Valentine's Day is a horrible tradition. It's a romantic "musical chairs" where you either stand alone in a metaphorical puddle of rejection, or turn to your partner and price out the worth of their love in flowers and chocolates.
To hell with it.
To level the playing field, I say we need to put science fiction's premise of the humanoid robot companion on the fast track to becoming a reality. … Read more
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This week on Crave, Japanese scientists teach moths to drive mini trucks, and a new app called Dognition claims to improve our relationship with man's best friend. Also, we decide if a $30 million Death Star Kickstarter campaign is worth it, and Montana is apparently full of badasses! Those stories and more, plus a round of "Into It, Not Into It." … Read more
Leaked from today's 404 episode:
- An asteroid is coming, and scientists are excited. Fear not, Earth is safe.
- Search for near-Earth asteroids needs a speed boost.
- Take a peek at Domino's Pizza's Super Bowl "war room."
- Free food: Pizza Hut introduces "Sliders."… Read more
It's a surprisingly dangerous world out there in the trees. Sparrows sing, flit about, and fight like they're auditioning for a role on "Game of Thrones." Male swamp sparrows will even take their battles to the death. Before they get that far, though, there's a whole lot of wing-waving going on to mark their territory and signal their aggression.
Duke University biologist Rindy Anderson wanted to learn more about how these birds communicate with each other, so she and engineering undergraduate student David Piech built a cyborg robo-battle-sparrow of doom.
The Frankensparrow consisted of a miniature computer and robotics gear stuffed into the body of a dead sparrow. This allowed the researchers to control the wings. They took the Frankenstein sparrow to a breeding ground, played swamp sparrow invasion songs, and made it wave its wings at other males, the sparrow equivalent of flipping them the bird.… Read more
I love the one-upmanship going on in the word of 3D printing.
At CES 2013 I saw 3D-printed skateboards, flowers, and gear assemblies, and meanwhile there are now plans to print everything from body parts to buildings. So printing robots was only a matter of time.
InMoov is a full-size humanoid robot made from 3D-printed parts. Designed and built by Gael Langevin of Factices Ateliers in France, InMoov began last year as a hand, then an arm. It's now two arms and a head. … Read more
Leaked from today's 404 episode:
- What it's like to experience new technology after 25 years in jail.
- Ante up that $100 if you want to message Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
- Why the next big DJ will be an algorithm.
- Enough with the social-media "gurus," "ninjas," "masters," and "mavens."… Read more
LAS VEGAS--How would you feel if you were hospitalized and your doctor were talking to you through a 5-foot robot?
RP-VITA (Remote Presence Virtual + Independent Telemedicine Assistant) is a remote-, iPad-operated telepresence bot. It's become the first self-navigating communications robot to receive FDA certification, developers InTouch and iRobot said at CES 2013.
The machine is approved "for telemedicine consults inclusive of active patient monitoring in high-acuity environments where immediate clinical action may be required," InTouch said in a release. Specifically, it's cleared for "active patient monitoring in pre-operative, peri-operative and post-surgical settings, including cardiovascular, neurological, prenatal, psychological, and critical care assessments and examinations." … Read more
LAS VEGAS--I used to try cleaning my godmother's pool with long, unwieldy nets and hoses, and always gave up in frustration.
iRobot's Mirra 530 would have been a huge help. Now being shown off at CES 2013, it improves upon the company's Verro pool bots.
With its rotating brushes, Mirra is designed to scrub any type of in-ground pool without using the pool's filtration system, a concept aimed at saving energy.
Unlike the $1,099.99 Verro 500 PowerScrub, the $1,299.99 Mirra has wheels instead of treads and a more powerful suction and filtration system. … Read more
LAS VEGAS--When you come to CES here, you expect to see computers and TVs galore. Mobile phones, sure. Printer and speakers? Check. But a 50-foot-long mechanical snake?
Though we're in an arid, desert-like Nevada environment (never mind all the cement and golf courses), this isn't Burning Man. But sure enough, just behind the CNET trailer here, Titanoboa is strutting its stuff. And indeed, Titanoboa is a 50-foot mechanical snake.
Created by EatArt, the Vancouver arts collective, Titanoboa seeks to invoke the promise -- or the threat -- of global climate change, and the kinds of things we might start to see happen on this wonderful planet of ours. According to the Titanoboa project page: … Read more
LAS VEGAS--Robots that wash your windows are another dream of domestic automation, but most early models involve a cumbersome two-part unit that goes on both sides of a pane.
At CES 2013, China-based Ecovacs is showing off a new version of its Winbot window washer, one that doesn't require a magnetic support on the other side of the glass.
Just stick the Winbot 7 series on the window, press start, and it starts moving up and down. That's a lot easier than handling two machines. … Read more
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