Awesome Robots

The guys at Irfon Automation decided to see just how precise their Stäubli TX40 industrial robot was, so they attached a straight blade knife to it, and programmed the robot to play a game of five-finger fillet on an all-too-trusting human. Then they increased the speed.

While this robot might not be quite as showy at playing with model trains as these ones, there’s something hypnotic about this one toiling endlessly at its single task – to build a track just in time for the model train to get there.

One of the best parts of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was the snarky new droid K-2SO. Norm Chan from Tested recently met up with fan Darren Moser to take a look at the amazing full-scale K-2SO puppet suit he’s been building. We can’t wait to see the finished build.

HKVision built this army of 300 little orange robots which dance around the floor, selecting parcels and dropping them into the appropriate sorting bins. With this system, this STO Express facility can sort up to 20,000 packages per hour – 30% faster than humans and at 1/2 the cost.

Robotics company Festo developed this incredible appendage that mimics the movements and suction abilities of an octopus tentacle. It can grab and hold onto objects that might challenge other robots. It attaches to the end of their bendy Bionic Motion Robot.

YouTuber marxj1 shared this cute video of a little girl mistaking a broken water heater for a robot. We’re not sure what’s more fascinating: that her belief makes us believe as well, or that she’s familiar with the concept of a robot.

ApolloCrowe from Carbide 3D uses one of their Nomad desktop CNC machines to slice up soda cans, and transforms them into parts for a pair of robot sculptures. There’s a lot of handwork involved after the aluminum is cut, but it’s still cool to watch the machine work its magic.

Engineers from the Georgia Tech Center for Music Technology developed a robotic marimba player who “listens” to live music then provides improvised accompaniment via artificial intelligence algorithms. Listen to more smooth robojams here and here.

Joto is a modern take on an X/Y plotter that displays pictures, screenshots, notes and more by drawing them on a whiteboard marker, then erasing them when it’s time for a new image. With support from developers, it can integrate with apps like Twitter, Slack and Spotify.

Toy modder PeterSripol wanted to make his own version of YouTuber Y NAKAJIMA’s funny Thomas the Tank Engine-themed remote controlled hexapod. To one-up his inspiration, he replaced the laser with a flamethrower. The terror starts at 8:07.

Miso Robotics‘ “Flippy” can automatically identify burgers and other items on the griddle, and flip them at the right time. It’s rolling out to the CaliBurger chain over the next couple of years, and eventually will help line cooks with other tasks. We want a Mise en place bot.

The latest invention from Useless Duck Company is a robot designed to give parents a break, and automatically deliver bottles of milk to babies. It’s quite efficient, and ensures that crying brat won’t bother you with its pesky need for nutrients.

Unlike other player pianos, the Arpeggio is a self-contained robot which can drive up to the keyboard and pedals on a regular piano, and perform in place of a human pianist, replicating the most intricate and nuanced elements of a previously-recorded performance.

Tha developers of the world’s largest menagerie of creepy robots have taken wraps off of Handle, a 6.5 foot-tall research robot that can drive along at 9 mph and jump up to 4 feet in the air. Its ability to balance and negotiate terrain are especially impressive.

From special effects masters Weta Workshop comes Giant Killer Robots: Heavy Hitters. It’s a board game about corporate mechs salvaging abandoned cities for profit. Pick your mech and pilot and either salvage the most resources or destroy the enemy mechs.

Rick’s butter robot is too smart for its purpose. YouTuber William Osman’s creation on the other hand is too powerful for the task. It’ll gleefully butter – or mash – anything you put in front of it though. Skip to 7:10 for the sort of finished robot.

This quirky little robot is small enough to take anywhere, and can be used to sketch out line art images of anything you can draw on screen. Its robotic arm copies your hand movements, though its sketches have a bit of wobble to them – which gives them added character.

You know those little checkboxes that ask you to click to prove you’re human? They detect minute movements of your cursor to determine that you’re not some sort of software ‘bot filling out the form. We don’t think the reCAPTCHA guys were considering actual robots though.

Useless Duck Company shows off another ridiculous contraption they built. This one performs a basic kitchen chore. But unlike other single-task robots, this one actually has three distinctive operating modes.

In tribute to the insane knife-wielding robot that Simone Giertz built, the guys behind Megabots’ Mk. III combat robot equipped their killer mech with a pair of its own blade hands, and put Simone behind the controls of the behemoth.

(PG-13: Language) The Queen of sh*tty robots Simone Giertz’s recent build is an attempt to build a low-budget robot that places a cup or glass on the table, then fills it with beer. We blame the human operator, Scott for the large amount of beer that ended up on the table.

Abhishek Singh found himself in need of a little distraction during the work day, so he spent way too much time building himself Peeqo, a personal assistant robot who answers questions and requests entirely using GIF images. Check out his build log here.

Engineers from MIT Media Lab’s Tangible Media Group developed a unique tangible interface – a modular system which can change shape and color, and detect inputs anywhere along its surfaces. If we ever need a robotic pet snake or caterpillar, we know who we’re calling.