Awesome Robots

This pricey robot toy uses 22 programmable servo motors and joints to change from a mech into a vehicle, just like a Transformer. It can dance, pose, speak, walk, and drive like a car too. It’s fully-programmable via an app, and also supports voice commands.

If you’ve played God of War on the PS4, you’re probably familiar with Mimir, the disembodied head that helps guide Kratos and Atreus on their missions. Bar-El Studio created this animatronic replica of the egotistical character, complete with light-up mechanical eyes, and speech samples from the game.

Among the rows of giant televisions and folding computers at CES 2020, Samsung turned up with something we’ve been dreaming of since we were kids – a robotic assistant for your kitchen. The lightweight robot arms attach to the bottom of cabinets, and can download recipes to help with meal prep and assembly.

With builds like this and this, maker Giaco Whatever isn’t exactly known for his subtlety. So when he wanted to shoot a promo video for an upcoming Kickstarter campaign, he not only busted out one of those crazy Laowa probe lenses, but he fabricated a camera mount for an industrial robot to give it motion control.

While humans are still very much a part of assembling vehicles, robots are often used for the heavy lifting and dangerous tasks like painting and welding. Watch in awe as an army of 45 KUKA robots work in harmony at MAGNA Presstec to create frames for the Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV.

Innfos‘ modular desktop robot is designed for scientists and hobbyists alike. Configurable with up to six axes, this robotic arm has extremely dexterous and smooth actuators can be used can be used to pick up objects up to 1kg (2.2lb), hold machining tools, or to perform other precision tasks.

Bulk Handling Systems shows off the Max-AI AQC-C, a robot designed to sort items on recycling lines, safely alongside humans, performing similar tasks to their living, breathing co-workers. For some reason, its gangly looking arms remind us of those air dancer guys in front of car dealerships.

Engineers from Canada’s Laval University Robotics Laboratory show off their motion simulator robot by strapping a Baymax bobblehead to its platform. As you can see in this demo footage, the kinematically redundant parallel mechanism offers incredible flexibility when it comes to positioning its platform.

The MIT Biomimetics Robotics department shows off a pack of its miniature “cheetah” robots, letting them frolic and roam the campus, showing off their agility along the way. The quadruped robots are about the size of medium-sized dog, and weigh just 20 pounds each. They can walk, run, flex, and even perform backflips.

While the goal of American robot fighting is total annihilation, Japan prefers to stick with something a little more gentlemanly in its ROBO-ONE duels. Watch as bipedal bots Bluethunder and Metallic Fighter do battle in thoughtful close combat. We’re impressed that they’re able to stand themselves back up after a knock-down.

The VFX wizards at Corridor imagine a world where battlefields aren’t populated by humans, and war is waged by humanoid robots instead. But they can’t fight before their masters treat them like rubbish as part of their training exercises. We do not condone cruelty to robots.

We spent a week in Tokyo, Japan learning all about Toyota’s plans for the future, as it expands its horizons from conventional cars, to providing mobility solutions for all. The future includes ultra-compact battery-electric vehicles, self-driving cars, and even cars that can adapt to your mood.

By using a similar mechanism to the ones used in 3D printers, maker Josh Sheldon created an amazing robotic rig which can be used to guide a light source along a precise path. The result are some of the most beautifully smooth long-exposure light paintings we’ve ever seen.

Created by Pindar, Hunter, and Dante Van Arman, CloudPainter is a robotic system designed to paint original artworks, using artificial intelligence to help it make creative decisions. Like human artists, it continues to improve and learn as its database grows.

Chronicle Collectibles and Cinemaquette teamed up to create a 78″ tall T-800 Endoskeleton statue. Based on the robot’s appearance in Terminator: Genisys, the statue is chrome plated, has LED eyes and articulated forearms and fingers. Limited to 100 units.

There are robots out there that can solve a Rubik’s Cube very quickly. But, while OpenAI’s design is decidedly slower, it works much more like a human, using its five robotic digits to maneuver and manipulate the cube with one hand, and learns to solve it using trial and error. Find out more about how it works here.