I like the Cybermen that the new show has given us so far. They aren’t quite as cool as the old cybermen, but they work. But judging by some of the show’s concept art, we could have gotten something much darker like the image above.

There’s also an image of a red Dalek with what looks like one multi-purpose arm. Hopefully they get to play with these designs in an actual episode some day.

[io9]

Henry has been creating his army of miniature metal mechs for a few years now. Each and every one is handmade by Henry himself and a real work of art. As you can see, these are not just crafts thrown together. They are amazingly detailed sculptures. Head on over to Henry’s website for many awesome images of these guys.

[Henry's website] VIA [Technabob]

Robots are the latest fashion accessory. Find one that doesn’t clash with your shirt and you are good to go. Put a bot on your shoulder and ask, “Does this make my ass look big?”. Well, okay it isn’t quite like that. Some folks at the Tsumaki Telerobotics Laboratory (Yamagata University) have devised a Wearable Robot though.

It’s called the Telecommunicator T1, an experimental model that offers gestural presence that you don’t get from a cellphone conversation. The bot sits on your shoulder while connected to the Internet. You can control where it looks by just tilting your head. Arm gestures like waving are also possible, but the current hardware restricts it movement at the moment. What the robot sees will be transmitted to you through a pair of goggles.

It’s essentially a modern day parrot for would-be pirates of the world.

[PP]

If our big corporations like Intel had some sense, we probably could of already made robot soldiers. Only if big corps thought of not trying to brainwash us. Instead of spending millions on advertisements, how about spending millions on building actual robots. In the Superbowl Ad below, Intel describes their new core processor as “the most amazing technological achievement in the history of the company.” But then comes along their computer generated robot, which looks similar to the homemade robot (Loki), and the poor robot over hears their conversation. Watch the rest of the video below.

Unlike the Americans, the Japanese actually spend their money wisely. They build robots that we truly dream of. Though some Japanese companies spend money on advertisements as well, they are more conservative about it. Every company needs a way to get their information out to the public. Otherwise, Intel and other big corps could crash and bailouts would yet again be issued, lowering the value of the U.S. Dollar, once again.

[PlasticPals]

Robots are pretty powerful, but they can’t defend themselves against customs in Seattle. 17,600 NFL toy robot figures similar to the one shown here were seized at customs recently.

The toys were made in China Where else?) and found to have 6 times the acceptable level of lead in them. So they won’t be invading American homes anytime soon. The toys are valued at about $96,000 and will be completely destroyed.

[Robotliving]

This Heineken Bot” was made by the folks at Middlesex University and he recently showed up at the Kinetica Art Fair in London. If humans move their hands above its sonar-sensing head, and then place a cup in its holder they will be rewarded with some beer.

After he serves up the good stuff, he continues to wander along a pre-programmed path, waiting on others.

[Engadget]

A small German shop by the name of General Robots has designed some pretty intense, wooden robots that will smoke up your place. What looks to be hand-carved, the wooden robot is rigged with an incense burner, in the place of its spine. I’m not sure how it works, but the top half of the body is removable from the bottom half, so the incense stick can be placed. Where it gets the oxygen when the top half is placed back on, is what i don’t know. Standing at only 6 inches tall, it costs €39.90.

[Technabob]

Tichno is a robot built by Vstone, that is meant to advertise for window stores. Usually Vstone develops robots that are meant for hobbyist to robots that are champions of the Robocup, but now they are reaching out to the advertising field. Tichno advertises by dancing, singing, talking, and doing other gestures such as hand waves.

Tichno is designed with an outer shell that is androgynous, so it can be determined to be a male or a female, depending on the customizable suit. The control board is identical to the ones of the DIY kits, but Tichno is 130cm and weighs 26kg, including 22 DOF. It is equipped with built-in speakers and a voice recorder, allowing it to play pre-recorded messages and songs, which it can dance to. The price is unknown, but there’s expected to be a cheaper version along with this one. Watch Tichno demonstrate its skills.

[PP]

The folks over at Engadget got some hands on time with the Robonica Roboni-i. Since becoming available, the price has gone from $299.95 to $159.95 at Hammacher Schlemmer. So what did they think?

In general they like it. Control is easy, but the turning could be better. At the current price, many people can only buy one unit, which is obviously not as entertaining as two. All in all they seemed to have a good time with the little bugger. Hit the link for the full review.

[Engadget]

DARPA has put up an interesting job posting. It involves a new research and development program called ARM. DARPA wants to build a robot that can use its arms to autonomously grasp objects.

The robot should be able to “hold an inert grenade with one hand, and pull the pin with the other hand” without any help from humans. The human who is the target should be able to leap up in the air, paddle his feet furiously and then zip away like Bug Bunny.

Thanks DARPA. You sure don’t make it easy to sleep at night.

[PP]