I can’t even begin to describe how sad and disappointed I am… I think I will make this post shorter so I can cry even more…

I did however recieve a Pre-Order link, so perhaps it will arrive before the summer is over…

Dear LEGO fan,

Thank you very much for your interest in participating in the LEGO® MINDSTORMS™ Developer Program. We are very sorry but unfortunately you have not been selected to take part in the Program. Over 9000 fans sent in their applications and it was extremely difficult selecting 100 people only.

“A new robot can recognize the difference between a mirror image of itself and another robot that looks just like it. … The ground-breaking technology could eventually lead to robots able to express emotions.”

Slashdot | Robot Demonstrates Self-awareness

Eh-Wire writes “Roborior, a house-sitting robot armed with a digital camera, infrared sensors and a videophone is on sale in select Japanese department stores. The house-sitting robot can detect break-ins with it’s infrared sensors and then call the owners cell phone and stream video to the tiny screen. At $2600 each the Roborior is not cheap. For those that require something a little more substantial, Tmusk, the manufacturer of Roborior, has produced a four legged version called Banryu. This one is the size of a large dog and sells for around $18,000. It’s not supposed to shed hair or sleep on the furniture which could make it quite popular.”

Slashdot | House-Sitting Robot Hits Store Shelves in Japan

ScentCone writes “A University of Tokyo team has developed a flexible, laminated network of pressure and temperature sensors suitable for jobs such as robot fingers. Circuits as pressure sensors, and semiconductors as temperature sensors are not new, but the thin, networked laminate of the two is novel.”

Slashdot | Japanese Researchers Develop Sensor Skin

Pretty cool video clips of a robotic hand grabbing balls shot directly towards it.

shpoffo writes “Engineers at the University of Tokyo in Japan have created a robot that can catch a ball moving faster than 186 miles per hour (300 kph) - more than 270 feet per second. It uses an array of photodetectors to directly control the three finger actuators - which can rotate 180 degrees in 0.1 seconds. It’s only catching softballs at the moment, but operators are optimistic for it to soon catch other objects and grasp moving things. A video with odd sci-fi TV-series (coral cache) accents is available.”

Slashdot | Robot Catches High Speed Objects