Robot Bot

Ok, so perhaps V.I.K.T.O.R. won’t replace Walter Murch or Thelma Schoonmaker anytime soon, but this app that automatically assembles clips and photos from your iPhone and transforms them into mini-movies is another viable example of software-assisted creativity. V.I.K.T.O.R. E ...more

I love robots. They have the potential to evolve into Asimovian destroyers of the human species, but have only just mastered the art of cleaning my rug. They have an ever increasing cool factor and a growing number of cheap and simple components that let the hobby roboticist r ...more

Don't worry, the robot apocalypse is not upon us...yet. Wired reports it may be closer than you think: "The 'Humanoids with auditory and visual abilities in populated spaces' (HUMAVIPS) project has the ambitious goal of making humanoid bots just that bit more human by buildin ...more

One of the greatest things about the internet? Free papercraft downloads. Enjoy Botropolis' collection of 50 fun robots. Just download, print, and assemble. My top ten favorites below. Wall-E. Robocop. Optimus Prime. R2-D2. The Terminator. Poseable Toy Robot. Retro Bot. Godzi ...more

Though named "Walker," this robot doesn't really ambulate so much as shimmy. Which, to tell the truth, is fine by us. Lots of gross things walk. Only cute things dance. Bot builder Randy Sarafan explains his motivation: My goal with Walker Bot was to make a 4-legged walking ...more

MultiCuber achieves another world's first: the timed relay solve of 2x2x2, 3x3x3, 4x4x4 and 5x5x5 Rubik's cubes. We've seen quite a few speedy rubik's cube solvers on WonderHowTo. However, this robot (built entirely out of a LEGOs) uses an algorithm that can can solve a cube ...more

Can a robot be dumber than a toaster? For the answer, look no further than Bacarobo—a yearly contest that showcases and celebrates and the world's dumbest, most adorable robots. Each year, ten robots vie for first prize. Each year, only one bot wins. Who took the title of Top ...more

Created by the University of Pennsylvania, these bots would impress Q himself. This army of mini quad-copters are controlled with rhythmic precision, a truly awe-inspiring collaboration of music and technology. From playing a synthesizer to drums and cymbals, each robots is mu ...more

Will the bot band be to 2017 what the boy band was to 1997? You be the judge! In the videos below, two such groups offer electro-mechanical renditions of the B-52s' "Rock Lobster" and Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." Creator James Cochrane writes, "What do you get when you combine ...more

Cheaper (and perhaps cuter) than a maid, the simple scrub bot is easy and cheap to make: "This state of the art cleaning robot is great at polishing floors and shining glass tables (provided that you soap it up first). It also disperses small particulates evenly across your f ...more

Or otherwise known as nerd nirvana. The ARM Powered Android LEGO MultiCuber steps it up a notch to the 7x7x7 rubik's cube. Click here to see the same type of bot solve the 3x3x3...or click here to see serious baby human speed. Previously, Android Can Now Solve the Rubik's Cu ...more

Kojiro the robot has muscles, tendons and a flexible spine- just like you! Combine Kojiro with the doppelganger bot and you'll have something supremely sci-fi freaky. Via IEEE Spectrum: "Kojiro is an advanced musculoskeletal humanoid robot under development at the University ...more

Self proclaimed, "The Worlds Fastest Lego Mindstorms RCX Speedcubing Robot", this little guy is built entirely from LEGOs. Apparently the Cubestormer can solve any 3x3x3 Rubik's cube combination in under 12 seconds, and the last single solve in the video happens in just 4:01 s ...more

You're hellbent on taking over the world, but one race of robotic minions isn't enough for you. With your hexapod robots acting as your ground forces, it's only natural to take to the skies. These cardboard quadcopters are the perfect air force for you. Combined, you are mere ...more

In the wealthy oil man's world of Arabian camel racing, the tradition of using child jockeys has been replaced with the use of small robo-jockeys in recent years. But after finally ridding the game of the mistreatment of children, the sport is now under scrutiny again. The Dub ...more

War leaves a lot of stuff behind. Torn families, delegitimized institutions, mass graves, and unexploded ordinances litter the post occupation landscape. Whether or not you have driven the imperialist out, or are still in the phase of armed resistance, you will need the abilit ...more

Office workers beware, or a snarky robot may unleash a barrage of ping pong balls upon you. A somewhat sinister individual from the CKBot group at UPenn’s Modlab concocted the prank. According to Bot Junkie, it operates as follows: "A remote control raises a cutout section of ...more

These soccer playing robots from TU Freiberg Robotics are programmed using Knesthetic Bootstrapping, which control the Bioloid's motions. Players can send commands to the soccer bots via Wii Remotes, and users abroad can control them directly online.  If soccer's not your game ...more

Have you ever wanted to control a swarm of robots? Well, now you can! Robotics researchers at New York University (NYU) have created an app which controls 'bots from your smartphone, using augmented reality. This AR app would certainly come in handy when you want to make a cof ...more

This robot hasn't levitated any humans yet (especially not pictured Days of Our Lives star Deidre Hall), but it looks like the sky may be the limit with the Robo-Air Jet System. Developed by Aaron Becker and Robert Sandheinrich at the University of Illinois, Urbana, the Robo- ...more

Hell, yeah! Play with your food. This android hand is the brainchild of a collaboration including Robo250, the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, the Mattress Factory and MAYA Design, Inc. Part gastro-sculpture, part automaton. 100% cool. We're big fans of ca ...more

Arachnophilia and technosexuals rejoice. This whimsical, skittering robot takes only 5 minutes of tinkering. This simple toy is made possible with a bit of solder, AAA battery, copper wire and an old mobile phone's vibrating motor. Like the EvilMadScientist's Bristlebot, this ...more

As it turns out, Apple did get AR hardware into its retail stores for the 2017 holiday shopping season, but it's not the headset we've been hearing rumors about for years; it's the MekaMon battle-bot. Apple will be the exclusive retailer for the AR robot, which can be purchas ...more

What is in store for the future? Flying cars? Maybe. Dinner in a pill? Perhaps. How about 4-legged army tank robot dogs? Hell ya! This delights both the Hummer loving He-men and the anti-war pacifists in us. Something that can kick ass and save lives! Perfect. BigDog is a me ...more

Look no further than Flint, Michigan, to discover the serious consequences of contaminated drinking water. Around the world, water polluted by pathogens and toxins sickens people or cuts them off from safe drinking water. Looking for a solution, researchers created tiny, swimm ...more

This kid looks less than pleased (skip to 2:37). The goal of  Swarm-bots is to show how many small robots can work together to achieve a larger task (such as dragging a little girl's body across the floor): "The goal of this project is the study of a novel design approach to ...more

Artist Giles Walker's robot peep show/DJ installation piece gives us a little glimpse of what strip clubs could look like in the future (well, let's really hope not, guys). Walker also teams up with Frank Barnes and his robot drummers (second video in the gallery below, check ...more

This simple yet odd robot moves like a four-legged, single unit of a centipede, which unfortunately makes me think of the Human Centipede (shudder, don't click on the second video in the gallery below if you're faint of heart... or at work). OK, maybe a stretch. But for whate ...more

IEEE Spectrum has posted new pictures of Geminoid F, and yes indeed, underneath that smiley, soft, convincing exterior is a stone cold, emotionless robot. Previously, Creepy (Yet Kinda Attractive) Android Chick Laughs and Smiles. Get Yourself a Doppelganger Robot (Just $225K) ...more

Careful or you may find yourself crushing on this cute little Android named HRP-4C. From the head up, the Japanese robot could easily be mistaken for one of her human backup singers. Freaky! Previously, Robot Dance Off Gets Creepy. Creepy (Yet Kinda Attractive) Android Chick L ...more

Here's another latest in robotics: researchers at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) have developed a robot that flips pancakes. The most interesting aspect of the project is the use of kinesthetic teaching, in which the user "trains" the robot by example. The user gras ...more

CMU’s Biorobotics Laboratory modular snake robot slithers in all sorts of different ways. Check out the three videos in the gallery below. Project statement: "Snake robots can use their many internal degrees of freedom to thread through tightly packed volumes accessing locat ...more

Rescuing wounded soldiers in a war zone is extremely dangerous. Again, (previous entry, Futuristic Warefare), the Pentagon turns to scifi technology and robotics for the answer. The current solution is to develop robots that perform as "combat casualty extraction system[s].” A ...more

Edit on a Dime has made it through its first week, dear readers. As the collection of links and blog posts below make apparent, we’re entering into an exciting, dare I say fecund, time for low cost and free editing solutions. We'll have no shortage of apps to try out, argue ov ...more

Well, only if you also happen to have an ARM powered LEGO Speedcuber device. Promotional video by maker David Gilday for ARM Ltd. With the help of the Android, the machine cracks the Rubik's Cube in 25 seconds (compare to LEGO Mindstorms solvers' 4 seconds.... or the human re ...more

Hiroshi Ishiguro is at it again, but this time "it" has a winning smile. Japanese researchers have developed a humanoid robot that can laugh and smile, mimicking a real person's facial expressions. The android, called Geminoid F, is modeled after a woman in her twenties, with ...more

Very cool project by Benjamin Gaulon. Gaulon has created a graffiti writing paintball robot, entitled PrintBall. He uses technology from (previously posted) EyeWriter to tag with his eyes, plastering a wall with paintballs. From Gaulon's site, Recyclism: "The PrintBall is a ...more

Nintendo's Wii Remote came close, but never has a video game peripheral garnered such adoration from the hacker community than the Kinect. Since the release of Microsoft's controller-free gaming device last November, there has literally been thousands of fun and useful projec ...more

Robots are great for performing tasks that are otherwise too dangerous for man (e.g. dead body extraction bot). BeetleCam is a cute little bot that takes all the danger out of wild life photography. Controlled remotely from a Range Rover about 50 yards away, BeetleCam ventures ...more

You've probably seen those deep-web images floating around on the Internet. Usually, it goes something like this: There is a towering iceberg and the deeper the underwater portion extends, the more “hidden” and “exotic” the content is described to be. Sometimes these images ar ...more

iRobot released their new soft blob morphing robot this past Tuesday. The amazing shape-shifter has the ability to squeeze through tiny crevices. From IEEE Spectrum: "Researchers from iRobot and the University of Chicago discussed their palm-sized soft robot, known as a chem ...more

This year's FOOMA International Food Machinery and Technology Exhibition had a few robots I wouldn't mind hanging around my kitchen. The sushi-bot's hand is amazing... if only it could make the sushi, not just transport it. Oh well. There's always next year. The Okonomiyake P ...more

OK, first thing's first: need to get this insane picture out of the way. I think this might classify as horror movie creepy. A little explanation is in order. Originally posted by BotJunkie, the gist of a Japanese robotics article displaying these striking images has been som ...more

Motoman the Robot uses a 3D vision system to assemble LEGOs. "Motoman’s high resolution color cameras and object recognition make picking out and connecting LEGO pieces easy...he’s able to get the pieces with one hand while assembling the LEGOs with the other. " Robots keep ...more

A Merry Christmas robot medley of song and dance, courtesy of Bot Junkie. Merry Christmas from everyone at WonderHowTo!

Can't help but smile at this goofy, endearing nerd "master" (Vitalijus Rodnovas) guiding his copy-cat protege robot (coined Waldo). The rig allows Waldo to mimic Rodnovas' body movements in actual real time. Hackaday has dug up the HowTo notes: "...The project page is slight ...more

Remember Big Dog? Or Big Dog's counterpart, Little Dog? Well, Boston Dynamics has added a new member to their creepily-moving-calvary. Boston Dynamics mission statement: "PETMAN is an anthropomorphic robot for testing chemical protection clothing used by the US Army. Unlike ...more

Sweden's Hans Andersson, has a new way of solving both the Rubik's Cube and Sudoku puzzles... ROBOTS. That's right, memorizing lengthy algorithms or racking your brain with numbers is no longer required to solve these perplexing puzzles. The Tilted Twister and Sudoku Solver a ...more

As promised last week, Magic Leap has finally released the long-awaited augmented reality game Dr. Grordbort's Invaders. The game, developed by Weta Workshop, is easily the most well known and hyped title among all of the Magic Leap apps (and there aren't many) currently on t ...more

Telemarketers can be as terrifying as a villain from a horror film. Your phone rings with an unknown 800 number, and you immediately fill with a sense of dread. There's no way to get them to stop calling; you imagine the number appearing on your phone at all hours of the day a ...more

Getting support for your mental health is now as easy as opening up Facebook Messenger. By just opening up the Messenger app, you can connect to Woebot, a new chatbot developed at Stanford trained in administering cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). The bot — developed by Dr. ...more

Apple seems to want the public to perceive it as an environmentally-conscious entity, as evidenced by the company's recently published Environmental Responsibility Report. But as it turns out, they may be hindering recyclers from salvaging old iPhones and Macs by ordering the ...more

Intel, the company which is mostly known for creating computer processors, once again showed off their Project Alloy "merged reality" experience, this time during their CES 2017 press conference. Intel's Chief Executive Officer, Brian Krzanich, stated that they will be "produc ...more

LG got in on the action at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona by unveiling its new G5 handset on Sunday, February 21st. It will be the first publicly available modular smartphone by a top tech giant. Video: . The Magic Slot The highlight of the G5 is undoubtedly the "Magic Sl ...more

WonderHowTo is a how-to website made up of niche communities called Worlds, with topics ranging from Minecraft to science experiments to Scrabble and everything in-between. Check in every Wednesday evening for a roundup of user-run activities and how-to projects from the commu ...more

With the release of the Pixel 2 XL and the iPhone X, smartphones have hit a new high not just in price, but also raw processing power. These new flagships not only cost more than twice as much as an Xbox One or PlayStation 4, they have also become almost as powerful as far as ...more