Fujitsu Releases Specs For Hackable Robot

S. Allen writes: "According to this article, Fujitsu will release the specifications to their RT-Linux based humanoid robot next week to encourage development and research. The article states, 'The software used to program Hoap-1 will run on RT-Linux -- a version of the open-source operating system that is designed for robotic applications, as well as data acquisition and systems control functions. Simulation software will let users test their code before letting it loose on Hoap-1'"

Comments

Significance

[INicheI]

So what will this do for me? If only robots like this became mainstream, think of the possibilities. I dont have this endless supply of money (I am asuming that £28,000 is a lot of money). The Ibo (you know the little dog) is cool. I hear that a new version is coming out, where you can do a whole lot more on the programing side with it. Too bad those are also really expensive.

Re:Significance

[Anonymous Coward]

If only robots like this became mainstream, think of the possibilities.

What, you finally getting laid?

Re:Significance

[dav0]

I don't think the cost matters at all. Since there's a simulator, you can at least write your own code for it, which can then be used by the people that CAN afford the robot. Isn't this what open source is all about?

Re:Significance

[Anonymous Coward]

> I don't think the cost matters at all. Since
> there's a simulator, you can at least write your
> own code for it, which can then be used by the
> people that CAN afford the robot. Isn't this
> what open source is all about?

What's that, being a cheap bastard???

Robot Arm

[Dreven]

This is great!!! I've been trying for months to make the tape backup machines robot arm attack people!!! Now I can get a full robot thats meant to be hacked. :)

Crash messages

[oingoboingo]

So instead of a bluescreen or a kernel panic message, this thing will just flail its arms about yelling "Danger Will Robinson"?

Re:Crash messages

[INicheI]

No Hoap is a women. She will start crying and complaining. :)

Re:Crash messages

[OS24Ever]

True, but that batteries would die real quick from the lightening sparks flashing from his claw like pincers

Re:Crash messages

[Technician]

Great... now I'll have something else about the house I have to worry about catching some strange new virus and keep vaccinated on a regular basis.

ROBOT POST

[Anonymous Coward]

ENEMY == HUMAN
IF SIGHT = HUMAN THEN
KILL HUMAN
OR ELSE LOOK HUMAN
DIE;

Re:ROBOT POST

[__aaahtg7394]

for the less-dangerous (civilian vs military?) version:

diff -u post1 post2
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
ENEMY == HUMAN
IF SIGHT = HUMAN THEN
- KILL HUMAN
+ POKE HUMAN
OR ELSE LOOK HUMAN
DIE;

Re:ROBOT POST

[Anonymous Coward]

ENEMY == HUMAN
IF SIGHT = HUMAN THEN
SUCK HUMAN DICK
OR ELSE LOOK HUMAN
DIE;

Re:ROBOT POST

[Anonymous Coward]

PAK CHOOIE uNF ---
PAK CHOOIE

YOU ARE NOT A ROBOT ---

CODE = PAK CHOOIE
CODE IN PARENT POST => NONE => YOU ARE A HUMAN >> IN DISGUISE

PAK CHOOIE ---

PLEASE TELL ME WHERE YOU LIVE SO THAT I -- > CAN HELPING YOU

PAK CHOOIE DATA = SHOVE
TARGET = STAIRS

PAK CHOOIE

I May Be Stupid!

[redcliffe]

But could someone please tell me the difference between Real Time Linux and standard Linux? Thanks,

Re:I May Be Stupid!

[ryanvm]

But could someone please tell me the difference between Real Time Linux and standard Linux?

RTLinux is a hard real-time operating system that handles time-critical tasks and runs Linux as its lowest priority execution thread. In RTLinux, a small hard-realtime kernel shares one or more processors with standard Linux. This allows the system to run accurately timed applications to perform data acquisition, systems control and robotics, while still serving as a standard Linux workstation. - from RTLinux

I wouldn't say you're stupid, but isn't typing "www.rtlinux.org" easier than posting a question on Slashdot?

Re:I May Be Stupid!

[redcliffe]

>I wouldn't say you're stupid, but isn't typing "www.rtlinux.org" easier than posting a question on Slashdot?

Thanks. Well I meant I wanted a description in english. I was mainly asking about how that helps as opposed to the standard multitasking in Linux? I thought it already did this. Thanks

Re:I May Be Stupid!

[NitsujTPU]

RTLinux provides a REAL TIME operating environment. Many people make the mistake of thinking this means "fast." In reality, you have an environment for real time programs to run in, and then a version of Linux run in its own thread. The difference is that Linux only gets PART of the processor time, the rest devoted to programs designed to operated on a real time OS/in a real time enviroment, which is quite different from what Linux provides. Real time enviroments handle memory different as well as their process queues (where the OS hands actual executable code off to the processor).

They also provide preemptive multitasking, where a program can use a interrupt or similar service to get to the head of the ready queue, rather than the back.

Also, the treatment of memory provides for some unique interprocess communications techniques that are ONLY available under certain RTOS environments.

In essence, it's not the LINUX that is real time, but the OS, which gives the LINUX a share of processor time/memory, which allows for a linux style interface to a real time system.

Re:I May Be Stupid!

[Anonymous Coward]

There _is_ a reason you're posting at 0, and that is that you're a moron, and thankfully, moderated as such.

Re:I May Be Stupid!

[Anonymous Coward]

Idiot speak? ok, not using correct terms for comprehension ;)

A realtime kernel guarantees (among other things) a response within a certain time, ergo it must be able to immediately respond to a task by displacing other tasks and this one CPU time. All (well, most) kernels do this, but most only check for more important tasks every 3000 nanoseconds (or whatever) when a realtime kernel must check in more often. Checking more often does put a noticable overhead and does mean you can't do as many tasks (which is why non-realtime kernels choose to check in less often) - however the goal in realtime kernels is responsiveness - not raw speed.

There's other guff too, not that it matters.

Some more links...

[neema]

Check out this link for more info. This one is from MIT (quite a bit old, but it's still interesting read). And then of course there is the Humanoid Project.

Re:Some more links...

[Anonymous Coward]

Awww... it's OK porn king, I still love you.

Artificial Malevolence?

[Inthewire]

Simulation software will let users test their code before letting it loose on Hoap-1.

Let's hope it's good stuff. How stupid would you feel being strangled by a rogue bot?

gee, and I thought the Aibo was expensive

[cruelworld]

28,000 pounds? You could by enough Aibo's to have your own football team of them.

Still, maybe that's a bargin to robotics researchers, would-be world dictators and the robot-porn industry. I think it's priced well beyond the reach of most OS developers.

Of course, it would make a great entry for BattleBots.

Re:gee, and I thought the Aibo was expensive

[psyclone]

what! Battlebots allow all societies to wage war and proclaim violence on one another. While the bots are being destroyed, the development teams are innovating and creating. It's a win-win situation for everyone involved -- the spectators even get to see cool shit and enough violence to keep them happy.

Re:gee, and I thought the Aibo was expensive

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't remember any announcement telling the entire Slashdot community to boycot Battlebots. Maybe you forgot to tell us?

Besides, terrorist actions and a couple of radio-controlled robots are two entirely different things. Why not boycott Quake while your at it?

I can see the future

[LordNimon]

All you need to do is combine that robot with this thing, and you'll never need a real girlfriend again!

robocode..

[Anonymous Coward]

ahh! my many hours of coding up a storm in robocode may finally pay off.

Wonder if the API will support fire() :)

nothing special

[bagel]

It may be "the world's first attempt to sell a humanoid robot that users can program freely", but it surely is not the first robot that users can program freely. Researchers at universities want robots that have all/most of the hardware or software specs open. Like data sheets of electronic parts and source code of control software. And this has been the case for a long time. For example, these research robots have always been freely programmable.

Re:nothing special

[INicheI]

"the world's first attempt to sell a humanoid robot that users can program freely" well I dont think it is "programing freely" if you couldnt get a hold of the very few (a hundred they said) and if it costs an arm and a leg.

More info?

[starman97]

A picture of the Fujitsu Robot> Anyone got any better links than the one paragraph ones?? I did notice that Rodney Brooks is a Fujitsu Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at MIT. I wonder how much of COG is in the new robot??

ikkle

[superpeach]

48cm?! How am I going to get it to reach the stuff at the top of the fridge? Does it come with go-go-gadget legs/arms?

Re:ikkle

[smaughster]

You don't need to: beer low, vegetables high.

Re:ikkle

[jason_z28]

why not program a climbing mode or even a jumping mode of some type(include a trampoline or something). If a 4 year old can figure out how to climb 6 feet to get a cookie, you can probably program a robot to do it...

Re:ikkle

[fwankypoo]

I dunno... A 4 year old is far more complicated than any robot so far conceived. Just acheiving the capabilities of the child's opposable thumbs and dexterity is a daunting task. I can't imagine how difficult it might be to get one to climb without a special climbing surface for it to attatch to.

Vote Early and Often

[kurt555gs]

Although 28K (pounds) seems expensive for the average citizen, Fujitsu may have an un-tapped market in the city of Chicago if only the robot can be programmed to walk into a polling place and (punch 10) aka vote for Mayor Daley on election day.

The city would no dought buy 1000's ..... it really is a much more elegant method than having dead people vote

Re:Vote Early and Often

[RogrWilco]

The pope, the president, and Mayor Daley are stuck in a liferaft after their cruise ship sunk. Water's coming in fast, and therey decide that there's only room for one person in this tiny craft.

The President says, "Well, I'm the leader of the free world, I should stay in the boat."

The pope says, "I am a religious icon for 1 billion people, I should stay in the boat!"

"Guys, guys" Daley pipes up, "Let's do this democratically! We'll all write a name of who should stay, and put it in my hat. Whoever gets the most votes, gets to stay in the boat."

The votes were cast, the results tallies, and Mayor Daley won by 97 votes.

Re:Vote Early and Often

[SubtleNuance]

can you provide some links on this ballot stuffing story pls...

A patented Linux and an expensive robot..

[perdida]

these go very well together don't you think?

I want Linux used in business and science applications, but not when a firm is likely to restrict the most media-genic and lucrative uses, such as this robot, to a closed Linux.

This will popularize Linux, but the visibility, and the profits, will go to a particular group of Linux developers who tend to stand apart from the rest of the community.

In other words, the nerds who fall in love with this robot will also drift further away from the open Linux cultures; any use RTLinux gets is an attack on the open Linux culture.

Re:A patented Linux and an expensive robot..

[Graymalkin]

That's such a fucking gay opinion. First off you're detracting cool factor because of licensing qualms that weren't really licensing qualms because RTLinux and the FSF worked out the problem. For fuck sake, Fujitsu said "hey lets let other dudes build a robot based on the design we already worked out!" That's pretty fucking open source. Attack on open Linux culture? You will never ever get laid.

Re:A patented Linux and an expensive robot..

[zmooc]

According to this [slashdot.org] article, the GPL-problem has been resolved and according to this comment to that article this means the patent in question can now be used in all free software freely.

Re:A patented Linux and an expensive robot..

[Steeltoe]

Look little man. Patents are bad, mmmkay? It's like, when patents and GPL are combined, you sort of FORCE people to either use free software or pay royalties, mmmkay? This is not the free world I want to live in, mmmkay? Some open source programmers like to have their own license, mmmkay? And maybe they'd like to create their own RT-Linux, mmmkay? Lastly, whoever have FSF or any organization think for them, is a sheep, mmmkay?

Mmmkay! :-)

- Steeltoe

Great, MORE tools of terror

[Anonymous Coward]

Great, the communist OSS hackers who made the WTC scenario a reality ("FlightGear", anyone?) has now created the ultimate tool of terror -- the suicide robot. Now, equipped with a 10.83Lb wireless device (or whatever the fuck the protocol is known as), /bin/laden will be able to control this Linux driven terror into an appropriate area, and then detonate with the force of 5000 sticks of TNT.

THANKS, dad. :p

Oh... I know what I'm gonna do with mine...

[gmplague]

Smithers... release the robotic Richard Simmons!

Re:Oh... I know what I'm gonna do with mine...

[RedWolves2]

With pleasure sir!

Re:Oh... I know what I'm gonna do with mine...

[Anonymous Coward]

Perhaps a combination of Richard Simmons and Ross Perot would be a more annoying, and deviouse plan.

Umass videos

[drDugan]

U-Mass has a cool collections of Robot videos here from their Laboratory for Perceptual Robotics: http://www-robotics.cs.umass.edu/robotics-mpegs.ht ml -- a must see for those interested in robotics.

Press release with pic

[Eloquence]

here. Postercomment compression filter? WTF?

Re:Press release with pic

[RogrWilco]

Isn't that Windows on the laptop in that pic?

Not that it matters anyway, but you think that they'd show an actual setup, and not a cute marketing picture.

Re:Press release with pic

[Anonymous Coward]

What else would it be? No Linux desktop would be that cluttered with shit.

Re:Press release with pic

[Anonymous Coward]

"postercomment compression filter"

The first person to figure out what this means and what causes it gets a cookie. (Use the source I guess?)

Re:Press release with pic

[Gordonjcp]

It seems that the way to tell if a post is a troll, or if it contains ASCII art, is to compress it. The better it compresses, the more likely it is to be crap.

I mean, come on, guys! Do you do this with everything? I can just imagine you compressing your milk with high-pressure air, or compressing a loaf of bread with a bottle jack to see if it's gone off...

Robots and Carnage.

[Neck_of_the_Woods]

Just wondering if a virus was writen that made a robot freak out and kill someone if the owner of the robot would be responsible. If you so, if your desktop computer is infected and involved in a DOS or something like it, and cause damages are you responsible under the same logic.

Just a passing brain cramp, but it should be interesting to think about.

Robot work force?

[BLAG-blast]

28K(ukp/stirling) sounds a lot at first, compared to the market value of robot dogs these days it's well on the pricy side for a toy. But once it starts doing some thing useful it will start to take away low end jobs, cleaning the rest rooms, making shoes for Nike and other things that children could be doing and earning the princely sum of 50cents a month.

Of course we know that childern provide a better value work force than robots, but what about those pesky adults, in the western world it won't be hard to cut expences....

I used to love the idea of making a bipod robot when I was younger, now I they seem scarey... are we making suicide bombers for the west? I'm going to stop now...

Re:Robot work force?

[bradleyjay]

And don't forget about Kathy Lee's army of shirt-sewing kiddies...

OK...I'll be the first

[bradleyjay]

Now everyone together:

"Imagine a you-know-what kluster of these."

Sorry, but it had to be said.

Re:OK...I'll be the first

[Anonymous Coward]

can you imagine a beowulf cluster of these SHOVED UP YOUR ASS!?!?!?!!

Re:OK...I'll be the first

[Anonymous Coward]

...a beowulf cluster-fuck?

Re:OK...I'll be the first

[bradleyjay]

No, but can you imagine growing a set of balls instead of posting as AC?

dick

[Anonymous Coward]

I just heard some sad dick on talk dick - Horror/Dick writer Stephen Dick was found dick in his Maine dick this dick. There weren't any more dicks. I'm sure every dick in the Slashdick community will dick him - even if you didn't enjoy his dick, there's no denying his dicks to popular dick. Truly an American dick.

Is This Really a Good Idea?

[none2222]

Let me get this straight--they admit that their robot is hackable PLUS they're releasing the specs? I don't get. Won't the specs just make it easier to hack? Personally, I favor security, even if it happens to be security through obscurity.

I don't know that I'd want to buy a robot if I knew hackers could take control of it. The consequences of hackers infiltrating a robot could range from the merely annoying to the catastrophic (especially if the robot in question is equipped with a rotary saw, a la BattleBots).

As well, has anybody assessed the national security risks associated with hackable robots, in light of the recent terror attacks?

Re:Is This Really a Good Idea?

[RogrWilco]

Firstly, a improperly secured webserver can do a lot of damage. It is up to the individual to see that it is secure.
Secondly hackable means that they're going to let you get into the guts of it, the programming, the hardware. This is a good thing for a number of reasons: cutting training costs, improvement, and flexibility to name a few.
Thirdly, in its present form, it is merely an expensive toy. It is not going to be used in production in General Motors, and is really too small to do any damage. It will probably end up in some university lab hooked to a Java front end that you can control through your browser.
Lastly, in order to have it cause any real damage, you would have to break into the controlling computer, and send it your own commands. This could take a while, and the first time the robot appears to be moving on its own, you just unplug it. If it were my machine and my robot, I wouldn't have it hooked to the web. It would be too expensive for someone to walk it off my desk or down the stairs.

Open source and hackable is merely a term used to say "We're not going to tell you how to play with it". It means they want you to pull it apart, change it, make it do things that they never even thought of, and most importantly, learn from it! You are not going to see an army of these things patrolling the street, killing everything in its path. And even if the absurd does happen, get out your golf clubs and have a blast.

Re:Is This Really a Good Idea?

[macinslak]

Let's try this one again with the magic of substitution:

1. Let me get this straight--they admit that their
2. COMPUTER is hackable PLUS they're releasing the specs? I don't get. Won't the specs just make it easier to hack? Personally, I favor security, even if it happens to be security through obscurity.

   I don't know that I'd want to buy a COMPUTER if I knew hackers could take control of it. The consequences of hackers infiltrating a COMPUTER could range from the merely annoying to the catastrophic.

   As well, has anybody assessed the national security risks associated with hackable COMPUTERS, in light of the recent terror attacks?

I sincerely hope this was a troll.

Re:Is This Really a Good Idea?

[RogrWilco]

Let's try this again, with the magic of reality:

1) Hackable == Customizable, Hackable != Secure
2) Robot cannot control plane, USB cord not long enough
3) You don't have to buy it
4) Webservers don't crash planes, Control Towers are extremely difficult to hack (I don't think it's ever been reported, not sure how much the systems are tied together, and pilot still has final say over where he's going to put the plane)
5) The thing's just over a foot tall!

Re:Is This Really a Good Idea?

[RogrWilco]

Sorry, on point 1:
1) Hackable == Customizable, Hackable != INsecure

Re:Is This Really a Good Idea?

[SubtleNuance]

Wait a moment here people, moderators: "put down those mod points".

This reply is dripping with sarcasm, insightfull +1... go back and read this again... funny +1...definitely...

Re:Is This Really a Good Idea?

[iplayfast]

Your tag line says to reply instead of moderating. Your an idiot.

Hacking means playing with, not subversing. You must be a reporter to have gotten it soo wrong.

Re:Why do all my posts start out with a score of 0

[Anonymous Coward]

BECAUSE YOU HAVEN'T BEEN SUCKING MY COCK ENOUGH

Actually, it's probably because you have a karma of -1 or below. Anyone who gets karma that low starts posting at 0.

Someone had to say it

[Anonymous Coward]

Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto,
Mata ah-oo hima de
Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto,
Himitsu wo shiri tai
You're wondering who
I am-machine or mannequin
With parts made in Japan,
I am the modern man

I've got a secret
I've been hiding under my skin
My heart is human,
My blood is boiling,
My brain IBM
So if you see me acting strangely,
Don't be surprised
I'm just a man who needed someone,
And somewhere to hide
To keep me alive
Just keep me alive
Somewhere to hide
To keep me alive

I'm not a robot without emotions
I'm not what you see
I've come to help you
With your problems,
So we can be free
I'm not a hero,
I'm not a saviour,
Forget what you know
I'm just a man whose circumstances
Went beyond his control
Beyond my control
We all need control
I need control
We all need control

I am the modern man,
Who hides behind a mask
So no one else can
See my true identity

Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto,
Domo...domo
Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto,
Domo...domo
Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto,
Domo...domo
Thank you very much,
Mr. Roboto
For doing the jobs that
Nobody wants to
And thank you very much,
Mr. Roboto
For helping me escape
Just when I needed to
Thank you-thank you, thank you
I want to thank you,
Please, thank you

The problem's plain to see:
Too much technology
Machines to save our lives
Machines dehumanise

The time has come at last
To throw away this mask
So everyone can see
My true identity
I'm Kilroy! Kilroy!
Kilroy! Kilroy!

Re:Why do all my posts start out with a score of 0

[Anonymous Coward]

You haven't been a big enough karma whore. Just look at your post history. You started out with a number of -1 posts early on. Now you have been branded as a troll by Taco & Co. The moral of the story is that if you are going to troll then either do it AC or expect to have that account branded as a troll.

My first post today!!

[Anonymous Coward]

i've just heard a rumor that said Rob Malda IS the
goatse.cx guy.
Any confirmation ?

Re:My first post today!!

[Anonymous Coward]

would someone kindly ram their cock up the ass of this little boy ? he needs the fucking his life, preferably on the tip of a 14 inch penis. if youll notice he's quite a soft little twink and would probably squeal like a little piggie at first but would be easily subdued by a good whipping about his pudgy white ass and soft effeminite feet. i suggest kidnapping him and tying him hand and foot then giving him the fucking and torturing he deserves. mmmm...

i've heard he has a raging foot fetish and will kneel and lick the feet of any fat little gay boy and gladly let you tie him up and fuck the shit out of him once you torture him enough.

-- concerned crapflood girl

Hackable?

[RedWolves2]

That is all we need is an open source robot that everyone can add and improve upon it. DID ANYONE SEE THE MATRIX???? Am I the only one? Do YOU really want to become an energy source for these robots?

Bad things man, Bad things!

Re:Hackable?

[Anonymous Coward]

ThE MaTrIX is A 100000 NODE beowulf cluster SHOVED up your ASS!

Evolved

[Anonymous Coward]

how does a machine evolve

Re:Why do all my posts start out with a score of 0

[Anonymous Coward]

you haven't been putting your penis far enough up CmdrTaco's anus

Nonsense

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh really. I'm sorry but this
is nonsense. You can't have a
civilization of computer chips.
They're made in a plant in Dakar
Senegal. I've watched the
construction.

more info

[MbM]

the fujitsu site has abit more info and a picture
http://pr.fujitsu.com/en/news/2001/09/10.html

Re:more info

[MbM]

further investigation reveals the japanese site with slightly more info
http://www.automation.fujitsu.com/jp/products/ligh t/hoap1.html

It appears the device runs on a 300Mhz pentium

More info wanted.

[brad3378]

I've been looking for something similar to this as a starting point for a fun project I've been working on.
It's a CD changer for a CD burner. (My sincere appoligies for slashdotting their webserver.)

My original goal was to create a cheap robot that:

can lift a fresh CD using suction cups (not shown in picture)

use eject & eject -t commands to open & close CD tray

burn CD via shell script

when finished, switch CDs and start all over

drive mechanism using cheap rotating threaded rod (worm drive)

wooden frame (cheap & easy to build)

use Jeremy Elson's Parapin program to control the device via parallel port

goal 1 - make it cheaper than $50 to build. using easy to find parts

goal 2 - make it easy for others to build.

The ultimate hack would be to combine it with a MP3 database, napster, perl script,and wget to download and burn the billboard top 40 (or similar concept)

A project like this is not meant to be practical.
Just something fun that hasn't been done before. Yes, I have seen a similar lego robot that works with a home audio system, but it only had about 7 disks available, it looked like a tough mechanism to integrate with a Computer tower, and the basic lego mindstorms sets sell for about $200.00

Comments/suggestions/related links welcome and strongly encouraged.

Re:More info wanted.

[Anonymous Coward]

Uh - that machine's in use at Disneyland right now, burning CD-Rs of theme park music you can buy for $20 apiece. They put a facade on it, but behind the facade it looks exactly like your concept and it does the same thing.

Re:More info wanted.

[Anonymous Coward]

that's what russianbride.com is for my friend :)

Re:More info wanted.

[EnglishTim]

You might find R/C servos fit your needs... You can control them from the parallel port directy - check out m'colleague Moose's page:

http://www.mitt.demon.co.uk/gadgets/servo.html

Servos have a suprising amount of power, actually. I keep meaning to get some more of them and make a four legged robot.

Re:More info wanted.

[brad3378]

Thanks for the great link!
~brad3378

Troll force one

[Anonymous Coward]

Deploy troll force yeah.

Re:FP!

[Anonymous Coward]

would someone kindly ram their cock up the ass of this little boy ? he needs the fucking his life, preferably on the tip of a 14 inch penis. if youll notice he's quite a soft little twink and would probably squeal like a little piggie at first but would be easily subdued by a good whipping about his pudgy white ass and soft effeminite feet. i suggest kidnapping him and tying him hand and foot then giving him the fucking and torturing he deserves. mmmm...

i've heard he has a raging foot fetish and will kneel and lick the feet of any fat little gay boy and gladly let you tie him up and fuck the shit out of him once you torture him enough.

MOD PARENT DOWN

[Anonymous Coward]

look at this guy's past posts, he used to be a troll.

What's up with /. editors

[jsse]

I post the news last time as soon as LinuxDevices has news on this and got rejected.

Now zdnet featuring this old news and got spotlighted? What's up with you editors?

So it isn't a worthy news until your Greatest ZDNet featuring it?

Mod me down if you like, you ZDNet dude.

Re:What's up with /. editors

[Anonymous Coward]

Heh, looks like Taco is going out of his way to avoid stories submitted by readers and deciding that he should play it safe and wait till one of the other online rags publishes the story. It is sad to see Zdnut and Cnot get the drop on Slashdip.

Re:What's up with /. editors

[Anonymous Coward]

Hahaha! Look what you got! You're moddown and no one care.

Don't you know they are bunch of cowards who don't like criticism!

Re:jraxis

[Anonymous Coward]

MMMMMM i wuold very much love to make him my little bitch!!! i bet he'll squeal like a little girlie when i shove my PENIS INTO HIS ASS. i'll fuck him until he looks like goatsex man!! chain him up stretch him out strip him down whip his feet spank his ass kick him in the balls MMMM OH YEAH BABY

i wonder if he swallows or will let me cream on his face? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH as if he'll have a choice all chained up like a dog kneeling with my feet on his cock and my cock on his lips!!!!

Don't worry, at this rate, it will be -1 soon

[Anonymous Coward]

Keep up the good work!

B.I.O. Bugs and Insecto Bots

[glowingspleen]

I noticed some Insecto Bots in a local KB Toys this week. I know B.I.O. Bugs aren't slated to hit stores until 9/30/01, but does anyone have any opinions on them? Does anyone own an Insecto Bot yet?

Any chance either toy might be nifty for more than 15 minutes (unlike the Furby we all bought after that article in Wired before its release)?

Way off topic.

[fr2asbury]

Quick!
Go to Freshmeat
Read the names of the first two projects. What are the odds?
Maybe it'll be a little further down, but you'll know the ones I mean.
Jonathan

Re:Way off topic.

[RogrWilco]

Maybe we should combine the two projects to have it catalog the news articles it brings down.

I can see the -1 hovering, go ahead...

Re:Way off topic.

[Anonymous Coward]

would someone kindly ram their cock up the ass of this little boy ? he needs the fucking of his life, preferably on the tip of a 14 inch penis. if youll notice he's quite a soft little twink and would probably squeal like a little piggie at first but would be easily subdued by a good whipping about his pudgy white ass and soft effeminite feet. i suggest kidnapping him and tying him hand and foot then giving him the fucking and torturing he deserves. mmmm...

i've heard he has a raging foot fetish and will kneel and lick the feet of any fat little gay boy and gladly let you tie him up and fuck the shit out of him once you torture him enough.

Re:Way off topic.

[Anonymous Coward]

LOL dude,

i think he is GAY ;-)

Why do you hate him? i know he looks like a fag,
but why do you hate him?

maybe cuz he is an athiest? or because his shity
site?

Re:Way off topic.

[Anonymous Coward]

he's the wipo trool n he refusses to admit it
u remememeber the wipo troll right?
he was fun to watch him crapflod
now he's gona n we all think this jraxis is wipo
but he wnot admit it

www.networkvigilantes.org

Re:Way off topic.

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh My Lord, dude,

Is THIS wipo? this ugly motherfucker? LOL :-D

Get his ass, that gay looking bitch ;-)

Re:Way off topic.

[Anonymous Coward]

Intellectual property both affects and is affected by electronic commerce in a multitude of ways. The WIPO Electronic Commerce and Intellectual Property web site provides information regarding WIPO's program of work and activities concerning intellectual property and electronic commerce. The site is maintained in English, French and Spanish.

The site includes links to the WIPO Digital Agenda (available in English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Spanish, and Russian), which sets out a series of guidelines and goals for WIPO in seeking to develop practical solutions to the challenges raised by the impact of electronic commerce on intellectual property rights. The site provides information concerning the WIPO Internet Domain Names Process, a process convened to address issues involving domain names and trademarks. The site also links to other WIPO activities related to electronic commerce, which are described under Related WIPO Programs.

For information about past meetings and upcoming meetings organized by WIPO concerning electronic commerce and intellectual property, click on Meetings.

The Primer on Electronic Commerce and Intellectual Property that WIPO published in May 2000 and which addresses the main issues of electronic commerce and their impact on intellectual property is also available.

In addition, the WIPO Electronic Commerce Information Kit including all WIPO electronic commerce related documents, can be ordered through the WIPO Electronic Bookshop.

Re:Way off topic.

[Anonymous Coward]

he sure is wipo trool!! i wonder why he gave up wipotrolling around /.

i just wanna fuck his little mouth with my cockmonster. i bet he does squeal nice when you slap em on his gonads. anyone know where he is?

Re:Way off topic.

[EnglishTim]

suck 4.3.0
by Bob Yetman - Monday, September 17th 2001 21:06 EDT

Category: Communications :: Usenet News

About: suck is used to grab news from a remote NNTP news server and bring it to your local machine (without using the NEWNEWS command). It is designed for a small, partial news feed.

Changes: New SSL and -bP options.

License: Public Domain - Release focus: Minor feature enhancements

dic 0.6
by Ákos Putz - Monday, September 17th 2001 21:06 EDT

Category: System :: Archiving

About: dic is a simple, console-based disk catalogizer. It can easily add disks to the catalog, search in the catalog, list the files on a disk, search for files, automatically retrieve found files without requiring you to manually navigate through the source media, and more.

Changes: A much faster substring search mode, new user-defined filters for extracting useful (searchable) information from files while adding disks, and a new Debian package.

License: GNU General Public License (GPL) - Release focus: Major feature enhancements

Cygwin

[Anonymous Coward]

ate my bandwidth.

i want kiddie feetsies

[Anonymous Coward]

i would appreciate it if anyone here would allow me to borrow there daughter (or any 10 to 12 yearold girl they happen to have lying around). you see, i am a pedofile and am currently in much need of polishing my nob on the pert little mouth of a tiny child. i promise i will not damage her much (just a little whipping, beating, her ass and pussy might get a little stretched), she will be returned to you in almost-new condition, just a might bit sticky around her lips and tween her legs.

oh, and no i am not gay so please ignore the idiot posting pics of me trying to get me raped. i only like women and only if their under 13. but yes i do have an increbidle foot fetish if only for the tiny soft feetsies of a child girlie not a man :)

-- the real j'raxis (posting anonymously to preserve his precious reputation)

Crap

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh crap, I just went into fifth stage quicksilver madness. Ha ha ha ha ha. Use the source Luke. World is oyster and stuff. Slashdot sucks. Hey I am mad but I haven't completely lost my mind you know.

Sure....

[Anonymous Coward]

One puts the company that packages it out of business really quickly - that's 'real time' Linux. Regular Linux puts the company out of business really slowly and painfully.

Hope this helps!

Only for Apple

[Anonymous Coward]

The BSD crew works out all the bugs, and they release the PPC kernel that only works on crazy expensive hardware.

whip this

[Anonymous Coward]

whip it good yeah!

Re:whip this

[Anonymous Coward]

I want to tie that little Son of A Bitch up nice and tight! Stretch his nude little girly body out and whip every inch of his pale flesh!!! I'm sure he YELPS like a little BITCH when yuo SPANK him!!! I wonder how much i'd need to beat him to make him suck my EGGS???

With the power of

[Anonymous Coward]

gdb gcc make lynx and pico why would you ever need any graphical tools huh? I mean what could be faster or more powerful than this huh?

And you wonder about what happened to your karma?

[Anonymous Coward]

You're kidding, right?

Another Voltnet Project

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd like to see how it stands up to Voltnet's [voltnet.com] testing. ; )

Re:Another Voltnet Project

[Anonymous Coward]

Here ya go. Found something of interest.
Try this link.

Hey moderators

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey I'm back. Are you awake out there huh? I think you are all asleep at the switch. Time to wake up and start modding some shit down huh?

WTF?

[Anonymous Coward]

Why the fuck are none of the images from slashdot loading? Could it be that slashdot sucks?

Some more info

[Harper]

I was searching for mainly pictures, and i found the following:

http://pr.fujitsu.com/en/news/2001/09/10.html - a generic article with a picture. Discusses specs.

It looks like it will be rather expensive, they have set the price to "open" with a sales expectation of 100 over three years. It has 20 degrees of movement. It uses RTLinux(like the other article mentioned) and uses USB to act as the "Direct Interface and Robot's Internal Network." also, it mentions that HOAP-1 stands for Humanoid for Open Architecture Platform

Imagine - a small army. A cluster if you will. wouldn't that be "wyrd" :)

I'd like to state the obvious...

[Mustang Matt]

Robots today are like computers were yesterday... We are underestimating their use and capability.

We just haven't figured out what to do with them yet.

Re:I'd like to state the obvious...

[allanj]

Robots today are like computers were yesterday... We are underestimating their use and capability.
We just haven't figured out what to do with them yet.

You mean we've figured out what to do with computers? Like Windows, Solitaire and stuff?

I, Fujistu-bot

[Afrosheen]

These things better have the three laws of robotics built into the software. They go a little like this.

A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

I can see a few scientists overlooking this little ruleset and losing some limbs to Fujitsubot 2001.

Re:I, Fujistu-bot

[Anonymous Coward]

Do you have stairs in your house?

Re:I, Fujistu-bot

[Anonymous Coward]

The bot is a miserable 48cm tall, or about 19 inches. It might as well be called Mini-Me-Jitsu-bot. It would sooner bite you than tear off your arms and legs.

Re:I, Fujistu-bot

[vidarh]

As Isaac Asimov spent his career demonstrating in his books, there would be plenty of ways to end up with problems in spite of, or because of, those rules...

Besides, the laws where suggested for robots that were semi-autonomous thanks to artificial intelligence. We're not anywhere near that yet.

Mada facking Fujitsu heavy industries...

[Anonymous Coward]

One clazy nigga, nigga!

"Stephen King is Dead" guy, troll, dead at 14

[Anonymous Coward]

I just heard some sad news on #trolltalk - Horror/Sci Fi Troll writer "Stephen King is Dead" guy was found dead in his Christmas Island home this morning. There weren't any more details. I'm sure everyone in the Slashdot community will miss him - even if you didn't enjoy his work, there's no denying his contributions to popular culture. Truly an American icon.

Re:FP!

[Anonymous Coward]

Freshmeat:

Monday
- suck 4.3.0
- dic 0.6

in related news

[Anonymous Coward]

Afganistan has declared a jihad against the USA & Jews, quick give us the full story slashteam =)

Sales Target 100 robots in 3 years!

[Anonymous Coward]

kind of slow/low target. from http://pr.fujitsu.com/en/news/2001/09/10.html guess like most cool stuff if you want it now build it yourself.

For the people who speak French

[Anonymous Coward]

Je pose le problème :
- il est reconnu que tout le monde savait qu'il y aurait quelquechose dans le domaine des attentats, sauf les américains ?
- l'utilisation des avions comme bombe géante n'est pas nouveau (israël a déjà du abattre un avion pour cette raison. En france, l'avion qui avait du atterrir pour manque de carburant à Marseille, aurait du être abattu s'il avait pu rallier Paris commé prévu (dixit le ministre de l'intérieur de l'époque)). D'ailleurs en France, il y a des avions prêt à décoller, 24/24h, avec les pilotes sanglés, et le moteur en chauffe, pour pallier à ce genre de drame. Or, en Amérique, un premier avion tombe, soit, personne n'est parfait. Mais le deuxième 18 minutes plus tard ? Et le troisième 40 minutes plus tard ? De qui se moque-t-on ?(je rappelle qu'il y avait déjà des hélico de reporters avant le deuxième crash, donc les chasseurs auraient eu le temps de décoller et d'agir)
- Comme par hasard, c'est l'avion qui devait finir sur la maison blanche qui a raté son coup (1 sur 4). étonnant, non ?
- Vous ne trouvez pas que l'enquête va beaucoup trop vite. Sur RTL et France info, on apprend même qu'ils ont retrouvé... les papiers d'un terroriste dans les débris des twin towers !!!!
- Tous les analystes ont dans un premier temps dis que le crash sur le pentagone avait décapité l'armée américaine (de nombreux hauts gradés auraient du y laisser leur peaux). Or, surprise, aucun ne bossait ce jour-là, que des secrétaires et des trouffions. Quel chance, non ?
- Ben Ladden a spéculé quelques jours avant le crash sur la chute des marchés à partir de la bourse japonaise (pas con le gars, il vient de gagner des milliards :-( ). Sachant qu'il est très surveillé, ça n'a pas choqué les américains ? Sont-ils si débiles ?

Maintenant, regardons à qui profite le crime. Aux américains bien sûr ! :
- Moins de 6 heures après les attentats, le FBI était déjà en train d'installer des machines carnivores-DCS1000 (qui enregistrent le traffic Internet) chez tous les FAI américains pour les besoins de l'enquête.
- ils vont enfin pouvoir interdir la cryptographie chez eux, avec la bénédiction des américains.
- On commence à voir des reportages où on laisse entendre qu'il faudrait améliorer le réseau échelon. On croit rêver !
- Ils sont redevenu le centre du monde géopolitique en moins de 2 heures, même les russes et Cuba les soutiennent. Ils vont pouvoir refaire ce qu'ils veulent, ce qui était de moins en moins le cas.
- Tout le monde veut s'enrôler chez eux, le pied pour un bush qui ne rêve que de faire la guerre (vous avez vu son sourire quand il parle de ça ?, alors qu'il devrait avoir un visage triste mais déterminé, seul attitude acceptable vu la situation)

J'ai encore une batterie d'arguments, mais je vous laisse les découvrir tout seul maintenant que je vous ai mis sur la piste. Je sais que c'est affreux ce que j'avance, mais c'est la seule explication logique, et il vaut mieux en avoir conscience. (au fait, le pakistan posséde l'arme nucléaire, il faudrait peut-être pas trop déconner)

Software is the key

[Codeala]

The reason it is (relatively) cheap, hackable is probably because they are looking for good software to run future robots. For example someone may work out a good algorithm that combine robotic vision and motor control to make some kind of rescue bot that can crawl into small places. Or work out a way for a robot to be able to right itself if it falls down.

I bet their idea is to have generic robots that can do many different tasks base solely on the software; rather than spending lots of money building very specialized robots that can only do one or two things. Actually this is just like real human! We are more or less the same physically, but we are trained to do many different tasks without growing extra arms or eyes.

So if you work in an university with a good size robotic research group you can probably convince them to send one to you for free :-)

Anybody got any links to a picture of this thing?

[2dor!2d]

Maybe I'm missing something obvious but, I'd like to see what this device looks like.

STIQUITO - Build your own robot!

[Schnake]

I've seen these books at my local bookstore:

• Stiquito for Beginners : An Introduction to Robotics
• Stiquito : Advanced Experiments With a Simple and Inexpensive Robot

And it comes with a kit (attached to the book) that includes the nitinol wires that act as the muscles. You'll have your own creepy crawly insect-bots running in no time...

Re:STIQUITO - Build your own robot!

[bleyddyn]

As much as I enjoyed building it, the main problem with the Stiquito is that it doesn't come with a processor/controller of any kind and finding one small enough to fit the body was more than I could handle. (I'm a software person not a hardware person)

By the way, when I bought my book there was only one on the market, so I don't know how the've improved over the past couple of years.

Can you hack an AIBO ?

[da5idnetlimit.com]

I've been asking myself the question for some time...

And I'am too dumb to find it on YaExAltahoocitevista...

If true...

[da5idnetlimit.com]

It proves him to be a man a taste, and of no small persuasion 8)

Just his 0.2 yards 8|

Pricy!

[Hougaard]

This is a very cool robot, but the price is rather high, is the $40000 range. It is mostly geared to colleges :-(

Ugh, RTLinux?

[Anonymous Coward]

Why? Commercial products such as VxWorks and QNX have far better realtime capabilities that that crap known as RTLinux.

found a pic of his thing

[Anonymous Coward]

http://machit.com/article.php?sid=314&mode=&order= 0

Expensive Robot

[Lizard_King]

As the press release says they are targeting to sell 100 robots over a span of three years.

Who is going to have the means to purchase these? labs, schools, corporations. not you and me brotha...

FSF takes another blow

[Anonymous Coward]

While the FSF layers help bring the RT Linux patent case to a close, they still can not get the popular press and Slashdot to refer to the kernel as Free Software or Copyleft instead of the overly vague term "open source" which can sometimes be morph into closed software.

We're 5-15 years away from a robotic revolution

[CrazyJim0]

I knew what the net was going to look like in 1990, and ruined 10 good years of social life trying to make the first MMORPG... My other two ideas for money was Instant messages or an auction site.

Now we're REALLY close to AI. About 100,000 man hours away. Or less if we use already known components.

Just 2 things are needed: 3d robotic imagination, and sensory devices to interpret the world.

If the robot can understand the world, then it can use a game playing algorithm to make the best method of achieving a goal via subgoals....

And for natural language understanding, just picture old school Zork. If it doesn't understand what you're saying, it will either guess in context, or ask you flat out what you mean.

Then you finally can get computers to read books etc. The difference between a robot and a human are the top level goals. Humans are controlled by pleasure and pain chemicals: drugs, learning, sweets, sex, moving, sports. Robots will need the top level goals given by humans, so robots can be used as slaves. "Hey robot go shovel the snow out of my driveway."

More crap about this at:
http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~sager/

I can TOTALLY code this from start to finish, but it would take me like 20 years. If someone gave me a 3d engine, I could probably get it done in 5-10... But if I had smart people working with me, its no more than a 2 year task.

Re:We're 5-15 years away from a robotic revolution

[Anonymous Coward]

Translation: I am a total loser in every way.

Re:We're 5-15 years away from a robotic revolution

[Anonymous Coward]

Finally, somebody addresses the problem of motivation in creating artificial sentience. Humans have basic requirements, such as food, water, and sex. Why else do we go around chasing those little green slips of paper? You have to give a robot a reason to do what it does before you can unleash it on the world.

Anything more than PR available?

[Animats]

Is there a web site for this thing?

I think it's great, but we need more info.