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Hot from E3 (from where Neowin are soon to report) is news that you can build your own battle laptop.

Grabbing a brewski from the fridge is just one of the real-world tasks promised by Evolution Robotics, a Pasadena, Calif.-based company that promises a popular but practical approach to robotics. The company is at the Electronics Entertainment Expo this week demonstrating a series of "personal robot systems" that can transform an average laptop PC into an intelligent robot. The basic kit includes a rolling platform to mount the laptop on, a Webcam for capturing visual data and software to run on the laptop.

Company Chairman Bill Gross said the real breakthrough with the company's software is real-time processing of visual data. The Evolution software can interpret images at a rate of five frames per second, matching data captured by the camera with a library of visual references. Instead of executing pre-determined routines, as most robots do, the Evolution system can respond to its environment almost instantly.

Amazingly...Program the software to recognize a beer bottle and a refrigerator, for example, and next time you're running on empty, you just need to wave a bottle in front of the laptop's camera and request a refill.

News source: ZDNet News
View: Build your own battle laptop

Mixed Signals Stall Bots
But while the Yokohama exhibition was more successful than ever, the growing use of wireless LAN systems caused problems. The wireless LAN channels used to control the robots were assigned before the show; but at show time, some signals leaked onto the show floor and confused the mechanical critters.

Had this been an episode of The Simpsons, the robots might have gone nuts, attacked people, and demolished the building while Bart sat outside with his laptop chuckling. Luckily, life proved to be much more prosaic. A few of the robots refused to move, and one needed a push start to get going. Signs everywhere warned journalists to disable the wireless LANs on their notebook computers and asked visitors to deactivate the Bluetooth functions on their mobile phones. But the renegade signals continued.

At least this was an exhibition, not a contest. Another robot event, the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, involves competition among robotic teams for the RoboCup. The tests range from working as mechanical waiters, to search-and-rescue simulations that may eventually have real-life applications.

Less Form, More Function?
Not all of the robots were humanoid. Sony's prototype Q-Taro, which reacts to its surroundings, is a glowing colored sphere about 7 inches in diameter.

Sony describes the device as a "healing creature" designed to foster an emotional connection between humans and robot technology. The Q-Taro's infrared sensors can detect the presence of a person and activate the unit, and its audio sensors enable it to roll around the floor in time to music. Sony has no immediate plans to market the Q-Taro. The company's four-footed Aibos digital dogs, however, are available in several robotic generations.

Bluetooth also appeared in a line of less personable but potentially more practical robots introduced at the show. Toshiba has embedded the wireless system in a range of home appliances, including a refrigerator, a washing machine, and a microwave oven. A home controller, which looks something like a tablet PC, is used to operate the devices.

At least one skeptical consumer wondered why, if you had to walk up to the microwave to put you food inside anyway, you couldn't just use the buttons on the front rather than retreating to the sofa and using your home controller.