Photos: Yoichiro Kawaguchi’s robot designs

More photos of Yoichiro Kawaguchi’s robot designs on display at Yushima Seidō temple in Tokyo

This is my favorite. I want one these flying by my side, armed with a particularly powerful cream pie.

It isn't because it's a very good demonstration. No, it's the music playing the background with the god-awful Ken Burns effect. This is someone who shouldn't have access to iMovie.

Awesome. Scary awesome.

See 15 more wall-climbing robots at oobject.

When I was a child [age 2 to 8] I lived in India, and at that time a Japanese monk who had been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize taught me the philosophy, “The real essentials are not something you can see with your eyes.” Speaking broadly, what I want to do is create people, things, events, and worlds. What I’m doing now is using robotics as a platform to achieve that.

The image above comes from the Halluc II project. This robot can roll on wheels or switch to an "insect" mode. I don't know about you, but my eyes are seeing some beautiful robotics created by Mr. Furuta and his team.

For more, check out Future Robotics Technology Center (fuRo). The site is in Japanese, but you don't need to read Kanji to appreciate the beauty of these robots.

The beginning of the video is kind of spooky, watching the robot cruise up a hill in the forest. However, it gets really awesome when you see how the robot handles changes in terrain (like ice) or getting kicked in the side. Amazing and awesome work can't wait to see these roaming the streets and hunting us like the outmoded flesh monkeys we are.

BigDog at Boston Dynamics

[Via: IEEE Spectrum and Gizmodo]

[Update 2008-03-26: Gizmodo posted this hilarious parody of the BigDog video.]

Fifth Gear is a long running "motoring show" that appears on the British Channel Five. Tiff Needell is one of our favorite hosts. Check out this awesome video of Tiff zipping about in the Aston Martin DBS.

The Aston Martin DBS is a 6.0-litre V12 powered, race-bred, two-seater shaped by the aerodynamic demands of high performance, with an exquisite interior that marries beautifully hand-finished materials with the very latest in performance technology. A combination of elegant design, innovative manufacturing processes, race-derived materials and components and Aston Martin’s unrivalled hand-build expertise makes the DBS a luxury sports car without equal.

[Via asahi.com]

The sQuba is a real car from Rinspeed.