Hasta La Gadget!

If you ever watched a professional automotive racing event, whether it was NASCAR or something else, you undoubtedly noticed that the cars tend to bump into each other a lot. The more the vehicles bump into each other, the more their performance is degraded. Griffin has unveiled a new iOS controlled racing car called the Moto TC Rally that brings the “rubbin’ is racing” mentality to the toy world.

The Moto TC Rally is a remote control car that uses an iOS application for control. The coolest part about the car is its Bump n’ Run feature. That feature uses impact sensors around the car to know when your competitors run into you. You can score points for causing damage to competitors and the more virtual damage your vehicle sustains, the worse your car handles and drives.

You can also just race the cars and the app has a built-in lap counter. The app also offers a number of power ups allowing you to repair your vehicle and add virtual armor. You can also deploy attacks on your opponents including the ability to mix up their controls and make them go slower. The Moto TC Rally is available now for $99.99(USD).

I always loved playing with Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots when I was a kid. I also have always loved electronic gadgets. Thanks to the power of technology, I can now play with both at the same time.

Japanese toy-maker Takara Tomy has created this set of boxing robots which are operated using Wii-like motion controllers. The robots are called “BattroBorg 4G” – which means there were three generations of these robots before, and somehow I never owned a set.

The latest generation of miniature boxing robots offers more attacks than prior versions, and improved limb strength to deliver the ultimate robotic knock-out punch without actually breaking the other one.  They also offer interchangeable parts so you can mix and match their body colors.

They’re not officially available outside of Japan, but if you dig around on eBay you might be able to find a pair for around $75(USD). If I don’t beat you to the punch, that is.

[via Toy People]

Two North California sisters, inspired by a documentary, decided to make a Mars Rover by themselves with help from their dad Robert Beatty. Now, 13-year-old Camille Beatty’s and 11-year-old Genevieve’s remote-controlled replica of the Mars Spirit rover is being exhibited at the New York Hall of Science. Great job kids.

These two sisters have been tinkering with remote-controlled toys for awhile. They are a real dynamic duo and have made around 15 robots. They know what they are doing. Visitors of the exhibit can drive the rover on a simulated Martian surface and search for light-emitting rocks using the rover’s infrared camera, sonar sensors, thermal array sensor and other cool gizmos.

The point behind the project was to get kids interested in science. Well, this is one that will get both kids and adults interested in science.

[Beatty Robotics via Damn Geeky]

While this R/C car technically doesn’t run solely on water, it’s still a pretty interesting scientific toy to have around. This new revision of the hydrogen-powered R/C car is more energy efficient and cheaper than the 2008 original.

Water is poured into the i-H2GO car’s refueling station, then it is electrolyzed. The process splits H2O into hydrogen and oxygen using the power of a solar panel. The hydrogen is then directed into the car, and the car basically runs off hydrogen by converting it into electricity. On cloudy days, you can use a USB cable to electrolyze the water.

The i-H2GO is controlled by an iOS app at the moment. An Android app is forthcoming.

You can get the whole setup for $180(USD) from Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies. It will ship on August 15.

[via Werd]

Last month we saw a drone that can both drive around and fly. It’s a shame it can’t run on water as well, because as the Ziphius shows, having a drone on water seems like a lot of fun. The Ziphius is an aquatic drone designed to be controlled via an Android or iOS device. It’s a lot like Parrot’s AR.Drone, except it swims. And it looks like a computer mouse. Or a badly designed bike seat.

The Ziphius has two brushless DC motors that let it zip up to 6mph, and can be controlled wirelessly up to about 300ft. away. It can send live video from its 720p front camera to the mobile device that you’re using as the remote control. Because it’s controlled by a mobile device, the drone’s functionality can be increased with a variety of apps. The video below shows an augmented reality racing game, while the basic Ziphius app will have quick sharing functions to YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Sadly its battery can’t keep up with the rest of the device, and can only last up to an hour per charge.

Pledge at least $245 (USD) on Kickstarter to get a Ziphius drone as a reward. I think the Ziphius is a lot of fun, but I hope all these fancy drones won’t mislead kids into letting their toys experience the world for them.

[via Gadget Review]