Archive for October, 2008
Posted by: in Rebots
Filed under: Robots, Wearables
If you’ll recall, Tsukuba University professor Yoshiyuki Sankai designed a robotic suit called HAL-5 a few years ago. Production of this handicap-overcomer began back in 2006, and as promised, manufacturer Cyberdyne (not to be confused with Cyberdyne Systems, ideal known for its genocidal Skynet AI and army of Terminator robots) is finally ready to crank it out in massive numbers. Starting this Friday, HAL will be available for rent in Japan at the modest rate of $2,200 per month. Sankai hopes it will prove useful to the elderly and folks with disabilities by providing super-strength mechanical assistance when they send brain signals to move their limbs. HAL might be used for good but it won’t be used for awesome; Sankai has turned down military-types who’ve expressed interest.
[Thanks, Evan]
HAL robotic suit rental is ready for Tony Stark wannabes, the elderly originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Oct 2008 17:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by: in Technology
Finally, the Aston Martin One-77 has been revealed. At $1.9-million, it boasts a “700 HP, 7.0-liter V12 and an already spoken-for run of only 77 units.” Click here for first picture in gallery.
We should be way, way more excited about these shots, but it’s pretty true to all of the previous teasers, so there aren’t any real surprises here.
[via Jalopnik]
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Posted by: in Rebots
Filed under: Robots
WowWee goes out of its way to make one thing very clear about the Rovio: “this is not a toy.” That being said, it doesn’t make the patrolling sentry any less fantastic, as critics over at Robots-Dreams proclaimed that it was “intuitive and a pleasure to use from the moment you first open the box.” From the painless setup process to the unparalleled mobility, reviewers sounded like they were grinning from ear-to-ear during the entire writeup process. It performed its robotic sentry duties with vigor and valor, and the review crew couldn’t help but note that this bugger was “positioned to be the hottest robot for the upcoming holiday season, and for a long time to come.” In other words, if you’ve been on the fence about dropping three bills on this thing, all your worries about it potentially sucking just got thrashed.
WowWee’s Rovio gets reviewed: it’s one awesome robotic sentry originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Oct 2008 17:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by: in Technology
Priced from $400, the new HP Mini 1000 Netbook features a 10.1-inch display, 1.6-GHz Intel Atom processor, 2GB of memory, 16GB SSD, removable USB flash drive, integrated webcam, and Windows XP — custom OS option (MIE) available in January. Ideal of all, it weighs just 2.5-pounds. Click here for first picture in gallery.
Taking design cues from the custom Touchsmart interface, MIE streamlines the netbook experience by placing your most used apps into an efficient-looking homescreen. RSS Feeds, bookmarks, emails, music, photos and more are all available from this home screen.
[via Gizmodo]
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Posted by: in Rebots
Filed under: Robots
You know those insect-like micro air cars (MAV) we’ve been seeing? Well, the ExoFly aerobot is based on that camera-equipped DelFly design, only this time it’s gearing up for a trip to Mars — maybe even Titan or Venus. Turns out flapping-wing flight is perfect for the low-density Martian atmosphere. The current prototype — weighing 17g with a wingspan of 350mm and flight time of twelve minutes — is being tweaked for use in future missions to Mars. The folks at Delft University of Technology and Wageningen University, who’ve teamed up with Ursa Minor Space & Navigation, plan on increasing the weight to 20g and adding an on-board solar cell, which they reckon should extend the flight distance to 15km. There’s also speak of using the digital terrain and image data gathered to simulate a 3D immersive environment for detailed analysis of extraterrestrial destinations — hopefully viewable by those of us who don’t have the billions to drop on a flight to Mars.
[Via New Scientist Space]
Continue reading ExoFly: Mars’ first tourguide
 ExoFly: Mars’ first tourguide originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by: in Rebots
Filed under: Robots
The Keepon dancing robot has already managed to win the hearts of most anyone that’s seen it in action, and it looks like it could soon be winning plenty more, as the bot’s creators have now formed a company, dubbed BeatBots, with the intent of commercializing it. While they eventually hopes to get the cost down to a reasonable level, they’ll apparently first be marketing a $30,000 Keepon Pro model to research institutes studying human-robot interaction — and anyone else with thirty grand to burn, we suppose. Somewhat curiously, it’ll be built with the help of Japan’s Kokoro Company, which is superior known for its slightly creepy robots like the Actroid than those of the adorable and cuddly variety. Keepon dancing robot going commercial originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by: in Technology
AC/DC fans have created the world’s first Microsoft Excel-format music video — “the fine work of Phil Clandillon and Steve Milbourne, who work at a division of Sony/BMG in London.” Continue reading to watch.
What we really liked was that we could actually subvert the corporate firewalls by including AC/DC’s music in an Excel spreadsheet, because that’s granted through every corporate firewall there’s.
[via Gizmodo]
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Posted by: in Rebots
Filed under: Robots, Transportation
Nissan’s already hard at work on some crash-avoidance systems for regular, human-driven vehicles, but it looks like it’s not stopping there, with it now also showing off its BR23C robotic “car,” which apparently takes its inspiration from the humble bumblebee. That comes in the form of the BR23C’s laser range finder (or LRF), which acts like a bee’s compound eye to detect obstacles up to two meters away within a 180-degree radius. When combined with the slightly mysterious crash avoidance system, that apparently lets the vehicle react “instinctively” the split second it detects an obstacle and maneuver accordingly. Of course, as you can see above, Nissan doesn’t seem to be quite ready to test the system with any human passengers just yet, but the company has some big plans for the future, with it aiming to cut its rate of automobile crashes in half by 2015 compared to its stats from 1995.
[Via Autoblog] Nissan shows off bumblebee-inspired, crash-avoiding robot “car” originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by: in Technology
For $3000 (Buy-it-Now) on eBay, you could land this rare Atari Jaguar 64 store kiosk. It comes “with around 70 games, plays CD’s and cartridges, storage compartment underneath.” Auction page. Video after the break. Click here for first picture in gallery.
I have a spare system, CD player & lots of extra controllers, brand new games not even open. Plays the classic laser disk games like Space Ace and Dragons Lair.
[via eBay]
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Posted by: in Rebots
Filed under: Robots
Leaps and bounds have been made with Sylvain Calinon’s robotic portrait artist since we first caught a glimpse of this breathtaking AI being — and no, we’re not just referring to the stylish beret and mustache. Now dubbed “Salvador DaBot”, the portraitist has developed far more advanced conversation skills, along with a voice that sounds a lot less like Steven Hawking. We kinda miss that feather pen he was sporting before, but his movement’s a lot more natural now and his new marker seems to have helped his drawing style — similar to old-school comic art. See this awesome tiny guy in action after the break.
[Via Sylvain Calinon]
Continue reading Salvador DaBot: robot portraitist extraordinaire
Salvador DaBot: robot portraitist extraordinaire originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 27 Sep 2008 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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