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Filed under: Household

No, your eyes don’t deceive: it’s a Lego safe. Apparently Lego’s computer-equipped Mindstorms NXT can be used for something more practical than launching robots into space (great as that was), and believe it or not, this box is actually kind of secure. Five double digit codes protect your valuables, and the dial goes both ways, so there’s a left and right entry for each number — hence, over 305 billion possible combinations. Moving the safe will trip motion sensors and set off an alarm, and bars inside strengthen the structure, so while master diamond thieves won’t be deterred, surreptitious little siblings might. Video after the break, and check the right nav through the read link to dig up building instructions.

[Via Digg]

Lego safe is made from robot parts, will guard your mint condish Robocop figurines just nicely originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Nov 2008 06:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Say hello to Keiko. She’s the world’s first robot with Down Syndrome. She’s designed to help doctors diagnose people who come into the ER with a bad case of the Downs by answering their questions and responding to touch. What’s that? She’s not supposed to be retarded? Well what the hell is with that forehead then? Come on, Japan. The first retarded medical robot was kind of funny, now I’m worried that I’ll accidentally get diagnosed with Downs if I ever end up in a Japanese hospital. [CrunchGear]

Here in America, we use paper to pay for things—maybe plastic if we’re lucky. But over in Japan, wireless RFID is gradually becoming the rage. And this NEC robot supports the trend of paying for something without feeling like you’re actually paying for something.

Using the robot is easy enough. You push the touchscreen on its chest to select, say, tickets for an amusement park. Then you wave your FeliCa-enabled wallet phone (RFID device) over the robot’s right hand to, as we can only assume, pay for your tickets and deactivate the robot’s deadly laser security system.

Apparently the system could also incorporate facial recognition to identify frequent visitors, or recommend services based upon their age/gender. And while we know that this terminal is just a kiosk shaped like a robot, we can’t help but to admire the sincere technoanthropomorphism. [IT Media via Pink Tentacle]

Filed under: Robots

The inevitable has happened. Our friend, the loved and loving Mars Phoenix lander has gone quietly into that long, good night once and for all. Even though we joyfully joined the lander on its adventures as it Tweeted from beyond the stratosphere, and thrilled at its explorations, pitfalls, and pratfalls, try not to feel the familiar sting of humanity at the thought of our little robotic buddy facing that call to interminable sleep we all must answer one day. Let’s rest easy knowing that the NASA-spawned craft served dutifully and fearlessly right up to the end, when it was overpowered by a horde of space zombies and turned into an undead killing machine. We’ll miss you, pal.

Mars Phoenix lander goes silent, NASA ends mission originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apparently our polite neighbors to the north, the Canadians, are going to use two underwater robots to bolster their claims over the Arctic in 2010. These twin $4 million Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (not T-1000’s, lame), are being constructed by the very un-Cyberdyne sounding International Submarine Engineering to scout out and claim potential drilling locations in the cold north. The ice cold Arctic, as you may know, is a hotly contested territory for the Canadians, Russians, Norwegians, Danes, and United States. Sadly, there are no frickin’ laser beams. Which is too bad, because we’re positive Putin armed his Russian robot submersibles to the teeth. At the very least, they’ll have GPS.

The robot submarines are just the latest tool for the five “polar nations” currently jockeying for supremacy in the oil-rich Arctic Circle. Trouble is, there’s no land mass up there, which is the traditional yard stick for territorial disputes, so the interested parties have taken to mapping the terrain underwater.

For Canada, this means determining where the Canadian continental shelf ends, and whether or not the subs can discern “geological links” between the country’s northern coast, High Arctic Islands, and two underwater mountain ranges: the Alpha and Lomonosov ridges. The latter certainly sounds Russian, but who are we to get in the way of a little apocalyptic robot war, right? [Canada.com]

Just last week, Time announced what they considered the 50 most important technological breakthroughs of 2008. Not to be outdone, today Popular Science has named their 100 “Best of What’s New.” Unlike Time, PopSci has categorized their awards into achievements in Automotive, Aviation & Space, Computing, Engineering, Gadgets (of course!), Green Tech, Home Entertainment, Home Tech, Health, Recreation and Security. But you’ve had enough of a tease; you just want to see the winners:

Automotive

• 2009 Nissan GT-R
• BMW MyInfo
• Carnegie Mellon’s Boss
• BMW 7 Series Sign Reading Camera
• Audi Harmonic Drive Steering
• Lexus LX570 Wide-View Cameras
• Infiniti EX-35 Self-Healing Paint
• Ford Eco-Boost Engine
• Honda FCX Clarity
• Mercedes SL63 Speedshift
• Ford Capless Fuel Filler

Aviation & Space

• Mars Phoenix Lander
• White Knight II
• GeoEye-1 Satellite
• Kizuna Broadband Satellite
• Large Binocular Telescope
• Martin Jetpack
• Icon A5
• Rocket Racing League
• Boeing Advanced Technical Laser
• DraganFlyer
• Pipistrel Taurus Electro

Computing

• Maxis’ Spore
• Device VM SplashTop
• Adobe AIR
• Qualcomm Gobi
• Microsoft PhotoSynth
• Microsoft Explorer Mouse
• Phoenix FailSafe
• Intel Core Duo Merom

Engineering

• Large Hadron Collider
• Bahrain World Trade Center
• Hillman Composite Beams
• Glubam’s quick assembly bridge
• Kajima’s new demolition method

Gadgets

• 3M MPro 110
• Casio EX-F1 Camera
• BUG Labs’ Base and Modules
• Eye-Fi Explore SD Card
• Polaroid ZINK
• Sleek Audio SA6 Headphones
• Vision Research’s V12 Camera
• Livescribe Pulse
• Ugobe Pleo
• Nikon D90
• Samsung AIRAVE
• iTunes App Store
• Amazon Kindle
• Tonium Pacemaker DJ System

Green Technology

• Serious Materials EcoRock
• ElectraTherm Green Machine
• Envirofit Clean Indoor Cookstove
• Enphase Energy Micro-Inverter System
• Mariah Power Windspire
• Agroplast All In One System

Home Entertainment

• Sony OLED TV
• Audiovox FPS10 Subwoofer
• Lucas Arts’ Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
• Sonos ZP120 Digital Amp
• Sony BDV-IT1000ES Home Theater System
• Onkyo TX-NR906 A/V Receiver
• Hitachi UltraThin TVs

Home Technology

• Honeywell Specialty Materials Storm-a-Rest
• Craftsman VibraFree Sander
• Home Comfort Zones MyTemp
• Festool Lapex Miter Saw
• Remington PowerMower
• Gorilla Super Glue
• FreshAire Paint
• PF WaterWorks PermaFLOW

Personal Health

• Recellularized Heart
• CellScope
• SensAble
• Toshiba Aquilion One CT
• Fraunhofer Institute’s Magnet-Controlled Gut Camera
• BioXcell INVOcell Fertility Assist Device
• Pro-Neck-Tor
• Nintendo Wii Fit
• Electronic Taste Chip
• Hewlett Packard Smart Drug Delivery

Recreation

• Shimano Dura-Ace 7900 Di2 Electronic Shifting Components
• Poseidon Mk IV Discovery Rebreather
• Speedo LZR Swimsuit
• Schoeller Cold Black
• Atomic Double Deck Skis
• Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Sleep Pad
• O’Neill XDS-Air Insulated Neoprene
• Energy Integration Technology Aevex Gloves
• Moog Guitar

Security

• Thruvision T5000 Camera
• Noblepeak Vision Triwave
• Rotundus GroundBot
• Ingenia Technology Laser Surface Authentication System
• Lumidigm Venus Series Sensors
• Raytheon Controlled Impact Rescue Tool (CIRT)
• Landshark IED Robot
• RedX Spray-On Bomb Detector
• ARA Safety FIT-5
• The Streetlab Mobile

So what do you think? Was PopSci dead on or dead wrong? Lay it out in the comments. We were personally affronted that disemvowling didn’t make this particular list. [PopSci]

Filed under: Robots

Dear Phoenix lander, you always find new ways to both delight and torture us. We listened anxiously for your updates about the weather on Mars, watched you “think” your way out of nearly fatal situations, and marveled at your liquid discoveries. It seems like only yesterday we were preparing for your send off. And what new violence is this you’re doing upon our souls? Oh, that’s right: you’re dying. Not shutting down. Dying. Not quickly, either. And you’re going to suffer from what is essentially a NASA-induced nightmare terminal case of Alzheimer’s now, too. As early as tonight, the NASA team will upload repeating commands designed to “wring a few additional weather measurements” out of Phoenix by placing it in “terminal science mode,” meaning that the lander will repeat the same sequence of actions over and over again, every day before shutting down for 19 hours. The team has also discovered that the craft is now unable to fully recharge its batteries, causing it to lose its memory each night when it shuts down. So the lander wakes up in the morning, does some science, goes to sleep, wakes up again, doesn’t remember a thing, does some science… oh, you get the idea. The Phoenix team doesn’t know how much longer the lander is going to survive, but they indicated that it could be “several weeks.” Please, just let the pain end. Hit the read link for the long, sad story.

Anthropomorphized Mars lander in terminal “Groundhog Day” mode, tugging heartstrings originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Nov 2008 02:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Cellphones, Robots

Robots are awesome, we can all probably agree on that. Robots made from iPhones are basically an extension of that awesomeness, crossed with an element of unimaginable, ludicrous fun, which is why we’re pleasantly surprised to see that such a device finally exists. Using a jailbroken iPhone 3G running some Ruby code, an Arduino CPU, a TA7291P motor, and 4 AA batteries, the creator is able to pilot the bot via WiFi from a nearby computer, all the while recording its view for later playback. The results look pretty cool, and trust us, you’re definitely going to want to check out the video after the break. As far as we can tell, by the way, the lyrics to the song in the video are “iPhone with keyboard,” which seemingly refers to this, um… iPhone with keyboard we saw earlier today — apparently from the hands of the same craftsman, who seems like a very busy guy. Especially if he wrote the song!

[Via iPhone World]

Continue reading iPhone robot is ambulatory, still wants physical keyboard

iPhone robot is ambulatory, still wants physical keyboard originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Nov 2008 01:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Robots

The chair is a tool of extreme simplicity and antiquity, and many would argue that it’s foolish to mess with something that obviously attained perfection with the advent of air conditioned seat cushions. Of course, those people have never seen Leopard, the high-tech “concept chair” that takes technology originally developed for Oki’s Robot Leg (an entire robot with design principles based on the human leg) and places it under your posterior for “seating comfort akin to being held in someone’s arms.” This is a chair that adjusts itself to your back, cradles your bum, and gives you a helpful little boost when it’s time to stand up. Sound wasteful? Extravagant? How about totally awesome? Hit the read link for more details, and feel free to check out the fun little picture of the Robot Leg after the break.

Continue reading Oki’s robot chair heralds a new age of robot-aided seating

Oki’s robot chair heralds a new age of robot-aided seating originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Nov 2008 23:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The ObamaBot has been a patient contributor to the Obama presidential campaign. After being assembled for $250, the 6-foot metal and wooden robot took to the streets of Florida waving signs to promote early voting and now President-elect Barack Obama. From a technical standpoint, the robot is apparently “powered by hope,” which seems like a…unique…approach to constantly fluctuating energy prices. Bonus shot:

While ObamaBot is happy to work its way up through the Senate and into the White House over the next 8 years, the robot cannot hide that its orange foam head may not represent the peak of anthropomorphic technology nearly a decade for now. But we’re only born into life as we are. And this robot is not ashamed of where it came from. [Alligator via Engadget]