Uncanny Valley Authority

We would like to thank everyone that participated in the Robot Taxonomy Project at 21 Grand. The blackboards were documented and we are preparing a slide show of the additions, movements and subtractions over the month.

Over the next few weeks, we will be updating the taxonomy to reflect the influx of ideas and information.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/robotics/4343054.html

For Immediate Release:   Robots: In Our Image a presentation by Eliot K Daughtry, Executive Director/Founder of the Robot Identification Institute a video performance by killer banshee   Friday, December 4, 2009 8:00pm - 9:00pm   Robot Identification Institute @ 21 Grand 416 25th St Oakland CA 94612

Most of the world's robots are industrial, but most of the ones we imagine look like humans. Why do we think about one and use another? How can a robot be a human and also be an artificial intelligence? Why are we comfortable with some robots, but find others creepy? Why are more robots male than female? This presentation will discuss major areas of the Robot Taxonomy Project, an ongoing effort to classify all types of robots and why humans create them.
 

We had a wonderful time opening the temporary office, located at 21 Grand in Oakland CA! Thanks to everyone who came out last night, for the November Art Murmur. Special Thanks to Darren Jenkins and Sarah Lockhart of 21 Grand, Kimric Smythe and our CTO Kriss De Jong for making this opening memorable and fun.

If you are in the Bay Area, please come by during office hours over the next month - 4-8 thursday, 4-6 friday, Saturday and Sunday 2-6 pm. Other times by appointment! schedule via email at rii@uncannyvalley.net. 

From Boing Boing via Modern Mechanix

The BBC is running a report about a robotic hand

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8313037.stm

This is an excellent compendium of uncanny valley activity in television and film. We appreciate the effort that tvtropes put into tracking the effect of the phenomena here.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/UncannyValley

Conan O'Brien jokes about prostate exams and C-3P0 in opening monologue tonight.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/08/yamahas-singing-robot-quietly-trolls-...

Harvard's getting some notice for this project

The project description:

INSPIRED by the biology of a bee and the insect’s hive behavior ...

we aim to push advances in miniature robotics and the design of compact high-energy power sources; spur innovations in ultra-low-power computing and electronic “smart” sensors; and refine coordination algorithms to manage multiple, independent machines.