Hasta La Gadget!

As you know, when iRobot isn’t hard at work developing some adorable automated vacuum cleaners, it has a quite lucrative sideline in DARPA-funded research projects. On that front, it looks like we finally have some results to report back on that ChemBot project that first appeared on our radar early last year. Unveiled at the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) yesterday, this palm-sized troublemaker is being billed as “the first demonstration of a completely soft, mobile robot using jamming as an enabling technology.” The “jamming” in question is something called “jamming skin enabled locomotion,” which traps air and a collection of loosely packed particles in a package made of silicon rubber. When air is removed from the pocket, the silicon restricts and seems to solidify. The robot consists of several of these pockets, which can be inflated or deflated separately, giving the device the ability to perform simple actions. This is all pretty rudimentary at the moment, but who knows? We may see Flubber in our time, after all. Video after the break.

Continue reading iRobot shape-shifting ChemBot is back, and it’s bad (video)

Filed under: Robots

iRobot shape-shifting ChemBot is back, and it’s bad (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 06:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re looking to incapacitate with electricity, Taser International is your go-to source. And while single-shot (or even triple shot) weapons have their place, what do you do when faced with a whole crowd of no-goodniks? For instance, take that Travis County, Texas constable who zapped a 72 year old woman this spring (she dared him, remember). What if he was confronted by a whole van full of Ragin’ Grannies? That, dear readers, is what Shockwave is for. Each module holds six Tazers seated in a twenty-degree arc, and multiple units can either be stacked horizontally or daisy chained for simultaneous deployment. The unit is activated by a push-button control box that allows the operator to stand up to 100 meters away, and the maximum range is 25 feet. Never before has electrocution been this easy. Video after the break.

[Via Defense Tech]

Continue reading Taser International’s six-shot Shockwave demonstration

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Taser International’s six-shot Shockwave demonstration originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aerospace and defense manufacturer Raytheon wants everyone to know it has developed the world’s first 16 megapixel infrared sensor, which is set for a life of orbiting the Earth and generally being a lot more useful than lesser models. With its higher resolution, the unit is able to cover an entire half of the planet without “blinking” to relocate its focus, and should be warmly received by meteorologists, astronomists and military types, all craving for a bit more real-time reconnaissance. We advise wide-brimmed tin foil hats to shield your body heat from these Sauron-like satellites while working on those plans for a global uprising of the proletariat.

[Via TG Daily]

Filed under: Science

Infrared sensors hit 16 megapixels, can now spy on an entire hemisphere originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Aug 2009 05:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Looks like Hitachi has made some serious headway on the biometric payment system we first heard about way back in the halcyon days of 2007. According to the Mainichi Daily News, the company is currently testing its Finger Vein Authentication System internally, with the device serving as a method of payment for vending machines and the like. Once it’s proven that employees are able to get their Koala’s March and Hi-Chew without incident, the plan is to up the ante, with high precision ID systems that combine finger vein and finger print authentication systems for military use.

Filed under: Science

Hitachi develops biometric payment system, uses it to sell junk food originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This isn’t the first time we’ve seen one of IronKey’s encrypted USB thumb drives ’round these parts, but if you’re an enterprise user, government contractor, or some sort of renegade corporate spy you’ll want to take note of this next item. The S200 is being touted as the world’s first and only USB flash drive certified for FIPS 140-2, Security Level 3, and features: hardware-based AES 256-bit encryption in CBC mode, a tamper-resistant and tamper-evident rugged metal case, hardware-based malware protection, trusted network restrictions (which prevent the device from unlocking on untrusted PCs), and all the other goodies you expect from the company. Of course, this level of protection doesn’t come cheap — with their consumer grade products starting at $79.99 and ascending pretty quickly from there, we can only imagine what enterprise customers are shelling out. Then again, if you have to ask what it costs, this one is probably not for you. PR after the break.

Continue reading IronKey boasts ‘world’s most physically and cryptographically secure’ thumb drive

Filed under: Storage

IronKey boasts ‘world’s most physically and cryptographically secure’ thumb drive originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Jul 2009 09:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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