2009-07-28

Giant Soccer-Playing Robot

dwp robot footballer

The robot Ronaldo
Independent robot creator Hajime Sakamoto created the Hajime 33 robot as the latest iteration of his entry into the annual RoboCup Japan Open robot soccer tournament in Osaka, Japan. But what makes this robot special is that it shows us a slightly more sophisticated aesthetic treatment of the robot's look than what is usually found at the event.
clipped from www.cctv.com

Japanese robot scientist unveils 2-metre long robot "Hajime 33"

A Japanese scientist in Osaka has unveiled a giant robot that can perform a number of human-like functions, including walking, bowing and playing soccer.

Battery operated "Hajime 33" stands 2-meters tall, weighs just 20 kilograms and is just 30 centimeters wide. The humanoid robot even plays soccer with his creator Hajime Sakamoto, as long as his battery life allows. Sakamoto has created several humanoid robots.

clipped from www.cctv.com
A Japanese scientist in Osaka has unveiled a giant robot that can perform a number of human-like functions, including walking, bowing and playing soccer.
HAJIME ROBOT 33
clipped from www.youtube.com

hajimerobot33 walk

clipped from www.youtube.com

hajimerobot33 kick


blog it

Sources:
  1. News on Japan
  2. Japanese robot scientist unveils 2-metre long robot "Hajime 33" CCTV-International
  3. HAJIME ROBOT
  4. YouTube - hajimerobot33 walk
  5. YouTube - hajimerobot33 kick
Related:
  1. YouTube - Soccer-playing robot in Japan
  2. Hajime 33 robot mixes sinister style with android sports skill | DVICE
  3. 2038-JAPAN-GIANT ROBOT
  4. Japanese Invent Giant Soccer-Playing Robot | Popular Science
  5. Science news videos from Scientific American

2009-07-27

The Mimo Mini USB Monitors

Clipped from: Mimo Mini USB Monitor at 100Cute - SoCute

If you are searching for a secondary USB monitor, the Mimo Mini from ThinkGeek might be the right answer for you. The display features a 800 x 480 resolution with a 350 cd/m2 brightness level, 400:1 contrast ratio, and portrait/ landscape view.You just need to connect the 7-inch Mimo Mini to the computer’s USB port and the display is ready to use. The Mimo Mini is perfect for your IM client, widgets, PC gaming tools, your email, a spreadsheet, your PhotoShop tools, or even video. Weighing at 1.3-pounds, the Mimo Mini retails for $129.99.

Clipped from: ThinkGeek :: Mimo Mini USB Monitor
ThinkGeek

Product Features

  • Small monitor runs completely off of USB, giving you an extra mini display whenever and wherever you need it.
  • No extra power needed. The Mimo monitor is powered by USB.
  • No extra video card. The Mimo has a built in video card that runs over any USB 2.0 connection.
  • Rotating Portrait or Landscape view. Go vertical for notes and spreadsheets, horizontal to watch a movie.
  • Great for laptop use. The Mimo stores easily in your bag and is ready to go simply by plugging it in
  • Mac and Windows driver support (intel Mac only)
  • Display size - 7"
  • Display resolution - 800 x 480
  • Brightness - 350 cd/m2
  • Contrast ratio - 400:1
  • Connections - USB 2.0
Clipped from: REVIEW: Mimo UM-710 USB Monitor | Mobility Site

Mobility Site

REVIEW: Mimo UM-710 USB Monitor



The Mimo UM710’s packing box. The UM710 is their midline product. There are also models that include touchscreens and TV connectors.


The rear of the Mimo, showing the quite durable big honkin’ silver screw that connects the screen to the stand. Loosen this to move the screen up or down or to swivel it into “portrait” mode. The physical controls are shown on the side of the unit, two buttons for brightness and a power button.


Configuring the Mimo from the Windows XP Control Panel. Awwww, It looks like my monitors had a kid, doesn’t it?



The Mimo in action at full brightness and native 800×480 resolution, showing IE8 and some stupid gadget site.


The Mimo running the Zune software Now Playing view….and Amanda F*ckin’ Palmer.


The Mimo and IE8 in Portrait Mode…cute, but usable? Not so much.


Clipped from: Mimo Monitors - Welcome



710 Model

price $129.99

7" screen : 800 x 480 pixels

detachable stand allows portrait or landscape mode

learn more



740 Model AVAILABLE NOW!

price $219.99

7" screen : 800 x 480 pixels

touchscreen, audio in/out ports

integrated webcam and microphone

great for VOIP applications

detachable stand allows portrait or landscape mode

learn more


Clipped from: YouTube - 7" DisplayLink Mimo USB Monitor w/ Dell Mini 9 Netbook Hackintosh

7" DisplayLink Mimo USB Monitor w/ Dell Mini 9 Netbook Hackintosh



Clipped from: VGA Monitor That Fits in Your Pocket! - Best Of... on Yahoo! Video

VGA Monitor That Fits in Your Pocket! - Best Of...



Sources:
  1. Mimo Mini USB Monitor at 100Cute - SoCute
  2. ThinkGeek :: Mimo Mini USB Monitor
  3. REVIEW: Mimo UM-710 USB Monitor | Mobility Site
  4. Mimo Monitors - Welcome
  5. YouTube - 7" DisplayLink Mimo USB Monitor w/ Dell Mini 9 Netbook Hackintosh
  6. VGA Monitor That Fits in Your Pocket! - Best Of... on Yahoo! Video
Related:
  1. Mimo Mini 710 USB Monitor - extra screen space on the go
  2. Mimo Mini USB Monitor

2009-07-25

Witricity Wireless Power

Clipped from: BBC NEWS | Technology | Wireless power system shown off
British Broadcasting Corporation

Wireless power system shown off

A system that can deliver power to devices without the need for wires has been shown off at a hi-tech conference.

The technique exploits simple physics and can be used to charge a range of electronic devices over many metres.

Eric Giler, chief executive of US firm Witricity, showed mobile phones and televisions charging wirelessly at the TED Global conference in Oxford.



Clipped from: WiTricity Corp. Home — Wireless Electricity Delivered Over Distance

WiTricity Corp.

Imagine a future in which wireless electricity makes everyday products more convenient, reliable, and environmentally friendly.

WiTricity Corp.’s vision is to develop a family of wireless electric power components that will enable OEM’s in a broad range of industries and applications to make their products truly “wireless.” Wireless electric power delivered over room scale distances, and with high efficiency. Wireless electric power that is safe for people and animals. Wireless electric power—imagine no more… it’s here!

WiTricity Technology: The Basics


WiTricity Prototype System

This WiTricity prototype system demonstrates wireless powering of an LCD TV. In this demonstration system, a WiTricity power source is positioned on the floor. It is connected to AC power and converts AC current to an oscillating magnetic field. The WiTricity capture device (to the right of the LCD TV), converts the magnetic energy to alternating current and powers the LCD TV. The WiTricity power source and capture devices are highly resonant magnetic systems that can exchange energy in a very efficient manner. WiTricity Corp. is miniaturizing and packaging the technology so that it can be built directly into a wide variety of products and systems—with no need for an external power capture device as shown in this prototype configuration.

Clipped from: WiTricity Corp. — Applications of WiTricity Technology

WiTricity Applications

Consumer Electronics


Industrial


Transportation



Other Applications



Clipped from: YouTube - Witricity




Sources:
  1. BBC NEWS | Technology | Wireless power system shown off
  2. WiTricity Corp. Home — Wireless Electricity Delivered Over Distance
  3. WiTricity Corp. — Basics of WiTricity Technology
  4. WiTricity Corp. — Applications of WiTricity Technology
  5. YouTube - Witricity
Related:
  1. Video: WiTricity is back, promises wireless power within 18 months
  2. WiTricity Charges Up For Electric Vehicle Market | Xconomy
  3. WiTricity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2009-07-24

NIMble: Touch Revolution's Android Home Devices

clipped from www.forbes.com

Google's Android To Invade Homes

Manufacturers are putting the Web giant's Android software in home management devices and remote controls.

In a sign that Google's Android mobile platform has a future far beyond cellphones, San Francisco-based start-up Touch Revolution says a string of well-known companies will introduce a range of Android-powered household gadgets before the end of the year.

clipped from www.touchrev.com
Touch Revolution :: Revolutionary Touch Devices
clipped from www.touchrev.com
http://www.touchrev.com/press/images/Nimble1.jpg
clipped from www.touchrev.com
http://www.touchrev.com/press/images/Nimble2.jpg
clipped from www.touchrev.com
http://www.touchrev.com/press/images/Nimble3.jpg
clipped from www.youtube.com
clipped from www.pcworld.com

Android's Next Stop: High-Tech Remotes For Your Home

Touch Revolution tells Forbes the new Android devices will come in a variety of shapes -- some with bases for tabletop use, others with flat shapes built more for holding or wall-embedding. Touch Revolution is handling the touchscreen and Android side of the deal, while the other companies are creating the hardware and managing the branding. The gadgets, according to the Forbes interview, will be available in the United States, as well as in other unspecified countries.


blog it

Sources:
Google's Android To Invade Homes - Forbes.com
Touch Revolution :: Revolutionary Touch Devices
YouTube - NIMble Touch Revolution - Golem.de - CES 2009 - Impressionen
Android's Next Stop: High-Tech Remotes For Your Home - PC World
Related:
Hands-on Touch Revolution’s NIMble Android-powered platform
NIMble Desk Phone-Get Ready For More Google In Your Life! - Hometone
NIMble: $300 Android Desktop Phone Designed by iPhone Engineer - Nimble - Gizmodo
Touch Revolution's household Android devices coming this year -- it's Hammer time!
Google Android Will Soon Control Your Home
iRiver Wave-Home vs. Touch Revolution NIMble: Fight! - PC World

2009-07-23

The Yas -- Abu Dhabi Racetrack-Side Hotel


Abu Dhabi Nears the Finish Line With Their Racetrack-Side Hotel

The Yas, which will be the world's first five-star Formula One trackside hotel, is a monster with 500 rooms and a marina for docking your megayacht. All of this capped by the pivoting, diamond-shaped glass panels of the roof, which will produce "optical effects and spectral reflections that play against the surrounding sky, sea and desert landscape."

clipped from plusmood.com
+ MOOD

The Yas Hotel Abu Dhabi | Asymptote Architecture

asymptote the yas hotel 01 plusmood 550x330 The Yas Hotel Abu Dhabi | Asymptote Architecture
asymptote the yas hotel 03 plusmood 550x275 The Yas Hotel Abu Dhabi | Asymptote Architecture

Hani Rashid describes the building’s design and its architecture as:

a perfect union and harmonious interplay between elegance and spectacle. The search here was inspired by what one could call the ‘art’ and poetics of motor racing, specifically Formula 1, coupled with the making of a place that celebrates Abu Dhabi as a cultural and technological tour de force.

clipped from www.designboom.com

blog it



Abu Dhabi Building F1 Racetrack Hotel and Ferrari Theme Park

clipped from www.formula1.com

2009 FORMULA 1 ETIHAD AIRWAYS ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX

Yas Marina Circuit
Yas Marina Circuit
clipped from cache.formula1.com
http://cache.formula1.com/photos/597x478/manual/dgb0724jan108.jpg
clipped from cache.formula1.com
http://cache.formula1.com/photos/597x478/manual/abudhabi01_240107.jpg
clipped from cache.formula1.com
http://cache.formula1.com/photos/597x478/manual/dgb0724jan104.jpg
clipped from cache.formula1.com
http://cache.formula1.com/photos/597x478/manual/dgb0724jan107.jpg
clipped from cache.formula1.com
http://cache.formula1.com/photos/597x478/manual/dgb0724jan103.jpg
clipped from www.formula1.com

Yas Marina Circuit

Located on the spectacular Yas Island, the track is set to revolutionise the design of future Formula One circuits. Boasting top speeds of 320 km/h and average speeds of 198 km/h, it features nine right turns and 11 left turns and is one of the few venues on the calendar to run in an anti-clockwise direction.
Designed by renowned circuit architect Hermann Tilke, Yas Marina has a waterfront setting scenic enough to rival the likes of Monaco and Valencia. And with the track wrapping itself around the island's glamorous newly-built marina, there's plenty of mooring space for the paddock's plethora of yachts.
Its distinctive design also boasts several innovative elements including the stunning five-star, 500-room Yas Marina Hotel, which straddles the circuit, and the 60-metre solar powered Sun Tower, which offers unrivalled views for invited guests.
clipped from cache.formula1.com
http://cache.formula1.com/photos/597x478/manual/dne0814oc500.jpg
clipped from cache.formula1.com
http://cache.formula1.com/photos/597x478/manual/all01_030207.jpg

blog it

Sources:
  1. Abu Dhabi Nears the Finish Line With Their Racetrack-Side Hotel || HotelChatter
  2. The Yas Hotel Abu Dhabi | Asymptote Architecture
  3. asymptote architecture: the yas hotel, abu dhabi
  4. Abu Dhabi Building F1 Racetrack Hotel and Ferrari Theme Park || HotelChatter
  5. The Official Formula 1 Website
  6. The Official Formula 1 Website
Related:
  1. Asymptote Architecture - The Yas Hotel Abu Dhabi, UAE :: arcspace.com
  2. A S Y M P T O T E
  3. TheYasHotel_PressRelease.pdf (application/pdf Object)
  4. Dezeen » Blog Archive » The Yas Hotel by Asymptote
  5. Bustler: The Yas Hotel Abu Dhabi by Asymptote Architecture Nears Completion
  6. Abu Dhabi Grand Prix launch pictures | F1 Fanatic - The Formula 1 Blog | F1 video | F1 pictures | F1 news | Lewis Hamilton | Fernando Alonso