Hasta La Gadget!

Sure, we can’t all afford the $500 Fujifilm is charging for the Finepix Real 3D W3, but that’s no reason to make a “toy” version of the thing and charge $70. Regardless, that’s what Takaira Tomy has done, creating a tiny pink (or white) version that does the same basic thing but in a very basic way. Instead of dual 10 megapixel CCDs capable of shooting 720p video you get dual 0.3 megapixel sensors that can’t shoot video with any p’s at all. Pictures are recorded to SD and must be printed out before being spied through a fold-up viewer. Sure, playing with this could be fun for a little while, but for that price we’d rather just stick with two dimensions and get a basic but full-function compact instead.

Takara Tomy’s toy camera shoots in 3D, costs as much as a grownup 2D camera originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ROCR — the Oscillating Climbing Robot — was developed at the University of Utah by William Provancher. Its main talent is the ability to climb carpeted walls by using its hook-like claws and is powered by a motor and a pendulum tail that wings like a grandfather clock. Designed to move efficiently and in the vein of a human rock climber, ROCR is able to climb an 8-foot carpeted wall in just about 15 seconds. The team’s findings will be published in Transactions on Mechatronics this month, and while future applications include possible uses as an inspection or maintenance tool, Provancher says that in the short term, ROCR will likely be used for education or as a “really cool toy.” Video is below.

Continue reading Robot equipped with hook-like claws and pendulum can climb carpeted walls

Robot equipped with hook-like claws and pendulum can climb carpeted walls originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Aug 2010 14:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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To win at Mario Kart on a console you must master two things: drifting and power-ups. Half of that is replicated in these R/C Mario Kart toys, which we saw standing still last month but now can finally see in action motoring around what looks to be either Corporate Carpet Raceway or CDR Castle. The controller emits that familiar jingling item select sound when you’ve snagged a virtual power-up, and you can see how mushrooms boost your speed while banana peels cause your opponents’ cars to freak out. Sadly there is no drifting to be found in this version of the game, but we’re wondering if a little tape on the rear wheels wouldn’t help address that shortcoming.

[Thanks, Jarom]

Continue reading Remote Control Mario Kart toys tested, don’t drift but do shoot (video)

Remote Control Mario Kart toys tested, don’t drift but do shoot (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 31 Jul 2010 13:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We have seen enough crazy mousepads but here’s a wacky mouse for Nascar fans or geeks obsessed with cars.

The Motormouse is a computer mouse modeled on a classic sports car design and takes the toy shape factor very seriously.

The trunk of the car-shaped mouse opens to store batteries and the receiver and even has a ’spare tire’ scroll wheel in there. And if that isn’t enough,  the motormouse’s wheels are are real rubber, says the company.

As for its tech cred, the mouse has a 2.4 GHz USB receiver so it can wirelessly connect to your keyboard. The $50 mouse comes in three colors: silver, red and black.

The question is would you buy one to actually use it or is it just a tech gag gift?

Photo: MotorMouse

And this, folks, is yet another reason why the Land of the Rising Sun is truly one of the world’s greatest places. Japan, which is famous for having ridiculously polite citizens and some of the zaniest toys known to man, has just delivered its latest gem: the Age Prediction Machine. As you might expect, the device simply emits the now-famed “mosquito tone,” which is an exceptionally high pitched frequency that can’t typically be heard by older humans. Depending on the intensity of the sound, you’re able to determine where the cutoff is between hearing it and not, thus discovering the age of whoever would be gullible enough to stand around and actually engage in this sort of lunacy. But seriously, don’t use this the day before your mother’s birthday — just ask pops which number she’s about to celebrate / not celebrate, cool?

Japanese ‘age prediction machine’ is really just a mosquito tone test originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 27 Feb 2010 14:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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