robots

AT&T Unearths Jim Henson Robot Video From 1963

Ina Fried in Media on January 26 at 3:00 am PT

The video, done by the legendary Muppets creator, beautifully illustrates the tension between man and machine.

Robotic Ball Sphero Gets a New Look Ahead of Launch

Ina Fried in Mobile on September 14, 2011 at 7:30 am PT

The futuristic sphere, which can be controlled by an iPhone or Android device, now sports a semi-opaque white look and can be reenergized using an inductive charger.

Seven Questions for Jeff Dyer, Co-Author of The Innovator’s DNA

Arik Hesseldahl in Enterprise on August 16, 2011 at 6:20 am PT

Ever wonder what separates companies that innovate from those that don’t? Three authors set out to answer that very question, and came up with some interesting answers.

Foxconn’s Terry Gou: “The Robots Are Coming”

Arik Hesseldahl in News on July 31, 2011 at 10:35 am PT

The head of Foxconn says he plans to beef up the number of manufacturing robots on the production lines, from 10,000 now to one million within three years. That can’t help but have unexpected effects.

Reporter’s Notebook: It’s Robots Galore at Google I/O

Ina Fried in Mobile on May 11, 2011 at 2:38 pm PT

Although Google’s business is making software and online services, one could hardly tell that from the halls of its Google I/O conference this week, which was overrun with robots of all shapes and sizes.

Phone-Controlled Robot Ball Set to Roll Around CES

Ina Fried in Mobile on January 3, 2011 at 9:39 am PT

There will be a lot of quirky gadgets rolling through Las Vegas as the Consumer Electronics Show this week in addition to all the big-time announcements such as new phones, TVs and tablets. Among those to keep an eye out for is a little robotic ball from Orbotix, a seven-person start-up from Boulder, Colo.

Taking an Open-Source Approach to Hardware

Justin Lahart, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on November 30, 2009 at 5:00 am PT

The palm-sized Arduino serves as an electronic brain running everything from high schoolers’ robots to high-end art installations. But perhaps the oddest thing about the device is the business model behind it. Plans for the Arduino, a simple microcontroller board, are available online, and anybody may legally use them to build and sell knockoffs.

Insert Bad "Google Captchas reCAPTCHA" Pun Here

John Paczkowski in News on September 16, 2009 at 11:38 am PT

Evidently, Google’s efforts to create a new CAPTCHA system that requires people to rotate images until they’re upright aren’t moving as quickly as the company would like. Because this morning, the search giant said it had acquired reCAPTCHA, developer of the Web’s preeminent CAPTCHA technology.