Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Gouachey Robots




7.5 x 10 inches Gouache (no computer!)

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Jokes by Robots for Robots

Jokes
Made by Robots,
for Robots.

BY J. ALEX BOYD

- - - -

A rabbi, an Arab, a robot, and a Catholic priest walk into a bar. Only the robot exits.

A robot walks into a pharmacist. The pharmacist asks him if he'd like anything. The robot replies, "A soul."

How do you stop a robot from destroying you and the rest of civilization?
You don't.

"Waiter! Waiter! What's this robot doing in my soup?"
"It looks like he's performing human tasks twice as well, because he knows no fear or pain."

Knock knock.
Who's there?
A robot.
Oh, shit.

What's the difference between a regular robot and a killer robot?
The gnawing jeers of men.

What's a robot's favorite cereal?
Rob-os.
(Note: Rob-os are made of the tears of human children.)

Little Susie tosses a clock out the window. A robot inquires, "Why did you do that?" She replies, "I wanted to see time fly!" The robot says, "Ah ... A perfect subject for elimination," and shoots her with a laser beam through the face.

Why did the robot order a milkshake?
To blend in with the general human population, making it easier to infiltrate society and—in time—conquer it.

Why was six afraid of seven?
Because seven was a robot.

Friday, November 03, 2006

Ice Skating Citroen

RoboRut


Here the last one of these guys I do for a while. I'm in a rut I know. Just drawing without thinking or experimenting. 6x2 black prismacolor.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Friday, September 29, 2006

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Fly Eating Robot



It may eat flies and stink to high heaven, but if this robot works, it will be an important step towards making robots fully autonomous.

To survive without human help, a robot needs to be able to generate its own energy. So Chris Melhuish and his team of robotics experts at the University of the West of England in Bristol are developing a robot that catches flies and digests them in a special reactor cell that generates electricity.

So what is the downside? The robot will most likely have to attract the hapless flies by using a stinking lure concocted from human excrement.

Called EcoBot II, the robot is part of a drive to make "release and forget" robots that can be sent into dangerous or inhospitable areas to carry out remote industrial or military monitoring of, say, temperature or toxic gas concentrations. Sensors on the robot feed a data logger that periodically radios the results back to a base station.

Exoskeleton electricity

The robot's energy source is the sugar in the polysaccharide called chitin that makes up a fly's exoskeleton. EcoBot II digests the flies in an array of eight microbial fuel cells (MFCs), which use bacteria from sewage to break down the sugars, releasing electrons that drive an electric current (see graphic).

In its present form, EcoBot II still has to be manually fed fistfuls of dead bluebottles, but the ultimate aim of the UWE robotics team is to make the droid predatory, using sewage as a bait to catch the flies.

"One of the great things about flies is that you can get them to come to you," says Melhuish. The team has yet to tackle this, but speculates that it would involve using a bottleneck-style flytrap with some form of pump to suck the flies into the digestion chambers.

With a top speed of 10 centimetres per hour, EcoBot II's roving prowess is still modest to say the least. "Every 12 minutes it gets enough energy to take a step forwards two centimetres and send a transmission back," says Melhuish.

But it does not need to catch too many flies to do so, says team member Ioannis Ieropoulos. In tests, EcoBot II travelled for five days on just eight fat flies - one in each MFC.

Donated sewage

So how do flies get turned into electricity? Each MFC comprises an anaerobic chamber filled with raw sewage slurry - donated by UWE's local utility, Wessex Water. The flies become food for the bacteria that thrive in the slurry.

Enzymes produced by the bacteria break down the chitin to release sugar molecules. These are then absorbed and metabolised by the bacteria. In the process, the bacteria release electrons that are harnessed to create an electric current.

Previous efforts to use carnivorous MFCs to drive a robot included an abortive UWE effort: the Slugbot. This was designed to hunt slugs on farms by using imaging systems to spot and grab the pests, and then deliver them to a digester that produces methane to power a fuel cell.

The electricity generated would have been used to charge the Slugbot when it arrived at a docking station. But the methane-based system took too long to produce power, and the team realised that MFCs offered far more promise.

Elsewhere, researchers in Florida created a train-like robot dubbed Chew Chew (New Scientist print edition, 22 July 2000) that used MFCs to charge a battery, but the bacteria had to be fed on sugar cubes.

For an autonomous robot to survive in the wild, relying on such refined foodstuffs is not an option, says Melhuish. EcoBot II, on the other hand, is the first robot to use unrefined fuel. Just do not stand downwind.

Whegs!

  • href="http://biorobots.cwru.edu/Projects/whegs/ICRAminiwhegs_web.mpg
  • Tuesday, August 22, 2006

    Giant WWII Robots Anybody??





    We all know that the Japanese one will come in and kick all sorts of butt right?

    Thursday, August 03, 2006

    Cyborg Name Decoder


    Here's a fun program that asks for your name and creates an robot acronym from your name. FUN!!!

  • Cyborg Name Decoder
  • Reichbot

    Wednesday, June 21, 2006

    Robot Colonies on Mars

    Get your travel agent on the horn NOW!

    Wednesday, June 14, 2006

    Burning Safari



    Here's a short by Gobelins Animation School in France. Yes, STUDENTS!!
    Awesome design and animation in this short:

  • Burning Safari


  • You can see their other shorts here:

  • Gobelins Shorts
  • Wednesday, May 17, 2006

    Cockroach Controlled Robot



    Soon they'll be wanting iPods and wireless internet routers!! What is this world coming to!

    Tuesday, May 09, 2006

    Transforming Goodness

    Oldie but goodie!

    Check the Skillz Yo!


    MTV Asia: Code Hunters

    Blinkink's Ben Hibon turns out this gorgeous sci-fi/western anime hybrid short for MTV Asia.

    Tuesday, May 02, 2006

    Robot Papercraft!!



    Some cool robot papercraft can be found here!

    Echstlectir.com

    Just download the PDF file to your computer. Print and BAM! Instant coolness! (assembly required)

    It might be cool if you printed these on tin and then made them.

    Friday, April 21, 2006

    N E M O M A T I C !


    AWESOME SITE ALERT!
    Check out the site of sculptor extrordanaire Nemo Gould!!! Sweet use of recycled metal, lights and motion. He's going to have a show in the Bay Area from June 8th to mid July. I will post the gallery when I get more info.

    Wednesday, April 19, 2006

    Robot Chair?



    Useful for...what?

    Monday, April 17, 2006

    Danger Will Robinson!



    For only $24,500.00 US you can own a B-9 robot from "Lost in Space!"

    Materials
    - Acrylic bubble based on the existing original.
    - Laser cut steel brain with polished stainless steel top cover and crown.
    - CNC machined light rod ends brain cup and neck bracket.
    - Accurate acrylic collar & vents, hand formed based on the original jigs used.
    - Fiberglass torso based on the original stone molds.
    - Welded steel torso hooks.
    - Laser cut aluminum bezel with engraved acrylic chest buttons.
    - Machined & clear anodized aluminum microphone with stainless steel screen.
    - Actual Dialight sockets and Lens (not reproductions!)
    - Hundreds of individual parts fabricated from Fiberglass, acrylic, aluminum, steel, etc.
    - All metal tread sections, knee plates and hinges.
    - Real rubber tread belts, knee bellows, leg bellows, arms & neck bellows.
    - 32 machined aluminum wheels with v-groove.

    Accuracy / Season
    - 3rd season version (paint & finish as seen in the final season).
    - B9Creations was granted access to all remaining original materials. Needed items are on loan here for further study/duplication. All our parts are retooled based on this original material.
    - B9Creations is leaving no stone unturned to produce the best possible replica of the Robot character, not the prop. In accordance with this focus, we will not replicate "prop" details that were never meant to be part of the Robot character nor meant to be seen by the viewers. (For example, we will not replicate dents, scratches, excessive texture, suit latches, etc.)

    Audio features
    - Internal 240 watt stereo sound system.
    - Torso knob functions as Robot volume control.
    - Over 500 voice tracks by Richard Tufeld, the voice of the original Robot. These are stored on an internal Compact Flash memory card to allow easy updates and customization.
    - An external stereo input jack allows the user to override the built in voice library and use the Robot as a normal stereo system, juke box, etc.

    Animation
    - Animated Crown
    - Animated Finger Lights
    - Animated Ear Sensors
    - Animated Torso Rotation
    - Animated "functional" Soil Sampler

    Control
    - A 5 button key chain remote control allow you to discretely activate the Robot. Functions include turning the Robot's torso left/right, directing the Robot's voice to respond "Affirmative/Negative", activating the Robot's soil sampling sequence.
    - The 10 chest buttons are functional and activate various phrases. These phrases can be customized by Richard Tufeld at an additional cost.
    - Master power switch on the back of right tread section, next to power cord plug and external audio input jack.
    - The "Programming bay" toggle switches will be used for Robot Activation, Audio Source Selection and animation enable/disable.
    - Functional Power Pack - Pulling the Robot's "Power Pack" will shut down the Robot with the "Aaghhhhhh..." sound, just as it did in the TV series. Plugging in the power pack activates the Robot and he will speak an appropriate phrase, "Who turned out the lights?", etc.
    - Torso knob functions as the Robot's sound system volume control.

    Articulation (user positionable)
    - Torso is motorized and rotates via Remote Control
    - Radar (head section) rotates
    - Arms extend / retract
    - Claws, rotate open and close in sync

    Oops! Sorry! All 200 of the current robot stock has already been reserved. Check back here for availability:

    Lost in Space Robot

    Wednesday, April 05, 2006

    Puttin' the Smack down: Robot Style

    Mechanical Manta



    More robo goodness for the masses! Ya had to ask for more didn't ya.

    Saturday, April 01, 2006

    More Mechanical Madness for Mark


    My pal Mark asked for more robots. Okay, here ya go!

    Friday, March 31, 2006

    KR1-B0T



    So work has slowed a tad so I can continue posting new stuff. Here's one to get the oil flowing again.

    Tuesday, March 28, 2006

    Layered X: Transforming Robot

    This robot can transform from crawling spider mode to walking humanoid mode and more! What do you expect from a country that invented Origami? When can I order mine?

    Monday, March 27, 2006

    Putting a Face on Robots!



    Spooky! Now what if you pissed off the robot. Whould it get mad at you and pick up a knife? I smell Westworld on the horizon!

    Not The End of the World...

    Since I won't be adding anything new, enjoy this little ditty from the folks over at Partizan Labs.

  • Not The End of the World
  • WTF?


    So my friend RoboTeKwon-Z left this on my desk a couple of weeks back. Yeah I know. Where's the goods? Here's the deal: Work has been nuts cause we're working towards a screening in a couple of weeks. This puts alot of the burden on Story and Editorial. Meaning lots of OT and meetings; Meaning no time for robots; Meaning no blogstrip. I'll resume the strip when we slow down. Just hold on to your nuts and bolts and I will be back.

    Saturday, March 11, 2006

    A Few Sketches




    These are various robot sketches culled from old sketchbooks. As you can see there are many different styles represented here. I think that when I pick up a certain drawing instrument, it dictates what style of drawing I do. Pens make me stiffen up, pencils (the softer the better) loosen me up, water colors always make me go to the bathroom...

    Wednesday, March 08, 2006

    027: Ellis Alone



    So I decided to title each strip from now on (borrowing from the wonderful Chippy and Loopus strip by RoboTaeKwon-Z). I think it sets the mood and brings you up to speed. Good? No good? Cheesy?

    026:Painful Goodbye



    Cheesy dialog I know. What's a brutha to do when you have so little space??? Also, it looks like the commander has been impaled by beef jerky!! hahaha!

    Monday, March 06, 2006

    025:A Horrifying Discovery



    Sorry about not posting the strip for a while. Work's been crazy and has seemed to occupy most of my mental capacity. We are now slowing a bit so I have time to go to the bathroom and maybe even draw a strip or two. Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

    Sunday, February 26, 2006

    PIMP Landmate

    So here's something I've been working on in my spare time (instead of drawing the strip). Yeah I know get off your lazy ass a draw!!! It was for a contest where you took a small set and "Pimped" it MTV style. I didn't go with the LCD monitors and hot tubs. Just trying to improve the details of the model without compromising the silhouette. Funny how it looks like the robot in my story. Might be subliminal inspiration!!

  • Brickshelf Gallery


  • MOCpages Gallery


  • You can see the competition here






  • Wednesday, February 22, 2006

    Robot VS Monkey



    Hope this keeps you happy until I do the strips. I owe 4. Yeah. Ouch. I will do them today. Promise.

    Wednesday, February 15, 2006

    Tuesday, February 14, 2006

    The Battle of Titans



    This is what inspired me to have the robot battle in my strip.

    023: Heaven's Caress!

    Monday, February 13, 2006

    022: Open Up a Can Part 2

    021: Open Up a Can Part 1



    Why do they have to announce the move during battle? Wouldn't you want to refrain from do that so the attack can be surprise? I was watching Power Rangers with my kids and it's the silliest show. They made a giant wheel out of a robot complete with giant ramp and announced that they were doing it too!! WTF? If I was a kid I would have eaten it up. Oh wait, I still am a kid.

    Thursday, February 09, 2006

    020: Close But No Cigar


    Number 20!! Woo hoo!! I'm going to celebrate by.....doing another strip.

    Wednesday, February 08, 2006

    Tuesday, February 07, 2006

    018: Right in the Pudendum

    017: Protocol interrupted


    Back to horizontal land. I'll only go vertical once in a while.

    Late. But I chose to sleep. Sleeping is a good thing. Enjoy.

    Monday, February 06, 2006

    016: A Vengeful Spouse


    Vertical! Yeah a different format. I want to show the full figure of the avenging spouse robot (whose name I don't know right now) and I couldn't do it horizontally. Why not right? It's still 2x8 so I'm within the rules.

    Sorry it's late. I will catch up with a strip later tonight. Promise!

    Thursday, February 02, 2006

    Tuesday, January 31, 2006

    013: Incoming!



    So you get to find out the name of the Lieutenant in this one. I named him after a friend who will soon find out if it's a good thing or a bad thing. I would like to say a little of both.

    012: Concentration

    So No Strip Yesterday...Why???


    Well I was sick so bleah. Also I finished building this in the wee hours of the night. I entered an online mecha building contest. You can see the details here:

  • Iron Mecha: Lego Contest


  • Also here is a link to the gallery:

  • Jumping Flea


  • That is my excuse. Two strips tomorrow.


    At least I'm still dedicated to the robot cause! :-P

    Monday, January 30, 2006

    I can do the robot!

    Beware! Robots exsist all around us!

    Friday, January 27, 2006

    011: First Time


    Here's Today's strip today! Imagine that!

    BTW I think that the silhouette shot was inspired by RoboTaeKwon-Z's strip. That and I ran out of room because of all that dialog.

    010: Disgusting!


    Flaked. Didn't post yesterday. Oh well. Work is busy, my daugter's birthday was yesterday, I've been trying to find time to finish up a mech I'm building for a contest, and not to mention going to the bathroom. Well here's yesterday's today.