This robot served as a 'substitute teacher' in Japan "following a stint as a receptionist". It's of the uncanny valley persuasion, so look away now if the creepy factor is a concern:
She (her name is Saya) has 6 facial expressions, and, we're told, takes attendance, smiles, and scolds ... saying more about someone thinks teachers do, perhaps, than about real trends in robotic instruction.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29634158/
Across the oceans from Saya at the University of Cambridge, a robot named "Adam formulated and tested 20 hypotheses about gene coding for 13 enzymes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, also known as brewer's yeast," all "without human assistance." I'm wondering what exactly without human assistance means when you're built by humans and set in motion, but this is definitely a step in the direction of getting robots to do the research we usually see graduate students doing (though 'graduate student completes work without advisor assistance' wouldn't be quite the news story). A spokesperson for the project, Ross King, says Adam "has enough equipment to fill a small lab, including four computers that act as a brain and robotic arms, cameras, liquid handlers and incubators" and that the research this system completed "would be publishable":
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16890-robot-scientist-makes-discoveries-without-human-help.html
Here in my apartment, Donde is still just a rolling laptop platform that does very little and looks like the sum of his parts (i.e. no overlying 'skin'). Because he takes up a bit of space when everything is connected (and I use the term loosely), the chassis is usually under a table, the webcam, microphone, etc., in a box, and the laptop in a bag. I think I'll get him strapped together and roll him around to get some photos on campus this summer, once my Spring 2009 to do list is finished.
All he can really do, when he's all put together, is carry a limited number of things, record audio or video, and play sounds -- I don't have a good way to transport him in the rain or snow, though. I wish I had a portable, bright projector -- it would be interesting to project an 'avatar' onto the wall -- but I'd have to have a high tolerance for risks to the projector, as D could just fall over pretty easily. Still no arm on him either. Other limits include that he needs a push to get going and doesn't really handle all that well -- it's simpler to just wheel him around than it is to 'drive' him. He could serve as a vehicle for an annoybot-like software application or something else that runs on a laptop. Might be a way to attend meetings remotely, although you'd have to have an assistant wheel him in and out, and there is troubleshooting left to do before it'd be a reliable thing. It's really a bit easier to have your assistant bring in your webcam (which is like the one used in the movie Tropic Thunder (2008), if you saw that) and to use the other equipment already in a classroom (or to have your assistant bring in a laptop, microphone, and webcam, if the space doesn't have what you need and there's no 'media cart' available at the venue).
Sending happy thoughts.
~Matt Rolph
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