Flying robot makes 3D map of building's interior

Rice University researchers are pioneers in the field of necrobotics—reanimating dead creatures as robots. They've demonstrated how a tiny dead wolf spider can become an air-powered gripper that can pick up tiny electronic parts from a circuit board. Video below. From IEEE Spectrum: Spiders are basically hydraulic (or pneumatic) grippers. Living spiders control their limbs… READ THE REST

During a match at the Moscow Open chess tournament, a chess-playing robot apparently grabbed and broke the finger of its 7-year-old opponent. "This is of course bad," said Sergey Lazarev, president of the Moscow Chess Federation. Of course. From The Guardian: Sergey Smagin, vice-president of the Russian Chess Federation, told [the Baza Telegram channel] the… READ THE REST

Someone—possibly in Russia—apparently strapped a submachine gun on a ~$3,000 robot dog available from AliExpress. Vice points out that the gun is a Russian PP-19 Vityaz submachine gun made in Russia and that along with a Russian flag and other insignia seen in the video, the vehicle in the background is a Russian BDRM-2 armored… READ THE REST

We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views.  In the modern world, we're practically dependent on the internet. Everything from working to socializing and general entertainment can be found on the web. So if we can't seem to get our… READ THE REST

Remember the last time you juiced up your iPhone using that short little charging cable it came with? The phone probably rang mid-charge, and it was a call you absolutely had to take. Of course, if you were at full charge, you could've taken the call from the comfort of your armchair. But if that… READ THE REST

We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views.  Let's face it. Getting what you need from a store shouldn't be insanely inconvenient. But, often, that can be precisely the case, and sometimes prices can make the experience even worse.  So, with no… READ THE REST