This is Superbot, a modular robot demonstrated in the US this week which can walk, crawl or roll, depending on the surface.
This blocky little number might not look like much but its simple looks masks some very clever engineering. The Lego comparisons can start here because each block is a robot in its own right, with the ability to move independently, flip over and know precisely where it is.
It can also be attached on any of its six sides to other blocks, communicate with each other and change shape in order to move in the way best suited to the task. Future uses of the Superbot would involve creating robots that can cope with a variety of tasks and terrain, including space missions. Inventor, Wei-Min Shen of the University of Southern California's Information Sciences Institute, said:
"Superbot consists of Lego-like but autonomous robotic modules that can reconfigure into different systems for different tasks. Examples of configurable systems include rolling tracks or wheels (for efficient travel), spiders or centipedes (for climbing), snakes (for burrowing in ground), long arms (for inspection and repair in space), and devices that can fly in micro-gravity environment.
"Each module is a complete robotic system and has a power supply, micro- controllers, sensors, communication, three degrees of freedom, and six connecting faces (front, back, left, right, up and down) to dynamically connect to other modules. This design allows flexible bending, docking, and continuous rotation. A single module can move forward, back, left, right, flip-over, and rotate as a wheel. Modules can communicate with each other for totally distributed control and can support arbitrary module reshuffling during their operation."
Jump now to watch it do the breaststroke and walk, albeit like Johnny Vegas after 16 pints of heavy. -Martin Lynch
I remember people laughing at Nintendo's blue ocean strategy, where they said they were going to go after the untapped sections of the game market like the elderly.
Well if the Sedgebrook Retirement Community in Chicago, IL is a good indicator of Blue Ocean's success, then they are definitely onto something cause these geriatrics are hooked. Most notably with Wii bowling, which is set have it's own 20-person tournament.
I bet you Sedgebrook has the highest number of grandkids coming to visit as well. I know I would have went to see my Grandparents more if they were going to try and rock me at Wii Sports. Love you Gram & GP.– Ben Longo
The blokes over at The Steampunk Workshop have taken a bog-standard retro keyboard, brutalised, raped and murdered it before rebuilding it into some kind of ultra stylish futuristic wonderkeyboard, much like the life of Robocop.
After having removed all the original features of the IBM Model M keyboard - the ugly monstrosity that shipped with other ugly monstrosity the IBM Powerstation 530 - the geeky genius fitted brass to the bottom and all sorts of fancy keys and things.
Okay, Steam Punk Workshop, we've plugged your site. Can we have it now, please?
Hit the jump for some more pictures. - Tamlin Magee
The $1.52 billion in damages Microsoft was ordered to pay by a federal jury for infringing on Alcatel-Lucent's audio patents dealing with MP3 standards may in fact be a smaller note in the story. And not just because that's only about six weeks of cash flow.
One of the analysts said that the ruling could spur Alcatel-Lucent to go after money from other "providers of software and hardware that support MP3 files" such as "Apple Inc.'s iPod and iTunes" as well as Sony, Creative, and Napster (?). While I would peg an ensuing wave of lawsuits as unlikely, such a move could have interesting effects on the industry at a time when standards are essentially the talk of the town.
Bonus awesomeness: The caption for the Reuters photo reveals that the creepy silhouette is in fact Bill Gates. Spooky. – Matt Buchanan
This is the latest in ‘prosumer’ digital camera offerings from FujiFilm which is pitched as ‘boosts power and extends range without breaking the bank’. And with a US price of $250 - £128- who am I to argue? Just be aware that the same camera here will push the £200 mark, if not higher when it arrives in March, or later.
Aimed at advanced amateurs, the Finepix S700 is a 7MP camera with a 10x optical zoom, 2.5in LCD display and electronic viewfinder. It also sports a combo, xD/SD Media Compatible Slot for xD-Picture Cards and SD media cards. In terms of features there is picture stabilisation, i-Flash (Intelligent Flash) which varies flash intensity according to ambient light, and a dual shot mode for shooting two shots, one with and without the flash, in quick succession. There’s also 14 pre-programmed scene modes.
It’s certainly cheaper than the £330 10MP Nikon P5000 announced earlier this week and its 10x optical zoom trounces the measly 3.5x zoom.
You have to admit that the Virgin Galactic commercial space flight venture is looking more likely now with the announcement that it has signed a deal with NASA to collaborate on the design and development of space suits, heat shields for spaceships, hybrid rocket motors and hypersonic vehicles capable of traveling five or more times the speed of sound.
My guess is that NASA will be providing most of the technical stuff.
To be fair though, it also gives NASA a way into the potentially lucrative commercial space flight sector, which is especially important seeing as over the past few years its funding has been either frozen, or slashed more times than a Freddy Kruger victim.
Take a look at what the inside will look like. That’s about as close as any of us will get either since tickets will cost around £100,000 a pop.-Martin Lynch
The $1.52 billion in damages Microsoft was ordered to pay by a federal jury for infringing on Alcatel-Lucent's audio patents dealing with MP3 standards may in fact be a smaller note in the story. And not just because that's only about six weeks of cash flow.
You have to admit that the Virgin Galactic commercial space flight venture is looking more likely now with the announcement that it has signed a deal with NASA to collaborate on the design and development of space suits, heat shields for spaceships, hybrid rocket motors and hypersonic vehicles capable of traveling five or more times the speed of sound.
Editor and Contributor | Martin Lynch
Contributor | Tamlin Magee
