Whether you consider the idea of a house full of robots waiting to do your bidding a dream-come-true or a nightmare, there may be a bigger problem. Researchers now worry that the average human could be overwhelmed by the task of interacting with half-a-dozen or more automatons rolling and walking around the home. The novel solution: A core robot personality that jumps from device to device.

According to a report in New Scientist, researchers at University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield, UK, have created a single robot brain that can jump from robot-to-robot, and even computers scattered throughout the home. The benefit is that homeowners can communicate a task to the robo-butler in one interface and, even if that robot cannot accomplish the task, it can communicate with one that can, and even relay back to the owner that the task has been completed.

Other features the uni-bot-brain brings are the ability to recognize different people (I hate when they mistake me for a chair), respect personal space (no more robots goosing you) and other norms of social interaction (finally, my robots will stop picking their noses).

Trials are currently underway in two story home in the UK. You can see more in the video at New Scientist's site.

Movies can generate props and people that we can only imagine. But in Terminator Salvation, audiences can see how reality became fantasy.

The movie features a wide array of new and old robots, from the underwater Hydrobot to the gigantic Harvester. But one of the coolest bots by far is the Motobot--a fast-moving, hard-hitting, deadly Terminator model. Motobots are quick to get to their targets, and fast on the pickup if they fall.

Motobot Terminators are not merely someone's fantasy of a killer motorcycle, though: They're also someone's fantasy of a killer Ducati Hypermotard 1100. This sport bike was the model of choice to use in the MotoTerminator's deadly chase scenes.

One day, we'll all have armless, boxy, nagging robots in the home to remind us to take our meds and that it's time to watch Jeopardy! This is the dream behind GeckoSystems Intl. Corp.'s CareBot personal robot.

Under development for over a decade, the CareBot prototype is a mobile automaton that can easily, if very slowly, navigate among people and objects. It'll follow grandma around the house, let other families watch her from afar (via internet-based video teleconferencing) and contact someone on the outside if grandma falls down and can't get up. According to GeckoSystem company execs, it can also operate for up to 14 hours on a single charge.

For all the talk about robotic uprisings, man and machine have learned to coexist fairly peacefully--for the most part. Accidents do happen, and sometimes robots attack. Take, for example, the case of a worker tasked with repairing a rock-lifting machine in a Swedish factory.

The event occurred back in 2007, when the machine reportedly mistook the man's head for a rock, which was roughly the same size as those it was programmed to lift. The man managed to escape the "attack" with his life, but got fairly seriously injured in the process.

"The man was very lucky. He broke four ribs and came close to losing his life," prosecutor Leif Johansson told a local paper.

The man ultimately decided not to press charges, but the plant was fined 25,000 Kronor ($3,100). According to the witnesses, the robot told the victim, "I'll be back."

Pop open the champagne and pour your hardworking robot vacuum a glass--it's now a Robot Hall of Fame Inductee.

iRobot's seven-year-old Roomba is one of five in the class of 2010 inductees into the Robot Hall of Fame, along with NASA's Mars Rovers Spirit and Opportunity, the DaVinci Medical Robot System, Huey, Dewey and Louie from the 1971 Bruce Dern film "Silent Running and the T-800 Terminator from James Cameron's 1984 film "The Terminator". A brainchild of the Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science, the Hall of Fame, according to a university spokesman, "recognizes excellence in robotics technology worldwide and honors the fictional and real robots that have inspired and embodied breakthrough accomplishments in robotics."

Ugobe, the Idaho-based consumer robotics company that brought the world Pleo, the adorable robotic dinosaur, is extinct. The company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy this week, according to a report in the Idaho Statesman. Ugobe unveiled Pleo to great attention and acclaim almost three years ago, but delays and the lack of further development beyond the initial rollout of the robotic dinosaur may have hampered the business. In recent years, Ugobe changed leadership and moved from its California-based offices to Idaho. Pleo was always manufactured in Hong Kong.

Perhaps the most sophisticated consumer robot since Sony's AIBO robot dog (Sony stopped selling them in 2006), Pleo charmed reviewers and consumers when it finally arrived in stores in 2007. With cartoon looks, a puppy-like personality that developed over-time and a web site where you could download personality enhancements and interact with other Pleo owners, the Ugobe creation looked poised for success. At the time, Ugobe execs promised that Pleo would be just the first of many Life Forms. The product certainly had the pedigree for success: Furby creator Caleb Chung helped design it and was front and center during the product launch.

However unlike WowWee, which sells robot toys (that lack the ability to learn or change over time) for well under $200, Ugobe's Pleo listed for $349. That steep price and Pleo's painfully slow locomotion, lack of features like a camera, speaking voice (it could make sounds), and remote control may have hindered its adoption.

In the end, it's another promising consumer robot that failed to live up to and beyond expectations. With some companies pulling back on research and development, one has to wonder if we'll ever see another product like it.

We take a loving look back after the jump.

Honda was in town today showing off its recently announced Stride Management Assist and Bodyweight Support Assist prototypes. Designed by members of the team that brought the ASIMO Humanoid robot into the world, the two wearable devices are aimed at improving locomotion in users.

PCMag editor-in-chief Lance Ulanoff and myself had the opportunity to see the devices up close--and to try them out. After the jump, check out footage of Lance taking the Stride Management Assist and Bodyweight Support Assist prototypes for a spin around the W Hotel in midtown Manhattan.

And for a full-hands-on--well, legs-on--review of the new devices (and a slideshow), check out our story at PCMag.com.

Honda Motor is set to unveil two robotic walking and lifting assistant exoskeleton devices in New York tomorrow. The company preannounced the prototypes today, giving the world a glimpse in video and photos of these two wearable technologies.

The same company that brought the world the ASIMO Humanoid  robot, American Honda Motors, has used what it learned about human locomotion to build the Stride Management Assist and the Bodyweight Support Assist.

The first prototype is a lightweight, wearable device intended to help the elderly and those with weakened leg muscles walk. In photos, users wear the Stride Management apparatus around their waists, hips and thighs. An internal computer actually regulates the user's stride and walking pace to make it more consistent and, ultimately, effective.

The Bodyweight Support device is a more extensive apparatus. It extends from the waist and hips to the feet and even has a built-in seat that wearers straddle. That extra gear is necessary because the Bodyweight is not only intended to help those who have difficulty walking, but to assist the able in strenuous tasks, such as lifting heavy weights.

Honda plans on showing off these intelligent exoskeleton prototypes later this month at the  Automotive Engineers (SAE) World Congress at Detroit's Cobo Center (April 20 - 23). However, Gearlog should have a hands-on report sometime tomorrow.

More photos of the prototypes after the jump.

Hiroshi Ishiguro's over-sized "baby" robot, CB2, has made a lot of progress since we last reported on him...er..it, in 2007. According to a report on Breitbart.tv, the 73-pound, roughly 4-foot-tall robot can now walk with assistance, and navigate its way around a room. It's also very adept at creeping people out by following them with its inky-black eyes. Apparently CB2 has been programmed to record facial emotions, much as a baby would, to help it better respond to human interaction. The Breitbart report also notes that just below its gray, silicon skin are a host of sensors so it can react to all kinds of subtle touches.

The researchers' goal is to have CB2 talking--in a child-like-way--within two years. The rest of report recounts much of what we already know about the rapid pace of robotics development in Japan. There is, however, a bizarre diversion to Kokoro (a subsidiary of Hello Kitty manufacturer Sanrio). The company actually makes some life-size robots of its own, and its planning department manager, Yuko Yokota, spoke to Breitbart. His words really speak for themselves:

"Robots have hearts," said Yokota. "They don't look human unless we put souls in them. When manufacturing a robot, there comes a moment when light flickers in its eyes. That's when we know our work is done." 

Umm, yeah. Remind me never to buy one of those robots.

Two teams of researchers said on Thursday they had created machines that could "reason, formulate theories and discover scientific knowledge on their own," a development that could potentially signal a major advance in the field of artificial intelligence, according to Reuters.

At Aberystwyth University in Wales, researchers created Adam, a robot that can carry out experiments on yeast metabolism, reason about the results, and plan the next experiment, the report said. So far it has already uncovered something new about the genetics of yeast, in what is apparently the first time a robot has ever made an independent scientific discovery.

Meanwhile, Hod Lipson and Michael Schmidt of Cornell University in New York designed a computer program that can uncover the fundamental physical laws behind a swinging double pendulum, teasing out Issac Newton's laws of motion along the way, according to the article.

Eventually both groups plan to put more robotic designs to work in discovering new medicines and uncovering new scientific principles, respectively. (Image credit: Aberystwyth University)

Here's a technology breakthrough that has countless Sci-Fi horror film implications: The loveable Honda Asimo Robot can now be controlled via thought.

Honda's Research Institute developed a brain-machine interface (that looks a lot like an old-school hair-dryer), which can interpret brain waves for four basic movements. According to a report on Physorg.com, humans can use the device to control Asimo's arms and legs. It also mentions the "tongue", but since Asimo has no tongue (in fact, it never speaks for itself--Asimo's voice is typically generated by an off-stage handler) that seems highly unlikely. Perhaps they meant "torso". The report adds that making actual movements yourself is not required to move Asimo. Instead, 'brain-machine" wearers need only imagine, say, moving their right arm--and concentrating really hard--to get Asimo to do the same.

For now, the Brain Machine device looks like it might fill a small room, so this technology is a long way from any sort of practical application. Still, it does point the way to more useful home helper robots that can act on your thoughts, instead of direct commands. On the other hand, you have to wonder what would happen with a thought controlled Asimo and a few dark thoughts about the lazy spouse...

When it comes to developing robots for underwater explorations, it's safe to say that mimicking fish is the most common choice thus far. But Cecilia Laschi of Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Pisa believes the better alternative to conventional robots and machines used for the purpose is something not exactly fish-like in appearance. To be able to reach into tight spaces and every nook and cranny of coral reefs, she believes the best design would be that of an octopus.

Octopus legs are thin and flexible and can reach places larger machineries can't. But to be able to fully mimic a real octopus, the robotic counterpart will have to have no solid skeleton. In fact, this concept currently under development is slated to become the very first soft robot, in case it does come to fruition. "So we are replicating the muscular structure of an octopus by making a robot with no rigid structure - and that is completely new to robotics," says Laschi. The robotic octopus will be fitted with artificial muscles made of silicone rubber and nerves that will serve as its inner structure. Of course not everyone is optimistic of its development, with a cephalopod expert calling the plan "a bit crazy." Nevertheless, developers are positive that the plan is possible in spite of the fact that no tentacle has yet been built.

Imagine a smart phone that, when you pull it out of your pocket, converts to a netbook. According to a report in Information Week, this futuristic technology is closer than you think.

When people talk about shape-shifting technology, most imagine amorphous, gel-like products that smoothly glide from razors to full-sized cars. As Information Week's story and accompanying video prove, however, the reality is both more mundane and, potentially, more exciting.

Emergency personnel need the latest in radio, GPS, wireless, and cellular connectivity to do their jobs. Now researchers at the Ilmenau University of Technology in Germany have developed flying quadcopter robots that join and assemble an ad-hoc wireless network in the event of a disaster, Engadget reports.

When joined together, the robots can offer both Wi-Fi and cellular access to emergency people on the ground. They're built with off-the-shelf parts, including a GPS radio and a VIA chipset, and come in a kit that includes everything but the battery for about $380 each, the report said.

The battery is a killer, though—it costs about $1,200 and only lasts for 20 minutes of flight time, although once the thing finds a place to land, it can work for hours after that on the same charge. A robot will be on display in FutureParc hall at CeBIT, according to the report. This is easily the coolest thing I've seen all week.