Meet Sharky the Beaver, Sphero‘s first augmented reality character for their little robotic spheres. Over the past few months, Orbotix has been developing many new ways to use the toy. With this new app, the company is making its first step into the world of augmented reality.
As a reminder, Sphero is a ball with an internal motor. You can control it using a Bluetooth-enabled smartphone or tablet. It also has a built-in gyroscope, accelerometer and compass.
Now they’re working on Augmented Reality with Sharky the Beaver. It will transform your sphere into a cute walking 3D character that you control with your phone or tablet. In order to see the character, you have to keep the sphere in sight and look at it through the camera of your device.
You can throw virtual cupcakes and the little beaver will run toward those cupcakes. In the real reality, the sphere will roll toward an invisible cupcake. The virtual character was really smooth and everyone seemed to love the idea, if not the toy.
Sharky is just the first augmented reality application, with new characters and games potentially coming soon. With regular firmware updates, more than 20 apps, and an SDK that fuels Sphero hackathons — and sometimes even result in a Kickstarter campaign – it looks like Sphero is here to stay.
Japanese robotics lover Dr. Guero (of robot-riding-a-bicycle infamy) is back at it, this time with a two-legged balancing robot that can walk a tightrope. It’s creepy how human-like it balances itself by waving its little stick thingies around. “Those are its arms.” YES — its arms. Remind me to shoot those off so it can’t walk a powerline onto my roof.
Hit the jump for the video. WARNING: Shitty techno soundtrack.
This is a video of Barbican’s Rain Room. It’s a room full of simulated rain that you can walk through and not get wet. Sorcery? Sadly, no. It uses 3-D cameras to track your movement and open a small pocket of dryness around you as you walk through it. Of course, it would be just my luck that the cameras would malfunction when I visited and I’d wind up soaked. It’s cool though, I like the rain. Unless it’s raining men. “Then you love it.” Then I loooove it.
This is the recently discovered poodle moth photographed by taxonomist Dr Arthur Anker during a recent trip to Venezuela. Poodle moth isn’t its official name though, that’s just what people are calling it until it can be properly classified. *eying picture* I vote for Wampa moth. Or cuddle bunny. Just saying, that thing does look like a great cuddler. Be my big spoon?
Thanks to PYY, who agrees the best animals are the furry ones and turtles.
Because scientists don’t know when to stop despite some VERY heavily worded emails sent by yours truly, a group of researchers at the University of Arizona have developed a pair of “biologically accurate” humanoid legs that mimic the function and movement of real human legs, just way louder and with much less finesse. Think a robotic ballerina that falls into the orchestra pit and explodes.
The machine comprises simplified versions of the human neural, musculoskeletal and sensory feedback systems. The goal of recreating the human walking gait with this unprecedented level of accuracy is for the scientists to better understand the processes that take place when we walk, and to provide a more definite answer to the question of how humans learn to walk in the first place. Then, it is hoped, this understanding can be translated into devising better ways to help spinal-cord-injury patients recover their ability to walk.
A noble goal, I’ll admit. Still, I say we hook up some electrodes to human cadaver legs and learn everything we can that way. Just saying, I AM an organ donor. Please, just don’t mess with my dong. Alternatively, we have these scientists throw themselves at anti-gravity technology and give everybody with spinal-cord injuries a hoverchair. “Oh sure, and that’s be covered under ObamaCare?” HEY — DON’T YOU TRY TO TURN THIS POLITICAL. I’m just here to talk about my hang-down, man.
Hit the jump for a very brief video of the legs walking the walk.
Presentation of the humanoid robot Nao by Aldebaran Robotics on FIT CVUT in Prague. Nao is just taking a walk with his master. Video Rating: 0 / 5
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HUBO has come so far from mastering the basics of mobility. The latest from KAIST is HUBO 2, a robot with flexible limbs that allow it to bend down and even do push-ups. The HUBO 2′s hands are another big improvement, now allowing the humanoid to open car doors, operate a gear shift and hold up to 7 kg. KAIST used “individually actuated” fingers that adapt to the shape of whatever HUBO 2 is holding, a la Honda’s new ASIMO. The robot can walk 2 km on a charge, and it looks like it’s a little less of a slow poke now, too: KAIST increased its running speed to 4 kph from 3 kph. Check out the source link and video below to see the HUBO 2 in action — if you’re impressed, it can be yours for a cool $ 400,000.
Continue reading HUBO 2 has articulated hands, can walk 2 km on a charge: yours for $ 400k
HUBO 2 has articulated hands, can walk 2 km on a charge: yours for $ 400k originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 03 Jun 2012 11:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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This is a video of Kåre “Zenta” Halvorsen’s MorpHex hexapod robot. It has six legs and can morph into a ball and a couple other shapes. The only things it’s missing from the ones in my nightmares are machine guns and a loudspeaker constantly blaring ‘RESISTANCE IS FUTILE, FLESHBAGS.’ *shivers* I swear, I haven’t gotten a decent night’s sleep in like five months. Get it? I’m preggers! “No, you’re not.” Sooooooo… “So stop parking in the ‘expectant mother’ spots at the mall.” But they’re so close!
Hit the jump for the worthwhile (well, worth skipping around) video in which a child attacks the thing at the end.
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This is a video of a little robot whose wheels fold in half to form crude legs so it can go where no wheeled robot has gone before. Good for you. Of course, you wouldn’t have to build robots with wheels that transform into legs if you’d just strap f***ing jetpacks on them already. “You’ve doomed us all, GW!” Yeaaaaaah, I plan on going skydiving this weekend, so I’ve kinda stopped caring. “Why?!” Have you seen my parachute? “That’s a bookbag.” *wink*
Hit the jump for a video of the least impressive Transformer ever (kidding, that honor belongs to Wheelie).
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GO TO www.sexy-robots-videos.com and http for more life-like robots information, videos and photos. This is a nice looking female robot.
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