I’m all about little robots. That is to say, any robot that is small enough that I know for a fact I won’t lose to in a fight. (You know, in case the whole Skynet thing happens.) As long as the robots are small, and as long as they do some neat tricks, I’m pretty […]
Woe betide any Appalachian tiger swallowtails who get caught up in this ungodly four-foot flailhead. Moving to higher ground won’t save them either, because Robocut’s 40hp Isuzu diesel engine and high grip tracks can chew up 55-degree slopes without ever pausing to contemplate. The bargain price? £40,000 ($60,000) plus extra for antihistamines. Apocalyptic video after the break.
Continue reading McConnel’s Robocut mower verges on obscene (video)
McConnel’s Robocut mower verges on obscene (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Sep 2011 13:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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When Arduino unveiled a boatload of new products on Friday, we could have taken the easy route, posted the PR and called it a day. But, since the crew happened to be in town for Maker Faire, with a few folks from Atmel (makers of the AVR chip at the heart of the open source MCU) in tow, we figured why not go straight to the source. Arduino founder Massimo Banzi gave us a look at the company’s latest offerings: the ARM-powered Arduino Due, the low-cost Arduino Leonardo, and aptly-named Arduino WiFi, as well as a peek at some of the group’s upcoming plans. Keep on reading after the break for the juicy details.
Gallery: Arduino at Maker Faire New York 2011
Continue reading Arduino brings the (new) goods to Maker Faire New York, welcomes ARM into the fold
Arduino brings the (new) goods to Maker Faire New York, welcomes ARM into the fold originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Sep 2011 09:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Panasonic’s little battery-powered bot that could, the Evolta, has garnered our attention several times over the years. It’s already climbed out of the Grand Canyon and walked 500km from Tokyo to Kyoto, but apparently neither was enough to prove it and its namesake batteries’ true mettle. This time, Panasonic’s putting three of the robots through the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii, and they’ve got a week to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112, and run a 26.2 mile marathon. Unlike the meatbags running the race who have a day to finish, the robots get a week — though they’ll be doing their thing 24 hours a day while only taking breaks to recharge their three AA batteries. Intrigued? The race starts on October 23rd, so there’s plenty of time to watch the appropriately dramatic video explaining the challenge facing the triumvirate of tiny triathletes after the break.
Continue reading Evolta robot to take on the Ironman Triathlon, conquer the course in a week
Evolta robot to take on the Ironman Triathlon, conquer the course in a week originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Sep 2011 14:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The Robopocalypse is coming — just not in the way you’d feared. DreamWorks and Twentieth Century Fox have joined movie-making forces to reanimate Daniel H. Wilson’s fictional (for now) literary account of a future, robot-helmed doomsday. The studios have thrown some guy named Steven Spielberg behind the lens of this cinematic cautionary tale, and plan to scare the bejeezus out of us all when it premieres July 3, 2013 — that’s if we make it past the Mayan end of the world. No casting was mentioned in the project’s announcement, so we’ll continue to cross our toes in the hopes a certain daytime show couch jumper and film star-turned-pilot don’t join in on the blockbuster fear-mongering.
Continue reading Robopocalypse coming soon to a theater near you, Spielberg to smother it in PG
Robopocalypse coming soon to a theater near you, Spielberg to smother it in PG originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 20:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Nikon’s commitment to the new red color way shows in these super hi-res product shots. Photo credit Nikon
Want to buy an SLR for serious shooting purposes, but don’t want to leave behind the “quirky” personality that saw you covering your book-bag in Hello Kitty stickers (girls) or Scooby Doo patches (boys) back in high school? Well, good news! Now you can continue to assert your “individuality” by buying this red Nikon D3100 along with millions of other like-minded individuals.
Other than the color, which is the same color as the metallic red cropped bolero jacket I wore in the late 80s, the camera is a stock D3100. It has a 14.2MP crop-sensor chip, runs up to ISO 3,200 or ISO 12,800 if you don’t mind a noisy image, shoots 1080p video and does everything else you’d expect a modern entry level DSLR to do. And it also comes in red.
In fact, I wonder if Nikon might ever come out with a Hello Kitty or Scooby Doo-themed camera? Probably not. But Pentax might.
Nikon red D3100 product page [Nikon via Nikon Rumors]
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Does the Uncanny Valley extend to re-creations of our four-legged friends? We’ll find out soon enough if Yasunori Yamada and his University of Tokyo engineering team manage to get their PIGORASS quadruped bot beyond its first unsteady hops, and into a full-on gallop. Developed as a means of analyzing animals’ musculoskeletal system for use in biologically-inspired robots, the team’s cyborg critter gets its locomotion on via a combo of CPU-controlled pressure sensors and potentiometers. It may move like a bunny (for now), but each limb’s been designed to function independently in an attempt to simulate a simplified neural system. Given a bit more time and tweaking (not to mention a fine, faux fur coating), we’re pretty sure this wee bitty beastie’ll scamper its way into the homes of tomorrow. Check out the lil’ fella in the video after the break.
Continue reading PIGORASS quadruped robot baby steps past AIBO’s grave (video)
PIGORASS quadruped robot baby steps past AIBO’s grave (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Sep 2011 18:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Smile, you’re on Vacucam! LG’s Hom-Bot (RoboKing in the US) was zipping around its own special playpen on the stage at the company’s IFA booth today, picking up the occasional speck of dust and using its dual cams to spy on bloggers and Germans, while also diligently avoiding a plastic family dog along its ten-square-foot cube of real estate. The bot’s Smart ThinQ technology enables it to interact with an Android or iPhone app, which you’ll use to watch a live video feed from its built-in cam, send it rolling to a specific point in the house in “Patrol” mode, or adjust settings. You can also log in remotely, assuming your Hom-Bot is powered up and has a WiFi connection. Official US and Euro pricing and availability hasn’t been announced yet, but an LG rep suggested we’ll see it in the €500-700 range (about $710-995 US). Cameras and interactivity are nice and all, but that’s a lot to spend on any vacuum cleaner. Today’s trade show sneak peek is probably the closest we’ll be getting to this pricey little vac, so roll past the break for some super action footage.
Continue reading LG Hom-Bot 2.0 Smart Robot Vacuum Cleaner hands-on (video)
LG Hom-Bot 2.0 Smart Robot Vacuum Cleaner hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Sep 2011 12:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Google’s Android platform is shooting for the moon.
NASA sent two Android-powered Nexus S smartphones into space with the last manned space shuttle, Atlantis, on the STS-135 mission. The duo of smartphones were used to test and investigate how humans and robots can coexist in space more efficiently.
In the mission, the phones were used to control SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites), small robotic satellites that were originally developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The SPHERES are used to do things like record video and capture sensor data, errands that once required astronauts. The phones are used to help control the SPHERES, which have their own power, computing, propulsion and navigation systems. The robotic devices have built-in expansion ports that allow a variety of additional sensors and devices, like cameras, to be attached.
Another group of researchers from Great Britain hope to send a smartphone powered satellite into lower Earth-orbit before the year’s end. This experiment differs from NASA, however, in that it’s primarily testing how well the guts of the smartphone can stand in the extreme conditions of space. And last year, a pair of Nexus Ones were sent 30,000 feet into the air as the payload of a small rocket. One was destroyed when its parachute failed, but the other safely glided to Earth, capturing two and a half hours of video footage.
In the future, the phones will be used to navigate and control the SPHERES using the IOIO board and the Android Open Accessory Development Kit.
Why Android over iOS, or another smartform platform? NASA thought an Android device would be a good fit since it’s open source. Google’s engineers even wrote a sensor logging app that NASA ended up using on the mission (and it can be downloaded from the Android Market, if you’re interested).
Check out the video below to see the Nexus S and the SPHERES in action.
You won’t have to leave your post on the couch, but you will have to lift a finger to your smartphone in order to tidy up with LG’s ‘RoboKing Triple Eye’ VR6180VMNV robot vacuum. Unlike it’s purple cousin who spends his time looking inwards, this little guy is always looking outward with its three cameras, capturing video and sending it to your smartphone or PC over WiFi. The robot uses sensors to create a plan of attack map of your home, allowing you to move it around by clicking the filthiest parts. Like a well-trained puppy, the dust buster also responds to voice commands from up to 5 feet away and it doesn’t even bark — only emitting 48dB of sound while sucking up dust. Of course, laziness of this caliber doesn’t come cheap, as it costs 899,000 Korean won, or around $840 bones.
LG launches ‘RoboKing Triple Eye’ smartphone-controlled vacuuming robot originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Aug 2011 20:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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