Hey Kids, save up your $$$ to buy your own adult robot at the phone store, soon!

"Humanoid robots named 'Pepper' will be on sale next year in the U.S.

TOKYO • Billionaire Masayoshi Son will start selling his humanoid robots named "Pepper" at Sprint stores in the U.S. by next summer, part of SoftBank's push to take the technology beyond factory floors.

SoftBank also has received between 300 and 400 inquiries about Pepper from companies in finance, food service and education, Fumihide Tomizawa, chief executive officer of SoftBank Robotics, said Monday. The 4-foot robot dances, makes jokes and estimates human emotions based on expressions. Pepper will go in sale in Japan in February for $1,900 while the company hasn't set a U.S. price.
SoftBank, which paid $22 billion for control of Sprint last year, is investing in robotics as Japan seeks to double the value of domestic production to 2.41 trillion yen by 2020. SoftBank has developed an operating system that controls robots in the same way Google Inc.'s Android software runs smartphones, with the platform open to customization for use in construction, health care and entertainment industries.

"We will sell Pepper in the United States within a year after gathering information in Japan," Tomizawa said. "I won't be surprised if Pepper sales will be half to business and half to consumers."

SoftBank Robotics was established as a subsidiary in July to direct the company's business and sell Pepper, which is equipped with a laser sensor and 12 hours of battery life.
The stock has declined 18 percent this year while the benchmark Topix index is little changed.
The robot was initially targeted at families and the elderly before getting attention for business use since its June unveiling.

Tomizawa declined to specify the company's sales targets for robotics. SoftBank expects to generate revenue through applications and original content as customers personalize their robots.
"The basic premise is to produce profit," Tomizawa said. "Son is aggressively involved in the project and we report to him one or two times a month."

Son said in 2010 his vision was to create a society that coexists with intelligent robots. The SoftBank chairman has said Pepper is a result of his time spent watching the TV show "Astro Boy," an animated 1960s series based on a character who couldn't experience emotions.
In July, Son said he expects to improve labor productivity by replacing 90 million jobs with 30 million robots.

"We could enter the robot business for industrial use in the mid or long term," Tomizawa said.
Pepper was initially developed by SoftBank subsidiary Aldebaran Robotics. The robot operating system, which isn't currently used by Pepper, was developed by its Asratec division. The businesses continue to operate as separate units of SoftBank.



Read the full article at its  source: http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/humanoid-robots-named-pepper-will-be-on-sale-next-year/article_5ab253c5-6877-5775-857c-2a4375d2a895.html

Robot Butlers Become Part of the Hotel Staff

">>> Robots are everywhere, including wandering around your hotel.

Starwood, one of the world’s largest hotel companies, is rolling out two robotic “Botlrs” inexplicably named A.L.O. in their Cupertino Aloft Hotel.

The robotic butlers, built by Savioke, are able to perform tasks in the front of the house and the back of the house, as well as navigate around guests and use elevators. For the most part, it seems that the Botlrs will be delivering amenities to guest rooms in lieu of actual humans, “freeing up existing talent’s time and allowing them to create a more personalized experience for guests.”

When a guest calls down and asks for a toothbrush or extra towels, hotel employees simply load up the robot with the requested items, dial in the room number, and the Botlr handles the rest.

Using a combination of sensors and WiFi/4G connectivity to communicate with the hotel and the elevator software, the ROS-powered robot can get to and from the rooms without breaking anything or injuring anyone.

When the robot arrives at the room, the guest can enter in a rating on the robot’s touchscreen, or offer a “tip” in the form of a tweet to the hashtag #MeetBotlr.

“This is currently a pilot at Aloft Cupertino and is under consideration, though not yet confirmed, to be implemented at Aloft Sunnyvale when it opens at the end of this year,” said Brian McGuinness of Aloft Hotels. “Based on the success of the pilot, we will look to roll out at our nearly 100 hotels around the world in 2015 and beyond.”<<<"

Read the full article at its  source:
http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/13/starwood-introduces-robotic-butlers-at-aloft-hotel-in-palo-alto/

Insightful Thoughts about Robots for Students

While I personally think of the robots that students use more as Learning Resources than as Toys, the following quotes that I found at Thousands of Tiny Robots: The Modular Robotics Blog to be thought provoking and insightful!
From the post titled "Why Robots? An Introduction"...  

"... robot toys are a lot of fun and have some great life skills embedded into the play experience."

and

"...robot toys are the opening move in a game of chess that could result in humanity reaching fantastic new heights"

I absolutely agree and recommend that you check out the full  post at the blog, the source of the above quotes:  http://www.modrobotics.com/2014/06/26/why-robots-an-introduction/

Mark

PS - by the way, I was quite impressed with what I saw of MOSS/Modular Robotics at the recent ISTE Conference in Atlanta (June, 2014). You'll find it in my Report on Robotics Resources @ ISTE that I posted shortly after returning from the conference

Survival of the Fittest? Kids, Your Future Could Include Battling Robots...

"To die, you have to be alive, first!" 

Here's the first trailer from AUTOMATA, an upcoming Sci Fi movie with a scary vision about an all too possible  future.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrr........................................!





Can't wait to see this one! :)

Man vs. Robot Ping Pong Match: Incredible Demonstration of Robotics Technology

"Man against machine.


The unbelievably fast KUKA robot faces off against one of the best table tennis players of all time. Who has the best technique? Who will win the first ever table tennis duel of human versus robot?
Watch this thrilling commercial of table tennis and robotics performed at the highest level. The KUKA KR AGILUS demonstrates its skills with the table tennis racket - a realistic vision of what robots can be capable of in the future.


Timo Boll, the German table tennis star, is the new brand ambassador for KUKA Robotics in China. The collaboration celebrates the inherent speed, precision, and flexibility of KUKA's industrial robots in tandem with Boll's electrifying and tactical prowess in competition. To celebrate the new KUKA Robotics factory in Shanghai, the thrilling video was a highlight of the Grand Opening on March 11th, 2014. The 20,000 sq. meter space will produce the KR QUANTEC series robot as well as the KRC4 universal controller for the Asian market. As a market leader in China, KUKA aims to further develop automation in the country while providing a modern and employee-friendly working environment.


More: www.kuka-timoboll.com
music production: Lost in Music; composer: Matthias Neuhauser; soundmix: Robert MIller c.o. m-sound:

See the video and text at its source: http://youtu.be/tIIJME8-au8

In Kinshasa,Democratic Republic of the Congo - Robot Traffic Robot Cops Tackle Traffic Problems

Robot cops rule! Humanoids take over streets of Kinshasa to tackle traffic chaos

How do you solve the problem of choking road traffic in one of the world's bustling megacities? You bring in the robot cops.

In Kinshasa, the sprawling capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, two humanoid robots have been installed in high-traffic areas to regulate the flow of vehicles and help drivers and pedestrians traverse the roads safely.
 

Read this: The daily grind of commuting in Africa's economic hubs
 

The goal is to ease the traffic woes of commuters and cut the number of road accidents in the center of Kinshasa, a city of some 10 million people....

Read the full article at its source: http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/24/tech/robot-cops-rule-kinshasa/