As we say goodbye to the 200x’s and welcome the 201x’s it’s good to pause a bit and think about the world as it was ten years ago. There was no Wikipedia, no YouTube, internet access was still dialup for a huge portion of the population, and we didn’t have a whole heap of really cool robots. To highlight some of the great inventions of the past ten years, we’ve selected 10 of the best robots fom the past 10 years.

With any sort of list like this, things are pretty arbitrary, but we tried to pick robots that have made an impact in our culture or have impacted the hobby or science of robots in a major way. Below you’ll find 10 amazing robots from the military, toy industry, consumer industry, and science community that have had a lasting impact on robotics.

Take a look and tell us what you think. If you had to nominate 10 robots of the decade, who would they be? Keep reading for our picks for robots of the decade.

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As 2009 comes to a close it’s time once again for the Robot Christmas Gift List! We’re featuring a few of the same, but mostly new, things since the 2008 Robot Christmas Gift Guide. We’ll be featuring 10 items that would make great gifts for the robot lover in your life. Prices range from $10 to $900 dollars, so everyone’s budget should be covered!

Parallax Scribbler – $99

The Scribbler robot from Parallax has been around for a few years but makes an excellent starting point for jumping into robotics. The solid design and lots of ability for expansion make it a good choice for someone that has basic computer skills or someone that has limited electronics knowledge and wants an easy way to get started. The robot features a basic stamp brain, several sensors – like light, floor sensors, and stall sensors – and has two hefty motors, along with a speaker and LEDs. The robot comes with several demo modes, or can be programmed using the regular Basic Stamp programming software.

Roboni-i Game Robot – $189

Roboni is a neat robotic game that uses wirelessly controlled robots. The robots can be used individually or in combination for cooperative gameplay. Roboni’s clever design also makes it tempting for the hacker in me. The Roboni has 12 IR sesors that it uses to track the other Robonis in the playing field, the basestation, and various obstacles. The robot exhibites complex behavior and actually “plays” with you. It’s a relatively new toy, so take that as you will.

LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 – $271

When LEGO released NXT in 2006 they were coming off nearly 10 years of huge success with the RIS. Many people wondered if they could repeat the trend. It looks like they did, with tons of NXT related books being released, and lots of use in education settings. LEGO has updated the NXT and released the 2.0 version, which once again raises the bar. The NXT 2.0 set features a new color sensor, which can detect 6 different colors, or be used as a RGB light emitter. LEGO also dropped the sound sensor in favor of adding a 2nd touch sensor. There is also a different selection of beams and gears and a greatly improved programming interface. The NXT Step Blog has a comparison chart of new pieces.

Pololu 3Pi Robot – $119

Similar in price and usability to the Scribbler robot, the 3Pi from Pololu has meet with favorable reviews. The 3pi has two high power (and high speed!) DC motors, a LCD screen, and has built in sensors for line-following. The robot uses an Atmel Atmega168 chip and can be programmed in C or using the Arduino firmware and programming language. 

Phoenix Hexapod Kit – starting at $969

This exceedingly impressive kit from Lynxmotion will knock your socks off! The powerful inverse kinematics engine allows for a huge array of natural walking gaits and very “creepy” looking motion. Each leg has three DOFs (degrees of freedom) and the completed kit is wirelessly controlled via a transmitter. The parts are laser cut aluminum with black anodization. So, if you’ve got some spare change lying around, this is one slick robot to purchase. Nothing says, “I love you” like a beautifully walking hexapod robot!

Terminator Salvation DVD – $9

The continuation of the Terminator saga. Reviews were mixed, but there was some definite epic robot action. Totally worth $10.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen DVD – $21

Yet another continuation. Again, epic robot battles and mixed reviews. Certainly a “fun” movie. Check your brain at the door (or couch) though.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles – The Complete Second Season – $37

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (TSCC) was quite possibly the best Sci-Fi show of the past several years. Take Battlestar Galactica off the table and you have to go back to Firefly to find something comperable. Even wtih Fox (wantonly, stupidly, foolishly, idiotically, … ) canceling the show after the 2nd season, the two seasons of the show are still well worth watching and are both intellectually stimulating, fun, and heartwrenching. The first season is available new for $17.

SolarSpeeder Kit – $27

The SolarSpeeder is a great beginner kit to demonstrate the power of solar energy. The kit requires some basic hand tools and a soldering iron, so it’s best for kids over 12.

Pleo Dinosaur – $200

Pleo is back from the ashes of bankruptcy and ready to rumble. With a new update to fix many of the original Pleo’s problems, this Pleo is still his same loveable self – just with a new company backing him. This robodino has a complex personality, can move around, use his built in camea to recognize objects, and has directional hearing. Pleo has instant repor with children and the elderly, and would make an oustanding companion for the diabled – or robot hackers.

Have anything to add to this list? Add it to the comments! What was your favorite robot gift from 2008?

Here’s a neat design by Nils Volker for a spherical rolling robot. The robot propels itself forward by turning about its axis, and can change the direction of motion by dynamically changing the axis of rotation. This seems to be a more efficient design than having a suspended pendulum which causes the sphereical robot to curve to one side or the other – a common design among other “ball” robots. Nils robot uses LEGO Mindstorms for electronics/mechanics and is remotely controlled via a bluetooth connection.

Nice work Nils!

More pictures/video after the jump.

[Via Robots Dreams]

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After ten yeras, the array of creations made with the LEGO’s Mindstorms kit is pretty impressive. One of the latest things to amaze me is this NXT 3D scanner created by Philo. The device uses several motors and linear actuators to probe the surface of an object and precisely record its shape. The scanner, which can take several hours to map the surface of an (even small) object, uses a sharp needle and and a the light sensor to probe the surface of the object to scan with quite an ingeneous mechanism. Philo details the project and outlines each component on his website. Philo writes,

I am a LDraw parts author, and as such I am always interested to find new ways to model LEGO parts. Many parts have a clear geometric structure and are relatively easy to create, but parts like the frog pictured above (note: it’s the small green blob) have no defined geometric shape and are very difficult to model. I toyed for a while with the idea of a 3D scanner… The solution came with 2008 LEGO Technic sets that include a new part, the linear actuator. These nifty device convert the rotation movement of a motor into a linear movement. Coupled with the high resolution of NXT encoder, I had all the elements to build a 3D scanner, precise enough for my purpose.

There’s a video of the scanner after the jump.

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The LEGO company is producing a special, Limited Edition, version of the Mindstorms NXT brick. The brick will be black, and LEGO will only produce 1998 of them, to commemorate the creation of Mindstorms in 1998. Owners will get special goodies, like bragging rights, and special programs with the purchase of their brick.

The first LEGO MINDSTORMS products came out in the year 1998 and have since then continued to bring fun and active building and programming experiences to millions of robotic builders across the world! Why a Black NXT? Because it is cool! And looking around in the MINDSTORMS community we noticed that a Black NXT was high on the wish list among users. Once you have bought and received your new Black NXT you will get access to additional materials like a special-made program for the Black NXT, a personal certificate of ownership, wallpapers, building instructions for special models.

You can purchase one of these exclusive items from www.legoshop.com or from Amazon.

Do you remember with Mindstorms originally came out? Did you buy one then, or did you wait? I remember being almost beside myself with excitement.

[Via The Brothers Brick]