If you are always away from your home and worried about the condition and surroundings, the Rovio WiFi Roaming Robot is exactly the thing for you. This little robot can be controlled via the computer so even if you are miles away, you can move your Rovio WiFi Roaming Robot anywhere you want to. Look through its all seeing eyes and find out if things are really well at home.

It is not just about seeing though because Rovio allows you to communicate via its 2-way audio capabilities. It comes with a microphone and speaker which is perfect if you have someone at home you want to talk to. The best thing is that whatever Rovio sees can be streamed live – it doesn’t matter what browse or operating system you are using in your computer, you will be able to use Rovio because it is compatible with all systems.

While I noticed certain problems with the batteries, I must say that the Rovio WiFi Roaming Robot is an extremely handy tool to have. Being away from home and missing your family must be terrible especially if travelling is part of your daily repertoire. With Rovio, you will feel like you are really there and present even if you are in actual fact many miles away.

The best thing about Rovio is the fact that you can communicate using the microphone and listen to your loved ones through the speakers. Who doesn’t love robots? At just $129.99, Rovio can now be yours!

Available: Thinkgeek

Price: Out of stock currently but will be available soon

With a full time job and three kids to take care of, cleaning the house has always been a huge problem. Not only did I not have adequate time to finish the daily house chores, I was soon losing my touch at house cleaning. I was literally sweeping everything under the carpet until my husband came across the LG Roboking Triple Eye vacuum cleaner on his recent trip to Korea.

Just as its name may sound, it is indeed a robot that is designed to clean. It has three cameras that is being built into it; two to direct its suction ability while the third camera acts like a detector on its location. The best part of it is that these cameras are all equipped with Wi-Fi connection which is compatible with smartphone applications.

This then allows the user to monitor this amazing vacuum cleaner from their smartphone. I thought that was all but I was surprised with another cool feature. This equipment even comes with a voice recognition technology! You can literally speak to it, and it will listen to you if it is close enough. Weird as it may sound, you can actually communicate with your vacuum cleaner. That is indeed a technology breakthrough in domestic equipments. This robot gadget not only cleans but also can be the eyes for my household when we are out.

I was indeed very excited over it and was bugging my husband to get one for me. Unfortunately he told me that there is no news about its market release date or price at the moment.

[Source: LG Electronics]

People these days are living longer especially in developed nations due to the healthier lifestyle available and improved medical care offered. Due to this there are an increasing number of people to care for at an old age.

Currently younger people, family and friends assist the older generation in tasks that they find difficult; however as the population of old people increase the number of people to look after them does not. To assist them Panasonic Helper Robots have been designed. The Panasonic series of robot gadgets take advantage of the latest technology to provide improved communication assistance, hair washing facility, and multipurpose bed.

Firstly, Panasonic’s “HOSPI” which has been made available to hospitals in Japan provides medication delivery, i.e. sort and transportation to nurse stations.

Secondly, the “HOSPI-Rimo” is a robot that utilizes self guiding technology to supply a communication medium between bedridden patients and everyone else. It uses high-definition visual technology to allow doctors to interact with patients without being at the bedside. This is a massive plus not just for patients but for doctors who often spend large amounts of time travelling between patients and departments.

Thirdly, a hair washing robot that can shampoo and condition a patient’s hair and rinse any residue off before the hair is dried. The hair wash robot can also apply a head massage to calm and relax the patient exactly what you want when stuck in hospital recovering from illness.

Finally the RoboticBed which is not only a bed but can also be transformed into an electric chair. This electronic gadget has been designed with caregivers and patients feedback in mind to allow for easy usage and excellent health and safety practicality.

An automated vacuum such as Roomba comes as the sweet solution for those who have been asking themselves “Isn’t there a machine for this?”. It is indeed an automated vacuum that could be scheduled up to seven days a week which has also been designed to clean up the carpets and other surfaces. There isn’t much science behind the robotic vacuum, but the way the vacuum has been programmed to be the smartest cleaners any household could ever get.

There are virtual walls and virtual buffers that are ready available with the Roomba Robotic Vacuum, users will only need to attach them to walls or small objects within the living space so that the vacuum could create a parameter of where it’s supposed to carry out the cleaning. In the cleaning process itself, the robotic vacuum goes over the surface in a systematic order to avoid missing out spots.

When it comes to carpets, there’s also a build in agitator brush so that dirt and dust which are trapped within the carpet’s fiber could be removed. There are also other senses which aid the vacuum in avoiding staircases and prevent rug fringes from jamming the brushes. For spots which are extremely soiled, there are sensors beneath the vacuum that will be able to detect them. The vacuum will then allocate more time in cleaning that particular area.

Nonetheless, the robotic vacuum is unable to operate for 7 days long without being recharged. Even though it could cover an approximate of 1200 square feet per charge, it will have to return to its charger whenever the battery runs low.

Available: Hammacher

Price: $369.95

Seems like the Xbox Kinect has provided lots of opportunities for programmers and engineers to produce products that when combined offer an excellent gaming opportunity. Take today’s hack for example called the Jedibot.

The Jedibot is robot designed by students at Stanford University; it utilizes an articulating arm connected to an Xbox Kinect to produce a sword fighting enemy. The students created the Jedibot by combining mathematical formulas and programming skills they learned in the Intro to Robotics course.

Able to swing a sword or lightsaber every 2-3 seconds the Jedibot can track the movement of an enemy weapon and produce an attack or defensive movement. This ensures you can recreate some of those lightsaber fighting scenes from the Star Wars films.

Currently in development with the students and professor of the course, hopefully fingers crossed they can increase the speed of the Jedibot and make it available to buy. I would get one, would you? If you are not sure check out the video below.

Showa University in Tokyo alongside robotics company Tmsuk has developed a robotic patient to help train dentists.  The robot gadget called Showa Hanako 2 replicates typical patient movements and responses alongside being as realistic looking as possible. Just check out that face in the picture and tell me you didn’t think that was a real person.

The idea behind the Showa Hanako 2 is that dental students can practice on the robot before attempting procedures on a real patient. The advantage of this is that students build confidence on techniques alongside experiencing typical reactions of patients.

Showa Hanako 2 which as you can guess is an upgrade from Showa Hanako 1 is much more lifelike, user-friendly, and functional compared to its older version. The lifelike look and feel of the skin is due to the silicone skin developed by Orient Industry. The realistic lifelike features help psychologically remind the trainee dentist that they are working on a genuine patient even if they are working on a robot.

Gestures to which Showa Hanako 2 can exhibit are; blinking, sneezing, coughing, head shaking, tongue movements, and rolling of the eyes.  All these movements happen smoothly and naturally much like the human form. One final feature to Showa Hanako 2 is its ability to simulate a gag reflex; this was put in place after reviewing typical patient reactions during dental procedures.

I can imagine this medical gadget being quite expensive to buy later this year when Yoshida Dental Manufacturing make it available to order, however the prices dentists charge these days I am sure they can afford it.

As we enter further into the 21st century, the technology gets better and better every day. Soon robots will take over jobs that almost everyone hates, like a cashier’s job. The PR2 Personal Robot from Willow Garage was created by a group of researchers at Stanford’s AI laboratory and they designed it to be a bag boy and also a coat checker. And things seem to be working well for them then.

Now, the group of researches is ready to try something new. The PR2 robot is being programmed to be a checkout clerk. The robot will be programmed to do a three step procedure which would be grabbing an item, scanning it and then placing it in a bag. For now, the robot can only do the first part efficiently as the programming part of it has not been not fully completed yet. The robot does not really seem to be able to scan the items all that well and instead of placing items in the grocery bag, it drops them. Imagine if it was a carton of eggs, boy that robot would have been so fired!

The researchers are still working on this project. The PR2 robot still has a lot more modification that it needs to undergo. Problems like it’s too tight of a grip, it misses scanning items at times, it doesn’t arrange item in a grocery bag and it doesn’t greet customers is yet to be solved. Of course, there are a lot of modification and further programming that needs to be done.

The human mind does wonders, and it has never cease to impress the world with intelligent creations. Just look at how mankind came up with something called the robot, and work on improving it day by day. Now, the Department of Biological Cybernetics of University of Bielefeld has come up with the artificial autonomous robot gadget called HECTOR the spider robot.  The name is derived from the quasi-acronym of Hexapod Cognitive Autonomously Operating Robot.  It is awesome if you are not afraid of real spiders!

Hector is about 1 meter long, and it weights more or less 12 kg. The purpose of this insect is to be used in various experiments because of its ability. Hector has 3 body segments, and 6 legs connected with 18 joints. Each of these joints possesses its own processor, drive feature sensors, and complete control electronics. The joints are also equip with a sensorized elastic coupling which enables Hector to yield or bend during impact or when playing tricks on humans like chasing after them! Not to mention that Hector is actually design to carry heavy loads.

Hector’s unique body design also allows sensor equipments to be replaced to suit the particular project or experiment that it is involve in. An example would be switching a tactile antenna for a near or long range sensing camera. The developers of Hector would also like to improve on the basis of providing Hector with the ability to learn and plan ahead – somewhat a cognitive function. This is so that Hector could explore unknown boundaries or territories and perform missions on its own.

Check out the Hector Spider Robot in action

The Omnitread is a snake like robot that is capable of going through vertical and rough terrains, and the device can also cross huge gaps. The Omnitread was developed in the University of Michigan by a group of researches.

The Omnitread is able to travel into a hole that is at least 4 inches and it can go along electrical conduits. It is controlled by a joystick and is connected with an umbilical cord that sends commands to the specially designed software while giving electrical source to the snake like robot. The Omnitread is separated into five square segments that may look like small boxes that are connected through the middle by a drive shaft spine. Pneumatic bellows can be found in the joint of the segments.

The good thing about the bellows is that even though they require less amount of space, they are powerful enough and are naturally compliant. It also gives enough torque to lift the Omnitreads rear segments so that it is able to climb on objects.

The Pneumatic control method enables multiple proportional control of the Omnitread’s angle at its joint and stiffness as well. The segments are covered on all four sides with wide moving tracks. The tread that covers the robot’s body pushes it forward so it won’t get stuck while maneuvering through rough terrains.

The use for the Omnitread is to be a little ‘rat’ that spies for certain things, just like surveillance or industrial inspection, urban search and rescue mission and military and the Central intelligence agency (CIA). It is the modern era on cameras, instead of just being stationed in one corner, it moves around.

Are you a movies buff? If yes, then this idea isn’t new to you – this gadget reminds me of transformers, i,e a vehicle with legs like a grasshopper, that is generally the ‘bad guys’ vehicle.

The Tokyo Institute of Technology has created the robotic grasshopper that is similar to a grasshopper and its movement.

The device has four legs and can jump a distance of four feet forward and up to a foot in height.

Perhaps this robot grasshopper concept could very well be the solution to the huge traffic jams that we experience everyday.