Hasta La Gadget!

I’m extremely tempted to pre-order this USB-powered chainsaw, just to see what my $60 will buy me. The i-Saw product page is a master-class in deadpan, explaining in straight-faced detail everything from the USB 2.0 compatibility to the precision engineered chain itself, with a lot of guff in between:

Current materials used on bodies of chainsaws are too heavy for office use. Lighter materials, however, could cause the vertical axis of the guide bar to shift when pressure is applied onto the saw chain. Research and development introduced several innovations to offer an optimal blend of tough plastic and lightweight alloy.

Everything explained, that is, except the power chain. Other than the fact that the saw has “patent-pending technology” which “allows for an unparalleled distribution of power,” we have no idea how a five-volt trickle is turned into the Ikea-chair shredding torrent of destruction shown in the video. We have the feeling that the “i-Saw” may just be a real chainsaw with a USB cable glued to the side, although we hope, desperately, that we are wrong. Shipping September.

Product page [USB Chainsaw. Thanks, Shawn!]

Japanese company Pedal ID caters to bike-lovers with small apartments, making tiny 1:9 scale bike kits, and what you see above is one of two special edition Transformers kits.

When assembled, the mini-cycle measures a mere seven and a half inches in length, but manages to have separate wheels, handlebars, chain and all the rest of the kit you’d expect on a track bike (and no brakes, natch).

I’d actually dig a full-sized Transformers bike, especially if it came with one of the features listed on the machine-translated product page: “This product is not deformed.” No, of course not. It’s Transformed!

The price is an appropriately miniature ¥3360, or $35.

Product page [Pedal ID via Prolly]

What is the fastest RC aircraft? Amazingly, gliders. The non-powered planes can, in skilled hands, whip up a speed of over 300 mph from a relatively slow wind. That’s a velocity of around 8x the speed of the air driving it.

It’s called Dynamic Soaring, or DS, and it requires some specific land and weather conditions, experience and the cojones to slice your precious RC plane through extreme wind shears. If you have a long hill or ridge and the wind is hitting it at a right angle, the air that moves over the top causes an eddy on the leeward side, a steady, spinning whirlpool of air underneath the wind shooting over the ridge.

If you can hit it right, you can power the glider over the ridge and then dip it down into the torrent of air running in the opposite direction. Flip the plane 180º, over and over, and you’ll build up speed. The video above shows a glider clocking an astonishing 392mph from a wind gusting to just 45mph. Think of it as somewhere between surfing a big wave and pumping a skateboard around a half-pipe.

Of course, it’s not easy. Bill Patterson, author of the rather splendid site DS Zone, was flying at a relatively sedentary 150mph and “made the mistake of making too large of a correction while the plane was still in the boundary layer at the bottom, and the v-tail blew off.” Go take a look at both his very clear Flash animation which explains just how this all works, and catch some of the videos of these gliders in action. Even watching a little thumbnail QuickTime video will tighten your stomach in the same way as staring down a high, steep mountain precipice. As Wired.com editor Dylan Tweney noted when he sent the link, “This is extremely cool.”

Dynamic Soaring [DS Zone. Thanks, Paul!]
New Dynamic Soaring World Record — 392mph [YouTube]

This is the Wii accessory Homer would buy Marge for her birthday. The “Bowling Ball for Wii” is supposedly an “ultra-realistic” ball for the many bowling games for the console. Three holes in back provide a place to grip, just like a real ball, and there are buttons on the other side to take care of level selections and the like. There’s even a wrist strap to stop you flinging the thing into the TV set.

Best of all, though, is that the ball opens up like Pacman’s head to accommodate your actual Wiimote. This means it should work with any other Wii game. Imagine using this to play Wii Tennis and Wii Fit starts to look like an afternoon nap. Rumors that it comes with a White Russian are unfounded.

Price and availability to be announced.

Product page [CTA Digital via Oh Gizmo!]

Pleo, the lovable, green robotic dinosaur, isn’t willing to go away quietly. It is set to make a comeback after a Hong Kong based company Jetta bought the intellectual property rights and other assets to it from a bankruptcy sale.

In April, Pleo’s parent company Ugobe had fired all its employees and filed for liquidation. Ugobe had been teetering on the brink of bankruptcy for months before that. The company was troubled by management changes, a cash crunch and sagging demand for the robots.

The Pleo was first launched in January 2007 for about $350. With its graceful motion and an uncanny ability to respond to human interaction, it became a favorite among robot and toy enthusiasts. In two years, Ugobe sold about 100,000 Pleos. But the company’s bankruptcy was seen as the end of the road for the robot.

Not necessarily, says its new owner. Jetta is “firmly committed” to re-launching Pleo and its accessories, according to the Robots Rule website. Jetta has five production campuses in Guangdong province in China and hopes to make the Pleo a part of its portfolio.

See also:
Pleo Robotic Dinosaur Maker Goes Bankrupt
Unloved and Overpriced, Consumer Robots Battle for Survival

Photo: Pleo (dh/Flickr)