Belvedere is a do-it-yourself butler robot. Based on the iRobot Create platform, Belvedere can move around avoiding obstacles (like small children), tell jokes and even dance.
(Belvedere the robot butler)
Science fiction fans have long been aware of the butler robot, like the one in The Midas Plague, the 1954 short story by Frederik Pohl.
There was the butler robot, hard at work, his copper face expressionless...
(Read more about Pohl's butler robot)
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!)
is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for
the Invention Category that interests
you, the Glossary, the Invention
Timeline, or see what's New.
Gaia - Why Stop With Just The Earth?
'But the stars are only atoms in larger space, and in that larger space the star-atoms could combine to form living matter, thinking matter, couldn't they?'
Microsoft VASA-1 Creates Personal Video From A Photo
'...to build up a video picture would require, say, ten million decisions every second. Mike, you're so fast I can't even think about it. But you aren't that fast.'