robot

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on robot:

Robots fight back in hilarious Boston Dynamics parody video

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Bosstown Dynamics
One step closer to terminator mode.
Photo: Corridor Digital

Boston Dynamics has been freaking us out for years with its videos of robots performing tasks with near human-like precision. So far all the robots have been completely subservient to their human masters, but a hilarious new parody video shows what happens when Boston Dynamic’s robots learn how to fight back.

Get ready for the robot uprising:

DJI’s new customizable robot teaches kids to code

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RoboMaster S1
The RoboMaster S1 is ready for battle
Photo: DJI

DJI is unleashing a new drone on the world this week, only instead of taking to the skies, this little robot stays on the ground.

The new RoboMaster S1 is an educational robot designed to teach kids how to code. It packs brushless motors, a gimbal and chassis that can move in all directions. DJI built S1 to be used in interactive modes for programming as well as play. Once you assemble your robot you can battle other S1 owners in Mario Kart style games that look fun as hell.

Take a look at the cool stuff it can do:

Sweet robot vac won’t suck your wallet dry [Review]

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Deebot N79S
The Deebot N79S is sucking awesome.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

No one enjoys vacuum cleaning, so why are we still doing it? Robotic vacuum cleaners have gotten so good — and so much more affordable — that manual cleaning is no longer necessary. I let the Deebot N79S do all my vacuuming for me.

The N79S is an updated version of the best-selling N79. It packs all the same features and the same great design, but now it supports Amazon Alexa. That means you don’t even have to push a button to get it going; you just tell it what to do.

It’s one of the many things that make the N79S one of the best affordable robot vacs you can buy.

Justin Timberlake channels his inner Steve Jobs in new music video

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Justin Jobs?
Justin Jobs?
Photo: Justin Timberlake/Vevo

Justin Timberlake is bringing Jobsy back.

In the new music video for his song “Filthy”, Justin Timberlake does his best Steve Jobs impression for the unveiling of a futuristic robot. The track is the first song released from Justin’s highly-anticipated new album Man of the Woods that’s coming out next month.

The video kicks off with Justin donning Steve Job’s iconic black turtleneck and glasses while gazing onto the stage with Job’s famous pose. One thing’s for sure though. Steve Jobs never had dance moves like these:

Apple’s new Swiss lab will help start the robot uprising

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Robot
Apple is hiring robotics researchers.
Photo: Scott Schaut/Mansfield Memorial Museum

Apple is reportedly on a hiring spree for robotics and computer vision researchers to work at a supposed new R&D lab in Switzerland.

According to a new report, Apple has already hired around ten postdoc and doctoral students from ETH Zurich, a science, technology, engineering and math university in Zürich.

Apple supplier now employs 40,000 robots to do its bidding

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Irobot
It'll still be a while before Foxconn's factories are totally automated, however.
Photo: 20th Century Fox

Apple supplier Foxconn has installed a massive 40,000 robots for handling manufacturing jobs at a number of its factories in China, claims a new report.

The industrial robots — named “Foxbots” — are currently being rolled out at factories in Zhengzhou, Kunshan, Jiashanm and a “tablet plant” in Chengdu, where Apple is known to produce iPads. Foxconn’s future robot production is expected to hit around 10,000 units per year.

Boston Dynamics’ freaky new robot can clean your kitchen

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This robot is a total neat freak.
This robot is a total neat freak.
Photo: Boston Dynamics

Alphabet-owned Boston Dynamics robots are ready to invade your kitchen.

The company unveiled its newest robot, SpotMini, an all-electric version of its Spot robot. Taking some design cues from its bigger sibling that weighs 160 lbs, SpotMini is a simplified model that is smaller and lighter, allowing it to roam your house with more dexterity than Boston Dynamics’ previous bots.

It’s a total neat freak and can clean your house, too, thanks to an elongated neck extension:

iPhone maker replaces half its factory workers with robots

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Tim Cook greeting Foxconn workers in China. Photo: Apple
Tim Cook meeting with (human) Foxconn workers.
Photo: Apple

Apple manufacturer Foxconn has been talking about investing in robots for years now, but apparently it’s finally done it — replacing more than half of the employees at one of its factories with machines.

“The Foxconn factory has reduced its employee strength from 110,000 to 50,000, thanks to the introduction of robots,” said a government official, adding that “it has tasted success in reduction of labour costs” and that more companies are now likely to follow suit.

Liam can’t recycle every iPhone, even with 29 arms

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liam-apple-recycle-robot
Apple's new robot, Liam, is a recycling machine, but so are we...
Photo: Apple/YouTube

Liam, Apple’s robot that deconstructs iPhones to mine the valuable resources inside them, is certainly cool — but he’s still not the recycling machine we deserve (or need).

Just like any Apple product, Liam was designed to work well. But how much good does the robot, which took three years to develop and build, actually do?

A savvy Apple fan has sent a robot to queue for her iPhone 6s

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lucy3
It certainly beats sitting out in the cold.
Photo: Atomic 212

People are already camping out for the iPhone 6s, but one smart would-be customer from Australia has decided to dodge the queues — by sending a robot on her behalf.

Lucy Kelly dispatched the robot — a remote-controlled tablet attached to a Segway — to wait in line at the flagship Apple Store in Sydney, where the iPhone 6s will go on sale ahead of the rest of the world. It gives her the ability to join in the fun of waiting alongside eager Apple fans, without the negative part of standing around for hours in the cold.

Now why didn’t we think of that?

Carrot Weather’s sassy forecasts storm onto Mac

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carrot-weather
The "Maker" of sassy robot Carrot brought the Weather app to the Mac and updated the iOS app with new goodies.
Photo: George Tinari/Cult of Mac

The sassy robot that got its start on iOS has started taking over the Mac too. Carrot Weather launched in the Mac App Store today complete with tons of features and even more snarky comments about the conditions. The self-proclaimed “weather robot with a personality” has plenty to offer.

This robot leaps hurdles like a Terminator horse

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Heading
Sarah Connor won't get away so easily next time.
Photo: MIT

Okay, so it’s not really Apple news, but — honestly — who could complain about a robot cheetah on a Friday afternoon?

Given Google’s disappointing lack of killer robots at its oddly boring I/O keynote yesterday, MIT has fortunately stepped up to the plate by unleashing a new video of its metallic quadruped autonomously leaping hurdles like some kind of horse Terminator.

Check out the video below. Then start running.

Girl turns boring LEGO juice bar into awesome robot

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Would you like extra protein powder in that smoothie? Well, WOULD YOU?! Photo: fickle/Imgur
Would you like extra protein powder in that smoothie? Well, WOULD YOU?! Photo: fickle/Imgur

There was a time when LEGO brick sets were anything but prescriptive. You’d be lucky to get a wheel or axle part, or maybe even a door or window piece in your giant set of loose bricks.

These days, of course, LEGO typically means putting together a complicated model that just doesn’t need glue (though you can certainly use it to make things permanent).

Imgur user “fickle” put up this photoset showing what a couple of enterprising young women did with their toy juice bar, from the LEGO Friends set.

“It was supposed to be a juice bar,” they wrote on the photo sharing service, (but) “a set of ED-209-inspired power armor is far better!

Watch This Chinese Robot Beat Flappy Bird Once And For All [Video]

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We’ve seen a few great Flappy Bird machines before, but nothing as incredible as this robot that flawlessly plays Flappy Bird using a web cam, a robotic arm made from an old hard drive, and the tip of a stylus.

It was created by two Chinese developers, Liu Yang and Shi Xuekun, who live in China’s Shaanxi province. According to the duo, it took four days to create the robot, which is probably 3.99 days more than Dong Nguyen originally spent programming the game himself.

Now can it beat Flapthulhu?

Is Apple Working On Building An iRobot?

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robojobs
The Steve Jobs robot, invented by the genius humorists over at Scoopertino.com

One would think that the self-evident answer to the question posited in this post’s headline would be “No,” followed by a pregnant pause, a licking of the lips and then followed it up with the words “You idiot.”

And, in fact, that probably is the answer. But if Apple’s not working on a robot, then why the heck is Apple hiring one of the country’s foremost robotics experts, John Morrell?

Tired Of Cleaning Fingerprints Off Your Tablet? Let This Tiny Robot Do It For You

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It takes no more than about 30 seconds to run a cloth over your smartphone or tablet display and free it from greasy fingerprints. But if you’re just too darn lazy to do that, check out this tiny little autonomous robot that does it for you. From Takara Tomy, the Automee-S is a 2.75-inch Roomba-like device that (slowly) makes its way around your smartphone or tablet display and gives it a good clean.

The Double Is Like Wheels For Your iPad [Macworld 2013]

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macworldbug

SAN FRANCISCO, MACWORLD/iWORLD 2013

The show floor at Macworld typically houses a familiar array of gadgets and accessories. There’s plenty of cases, docks, and attachments for your iPhone and iPad that are all essentially the same. Perhaps the most unique product at Macworld, however, is the Double, which Double Robotics describes as “wheels for you iPad.”

The Double is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. At first glance, it almost looks like an iPad mounted on a Segway, but it’s much more than that. You can control the Double from anywhere in the world as long as you have an internet connection.

Even James Bond Would Lust After This iPhone Controlled Dragonfly Drone

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dragonflydrone

James Bond gets all the cool stuff. Fancy gadgets. Fast cars. Beautiful ladies. And a bottomless bucket of martinis. But he doesn’t have an iPhone controlled dragonfly that can spy on all the bad guys without making a sound.

You’re not James Bond, but you can get your very own dragonfly robot to conduct your own espionage missions, or just take pretty ariel pictures to post on Instagram. The best part is that your flying robot will be controlled with your iPhone and it’ll only cost you 120 bucks.

Bring An iPad-Controlled, Transforming Robot Home For The Holidays For Only $26,000

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The Transformers movies aren’t all that bad. Well, except for the moronic plots, Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Michael Bay, and the over-the-top explosions. I mean, at least the robots are kind of cool. Who wouldn’t want a Camero that can annihilate an entire city for you?

Brave Robotics is a Tokyo-based company that’s bringing Transformer-style robots into the real world, complete with arm missiles and everything. The only catch is that right now a humanoid that transforms into a car costs about $26,000.

This Monstrous Mech Suit Is The Coolest iPhone Accessory You’ll Never Own

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robot

This thing is absolutely insane. That’s all we can think of when watching the video of this huge mech suit built by Suidobashi Heavy Industries. Not only is it gigantic, but it’s fully functional, with robotic arms, BB gatling guns, water bottle launchers, and a kick-ass cockpit that looks like something out of your favorite video game.

The Kuratas, is a 13-foot, 4.4-ton metal mech suit. The best part is that you can completely control it with your iPhone or jump in the cockpit and run around town terrorizing dogs, cats, and little old ladies. The only catch is that it costs a whopping $1.35million, so most of us will only be able to dream about it. But if you have a few extra mill to spare, Suidobashi made this handy operation instructions video about the Kuratas –

This Flying Robot Is The Most Awesomely Nerdy Way To Get Back Into Shape [Video]

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joggobot

I want to lose weight. Really. I mean, I just gained 30lbs over the last 18months thanks to the magical folks at Chipotle and it’s time for a change. Problem is, every time I invite my friends to come jogging with me plans fall through and then I have another excuse to inhale half of a blueberry cheesecake.

Admittedly, I’ve sunk pretty low, but I’m not sure if I’ve reached the point where I need a robot to whip me into shape. Maybe I do though, and the guys behind the Joggobot have created one of the oddest contraptions to help nerds lose weight by chasing them around with a deranged robot quadrocopter.