WowWee is at it again with new cubs to cuddle. These Alive pets come in Polar Bear, Panda, Lion, and White Tiger. Each cub purrs and mews with blinking eyes and animated mouth. Leave it alone and it will enter sleep mode, snore for 5 minutes, then power down. Recommended for kids over three, each pet comes with its own adoption certificate. Look for the cubs with a price of $59.99 each. | WowWee

Trailer for The Day The Earth Stood Still Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Science Fiction, Trailers, Upcoming Releases,

In The Day the Earth Stood Still, Keanu Reeves stars as Klaatu, a humanoid alien who arrives on Earth with a robot companion.  The two have a warning to deliver to the world’s leaders.

Those familiar with the 1951 original should know this remake will come with a slightly different message. In an interview with MTV, Reeves said, “The version I was just working on, instead of being man against man, it’s more about man against nature. My Klaatu says that if the Earth dies, you die. If you die, the earth survives. I’m a friend to the earth.”

Earth - also starring Jennifer Connelly, Jaden Smith and Jon Hamm - lands in theaters on December 12.

Talking GPS Teddy Bear This is almost too scary. iXs Research Corp. has created a talking Teddy Bear with GPS. At about a foot tall, it has 6 joints in its neck and arm to prove its spoken point. The teddy also has an alcohol detection sensor in its neck and will admonish you if it smells that last margarita with “You haven’t been drinking, have you?”

Stroke his head and he will tell you about nearby landmarks. And if you drive badly, he will tell you to “Watch out.” The company is planning a 2009 launch and has patented the idea so that they can implant their technology in other types of dolls. We just want to know, what will the guy in the car next to you think if your teddy is talking? | Pink Tentacle

SnoMotes Don’t Mind the Cold Researchers from Georgia Tech and Penn State have been working on 3 autonomous bots for cold locales such as Greenland and Antarctica. SnoMotes, funded by NASA, use cameras and sensors to navigate.The idea of the design actually came from a child’s snowmobile kit.The robots are sent to certain locations from base camps, then collect data for their handler. The scientist can then reassign location if necessary. Eventually the team is hoping that the prototype will have a full range of sensors. The Snomotes will be field tested in Alaska and on display at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry next month. | Georgia Tech

Real Wall-E appears in Los Angeles Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Disney, Adventure, Animation, Family, Comedy, Upcoming Releases,

Wall-E Spotted in LA! from Blink on Vimeo.

Pixar‘s Wall-E is set to hit theaters in just a little over a month, so you just know that the hype is set to ramp up leading up to the opening, right? Leave it up to Pixar to take a rusty, old, childish robot and make it so cute that we immediately buy into it and start posting videos of its appearance around town. I mean, just watching the video above, don’t you just feel like you have to adopt the little guy and take him home? I’m betting this will be my favorite Pixar movie since Monsters Inc. How about you? You anticipating this one?

Unboxing Live 035: Drobo and DroboShare Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Laptop, Networking, PC, Peripherals, Robots, Videocasts,

Drobo is billed as the “World’s first data storage robot.”  We like to think of it as super, super simple data storage that also doubles as a fantastic backup destination. Backing up your data is both extremely boring, and excruciatingly essential. Apple has tried to spice things up in this area with their Time Machine technology in Leopard (which Drobo supports), and Windows Home Server offers easy backup for your Windows-based computers.

As you may recall, we got a full feature rundown of Drobo back at CES 2008, so check that out if you need a refresher, or in case you missed it. We were thoroughly impressed, and had to get our hands on one to bring you the scoop on what we think of the device after using it in the real world. While the review is soon to come, we knew you’d want to see the Drobo unboxed. Oh, and as a bonus, we also have the DroboShare as well. This add-on turns your Drobo into a NAS device, and can even pair two Drobos up together for the ultimate in small environment networked data storage.

Check out the video above for the full unboxing of the Drobo and DroboShare NAS device.

Robot American Football Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Misc. Tech, Science, Videos,

We have seen soccer-playing robots, but did you know there is also an annual Robot American Football game? Produced by the same group that organized Robot Sumo in Japan, the mini-bots do the playing, thereby depriving its viewers of outright violence and blood-letting that you get most Monday nights. We only have one question after viewing the video. What do you suppose the robotic players do when one of the human refs blows his/her whistle? | Robots-Dreams

Annual Stupid Robot Contest Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Robotic competitions are not limited to those with agility and practicality. Meiwa Electronics sponsors the annual Stupid Robot Contest. Entries must be mechanical, useless, and make people laugh. Papa Robopucho plays the red-flag white-flag game solo, then topples over and cries for help. We’re not sure what the baby ones do. Previous contestants included a chorus of preggers wifebots. While we don’t really find that the most amusing of robotic entrants, we suppose there is just no accounting for taste. | Tokyo Mango

Enter RoboGames This Year If you are the type to keep up on robotics competitions, (and we are,) then you know that the next RoboGames (formerly the RobOlympics,) is coming up June 12 through 15 in San Francisco. With over 70 different events, including combat robots, walking humanoids, and soccer bots, the competition comes from all over the planet. You can get a ticket for $20.00 a day to watch the event, but if you have ever thought about participating, there is still time to get in on the action. Purchase a RoboNova kit and build your own android for $999.99 or get one that is pre-assembled for $1,199.00.

(Thanks, Mike) | RoboGames

Remake News: Short Circuit Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Family, Science Fiction, Comedy, Upcoming Releases, The minute I saw the trailer for Wall•E, I knew it was just a matter of time before someone toyed with the idea of revamping Short Circuit.  (Steve Guttenberg‘s recent stint on Dancing with the Stars only strengthened my theory.)  Now that bad idea is finally coming true: Johnny 5 will once again be coming alive.

Dimension Films has just announced that it has purchased the rights to remake the cheesy ‘80s film.  The movie, which starred Ally Sheedy and Guttenberg, featured a military-built robot that eventually adapts human qualities.  Families will supposedly crave more robot fare after this summer’s Pixar release, which is why Bob Weinstein has greenlighted the update.

S.S. Wilson and Brent Maddock, the same two behind the 1986 film and its sequel, will also be charged with writing the modern-day version.  In the meantime, look for Wall•E to hit theaters on June 27.
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