New Scientist has a nice survey of the 2004 Intelligent Robotics and Systems conference in Sendai, Japan this week. Accompanying the text are video clips of humanoid robots unleashed by Fujitsu and Sony. In one clip, HOAP-2 from Fujitsu practices some very surreal looking sumo wrestling moves.
Max Lungarella, of the University of Tokyo, believes one of the more noticeable themes at this year's conference is the way robotics is feeding into areas of research relating to intelligence.
As roboticists succeed in making ever-more intelligent machines, neuroscientists, cognitive scientists and even behavioural psychologists are becoming interested in studying their creations, he says.
