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5 Useless Robots (And Why We Love Them)

popularmechanics.com — Robots are made to assist us—to manipulate and improve upon our environments. But in the history of robotics there have been as many epic fails as incremental successes. Here, PM editorial adviser, author and roboticist Daniel H. Wilson corrals five of the most useless robots.

Who dugg this? Made popular Jul 17, 2009

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  • Animal, on 07/17/2009, -1/+165 useless web pages (and why I won't click through them)
  • vroom101, on 07/17/2009, -0/+7Article on one page: http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/robotics/4 ... (www.popularmechanics.com/science/robotics/4325054.html?do=print)
  • heartcoldfusion, on 07/17/2009, -0/+4I can't help but notice H.E.L.P.E.R. is not on that list.
  • spookyttws, on 07/17/2009, -0/+4"Elektro's final days included a small role in the 1960s film, Sex Kittens Go to College."

    Sadly, I doubt the movie is as good as it's title.
  • TheUngod, on 07/17/2009, -0/+4I was expecting to see Bender. He's as real as any robot on that list.
  • smashblu, on 07/17/2009, -0/+3ROB isn't useless, I kick ass with him in Smash Bros.
  • lolwutpear, on 07/17/2009, -0/+2...and I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations.
  • ennuisquared, on 07/17/2009, -0/+2I am Bender. Please insert girder.
  • XTomTomX, on 07/17/2009, -0/+2Huh...My Boss is no where on this list..
  • hutectro, on 07/17/2009, -0/+1
    ----------------The Title Should Read

    ------------------------TOTALLY USELESS DIGG (And Why I Love It)
  • uncleosbert, on 07/17/2009, -0/+1surely i'm not the only person who thought of this when they saw hardiman...
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgFXlEg5XZs
  • jordanmoore, on 07/17/2009, -0/+1Johnny-5 must be #6
  • MeccaYdna, on 07/18/2009, -0/+1Not sure if I agree with that. Just because a device does something automatically doesn't make it a robot. It just makes it....automated.

    What I described in my original post is the definition of a robot according to the industrial automation industry. They use lots and lots of automated devices, but most of them are just pre-programmed systems that work on their own...not robots.

    Thoughts?
  • tacojohn48, on 07/18/2009, -0/+1and my Grandmother.
  • meowspog, on 07/17/2009, -0/+1"It's gonna be the future soon."
  • tacojohn48, on 07/18/2009, -0/+1Johnny-5 was not useless. He just wouldn't do his primary function.
  • coraleaterlinda, on 07/17/2009, -0/+1Nobody loves Furbies. Except maybe Satan.
  • MeccaYdna, on 07/17/2009, -1/+1A robot is a purposeful, multi-functional manipulator of an object or process...furbies and that land walker definitely don't fit that definition. Cool article anyway tho...
  • kaf07h, on 07/17/2009, -1/+1Happy Birthday Paulie. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsAdIdfJirA&fea ...
  • rewnick, on 07/17/2009, -0/+0I got 2 pages in and decided to go back to the story dugg this morning about how much the sparkly vampires suck from Twilight. (no pun intended)
  • LordVance, on 07/17/2009, -1/+1And that's one of many, many different commonly accepted and used definitions for "robot."

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