As advances in artificial intelligence bring the sci-fi fantasy dangerously closer to reality, worried scientists have painted a nightmare scenario of a revolt by killer robots, a situation until now limited to science fiction films.

The Urban Mole
It’s 2020, and cities are so overcrowded that it’s impossible to deliver packages. UPS trucks have nowhere to double-park, and obnoxious bike messengers can’t even ride on pedestrian-jammed sidewalks. How, then, can important parcels reach their destinations in a squalid megalopolis of the future?
 

Another terminator style weapon is soon coming but no Shawn Conner to save us from its wrath
Leave it to the military to dream big. In its recently released “Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Plan 2009-2047″ report, the US Air Force details a drone that could fly over a target and then make the decision whether or [...]

Hey Arnold here is a security device that you can associate with
Looks like something from a Terminator movie, eh? Fortunately, it’s not that menacing. In fact, this little guy is your buddy – a Wi-Fi enabled web cam and sentry robot.

Double the weapons double the fun its better than double mint gum
As if those killer drones flying over Afghanistan and Iraq aren’t lethal enough, here comes the next generation: Excalibur. This 13-foot-long prototype is just half-sized; by the time the radio-controlled hovering jet is unleashed on the battlefield, it’ll travel at scary-fast 460mph speeds. The [...]

Co-funded by the European Commission, the $3.9 million (USD) Dustbot project aims to build a moderately-sized robot to navigate the narrow streets that garbage trucks can’t reach.  The pictures were taken from Dustbot’s trial run in Peccioli, Italy. (Pics)
 

The Einstein robot head at UC San Diego performs asymmetric random facial movements as a part of the expression learning process.
A hyper-realistic Einstein robot at the University of California, San Diego has learned to smile and make facial expressions through a process of self-guided learning. The UC San Diego researchers used machine learning to “empower” [...]

The skeleton of the robotic bat uses shape-memory metal alloy that is super-elastic for the joints, and smart materials that respond to electric current for the muscular system.
Tiny flying machines can be used for everything from indoor surveillance to exploring collapsed buildings, but simply making smaller versions of planes and helicopters doesn’t work very well. [...]

SCRATCHbot
Designed for search and rescue missions – which, let’s face it, are only ever one loose word away from “search and destroy” – the SCRATCHbot uses its whiskers to detect disaster survivors in inhospitable or dangerous areas. (Video)
 

Military-backed researchers have built a tiny drone that looks and flies like a hummingbird, flapping its little robotic wings to stay in the air. So far, the mock bird, built for Pentagon mad-science division Darpa, has only stayed aloft for 20 seconds at a time. But that short flight was enough to show the potential [...]

Aversion
Kobian, a “humanoid” robot, which can express seven human emotions, has been unveiled by researchers at Waseda University in Japan. (Video and pics after the jump)

Military robots with guns
Robotex Inc is one of the plethora of companies out there that are working to bring intelligent weapon wielding robots to reality.  From the limited information on their website we can’t say much about whether Robotex’s robots are ever going to come to much, but perhaps these guys have a future in [...]

European researchers in robotics, psychology and cognitive sciences have developed a robot that can predict the intentions of its human partner. This ability to anticipate (or question) actions could make human-robot interactions more natural.

Terminator like robots really could be on the horizon
Can we build a brain from the ground up, one neuron (or so) at a time? That’s the goal of neurobotics, a science that sits at the convergence of robotics, artificial intelligence, computer science, neuroscience, cognitive psychology, physiology, mathematics and several different engineering disciplines. Computationally demanding and [...]

Robots can be trained to spot disease and estimate yield  
From plows to seed drills to tractors, evolving technology has brought about radical changes to agriculture over the years. Now the sector is poised for another shift as robotic farmhands gear up to make agriculture greener and more efficient.

Avatars with emotions 
Anyone who’s played through a game like Microsoft’s Fable II (who can forget your virtual dog?), BioWare’s Mass Effect (with its robust roster of non-playable characters) or seen Sony’s upcoming Heavy Rain (whose developer, Quantic Dream, promises a new type of relationship between player and character) may have wondered to themselves whether gaming, [...]

Terminator comes to life
When machines behave deadly, they are forced to spend eternity tortured by robots like these 10 monstrosities.

Robot walks like a human
Round four of mankind’s epic battle against the walking, talking, killer machines starts with the opening of Terminator Salvation. But humanoid robots aren’t confined to the movies. Turns out the U.S. military is backing research into robots that act like people, as well.

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Surveyor makes open source robot controllers that have quite a fan following among do-it-yourself drone enthusiasts. The company’s core product is the SRV-1, a programmable mobile robot controller that is open source,wireless and video enabled.

Robot Taxi 
Eco Factor: Robotic car powered by electric motors.  With technology advancing at the pace it is today, we’ve to believe that by the end of the century we won’t be driving our cars around the city. Rather, we will just be sitting on the then historic driver’s seat and doing some work. While the [...]

RAPHaEL robotic hand
The Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory (AKA the RoMeLa Project) at the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech has designed and built a prototype robotic hand that is controlled and operated by compressed air. Called RAPHaEL (Robotic Air Powered Hand with Elastic Ligaments), the robot can hold heavier, solid objects, as well as light or [...]

Hey didn’t they steal this idea from Jaws
Growing up on the beach in Florida, I’ve had my little run-ins with these eating machines.
The most notable of these encounters happened when I was in high school. Summer in Florida demands multiple visits to the beach. In this instance I was body surfing. I [...]

This really makes RC cool
Like a drug-hunting K9 with wings, the “Canna Chopper” is the Dutch police force’s latest addition to its weed-fighting arsenal (which must be impressive, considering that it’s adding a high-tech miniature helicopter). The unmanned craft is loaded with odor and video detection instruments so that it can identify fields of hemp [...]

Robot animals 
On a remote U.S. Forest Service road in Arizona a few years ago, the driver of a white minivan slowly rolls to a stop, sticks a rifle out the window, and starts firing at what look to be wild turkeys.

Bodyweight Support Assist 
Not so long ago we spoke highly about the Chariot that helps the amputees stand tall, and as if the world has taken to such technology development in a frenzy, we now have robotic aid to help people walk and lift coming from the American Honda Motors. Dubbed the Stride Management Assist and [...]