Hasta La Gadget!

Modular Robotics, a company that hails from Boulder, Colorado, is all set to roll out a collection of robot-building kits to those who are interested, where it would enable you to work on just about any kind of robot that you would like – just use your imagination. Even better is the fact that there is no need for any kind of programming, now how about that? These kits are called MOSS, and they will come in a variety of sizes.

The larger sized MOSS kits will feature pieces that let you build your robot, where all of the plastic has been molded around several exposed magnets and ball bearings, so that connecting them would be a snap. Apart from that, Modular Robotics also has plans to roll out an app which would let you use a compatible mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet to control your semi-autonomous creations. Eric Schweikardt, the CEO and design director at Modular Robotics, mentioned, “It’s trying to give kids education and exposure to these computational components without putting up that barrier.” It is nice to know that what started off as a Kickstarter campaign has already surpassed its goal of $100,000. Expect it to ship in February next year – so if you want to propose to your other half, why not use this creative method then?

MOSS Robot Kit Helps You Get Started Even Without Having A Clue original content from Ubergizmo.

The U-CAT robot, the brainchild of researchers from the Center for Biorobotics, Tallinn University of Technology, does come in the shape of a turtle, where the main purpose of its existence is not to fall into some sort of radioactive goo before being turned into a bad-ass, ninja fighting robot with a mutated human-rodent as its master. No sir, the U-CAT robot has a far more peaceful existence, where it was specially designed in order to explore shipwrecks in a far more effective and affordable manner.

The U-CAT robot will be driven by a quartet of flippers, allowing it to swim backward if required and of course, forward, not to mention going up and down and turn on the spot regardless of the direction. With such a high degree of maneuverability, it enables the U-CAT to explore small, confined spaces. This would definitely be safer for humans, since diving is still considered to be a highly expensive and time consuming method when exploring underwater sites including shipwrecks are concerned.

Taavi Salumäe, the designer of the U-CAT concept and researcher in Center for Biorobotics, Tallinn University of Technology, said, “U-CAT is specifically designed to meet the end-user requirements. Conventional underwater robots use propellers for locomotion. Fin propulsors of U-CAT can drive the robot in all directions without disturbing water and beating up silt from the bottom, which would decrease visibility inside the shipwreck.”

U-CAT “Turtle” Robot Aids In Shipwreck Exploration original content from Ubergizmo.

iPhone docks come in all shapes and sizes, but we reckon the Robot Girl iPhone dock probably takes the cake. Basically the Robot Girl iPhone dock is a 46” tall robot that has been shaped and designed to look like a robotic woman, and there are gaps and openings all over her body where LED lights are emitted and even pulsated whenever music is played. The head of the Robot Girl will even bop slightly when music is played and given her overall stance, it almost looks like she could be a model walking down a very futuristic runway.

The good news is that if you love robots and wouldn’t mind getting your hands on the Robot Girl, its creator Mark Ricci has put it up on sale on eBay where the starting bid is set at a whopping $6,500. There is a Creative D80 Wireless Bluetooth speaker embedded in the robot, so not only is this a dock for your iPhone, but will also act as a speaker. It does not mention if it charges your iPhone at the same time or which generation iPhone it works with, but presumably with its Bluetooth connectivity, it should play nicely with most devices that support Bluetooth. It’s a little creepy but cool at the same time, but would you want to have this in your living room?

The Robot Girl iPhone Dock Is Creepy And Expensive original content from Ubergizmo.

A couple of weeks ago we checked out 80s Tees’ kick ass Voltron hoodie. It turns out the apparel shop also has something for Transformers fans. This officially licensed Starscream hoodie is based on the treacherous Decepticon’s design in the original Transformers cartoon.

As you can see the hoodie has wings that make it look like a wingsuit. But that doesn’t bother me; what bothers me is the canopy detail on the front of the hoodie. It will make skinny people look even thinner; just look at the dude in the pictures. I guess only robust people are worthy of wearing Starscream.

Practice your screechy voice and order the Starscream hoodie from 80s Tees for just $60 (USD).

[via GeekTyrant]

While the big companies got to show off their new products and inventions at CEATEC 2013, the 3rd and 4th of October were reserved for Japan’s innovative D.I.Y and maker enthusiasts.

The Maker movement itself originated and gained traction in the U.S., and 2006 saw the creation of a now annual event that describes itself as the “Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth”. A combination of D.I.Y, technology and family-friendly fun, the festival has become a space where everyone from tinkerers, hobbyists, artists, students and educators can come to both display their creativity as well as learn from others. In 2008, Tokyo-based makers created a local meetup called Make Tokyo: meeting, and were able to launch the first Tokyo Maker Faire in 2012 with the support of popular Maker magazine Makezine. This year’s Faire was held in both the Miraikan and the Time Building 24, and brought together 311 makers in total.

The event was split up into several areas, with the largest space holding a marketplace for people’s creations and the other areas offering both workshops, presentations and showcase spaces. The workshops available were mainly targeted towards kids, and included activities such as robot building with lego and musical instrument building.

Technology was heavily represented at the event. Several small hardware sellers presented various components and microcontrollers, such as the PocketDuino by Physicaloid, a small Arduino clone that you plug into your smartphone and enables you to program your Arduino from a distance, as well as save your work in a cloud library.

There were also displays that showcased hobbyist electronic projects, such as Saibaiman by Illmatic industries. Named after a Dragon Ball character, Saibaiman is a plant monitoring device dependent on social networks that uses the Raspberry Pi. Liking the plant’s page on Facebook, tweeting about it, or adding it as a friend will induce actions that help the to plant survive, such as watering the plant or turning on colored LEDs above it.

 GR Sakura board, a Japanese-made competitor of the Raspberry Pi, was also used in a number of projects. Kurumin 2 by Kubota P  for example, is an instrument that uses a motion censor and a GR sakura board, to modify the tone of notes.

The board was also used to create a cute luminous headband that changed colours according to the notes played on a smartphone based piano app.

Several other devices were based on sound or light such as ANIPOV’s luminous bycicle wheel or designer-engineer Taikan Hoshino and Ibi Hideki‘s drawing light script, “Spur of Words”. Spur of Words combines a phosphorescent paint, wireless light pen made with Arduino, and a program to change the written script.

Robots were also a big part of the show for example, Kougakuinndaigaku‘s Kinect sensor operated robot that replicates human movements.

BlockServo by @OTL created a very affordable motor made to build lego robots and compete with Lego’s own Mind Storm device.

Robi the Robot, is a kit produced by DeAGOSTINI that launched this year in February and enables you to build your very own robot friend.

Finally, several other interesting projects included the Tanuki’s swaying tail, which combined fashion and technology, Fab-Decchi’s Toaster Printer which prints simple shapes and characters onto bread, Looking Glass Factory‘s 3D block printing and Malt Factory’s unique take on the usage of receipt printers to create an interactive game.

We’ve talked about the growing number of Maker spaces being established, and the presence of a pretty well established culture of DIY in Japan in the past, and the diverse crowd at Maker Faire 2013 attests to the maker movement’s wide appeal here. From families, to young students and couples of all ages, there was definitely some evidence to suggest that the culture of making, tinkering and hacking with electronics and craft material is something that is being welcomed with open arms.