Robot goes to school

A high-school boy, named Lyndon Baty has polycystic kidney disease, leaving him with "virtually no immune system". Because of his condition, he has been unable to have contact with his friends, or attend his classes for over a year. Well, that has all changed for him now... kind of. Now Lyndon can virtually attend classes and walk the halls with his classmates, through the screen of his robotic avatar on wheels. The robot attends his classes, and Lyndon gets to feel like he is there too. According to the NBC report:

"The technology, which works like video conferencing, allows him to attend class, visit the school canteen, and even hang around the yard.
It is the first time the machine has been used in a school - and it has given Lyndon, from Knox City, a new lease of life. His mother Sheri told local NBC news station KFDX: 'He has a reason to get up. He takes his medicine, eats, and he's sitting and waiting for that (school) bell to ring.''It's absolutely amazing,' Lyndon added. 'I would have never thought when I was sick that I would ever have any interaction, much less this kind. It is just like I am there in the classroom.'"

Pretty awesome, if you ask me. Be honest, if given the chance, wouldn't you just like to sit at home once in a while, and send your robot-avatar to work. It would certainly be easier than pretending to pay attention during boring staff meetings!

Day 12 – A picture of something you love

 Robots are awesome. I love pretty much any kind of robots, from Wall-e, to the Battlestar Galactica cylons. Every time I watched Caprica, all I could think was how much I want their robot butler "Serge". I mean really, who wouldn't want a servant who is bound by Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics? It's not like you will have to worry about them stealing your jewelry!

I will leave you with a picture of my soon-to-be wedding cake toppers:

Robot-Dinosaur Home Alarm? Yes, Please!

A $19,000 robotic triceratops that patrols your house taking pictures of would-be burglars. What could be better? Ever since 'The Land Before Time', triceratops has been my favorite dinosaur, and now I can have one... as soon as I have $19,000. According to reports:

"The Banryu bots were designed to patrol homes and photograph and would-be intruders using a camera installed in their snouts, but their plodding pace (3 meters a minute) made them questionably useful. TMSUK later created a zippier, 15-meter-per-minute Banryu model (that could also detect carbon monoxide leaks), but sadly the whole "cybernetic dinosaur home security" trend never really took off."

 I just don't know if I want to live in a society that does not appreciate Robotic danger-sensing dinosaurs.