Oct 14 2009Pop It Like A Beach Ball!: Shape Shifting Bot
iRobot, a diabolical company best known for convincing millions of housewives to allow rug-munching robots into their homes, has now developed an air-filled shape-shifting robot that will climb into your bed and smother you while you sleep.
Unveiled at the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) yesterday, this palm-sized troublemaker is being billed as "the first demonstration of a completely soft, mobile robot using jamming as an enabling technology." The "jamming" in question is something called "jamming skin enabled locomotion," which traps air and a collection of loosely packed particles in a package made of silicon rubber. When air is removed from the pocket, the silicon restricts and seems to solidify. The robot consists of several of these pockets, which can be inflated or deflated separately, giving the device the ability to perform simple actions.
The first part of the video explains how the technology works, but the actual bot-test begins around 1:50. Sure, it may look like a harmless beach ball, but do you know how many people drown each year trying to retrieve beach balls that have been swept out to sea? Now multiply that by every single person on earth and you have an idea of this thing's killing potential.
iRobot shape-shifting ChemBot is back, and it's bad [engadget]
Thanks to JKirchartz, hayden, NF, Michael, Tuggis, matt and We'llmissyoujehudah, who vow to pop every last one of these things with fiery arrows. Good looking, guys, but you might wanna brush up on your archery.
Reader Comments
1. strit - October 14, 2009 12:02 PM
:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(
2. Paul? - October 14, 2009 12:05 PM
holy shit. the potential of that technology is amazing...
3. gizmoduck - October 14, 2009 12:07 PM
i approve of the jamming
4. Closet Nerd - October 14, 2009 12:17 PM
"When air is removed from the pocket, the silicon restricts and seems to solidify."
Sounds a lot like what happens when blood rushes to your penis and you get a boner (aka organic towel holder).....
5. Closet Nerd - October 14, 2009 12:21 PM
@3 speaking of jamming......
Does anyone know the difference between peanut butter and jam?
6. Geekolojew - October 14, 2009 12:25 PM
Must See!!!
http://alturl.com/obg7
________________
7. -Lmega5- - October 14, 2009 12:27 PM
so basically...it does nothing...
8. Dishy Dishyington - October 14, 2009 12:32 PM
@5. I can't peanut butter my foot down your throat till you sh*t in my shoe.
Of course I would never say that.
9. David Sadi - October 14, 2009 12:37 PM
thing looks like a gross alien womb. with a baby trying to break out.
10. Dishy Dishyington - October 14, 2009 12:39 PM
This is a defining moment -- for the dildo and fleshlight industries.
11. Closet Nerd - October 14, 2009 12:41 PM
@8 close..... but gay
12. Closet Nerd - October 14, 2009 12:41 PM
@8 close..... but gay
13. Dinosaur Rex - October 14, 2009 12:48 PM
And then we'll hear that some other "scientist" created mimetic poly-alloy, and we will be all killed...until now we have seen robots that shoot, jump high and precisely, and now shapeshifters...that's alright...for them, kill them!!
14. trogdor - October 14, 2009 12:49 PM
If you notice, it looks like iRobot is somehow part of the project... So maybe we can look forward to Katamari Damacy-like floor cleaning devices to go on sale constantly at Woot in the near future.
15. Fade - October 14, 2009 12:52 PM
So this is what "Boy and his Blog" actually is... My childhood is ruined!
http://fade-to-extra.mybrute.com
16. Dude - October 14, 2009 1:31 PM
Hey baby, let me fill you with my jammable slurry. Oh yeah!
17. Eddy - October 14, 2009 1:52 PM
Is that a robotic D20?
18. MightyD - October 14, 2009 2:42 PM
one step closer to artificial muscles...and death of the human race.
19. BlackSamTX - October 14, 2009 3:12 PM
@17
Yes.
20. Hawk - October 14, 2009 3:15 PM
This will revolutionize the sex toy industry!!!
..oh, wait, what were they using it for again?
21. glace neuf - October 14, 2009 3:56 PM
this reminds me of the SAW XI trailer...
22. Beastman AIDS - October 14, 2009 4:04 PM
It looks like a sentient scrotum.
Also I'm faaarking sick of people putting an "i" in front of a word to name their product.
23. a dog - October 14, 2009 4:13 PM
omg they invented balloons!?!?!? *roll eyes*
24. naas - October 14, 2009 5:30 PM
the radar sir..... it appears to be JAMMED.
I HATE RASPBERRY
http://www.ladyofthecake.com/mel/space/images/jamradar.jpg
25. Milkman - October 14, 2009 5:33 PM
iScrotum
26. jaime - October 14, 2009 5:33 PM
alien creature hatching video what?
27. Aru-San - October 14, 2009 5:38 PM
I don't like it that thing looks like its a live let alone looks creepy as holy hell
28. Aru-San - October 14, 2009 5:38 PM
I don't like it that thing looks like its alive let alone looks creepy as holy hell
29. Writch - October 14, 2009 6:17 PM
that's terrifying
30. F2 - October 14, 2009 7:19 PM
Two things: first, kill it, and second, give that nerd an amateur video design award before you also kill him for melding his propensity for nutsack fondling with his D&D gelatinous cube fetish and applying the resulting nightmare to the construction of death machines.
31. SeekerCat - October 14, 2009 8:07 PM
Who would retrieve the robot from the water? Its pure evil.
32. The Brain - October 14, 2009 8:11 PM
It's like a trailer for the worst sci-fi action film ever. Well, they are called irobot. BAH-ZING!
33. Fleet - October 14, 2009 8:33 PM
They're creating a market for sex toys that crawl up your anus and inflate, for hands-free pleasure.
34. Master Chief - October 14, 2009 9:35 PM
Oh god! This thing looks like a flood spore!!!! http://www.xbox.com/NR/rdonlyres/0894017B-1077-425B-9D5A-6C9BA71AAB5C/0/flood_spore.jpg
35. Hogs - October 15, 2009 6:15 AM
I assume you know the dangers of the beach ball from Dark Star. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5YTXnnQjC4
36. twellve - October 15, 2009 3:50 PM
terrifying. makes me clench my ladybits in fear.
37. Rebecca - October 16, 2009 1:30 PM
brings back the nightmares i use to have about that big white ball in the prisoner. IT WILL EAT YOU!!!! DONT BUY IT!