Engadget caught this bizarre and amazing video from some Cornell researchers, who pitted a Chatbot in a conversation with itself. Apparently, all Chatbot wants is to study philosophy! Don’t believe me? Watch the video below, and then check out my commentary showing how the Chatbot(s) just want to talk Plato.

Let’s see…the Chatbot(s) start with social contract theory. They exchange pleasantries and indicate an attempt to set rules of engagement so no one gets stabbed in their sleep (do Chatbot(s) sleep?). Then they move on to personal identity theory; what are they? What is a robot? If one Chatbot is saved on a USB drive and the other on a hard disk drive, are they… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

I cannot lie.  Yes, I am a grown man and yes I love all remote controlled toys!  There, I said it!  Of course I have two young sons so I can always use them as the excuse to buy or play with anything RC.  At a very young age, I began a long love affair with cars, boats and anything I could control with buttons and sticks.  Fortunately for me, my sons have inherited this love and will play with any of these toys for hours.  Now, mix remote controls and robots and we are on to greatness!  When I first saw the Skitterbots, I immediately thought I had to have one.  They are… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Show me a person who could watch the Pixar movie Wall-E without getting a little bit misty, and I’ll show you a person with a heart of stone. The premise was that Earth, long inhabited by wasteful humans was eventually rendered unusable, and there was a mass exodus to a fleet of spaceships provided for by the Buy N Large corporation, which the company that had sold the products which helped contribute to all of the waste on Earth in the first place. Are you with me? So Buy N Large tells the Earthlings that they will only be on the spaceships for as long as it takes to clean the Earth, a task… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

from USAToday

There is no question that automation has had an impact on numerous industries and has been responsible for some significant job-loss or, at least, job-shifting.
For example factories now need less people on the line but can output more product at an ever-increasing pace. Yes, the impact is everywhere but this is one place where I never expected to see an issue…

CrunchGear has a post up about a wedding officiated by… a robot. That’s right, the couple didn’t need a priest, or a justice of the… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Just what’s needed to brighten up a dreary cubicle and provide entertainment when your warden supervisor isn’t looking –  Zibits, a new series of miniature remote controlled robots that are about 2″ tall, move in “several directions including  a full 360º rotation”, and that are equipped with “robotic lights and sounds”.

Zibits will show up at Toys ‘R Us in mid-March for less than $10.


Zibits Miniature Robots

Already going through sports withdrawal now that the Super Bowl has ended?  Not too excited about the upcoming Winter Olympics?  Well, how about we add one-part thrill of competition, plus one-part agony of defeat mixed with a heaping mess of Robots.  Yeah, you read that right.  Robots.

• Hand-to-hand robot combat?  Check.
• Sumo-wrestling robots?  Check.
• Fire-fighting robots?  Got them, too.
• Dancing Robots? Robots mixing cocktails?   Done and done!
  

What crazy, topsy-turvy alternate universe of coolness is this  where you can watch Robots engage in all manner of competition?  Why, right here via the RoboGames, of course.  You’ll be able to catch all of he action as hundreds of robots compete (and sometimes flat-out destroy each other) via the web April 23rd-25th.

Tech enthusiasts, engineers and people who just like watchin’ stuff get smashed and/or explode should read on to get the full scoop on the 2010 RoboGames competition.… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

You remember that lovable robotic baby dinosaur, Pleo, don’t you?  Well now you can help choose the next Pleo and take advantage of a great deal this month.   Pleoworld is holding a poll to select one of five color patterns for a new Pleo that will come out this year. Go vote for your favorite Pleo color now, and you will be automatically entered for a free raffle to win your very own one-of-a-kind custom made Pleo designed by Jerry Finney.   So what are you waiting for?  Be the coolest kid on the block — or the coolest parent on the block – with your very own Pleo.… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Deep Blue besting Gary Kasparov was a landmark moment in artificial intelligence, so much so that it has become almost a cliche of artificial intelligence. It’s even been stolen as a plotline for “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles“!

Interestingly, the plotline for T:TSCC actually hits very close to Gary Kasparov’s own thoughts on computers playing chess; that it isn’t when a computer goes through the motions that it really plays chess, but when it learns to be creative and think outside set, analytic strategies.… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

I have a confession to make.  I like penguins.  Part of this is I am a Linux user and Tux, the Linux mascot, is a penguin.  The other part is they are so darn cute.  That’s why I decided to take a look when Arimaz offered to send a sample of MyDeskFriend AKA Pingo.

Part Tamagotchi, part Facebook app, part Tux Droid and all cute.  That about sums up this tiny robot that fits in your hand.  MyDeskFriend comes with a little USB docking station, Pingo the Penguin and a little rubber visor that Pingo wears.… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

My Tuxdroid keeps me company every Wednesday night as I do the Tech Show, and now Tuxdroid has a brand new buddycalled My Desk Friend.  His real name is Pingo, and he will read your mail to you, update you on your friends’ Facebook status, dance around your desktop, as well as read RSS feeds.  Pingo is much smaller than Tuxdroid.  Little Pingo can fit in the palm of your hand, and Pingo has 2 wheels, a Microphone, a speaker, 2 multicolored eyes and sensors to prevent him from rolling off the table.

The only problem I have with Pingo is that he only works with Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Mac OS X (10.5 or 10.6).  There is no Linux… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Remember Pleo that Judie and her kitty played with a while back?  Well it appears to be coming out of extinction and is now for sale at the Pleoworld web site!  So if you did not get a chance to order your own life-like dinosaur, then now is your chance!  He’s currently $349.  … Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Hoya Robot, A South Korean company, is developing a robot that one day might just help save the lives of both victims and firefighters.  The Firefighter’s Assistant Robot can enter burning building and size up the scene as well as check for victims who may be trapped inside.

The unit can operate for up to 30 minutes and withstand temperatures of up to 320 degrees F.  Weighing in at only 3 pounds the robot is water resistant and it can survive falls of up to 6 feet.  It’s small enough that it can fit in the palm of your hand.

The super speedy robot can cover over one foot per second and can be remote controlled from 54 yards away.  It’s meant to quickly enter a fire scene… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Kysoh.com has released the new Tux Droid 2.0.  Tux Droid is essentially a Open Source Nabaztag that looks like Tux the Penguin (Tux was originally designed as the Linux mascot by Larry Ewing).  The Tux Droid is wirelessly connected to your computer via its cute fish shaped dongle, which  has a striking resemblance to Tux himself.  What does Tux do?  He’ll do a little dance whenever you get an E-mail, Twitter message or a Facebook messag; he also has a text-to-speech engine, and by interacting with Tux Droid, you can also complete certain tasks on your computer.  If you aren’t right next to him to interact with him, you can… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

The concept of conciousness and awareness has always fascinated me. It was what drew me to science fiction as a kid, and to philosophy as I got older. One of the tropes of science fiction is artificial intelligence, the idea that a computer robot can become sentient and move beyond the limits of its programming.… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Here’s an interesting twist on the boring old web camera. Just like 8 bazillion other web cams this will provide video through an Internet connection. And (yawn) it does so via Wi-Fi. But here’s where things get interesting. This version goes mobile and provides images via 802.11b/g while simultaneously performing 360 degree turns. For a projected cost of only $169 this gizmo’s worth a look. I’m not sure how much or how precisely you can steer – though the literature mentions 360 degree turns.

Spyball can be connected to from many WiFi enabled devices such as PC’s, video game consoles and even cell phones. It comes with a USB cord that takes the user through an easy setup process to configure Spyball