Hasta La Gadget!

Remember the toy car that transforms into a robot? The inventor Kenji Ishida is playing Santa to those of you who wished you could buy one. He’s selling 10 units of the latest version of his robot, which has a couple of new tricks up its robot sleeves.

In addition to being remote controlled and transformable, the 1:12 scale robot can now fire plastic projectiles from its arms and has a camera that can send live footage over a Wi-Fi connection.

You can order the robot from Ishida’s company Brave Robotics (his site is currently experiencing heavy traffic). The price isn’t listed, but you can bet it’ll be expensive. The robot will come fully assembled and programmed along with a wireless controller, four rechargeable batteries, a battery charger, a “motion edit software” and a serial cable. If you think you won’t be able to afford this model, keep saving: Ishida plans to release a life-sized robot car by 2030.

[via Jalopnik]

If you’re a fan of the video game Portal 2, ThinkGeek has a new USB powered toy just in time for the holiday shopping season that you will love. The USB gadget is called the Portal 2 Sentry Turret USB Desk Defender. This little turret doesn’t actually shoot bullets, but it does activate when it senses motion.

When the turret senses motion, the side pods open revealing tiny faux guns. It also says memorable quotes from the video game, including “target acquired,” “there you are,” “I see you,” ‘preparing to dispense product,” and “activated.” If you can’t imagine for yourself what that looks and sounds like, here’s a demo video:

The toy also says other quips from the game if you move it or knock it over along with vibrating. If you knock the device over it will say things like “critical error,” “shutting down,” “I don’t hate you,” “hey hey hey,” and “malfunctioning.” If it doesn’t sense motion for 30 seconds it will say “are you still there?” This is an officially licensed Portal 2 collectible and is available now for $39.99(USD) over at ThinkGeek.

[via EverythingUSB]

There are already a handful of ways to bring – or at least replicate – your Minecraft masterpieces to the real world. But if you’re looking for a cheap route, check out this Mojang-approved iOS app made by 13th lab. It’s called Minecraft Reality and it uses augmented reality to make the two worlds meet.

I have not tried the app yet, but apparently it can even scale the objects you upload relative to the real world scenery. You can also save the location of the object(s) you place so that other users of the app can see your work and vice versa.

Minecraft Reality is already on the App Store and sells for $1.99 (USD). Sadly, it’s for newer iOS devices only. It’s not compatible with the 4th gen iPod Touch and any devices that came before it, and the developer also mentioned that “most functionality is not available on iPhone 4.” Fortunately our imagination has no such system requirements. I just placed a Weeping Angel behind you.

[via The Verge via Joystiq & Minecraft Reality]

I think LEGO should be a huge part of every kid’s childhood. For one, it’s a toy that develops motor skills and requires kids to think while having fun in the process. Sounds totally win-win to me.

But if you prefer your stuff all natural and biodegradable, then you’ll be pleased to know that someone out there has carved some wooden LEGO-like parts that form a LEGO guy when put together.

Looks pretty awesome, doesn’t it? This wooden minifig was carved by Thibaut MALET, who hails from France. The entire toy isn’t hinged, though, so you can expect it to have limited flexibility.

The bad news? They’re all sold out already. Thibaut explains that only twenty numbered figures made, so if you were one of the twenty people who were able to buy one, then lucky you.

[via Colossal Art+Design]

Last year we saw a prototype for an unwearable Pip-Boy 3000, which involved using a smartphone to create a replica that was functional, or at least interactive. This hack is not as high tech, because it only uses a digital picture frame, but at least it’s wearable.

The replica was made by amateur prop maker and sculpture student Zachariah Perry as a gift for his brother. Awwww. As with the replica we saw last year, Zachariah also used the Pip-Boy alarm clock that was included in the Survival Edition of Fallout 3. Then he inserted the innards of a digital picture frame and covered it with the domed glass from a slide viewer, giving it a great retro look. He made three buttons to switch between the images being displayed on the frame, which are screenshots from the Pip-Boy 3000 of his brother’s Fallout save game. Double awwww. The knob at the lower left toggles the lights at the bottom of the display. Finally the separate, gizmo you see on the glove is an MP3 player, which he couldn’t fit inside the case of the alarm clock.

Now Zachariah’s brother is ready to leave their vault. Check out Zachariah’s blog for more pictures of the replica.

[via Hack A Day]