Rex

NASA plans asteroid mission. First stop: Bennu

NASA's plan to go poking around on an asteroid, with the ultimate goal of snagging one of the space rocks and towing it closer to Earth, is moving forward, and a specific asteroid has been chosen to visit and sample in the next few years.

NASA has announced that the Origins-Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer (Osiris-Rex) passed a key confirmation review Wednesday, approving the spacecraft to move into development phase. Translation: we're building a new spaceship, y'all!… Read more

The 404 1,247: Where we hop in the ball pit with Emily Dreyfuss (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Hi-fi reviews based purely on the feel of the knob .

- Which celebrities can you pay to message on Facebook?

- Can you bully a celebrity? Short answer: no.

- How the hell do you pronounce GIF anyway?

- Follow Emily Dreyfuss on Twitter.… Read more

Best of CES Emerging Tech: 3D Systems CubeX 3D printer

LAS VEGAS--Sight tracking sounds like a new PC interface we might actually use. And anything that helps push wireless charging forward will get our attention. But of all the still-developing technologies we saw at CES, it's the 3D Systems CubeX 3D printer that has us the most excited.

Makerbot announced its own new printer, the Replicator 2X, at this year's show. It's a fine-looking machine, and its print quality looks superb. 3D Systems got the nod for a nomination because its CubeX does things we haven't seen before in a consumer-approachable 3D printer.

The CubeX … Read more

Hands-on Tobii Rex's Windows 8 eye-controller

LAS VEGAS--In the near future, you'll be able to navigate through Windows 8 using little more than your eyes.

Tobii has shrunk its Windows 8 eye-controller down to a portable size and name, calling it the Rex, here at CES 2013. Not only is the peripheral smaller, it's also much more effective than it was at last year's CES.

The new Rex is small enough to sit on your laptop between the monitor and keyboard. It can also comfortably attach to the bottom of most desktop monitors. More interesting than its rectangular design, though, is the fact … Read more

Tobii Rex: Control a Windows 8 PC with your eyes

Whatever you may feel about Windows 8, it's sparked a number of interesting hybrid designs. Now you can count the Tobii Rex, an eye-controlled interface for Windows 8, as another innovation that works with Microsoft's latest operating system.

First seen at last year's CES, the Rex is an eye-tracking peripheral that works with Tobii's proprietary Gaze interface to navigate around a Windows 8 computer. The stick-like device attaches to the base of your computer screen and connects via a USB port. … Read more

Animatronic T. rex costume looks like it could eat you

Halloween is coming up. If your Superman Underoos aren't going to cut it for the eighth year in a row, then consider an animatronic life-size baby Tyrannosaurus rex costume from Wizart Studio instead.

The company crafts creatures for museums, but the T. rex was born to roam. It can be worn and operated by one person. Cable mechanisms trigger the detailed movements.

The 16-foot-long costume weighs just over 50 pounds. It's made from rubber, high-density foam, aluminum, and fiberglass. The textured outside makes it look wonderfully realistic. Holes in the body let the wearer see what's going on around it, such as people screaming and running away.… Read more

Hackers grab customer data, demand cash from payday lender

Hackers have released consumer data stolen from an online loan provider, after the company refused to pay an extortion fee.

"On June 12, AmeriCash Advance received a fax, telling us that part of our Web site had been hacked. The letter went on to demand initial payment of $15,000 from us," AmeriCash Advance, an online payday cash advance provider, said in a statement provided to CNET. "We immediately notified the appropriate authorities and promptly took steps to ensure that no other data could be accessed. We will not cave in to blackmail, and are cooperating fully … Read more

Mustached villain challenges Seattle's superhero

Rex Velvet, a self-described "people's villain," emerged in a video that makes you think we live in an alternative universe where comic book-style villains take to the airwaves to taunt the protectors of a city. After a lengthy manifesto-style rant, Velvet challenges Phoenix Jones -- a real person who leads a group of citizens that wear superhero clothing and fight crime in Seattle -- to a showdown.

Velvet supposedly belongs to a group called the "Social Villains Alliance," and says that he wants to rid Seattle of the "silly gang of misfit Power Rangers disturbing the peace," says Velvet in his introduction video. "Now our city is protected not by the once respected police force, but by a tormented delusional freak in a mask." … Read more

Kinect-run Smartpal robot cleans mom's house

You can kinda be in two places at once with telepresence robots, but most machines limit you to chatting with folks on the other end and moving around. They don't even have arms.

Japanese industrial robot maker Yaskawa Electric, known for its Motoman line of robot arms, has been improving its Smartpal service robot since 2005. Once conceived as a robot bartender, the latest generation Smartpal VII is a Kinect-controlled telepresence tool that lets users tidy up at mom's house from hundreds of miles away.

That was the scenario Yaskawa presented recently at the iRex 2011 robot trade show in Tokyo, where it held a demo.

While a staffer moved his arms around in front of a Kinect, Smartpal mimicked his motions, picking up stuffed animals and tidying up, as seen in the vid below. … Read more