[Best of 2015] The Year in Robotics

When future peoples look back at 2015, they might see this as the year that humans started to take seriously the rise of artificially-intelligent robots. It was a year when Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, and other heavy hitters penned an open letter calling on researchers to create A.I. systems that benefit—rather than destroy—humanity. It was also a year that Alex Garland’s speculative science fiction film Ex Machina envisioned humanoid A.I. rising up against their masters Frankenstein-style.

But 2015 was also a time when humans directed robots to carve Renaissance-era marble and built a motion-sensing robot orchestra that plays “algorithmic symphonies.” These and other projects proved that we are entering a brave new world of robotics.

Below, check out other highlights from the year in robotics:

+ The Japanese opened a hotel run by robots (of course).

+ A robot helped a quadriplegic man remotely tour the St. Louis Art Museum.

Sensible Data ECAL/Martin Hertig from ECAL on Vimeo.

+ The robotic installation Sensible Data created passports.

+ The Random Darknet Shopper art bot bought a $35 knock-off Polo shirt.

Captives #B04 from Quayola on Vimeo.

+ Robots carved a modern Michelangelo masterpiece in Quayola’s Captives #B04.

+ Boston Dynamics’ Atlas humanoid robot went unplugged.

+ Artist Pindar Van Arman created a robot that paints your portrait.

+ Iranian roboticists unveiled a slick-looking design for their new Surena humanoid robot.

+ Screenlab created a robot app, Art Now, that reveals the most popular art on Instagram.

+ The Beachbot, designed by Disney Research and a team of students from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, created elaborate illustrations in the sand.

What were your favorite robo-projects this year? Let us know in the comments below. 

Related:

[Best of 2014] The Year in Robots

Researcher Trains Giant Robot to Sit, Stay, and Beg

A German Robot Learned to Flip Pancakes from WikiHow