Tag Archives: bots

The Engadget Interview: Mark Setrakian of Syfy’s Robot Combat League (video)

Post Image

From the latest harbinger of the robopocalypse from Boston Dynamics to more friendly looking machines like Romo, Engadget has a longstanding love affair with all forms of robots. Syfy channel’s newest show, Robot Combat League (RCL), has provided us …


Massive botnet costs advertisers millions, but hackers may not be to blame

Post Image

A new botnet has taken over 120,000 computers and is using them to click on ads in the background in a hidden web browser — and with every click, big advertisers pay. Major companies including BMW, Virgin, and Pillsbury may be l…


Ticketmaster leaves ReCAPTCHA behind, will verify users with advertising instead

Post Image

Ticketmaster is doing away with one of the most painful parts of conducting online transactions on its site — and hoping to monetize customers even further in the process. At issue is the use of the CAPTCHA (Completely A…


Bomb-carrying Navy robots take orders from odors

Post Image

The US Navy is looking to develop a swarm of odor-sniffing robots to help assemble and load some of its most dangerous weaponry. As Wired reports, these semi-automated robots would act almost like mechanized ants, with “leader…


Nao humanoid climbs spiral staircase, breakfast in bed is around the corner (video)

Post Image

Robots can clean your pool and pick up after your lavish dinner parties, but what use is Mr. Nao when you’re ringing for a nightcap from the comfort of your second-floor bedroom? Okay, so we’ve seen the odd bot take a journey up some stairs, but how …


Google bots learning to read webpages like humans, one step closer to knowing everything

Post Image

Google just launched its Knowledge Graph, a tool intended to deliver more accurate information by analyzing the way users search. Of course, with a desire to provide better search results comes a need for improved site-reading capabilties. JavaScript…


MakerBot printing out Robot Petting Zoo for Maker Faire

Post Image

Sure, it’s no $500 3D printer, but the folks at MakerBot always have plenty of fun stuff floating around their Brooklyn headquarters. Stuff like, you know, a Robot Petting Zoo. The company’s prepping a slew of 3D printed ‘bots for display at the upco…


Apple warns developers not to manipulate App Store rankings

Post Image

On Monday, a Touchstone Arcade thread from a disgruntled developer claimed numerous apps in Apple’s App Store were promoted into the top 25 using illegal services. The poster accused a number of big-name developers such as Crowdstar of using such services. Crowdstar’s co-founder Suren Markosian immediately denied the accusation, assuring customers it promotes its apps “using legitimate advertising channels such as flurry, chartboost, iAds, etc.” The thread gained a good deal of buzz, however, prompting Apple to post a warning to remind developers to adhere to guidelines when promoting their apps. “Once you build a great app, you want everyone to know about it,” reads Apple’s warning. “However, when you promote your app, you should avoid using services that advertise or


Acrobatic quadrocopters hunt in packs, seduce you into submission (video)

Post Image

We’ve kept a pretty stern eye on the development of GRASP Lab’s quadrocopters, and with good reason it seems, now that the four-bladed aerial ninjas have even more alarming abilities at their disposal. In the video after the break, watch them hold a …


Robots finally able to follow ‘make me a sandwich’ command (video)

Post Image

Pancakes? No problem. Cookies? You got it! Sandwich? …is there a Subway near by? Why robots have such a hard time slapping meat and cheese on bread is beyond us, but we’re glad the crack team at the Technical University of Munich has finally figur…