Seemingly forgetting that 99 percent of the time microwaves are used to reheat pizza, make popcorn, or nuke a frozen dinner, LG has crammed more functionality into its Lightwave Oven than frozen dinner diners will ever need. More »
You remember Suidobashi Heavy Industries, don’t you? The company previously created a 12.5ft tall mech prototype, that was partially controlled using Microsoft’s Kinect sensor. It wasn’t quite ready back in April, but the company showed off a completed version of the Kuratas recently in Japan. On top of that, Suidobashi has created a video detailing how to use the Kuratas, which you’ll be able to purchase down the line for a cool $1.3 million.
Part informative and part tongue-in-cheek, the video takes you around the mech, detailing the various functions as well as how to operate it. The mech features a motor-controlled cockpit, opened from the outside and inside with small buttons. Once the pilot is safely inside, the robot is controlled using a combination of physical and motion controls, plus a touchscreen. It can also be operated remotely using a master slave device.
The Kuratas will have a top speed of around 6 mph when mobile movement is fully functional, and the pilot can adjust the height of the robot to achieve the best vantage point. It runs on a diesel engine too, so keeping it on the road shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Bear in mind though that the video does make liberal use of CGI as the Kuratas takes to the streets.
The Kuratas features several weapons as well. The first is the LOHAS launcher, which shoots water-filled bottles at enemies with high speed. Suidobashi notes that it’s designed to be an “eco-friendly” solution, to be used more for demonstration rather than actual combat. The twin gatling guns, meanwhile, can shoot out 6000 BBs per minute, activated when the pilot smiles, with facial tracking helping the Kuratas to stay locked on the target.
Sony unveiled last week a new addition to its market leading XDCAM HD422 line-up – the PMW-200, the only handheld camcorder in its class equipped with three 1/2 -inch Exmor CMOS sensors and full HD 4:2:2 50Mbps recording. The 1/2 -inch sensors mean the camcorder performs exceptionally well even in challenging lighting conditions. Designed using Sony’s advanced sensor technology and decades of experience, the PMW-200 answers the industry’s desire for a 4:2:2 50Mbps camcorder that …
Google just kicked its Google Fiber efforts into overdrive. The company’s Kansas City effort is getting a full launch and now includes Google Fiber TV — a “real” TV service with recognizable channels and its own, fully searchable interface that mixes DVR results with Netflix and YouTube. As many as 500 shows can be stored in full 1080p HD, and several TVs within the home can tune in at the same time.. Not surprisingly, there’s also a major mobile component taking advantage of that 1Gbps fiber link, as users will have the option of browsing, sharing and eventually watching live TV directly from tablet apps. The company is also promising an ever-evolving service that includes Google+ video hangouts. For hardware, Google has its own dedicated Network Box with a four-port gigabit Ethernet router and 802.11n WiFi, a TV Box with live viewing and a WiFi access point as well as a Storage Box DVR with 2TB of data and the ability to record eight shows at once. Your remote control? A free, bundled Nexus 7 tablet, naturally.
The overall service will come with 1TB of Google Drive space, although it’s expensive to get started: there’s a $300 “construction fee” (currently being waived) to wire a home for the fiber optics. Three packages will be on offer, starting with a Gigabit + TV package that includes the essentials, all major channels and “hundreds” of fiber channels (plus on-demand content) for $120 a month. Skip traditional TV and it costs $70 a month — and if you’re a local resident willing to pony up the construction free, you can get 5Mbps internet access for free for “at least” seven years. Key institutions are getting the full gigabit access for free, as well. Only small slices of Kansas City in both Missouri and Kansas state should have access at first, but Google is conducting a six-week “rally” where the most people paying a $10 pre-registration fee dictate where Google Fiber goes next. Now if only other cities would go the same route.
Update: The full event replay is available for your inspection after the break.
If you’re the reporter and camera operator for K-STIX, Sony’s got good news: they just unveiled the PMW-200 XDCAM, and you can control it with your smartphone. The camcorder features a broadcast-friendly 50Mbps data rate drawing from three half-inch CMOS sensors — bigger than any other broadcast handheld cam, according to Sony — though that size is still a far cry from its own super-35 filmmaking cams and others on the market. The Japanese company claims the chips provide “exceptional” low-light powers, and other features include 30fps at 1080P or 60fps at 720P, a 14x zoom lens, 3.5-inch 852 x 480 LCD display and a 15 second pre-record cache. The camera will be available by September, but the aforementioned WiFi adapter for Android or iOS remote control won’t fly in until the end of the year. Pricing has yet to be announced, but if you need an easier way to multitask or the approving nod from that rigid broadcaster, check the PR for all the specs.
Samsung has turned the Galaxy S III into the ultimate hotel accessory in preparation for the Olympics. It’s equipped 40 rooms in London’s Stratford Holiday Inn to use the official smartphone of 2012 to check in and out, order room service, unlock doors and control the TV without moving. VIPs staying at the hotel for the games season will get first dibs on the technology that’ll let them call up a snack whilst tweeting — just as long as Cody Brocious doesn’t work out how to intercept it.
As part of their senior design project at Northeastern University, Glen Chiachhieri and seven other computer and electrical engineering students built this Wi-Fi repeating robot that’s designed to make it easier to deploy a wireless network in dangerous or hazardous places. More »
While it was exciting to hear that XBMC is making its way to Android, the Plex media center has been on the platform since last year and was recently updated with a few new features. Version 2.2.0.5 of the $5 app adds the ability to accept remote control commands from any of the company’s other mobile clients, so if your phone or tablet is dangling from the TV, you can still control playback or browse media without getting up. Also new is the “QuickSilver” media transcoder from the latest Plex Media Server release which we’re assured we will hear more about in the future, it’s currently expected to provide improved video quality, particularly on the Kindle Fire. Since the feature is still experimental you’ll have to specifically enable it in the settings menu, hit the official blog for more details on how to get it running, the full changelog and newly expanded list of devices that support HTTP Live Streaming.
Ferrari likes to brand just about everything. That said, the two new lines of in-ear and over-ear headphones it’s introducing with Logic3’s help seem like more natural fits for the supercar brand than for other gadgets. The speed-loving elite will inevitably swing towards the Cavallino series’ premium materials and universal microphone remote. Us plebeians have to consider the more plastic-laden Scuderia range, which still manages to pack in some Formula 1 styling along with the remote control. Prices are high at $150 to $315 for the Scuderias, or $201 to $352 for high rollers eying the Cavallinos — but it’s hard to dispute that either series is much more likely to turn up at our houses than a hybrid Enzo.
Western Digital must not want to leave casual TV gaming to the Roku crowd. Our friends at the FCC have just posted a filing that shows the as yet unannounced WD TV Play taking on its set-top rival with a dedicated gaming channel. We’re only given a small peek into the new media hub’s gaming universe through the pre-release user manual, but we know that a Texas Hold’em variant and other titles will find their way in through the gaming services Funspot and PlayJam. No signs have surfaced of a Roku-like motion control, either, although the remote has been given an overhaul compared to its WD TV Live cousin with prominent shortcut buttons for Hulu Plus, Netflix and Vudu. There aren’t any immediate clues as to when the otherwise pedestrian-looking Play will take over store shelves — that said, the virtually complete details hint that there’s not long to wait.
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