To anyone who has been following modern robotics, you've probably heard of Willow Garage. For those that haven't, they're an upstart company founded to create robots with open source hardware and software. They recently gave away eleven open-source robot platforms to research teams to help further the study of robotics. These open source models could be the key to a new age in robotics: personal robots.
Willow Garage Ushers in Revolution with Open Source Robots
Willow Garage Ushers in Revolution with Open Source Robots