Filed under: Gaming, Robots

Sure, we’ve seen DS bots before, but some youngsters in France have taken the whole control issue to the “next level.” Apparently, six engineering students decided to pull a fast one on a Pekee Robot (an open, modular, Roomba-like bot) which was collecting dust, and mainline DS controls into its tiny brain. The end result is a multi-use control rig run based entirely on Nintendo’s portable console, offering wireless command of the bot with the D-pad, touchscreen, motion sensors, and stylus strokes, as well as a target mode modeled after Super Mario 64 DS, and voice commands via the system’s mic. You can watch the video after the break to see the little guy in action, but you might want to avert your gaze when he becomes self-aware, determines humans are inefficient, and goes on a kill-crazy rampage.

[Via DS Fanboy]

Continue reading DS-controlled robot works six different ways

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Share This

Filed under: Gaming

We’ve seen plenty of Wiimote hacks that involve interfacing the controller with a PC, and a ton of Wii KIRFs, but an outfit called Motus is aiming to bring it all together with a new PC gaming controller called Darwin. Based on an existing Motus golf club controller called the iClub (very original, guys), the Darwin tracks motion using gyroscopes, accelerometers and a compass, which allows it to track absolute motion without the need for a sensor bar like the Wiimote. Motus also says that the Darwin is more accurate and faster to relay motion data than the Wiimote, which allows games to more accurately simulate real world activities. That’s certainly interesting, but seeing as a Wiimote costs $40 and you can go buy one right now, we’d say the Darwin has quite an uphill battle in store when it hits next year.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Share This

Filed under: Gaming

Hold onto your lunch, we’re looking at quite the turnaround in fortunes for the PS3 if EA’s sales predictions for 2008 hold true. With a hot new SKU on the shelves, an unlikely Halo killer, strong market share in Europe and that profitability milestone crossed, the PS3 is looking at its best shot at greatness since it landed. At least EA and Sony seem to think so. Sony has been naturally bullish about its latest “10 year life cycle” console, but now EA is jumping on board, predicting the box will sell between 9.5 million and 11.5 million units this year, compared to 6 million to 8 million for Microsoft’s Xbox 360. Most of that margin is expected to be found in Europe, to the tune of 5 million or so over the 360. Of course, there’s one more factor here: EA predicts between 12 million and 14 million in Wii sales — better luck next time, guys.

[Via Joystiq]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Share This

Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Media PCs

Not even a month after Lumenlab loosed its luxurious Qmax on the world, the firm’s Q42 has finally escaped beta and is ready to tackle your living room. This PC-in-a-TV features an Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 processor, an optional NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT, 2GB of DDR2 RAM, 1TB of hard drive space, gigabit Ethernet, 7.1-channel surround sound, optional Hotwire networking technology, a silent cooling system, all aluminum frame and an optional (but totally necessary) Blu-ray drive to boot. As expected, everything’s housed behind a 42-inch 1080p LCD panel, and for those still in shock over the Qmax’s $10,000 sticker, the $3,850 starting price on this bugger should be a sight for sore eyes.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Share This

A new material relies on millions of tiny plastic fibers that can grip solids as the fabric slides across them, then quickly release those objects when pulled away vertically. The technology is based on the anatomy of a spider’s gecko’s foot, and may be used for things like hanging art on a wall, or wrapping a broken leg on a battlefield. Screw that stuff: I’d like to use it to build a Spider-Man climbing suit.

According to the scientists at UC Berkeley and Lewis and Clark College in Oregon, a 2-cm square of the stuff can hold nearly a pound. Off the bat, that may not be enough to hold me on a gusty day 32 stories up the side of the Empire State Building, but it’s a good start. Put a whole suit of the material on a guy as limber as, say, Andy Serkis, and you never know.

Another cool attribute is that—like certain ex-girlfriends—the stuff gets clingier the longer you use it. As it was rubbed against a glass plate, it got stronger, because of the way the fibers bent into shape. I’m not even sure many geckos can get a solid grip on glass. Of course, I don’t want Berkeley professor Ron Fearing to hear me talking smack about his beloved lizards. Here’s how he rhapsodizes the inspiration for his invention:

“The gecko has a very sophisticated hierarchical structure of compliant toes, microfibers, nanofibers and nanoattachment plates that allows the foot to attach and release with very little effort. The gecko makes it look simple, but the animal needs to control the directions it is moving its toes—correct movement equates to little effort.”

Bottom line: If I’m ever going to get my fully functional Spider-Man suit, I’m probably gonna have to see a man named Fearing about it. [Medgadget]

Share This

Unfortunately, it’s still a concept, but Current State is amazing—behind its glowing, sexy UI, it’s a real-time power management app that monitors consumption and lets you play with your power from anywhere. Devices are jacked in through plug-ends that bridge the plug and power socket, and after you sync everything, you can turn gear off and on or activate shutdown timers remotely. The monitoring app is pretty sophisticated too, showing you “hotspots” of suckage—I don’t think there’s an adapter for the Patriots yet, though. [The Greener Grass via Uberphones]

Share This

A new material relies on millions of tiny plastic fibers that can grip solids as the fabric slides across them, then quickly release those objects when pulled away vertically. The technology is based on the anatomy of a spider’s gecko’s foot, and may be used for things like hanging art on a wall, or wrapping a broken leg on a battlefield. Screw that stuff: I’d like to use it to build a Spider-Man climbing suit.

According to the scientists at UC Berkeley and Lewis and Clark College in Oregon, a 2-cm square of the stuff can hold nearly a pound. Off the bat, that may not be enough to hold me on a gusty day 32 stories up the side of the Empire State Building, but it’s a good start. Put a whole suit of the material on a guy as limber as, say, Andy Serkis, and you never know.

Another cool attribute is that—like certain ex-girlfriends—the stuff gets clingier the longer you use it. As it was rubbed against a glass plate, it got stronger, because of the way the fibers bent into shape. I’m not even sure many geckos can get a solid grip on glass. Of course, I don’t want Berkeley professor Ron Fearing to hear me talking smack about his beloved lizards. Here’s how he rhapsodizes the inspiration for his invention:

“The gecko has a very sophisticated hierarchical structure of compliant toes, microfibers, nanofibers and nanoattachment plates that allows the foot to attach and release with very little effort. The gecko makes it look simple, but the animal needs to control the directions it is moving its toes—correct movement equates to little effort.”

Bottom line: If I’m ever going to get my fully functional Spider-Man suit, I’m probably gonna have to see a man named Fearing about it. [Medgadget]

Share This

Giz is fair and balanced, so here’s Mac vs. PC, Republican-style. Huckabee’s a PC (duh); Ron Paul is PC (no Linux?); Mitt Romney somehow manages to slide in both (surprise!); and McCain is a Luddite who doesn’t touch the bizarre, blinking gizmos. [Yahoo!]

Share This

Unfortunately, it’s still a concept, but Current State is amazing—behind its glowing, sexy UI, it’s a real-time power management app that monitors consumption and lets you play with your power from anywhere. Devices are jacked in through plug-ends that bridge the plug and power socket, and after you sync everything, you can turn gear off and on or activate shutdown timers remotely. The monitoring app is pretty sophisticated too, showing you “hotspots” of suckage—I don’t think there’s an adapter for the Patriots yet, though. [The Greener Grass via Uberphones]

Share This

Not content to let Cablevision steal all of the same-day VOD thunder today, Comcast made an announcement reiterating they do same-day movies on-demand as well, but they don’t send you a DVD. They’ve also got whole trilogies of movies! Ooooo. Sorry, like Randall said, there is but one trilogy. [Comcast]

Movie debuts, television series premieres, action trilogies and Oscar-winning films pack Comcast’s on-demand service

More Hot Hits Added Every Week to Entertain Viewers and Deliver More High-Definition Choices Available Anywhere, Any Time

Top VOD Titles Include: The Bourne Trilogy, Michael Clayton, the Rush Hour Trilogy, and Academy-Award Winners Ray, Traffic, The Pianist, The Queen, Rain Man, The Departed, Happy Feet

PHILADELPHIA, PA - February 4, 2008 - Comcast, the nation’s leading provider of entertainment, information and communications, announced top new titles on its signature video on demand (VOD) service, most available in HD. The new lineup includes:

* Hollywood hits that are available the same day the films hit DVD;
* Hot television series premiering on VOD at least one week before airing on linear television channels;
* Two action-packed, blockbuster trilogies; and
* Special Academy Award-winning films for every movie buff.

The news follows Comcast’s announcement of Project Infinity, its vision to deliver exponentially more content choice on TV, including more high-definition (HD), sports, movies, kids’ programs and network TV shows, which the company introduced at the Consumer Electronics show on Jan 8th.

“Television viewing has changed and consumers have an insatiable appetite for personalized content delivered directly to their TVs. We’re leading the charge and our customers love it” said Derek Harrar, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Video Services for Comcast. “With top titles like the Bourne and Rush Hour trilogies, we’re giving our customers more movies, more shows and more HD than anyone else&mdashall available at the click of their remote control.”

These new viewing choices are part of Comcast’s video-on-demand lineup with more than 10,000 VOD selections available each month. Comcast customers now are selecting On Demand more than 100 times per second, with about 275 million views monthly; and since 2003, the company has seen viewership grow dramatically, surpassing six billion views.

Comcast’s On Demand highlights are outlined below, along with links to details about each of them provided by Fancast.com, which Comcast also launched at CES. Fancast.com is the first online destination that enables users to watch, manage and find entertainment content wherever it is available - on Fancast, on television, online, on DVD or in theaters.

Hollywood blockbuster trilogies available On Demand include:

Bourne Trilogy
Available now, also in HD
http://www.fancast.com/movies/The-Bourne-Identity/16910/main
http://www.fancast.com/movies/The-Bourne-Supremacy/10291/main
http://www.fancast.com/movies/The-Bourne-Ultimatum/94583/main

Rush Hour Trilogy
Available now, also in HD
http://www.fancast.com/movies/Rush-Hour/11286/main
http://www.fancast.com/movies/Rush-Hour-2/8051/main
http://www.fancast.com/movies/Rush-Hour-3/96289/main

Feature films available On Demand the same day they’re released on DVD, including:

Shoot Em Up
Available now, also in HD
http://www.fancast.com/movies/Shoot-em-Up/91231/main

Mr. Woodcock
Available now, also in HD
http://www.fancast.com/movies/Mr.-Woodcock/9015/main

Invasion
Available now, also in HD
http://www.fancast.com/movies/The-Invasion/15476/main

The Brave One
Available 2/5, also in HD
http://www.fancast.com/movies/The-Brave-One/15335/main

Rendition
Available 2/19, also in HD
http://www.fancast.com/movies/Rendition/96130/main

No Reservations
Available 2/12, also in HDhttp://www.fancast.com/movies/No-Reservations/8030/main

Michael Clayton
Available 2/19, also in HD
http://www.fancast.com/movies/Michael-Clayton/30659/main

Academy Award-winning favorites this month;
With more than 30 Academy Award-winning movies available On Demand in February, any movie buff can find what they’re looking for, with titles like Ray*, The Pianist*, Traffic*, The Queen*, Dances with Wolves, Rain Man, The Departed and Gandhi—as well as family favorites like Happy Feet and Babe* for younger fans.
*These titles also are available in HD.

Premium and free television premieres available On Demand include:

The Tudors
First season available 2/18 to all Comcast Digital Cable customers, even if they don’t subscribe to Showtime, also in HD; second season premiering in March, available to Showtime subscribers, also in HD
http://www.fancast.com/tv/The-Tudors/95710/main

The Wire
Available now
http://www.fancast.com/tv/The-Wire-%28HBO%29/88049/main

Flavor of Love
Available 2/4, also in HD
http://www.fancast.com/tv/Flavor-of-Love/1706/main

Also available are the highly anticipated series, Whitest Kids U’ Know and Pinks, all also in HD, and the movie Husband for Hire.

Share This