Hasta La Gadget!

If taking over a cockroach’s nervous system sounds like your idea of a good time, you should join up with these North Carolina State University researchers, who are having a grand old time perverting nature and ushering in humanities downfall.


These researchers are molding a commercially-available chip that could be mounted on a cockroach, along with a wireless receiver, transmitter, and controller. It sounds crazy, but when you think about it, cockroaches can get into all kinds of small places that people can’t go. Heck they can even survive a nuclear blast, or so I’ve heard. In short, they are perfect for this job. By job, I mean becoming zombies and being controlled like an R/C car, or following along a pre-determined path like in the video clip below:

They are perfect for spy missions, or as explosive carriers and anything else that our minds can dream up. All the more reason to get the Raid out and step on these suckers.

[via Geek via Geeky-Gadgets]

Drones seem to be everywhere these days, but in most cases they can get expensive and most remote spy planes are used overseas. Aerospace engineer algorhythmic decided to see what sort of vehicle he could cobble together on a limited budget.

The Xaver Mk.2., his remote-controlled, roving surveillance vehicle, doesn’t look very imposing, but its compact frame is packing a night vision camera and a Raspberry Pi. The drone was hacked together from bits and pieces, including a PlayStation 3 Eye camera as well as a Wi-Fi module. An Arduino controller directs a motor that allows the camera to move. It’s been configured to stream video from the camera via the Internet, and the whole rig is operated remotely by a PS3 controller.

Algorhythmic promises to create a series of videos on how to construct it and how he will tailor his prototype on his website.

[via Ubergizmo]

Here’s your chance to be the Picard, Kirk or Janeway of your own USS Enterprise. It’s not a high tech starship, just a small remote-controlled plane, but let’s face it: if you suddenly found yourself on the NCC-1701-D, you and everyone in your crew might as well be wearing red shirts.

The plane was designed by RC enthusiast Dennis aka SGTalon. It’s made from foam and a glued-on skin. Dennis sells kits with all the ship’s parts and skin, but you’ll have to supply the other parts such as the rods and motor, and of course put them all together. The video below is a review of the kit courtesy of YouTuber joehandsome99. You can skip to about 3:05 to see it fly:

You can order the USS Enterprise RC kit from SGTalon for $22-$87 (USD). Not a Trekkie? Dennis also sells Cylon Raider and Imperial Destroyer kits.

[via ThisIsWhyImBroke]

Combat is a grizzly business, and despite the best efforts of medical evacuation crews, it’s not always feasible to send rescue teams into the fray. The US Army is seeking to address this with “autonomous vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)” (read: drones) for dropping off medical supplies and picking up injured troops. In its latest request for research and development proposals, the Army calls not for new tools, but for the repurposing of current aircraft to do the job. Preferred candidates in the already unmanned class include the A160 Hummingbird and the K-MAX, while one of the suggestions for remote-control modification is the infamous Black Hawk. Makes the AR.Drone seem a little wimpy, doesn’t it?

Filed under: Robots, Transportation

Army seeking proposals for casualty-carrying UAVs originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Aug 2012 14:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you’d like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with “Insert Coin” as the subject line.

Remote-controlled cameras are nothing new — heck, some even ride atop robotic vacuums — but this Android smartphone-powered device delivers quite a bit of versatility in a petite package with a reasonable price tag to boot. Botiful, a “social telepresence robot,” serves as a roving platform for your Android smartphone. You can move the handset (and its front-facing camera) up and down as it speeds along any flat surface, responding to commands from someone on the other end of a Skype video chat. Once you connect the device to your Android phone through Bluetooth or USB, you can control its direction from a pop-up window within Skype, letting you position Botiful however you see fit. If your Android phone doesn’t have a front-facing camera, you can flip it around to use the rear shooter — of course, you won’t be able to see the display in this configuration, so it won’t be ideal for two-way chats. Naturally, this makes the duo a natural choice for surveillance and baby monitoring, but it can also be used to provide a more immersive experience during conference calls or for sending back video from locations that aren’t easily accessible, such as the undercarriage of a car.

Designed in a garage in California (no, really), Botiful is already functional, with working software as well. The current configuration requires Skype for control, though an SDK will allow developers to create other control apps for the device — and who knows, the seemingly capable inventor could release another tool of her own before it’s set to hit production later this year. With much of the design already completed, the project sponsor is turning to Kickstarter to raise the funds necessary to launch Botiful to production — the device could ship as soon as November if it reaches a $90,000 goal before August 22nd. Available in white, blue or red, the remote-controlled rig is currently only compatible with Android, though iOS support may come if funding exceeds a $100k threshold. There’s still more than three weeks to go to make your pledge, with a limited number of pre-order slots available for $199 (retail pricing is expected to come in at $299). Hit up the source link below to show your support.

Continue reading Insert Coin: Botiful telepresence robot for Android (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Digital Cameras, Robots

Insert Coin: Botiful telepresence robot for Android (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 14:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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