Jul 22
If you’ve got 1500 pounds of—uhhh—stuff to mix up, nothing will do the stirring faster than this huge robotic mixing system. As you can see in the video above, it really is very effective at mixing things up. Terrifyingly effective.
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Jul 22
Last year, Hasbro reinvented 1998’s hottest stuffed holiday sensation for the early 21st century. Furby got a full-on reboot, bringing improved locomotion, wireless communication, a tablet app and some vaguely creepy glowing eyes to the robotic pet. The toy company opted not to wait another decade and a half for an update, offering up Furby Boom for the world to see today. On the surface, the update looks a fair amount like last year’s model — same moving beak, glowing eyes (with more emotional options) and twitching pointy ears. This time out, however, the company’s offering “six fashion forward patterns” on its fur, including waves and zigzags, with more coming later in the year. Things have been souped up a bit inside, including more on-board storage.
The real upgrades, however, are mostly on the software side of things. The new Furby Boom app, which is coming to iOS and Android, ups the ante for Furby activities. Owners can use it to name their Furby — a name the toy its Furby friends will learn. It also requires some standard pet maintenance, featuring meters for health, hunger, cleanliness and, yes, bathroom breaks. If your Furby gets low on any of the above, you’ll have to help it out. We’ll save the graphic description for the video after the break, because really, why read about a Furby taking a dump, when you can watch it in glorious 720p?
Filed under: Robots
Jul 22
Have you ever wanted a home aquarium, but were afraid your fish would end up dead due to neglect (or the cat?) Well, now you can have a little robotic swimmer who never needs anything more than a change of batteries.
Made by the guys behind the creepy, crawly Hexbug robots, Aquabots are little robotic fish which wriggle realistically through the water. Just drop them in the water, and they’ll swim around on their own. They automatically turn on when they come in contact with water – though they’ll only swim for five minutes at a time to conserve battery.
While the video below shows several Aquabots swimming in harmony, it’s not advised because big fish eat little fish their electromagnetic propulsion systems can interfere with one another. Though what’s the worst that could happen?
They come in either a shark or clown fish designs, in a wide variety of translucent colors, so you can see into their robotic guts as they swim around. You can find Aquabots over at Red5 for £7.95 (~$12 USD) each.
Jul 21
Jul 19
Tick Rover Robot Kills Ticks Dead
Posted in: Today's ChiliTicks are nasty. Actually, I think all bugs are nasty – but ticks are extra disgusting since they suck on your blood. They are also responsible for transmitting many diseases, some fatal. A team of researchers at the Virginia Military Institute have designed a robot that kills these blood suckers. The Tick Rover has been tested and found to be a successful weapon against ticks.
Ticks are attracted to carbon dioxide and can feel vibrations up to 50 feet away. So these traits are used against them. The Tick Rover emits carbon dioxide and creates vibrations to attract the vermin.
For instance, a tube emits carbon dioxide in the yard, so the ticks go to one side of the tube. Along comes the Tick Rover with an attached cloth treated with pesticides. The ticks feel it’s vibrations and jump on the cloth where they die.
Take that ticks!
[via ABC via Damn Geeky]
Jul 18
WIRED, Stan Winston Studios, Legacy Effects, YouTube, and Conde Nast Entertainment all decided to get together and build something truly epic – a 9-foot, 9-inch-tall robot. Yeah, not my idea of a great idea that will benefit mankind, but it’s not like they asked me. Still, this thing is pretty awesome. Even if it could rip humans limb from limb.
And it has four arms to do the ripping. This was all for the opening day of the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con. They got Adam Savage to help unveil it. It’s pretty freakin’ epic, awesome, amazing, fantastic and scary. Check it out below…
Yeah, it’s actually a dude in a robot suit, but that doesn’t make it any less impressive. You try building a costume that looks this good.
I can easily believe that there were many casualties in the building process, just like the robot says.
[via YouTube]
Jul 18
Researchers at Boston Dynamics have designed one of the most advanced humanoids ever
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Jul 18
Sometimes, I get the feeling that digital artwork lacks the personal touch that you find in traditional artwork. You can’t really see the strokes the artist made on the canvas, for one, and any errors or misplaced strokes are quickly edited out.
If you’re a fan of watercolor art and want to get the best of both worlds, then you might want to consider getting the WaterColorBot.
The WaterColorBot was conceived by 12-year-old Sylvia Todd in collaboration with Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories. It’s basically a robot that turns digital vector artwork into actual watercolor paintings. All you need to do is feed the bot with a digital file of the image, and it will then set out to work to create a watercolor replica of that image.
The ‘bot is dubbed as a “friendly and educational art robot” and has high potential for STEM and STEAM education, especially as a means to get younger people interested in robotics and technology.
The WaterColorBot is currently up for funding on Kickstarter, where you can get one of your very own with a minimum pledge of $295(USD).
[via Laughing Squid]
Jul 18
Jul 17
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