Google Wave, the real-time communication platform that made a huge splash last year, is looking to bring back some of its original buzz and developer excitement with the launch of v2 of the robots API.

For those who are unfamiliar, developers can create two types of extension for Google Wave ( ): robots and gadgets. Gadgets are apps that can run inside of waves, while robots are automated participants within waves. Developers can create robots to do everything from respond to specific cues to pull in information from outside sources such as Twitter ( ).

The big feature of the new robots API is the Active API, which allows Google Wave extensions to push information into waves without the need for user action or input. This means that waves can automatically update with info such as stock prices, weather updates or tweets without a specific action from users within the wave. It also improves the ability of robots to pick and choose the data they need, to better filter out events and to report errors when they fail to carry out a task.
It’s safe to say that the buzz around Google Wave has died down significantly since its launch last year, but it’s also clear that Google ( ) sees Wave as in integral part of its overall strategy to redefine communication (Google Buzz ( ) is the most recent innovation). The new API should help bring new developers to the platform, which could prove vital if it ever hopes to reach critical mass.