Japan Sends Team Of 23 Rescue Robots That Withstand Radiation To Fukushima [Update: Videos]
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Japan’s International Rescue System Institute (IRS) unveiled a new rescue robot that can be used to take over the work from humans in high-radiation areas. Not too surprisingly, the institute announced the remote-controlled machines will be used to scope out the situation in various places at the damaged nuclear power plant in Fukushima. The IRS says the robots can withstand radiation (up to 20 Sv currently) and are also water-proof to a certain extent (driving through puddles, for example, is supposed to be no problem). A team ...
Mechanical bird flaps its wing to fly, just like the real thing

Real birds make it look easy, but it turns out that making something that can fly by flapping its wings is incredibly difficult. That didn't stop the folks at Festo's Bionic Learning Network from creating this elegant autonomous Herring Gull, that can fly using no propulsion other than its wings.
Bertrand Serlet, one of the major forces behind OS X, to leave Apple

Bertrand Serlet, senior vice president of Mac Software Engineering and one of the developers of OS X, is leaving Apple after a 22-year working relationship with Steve Jobs. Serlet started working with Jobs in 1989 as part of NeXT and made the move to Apple in 1997 when Jobs returned to the company.
"I've worked with Steve for 22 years and have had an incredible time developing products at both NeXT and Apple, but at this point, I want to focus less ...
This 26 foot snakebot should help Japanese rescuers find victims

Much has been said about how Japan is better prepared for earthquakes than any other country, and some of this prep involves the robots they have developed to help in rescue situations. This self propelled snakebot is designed to burrow deep into collapsed buildings, showing rescuers anyone who might be trapped inside.
AIST shows off full-color night vision camera, well lit Bullwinkle figurine (video)

You might know them for seemingly ridiculous innovations like Segway shoes or the HRP-4C pop star robot, but the folks at AIST have put away the gimmicks for their latest invention -- a full-color night vision camera. Produced by Nanolux, an arm of AIST, the camera uses a series of algorithms to read and process wavelengths reflected by objects lit with infrareds, allowing it to successfully reproduce reds, blues, and greens in ...
Elle, Nylon and Pop Sci gladly adopt Apple’s subscription terms

Not every publisher's feathers were ruffled by the changes Apple made to its subscription policy earlier this week. While Rhapsody may have responded negatively to the changes, some publishers are accepting the new terms and adopting Apple's new subscription model. According to Advertising Age, three popular magazines, Elle, Nylon and Popular Science, will let customers subscribe via the App Store and, in return, will concede some of their valuable customer data to Apple. The trio ...
Video: Japanese Baby Robot Affetto

Japan has a new, creepy baby robot. Following kid-like humanoids M3-neony/M3-synchy , M3-Kindy and Noby and a bunch of similar robots, we can now give you the Affetto (Italian for “affection). The Affetto is the brain child of Prof. Minoru Asada (who also developed the M3-Kindy and Noby from last year). In contrast to aforementioned robots, Affetto at this point is just a robotic head that’s supposed to look like that of a one to two-year old child. It can move its eyes, jaws, eyebrows, and lips, ...
The paperless office: How to get there (and a discount ebook offer)

Last Wednesday on TUAW TV Live, I discussed my success over the past year at moving towards the ultimate goal of a paperless office. I thought it would be a good idea for me to pass along some of the methods I've been using to accomplish this elusive goal, and also offer a deal to our readers for an ebook all about the subject.
My earliest steps towards a paperless office actually came a few years ago, when I went to ...