https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Germany in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Cleaning robot Franzi makes sure floors are spotless at the Munich hospital where she works, and has taken on a new role during the pandemic: cheering up patients and staff. https://www.thelocal.de/20210219/how-the-chatty-robot-franzi-is-cheering-up-german-patients Fri, 19 Feb 2021 10:04:17 +0100 how-the-chatty-robot-franzi-is-cheering-up-german-patients Smart robots can chat about the weather and answer customers' questions. Now some companies in Germany are testing which tasks human-like robots can take on and the expectations are high. https://www.thelocal.de/20181129/smalltalk-with-luna-the-robot-in-direct-contact-with-customers Thu, 29 Nov 2018 17:17:36 +0100 smalltalk-with-luna-the-robot-in-direct-contact-with-customers A vicious spat is cleaving Germany society in two, and politicians seem helpless to do anything about it - but two nine-year-olds from Bavaria reckon they have found the answer. https://www.thelocal.de/20160304/kids-invent-robot-to-settle-germanys-dog-poo-wars Fri, 04 Mar 2016 16:01:17 +0100 kids-invent-robot-to-settle-germanys-dog-poo-wars German car maker Mercedes has given robots at its factory some tough news - they’ve become redundant in the modern world and will be replaced by more flexible humans. https://www.thelocal.de/20160226/mercedes-sacks-robots-replaces-them-with-humans Fri, 26 Feb 2016 15:50:17 +0100 mercedes-sacks-robots-replaces-them-with-humans A worker was setting up a robot at a Volkswagen factory when the machine grabbed him and pressed him against a metal slab, causing lethal injuries. https://www.thelocal.de/20150701/assembly-robot-kills-worker-at-volkswagen Wed, 01 Jul 2015 17:42:19 +0200 assembly-robot-kills-worker-at-volkswagen An expert on unmanned weapon systems has told The Local that Germany should not be pushing forward with its own armed unmanned drones as the robot arms race heats up. https://www.thelocal.de/20150402/scientist-speaks-out-against-euro-war-drones Thu, 02 Apr 2015 17:37:12 +0200 scientist-speaks-out-against-euro-war-drones More than half of the jobs currently being done in Germany could be taken over by robots in the next 20 years, according to a think-tank. https://www.thelocal.de/20140723/robots-half-jobs-germany-think-tank Wed, 23 Jul 2014 17:25:00 +0200 robots-half-jobs-germany-think-tank German scientists have spent two years developing a robotic kangaroo which imitates the hopping of a real animal. They have released a video of the bionic marsupial hopping around. https://www.thelocal.de/20140407/german-bionic-kangaroo-hops-like-a-real-kangaroo-2 Mon, 07 Apr 2014 12:42:00 +0200 german-bionic-kangaroo-hops-like-a-real-kangaroo-2 German scientists have built an artistic robot which can paint impressionist landscapes, portraits and still-lifes. But are David the robot’s paintings more than the sum of his parts? https://www.thelocal.de/20131023/52543 Wed, 23 Oct 2013 17:38:00 +0200 52543 German robot scientists say they have made a key breakthrough with a cheap, light-weight robotic hand which can grasp objects almost as well as human fingers. https://www.thelocal.de/20130628/50573 Fri, 28 Jun 2013 16:14:00 +0200 50573 Proud technology students unveiled a shopping robot on Tuesday, with a test-run through a southern German town which they hailed as a success, even though it took ages – and like the Daleks, had to avoid steps. https://www.thelocal.de/20120821/44491 Tue, 21 Aug 2012 18:15:00 +0200 44491 Can you put a robot in the dock? Not yet, but we need to think about it – as artificially intelligent robots step from fantasy into daily life, legal and ethical questions emerge which require answers, says one German legal professor. https://www.thelocal.de/20120503/42327 Thu, 03 May 2012 18:59:00 +0200 42327 Bodies of people killed in the Air France plane that crashed in the Atlantic near Brazil in 2009 have been found, French officials said Monday. Their search for the wreckage and victims – among them 28 Germans – was aided by a robot from a Kiel institute. https://www.thelocal.de/20110404/34173 Mon, 04 Apr 2011 18:05:00 +0200 34173 Devices allowing people to write letters or play pinball using just the power of their brains have become a major draw at Hannover's high-tech CeBIT fair this week. https://www.thelocal.de/20100304/25673 Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:24:00 +0100 25673