ROBOTS DREAMS

Black Tiger Neo Autonomous Robot in Action (Video)

"DirtyRoboto" from the RoboSavvy forums is visiting on vacation at the moment, and managed to catch Iketomu's Black Tiger Neo autonomous robot in action (video below) during one of the recent RT Corp Robot Battle competitions.

Black Tiger Neo is the slightly shorter of the two robots in the video and begins the match in the far right corner of the ring. Iketomu's 'remote control' is a simple Japanese fan (see right) that he uses only when it's necessary to interrupt the robot. Otherwise, the robot is operating totally autonomously with no operator control or intervention.

Disney Trots Wall-E Robot Out for a Sneak Peek (Video)

Thanks to a very timely heads-up from our good friend and fellow robot fanatic David Buckley, we were vectored to a 'sneak peek' video (see  below) featuring the Wall-E robot that Disney has scheduled to go on sale later this summer following the commercial movie release.

Although the video is extremely dark and the volume is pretty low, you can still tell a lot about the robot and its unique remote control. At the projected USD$189 price point we're sure that a lot of robot and Disney/Pixar fans are going to find Wall-E scooting around the base of their Christmas this coming December.

Hobby Humanoid Robots Turn Autonomous (Video)

People frequently put-down the hobby humanoid robot movement by pointing out that the robots are operated by remote control. Apparently they feel that the design is similar to controlling an R/C car or plane. Based on our own personal experience, nothing could be further from the truth. Humanoid robotics, even at the hobby level, is much more complex, challenging, and demanding, than driving an R/C car.

Nevertheless, the whole debate is about to become totally irrelevant. Over the past two years many of the humanoid robot designs have incorporated more and more autonomous operation. A good example is King Kizer with his autonomous opponent detection. In the heat of battle it's common for the operator to become so excited that they attack in the wrong direction. King Kizer automatically detects opponent positioning and attacks in the right direction every time.

Now we're starting to see totally autonomous designs come out of the workshops. At the recent Kondo Robot Battle competition we watched Black Tiger Neo autonomously hold its own against some tough opponents (see video below).

i-SOBOT Robot Still Going Strong (Video)

We ran across a video (see below) of one of the i-SOBOT TV commercials that have been running here. The tiny robot continues to be extremely popular, is easy to find in the stores, and has popped up on some of the leading interview and 'talent' programs that are standard fodder on the major TV networks.

The ad also reminded us to mention that in addition to the original white and blue model TOMY has released a Black version in Japan. It's basically the older domestic version packaged in the US black body.

Surprising i-SOBOT Robot Hack (Video)

What's that blur in the upper left corner of the i-SOBOT photo above? Is it a robot UFO?

Nero Robot Isn't Fiddling Around (Video)

We were a little disappointed at ROBO-ONE 13 when some of the larger, MEGA-sized, robots we'd been following failed to clear the pre-screening test and put on their demonstrations for the audience. One of the most interesting new competitors is Nero, a giant that towers over the competition at 68 cm tall and tips the scales at just under 5 kg. Thankfully we got several chances to see Nero perform in the ring at the 1st Kondo Robot Battle event earlier this week.

Nero was developed at the University of Electro-Communications by Tatsuya Ishikawa, Yuta Sugiura, and Manabu Sugiura (think Sugiura Brothers... ), and gets its name from the Italian word for 'black' - his dominant color.

Weird New Robot Lifeform Springs From Guru's Junkbox (Video)

It's hard enough to build a robot from a commercial kit. It's even harder to design and build one from components based on your own concept. But it takes a real robotics and creative guru to dip their hand into their junk box, pull out a few old, worn parts, and hack them together to give birth to a cute, almost lifelike, robotic creature that performs better than a lot of robots on the market.

I-Wei (aka CrabFu) had a little bit of spare time on his hands (did we mention he's looking for a job?), and a pile of old parts from his robotics, steam punk, and R/C plane/helicopter hobbies. So, rather than sit around and mope, he started playing around with different robot designs based on worn R/C helicopter swash mechanisms.

The result of his labors, named the "Swashbot", is truly amazing to watch. And, in true CrabFu style, he openly shares all the background in the video below.

More Monster Mash and Robot Interviews (Video)

Following up on our previous post featuring Matt Denton and the iC Hexapod Robot, we've included more interviews and creations from the Monster Mash event in the video clip below.

Enjoy!

Matt Denton on the iC Hexapod Robot Design (Video)

In the video below from the recent Film24's Monster Mash event in London, Matt Denton explains a bit about the design of his surprisingly realistic iC Hexapod Robot, and a couple of attendees talk about how awestruck they are by Matt's creation.

Robot American Football Rocks! (Video)

It's easy to fall into the trap of believing that Robots Dreams is only about humanoid robots, especially since the vast majority of our posts are about one type of biped robot or another. Still, we are very non-denominational when it comes to robotics. We like, and try to follow, almost all types of robots. We've even been known to spend hours gazing in awe and admiration at a factory assembly robot tasked with nothing more complex than putting tiny little screws into micro-assemblies.

One of the unique robot sports that we really enjoy is only staged once a year - Robot American Football. The competitions were the brainchild of the same Fujisoft sponsored group that has organized and promoted Robot Sumo here in Japan for the past two decades. Of course, Robot American Football is much younger than Robot Sumo, but what it lacks in age and maturity is more than made up by its speed, power, excitement, and team play. Take a look at the videos below to get a feel for why we enjoy it so much.

Robot Version of Rock, Paper, Scissors (Video)

In our previous post on the new MANOI AT01 robot hand option developed by Kyosho, we mentioned seeing the robot playing the Japanese equivalent of Rock, Paper, Scissors. We've included a short video clip of the session below.

Robot Laser Tag - So Much Fun It Absolutely Blazes! (Video)

Last September our friends at HotProceed treated us to a small taste of the excitement of Robot laser tag, and we were immediately hooked. Over the past six months they've refined and improved the Blaser system to the point that it's totally over the top.

Last Sunday they put on "BlaserBattle The 1st Stage" robot laser tag competition in Fukuoka. As you can see from the video clip below, the 'battle' really lived up to its name. More important, everyone had an absolutely fantastic time.

Ramp-up To RoboGames 2008

It's hard to believe, but the premier robot event of the year, RoboGames 2008, is less than two months away. With close to a thousand robots, hundreds of teams from all over the world, and the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the top competitive robot builders the planet has to offer, you can bet we'll be there with bells on.

We haven't nailed down our exact travel schedule yet, but plan on spending a week to 10 days in the San Francisco area, either arriving a little before RoboGames, or staying for several days after the action. We're definitely interested in meeting, and possibly interviewing, people or companies in the area that happen to be as hooked on robotics as we are - so drop us a line.

To help all of us get in the spirit, we hacked together the short little RoboGames promo video clip below. Enjoy!

Will Work For Robots (Video)

The voracious little creature above has an endless appetite and needs to be feed regularly, basically non-stop, otherwise it's likely to turn into a real life clone of the Gremlins. But, as it turns out, his creator, animator, rigger, screen play writer, and voice talent (yes, he really is that multi-talented) is currently out of a job. 

Because he's a good friend, and also because he has a passion for robots that rivals our own, we're showcasing a couple video samples of his work below in hopes that one of our readers might be interested in putting his talents to work, or would be kind enough to point him in the right direction. Even if you're not in the market for an amazingly talented creative type, check out the videos anyway - they're a blast, and extremely well executed..

Segway RMP Robot Platform (Video)

Make Magazine posted a really intriguing video (see below) of the Segway RMP robot mobility platform that was taken today at the Robot Business 2008 event.

Capable of transporting a 400 pound payload, the robot platform can move in any direction, and can change directions instantaneously. The pricing could be as high as $50k.

Obviously, we want to learn more, a lot more....

French Company Ready to Seek and Destroy the Leghorn Robot (Video)

The French robot guru's over at POB Technologies think they might have exactly the right robotics technology to track down, and defeat Leghorn, the ROBO-ONE champion rooster robot.

POB has developed some really interesting kits and peripherals that facilitate adding vision, object recognition, and other features to robot platforms. Their real claim-to-fame is the simplicity and ease of use provided by their products. At the same time, they've managed to keep the prices low enough to be affordable by a lot of robot experimenters and workshop wizards. And, they always love a good challenge....

Robot Application Developer Interviewed on ABC Nightline (Video)

Robert Oschler loves robots. We've given up trying to keep track of all the robots Robert has, but it has to be well over two dozen at this point, perhaps even more if you count the crazy remote controlled chimpanzee head (WowWee) as an actual robot. Robert is also the developer of the popular RoboDance software application for the WowWee robot line, and more recently the TOMY i-SOBOT humanoid robot.

So, we shouldn't have been surprised when the Nightline television program (see video below) decided to interview him for a recent news segment featuring Pleo, the new robot dinosaur.

ROBO-ONE 13: Leghorn - The Rooster Robot(Video)

Ever since we posted the interview with Tim Hornyak we've received email after email with requests to learn more about the 'chicken' robot that Tim mentioned.

The robot's official name in the ROBO-ONE directory is "Leghorn". He stands 51 cm tall (we're assuming that includes his beautiful red head feathers) and weighs 2.99 kg. Leghorn hails from the Osaka area where he frequently competes (and wins) in Iwaki-san's RoboFight competitions.

ROBO-ONE 13: Our Favorite Bout (Video)

It's always hard to pick our 'favorite' bout out of all the great battles that take place during every ROBO-ONE competition. Sometimes there's a totally surprising move that just blows us away. Or, the operator comes up with a unique strategy that really impresses us. Still, picking just one as our personal 'favorite' is extremely difficult.

For ROBO-ONE 13, the bout that really impressed us the most, and the bout that we continue to watch over and over, was the final bout between Garoo (right) and Taekwon-V to determine the Lightweight Championship (see video below).

The robots size, weight, and skill levels were very evenly matched, and both operators have won major competitions before and taken home numerous trophies. The tension was high, and the pressure on both teams must have been intense.

ROBO-ONE 13: The Robot Slope Challenge (Video)

The ROBO-ONE organizing committee always likes to raise the bar just a bit with each succeeding competition. It challenges the builders to keep honing and improving their skills and the performance of their robots. And, at the same time, it keeps the number of competitors that make it into the finals down to a manageable number.

For ROBO-ONE 13, the committee decided to make the pre-screening tests slightly more difficult with the addition of a small slope. To pass the pre-screening tests for previous ROBO-ONE events, the robot typically had to be able to walk for a minimum number of paces, turn around, and show that it could get up by itself from a prone or supine position.  Roughly 30% of the entries would fail to pass the pre-screening.

This time around, the robot had to walk straight forward across a surface that had a small slope (think "speed bump") right in the middle. As it turned out, the challenge may have been much more difficult than the committee originally expected.

ROBO-ONE 13: OmniZero Turns in a Perfect Performance (Video)

It seems like Maeda-san and OmniZero have totally blocked out the Demonstration phase of the ROBO-ONE competitions as their own personal turf. They own it exclusively and don't intend to let any other builder encroach on their territory.

On Saturday, during the first day's technical demonstrations, OmniZero's performance (see video below) was letter perfect. The amazing robot met, and exceeded, all the event's theme challenges including dancing in time to the theme music and doing an aerial 180 degree jump turn.

As if that wasn't enough, the robot then went on to turn true gymnastic cartwheels around the ROBO-ONE rink. There is no question that Maeda-san and OmniZero are true ROBO-ONE champions.

ROBO-ONE 13: Tim Hornyak's Perspective on the ROBO-ONE Phenomena (Video)

Tim Hornyak is a well known expert on the history and development of Japanese robots, as well as the author of "Loving the Machine", a best selling book that explores the 'art and science of Japanese robots"

We had the great pleasure of spending the afternoon with Tim at ROBO-ONE 13 on Sunday. Of course, we couldn't let the opportunity for an interview (see video below) escape, so we grabbed our camera, put Tim in front of one of the ROBO-ONE banners (just like the Oscars!) and kept feeding him straight lines...

Robot Championship BRAVE Expands to Larger Robots (Video)

At first glance, the Robot Championship "BRAVE" might look very similar to the battle robot competitions that are so popular in the US and the UK. Yet, look a little closer and some significant differences become obvious.

Most obvious, in the BRAVE competitions there is no intent to do damage, or disable, your opponents. The goal, purely and simply, is to flip the opposing robot over, scoring points in the process. Once a robot is tipped or flipped over, and is unable to right themselves within the time allowed, they are repositioned to the entryway, and the competition continues.

Under $20 Humanoid Robot Kit (Video)

Okay, we admit it. We're absolute suckers for anything robotic. That's why we never keep money in our wallets when we go to trade shows. If we had any spending cash it would literally burn a hole in our pocket. So, late last year, when we attended the IREX show (International Robot Exhibition) with almost no money on us, we thought we were totally safe from temptation.

But, Gakken, the well known manufacturer of popular Japanese educational kits, must have seen us coming. They were showing off their latest creation, the Co-Robot (see video below), a humanoid robot kit that lists at 2,171 yen. That meant that it would be available on the open market here for under USD$20.

Needless to say, we walked out of the trade show with our wallet a little lighter, and a new Co-Robot box tucked neatly under our arm.

Unfortunately, due to our work and personal commitments, the Co-Robot box went on the shelf for a while. Then, earlier today, when we were trying to select a project to post about, the Co-Robot seemed a natural choice.

Toyota Partner Robot Demonstrations (Video)

Toyota is going to be showcasing their trumpet playing partner robot starting this coming Thursday at Toyota Universal Design Showcase (2nd floor) located in the MEGA WEB facility in Tokyo.

Admission is free to the public. Demonstrations will be held at 13:00, 15:00, 16:00, and 17:15, on Thursday March 20th, and each Saturday and Sunday from now through April 6 th.

For those that aren't already familiar with the Toyota robot trumpet player, we've included a short video preview below.
 

Robot Golf Anyone? (Video)

We heard several months ago that there are serious plans for robot golf competitions at RoboGames 2008 this June in San Francisco. The specifics aren't clear yet, though we're sure some of our regular readers will bring us up to date pretty quickly.

In any case, it looks like "paxshikai" isn't wasting any time. They already have their i-SOBOT practicing its little heart (batteries?) out trying to polish its putting skills like crazy.

Robot Games: Simple Is Usually Best (Video)

Remember the "KISS" acronym? It stands for "Keep It Simple, Stupid." The more complex we make things, the more likely they are to fail. Of course, there is always a minimum level of complexity required to give any endeavor, including games a feeling of worth. If the challenge is too trivial, then then conquering it doesn't provide any feeling of accomplishment.

That being said, a game, even robot games, should only be as complex as is absolutely necessary. Not a whit more, nor a whit less. A great example of a 'simple' robot game that turns out to be incredibly challenging, and tremendous fun, is the Die Shoot contest developed by Ishikawa-san for the Wonderful Robot Carnival events held on a biannual basis.

Takahashi Shows Off His Robot Creations - in English! (Video)

We've had the opportunity to meet, and talk with Tomotaka Takahashi several times at events here in Japan, but never realized that he is actually quite fluent in English! So, we were a little surprised, and very pleased, when we ran across the video clip (see below) with him demonstrating his Chroino and FT humanoid robots taken during a recent event in the Washington, D.C. area.

Although "palmisano", the poster of the original video, didn't specifically mention it, we're assuming that Takahashi was there for the Robotopia Rising event at the Kennedy Center in early February.

Dr. GIY Out To Set New Robot Speed Records (Video)

Most of the humanoid robot builders, including ourselves, think they are lucky if they can keep their robots standing, or perhaps walking slowly. But, there are a few builders that really excel. They build, or hack, humanoids to the point that the robots performance is really surprising.

A recent case in point is the Kyosho MANOI AT01 robot modified by Dr. GIY. One of the key events in the Kyosho Athlete Humanoid Cup competitions is a 5 meter dash. It's challenging enough to get your robot to walk in a straight line, much less run. And, with only 17 degrees of freedom, the stock AT01 robot usually takes some difficult, and time consuming, course corrections.

But, through a liberal application of his own special magic, Dr. GIY has hacked his AT01 to the extent that it rockets down the 5 meter sprint course in 10 seconds, and course corrects on the fly without loosing even a millisecond in wasted moves. Even more amazing - when it reached the end of the course it literally stops on a dime!

New Robot Plays Air Shamisen (Video)

It seems like now days almost any humanoid robot worthy of the name can play the air drums or air guitar. Even the low cost, entry level i-SOBOT robot plays a very cool air guitar.

But a real Japanese robot ought to play some unique and totally Japanese musical instrument - say like an air shamisen....

ROBO-ONE: The Move To Larger Robots (Video)

When we visited the Sugiura Family a few weeks ago to gather material for an upcoming article in Robot Magazine, a very interesting part of the conversation was devoted to how larger robots fit into the ROBO-ONE competitive humanoid robot picture. That brought back memories of ROBO-ONE 7, just three short years ago, when a robot named MYRO-2 stepped into the ring literally towering over its competitors.

Tipping the scales at 8.0 kg and a height of 70 cm, MYRO-2 could easily sweep the average ROBO-ONE robot at the time off their feet. For example, in the video below you can see Metallic Fighter, a ROBO-ONE champion, do its best to make a dent in MYRO-2 with almost no impact. That particular version of Metallic Fighter was 2.5 kg and 40 cm tall, yet it couldn't begin to budge MYRO-2.

Robots Take to the Water Like a Duck (Video)

Over the weekend we finished writing an in-depth magazine article on Mega Dynamizer, the 50 cm, 5.0 kg ROBO-ONE humanoid robot champion designed by Sugiura-san. One of the main themes of the article was the Sugiura Family's desire to create robots that can productively share the world with their human counterparts in a symbiotic manner complementing each others strengths and weaknesses.

We were so impressed, that we couldn't stop talking about what they are doing, probably to the point of overwhelming our friends with our bubbling enthusiasm. Then, over coffee yesterday, one of our friends asked if the Sugiura robots could swim....

At first, that question really threw us for a bit of a loop. We've seen their robots fight in the ring, do back flips, climb stairs, run an obstacle course, ski down a snow covered hill, and catch fish with a fishing pole and tackle. But, we had never seen one of them swimming around in the water, until tonight...

Robot Soccer Gets More Realistic and More Exciting (Video)

Robot soccer is rapidly becoming both more realistic, and more exciting, as we found out during the recent 9th KondoCup Robot Soccer competition here. While the robot builders have certainly improved their designs over the past year, they have also improved their control of the robots, and their winning strategies.

About a year ago, when Kondo, famous for pioneering the whole field of hobby humanoid robots, kicked off regular robot soccer competitions, In the early competitions the robots spent almost as much time falling down as they did playing. But, it didn't take long for the participants to figure out how to improve the robots stability, motions, and game plays.

Little by little, the matches started to look more and more like real world competitions, including being able to mimic actual soccer player moves and team plays. An excellent example of this was when one of the final matches resulted in a tie, and the match went into overtime goal kicks (see video below).

ROBO-ONE: Mega Dynamizer Close-Up

We spent a wonderful afternoon yesterday visiting with the Sugiura Family and getting briefed on Mega Dynamizer, a super-sized ROBO-ONE champion robot. Based in part on the outstanding Dynamizer humanoid robot, Mega Dynamizer is taller (50 cm), heavier (5.0 kg), and even more awesome - if that is possible.

Mega Dynamizer features 23 degrees of freedom and takes full advantage of the Dynamixel RX-64 servos and CM-2 Plus control board from Robotis (Bioloid). Control communication uses 2.4 Ghz RS232C (ZIGBEE).

The robots technology and design are extremely impressive from a specification perspective, and even more so when you see Mega Dynamizer in action as we did (see video below). If Mega Dynamizer is any indication, ROBO-ONE 13 next month is going to be the most exciting ROBO-ONE competition ever.

Dr. GIY Gives A Robot Performance Sneak Preview (Video)

With ROBO-ONE 13 just a little over a month away, we were lucky enough to get a little preview yesterday of exactly how tough the competition is going to be this time around.

During a short break in the action at the 9th KondoCup Robot Soccer competition, Dr. GIY put Senpumaru, one of his ROBO-ONE humanoid robot creations, through its paces for the fans. One of the robots most impressive moves (see video below) was a handstand jump turn followed by a push-off hand spring that landed the robot back on its feet.

It's easy to see that the top robots at ROBO-ONE 13 next month are going to be absolutely awesome.

Onimaru - Special Demonstration in Kochi (Video)

Sorry for the delay, but we finally got the video clips from Monday's Onimaru demonstration processed, edited, and uploaded (see video below).

The demo started off with a short exhibition of a humanoid robot built by local college students that Yamaguchi-san has been mentoring and encouraging. Then Onimaru was put through his paces.

They also encouraged some of the children in the crowd to operate both of the robots. For example, the young boy and girl operating Onimaru towards the end of the video are Hikaru and Manaka Fukase. Both are elementary school students and are 9 and 6 years old respectively.

Onimaru's Night Out (Video)

We had promised to upload the videos from Onimaru's special demonstration on Monday, but unfortunately we ended up spending all day today on the bullet train and fighting some missed connections caused by unexpected snow. So the full robot demo video will have to wait for another day or two.

However, we did manage to put together a short video (see below) showing off a lot of this amazing robots really cool, and realistic, moves. This footage is a little dark because we were shooting at a local restaurant that was packed with customers. You can definitely hear how they reacted by the video soundtrack.

Robot Noodles - Part 2 (Video)

It has to be one of the most amazing 'transformer' robots we have ever seen. Most evenings just before 10:00 pm, when the local people are getting hungry for some noodles or need a meal to balance out some of their drinking, a small truck pulls into an open space just in front of a down town department store.

The driver gets out, moves a few bicycles out of the way, positions the truck in his favorite spot, then begins the truck's transformation.

In less than 10 minutes, magic happens. Awnings automatically extend, table tops fold down from the truck body, gas burners fire up, and a diskwasher robot postions noodle bowls at the ready.

The driver dons his chef apron and hat, steps into the center of his resturant/truck, and offers a big, happy, smile as his first customer of the evening sits down and orders his meal.

Gonzo Robot Snowboarding! (Video)

We've been having a bout of snow storms here for the past week or so, and it seems like "paxhikai"s i-SOBOT robot wanted to get out and take to the slopes.

Or, it might be that the little robot is a jealous of it's much more expensive cousin Plen that has people in awe because it can roller skate and skate board.

No matter what the reason or motivation, paxshikai's i-SOBOT has been doing a very credible job of snow boarding down the slopes!

Pleo Robot Debuts (Video)

Pleo, the AI packed robotic dinosaur infant, was introduced to the market here at the IREX show at the end of last November. IREX is the worlds largest robotic exhibition, and always draws huge crowds. Attendees are primarily local, as you might expect, but there are a large number of people that fly in from all over the globe just to see the latest and greatest in robot technology and design.

Pleo grabbed a lot of attention and interest. People really got into the Pleo experience (see video below) after they got the hang of it. The exhibitors booth was always crowded, and the staff was almost overwhelmed with questions from prospective Pleo parents. It will be interesting to see how the product is received here, and how well it sells over the next six months to a year.

Pick-up Games Are The Best For Robots Too! (Video)

When we were kids we had the most fun playing 'pick-up' games of stick ball, flag football, and basketball. We'd grab whoever happened to be around, choose up teams, and then go at it hot and heavy.

The same thing happens with robot competitions here in Japan. Of course there are the formal events, like the high performance, high stress ROBO-ONE competitions held every six months. But in between the major events the robot builders like to gather together and just have fun 'playing' in a lower pressure setting.

On the last working day of 2007, a bunch of humanoid robot fanatics got together at the Kondo RoboSpot facility in Akihabara, and did exactly that - played some amazingly good robot soccer just for fun, as you can see in the video below.

Just Your Average Ordinary Sunday Afternoon (Video)

As you can see from the video below, it was just your average, ordinary Winter Sunday afternoon in Akihabara.

As long as the weather is good, they block off the main street to cars and let the pedestrians, and street performers take over and enjoy themselves. The police do step in from time to time to break up some of the performances since the buskers rarely have permits.

And, of course, you can always find some robots performing too!

More "Over The Top" Automata - Cabaret Mechanical Theatre (Video)

Every once in a while we run across an article or video of a robot related event that just blows us away. It's one of those, "WOW" moments when you want to just run out, catch a taxi to the airport, and fly to whatever corner of the globe that's depicted in the video.

The video (see below) we saw tonight of last summer's Cabaret Mechanical Theatre exhibition in London fits that description to a "T". We are really sorry we missed being able to attend in person, and can hardly wait for it to visit Japan someday, hopefully in the not too distant future.

19th Century Automata Rival Today's Android Creations (Video)

There's a lot of the "WOW" factor in today's androids. We're amazed and totally impressed by the lifelike robotic creations like Ishiguro's doppelganger or David Hanson's realistic robot clones.

But, from time to time we like to remind ourselves that the roots of their work and accomplishments go back for centuries. Man's desire, passion, to create automated life forms in our own image isn't anything new.

For example, in France during the last half of the 19th century some surprising automata - lifelike mechanical devices - were created. In many ways some of them rival the best that modern science has been able to come up with. Thankfully, those magical robotic creations are being lovely restored and shared with the world by Michael and Maria Start.

Micromouse Shrinks by Half (Video)

Competing in the traditional Micromouse robot competitions is hard enough. Although the engineering and design sport originated in the US quite a few decades ago, the Japanese took to it with a passion and have been holding regional and national competitions religiously for 27 years. At one point there was even a regular micromouse magazine published here in Japan.

Although the number of builders is still high - over a hundred at the annual national event - the top times have been dominated by entries from Singapore for the past few years. To inject more energy and enthusiasm into the competitions and to provide a challenging, highly motivating goal, a new "half size" classification is being introduced this year.

We recently got a look at one of the first designs in action (see video below), a half-size micromouse robot kit developed and marketed by RT Corp in Akihabara.

ONN Debate: "Are We Giving Robots Too Much Power?" (Video)

The top analysts on the popular ONN cable television network program "In The Know" debate whether or not we are giving the robots that run our society too much power. Take a look at the video below, then tell us what you think.

4th Wonderful Robot Carnival: Robot Rumble Mayhem (Video)

In the early ROBO-ONE competitions there was always a 'Rumble' competition featuring the top robots trying to knock each other totally out of the ring. It was a robot version of 'King of the Hill' or 'Last Man Standing', and it was always a tremendous amount of fun.

Somewhere around ROBO-ONE 10, the Rumble was dropped from the lineup. But, thankfully, it's still a key part of independent competitions like the Wonderful Robot Carnival. Last weekend, at the 4th Wonderful Robot Carnival, 40+ robots participated in the Rumble, though they were split into 4 individual groups since it would have been total chaos if they all tried to fight at once. 

Me Tarzan, You Jane, Him i-SOBOT (Video)

Well, Paxshikai, the i-SOBOT wizard, has done it again.

Over the past two months we've seen i-SOBOT robots lifting boxes, slam dunking hoops, bringing beverages, and even shooting a bullseye with a bow and arrow.

Now, get ready for an i-SOBOT robot that swings through the jungle, just like Tarzan!

4th Wonderful Robot Carnival: Final Match (Video)

Thanks to the genius and creativity of Ishikawa-san, the Wonderful Robot Carnival has turned out to be an extremely unique and exciting robot competition. Without a doubt it's our favorite in the Kanto area of Japan.

In just a few short hours last Sunday afternoon over 40 robots battled their way through a whole series of different events like the dash, bottle traction (pull), die shoot, balloon survival,  and rumble. Only the top competitors would qualify to fight in the ring for the right to pre-qualify for ROBO-ONE 13.

The outcome was surprising and suspense filled. At the end of the day Naaga and Garoo fought for the regulation three minute ROBO-ONE battle, and the result was a 2-2 tie. That threw the match into Sudden Death Overtime, and the fun was just beginning.

ROBO-ONE Goes Hawaiian! (Video)

Most of us have trouble just getting our humanoid robots to walk, or even stand up. But, the ROBO-ONE champion builders, like the Sumy Family, take the basics as a given.

They find inspiration and satisfaction in taking on more serious, and sometimes hilarious, challenges. Like dancing the hula, or doing the Limbo dance!

Pleo Robot Gets Down With Young Frankenstein (Video)