Hasta La Gadget!

While it has been easier to get a decent 1080p webcam these days, most people wouldn’t search for a 4K camera – but maybe they should! Point Grey just came up with this very interesting pocket webcam that claims to record in 4K (4096×2160 pixels, or 8.8 Million pixels) over USB 3.0. This is huge and right now, very few displays would be capable of showing the images in their full glory, but even on a 2880×1800 display, which is the highest that consumers can get, it should look very nice. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Point Grey USB 3.0 video camera, Point Grey USB 3.0 HD Webcam,

Remember the fan made LEGO Portal 2 figures? Remember how your insides hurt for days from wanting those toys so bad? Round up that desire and channel it into one mouse click. A group of fans have submitted a proposal to LEGO for three sets based on the hit puzzle game.

The concept was submitted by Team Jigsaw, four LEGO enthusiasts who banded together in 2011 to compete in LEGO competitions. Now they need our help to make their concept come true. Although after you see what they have in mind I bet you’ll need no convincing. The three sets are GLaDOS’ Chamber, a Modular Testing Chamber and a Puzzle Board Game. All the major characters are represented here: Chell, Wheatley, the Companion Cube, the turrets and of course the adorable and murderous GLaDOS. And the potato.

As with all LEGO pieces, you can mix and match these sets with each other, not to mention other LEGO sets, like the Minecraft set. But before that can happen, you and about 8,800 other people need to vote for the concept on LEGO Cuusoo. Go on, make your dreams come true.

[via Brothers Brick]

There’s not a lot of specifics to be had on this one just yet, but BMW and Toyota have inked a new deal that will see them collaborate on far more than the batteries they’ve already agreed to work on together. According to the automakers, the new arrangement will see them focus on four key areas: a fuel cell system, powertrain electrification, lightweight technologies and, last but not least, joint development of the “architecture and components for a future sports vehicle.” Unfortunately, neither party is offering much indication about the types of vehicles we might see as a result. BMW’s Norbert Reithofer said only that the goal of the partnership is to “further strengthen our competitive position in sustainable future technologies,” while Toyota’s Akio Toyoda notes that “BMW and Toyota both want to make ever-better cars,” and that he’s “excited to think of the cars that will result from this relationship.”

Continue reading BMW and Toyota sign deal to collaborate on sports car and EV technology

BMW and Toyota sign deal to collaborate on sports car and EV technology originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jun 2012 13:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If there is one thing that robots need to do in order to enter the uncanny valley deeper than ever before, they would need to pick up the nuances of a human’s body language. Yes sir, that is right – robots still have no idea on how to figure out the nitty gritty of our body language. After all, it is said that what we communicate is just 30% effective through speech, the bulk of the remainder go through body language. A research scientist at Willow Garage is currently hoping to imbue robots with basic etiquette lessons, including making way in an elevator whenever someone else wants to get in.

It would be a real leap in the artificial intelligence world if robots of the future are able to pick up all the small details that, well, make us human. After all, androids in movies like Alien and Star Trek could easily fool us into thinking that they were really humans, until one sees the innards of the particular android being full of wires, bolts and nuts. Having said that, can robots be taught to lie, and when they do, will they also send out signals unwittingly, such as touching the ear or nose?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Popchilla robot toy might be able to help autistic children, Robot hand wins every time at Rock, Paper, Scissors game,

When it comes to teaching kids, the element needed the most would be love – you can have the best tools in the world alongside the most effective method, but if it lacks love, then that’s the end of it. However, if you do have the love to teach children with autism spectrum disorders, but figured out that the current set of tools in your possession are just not adequate enough, here is one way for you to explore – a robot toy known as Popchilla.

Seema Patel, CEO of Interbots, is proud of her company’s latest toy. This robotic stuffed animal that she calls Popchilla will be connected to an app known as Popchilla’s World, and this app will no doubt run on a mobile device. The tiny robot does resemble the chinchilla somewhat, where it is capable of moving around as well as show off relevant facial expressions. The app itself doubles up as a game which will reward the children who play it whenever they pick the right answer.

So far, no peer-reviewed results are available to demonstrate the Popchilla’s effectiveness, but Patel claims that Interbots is looking at a half year study at Carnegie Mellon University.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Robot learns about body language, Robot hand wins every time at Rock, Paper, Scissors game,