In May, a couple in Japan was wed by a robot priest named "i-Fairy".

i-Fairy was first seen at the CES 2010 in Las Vegas early this year. According to the company's representative, the robot can be “programmed with the user’s voice and accompanying body gestures that give the I-FAIRY a more natural feel when used for museum guide work”.

See video below.

Their love story began when Tomohiro Shibata saw the i-Fairy and bought the 4-foot robot from Satoko Inoue's company, Kokoro Ltd, who created the i-Fairy machines. With the two sharing the same interest and love for robots, got married and had their own i-Fairy to officiate their most celebrated and media-covered wedding of the year.

The I-Fairy was remotely controlled by one of the couple's friends at the 50-guest wedding. It talks, and has 18 joints in its arms.

Click here to read more about the i-Fairy, Robot Priest

Last May, Willow Garage has announced PR2's Beta Program. And since it’s open source you can expect that PR2 will become more and more useful and functional in many ways, at work, play or rest.

Now, PR2 can do more than just fold towels! He can fetch some beers from the fridge;

plays billiard and beats opponent in 5 days.

The goal is to produce numerous new ROS libraries that other robots running in ROS will be able to use to do multiple tasks from the laundry to the dishes. And other things you might like to add.

Click here to read more about PR2, PR2 Beta Program

Another open-source platform is currently on the rise. The Corpora, is opening up its doors to robot enthusiasts and developers alike to make enhancements to their Qbo robot.

Qbo, is an artificial intelligent robot purposely built for home use. Initially, the creator (name not revealed yet) plans to develop a robot that functions like a pet. Something that's a source of inspiration. But what would inspire most a creator? Of course his creation.

Because of the flexibility of the algorithm, the creator, decided to add some more features.. (which are becoming endless).

(below is an excerpt from Qbo’s concept and design, The Corpora blog)

Some of Qbo’s “current” skills:

Stereoscopic vision: webcam calibration (2), depth, face, objects and colours recognition, face and object tracking, map generating (under development)

Speech Recognition System Speech Synthesis System: it offers a general framework for building speech synthesis systems. Only available in English at the moment.

The Corpora’s API: Developed to interact with the hardware components of the robot and third parties’ software.

WEB control panel: the robot is accessible through web explorer.

Internet connection through a WIFI controller placed in the head. Real-time software and firmware update.

Obstacles: the robot avoids crashes and falls thanks to ultrasound sensors.

Autocharging: auto-charge battery (testing and developing phase)

You could just imagine, how Qbo will evolve into a more intelligent and specialized robot when it's finally opened to the public for more tweaking.

Click here to read more about Qbo, Artificial Intelligent Robot

Mabel, a bipedal robot is unlike any other walking robots, ASIMO and QRIO mainly because it can walk on uneven terrain more efficiently.

We know that ASIMO and QRIO are built with flexible and strong material and motors to walk and run. However, what makes MABEL different from these two other bipedal robots is that it uses motors for the "knee joints" connected via springs. Such that, when the robot hits an uneven ground, its knees flex or simply jumps with the springs.

Similarly, MABEL's torso is made up of cables and pulleys connected via springs. The spring works like an animal's leg tendon. According to the researchers, lead by Jessy W. Grizzle of the Professor in the Control Systems Laboratory of the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department within the College of Engineering at The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, MABEL has "roughly the morphology of a human with the compliance (spring-like character) of the Raibert hopper" which makes the robot run smoothly like a human. (Watch the video below)

In addition to its physical features, MABEL does not rely on cameras to detect or determine the surface of the ground, instead it uses a dynamic "natural gait" that’s able to flex on uneven surfaces as she walks or runs on them.

In the coming months or so, MABEL's complete blueprint will be available on the web for students to use as a science platform for the further discovery of more sophisticated feedback control mechanisms for advanced dynamic movement stabilization.

Click here to read more about MABEL, Bipedal Robot without Camera

Originally a NASA's project, the X37B Space Plane has made its first launch on the runway of the U.S. Air Force, as an unmanned robotic orbital test vehicle.

We first heard the news about this old spacecraft way back in October 2009. And after many years of engineering works, X-37B space plane has finally sky-rocketed last April 23, 2010 aboard the Atlas V rocket, 4 days late than scheduled.

The 29-foot-long, 15-foot-wide and 11,000 pounds Orbital Test Vehicle is set to perform several tasks as part of its initial mission. The Air Force will measure the guidance, navigation, thermal protection, and unmanned operations of the X-37B in orbit, re-entry, and landing.

The robotic space plane will work similar to other satellites in space, with operators on Earth controlling its paths. After completing certain tests withiin the targeted number of days (270) in space, the Air Force will then command the space plane to return home.

"Upon being given the command to return to Earth, the X-37B will automatically descend through the atmosphere and land on the designated runway. There is no one on the ground with a joystick flying it," said Lt. Col. Troy Giese, the X-37B systems program director, in a statement.

Click here to read more about X37B Space Plane and Orbital Test Vehicle

Have you seen the first Geminoid robot (the HI-1) which was developed to look like its creator, Hiroshi Ishiguro?

Probably you were not that interested to learn more about that robot because he does not, well, looked very pleasing to the eyes. But the second creation of Mr Hiroshi Ishiguro will surely capture your senses.

The Geminoid F (F stands for female) is a better and prettier version of the HI-1. It is simpler in the sense that the creator only used 12 facial actuators compared to the previous 50+ more facial motors used in HI-1. It can demonstrate more natural facial expressions despite it's low cost and has lower degrees of freedom.

The Geminoid F is a robotic version of a woman in her twenties, and like Geminoid HI-1, it’s designed to copy a human as perfectly as possible. Also, all of the actuators and air servo valves and stuff fit into the Geminoid F’s torso, whereas the HI-1 required a big external box to get it to work.

The developers plan to use this as an android which provides patients a sense of comfort and tranquility in application experiments at hospitals. In the other aspects, they hope to use it widely for exhibitions at science museums, etc.

Click here to read more about Geminoid F, Tele-operated Android

UC Berkeley's own Assistant Professor, Pieter Abbeel has developed a household robot that will definitely offer a great help at home.

What it does? Simple folding of towels. To us humans, it may seem easy, but mind you when you several clothes or towels to fold, it may be tiresome or may not like to proceed with the task.

But not PR2, he can do the job seamlessly and with a pat-in-smooth gesture after every fold. PR2 does not miss out on folding different types and sizes of towels. You can see in ths video demonstration, how PR2 does the task "immaculately".

Pieter Abbeel used the robotics platform in Willow Garage. He developed a novel vision-based grasp point detection algorithm which can effectively detect the corners of a piece of cloth, using only geometric cues that are robust to variation in texture.

The best thing about PR2 is that it is able to sort out and analyze the type of cloth materials which he has no previous knowledge about.

Click here to read more about PR2, Vision-Based Grasp-Point Detection Algorithm

Kompaï, thanks to the ingenuity of the French company Robosoft, is a robot designed to assist dependent persons at home. This amazing robot can speak, understand what it is said to it, find its way all around the house and can even access all internet services with just a word.

With Kompaï’s current specs, it is really intended to assist dependent or handicapped persons in their daily lives. It has a recharging dock which it automatically heads back to when its batteries are running low. With speech as its primary means of communication with people, it is able to understand simple commands and gives a certain level of response. It also has additional touch screen that features simple icons and is permanently connected to the internet and all its associated services. It navigates within the house and knows how to get from one point to another, whether on demand or on its own initiative.

Future versions of Kompaï will be equipped with visual abilities, and also the possibility to understand and express emotions. And the addition of arms will allow it to do simple yet fundamental household tasks in everyday living which makes it more efficient.

Click here to read more about Kompaï, robots.

Roxxxy is the first Artificial sex robot engineered by Douglas Hines of TrueCompanion Company and is possibly the most classy sex toy on the market today.

Hines who is a computer scientist state the plan for the sex robot came when he was looking for a profitable application for his Artificial Intelligence Technology. Talking about the sex robot he believes that “there’s a tremendous need for this kind of product”.

Roxxxy is 5 ft 7 inch tall and her body is anatomically just like a real woman. Her skin is made from silicone and is touch sensitive in all the right places and she can even have an sense of sexual climax.

Consumers can also customize things like eye color, hair color and breast size. The Artificial Intelligence engine is programmed to learn the owner’s likes and dislikes.

There is also a choice of purchasing Roxxxy with five different personalities - sociable Wild Wendy, reserved and shy Frigid Farrah. Mature Martha is a young naive personality and S & M Susan is very daring.

What makes Roxxxy different from her inflatable ancestors is that she's the first sex doll equipped with artificial intelligence. "She hears you. She listens to you. She speaks. She feels your touch. She goes to sleep," Hines says.

Click here to read more about Roxxxy, Artificial Sex Robot

Creating a humanoid robot has ever since captured the human imagination and will have a promising future in the world of robotics.

Humanoid robot was created by the engineers. Their visions are to create a robot that can easily move around and inside that house that means that they have to perfect the walking technology. There are two things that hinders engineers to creating a robot with a human or super-human IQ: vision and sensory information processing.

A humanoid robot that can distinguish voices and other sounds and identify the source of it, and can recognize its environment and can act in a safe way to him and to humans and can interpret the movement and position of the human hand.

The era of Robotics is upon us, Robots can now do those tasks everyone hates like vacuuming the carpets and floors to making us even a bigger "Couch Potato" were we don't even need to look for that elusive handheld remote control to change channels or adjust the volume.

These Humanoid robots surely will be in the market, affordable and capable enough, to help with simple tasks.

Click here to read more about Future of Robotics, Humanoid Robots