When somebody calls something a “killer robot” I have certain expectations. This is a killer robot. So is this. The following picture does NOT contain a robot I would reasonably describe as “killer:”

It is huggable, I suppose, and it is plush. But I want more death and destruction and overall terrifyingnessocity! Oh well, how much terror can I honestly expect from something 8″ tall that cost $12? You can pick either “Stepper” or “Ninja Servo,” both available from ThinkGeek, who also has free shipping through Sunday night on orders $40 and up.

[ ThinkGeek ]

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Well, I don’t know, what would YOU call it? It’s a walking driving rideable motorcycle robo dog thing that also happens to breathe fire. And its name is Lrry. It was constructed by the Mutoid Waste Company in London because, as far as I can tell, they wanted to and they could. And it’s 100% recycled, yay! Have a look:

[ Mutoid Waste Company (winner of the horribly retro website award) ] VIA [ Gizmowatch ]

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WowWee’s Rovio is one of the first potentially practical, sort of low cost, slightly flexible telepresence robots that you can go to the store and buy, and if you’ve been thinking about getting one, WowWee is giving you the opportunity to try it out first. You can sign up for 5 minutes to try remotely driving a Rovio around a swanky apartment that’s not yours. It’s only available from 9am to 9pm, so my guess is that there’s somebody hiding in the bedroom in case you drive the Rovio through a window or something. If you manage to do this (or anything else destructive or otherwise hilarious), for heaven’s sake get a screenshot and send it to me.

In the meantime, Register Hardware has a nice review of the Rovio up, which might help you decide whether or not it’s worth $300.

[ Meet Rovio ] VIA [ Mr. Future ]

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This, people, is why you should invest $100 in an i-SOBOT. NOT-SO-DEADLY WEAPONS! Crossbow, sniper rifle, machine gun, rocket launcher, and light saber (!), after the jump. (more…)

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This cute little metal robot sculpture is just a reminder that even robots (in all their perfection) have to excrete something, be it waste heat, gaseous exhaust, or spent uranium pellets. Whatever is coming out of this guy apparently turns toilet paper pink. He’s $95, including the toilet paper holder.

[ Bath Reader ] VIA [ Nerd Approved ]

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This family photo taken at JPL shows three generations of Mars rovers: Sojourner, Spirit (or is that Opportunity?), and the somewhat less fetchingly named Mars Science Laboratory. It’s pretty neat to see the three robots side by side; it gives you a sense both of how big MSL is, and how small Sojourner was (click here for a picture with a person in it for comparison).

Sojourner is long frozen, of course, but Spirit and Opportunity are both still amiably working away, and it’s only been about 4 and a half more years than they were supposed to survive. Mars Science Laboratory is scheduled to land on Mars is mid to late 2010 and last for at least one Martian year (a little less than two Earth years). After the jump, check out the crazy way they intend to land this thing on the surface. (more…)

Tags: Syndicated by Evan Ackerman
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I guess that Hello Kitty special edition Roomba we saw back in September must have actually suckered in some poor hapless obsessive fans, because iRobot is kicking out another 400 unit special edition Roomba 530, this time with a WALL-E theme. As huge a fan as I am of WALL-E, I have to say, the $875 pricetag is just ludicrous. For $875, you could get yourself like four of the superior 535 models and have change left over. For that matter, you could buy one 535, and then commission Pixar itself to paint some WALL-E artwork on it and still probably come out ahead. If I haven’t convinced you how dumb of an idea it would be to buy one of these, you’ll find them at the Disney Store in the Tokyo Disney Resort on November 20th.

Incidentally, WALL-E comes out on DVD and Blu-Ray tomorrow. And if you didn’t catch the BURN-E vignette during the appx. 2 seconds that it was up here, you’ll be able to catch it on this DVD.

VIA [ Robot Watch (Translated) ]

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This isn’t news, per say, but I was just struck by this little blurb from Robots-Dreams, a robotics blog based in Japan:

The Aqua City shopping complex in Tokyo’s Odaiba district has to be one of the most confusing and poorly laid out buildings we’ve ever encountered, so it would seem to be a natural fit for an ‘information’ robot to give directions, point customers to the appropriate shops, and provide general security. Sure enough, we found this robot on the 3rd floor…

Maybe Lem is being facetious, I really wish I lived in a society where if I got lost somewhere, my first thought would be to go find the nearest assistance robot, and then hey presto, there’d actually be one there. Oh Japan, why must you be so much more awesome and robot-y than everywhere else? Sigh.

[ Robots-Dreams ]

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WALL-E is set to land on Blu-Ray (and DVD) on November 18th, and will probably become the go-to showoff movie for high-end entertainment systems. The newest Pixar movie is a big favorite here at Gizmodo, and the 3-disc set looks like a must-have for Blu-Ray owners, with all kinds of great extras. More details after the jump.

It’ll be available in a two- or three-disc set on Blu-Ray, and feature a new short film called BURN-E, as well as Presto, the short that ran alongside the film in theaters. The sets also have a documentary on the studio called The Pixar Story, a “retro suite of video games,” and of course the standards like commentary and a behind-the-scenes look. The double and triple-disc sets will run for $36 and $41, respectively, and there will be single, double, and triple-disk DVD sets as well. [Official Site]

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This six-legged, pimp-headed robot dancing to Lou Bega’s “Mambo No. 5” is all sorts of freaky. It’s been on YouTube for a few weeks, but I thought it was perfect for Halloween, as evidenced by that pins-and-needles feeling I get watching it. Remember that scene in Toy Story when the maltreated toys go after Buzz and Woody? Why the hell would someone want to replicate toys so scary? It’s enough to make me go running and screaming like a girl—wait, I totally forgot, I am a girl. Maybe you guys should show your lady friends this clip, so you can magically morph into Prince Charmings to protect and console them. [Geekologie]

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