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qbo

Time-lapse vid shows Qbo robot assembly

The boffins at robotics startup TheCorpora have released a video showing how long it takes to assemble their charming little droid Qbo.

The bot recently entertained us with vids in which it recognized itself in a mirror, and then recognized Jane234, the female of the species.

Powered by an open-source Linux platform, Qbo is designed to be a communications robot that's part of our everyday environment. It lacks arms and legs, but makes up for limitations on physical interactivity with its charm. It's also fun to dress up.

As described by the startup, which is led by Francisco Paz, the components in Qbo include five open-source hardware boards designed in-house; EMG-30 motors; SRF10 ultrasonic sensors; an LCD screen; a hard drive; and a PC motherboard. … Read more

Robot love: When Daniel123 met Jane234

"I must say that your face sounds familiar."

It may not be the warmest response to a pickup line, but in robot terms it's almost a home run. Daniel123 looks like he scored a date with Jane234.

Earlier this month, we saw how a charming little open-source robot called Qbo recognized itself in a mirror.

After a bit of preening, this particular Qbo (aka Daniel123) was ready for action. In the latest video from Francisco Paz and TheCorpora, who are developing Qbo as an artificial intelligence project, Daniel meets a female Qbo named Jane234 and seems to take a shine to her.

"You're very good looking," Daniel tells Jane. … Read more

Beware the vain robot

"Does this aluminum exterior casing make my butt look big?"

In the future, you may find yourself having to reassure your robot companion that it looks great, as engineers in Madrid have developed a robot that can recognize itself in the mirror.

Meet Qbo, an open-source robot built on Linux that has learned to identify itself and other objects. The project started as a "what if" experiment by Qbo creator Francisco Paz and his team of engineers at TheCorpora. Qbo is already equipped with two cameras to give it stereoscopic vision and features facial and object recognition software, so the group wondered it they could teach Qbo to recognize itself.

As you'll see in the video below, Qbo first identifies a penguin (the Linux penguin, of course) and then wheels over to the mirror where it can't recognize itself at first. However, after its human friend says, "This is you, Qbo," the robot is quickly able to learn and identify its reflection in the mirror. … Read more