Roboskip

A 700-ton robot dumpster.

Is anyone else as frightened as I am?

Aside from Sarah Connor, of course.

Scanrobot

Automatically scans up to 2400 pages an hour–mostly telephone directories.

C-O-N-N...

And a Hook was Hanging on the Door!

EE Times headline:

Robot removes kidney

And the patient woke up the next morning in a bathtub full of ice.

Droid on Droid Action

An unmanned USAF aircraft in Iraq destroyed a remote controlled Jiahdist vehicle laden with explosives.

Begun, the Robot Wars Have.

Meatbot

Fanuc Robotics America Inc.has developed a robot suitable for use in a meat-packing plant.

If Sarah Connor goes missing I'm definitely giving the pork pies a miss.

Puttbot

If O J Simpson can hunt for the real killer on the golf links, then Skynet can...

robopouf

Now Skynet isn't even trying.

RoboTrac

Someone should point out that Sarah Connor is a city girl. This robot tractor is billed as a fully programmable "automated farmhand" that can take care of "tilling, plowing, disking, planting, harrowing, spraying, weeding, and other similar tasks."

Fortunately, I live up the top of the hill, so when it inevitably runs amuck I'll have enough time to get the anti-tank missile set up.

Be prepared, I say.

Gordon Ramsey, Call Your Service

From the University of Munich comes the B21 kitchen robot.

It identifies utensils, helps out with the cooking and says **** a lot.













Update: And here it is in action:

Robojellyfish

Even Skynet had to admit that this wasn't that great an idea for hunting Sarah Connor.

Problem Solving

The Care-o-bot is a sophisticated piece of robotic equipment that you can programme to fetch drinks from the kitchen.

Or you can save yourself a bucket of money and just bring the bottle with you to the living room.

Robolifeguard

Rescues swimmers in distress; hands Sarah Connor an anvil.

Elektro On Tour–Sort Of

If you can't make it to Mansfield, Ohio to see the historic robot Elektro, then don't despair; a duplicate is going on display at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Unfortunately, you still have to go to Pittsburgh, so it's a bit of a trade off.

Robowarehouse

A warehouse in Kentucky employs an army of robots to hunt for Sarah Connor.

And shoes.

AMP

A robot boom box that follows you around.

Sledgehammer to smash it into tiny bits not included.

Readybot

Few people realise that the reason Skynet is trying to destroy humanity is because it just wants to keep the house tidy

Marvin

Meet Marvin–an unfortunately named soul who makes up for it with a natty red steel waistcoat. He's an experimental robot at Victoria University in New Zealand who doubles as a security guard, though his singular lack of arms would seem to make him about as formidable as the black knight.

Especially as, according to his maker, he is something of a coward.

Share and Enjoy

Dutch designer Jelte van Geest has created a robot chair that follows you around the library on the off chance that you want to sit down. According to the report,

He wanted to make robots friendly and soft rather than mean and cold.

More like obsequious and annoying. Stand by for some major upholstery kicking.

Robopong

Because the hunt for Sarah Connor leaves no stone unturned.

Cyborg Cows

This is just getting bleedin' weird.

I'm Not Touching You

Intel develops a robotic hand that uses electrolocation to give it a sense of "pre-touch".

This allows it to a) grasp objects with more certainty and b) to bug the hell out of people on long road trips.

Robo Street Artist

A robot that carves people's likenesses out of Styrofoam.

Why do I have the terrible feeling that I'm going to be seeing this down the market flogging portraits to tourists?

Roboshepherd

Australia is investigating how to use robot helicopters to herd cattle.

Carl the Cattle Dog and Little Ann the Australian Shepherd lodge official protest.

Roboswarm

Inventor says that these robots won't take over the world.

Sarah Connor snorts derisively.

RoboMuffins

Bakes muffins; hunts for.... Mmm... Muffins.

Robomonkey

University of Pittsburgh begins building killer cyborg monkey army.

Sarah Connor announces banana boycott.

Roboboxers

Somehow I suspect that there's less here than meets the eye.

Million-Round Robot

From Wired:

What do you do with a robot armed with a million-round-per-minute gun? "Crowd control," naturally.

Well, what else would you do with it?

Your Plastic Survivor Buddy Who's Fun To Be With

Professor Robin Murphy from the University of South Florida is working on "Survivor Buddy"; a robot that is intended to act as a friendly companion to to disaster victims and try to cheer them up until help arrives.

Given the track record of allegedly user-friendly technology and that when I'm trapped in the ruins of a flooding building while the waters are cresting my lower lip that last thing I want is to be stimulated, reassured or enlightened by a hunk of animated tin, I shan't be surprised when the suicide rate among disaster victims skyrockets.

Shadow Caddy

Shadow Caddy: A robot golf cart programmed to follow you around and turn a blind imaging sensor as you kick your opponent's ball into the bunker.

Sarah Connor reported to be taking up tennis.

Robohairtransplantsurgeon

Because the only thing Skynet hates more than humanity is male pattern baldness.

Robosoup Nazi

British scientists receive £1 million to develop robot that can stir soup.

They'll get on that cancer cure right after lunch.

Microtransat Challenge

This October sees the start of the Microtransit Challenge, where eight robot sailboats will set sail from Viana do Castelo, Portugal with an "imaginary" finish line that stretches" between St. Lucia and Martinique in the Carribean Ocean" (sic).

It's billed as "a three-month journey that will push the designers of these vessels to the limits of what robotics and artificial intelligence can presently accomplish", though it's clear that at least the writer of the report isn't a sailor, because this doesn't seem much of a challenge. Any sailing craft with the wheel lashed and the sails properly set will keep a constant heading and with a wind vane, autopilot and GPS it's practically a doddle outside of the odd hurricane. Besides, a line twenty miles across is a pretty big target even for a Transatlantic passage, so I suspect that there's more to this challenge than meets the eye.

Now if they could get one to pilot its way into the Port of London against heavy traffic even without an ocean passage, then I'd be impressed.

Robohorse

My daughter uses one of these.

It costs 25 cents down the Safeway.

Le Bouche Artificielle

French scientists create an robot mouth.

When they start working on the other end, I'm leaving.

RoboChef: Breakfast Edition

It put the cheese and ham in with the eggs before whisking it. IN with the eggs BEFORE whisking.

Clearly the Swiss are far behind us in omelette technology.

Robospider

Apparently the mission brief is to get the enemy to scream like little girls.

Guardium

Israel unveils new robot soldier.

Sarah Connor cancels holiday in Tel Aviv.

Bum Bot

Georgia man builds robot to chase away tramps; hunt for Sarah Connor.

Roborestaurant

Serves lunch. Delivery service hunts for Sarah Connor.

Breaking News

Next up: an "I told you so" interview with Sarah Connor.

Big in Japan

AP headline:

Japan looks to a robot future

Sarah Connor demands six minutes for rebuttal.

Death Ray Update

Well, at least Prof. May could take solace in the fact that if the death ray thing didn't work out, there was always Alpha the Robot to fall back on.

Baron Frankenstein, Call You Service

Prof. Noel Sharkey of the University of Sheffield warns that battlefield robots "Pose a threat to humanity".

In other news, Skynet was seen whistling casually and staring at the ceiling.

Your Tax Euros at Work

Having never heard of the percolator, the EU is spending €6.3-million to develop a robot that makes coffee.

Instant coffee.

T800, Call Your Service

A gallery of images from the US Navy's robot lab.

It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m.