Jan 17 2009 Stop Confusing Me, Damnit: The TOFU Robot
TOFU is a meat-free robot that looks and acts like a penguin crossed with a Furby crossed with my ex-girlfriend's muff (which I DID see once when I walked in on her in the shower -- score!) Developed at the MIT Media Lab, the little bastard dances to music and has OLED eyes that look eerily sexy. "He's a "squash and stretch" robot, one that uses techniques of social expression employed by 2D animators to give himself some personality." I have no idea what that means but I've killed my fair share of Furbys and, by God, I'll kill a battalion of these little robotic bitches too. But....those eyes....
UPDATE: Humankind, please forgive me, for I have sinned in the most I had-sex-with-a-robot way possible. And, I still have some more reading to do on the subject, but I think I might be pregnant.
Nov 30 2007 'Bar Of Soap' Predicts Your Use For It
The 'Bar Of Soap' comes to us from MIT Media Lab's Brandon Taylor and Michael Bove. The idea behind the device is that it determines its functionality based on the way you hold it. If you hold it like a TV remote then its little accelerometers tell the device to display the appropriate controls like volume and channel. If you hold it like a phone it will act like a phone. Granted the device made doesn't actually have TV remote and phone functionality, just the capability of determining if you're holding it like one. And right now only 60-70% of the time. Making it far less effective than a Wii-mote.
"Bar of Soap" Prototype Detects Intent from Your Touch (You Scoundrel) [boingboing]
Aug 20 2007 Weight Watching Robot Keeps You Healthy
Those MIT geeks are at it again, this time developing a robot that is supposed to help you watch your weight and make healthier dietary choices. She interacts with you via touchscreen, where you can input the foods you've eaten, look up recipes, etc. She keeps track of your food intake and stats, and makes suggestions for what to eat. She even speaks (despite not having a mouth) and tracks your movement via face recognition. Speaking of which, just look at those eyes, how dreamy. I can imagine her in my kitchen now. "Hey you sexy thing, how about I drive another Twinkie into me? No? How about a bag of Doritos? No again? Then let me at some of those Girl Scout Cookies? What!? Fine, I'll settle for a kiss you hot little thing you. You're plenty sweet for me anyways. XOXO. Mmmmmm."
Weight Watching Robot Keeps You Healthy [BotJunkie]
