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Terrific Tech: 10 Futuristic Advances in Robotics

2012-02-01 13:00
By Delana in Architecture Design Gadgets Geek Art Technology Futurism. Everyone loves a great robot story. Whether the robots are cuddly, intimidating, smart, or scary, they never fail to capture our attention. These bots range from updates on older technology to totally new inventions to futuristic concepts that haven 8217;t even been built yet. Step into the future as you peruse some of the world 8217;s most awesome recent robot advances. Depression-Fighting Babyloid As humans get older, they often become susceptible to depression. Other than drugs and counseling, what can be done for seniors in need of help Giving them something to take care of might be the answer. The Babyloid robot, developed by researchers at Chukyo University in Japan, promises to keep older people feeling happy and fulfilled just by virtue of its adorable robot presence. Babyloid cries, laughs and sleeps like a human baby, letting older folks tend to its every need. Just 90 minutes a day with the sweet little robot has been shown to increase the moods of nursing home patients. Self-Assembling Robot Furniture Thanks to Ikea and other purveyors of flat-pack furniture, most of us are used to putting our own furniture together in order to save a few dollars. But the Roombots are - more or less - furniture that assembles itself. Developed by Swiss BioRobotics Laboratory, this fantastic set of roving robots rolls into position and assembles into whatever piece of furniture you need at that moment. Each component is a small robot and they all work together to invent and re-invent furniture where and when it is needed. And when you don 8217;t need a table, chair, desk or other object, the Roombots can simply take the form of a wall. The Human Consciousness Robot As our proficiency in robot programming grows, so does the desire to create something that is almost human. Bina48 is a robot endowed with the personality of a real human...who is also named Bina, of course. The human Bina spent many hours with robot Bina, having conversations and uploading her memories and personality to the robot head. The somewhat-creepy project is the work of the Terasem Movement, an organization that seeks to prevent the finality of death by allowing humans to store their consciousness in technology, where it will live on forever. Wi-Fi Swarm In times of emergency when communications systems fail, a reliable alternative is needed right away. Scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne believe that swarming flying robots could be just the alternative we need. The flying robots could form fleeting wireless networks by virtue of a small module in the wing of each unit. The modules would emit wireless signals to allow communication between rescue workers on the ground, probably allowing them to save many more lives than they could have without adequate communication. Robotic Weight Loss Coach Losing weight is never easy, but it 8217;s even more challenging when you try to do it...
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