When we first reported on the Willow Garage PR2 robot, it was just a prototype. Earlier this year, Willow Garage started their beta program, which gave eleven lucky organizations two year access to PR2 robots in exchange for furthering work on open source robotics software. Now we've received word from Willow Garage that the PR2 is officially for sale to anyone who wants it. This is not a toy or hobby robot, of course, so don't expect a small price tag. The full retail price is $400,000 per unit. However, if your organization can demonstrate a proven track record in developing open source software and making contributions to the robotics community, you can get a hefty $120,000 discount on your PR2. For more see our previous stories on Willow Garage and the PR2.

The latest Feature R&D at iRobot episode of the Robots podcast interviews Brian Yamauchi, Lead Roboticist at the iRobot Research Group. Yamauchi gives an overview of some of the major developments at iRobot, including new ways of sensing, human-robot interaction and collaboration in the Packbots. He also reveals some details on iRobot's LANdroid (already mentioned in a previous post), Chembot (see previous post) and Jambot projects and shares his view on the ethics of military robots and the future of robotics. For more information, read more on the Robots website or directly tune in to the podcast!

The latest Robots Podcast Model Biology adventure of the Robots podcast absorption on the use of robots for the biological model. The aboriginal bedfellow is Barbara Webb, who is administrator of Insect Robotics Group at the University of Edinburgh and has appear several seminal affidavit accountable (2008 cardboard on "Using robots to accept the behavior of animals" is a acceptable abode to start). After an beforehand account on his work, Webb now abode added circuitous questions: What is the accent of broadcast ascendancy and apotheosis in a biological system? and How do we acquisition solutions that are appropriately able for the robot? The additional bedfellow this adventure is Steffen Wischmann, who was a postdoctoral researcher at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems at EPFL and the Department of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. Wischmann accept an interest, has continued been abysmal in the apprentice archetypal and his assignment has covered two aspects of embodied acknowledgment and models of robots

You like to listen to loud music while the streets? If yes, you'll like AmpBot. This robot filled with high-quality speakers all over his body. Not only noisy, with a wheel-shaped legs, AmpBot can dance as well as the issuance of music. He also can walk to follow you if you also have a virtual mau.AmpBot Mixing Deck in his palms. Virtual Mixing Deck with this you can listen to while playing music like a DJ (Disc Jockey). Robot Sega-Hasbro's production of these will be available on the market in November this year at a price between U.S. $ 500 - U.S. $ 745.