) have released a life-size humanoid robot "HRP-4". The robot will be for sale to researchers at the start of 2011...

	Ooh-arr 2 D2: Humanoid made in Cornwall bought by Nasa to become robot tour guide Posted: 14 September 2010 He speaks 15 languages, has a cheeky sense of humour and can even do impressions. And now this frighteningly life-like robot, built by a small firm in Cornwall, has been bought by Nasa to become a robotic tour guide. The robot, who is known as RoboThespian, is powered by compressed air and is made almost entirely from aluminium...

	Honda Conducts European Public Research to Perfect Human-Robot Posted: 01 September 2010 A research project will be conducted this week in Linz, Austria, to discover what the ideal interaction between people and humanoid robots ought to be in the future, Honda R&D and Ars Electronica Futurelab announced today. The research, the first of its kind in Europe, will involve members of the public directly interacting with ASIMO, Honda's humanoid robot...

	Brain-controlled prosthetic limb most advanced yet Posted: 19 August 2010 Scientists at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) were awarded no less than $34.5 million by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to continue their outstanding work in the field of prosthetic limb testing, which has seen them come up with the most advanced model yet...

	Robot to expose hidden secrets of pyramid Posted: 13 August 2010 Following in the footsteps of Howard Carter and Abbot and Costello, a specialized robot will penetrate deeper into the Great Pyramid of Giza than ever before. The robot, part of a years long exploration called the Djedi Project, will explore a shaft inaccessible to a previous robot, unlocking a room that has remain sealed for 4,500 years...

	Is this the world's creepiest robot? Japanese inventor develops the bald, legless Telenoid R1 Posted: 4 August 2010 Its pale torso is about the size of a small child, it has no legs and just stumps for arms. For a man who has made his life's work coming up with increasingly creepy robots, Hiroshi Ishiguro has really outdone himself this time. The Japanese roboticist has just unveiled his latest creation - a strange robotic creature called the Telenoid R1...

	Forth Valley Royal Hospital (UK) to use robot 'workers' Posted: 18 June 2010 A hospital in Scotland is to become the first in the UK to use a fleet of robots to carry out day-to-day tasks. The robots will carry clinical waste, deliver food, clean the operating theatre and dispense drugs. They are currently undergoing final tests ahead of the August opening of the new £300m Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert, Stirlingshire...

	Virginia Tech engineering students build CHARLI, a full-sized humanoid robot Posted: 28 April 2010 As CHARLI takes his first steps, anxious onlookers stand ready to catch him if he falls. His stride is short, but upright, as one foot is placed in front of the other in the basement of Virginia Tech's Randolph Hall. But CHARLI is no toddler...

	NASA to Launch GM Co-Developed Robot to International Space Station Posted: 14 April 2010 NASA will launch the first human-like robot to space later this year to become a permanent resident of the International Space Station. Robonaut 2, or R2, was developed jointly by NASA and General Motors under a cooperative agreement to develop a robotic assistant that can work alongside humans, whether they be astronauts in space or workers at GM manufacturing plants on Earth...

	What's Cooking with Food Robotics? Posted: 05 April 2010 Robotics have an increasingly important role in maintaining a food supply that is safe, efficient and cost-effective. To gauge the robotics industry's importance of the food sector, the Robotic Industries Association (RIA, Ann Arbor, Michigan) sent out a survey to member companies in early 2010. To address this significant growth area, RIA has a major emphasis on the food industry in 2010, specifically making food processing applications a priority focus...

	A collection of high quality robot photos - 2010 (Part 3) Posted: 26 March 2010 Robots continue to grow in their importance amongst law enforcement, military use, medical research and care, space exploration and entertainment, among other tasks. Robots recently in the news include Russia's decades-old Lunokhod rovers - recently photographed from Lunar orbit, the naming of "Curiosity", NASA's next Mars rover, and a robotic dental patient, designed for realistic training. Collected here are a handful of relatively recent photographs of robots around the world - and the solar system. (33 photos total)...

	A Review Of The Best Robots of 2009 Posted: 22 December 2009 In 2009 robots continued their advance towards world domination with several impressive breakouts in areas such as walking, automation, and agility, while still lacking in adaptability and reasoning ability. It will be several years until robots can gain the artificial intelligence that will truly make them remarkable, but in the meantime they are still pretty awesome...

	A collection of high quality robot photos - 2010 (Part 2) Posted: 12 August 2009 Scientists, students and corporations continue their work around the world in the field of robotics, persistently improving and redefining their capabilities, interfaces and roles in society. Unmanned vehicles fly above war zones, telerobotics give humans a broader virtual presence and humanoid robots gain more parity with humans, refining their movements and responses. Collected here are a handful of recent photographs of robotics in use around the world. (36 photos total)...

	A collection of high quality robot photos - 2010 (Part 1) Posted: 4 March 2009 Robotic systems continue to evolve, slowly penetrating many areas of our lives, from manufacturing, medicine and remote exploration to entertainment, security and personal assistance. Developers in Japan are currently building robots to assist the elderly, while NASA develops the next generation of space explorers, and artists are exploring new avenues of entertainment. Collected here are a handful of images of our recent robotic past, and perhaps a glimpse into the near future. (32 photos total)...

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