Hasta La Gadget!

An interesting flying robot has been created called Gimball that is specifically designed to be able to crash and recover quickly. The creators of the robot designed it to be used in situations that might be hazardous for humans. The flying device has a spherical roll cage mounted on pivots that allows the helicopter to stay upright, as well as to handle cramped spaces where other drones would likely crash.

The flying drone was designed and built by a team in Switzerland from the Ecole Polytechnique Federerale de Lausanne (EPFL). In-flight it resembles a mosquito crashing into things and moving on without missing a beat. Co-creator of the flying robot, Adrien Briod, told the BBC that Gimball was partly inspired by the way insects fly.

The little drone has a gyroscopic system including an accelerometer of the type used in smartphones to allow it to know which way is up and stay in the correct orientation. The drone is 13-inches in diameter and weighs 13 ounces with the capability of lifting 30 g. Currently the robot is remote controlled, but the company hopes to integrate features allowing it to fly autonomously.

The robot is intended to be able to be deployed in disaster situations such as entering buildings that are burning or hazardous materials are leaking.

[via GigaOM and BBC]

The Neurocam is the latest invention from Neurowear – the minds behind the Necomimi cat ears and that tail that wags tail that wags based on your thoughts. Though this one seems like a slightly more useful, if not still strange device.

The Neurocam monitors brainwave activity to monitor your interest level in things you’re observing. When it senses that your interest threshold has been hit, it automatically captures images or video. In its current state, the system automatically creates 5-second GIFs of interesting subjects. Here’s a brief video demo of the Neurocam in action:

The device is a headband that holds the users smartphone in a bracket, and it appears that it also has some sort of 90-degree lens adapter for the smartphone so it captures images of whatever you’re looking at.

It’s definitely a novel idea, but all I can imagine is that for most guys, the Neurocam is only going to capture images of cleavage and butts.

We all know that humanoid robots roaming the streets aren’t that far away, but there are still plenty of kinks to be worked out of the designs. The AMBER 2 Robot does its best to emulate human foot movements, with the goal of making a machine that can walk on all sorts of terrain.

The AMBER 2 Robot from Texas A&M Amber Lab has almost all of the pivot points necessary to mimic human-like locomotion, which is very complex. You’ll note the purposeful stumble at the end of the video, which was intentional to show that the boom only provided lateral stability.

I want to see when these kinds of legs will be integrated into a real walking robot. Hopefully, Skynet won’t use them to help exterminate us all.

[via Engadget via Ubergizmo]

So you know how you’re cooking, and then you realize that you’ve got way too much (or way too little) of the ingredients you need to prepare the number of servings you had in mind? It’s annoying, not to mention potentially disastrous, if you happen to be cooking for some important people (like your in-laws, perhaps.)

There to save the day is Sharp’s Chop-Syc interactive digital cutting board.

It was the winning design submitted by Siobhán Andrews to Sharp Labs’ #GetItDownOnPaper competition. As the winner, Andrews got the rare opportunity to see her design turn into a reality after her two-month internship at Sharp.

Chop-Syc lets users check out recipes on the board itself as they cut and prepare ingredients. It has measurement tools and diagrams that will guide the user on how much of an uncooked ingredient is needed for a particular portion. Aside from that, Chop-Syc also has a built-in scale that can be used to weigh ingredients, so it’s basically an all-around multi-purpose device.

Chop-Syc remains a prototype for now, but who knows? You might be able to actually buy it one day.

[via The Verge via Dvice]

Home automation technologies have been around for a while, but most systems require additional gadgets to be plugged into each outlet you want to add to the system, and are generally quite costly. bRight Switch wants to replace every switch and outlet in your home so it can truly become a smart home – all without breaking the bank.

At the core of the system, bRight Switch replaces the light switches in your home with smart, wireless-connected switches which can be used to do everything from dim lights to control music playback. The switches can be programmed to turn on and off lights at predetermined times, or when you go on vacation, but what makes them really impressive is that they learn from your routine. So if you have a tendency to get home and enter a particular room at a particular time, the switch can automatically turn on the lights at the right time. With the Android-powered nLine touchscreen switch, you can also use two units as a room-to-room intercom, or use proximity detection to turn on lights when you enter the room. You can also use your Android, iOS or Windows mobile device to control the entire system remotely.

The system is comprised of three main components: 1) nLine touchscreen smart switches – which offer full functionality; 2) eLine switches – which provide dimming functionality and 3) eLine outlets, which provide AC and USB power, and can be turned on and off wirelessly. Both the eLine switch and outlet have  a built-in dimmable LED nightlight as well. Also, all dimmers offer selectable modes for incandescent, CFL or LED bulbs.

Each module plugs into an ingenious modular wireless base unit, so you can quickly change any location between any of the three switch or outlet modules, or upgrade to potential future variants. Installing base units is as simple as installing a light switch or outlet, but once it’s done, everything else is plug and play.

Best of all, the system is reasonably priced – even more so during its initial crowdfunding period. For as little as $15, you can buy a single eLine outlet and base unit, while an eLine switch and base goes for $25. The whiz-bang nLine switch and base is going for $75. Of course, outfitting an entire room or house will cost quite a bit more, but they have complete systems starting at $140 for small rooms, ranging all the way up to $990 for a full home system, with 2 nLine switches, 15 eLine switches, 20 eLine outlets and 37 wireless base modules.

Head on over to Indiegogo before October 31 to show your support for the project and to start transforming your home into a truly smart one.