Robots On The Rise

There have been a few interesting robot developments this week.

First off, is a tea pouring robot from the University Of Tokyo. The Associated Press has an article (an example of which can be found at The Vancouver Sun - but it's all over the net). They have a robot that pours the tea and another robot that serves the tea.

Of more practical interest, is news of the development of the first Dynamically Balancing robot - which means it walks the way we (humans) walk. It balances itself in realtime, so it doesn't require a preprogrammed walk like other bipedal robots (such as Asimo). It also means that it's harder to push the robot over.

Finally, not only are robots rising up, they're plunging down into the deepest known sinkholes. DEPTHX is an autonomous robot designed to explore the depths of the cenote El Zacatón in Mexico. DEPTHX is capable of detecting and avoiding obstacles. A press release is available at Eurkalert.