The latest member of the swimming robo-fish family shows how bio-mimetism (the concept we were recently introduced to by Gunter Pauli) is inspiring engineers around the world.

There are great projects in the region, the EPFL developing the salamander and fly robots. Makes me think it would be a nice theme for Lift10, I would really be eager to hear the results of the experiment that had robots and cockroaches interact in Belgium (see video below).

Are we one step closer to abandoning this planet to robots? Maybe. But don’t worry, that thing can “determine whether material that it ingested was animal, vegetable or mineral. […] There are certain signatures form different kinds of materials that would distinguish vegetative biomass from other material.”

The question is: before or after it catches a piece of food?

‘Flesh-eating robot’ is actually a vegetarian, say inventors

The machine’s inventors say that the Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot – known as Eatr for short – does indeed power its “biomass engine” by digesting organic material, but that it is not intended to chomp its way through battlefields of fallen soldiers. […]

“We are focused on demonstrating that our engines can create usable, green power from plentiful, renewable plant matter. The commercial applications alone for this earth-friendly energy solution are enormous.”

Link (thanks Steve)

Reminds me of James Auger’s fly eating robots he showed at Lift09.

Frédéric Kaplan gave one of the best talks of Lift Asia, and shared a nice idea: you don’t have to look like a robot to be a robot.

Frédéric’s latest project (an update on his previous project, the wizkid) will be displayed at Lift09, I am really looking forward to that :)

It’s a bit hard to believe it’s a first, but after storied appearances in movies a home robot now made it to a theater.

Tuesday marked the theatrical debut for the Wakamaru, which appeared onstage alongside real-life actors in a play that’s being hailed as a first in robot-human artistic collaboration. Hataraku Watashi (”I, Worker”), by playwright Oriza Hirata, focuses on a couple who own two housekeeping robots, one of which loses its motivation to work.

Link