Hasta La Gadget!

Ready to supersize your favorite RC helicopter and bullseye some perps with an aerial bean bag launcher? The Sheriff’s office in Montgomery County, Texas is, and it’s really freaking out the local news. KPRC Local 2 News feverishly asks if the Sheriff’s new unmanned Shadowhawk helicopter is a safety asset, or a privacy violation — we just think it’s awesome. Built and sold by Vanguard Defense Industries, this wireless whirlybird comes equipped with a remote video camera, an infrared heat-seeking device and an onboard GPS. It’s also capable of carrying weapons, although the Sheriff said that there were no plans to weaponize the UAV. The 50-pound chopper is FAA approved to help track down criminals on the run or assist swat teams in a standoff — a blessing that should keep this police drone from being grounded. Hit the source link below see KPRC‘s local coverage, “Big Brother” freakout and all.

Texas Sheriff’s office receives weaponizable drone, alarms local news station originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Nov 2011 03:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Offering to play matchmaker between your high-end camera and smartphone, XEquals has extended support for its BlueSLR remote control beyond iOS. Yes, Blackberry and Android users can now download their respective app and pair this Bluetooth dongle to their (still Nikon-only) DSLR. The compatible dongle and free app will land later this month, but before you lay down the requisite $149, it’s worth checking that both your camera and phone models are supported. As it stands, compatible Android phones are limited to some HTC or Samsung models. While Android support is likely to expand in the future, there’s no word on a Pre 3 version.

Continue reading BlueSLR dongle arrives for BlackBerry and (some) Android phones

BlueSLR dongle arrives for BlackBerry and (some) Android phones originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Oct 2011 15:07:00 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.

Romotive co-founder Peter Seid’s tweet read “I build robots powered by smartphone” — that was just the incentive we needed to go check out his and business partner Phu Nguyen’s creation while on a recent trip to Seattle. Romo is a simple and affordable tank-like robot platform that uses basic analog electronics to trigger two motors via any device’s headphone jack. The circuit is tuned to specific frequencies for each motor — playback the right tones, and you control the hardware.

With a smartphone as its brain, all of Romo’s logic and behavior live in the software. Three apps will be available at launch for both iOS and Android. RomoRemote lets you control the robot from another phone over WiFi, complete with remote live view and public address. Romo Kart is a mixed-reality version of Mario Kart, including digital attacks designed to slow down your adversaries. The Drag and Drop Programming Module makes it easy to program Romo directly from your handset with instant results.

During our visit with the folks at Romotive, we got a chance to try the RomoRemote app in person using a couple iPhones — not only is Romo adorable, but it works like a charm. The best part? Peter and Phu plan to make a complete SDK and libraries available to iOS and Android developers. While there are several amounts you can pledge, $78 lets you have Romo and the three aforementioned apps sometime in February 2012. The project is already halfway to its $32,000 goal with 42 days to go.

Take a look at our gallery above, then hit the break for our hands-on video and the all important Kickstarter link.

Continue reading Insert Coin: Romo, the smartphone robot (video)

Insert Coin: Romo, the smartphone robot (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 09 Oct 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What’s that, you’re not into changing the channel with that boring old remote, or even with your voice? Murata’s ground-up Tactile Controller brings a real twist to every couch potato’s favorite gadget. Quite literally. The company’s prototype remote uses touch-pressure pads and pyroelectricity to analyze the position of a piezoelectric film. In English: a plastic film produces tiny amounts of electricity at various voltages (output as data) when it’s forced into a variety of positions, letting you change the channel simply by twisting the controller in either direction, or flexing to adjust volume. The model we saw was a plastic sandwich of sorts, and also included four solar cells, capable of producing one milliwatt of electricity — just enough to power the device.

We put the controller through its paces at the company’s CEATEC booth, adjusting a TV’s volume and channel up and down, and, well, up and down, since that’s just about all you can do with the thing. The model we saw only supported five twist positions and four bending positions in each direction, so it could theoretically adjust those two basic settings more quickly based on how much pressure you put on the film, but realistically can’t do much beyond that. The Tactile Controller on display here is more of a proof of concept of sorts — with the concept being the plastic film technology itself, and not the battery-free remote control, which the company decided would be the most visual application for testing its new film, though not necessarily the most practical. Understandably, Murata doesn’t have any plans to release the remote that we saw today, but you can jump past this to see us do the twist.

Continue reading Murata Tactile Controller TV remote hands-on (video)

Murata Tactile Controller TV remote hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Oct 2011 11:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Shogun Bros. updates Chameleon X-1 mouse / gamepad, tosses it up for pre-order

Shogun Bros. updates Chameleon X-1 mouse / gamepad, tosses it up for pre-order originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Sep 2011 15:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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