The University of Texas at Dallas students created this video from footage they took in our Richardson, Texas offices.

Wow, things have been very hectic here at Wired NextFest! Sorry for not getting the pictures and videos up yesterday, but the day went so fast that when I about fell over from lack of sleep it was past midnight.

Today, I have a link to a nice video the Associated Press did on Zeno (Zenos?) http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=1119075834&fr=yfp-t-471. It gives insight into some of the inspiration that led to Zeno the robot. It also shows the organic Zeno–David Hanson’s son. It’s pretty cool how the robotic Zeno looks similar to Zeno the kid. David says this wasn’t on purpose, but I guess it slipped in serendipitously.

Here’s a link to photos the Associated Press took of Zeno as he was getting ready for his trip. Zeno appears in photos 3 through 9: http://news.yahoo.com/photos/ss/events/tc//im:/070913/481/dba22e0a11474104aa669bf59e41fa74;_ylt=AlFaW.ht_a1j6gmW3YnkVlZsaMYA

It has been like herding cats trying to get the huge quantities of photos gathered that many people have taken. Everyone’s so busy they haven’t been able to give me their pics yet. I’ll post some as soon as I get them. Meanwhile, here is side shot of Zeno looking at the NextFest audience.

Zeno’s was on ABC’s Good Morning America this morning! See the video yourself at http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=3593762. Could Zeno be a TV personality in the future? Currently, he’s just a kid learning how to walk and talk, but tomorrow, who knows.

Zeno’s a definite hit at NextFest. Yesterday morning, Los Angeles school children had a chance to see Zeno in action. They crowded around his stage and marveled at him. They smiled and cheered at his every action. Many tried to shake hands with him. Come back tomorrow and we’ll have videos and pictures from the show for you to see.

Hanson Robotics introduces Zeno, the world’s first, complete robot at Wired Magazine’s NextFest 2007. Zeno is a fantastic combination of an expressive face, a walking body, vision, speech and hearing.

Come see him in action September 13 - 16 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

PC Magazine declares “Zeno Could Be Next Robot Boy Wonder!”

Zeno’s unveiling at Wired’s NextFest is causing quite a buzz, and it’s easy to see why!

Zeno’s face is covered in Frubber, but Hanson explained it’s a more “sophisticated version” than what’s found on “Einstein,” and is more durable and toy like. Unlike Einstein’s face, there aren’t any pores or wrinkles; Zeno is, ultimately, a cartoon character with a smooth, almost doll-like visage. Underneath the flexible skin are 12 motors (it has 18 more in its body) that provide Zeno with a wide range of expressions. Behind one of its large eyes is a camera that the robot uses to recognize faces. “[Zeno] recognizes faces better than people do, according to the latest facial recognition tests,” said Hanson.

Imagine having your very own Zeno conversational-companion-toy!

Hanson Robotics of Dallas, Texas builds the most expressive and intelligent robots in the world, as featured on the cover of Wired Magazine, Popular Science, The New York Times and the Boston Globe. Our robots make especially warm, lifelike expressions, can see faces, and hold real dialogue.

Hanson’s latest robot, Zeno, transforms Hanson’s character robots into a consumer product that can walk, talk with you, and see, all wirelessly controlled by a PC. Hanson has combined our astonishingly expressive Zeno head with an agile body by Japan’s leading robot designer, Tomotaka Takahashi, creating a timeless character reminiscent of “Atom-boy”. Enlivened by Hanson’s famous conversational artificial intelligence software, the Zeno robot can actually engage in a complete dialogue with you, see your face, make eye contact, and has his own moods and makes his own decisions. This robot brings to life a thousand dreams!

The robot will be 17” tall, weigh 6 lbs. and run for 20 minutes on batteries.

In addition to the actual robot Zeno, Hanson Robotics has developed a story about the Zeno character, set in the year 2027, which is ideal for feature film or TV. In the RoboKind story, the Zeno character is an intelligent robot child, enrolled in an “Inventing Academy”—a school where little robots learn to invent to make the world a better place. Though Zeno is smart, he’s emotionally just a kid, and must learn how to manage his precocious powers and to get along with the other robot kids, or RoboKind. When Zeno discovers that evil professor Blanc has secretly infected students with a corrupting virus that turns them to zombie-like servants, Zeno and his friends fight and defeat the virus and Dr. Blanc, who flees with dozens of infected robot kids to form an evil Academy, for future episodes.

Hello blogosphere!

Stay tuned for exciting news and other fun stuff here on Zeno’s Blog!

Right now Zeno’s in the making in the land of RoboKind, but he is coming soon, he’s so close to life. So check back often, get to know Zeno, follow his growth(development)…soon you’ll be able to adventure in Zeno’s virtual world .. but more importantly, you’ll be able to be with him in the real world. Stay tuned in  so when he’s ready to meet you, you’re ready to have a Zeno of your own.