I'd rather build my own little helper

Image source: www.nncn.uni-freiburg.de

With LEGO Mindstorms it's a child's play...

thanks to research it can walk quickly and slowly:

Scientists from Göttingen have developed an autonomous walking robot which can use different gaitsdepending on the situation by means of "chaos control"...

»»» http://www.nncn.uni-freiburg.de/

There's something going on in robot town

Image: Gaetan Lee / Science Museum

Are we on the way to robot town? The Science Museum in South Kensington shows what robots are capable of today:

»»» http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/antenna/robotplayground/


And the site has an interesting blog about other scientific issues and questions as well:

»»» http://sciencemuseumdiscovery.com/blogs/collections/



Rover 'Jet 1', 1948 (Science Museum / Science & Society)

Toys for grown-ups

Image source: BBC News

but not what you think...

the alternative way of dealing with demographic change :)


Image source: BBC News

»»» http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4919606.stm

or this:


Image source: Science Museum

»»» http://www.sciencemuseumshop.co.uk/

Robot etiquette

Robots have feelings as well...

(reeaaaally???)

»»» http://brainybots.com/

The South Korean government is preparing a “Robot Ethics Charter” to guide future interactions with our robotic friends...


Image: BBC News

»»» The BBC also took a look at the problem...

The South Korean government has identified robotics as a key economic driver and is pumping millions of dollars into research.

"The government plans to set ethical guidelines concerning the roles and functions of robots as robots are expected to develop strong intelligence in the near future," the ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said...

A future for 'brainy robots'?

Here's something regarding this question:

»»» http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk


Image: Volker Steger/Science Photo Library

Some scientists think robots like Gordon will be everywhere in the future. 'Integrating a biological brain into a robot is an enormous step that opens up a whole new area for robotics and artificial intelligence,' says Kevin Warwick.

Other robot experts believe that keeping brain tissue alive for long periods is too tricky. 'It's an interesting idea, but I think it's more likely that effort will go into making better artificial brains,' says Murray Shanahan.

Robots with a brain

Image: Diem Photography/University of Reading

... as intelligent as a common rat - or: Intelligence is hard to copy.

»»» http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/antenna/ratbrains/

Gordon is a very special robot. Controlled by a dish full of rats' brain cells, he's helping scientists to understand how our brains work. Antenna explores the science behind Gordon, what he might tell us about the brain, and what his creation could mean for the future of robotics...

From excavators to controllers

Because every excavator needs one...


The Brain (image source Wikimedia)

Introduction: The very first controller was...

»»» http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_brain

"The human brain is the center of the human nervous system and is a highly complex organ. Enclosed in the cranium, it has the same general structure as the brains of other mammals, but is over three times as large as the brain of a typical mammal with an equivalent body size."

»»» If you want to know more.

...if you like controllers, you should love the human brain :)

I would sometimes like to have this

Do you think that would be possible?



Machine for studying several books at once, 1588.

A beautiful and ingenious machine, very useful and convenient for anyone who takes pleasure in study, especially those who are indisposed and tormented by gout. For with this machine a man can see and turn through a large number of books without moving from one spot.

»»» Source: www.ingenious.org.uk

I am not alone

Other grown-ups also 'play' with Lego...

and have the one or other problem...

»»» http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/

And even if...

It even has an educational value.



»»» http://www.lego.com/eng/education/mindstorms/



»»» http://www.legoengineering.com/