Robots (not in disguise)

DIRECTORIES
• NASA Internet Robotics Resources Index

NEWS
• Real Robots
Good links page at; www.realrobots.co.uk/links

• Robots.net
Robots and robotic information

• San Francisco Robotics Society of America (News Page)

• Technology Research News
Technology Research News (TRN) is an independent publisher and news service dedicated to covering technology research developments in university, corporate and government labs. Every story published by TRN is the result of direct, original reporting.

FUN
• Cool Robots of the Week

• The NASA Robotics Education Project

• The Robot Zoo
Children across the US can explore the biomechanics of complex animal robots to discover how real animals work, thanks to a touring exhibit, "The Robot Zoo."
The 5,000-square-foot exhibit reveals the magic of nature as a master engineer. Eight robot animals and more than a dozen hands-on activities illustrate fascinating real-life characteristics, such as how a chameleon changes colors, a giant squid propels itself and a fly walks on the ceiling.
The larger-than-life-size animated robots include a chameleon, a rhinoceros, a giant squid with 18-foot tentacles and a platypus. Also featured are a house fly with a 10-foot wingspread, a grasshopper, a bat and a giraffe whose head and neck alone stretch 9 feet tall.

• The Rover Ranch
he ROVer Ranch is a place to learn about robotic engineering. You can learn about the development of robots, their elements and systems, and use a 3D VRML simulation to build and run your own robot. (note that the VRML engine doesn't work on Macs. Sob.)

MILITARY ROBOTS
• Unmanned Ground Vehicles/Systems - Joint Project Office
US government facility. Aims to provide the 21st Century Land Forces with a Family of Highly Mobile, Multi-Mission, Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) to Achieve a "Leap-Ahead" Capability Across the Entire Spectrum of Military Conflict.

• URBIE Urban Robot
The Tactical Mobile Robot program, in the DARPA Advanced Technology Office, has enlisted JPL's Machine Vision Group in leading the design and implementation of its perception urban robot. Urbie's initial purpose is mobile military reconnaissance in city terrain but many of its features will also make it useful to police, emergency, and rescue personnel. The robot is rugged and well-suited for hostile environments and its autonomy lends Urbie to many different applications. Such robots could investigate urban environments contaminated with radiation, biological warfare, or chemical spills. They could also be used for search and rescue in earthquake-struck buildings and other disaster zones.