Filed under: Robots

It looks like a group of researchers from the University of Reading are making a solid run at the title of mad scientists of the year (in the best sense, of course), with them now boasting that they’ve developed a robot that’s controlled by a “biological brain.” That’s not quite the sci-fi sight you may be imagining, however (though it’s close), with it instead made up of some 300,000 neurons taken from the neural cortex of a rat fetus, which are contained in multi electrode array that packs 60 electrodes to pick up the signals generated by the cells and, in turn, control the robot. According to the researchers, they are particularly interested in using the robot to study how memories are formed in the brain, and how the brain stores specific data, which they hope will lead to a better understanding of Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, stokes, and other brain injuries.

[Via Emerging Tech, New Scientist]

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Via [Engadget]

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iPhone 2.0.1 breaking some carrier unlocks

Filed under: Cellphones

Uh-oh, it look like it’s not just the underground unlockers who’re having problems with the iPhone 2.0.1 update’s revisions to the 3G’s baseband — Vodafone customers who’ve paid to have their handsets unlocked are starting to report failures to connect to iTunes followed by the appearance of an “0xE8000001″ error code. There are also reports from a handful of other carriers, but Voda’s selling Steve’s baby in 10 countries, so most of the complaints are from its customers. Other than that, there are some isolated reports of brickage, but we’ve mostly heard good things about 2.0.1, and our iPhones are definitely feeling a little better — how about you?

[Via TUAW]

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Gateway P-7811FX gaming laptop unboxing and hands-on

Filed under: Gaming, Laptops

Right on schedule, Gateway has set free its P-7811 FX gaming laptop, and we got our hands on one right before you can get your own. Our test unit shipped with the aforementioned Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.26GHz with a 3MB L2 cache, Windows Vista Home 64-bit, Intel PM45 Express Chipset, NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTS with 512MB of GDDR3 discrete video memory, a 17-inch WXGA screen, 200GB 7200 SATA HDD, 4GB DDR3 800MHz RAM, HDMI, 9-cell battery, and 1.3MP webcam. We’re pretty pleased with the performance of the machine, although dialing up Crysis to its max settings made it choke a bit. We’re still not sold on the computer’s stylings, but in a dark room of gaming goodness, who’s paying attention to gaudy lights and overly-shiny carbon anyway, right? Peep the hands-on pics and a brief video of Crysis in action after the break. And yes, we know we suck at the game.

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Filed under: Robots

It looks like a group of researchers from the University of Reading are making a solid run at the title of mad scientists of the year (in the best sense, of course), with them now boasting that they’ve developed a robot that’s controlled by a “biological brain.” That’s not quite the sci-fi sight you may be imagining, however (though it’s close), with it instead made up of some 300,000 neurons taken from the neural cortex of a rat fetus, which are contained in multi electrode array that packs 60 electrodes to pick up the signals generated by the cells and, in turn, control the robot. According to the researchers, they are particularly interested in using the robot to study how memories are formed in the brain, and how the brain stores specific data, which they hope will lead to a better understanding of Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, stokes, and other brain injuries.

[Via Emerging Tech, New Scientist]

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Via [Engadget]

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More Meizu M8 images released, device itself still unreleased

Filed under: Cellphones

Say what you will about J. Wong and his band of merry imitators at Meizu, but they sure are sticklers for details, which has led to a number of delays and endless tweaks to their now infamous M8 phone. As you can see in this latest pic apparently let loose by none other than J. Wong himself, they now seem to be putting the finishing touches on the device’s web browser and, as you might have guessed, they aren’t exactly taking their inspiration from Nokia. Hit up the link below for a few more pics, just don’t expect to find any further word of an actual release date for the phone or anything like that.

[Thanks, Kevin]

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Gateway P-7811FX gaming laptop unboxing and hands-on

Filed under: Gaming, Laptops

Right on schedule, Gateway has set free its P-7811 FX gaming laptop, and we got our hands on one right before you can get your own. Our test unit shipped with the aforementioned Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.26GHz with a 3MB L2 cache, Windows Vista Home 64-bit, Intel PM45 Express Chipset, NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTS with 512MB of GDDR3 discrete video memory, a 17-inch WXGA screen, 200GB 7200 SATA HDD, 4GB DDR3 800MHz RAM, HDMI, 9-cell battery, and 1.3MP webcam. We’re pretty pleased with the performance of the machine, although dialing up Crysis to its max settings made it choke a bit. We’re still not sold on the computer’s stylings, but in a dark room of gaming goodness, who’s paying attention to gaudy lights and overly-shiny carbon anyway, right? Peep the hands-on pics and a brief video of Crysis in action after the break. And yes, we know we suck at the game.

Continue reading Gateway P-7811FX gaming laptop unboxing and hands-on

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Touch Sight Camera Lets the Blind Take Pictures, Sort Of [The Blind]

When you’re born blind, there are a few things you probably don’t expect to do: become an airline pilot, use a camera and type on the iPhone, to name a few. Chueh Lee, a designer at Samsung in China wants to remedy that second one with his Touch Sight camera design, which instantly creates a Braille-like relief image on a dynamic Braille display to be felt, saved and even traded with other Touch Sight users. In addition, the camera records three seconds of sound after the image is taken, which helps impaired-vision users navigate through libraries of saved pictures.

Chueh Lee claims that using their unusually acute sense of hearing, visually impaired individuals will be able to effectively target their photographic subject, and that placing the camera on their forehead will render the best results. It may look slightly hilarious, but bringing a previously inaccessible tools and hobbies to people who were previously denied them puts this design concept head and shoulders above most of the mockups we see floating around the tubes. Hopefully Mr. Lee can get a little backing from his pals at Samsung to see this one through. [Yanko]

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