There must be a fundamental perceptual difference when it comes to robots in Japan (as opposed to robots in the rest of the world), because there seems to be a tendency there to at times more or less totally ignore the whole Uncanny Valley issue that we get so hung up on around here. Take Telenoid R1, for example: Maybe it’s just me, but that robot has horror movie written all over it. The idea behind the design of Telenoid R1 makes a lot of sense: the robot is intended for remote telepresence and communication, and as such, it’s supposed to distill a human form into just the essential communicative elements. So, you’ve got a face that’s intended to be featureless and asexual, stumpy little arm things, and a soft torso with no legs. But like, even though it makes sense from a rather academic point of view, you’ve still got to take a few steps back and say, “okay, but does this really work for people?” Telenoid R1 comes from Hiroshi Ishiguro, whom you probably remember for his not quite as creepy Geminoid F. Inside, it’s got 9 actuators that will mimic the arm, face, and head motions of the user who’s communicating through the robot (via a motion-capture webcam). I’m not sure, though, that the Telenoid R1 will actually enable users to “feel as if an acquaintance in the distance is next to you” as the developers assert… But in any case, it is going on sale: expect to pay $34k for the research version, and $8k for a general purpose version. Video, after the jump. [ Telenoid ] VIA [ IEEE ] and [ Robonoble ]

WowWee is continuing to release inexpensive robot toys, and unlike many of their previous offerings (with the obvious and excellent exception of the Rovio), the new Roboscooper actually might have some sort of practical application. Sort of. If you want things that weigh about an ounce lifted up and carted around. Here’s what Roboscooper can do: * Scoops objects up automatically when in autonomous mode, or when controlled by the included remote * Nimble. Has six wheels allowing it easy traversal over most terrain * Multi-directional mobility * Funny phrases and sound effects * Sensors in his hands allow it to detect objects in front of it on the floor and pick them up, or knock them around * Obstacle avoidance This is the robot that picks up objects at your command and loads them onto its cargo bed, emptying contents at your preferred location. The remote drives the robot left, right, forward, and backward–with skidding sounds for stops and beeps when in reverse–allowing you to nudge it into place for picking up small, 1 oz. items such as balls, toys, or socks with its two articulated arms and hands. It can also operate autonomously using its four infrared “eyes” that seek and detect objects within its 8 – 12? sight range while it announces “Let’s get to work!” Once an object is secured, the robot’s torso pivots to deposit an object into its cargo bay; it dumps contents by vibrating to dislodge objects from the bay, adding “one step closer to a cleaner world.” Completely aware of its environment, it informs you when an object is either too large or fixed with “too heavy for me” and “uh… a little help, please” if it gets stuck. It can also issue beefy, two-handed slaps to objects when set into “whack” […]

You may not have learned this in school, but Boilerplate, a robot constructed back in 1893, was an instrumental part of many famous historical happenings, as you can clearly see in the video above, which I’m sure is an actual documentary or something. From Teddy Roosevelt to Lawrence of Arabia to Pancho Villa, Boilerplate has seen it all and done even more, and now J.J. Abrams has apparently purchased the rights to make Boilerplate’s story into a feature film. There are basically no more details than just that fact, but if you want a preview, you can just buy the book. Boilerplate: History’s Mechanical Marvel is available on Amazon for $17. [ Boilerplate ]VIA [ Robot Living ] That music, btw, comes from (I think) the spectacular HBO miniseries “From the Earth to the Moon” which you should absolutely watch right now if you haven’t already.

In what probably isn’t a tribute to Spirit (which drove backwards from March of 2006 on due to a broken wheel) Curiosity took its first drive test on Friday at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory where it’s undergoing assembly. Powered by a radioisotope thermoelectric generator, the SUV-sized rover will be carrying a much larger science payload than the current Mars rovers are able to. Scheduled to arrive on Mars in August of 2012, Spirit is now officially one meter closer to its destination. One meter down, only 188,500,000,000 meters to go. [ MSL ] VIA [ Discover ]

A week or so ago, we posted about a 2008 study suggesting that humanish robots are a bad, bad idea. However, it’s definitely true that human facial features are great at communicating emotional information to humans, so there’s certainly something to be said for incorporating things like eyes and eyebrows into a robot. Flobi, a robot from Bielefeld University, is a good example of a conscious decision to make a humanoid robot head that is capable of recognizable human expressions while avoiding the Uncanny Valley. Flobi relies on expressive elements that are almost cartoonish in their simplicity: 18 actuators move the eyes, eyelids, eyebrows, and mouth, and there are LEDs in Flobi’s cheeks to let it blush… I say ‘it’ because Flobi’s hair (all of the facial elements, in fact) can be easily changed to let it appear to be male or female. For me, though,that process brings back quite a bit of the uncanny: I find it pretty amazing how much of a difference subtle little things like blinking can make when it comes to how I (personally) relate to humanoid robots. And that’s part of the tricky thing about the Uncanny Valley: there’s a very fine line between seeming human, and seeming too human. As IEEE Spectrum points out, Flobi looks a lot like iCat. Like, a lot. This makes iCat angry: And you don’t want to make iCat angry… [ CIT ] VIA [ IEEE Spectrum ]