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Laziness on the move: robot plays Rock Band on the iPhone

by Paul Miller posted Oct 31st 2009 @ 7:36PM

Why confine your nerdy sloth to your living room, where large robots mime fake guitar and serve you sloppy mixed drinks? Take that zest for the sedentary life with you on the road by having one of your robot ninjas steal this iPhone Rock Band robot from its ingenious creator, Joe Bowers. The Arduino-based device uses ambient light sensors to detect the falling notes and then taps out the music with some conductive foam attached to some squeaky fake fingers. Joe did a fairly detailed write-up, and even uploaded his code, so there's presumably nothing stopping you from actually doing something with your life and building one of these with all that free time you've saved up by hacking your way through all the console-based guitar games. Video is after the break.

[Via Daily Mobile]

Continue reading Laziness on the move: robot plays Rock Band on the iPhone

Video: KDDI Polaris Robot concept -- it's like Rolly, but with a purpose

by Darren Murph posted Oct 6th 2009 @ 7:32AM

Being a Japanese carrier and all, it's no shock to see KDDI with a large presence at CEATEC. What was surprising, however, was the cute little device you see pictured above. Showcased in an "early prototype" form, the recently introduced Polaris Robot looks eerily similar to Sony's befuddling Rolly. Thankfully for KDDI (and all of humanity, really), this creature actually has a purpose. Packed with speakers, an array of wireless sensors and the ability to send video signals to your TV sans cables, the concept docking station is meant to stylishly hold your KDDI handset (lots of 'em will be compatible in due time) and beam a blown-up version of your phone's UI onto your television or LCD monitor. The good news here is that the system actually displays a far more intuitive menu layout on the screen than what's available on your dumbphone, enabling users to flip through schedules, photos, videos and playlists with ease. Technological details -- as well as information surrounding price and release -- were scant, but you can whet your appetite by peeking the video just past the break.

Gallery: KDDI Polaris Robot concept -- it's like Rolly, but with a purpose

Continue reading Video: KDDI Polaris Robot concept -- it's like Rolly, but with a purpose

iida Polaris: Phone meets robot, robot meets Japan (video!)

by Thomas Ricker posted Sep 9th 2009 @ 3:26AM

While Sony's Rolly is about as useful as, well, a tiny dancing robot, at least iida's Polaris concept doubles as a cellphone plus dock. Beneath the enormity of the flowery product page rests little in the way of specs -- it is just a concept after all, developed in partnership with Flower Robotics. The robot features "learning functions" to monitor your physical condition and suggest recipes and exercise. Failing that, it can also suggest possible medical intervention. The longer he's with you the more attune he is to your well-being. Perfect -- when we're old and infirmed at the end of days, our personal Polaris can represent us at the government mandated death panel. Take a peak at your doomsayer in the videos after the break.

[Via Akihabara News]

Continue reading iida Polaris: Phone meets robot, robot meets Japan (video!)

Robot with iPhone 3GS head reminds us of a cuter, more magnanimous Steve Jobs

by Laura June posted Jul 30th 2009 @ 10:11AM

Who's this little guy? Oh, that's just Robochan -- the Kondo KHR-2HV bot with a fully-functioning iPhone 3GS fused to his head. Not interested? Well, hear us out -- because we, too, have seen many an iPhone mod project in our day, leaving us jaded, easily susceptible to waking in the middle of the night to find ourselves shrieking out "fanboy!" for no reason, and finding that in general at this point -- merely cranking the word iPhone into your DIY project is the easiest way to send us to Snoresville. But we'll admit it: Robochan drew us in within ten -- nay, five -- seconds. His dance moves are killer, and his faces have stolen whatever remnants of a heart we had left. So take our advice: watch the video, which is after the break.

[Via Gearfuse]

Continue reading Robot with iPhone 3GS head reminds us of a cuter, more magnanimous Steve Jobs

Korean carrier KTF launches mobile phone-controlled vacuum cleaner

by Laura June posted Apr 8th 2009 @ 5:12PM

South Korean telecom firm KTF has just announced a cleaning robot which can be controlled by a 3G cellphone. The robot -- called the CW100 -- was built in collaboration with Microbot, and is a "smart" vacuum (much like a Roomba). The CW100 uses an onboard video camera to send live images of what it's "seeing" to the mobile phone, and the user can then remotely control it using the keypad. The bot will be sold for KRW 500,000 (about $370) in conjunction with a data plan that runs KRW 5,000 (about $3.70) per month. Sounds pretty affordable and awesome to us -- as long as it doesn't run over the family cat. Check out another photo after the break.

[Via Unwired View]

Continue reading Korean carrier KTF launches mobile phone-controlled vacuum cleaner

Video: T-Mobile G1-powered Forknife robot goofs off, eats cupcakes

by Darren Murph posted Jan 26th 2009 @ 12:17AM

It's hard to tell from the absolutely riveting two minute and seven second video (hosted up after the break, just so you know), but somehow or another, the gurus at Macpod Software managed to get a T-Mobile G1 to control a robot. Actually, the code used to pull it off is hosted up for download, but a fair bit of robotics knowledge is necessary to pull it all together. The best part? Forknife just loves cupcakes -- sorry, we couldn't resist.

[Thanks, Corey]

Continue reading Video: T-Mobile G1-powered Forknife robot goofs off, eats cupcakes

SK Telecom develops phone-controlled cleaning bot

by Joshua Topolsky posted Jul 27th 2007 @ 6:59PM

SK Telecom, never wanting to be outdone by clever hackers in producing totally useless and bizarre devices that no one really needs, is in the final development stages on a Roomba-style robot that can be controlled by your mobile phone. The circular cleaning bot will be able to receive direction from a phone user on where to scrub, buff, and vacuum, while the controller views all of the exciting, floor-sweeping action on his or her cell phone via a built-in camera at the front of the bot. This should be the prefect product for those who feel the Roomba makes life too easy by cleaning a room on its own -- although it's possible that this technology could be adopted by legions of young men hoping to get a better look up women's skirts. Only time will tell.

RIM uses Lego to test BlackBerry

by Sean Cooper posted Apr 13th 2007 @ 5:55PM

Back in 1998, when BlackBerry was just starting to garner some attention with its messaging devices -- voice was still but a dream at this point -- RIM engineer Matthias Wandel found a low tech solution to a high-tech testing problem. The BlackBerry 950 was a 900MHz device and moving them a couple centimeters this way or that or changing the devices orientation produced significantly different test results. Eschewing high-tech wizardry for the kid's Lego bin, Matthias was able to construct a device that could rotate the 950 through it's horizontal axis and vertical axis, looked sweet, and likely cost all of 10 bucks to make. We commend anybody who can create useful real world tools with toys, though of course we expect RIM can now afford Robots for this type of chore, or at least Lego robots.

[Via Slashdot]