Top 30 Robots in 2008 H1

This robot-acular list features the hottest 30 new Robots in 2008 (so far).  As always, the rankings are based on traffic from our innovation hungry community.

The best part about the robot list is that a number of them will freak you out.  That’s an important feature in any good robot… ;)

This is one of many features in our new FREE Micro Trend Reports section. See them all here. 

Top 30 Robots

1. Personal Assistant Robot - WowWee Rovio (CES 2008) (VIDEO)

WowWee has brought us the RoboSapien, RoboReptile, RoboRaptor, the Dragonfly Robot, and more. At the Consumer Electronics Show 2008, WowWee introduced the Rovio - a rolling cart-like gizmo that features… [More]

2. Celebrity Fashion Robots - Gwyneth Paltrow in Vogue (GALLERY)

The intrigue with futurism and robots has permeated the fashion industry, with space-inspired styles supplementing the growing integration of robots and smart technologies in our daily lives.

Labels like… [More]

3. High-Tech Graffiti - “Couleur sur l’Objet” Painting Robot

Get Banksy one of those! “Couleur sur l’Objet” by Stefan Rechsteiner brings high tech and robotics to street art. “Couleur sur l’Objet” is basically a wall climbing robotic printer, based on… [More]

4. 36 Freaky Robots With Human Jobs (SUPER GALLERY)

Trend Hunter’s robot section features several hundred robots, but none are more freaky than these 36, which each have human jobs.  Having said that, I did cheat a little on this list, adding some unemployed… [More]

5. Pay To Play - UBFunkeys

They’re called UBFunkeys and they are little toy creatures that you plug into your computer. There are 24 of them in all (8 tribes of 3 members each). OK, so what do they do? They are actually keys to… [More]

6. Super Exoskeletons - Now on Sale

We have seen plenty of exoskeletons being developed over the years designed to support humans and assist them with super strength, the only problem was that none of them were available for sale. Cyberdyne,… [More]

7. Fake Taxidermy Part VIII - 11 Robotic Hunting Trophies (GALLERY)

It seems the fascination with animal heads on the walls isn’t letting up. These robotic animal head wall mounts make this our eighth fake taxidermy feature. We’ve seen classy antler chandeliers, and we’ve… [More]

8. Self-Healing Mini Robots - EU Symbrion Program (GALLERY)

The European Union is developing and funding a project, the Symbrion program, to develop a prototype team of shape-changing, self-organizing mini robots that work as a team. These robots will be used in… [More]

9. Customized Robot Jeeves - Virtual Butler Summoned Through Magic Mirror (GALLERY)

Imagine never having to stick your hand in a toilet bowl again, never having to scrape crusted on food off a pan or never having to scrub at scuff marks on the floor. In the future, you could have a robot… [More]

10. Robotic Toys - Inud the Robo-Dog (VIDEO)

Did you ever want a dog that doesn’t pee on the rug? Inud the Robo-Dog by Segatoy is for you. He responds to human touch, voice commands, and movement, and will even let you shake its paw.

At $270,… [More]

11. Pay Toilets In NYC - 15 Minute Toilets Self Clean (VIDEO)

This news will certainly relieve the citizens of New York. In an effort to ease public movement, and in loo of past efforts, New York City officially opened its first automated self-cleaning public pay… [More]

12. Robot Secretaries (UPDATE) - Phorone (VIDEO)

Kokoro Dreams’ life-sized android secretary’s name is Phorone. She stands 175 cm and she has already starred in an anime where she was the protagonist. The big hope is that someday, she, and robots like… [More]

13. Robot Helps Lost People - Robovie

If you ever find yourself lost in a shopping mall in Osaka, Japan, just look for a lurking robot with lemur-like eyes.

The Robovie is a crowd-monitoring robot capable not only of watching 20 people at… [More]

14. $725 Million Robot - 18 Meter Gundam Robot

Japan’s Science and Technology Agency website, SciencePortal, has released specs and pricing for a life-sized Gundam Robot. The giant humanoid would stand 18 meters (59 feet) tall and weigh 43.4 metric… [More]

15. Firefighting Robots - OLE Insect Firefighter (GALLERY)

The OLE robot is a product of the industrial-design studio at the University of Magdeburg-Stendal in Germany. The OLE, which is autonomous and is guided by GPS, intelligent feelers, infrared and heat sensors,… [More]

16. Revealing War Mysteries - Secret Weapons of World War 2 (GALLERY)

The Second World war is riddled with stories of mad scientists working for the Nazi’s and the Allies, developing technology which was much far advanced than any of the technology seen today.

Michael… [More]

17. Self-Making Beds - Selfy the EasyBed

The alarm clock goes off. You roll out of bed and stumble into the bathroom to brush your teeth. As you walk back into the bedroom, you stop and stare. Something isn’t quite right. Something is different.… [More]

18. Robot Furniture - The Walking Chair (GALLERY)

$15,000 for possibly the ugliest chair ever designed? Why so much? Because the chair walks. No need to ask your robot to rearrange the furniture, just ask your chair to take a hike. The makers went strictly… [More]

19. Japanese Robot Carries Luggage - RoboPorter at Kita Kyushu Airport (VIDEO)

The Japanese are in with another robot first, the RoboPorter is a thus far free service that is being tested at Kita Kyushu airport in southwest Japan. He’s not very cute and doesn’t seem to be much… [More]

20. Character Animation Evolved - GTA4’s Euphoria Engine (VIDEO)

Character animation is becoming more evolved than ever before, as proven by the latest teaser for Grand Theft Auto 4 (GTA4).  The game, to be released next week, uses a new Euphoria Engine, thought to… [More]

21. Monkey Thoughts Control Robots - Cognitive Powers of Apes for Tech (VIDEO)

Dig out your copy of Planet of the Apes or Netflix it, because monkeys are operating robots. A 12 pound monkey in North Carolina activated a 200 pound robot to walk on a treadmill using only brain activity.… [More]

22. Emotional Robots - MIT’s Nexi (VIDEO)

Nexi is a next generation humanoid robot conceived and designed by roboticist Cynthia Breazeal’s group at the MIT Media Lab. They call this so-called “emotional robot” an MDS (Mobile/Dexterous/Social).… [More]

23. Robot out of Recycled Cell Phones - The TeMo (VIDEO)

Finally, something to do with that old cell phone when it has outlived it’s original purpose!

Introducing - the TeMo (short for “Telerobotics over Mobile packet data services"), a robot made of Legos,… [More]

24. The Propaganda Robot - Contestational Little Brother (GALLERY)

Protesters of the world can breathe a sigh of relief… Little Brother is here to help. 

This cutesy, pint-sized robot is the brain(washing) child of Contestational Robotics, a robotics initiative which… [More]

25. The Future of Plush Toys - Elmo Live is Amazingly Real (VIDEO)

He sings, he dances, he even tells jokes and does the jazz hands! It’s not just another in the long line of popular plush Elmo products, Elmo Live elevates feature plush into a new dimension of realistic,… [More]

26. Robotic Babysitters - In-Store Robo-Nanny Lets You Shop in Peace

This is not the first inhuman babysitter, but the new robot recently “employed” at the famous Fukuoka Japanese department store is the perfect godsend for shopaholic parents with kids.

The 1.4-meter tall… [More]

27. Robotic Music with Ping Pong Balls & Wine Glasses - Absolut Quartet (VIDEO)

Absolutely, completely and totally amazing! Thank God the inventors described it and provided a video, because I have no words for this awesomeness of a complicated machine. Dan Paluska and Jeff Lieberman… [More]

28. Robotic Fashion Campaigns - Levi’s Metal Denim Passion (VIDEO)

Robotified fashion campaigns continue to emerge as the obsession with futurism and luxury space travel continues. Now Levi’s has jumped on board with this ad campaign.

The Levi’s Copper Jeans ads are… [More]

29. Art That Actually Watches You - Opto-Isolator (VIDEO)

Have you ever looked at a painting or sculpture that had eyes that seemed to watch you?

You can try to convince yourself all you want that this wall mount isn’t watching you, but in this case, your paranoid… [More]

30. Robot Cellphone - Toshiba Softbank 815T

The new Toshiba Softbank 815T PB is a robot/cellphone hybrid made for a Japanese TV show called Ketai Sousakan 7 that transforms into a robot and back to a cell phone just like the robots in the Transformer… [More]