[From CBC News; more information is available from The University of Ottawa] [Image: University of Ottawa scientist Emil Petriu is shown with a robot in his lab. Petriu and his colleagues are replacing the robot’s mechanical parts with more human-like parts they are designing. (Peter Thornton/University of Ottawa)] Life-like robot being built in Ottawa lab Scientist believes humans, robots can have symbiotic relationship CBC News Jan 20, 2012 Canadian scientists are developing a robot that mimics the human face’s expressions and human hand’s tactile processes, which they say will be useful in areas like nursing, nuclear plant maintenance, and explosive…

[From Geek-O-System] AAAH! AAAH! TAKE IT AWAY! Beavis and Butt-Head in Real Life are Positively Terrifying by James Plafke | January 20th, 2012 Artist Kevin Kirkpatrick made these prosthetic busts of Beavis and Butt-Head, taking an absolutely horrifying turn and making them realistic instead of cartoony. Check out more pictures and angles [at the url above], all of which can’t be unseen, so proceed with caution.…

[From ThisIsColossal] Speedy PVC Pipe Sculptures By Christopher on December 7, 2011 These whimsical sculptures by Korean artist Kang Duck-Bong are made by adhering myriad cuts of PVC pipe and covering them in a thick shellac of urethane paint. The process creates an uncanny sense of motion, the figures appearing blurred and perpetually in motion. Kang’s work is on display at Gallery 4Walls in Seoul through December 23 as part of his solo show, Disguise. A huge thanks to Cho at Gallery 4Walls for providing the imagery for this post.…

[From Consumer Reports; an extended interview with Scott Jochim, president of Digital Tech Frontier and Popar Toys, is available in GamesBeat] Toy Fair 2012: Popar Toys brings augmented reality to paper books Jan 31, 2012 – Carol Mangis Popar Toys, a new line from tech company Digital Tech Frontier, is taking an innovative approach to meshing book-reading with technology: Instead of bringing books to the device, a la Amazon Kindle Keyboard and Barnes & Noble Nook, it’s using devices to enhance the books. We had an early look at the how it all works before Popar’s debut in a couple…