US 'robot surge' deal re-inked after droid piracy fracas
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Roomba maker set to build mechanoid legions Noted droid manufacturer iRobot has this week landed a major contract from the US Army, after the deal had initially been awarded to a competitor. However, iRobot successfully argued that its rival, Robotic FX, had stolen its technology.â¦
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Also plans droids to 'work on street corners' The Japanese robot industry is streets ahead of the competition when it comes to designing droids for peaceful uses (for war-bots, of course, the discerning purchaser shops in America). That said, Japanese robots have so far struggled to find a real, erm, killer application.â¦
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Monsanto Co.'s "seed police" snared soy farmer Homan McFarling in 1999, and the company is demanding he pay it hundreds of thousands of dollars for alleged technology piracy. McFarling's sin? He saved seed from one harvest and replanted it the following season, a revered and ancient agricultural practice.
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Deal masks an interest in controversial digital content distribution patents?
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Seiko Epson hopes the tiny robot will help in security, disaster and rescue and space exploration. Also: Apple recalls batteries from its 15-inch PowerBook G4 laptops & hellip;. Sony unveils eight new flat-screen TVs & hellip;. and more.
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Industry shift from spying and killing? Korean roboticists announced over the weekend that their industry had achieved yet another world first, as a droid officiated at a wedding south of Seoul.â¦
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Flying robots impose peace and tranquility The US military has taken another step forward with its research into "non-lethal crowd control systems" after reaching back into the disco era for inspiration.â¦
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The deal, which was leaked to the press last week, will see the UK-based mobile operator deliver data services -- such as games, ringtones and entertainment -- through a platform that has been credited with making NTT DoCoMo the force that it is in
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The micro flyer is the next version of the robot by the Japanese technology firm that wowed crowds with last year.
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After a two-year investigation, U.S. law enforcement officials have disrupted one of the largest software piracy operations in the United States with the arrest of 11 suspects in California, Washington and Texas. In the raid, FBI agents seized pirated applications valued as high as US&#36;87 million, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.
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Human pilots too dangerous to tolerate any longer? American air-safety authorities have issued a lengthy list of new recommendations regarding the operation of flying robots in US airspace, following the crash of a Predator drone on border-patrol duties last year.â¦
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(InfoWorld) - BroadcomÂ and Verizon Wireless have reached a deal that will allow Verizon to continue importing and selling phones that are the subject of continuing litigation between Broadcom and Qualcomm. On June 7, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC)Â banned the importation of new models of phones and PDAs that hit the market after that day and include certain Qualcomm chips. Broadcom had sued the rival mobile chip vendor over alleged patent infringement. Under a licensing agreement, Verizon will pay Broadcom $6 for every handset, PDA, or data card that uses EvDO (Evolution-Data Optimized) mobile broadband technology. The carrier will make the payments up to a ceiling of $40 million per calendar quarter and a lifetime maximum of $200 million. As part of the deal, Verizon also will drop an effort to overturn the ruling. Other terms are confidential, according to a statement released by the two companies. The move is a blow to Qualcomm, which pioneered the CDMAÂ technology on which EvDO is based. Verizon is the largest carrier in the U.S. using EvDO. It will pay Broadcom to license technology that Qualcomm has argued does not belong to Broadcom in the first place. Qualcomm was not immediately available for comment. In addition to the licensing deal, Broadcom has entered a strategic alliance with Verizon Communications, the parent company of Verizon Wireless. That deal covers new mobile device chipsets as well as Bluetooth, wireless LAN, optical network, GPS, DSL, fiber, set-top box, and home network equipment components. Broadcom, in Irvine, California, makes chips for a wide range of wired and wireless network products. Qualcomm, in nearby San Diego, is focused on wireless technology. Qualcomm said last month it would try to convince President George Bush to overturn the June 7 ruling, which was effective immediately. Bush has 60 days to decide whether to take action. If he doesn't, Qualcomm could appeal the ruling in federal court. The June 7 ruling came after the ITC ruled last year that Qualcomm had infringed on a Broadcom patent for power management technology. Broadcom had said the system is used in essentially all EvDO and Wideband CDMA phones.
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Arnold Schwarzenegger settles a dispute with a US car company over photos used without permission.
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Eructate! Eructate! Today's dodgy robot story comes from Russia, where reports have it that a powerful wardroid under development has been given unusual duties. The deadly combat machine, doubtless more accustomed to mowing helpless fleshies like grass, has been reassigned in a cheesy sitcom-style twist as a robo-nanny in charge of looking after the inventor's baby son.â¦
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The use of robots around the home to mow lawns, vacuum floors, pull guard duty and perform other chores is set to surge sevenfold by 2007, says a new UN survey, which credits dropping prices for the robot boom.
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SAN JOSE, Calif. _ For nearly a year, a legal document charges, Google employees aided a Missouri-based company that provided software and tech support to people who downloaded pirated software and movies.
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The Hubble space telescope&#39;s chances of survival were dealt a blow yesterday after the US National Academy of Sciences said plans for a robotic repair mission were both exorbitant and risky.