Let’s face it: you’ve probably never met a hemispherical omnidirectional gimbaled wheel that you didn’t like. Neither has Curtis Boirum, a grad student at Bradley University. The aforesaid whiz kid has put together one of the most visually stunning robots we’ve seen in some time, and while the frame itself is nothing to get hot and bothered about, the motion capabilities most definitely are. The secret lies in the black rubber hemisphere, which rotates like a top and is outfitted with servos that are able to tilt the entire mechanism left / right / forwards / backwards. What’s wild is just how fast those changes happen — something tells us that whole “on a dime” thing was born to be used right here. Head on past the break for video proof. Continue reading Curtis Boirum’s robotic car makes omnidirectional dreams come true (video) Curtis Boirum’s robotic car makes omnidirectional dreams come true (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Jul 2011 18:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Nao robot grabs a head-mounted camera, puts your photographic skills to shame
July 9, 2011 No Comment
You see, herein lies the problem. At a glance, Nao looks humane. Even kind. In fact, it’s bruited that he’s helped on a few missions in his day. But underneath, he’s a cold-blooded talent snatcher, and thanks to a little push from one Raghudeep Gadde, he might just capture your vacation in a manner that’s superior to your own. As the story goes, this here scientist at the International Institute of Information Technology in Hydrabad, India, converted the humanoid into quite the shooter. He strapped a camera on its dome, and then programmed it to follow a pair of iron-clad photographic guidelines: the rule of thirds, and the golden ratio. Purportedly, Nao does a ton of analysis before finally deciding on how to compose and capture a shot, and for his next trick, he’ll run circles around your existing Lightroom actions. So much for perfecting your craft, eh? Nao robot grabs a head-mounted camera, puts your photographic skills to shame originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Jul 2011 17:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Ah, the Eastern District of Texas. Home to tumbleweeds, free range cattle and boatloads of patent trolls . Personal Audio, a patent licensing company with a highfalutin’ facility in Beaumont, Texas has become the latest outfit to claim victory over a major CE company, with Apple being asked to hand over $8 million to settle a tiff involving iPod playlists. Bloomberg reports that a federal jury in the Lonestar state found that Cupertino’s iPod players infringed on patents for “downloadable playlists,” right around two years after Personal Audio initially filed the claim for a staggering $84 million. We’re told that the inventions cover “an audio player that can receive navigable playlists and can skip forward or backward through the downloaded list,” and while Apple unsurprisingly stated that it wasn’t actually using those very inventions, that hasn’t stopped the courts from disagreeing just a wee bit. Now, the real question: are Sirius XM, Coby and Archos — also named in the original suit — going to be facing similar circumstances? Apple coughing up $8 million to Personal Audio in iPod playlist settlement originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Jul 2011 16:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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With nearly 350,000 apps and counting, the iPhone ‘s maximum capacity of 32GB doesn’t allow you to even scratch the surface of the App Store’s catalog. Throw in an HD movie, some TV episodes, hundreds of tracks and a few thousand photos, and you’ll be chewing through those available bytes in no time. Most manufacturers compensate this limitation by including a microSD slot for additional storage, but not Apple — you’re stuck with that original capacity until you’re ready to upgrade to a new device. Luckily, for those who need more storage now and don’t mind paying for it, AirStash , Seagate’s GoFlex Satellite , and now Kingston’s ultra-slim Wi-Drive allow you to boost gigs without upgrading, or switching to another platform. None of these pocket servers come without compromise, however — you’ll be spending over $100 for even the most basic option, while adding yet another device to your portable mix. Gallery: Kingston Wi-Drive iOS Media Server Review Continue reading Kingston Wi-Drive wireless storage for iOS review (video) Kingston Wi-Drive wireless storage for iOS review (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Jul 2011 14:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Nike+ GPS social update may make people run from your Twitter, Facebook accounts
July 9, 2011 No Comment
Nike this week rolled out updates to its Nike+ GPS app, including bug fixes and an auto-calibration feature, which should help improve the accuracy of your run. Also on-board are social features, which push running updates to Facebook and Twitter. The tweets / posts can thankfully be edited before being sent out into the world, but we’d recommend using a bit of discretion before loading up your feeds with the minutiae of your latest workout. The updated app can be downloaded now for $2 from iTunes. Nike+ GPS social update may make people run from your Twitter, Facebook accounts originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Jul 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Crescent’s Immersive Digital Entertainment VR: it’s like a Virtual Boy that you wear
July 9, 2011 No Comment
From what we’ve gathered in the video just below the break, the graphical capabilities aren’t terribly impressive on Crescent’s Immersive Digital Entertainment VR system, but really — who cares? It’s a motion gaming solution… that you wear. On your head . When placed in the proper scenario, it gives gamers a full 360 degree space to interact in, with an array of HD motion capture cameras making the virtual reality that much less virtual (and in turn, that much more reality ). Hard to say if this thing will ever have a life in the commercial realm, but yeah, we’d buy one. Continue reading Crescent’s Immersive Digital Entertainment VR: it’s like a Virtual Boy that you wear Crescent’s Immersive Digital Entertainment VR: it’s like a Virtual Boy that you wear originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Jul 2011 10:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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The first-ever earbuds designed to be drenched they aren’t, but they just might be one of the first to actually be “washable.” Sure enough, Pioneer’s new SE-CL331 headphones ($59.99) — available in white, pink and bright blue hues — can reportedly be “soaked and washed after every sports session without damaging sensitive electronic equipment.” Furthermore, they boast a newfangled ear holder that keeps ‘em in place while your body’s in motion, and there’s a two-layer mesh and rubber ring that’ll prevent water from seeping in while submerged up to one meter of goop. The built-in 9mm drivers probably won’t live up to Westone standards, but then again, you can’t exactly take your ES5s into the kiddie pool Pioneer’s SE-CL331 earbuds are just begging to be washed originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Jul 2011 06:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Remember that PDF exploit from last year that JailbreakMe 2.0 was using to unlock your iPhone with just a few taps? Well, Apple patched it . And now it’s apparently back . According to the Wall Street Journal , Apple acknowledged the exploit, and is working on an update at this very moment. In addition to the JailbreakMe 3.0 hack that came to light last week, the hole can also be used for some not-so-noble efforts, like grabbing your contacts database, accessing saved passwords, or activating your iPad or iPhone’s built-in camera. And nobody wants that. For one reason or another, German authorities have taken the lead on encouraging Apple to investigate, and have also warned all users to avoid opening PDF docs from untrusted sources. And we’re happy to echo that rather solid advice, given the implications. Ironically, JailbreakMe includes a patch for the very hole that allows it to function in the first place, so if you’re terrified that rogue PDFs will take over your devices, that’s an option to consider in the meantime. Apple iOS 4.3.4 software update may fix iPhone hole, block PDF jailbreak originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Jul 2011 17:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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The Xperia Arc is one the best handsets we’ve seen from Sony Ericsson, but US consumers have had to sit by and watch as the thing popped up in other markets around the world — until now, that is. The unlocked AT&T-compatible quad-band 3G handset just hit Sony’s store. The Gingerbread-packing smartphone has a 4.2-inch Reality Display, 512MB of RAM, an 8 megapixel camera, and will start shipping tomorrow. The Xperia Arc will run you $600 — that’s the price you pay for contractual freedom. Xperia Arc hits the US unlocked and ready for action originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Jul 2011 17:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Verizon pushes latest Thunderbolt update: solves reboot issues, kills free mobile hotspot
July 9, 2011 No Comment
Don’t act like Verizon didn’t warn you : for Thunderbolt owners who see an available software update pop up on their phone this evening, they’ll be placed squarely between a rock and a towering boulder. Why? On one hand, the Froyo OTA update promises to nix random reboots , improve data connectivity and fix the Bluetooth Discovery Mode pop-up windows. On the other, it adds a helping of bloatware (V CAST Music, V CAST Videos and My Verizon) while also killing the lust-worthy free mobile hotspot feature. Not like the carrier ever said it’d be any different come early July, but it’s certainly a case of picking your poison here. If your T-bolt seems to be humming along just fine, we’d probably avoid the urge to update to the latest build. If it’s rebooting as we speak, well… good luck pulling that trigger. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Verizon pushes latest Thunderbolt update: solves reboot issues, kills free mobile hotspot originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Jul 2011 02:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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