UNIQLO, the shop best known for its quality basics, is changing the back to school shopping game by introducing the first-ever robot to buzz around a retail store. The plastic yellow shopping-assistant named Wakamaru came to life through design by Toshiyuki Kita and engineering by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI). It’s expected to make its first appearance in the SoHo store sometime next week.
Besides being able to make eye contact, meet and greet customers and engage in brief conversations, Wakamura will also lead the staff in inspirational morning exercises. No word yet if Waka is capable of snappin' on the colored-denim stans that will populate the store, but our fingers are crossed. Check out a video of little homie getting his swerve on in Washington earlier this year…
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Some might call it a full-time jack move, but tech writer Kevin Kelly couldn’t resist stealing this styrofoam robot concept. Back in April, artist Michael A. Salter unveiled the first styrobot, a 21-foot installation he created to celebrate 50 years of the robot’s cultural significance.
After years of saving styrofoam from computer packaging, Kevin Kelly was immediatly inspired to start building his own version. He molded a mechanical monster with enough intricate detail to rival Salter’s. But instead of making a monstrosity that can only be displayed in a gallery, Kelly decided to create a smaller robot that can be broken up into pieces for easy transport. Watch a video of how Salter’s original version came about below.
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Fishing isn’t as easy as the saying, “hook, line, and sinker.” You’ve got to spend hours dangling your rod, waiting for that bite (not unlike bagging a chick in NYC). To keep your skills sharp, Japanese toy company Nakajima has released “Dynamic Fishing,” a robot engineered to mimic real bass fishing.
The tool for dedicated bass hunters made a splash at this year’s Tokyo Toy Show and is now available on Amazon (Japan) for a mere $27. And no, this isn’t just some toy'only seasoned fisherman will be able to catch the evasive fake fish. See a video demo below.
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Video chatting is so uptight. If you don’t want to be stationed directly in front of your computer, your only real option is to use a camera with an internet phone service like Skype. Luckily, video conferencing just got a lot more fun with the Nokia Jeppe, a remote controlled mobile webcam designed to feel like a pet.
The brains at the Nokia Research Centre Smart Spaces lab recently built the small wonder as part of an initiative to make video conferencing easier. With a Nokia N800 Internet Tablet in hand, the user can control where the little guy moves to on its two wheels. While it’s still in research and development, you can check out the demo below.
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Blaming your alarm clock for being late is an excuse that’ll never get old. And if you’re looking for a smarter way to blame technology, buy this Stonehenge robot clock and say that you spent your whole morning waiting for it to change time.
Using a slower-than-shit mechanical arm, engineer Steve Norris programmed the Stonehenge to move numerical cards in and out of the display. But seeing as it takes the arm almost a full minute to change from 12:09 to 12:10, it kind of defeats the purpose. Norris (obviously not related to Chuck) should’ve programed it with a poking command to wake up the owner when it finishes. Watch the hilariously slow demo video below.
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We love robots, but we’re bracing ourselves for that inevitable day one takes our job. The service industry is already starting to be taken over by the mechanical menace, but what about those of us in more artistic fields? Surely a robot could never write a hit song, or make a beautiful painting, or churn out consistently witty commentary for a website…right?
This is why the latest news about Honda’s freakishly humanoid ASIMO robot has us shook. Apparently, this guy will be conducting the Detroit Symphony Orchestra this May 13 in Motor City alongside world-famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma. If a robot can conduct a major symphony, how long until he’s directing movies, hosting 106 & Park and coaching the Knicks? We’re trying not to fear the future, but the possibilities are a bit frightening. Watch a video of ASIMO babysitting some unsuspecting kids after the jump.
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