Free Republic

The rain is turning to snow on a blustery January morning, and all the men gathered in a parking lot here surely would prefer to be inside. But the weather couldn't matter less to the robotic sharpshooter they are here to watch as it splashes through puddles, the barrel of its machine gun pointing the way like Pinocchio's nose. The Army is preparing to send 18 of these remote-controlled robotic warriors to fight in Iraq beginning in March or April. Made by a small Massachusetts company, the SWORDS, short for Special Weapons Observation Reconnaissance Detection Systems, will be the first...

Monkey mindpower manipulates robotic arm By Robin Lettice Published Thursday 28th October 2004 15:29 GMT  US scientists have taught a monkey to operate a robotic arm to feed itself using only the power of its thoughts.The experiment was revealed Tuesday at a meeting of neuroscientists in San Diego, The Guardian reports, and involves interception of signals from the brain by electrode probes. The signals are interpreted through an algorithm and transmitted to a robotic arm. The robotic arm consists of a mobile shoulder, elbow and gripping device. The onus was on the monkey to learn exactly how to control the...

Updated: 1:17 p.m. ET Sept. 8, 2004LONDON - British scientists are developing a robot that will generate its own power by eating flies. The idea is to produce electricity by catching flies and digesting them in special fuel cells that will break down sugar in the insects' skeletons and release electrons that will drive an electric current.

Carnegie Mellon University robotics researchers, in conjunction with the U.S. Marine Corps' Warfighting Laboratory, have developed a small, throwable, remote-controlled prototype robot designed for surveillance in urban settings. Several of the robots are being sent to Iraq for testing. The robot, known as Dragon Runner, has the ability to see around corners and deliver information to Marines while keeping them out of danger in urban settings where human access is impractical, dangerous or unsustainable. The Dragon Runner project is managed and funded by the Warfighting Laboratory (Quantico, Va.), which is part of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command. The system...

OHBU, Japan - To some scientists, robots are the answer to caring for aging societies in Japan and other nations where the young are destined to be overwhelmed by a surging elderly population. Related Quotes SNE DJIA NASDAQ ^SPC 41.98 10442.03 2052.88 1139.32 -0.33 -38.12 +2.64 0.00 delayed 20 mins - disclaimer Quote Data provided by Reuters Missed Tech Tuesday? Wal-Mart's doing it, and soon tech could track your every move. Here's how to protect yourself from RFID. In one of a budding series of robot-therapy sessions at Japanese hospitals and senior citizens' homes, the elderly patients suffer from severe...

<p>DALLAS, Texas (AP) -- With her sparkling blue eyes, wispy eyelashes and demure smile, Hertz is the center of attention wherever she goes.</p> <p>If you're lucky enough to meet her, try to ignore the tangle of wires slinking from behind her face. If you speak with her, talk slowly and loudly. And no matter what you say, don't be offended if she looks at you blankly and repeatedly asks, "What did you say?"</p>

Get ready to be amazed

LONDON (Reuters) - It doesn't look anything like R2-D2 of "Star Wars" fame but British researchers said on Wednesday they have created an intelligent robot capable of doing experiments and interpreting the results. The robot scientist can formulate theories, do research and could be useful in discovering new drug targets. It works as well as a graduate student but is unlikely to put anyone out of a job. Instead, its creators say it could free scientists from routine laboratory tasks and allow them to concentrate on more important aspects of their research. "As with many other developments in the lab,...

The giant Caterpillar bulldozer, used by the Israeli military to destroy Palestinian homes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, now comes with a controversial new feature: remote control. Israel says its remote-control technology will lower risks to soldiers. But Palestinians fear it will lead to more frequent raids using the machines and make the three-year conflict even bloodier. The remote-controlled D-9 bulldozer and a remote-control version of the Humvee, equipped with machine guns, were developed by the Israeli army and the Technion Institute of Technology. Both machines are U.S.-made, with Israeli modifications. They are expected to go into service...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Dr. Miguel Nicolelis knew he had nailed it when the monkey stopped using her arm to play the computer game. An implanted device had allowed the monkey to control the game using only her thoughts, Nicolelis and colleagues report in the Public Library of Science Biology journal on Monday. And changes in the way the monkey's brain cells worked suggested the brain was physically adjusting to the device, they reported in the new online science journal. Nicolelis hopes the device will eventually allow paralyzed patients to regain some ability to use their upper bodies -- virtually, if...

ROBOT soldiers manufactured to kill enemy troops have been designed for the Pentagon by a tiny Glasgow computer company which is set to make millions from the deal. Essential Viewing says the technology comes straight from the world of science fiction. Chief executive Simon Hardy said the technology had its nearest equivalent in the Star Wars movie Attack Of The Clones. In the film, armies of robots are able to fight running battles, making human casualties, for the side possessing the technology, a thing of the past. The equipment refined by Essential Viewing will see robot vehicles equipped with an...

The world's most prestigious prize in computer science, regarded by academic computer experts as the "Nobel Prize" in the field, will be awarded to Weizmann Institute Prof. Adi Shamir. He will share the A.M. Turing Award for 2002 with Ronald L. Rivest of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Leonard M. Adleman of the University of Southern California. The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) will present the award to them in June. The award has been presented annually since 1966 to individuals who have made contributions of "lasting and major technical importance" in the field of computer science. Shamir, now...

A six-legged robot has been developed by Singapore experts and programmed to drill through the skull during surgery to remove deep-seated brain tumours in sharply reduced operating time. Engineers at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) came up with the computer-controlled robot known as "Hexapod" in conjunction with surgeons at the National Neuroscience Institute (NNI). "Currently surgeons have to drill through the bone for up to six hours to remove some skull-based tumours," said Dr Yeo Tseng Tsai of the NNI, in charge of the project. "Using the robot to perform the drilling will be faster and more precise," he said,...