robot

Robot Greets New York Shoppers

Filed under: Gadgets

Robots can clean your floor and entertain you, now they can also help you shop. Uniqlo's Soho store will debut Wakamaru, the first robot to be used in a retail store int the U.S. to greet customers, during the second week of September in their SoHo store. Fashion Week Daily reports that the bright yellow robot takes its name from a famous 12th century warrior and was designed by Toshiyuki Kita and developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. The friendly robot will recognize people, let customers know of special promotions, make eye contact and even lead store staff in motivational morning exercises.

Last month, Newsweek had an interesting piece on household robots, highlighting Wakamuru and Roomba. While the Roomba has been a huge seller, Wakamaru with its $15,000 price tag was not so successful. It was expected to be a popular household helper robot when it first rolled off the assembly line in 2005 but was not been a hot seller.The large robot was pulled off the market and units have been rented out for greeting gigs like the one at Uniqulo.

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Tags: robot, uniqlo, wakamaru

Think Geek's Holiday Gadget List

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets

Holiday shopping guide season already? Early birds are already getting the jump on the season. Recently we saw the Neiman Marcus Fantasy List but if you are looking for something a little less pricey and a whole lot geekier, Think Geek has unveiled their list which is an answer to the Neiman's list. Instead of the $75,000 Swami conversational robot, you can spend $349.99 on Pleo, the robotic dinosaur, instead of the Online Media Wall, you can opt for a wi-fi enabled photo frame. Other fun gadgets include the mobile surveillance robot which looks like a Mars rover and has a mini video camera, the MySky GPS star tracker, which eliminates messing around with star maps to understand the constellations,iPod video goggles and the LED art fan which not only cools you off but also provides a complete light show. Details and prices in the gallery.

Gallery: Think Geek

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Tags: christmas, gadgets, holidash, holiday gifts, robot, think geek, ThinkGeek, toys

Gundam Goes Fancy with Diamonds and Platinum

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets

This is one pricey action figure! Platinum plated and diamond studded, this shiny little robot worth $250,000 can do some serious damage...to your wallet. Not sure if it's for sale, although it is planning to make an appearance at Baselworld in Switzerland this month so if you're interested you might want to head in that direction.

I'm going to be really honest and say that I'm half impressed by such a classy looking "toy," and I'm thinking it's sure to bring some positive upscale press to the Gundam brand, but I'm also half laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. Come on, diamonds for eyes? Hilarious.

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Tags: anime, baselworld, diamond, diamonds, engadget, gadget, gundam, platinum, robot, robotics, switzerland

Rent a Fembot

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets

The name Sanrio is usually associated with Hello Kitty, but perhaps now it will also be associated with another girly product: fembots. A Sanrio subsidiary, Kokoro, created and refined the Actroid DER2. She has a much wider range of motion and expression than the previous DER model, and her lip movements coordinate surprisingly well with her speech. Unfortunately, she has to be pre-programmed with things to say and motions, so she won't really be able to interact with you, but you can still rent her for about $3,500 per week (400,000 yen) if you're interested in taking her - and possibly her tech support people - for a spin.

[via boingboing]

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Tags: android, fembot, girl, robot, sanrio

Ballroom Dancing Robot

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets

Ballroom dancing is gaining popularity with amazing speed thanks to shows like Dancing with the Stars, so a competition that once only interested a small portion of the public is now prime-time viewing. But doing something is a lot more fun than watching others do it, so dance lessons and competitions are becoming more popular, as well. One of the biggest obstacles that a dancer faces is finding the right partner and, at least for men, that search just got a little easier thanks to Ballroom Dancing Robots. The robots are battery powered and can sense and anticipate their partners' movements. They reportedly move with a fair amount of agility, too. Each one will sell for about $300,000, and you can download a video clip of them here.

[via Born Rich]

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Tags: android, ballroom dancing, balroom dance, dance, dancer, dancing, dancing robot, robot, robots

World's First Specialty Robot Store

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets

In October, a robot museum with the world's first robot store will open in Nagoya, Japan. The shop will carry hundreds of robots, robot equipment and accessories. Perhaps the most interesting part of the venture is that the target audience of the store is actually "men in their 40s and others who grew up watching anime that featured robots," an undermarketed-to group that must have a fair amount of disposable income. The store's first specialty item will be the 39-cm high Nuvo robot, which is small, light and humanoid and sells $7,000 each.