Awesome Robots

Keloid isn’t really a short film but a series of loosely connected scenes strung together. It’s filled with bad-ass war machines and creepy living dolls though. A visual feast by VFX studio Big Lazy Robot.

Boston Dynamics is at it once again. This time, they’re showing off a robot that can gallop and bound around like some sort of crazed, headless packmule. You won’t outrun its 16mph top speed, but at least you can hear it coming.

Monsieur is a slick and sophisticated drink mixer. Order from its touchscreen or via its mobile app. It can vary the strength of your drinks, tell you when ingredients are running low and more. Its even built to scale up for business use.

Director Nacho Gayan’s charming CGI animated spot for the Audi A4 is the ultimate in aspirational marketing, as a tiny wind-up robot wishes he could be more like his distant, and decidedly more sophisticated cousin.

Believe it or not, those are flat screens. Part performance art, part tech demo, Bot & Dolly made these illusions using two robotic arms and projection mapping software that can align images on moving objects. (Thanks Jeremiah!)

A short science fiction film (more like a prologue) created by director Genesis Williams and VFX artist Eri Umusu of FICSON Films in Lagos, Nigeria. It’s not Pacific Rim, but it’s not too shabby for a film shot with zero budget.

Zollner Elektronik’s record-breaking 11-ton robotic dragon was built for a play in Germany. It can walk on its own, is over 51 feet long and has a 40 foot wingspan. Oh, did we happen to mention it breathes fire and squirts stage blood?

While T3 wasn’t very good, that doesn’t mean plenty of effort didn’t go into creating its robots. Here’s some BTS footage from Stan Winston School showing how the tank-treaded, gatling-gun wielding T-1 series robots worked.

In the not-too-distant future, a man and his robotic companion live on the fringes of society building and selling illegal technology to make ends meet. An entertaining short film, with more lens flare than a J.J. Abrams movie.

We already saw the giant mech suit that Stan Winston School and Legacy Effects fabricated for Wired. Here’s footage of the suit being tested by Bruce D. Mitchell, the man behind (and inside) the epic costume.

In anticipation of Pacific Rim’s Japanese release, YouTuber honda brigit made this awesome fan trailer. It’s an homage to the old trailers of Toho, the Japanese film company known for releasing monster movies such as Godzilla.

A brief demonstration of a robot from Shinkawa which can precisely position components for surface mounting. Its breakneck pace is both mesmerizing and a bit frightening. The Surface Mounters’ Union will soon be protesting.

The largest Transformers toy ever made, the Titan Class Metroplex is 2ft. tall and comes with a Scamper action figure. The 2013 SDCC variant has chrome accents, an extra gun and additional figurines. Pic with pug via Comics Alliance.

Wired commissioned the Stan Winston School and Legacy Effects – the studio that designed the mechs in Pacific Rim – to make a 9’9″ tall robot costume. It’s made of aluminum and polyurethane and has a voice modulator.

(NSFW: Language) If you thought the names of the mechs in Pacific Rim sounded funny, check out 4th String Jaegers. The site and its contributors use the promotional Jaeger Designer to present hilarious Jaeger names. And puns.

YouTuber Hinamitetu spends far too much of his time building robots which perform gymnastic feats. But we have to say we’re impressed by this ‘bot and it’s ability to not only pull off a quadruple backflip, but to nail the landing.

Boston Dynamics continues its work on robotic world domination, with a highly advanced 330-pound robot capable of walking, balancing and climbing stairs like a human, and to eventually take on the DARPA Robotics Challenge.

A Japanese company called Sagawa Electronics claims that it has developed a powered exoskeleton for teenagers. It has lots of recreational potential, but it’s probably not an actual product. Why? Just watch the video.

An awesomely creepy robotic insect created using 3D-printed legs, 26 servo motors and special software algorithms which help it emulate the leg movements of a real spider. Arachnophobes, don’t hit the play button.

The latest trailer for Pacific Rim reminds us that there are people in it too. Expect them to cry, shout and give motivating speeches. Uhuh. In other news, coming 7/12/13: Huge Robots Fighting Equally Huge Monsters: The Movie.

A trainer shadow-boxes with a huge robot that mimics movements, like the ‘bot in Real Steel. The hunk of steel should require his trainers to know about a thing called “reach”. Made by students at the Platige Academy.

Ziphius is an aquatic drone that is controlled with an Android or iOS device. It can swim up to 6mph for up to 1 hour per charge. It can send live video from its 720p camera to a mobile device up to 300ft. away.

Rory McIlroy goes up against Jeff, aka the Golf Laboratory Computer Controlled Hitting Machine. Jeff’s mind games are on par with McIlroy’s golf skills. If he commentated on golf tourneys their ratings would skyrocket.