Hasta La Gadget!

I’ve always wanted to play with R/C aircrafts, but even with my “easy to fly” AR.Drone 2.0, I find myself crashing the thing into walls and the ceiling indoors. Thanks to some impressive work by MIT’s Robust Robotics Group, we might someday be able to fly autonomous planes that are so smart that they can avoid obstacles on their own.

By using a special set of algorithms to calculate the plane’s trajectory, as well as its state (i.e. location, orientation, velocity and acceleration), the fixed-wing plane is able to fly quickly through cramped quarters, avoiding obstacles with ease. In fact, this plane can fly within centimeters of obstacles at a high rate of speed without crashing. The plane uses a laser rangefinder, accelerometers and gyroscopes to figure out its state, and a hugely complex series of computations to navigate through its environment.

While autonomous helicopters and quadrotors have been around for a while, a 2-meter-wide plane that can negotiate confined spaces with aplomb poses a much greater challenge, as it cannot hover, go sideways or make up arbitrary motions like those other aircraft. At this point, it appears that the system requires at least a rough, pre-existing 3-D map of its environment to work properly, but I’m sure with time they can figure out a way for the environment to be mapped in real-time as well. Kinect, anyone?

At this point, MIT isn’t specifying the exact applications for their design, but beyond military and rescue operations, I REALLY want to see a consumer version so I can stop crashing my AR.Drone.

Bicycle lights generally use battery or solar-powered LEDs these days, not bike dynamos like in the 1980s. That doesn’t mean that these types of tiny power stations aren’t still useful. I’ve seen a couple of different ones allowing you to charge up your devices simply by pedaling a bit more. The BikeCharge will take this to a new level since it generates more current and is lighter than other models.

iBikeConsole’s BikeCharge Dynamo is a mounted DC power generator and it works with most smartphone brands. It’s supposed to charge up your phone in 2 to 3 hours, which isn’t bad – especially if you’re going for  It’s weatherproof, and the all-in-one design is 20% lighter than other systems of this nature. There’s a quick-release clutch that will allow you to disengage the dynamo when you aren’t in need of the extra power, though it’s designed to add minimal drag to your pedaling efforts when engaged. It’s also got a front LED light and two rear red LED lights, which can stay illuminated for up to 2 hours after you stop riding.

The BikeCharge Dynamo sells for $99.99(USD) but is currently out of stock.

[via Ubergizmo]

I’m not a morning person. Never was one and probably never will be, but I began to doubt that (just a little) when I saw the Shoot to Snooze alarm clock.

The idea isn’t completely novel, but the execution seems pretty good, thanks to the addition of Nerf. Basically, what you’ll get out of the box is this black, cube-shaped alarm clock that’s got targets positioned on each of its faces. Set your alarm time, then stow your Nerf gun below your pillow so you can just grab it and shoot straight away the next morning.

Hit the bullseye to shut the alarm off and score a couple more minutes of Zzz’s. If you’re a terrible shooter, then fret not because you’ll still win in the end. After all, an alarm clock is meant to wake you up and get you out of bed, right?

Shoot to Snooze will be available soon from Gadget Grotto for £14.99 (~$24 USD)

[via Gizmodo]

I was very impressed by the LEGO Omniboat, but apparently you can take LEGO vehicles even deeper. An engineering student made this remote controlled underwater robot for a school project. I expect bricks to sink, but I was surprised to see batteries and circuits fare well underwater.

The robot was made by YouTuber roboticsqut, who says that while the vehicle isn’t necessarily waterproof, most of its parts will do fine underwater, including the lead-acid batteries and the motors. Roboticsqut used a pair of XBee PRO adapters to send commands to the robot, which is controlled via an Xbox 360 controller that’s connected to a laptop.

Robotsqut should make more and equip them weapons and minifig crew.

[via Dexter Industries via Construction Toys via Reddit]

I can remember years ago standing in the game store in the mall playing the demo NeoGeo machine and wanting one so bad I could hardly stand it. I remember that original NeoGeo arcade system console being insanely expensive for the time. If you always wanted your own NeoGeo, you’ll be able to get one in early December for a much more reasonable price than the original’s $650 price.

The Neogeo X Gold will launch worldwide on December 6 of this year at an MSRP of $199.99(USD). The X Gold bundle will include the Neogeo X Station, the X Joystick and the NeoGeo X Handheld. The portable device has a 4.3-inch LCD display, expandable game card slot, internal stereo speakers, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. The portable device also has 20 preloaded classic Neogeo video games.

The X Handheld is a portable gaming system that you can carry with you wherever you want to go for mobile gaming. When docked with the X Console, you can play video games on your big-screen TV via HDMI or AV outputs, while charging the handheld. The X Joystick let you play those classic games with the big and beefy classic arcade stick. If you’d like more details on the NeoGeo X Gold system, you can register your interest now over on their website.