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Latest Gear Live Videos
Promets To Replace Wet-Weather Whiners
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Design, Misc. Tech, Science,
Kawada Industries has created a workable bot that won’t complain about going out in the most inclement of weather. The HRP-3 Promet MK-II stands 5 feet, 4-inches, weighs 149 lbs. with battery, dons a visor, and has been tested under showers and on floors scattered with sand to make the surface slippery. The humanoid was also tested in front of local reporters utilizing a screwdriver in one hand while leaning on its other arm, just as any worker might in an unstable, unfavorable environment.
Kawada hopes to release the robot in quantity by 2010 with each one costing about 15 million Yen (~$120,000.00.) That’s a hefty sum in our books, but probably not for construction companies that tire of employees who demand extra coffee breaks at the first sign of a summer shower. Check out their HRP-2 to see the bot in action.
Read More 
| Space Daily
Gallery: Promets To Replace Wet-Weather Whiners
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Tiro Presides Over South Korean Wedding
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Design, Misc. Tech, Science,
In what is believed to be a world’s first, South Korean Hanool Robotics’ Tiro acted as master of ceremonies for Seok Gyeong-Jae, one of its engineers, and his new wife. The robot is apparently worth about KRW200 million (~$215,053.00) and will eventually feature a “more romantic” female voice. They are hoping to upgrade so that it can be used in the future for other applications, perhaps acting as arbitrator in a divorce in case Seok spends more time with Tiro than the blushing bride.
Read More | Physorg
Gallery: Tiro Presides Over South Korean Wedding
Harry Tidies Up Your Possessions
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Design, Smart Home, Misc. Tech, Portable Audio / Video,
This is our kind of organizer. Harry is not mechanical nor have a robotic voice to remind you to pick up your dirty clothes, but what he does have is a multitude of “arms” to keep your keys, cell phone, iPod, and any other items you have a tendency to misplace safe. The more you feed Harry, the more he looks like a work of art, in a curious kind of way. You can mount him and his little brother Harry Jr. with screws or included suction cups. Available in 5 colors, the two Harrys are available at Formila for $30.00 and $22.00 respectively.
Read More | Formila
Gallery: Harry Tidies Up Your Possessions
Our props go out to clever marketing on behalf of The Simpsons Movie, which will be released July 27. Look around and perhaps you will notice that Apu’s Kwik-E-Mart is now in more than one location than Springfield. The stores were transformed from twelve 7-Elevens across the States, including Los Angeles, New York City, and Chicago. KrustyOs, Buzz Cola, and Sprinklicious donuts abound, but don’t expect to find Duff Beer. 7-Elevens that have not been altered will still carry their own Slurpees to be sold as “WooHoo! Blue Vanilla” Squishees for the month.
Read More | LA Daily News
Gallery: Doh! I Need a Buzz Cola!
Dumpster divers will delight in the fact that an empty can of Party Animal Gourmet Pet Food found in Paris Hilton’s trash fetched $305.00 in a recent eBay auction. The site HollywoodStarTrash featured several other items as well, such as an empty Coke can for $51.00 and a used toothbrush also for $305.00. If you would like to get in on the bidding action, another auction began today. We were just wondering if Paris’ DNA was left intact on the toothbrush so that some evil scientist-type could try a bit of cloning.
Read More | Topix
Gallery: Paris’ Garbage Brings in The Bucks on eBay
ETRI (Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute) recently unveiled its new pet, Kobie, at the SEK 2007 in Korea. Try as we might, we could not find out much info about the furry koala beyond the fact that it must keep its owners company and has all the silent fuzzies included with a gadget of this caliber. Because the bot has a connection crammed up its nose, we assume there is some software involved to make it more of a companion than the usual stuffed pet. No matter. We just had to present it to Gear Livers who never get enough of our kuddly kreatures.
Read More | Aving
Gallery: Kobie Keeps You Kompany
Who says computers can’t inspire the arts? This awesome music was was composed by Jóhann Jóhannsson, the son of IBM chief maintenance engineer Jóhann Gunnarsson in Iceland who, with his colleagues in the 60’s, began to create music from electromagnetic leakage from an IBM 1401 Data Processing System. When “IBM:1401 A User’s Manual” was born 40 years later, it was originally scored for a 60 piece orchestra. Adapted for piano and Hammond organ, it subsequently went on tour to Wales, Tokyo, Belgium, and Copenhagen last summer. The choreography and interpretive dance is courtesy of Erna Omarsdotti, whose father also worked for IBM.
(Thanks, Stace)
Read More | Wired
Gallery: IBM Defect Makes Beautiful Music
Nintendo Announces WiiWare—Original Games for the Virtual Console
Posted by Lolita Beckwith Categories: Design, Software, Video Games,
So we all know the Nintendo Wii has been outselling competitors Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 since its somewhat humble debut last November. Well now Nintendo is about to compete even more heavily in the fast-growing world of online gaming (including Nintendo’s Virtual Console, Xbox 360’s Live Arcade and PS3’s Playstation Home), in which a wide variety of classic and original games can be purchased and downloaded. Virtual Console offers only retro games, leading to the company’s announcement of WiiWare, in which game developers can submit totally original games. Look for the first batch in early 2008. This announcement is guaranteed to change the landscape of online gaming, given the Wii’s popularity: led by Live Arcade, the industry earned a whopping $4.5 billion last year alone. We can’t wait…and we’re very curious to see how just many games utilize the Wii’s motion-sensor capability.
Read More | Red Herring
Gallery: Nintendo Announces WiiWare—Original Games for the Virtual Console
Although there are only three species of bats that actually drink human blood, people are scared of them nonetheless. We have always believed in bat boxes to encourage the creatures to multiply (and eat our overabundance of mosquitoes.) It seems that they are also on the decline in London, so artist/designer Alex Metcalf designed new homes for them. On display this week at the Royal College of Art Summer Show, he makes even the most unassuming bat look like they are definitely moving on up.
Read More | we make money not art
Gallery: Bats in Your Belfry?
Rolex recently unveiled its latest entry into the politically correct timekeeping world during the recent BaselWorld 2007 in Switzerland. The Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master II Regatta Chronograph features a mechanical memory with a programmable countdown with its ring command bazel, ensuring that you don’t miss the next big event. The posh timepiece is easily adaptable to changing conditions, allowing you to reset with a start/stop pusher and runs on a 4160 caliber movement with 360 componets. The Yachtmaster II is available in both yellow and white gold to match your admiral coat’s buttons.
Read More | Rolex
