JediBot is an experimental robot cobbled together by students at Stanford University.
(Stanford JediBot)
"It seemed like it would be cool to actually sword-fight against a computerized opponent. Star Wars is pretty much the only movie in which you have swords and robots simultaneously...
It is swinging the sword at me with a series of predefined attack motions, and when it detects hitting my sword it will recoil and move to the beginning of the next attack motion.
Unlike robotics majors, students of science fiction recall other classic sf novels that combine swords and technically advanced cultures. In Dune, Paul Atreides practices against a robotic fencing instructor.
Drosophila Robotica, The Mechanical Fly
'... the Scarab [flying robot] buzzed into the great workroom as any intruding insect might...'- Raymond Z. Gallun, 1936.
Robo-Raven Flapping Wing Robot Bird
'When he had first built them, they had been crude indeed, flying mechanisms with little more than a reflex-response unit.'- Philip E. High, 1968.
Bartendro Robot Bartender
'He sipped the cognac that the robot bartender handed him...'- Alfred Bester, 1956.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!)
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Sky City's 220 Stories Are Go
'It rested among green parklands and... stood in total isolation, a glittering block of whites and flashing windows dotted with colors.'
Robo-Raven Flapping Wing Robot Bird
'When he had first built them, they had been crude indeed, flying mechanisms with little more than a reflex-response unit.'