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Real Life Robots

UGO Looks at some of the coolest real-life Robots on the market and on the way.

July 21, 2008

by: Elizabeth Yun

What is it about us humans and our fascination with robots? Is it laziness? We want machines to do things for us so we don't have to do them. Is it the entertainment value? We simply like watching them beep and roll and amble around in their awkward robot way. Is it our desire to play God and create our version of "life?" Whatever it is, it seems like we've been obsessed with building mechanical things that can move, communicate, perform tasks and even think like living beings since the dawn of modern time. Until we tweak the technology enough to make them smarter than us and they inevitably revolt, we can still safely enjoy some of the amazing, bizarre, useful, ridiculous and entertaining advancements in robotics. Here's a guide to some of the wild stuff that's available and in the works. Think of it as a preview of what you'll be dealing with once the robot wars begin.

zeno
zeno

zeno

Zeno Robot Boy

The Zeno Robot Boy is really cool if you consider "a little creepy" and "kind of disturbing" to be cool. Luckily, I do so this one ranks high on the wow scale. David Hanson, founder of Hanson Robotics, is famous for his expressive, lifelike robots. In 2005, he debuted a walking humanoid Albert Einstein likeness, and in 2006, he debuted "Jules," a realistic talking robot head that's just straight-up scary. Zeno, named after Hanson's actual son (not helping the creepiness factor here), isn't quite as frightening. He's made of their patented Frubber or "flesh-rubber," an elastic polymer that moves like real human skin making his facial expressions extremely accurate. He can see, hear, speak, recognize people and do tricks. He also has the ability to learn. Link him to the internet via your computer and he'll continue to discover new information that he can teach children around him. Or use in his quest for world domination.

Zeno's World

Hanson Robotics

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