Weird Science – Yet More Robots

In a strange case of the left manipulator not knowing what the right manipulator is doing, here are two more robots that I somehow managed to miss off yesterday’s post.

First up is the obvious and long overdue companion to yesterday’s beer fetching robots; a robot that can flip pancakes. Obviously there have been automated pancake makers around for a while now, but this robot from the Italian Institute of technology has learnt how to flip a good pancake by seeing how humans do it. Please, Dr. Kormushev, teach it to fry bacon next (Vimeo).



But if some groups are concentrating on robots that ply you with beer and pancakes, Autom’s mission in life is to help you lose weight and live healthily. The brainchild of Cory Kidd, who had the idea while at MIT, Autom first asks you for details of your diet, fitness and exercise regime, then it has daily 'conversations' with you during which it will dispense diet and exercise advice. Apparently a major insurance company intends to trial Autom in the US sometime next year, so we can all look forward to having one of these nag us each morning as a mandatory requirement of our health plan (Engadget).



Hmm, perhaps I could teach the pancake robot to flatten the annoying little thingamajig with its frying pan before making my breakfast stack?
     Posted By: Dumbfounded - Fri Jul 23, 2010
     Category: Exercise and Fitness | Futurism | Health | Inventions | Robots | Technology





Comments
Damn, I just posted the Pancake Flipping 'Bot to the Beer 'Bot post, too.
Posted by Freddie Freelance on 07/23/10 at 03:36 PM
I was going to write something witty and profound, but I can't top what KDP already posted. And I'm not witty, much less profound, in the first place. :lol:
Posted by Nethie on 07/23/10 at 08:04 PM
Yes, if you're a pilot it means "miles in trail".
Posted by Dumbfounded on 07/23/10 at 08:05 PM
IIRC, many a year ago one Issac Asimov coined the word "ROBOTICIDE" which, I would guess is about to hit the main stream.
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 07/24/10 at 12:47 AM
my kids had furbys, they were creepy little f-ers really.
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 07/24/10 at 08:56 PM
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