Until now, one field has been safe from robotic interface : collecting money on the street. Not for long. A space already overcrowded with guitar playing hippies, dogs in bandanas, and children carrying bright orange UNICEF boxes has a new force to reckon with. It’s Don-8r (pronounced “donator,” for those who don’t speak robot), programmed expressly to collect change and be adorable. University of Dundee student Tim Pryde created the coin-fueled robot to help raise money for charity. It’s taken a few spins around the school’s campus and has already mastered the three Ps of money collection: politeness, persistence, and performance — the latter accomplished via color changing lights in its orb-like head. Video of Don-8r doing its thing after the break. Continue reading Don-8r the panhandling robot set to make the homeless obsolete (video) Don-8r the panhandling robot set to make the homeless obsolete (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 07:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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When Google unveiled its WebM open source media format and declared it to be the one codec to rule all others , there were those who decried its usefulness and felt that H.264 should inherit the earth. WebM’s power converted some of those staunch detractors, and to rally more to to the VP8 / Vorbis cause, 17 companies have now formed the WebM Community Cross-License (CCL) initiative by inter-mingling their WebM-related IP resources. The initiative was founded so that all may use El Goog’s preferred multimedia codec free from the threat of patent litigation , and the CCL superfriends will welcome more members to bolster their legal might — but those wishing to join must grant a royalty-free license to any of their patents that cover WebM technology. A passion for streamlining web standards and a willingness to spread the word about WebM couldn’t hurt, either — new formats don’t sell themselves, y’know. Coalition of companies creates WebM Community Cross License initiative originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 05:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …ASUS Eee Pad Transformer goes on sale in US, immediately sells out on Amazon
April 26, 2011 No Comment
The US had to wait for its Eee Pad Transformer launch a little longer than the rest of the world, but it’s finally gotten its wish today and consumers’ reaction seems to have been nothing short of voracious. Amazon’s order page for the $400 Android 3.0 tablet appears to have gone from “in stock” to “out of stock” within mere minutes, while Target — the supplier fulfilling orders on behalf of Amazon — also lists the Transformer as presently unavailable. ASUS’ own Where To Buy page leads us to a bunch of dead ends as well, with Best Buy being the only retailer we can currently find with stock in the US. We can’t say for sure whether we’re looking at overwhelming demand or just limited supply, but it’s hard to argue with ASUS’ excellent value proposition here: a 10-inch IPS display, a dual-core SOC and a feature-rich tablet OS all for less than four Benjamins. You’ll just need to be quick on the trigger if you want one. [Thanks, Noah] ASUS Eee Pad Transformer goes on sale in US, immediately sells out on Amazon originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 04:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Chicago’s Adler Planetarium to start projecting 8K by 8K images from this July, put cinema screens to shame
April 26, 2011 No Comment
Okay, so it’s not quite 8K video , we’re not there yet , but the Adler Planetarium and its brand new Grainger Sky Theater are about to show us what 64 megapixel images look like on a big screen. Described as the “largest single seamless digital image in the world,” the picture inside the planetarium will come from 20 projectors hooked up to 45 computers processing data, and should provide the most lucid and captivating view unto our universe that one can get without actually exiting the Earth’s atmosphere. The new show kicks off on July 8th, having been put together with aid from NASA and IBM among others. Jump past the break for the full press release. Continue reading Chicago’s Adler Planetarium to start projecting 8K by 8K images from this July, put cinema screens to shame Chicago’s Adler Planetarium to start projecting 8K by 8K images from this July, put cinema screens to shame originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 03:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Hurry and order yours today — before they run out of magic dust . [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Want a PlayBook that runs Android 3.0? You can get one at MacMall! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 02:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Purdue’s Celeritas car scores 2,200MPG from the sun, wins Shell Eco-marathon
April 25, 2011 No Comment
With gas prices topping $4.50 per gallon in some parts of the country, a car that costs a fraction of a penny per mile to drive (and looks like it belongs on the road) is sure to get our attention. The 275-pound, 2,200MPG Celeritas appears to be the closest we’ve come to having a solar-powered car that could one day take to the streets, however, which explains why the vehicle scored first prize in the Urban Concept category in this year’s Shell Eco-marathon. While it can only transport a single person (the driver), the car includes headlights, taillights, a trunk and even backup cameras. Notably absent from this version are air conditioning and a license plate — the latter of which would (naturally) be required before the car becomes street legal. The Purdue University design team chose “Celeritas” (Latin for “swiftness”) as the name for this soon-to-be-street-legal roadster, though in a category that’s notorious for slower vehicles, we wouldn’t expect the prototype to fly past us in the fast lane. Perhaps we can get Celeritas and IVy together for some alone time before we’re dropping Hamiltons for a gallon of regular? Purdue’s Celeritas car scores 2,200MPG from the sun, wins Shell Eco-marathon originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Apr 2011 18:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Lego-inspired helmet concept protects your brain, reads comics so you don’t have to
April 25, 2011 No Comment
Love comic books , but think that reading is for dumb jerks? Jonathan Robson has your back. The Scotland-based designer has created this minifigure-inspired helmet, which will help you make it through that sequential tome while protecting your head from lightweight falling debris. The helmet has volume control and a page skipping button on the side while, on the back, there’s a port for plugging in a Lego USB flash drive loaded up with audio content. The helmet is designed for kids, of course, but it should also work for tiny-headed grownups sick and tired of all of those pesky word bubbles. Another view of the concept after the break. Continue reading Lego-inspired helmet concept protects your brain, reads comics so you don’t have to Lego-inspired helmet concept protects your brain, reads comics so you don’t have to originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Apr 2011 21:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Sony’s hosting a press event in Tokyo today where it just made it’s first announcement: a pair of Android 3.0 tablets. The first is the S1 media tablet (pictured above) with a curved top much like a folded magazine and both front- and rear-facing cameras. The S1 features a Tegra 2 SoC and “quick and smooth” touch panel. The second is the dual-screen S2 . Developing… Sony S1 and S2 dual-screen Honeycomb tablets get official originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 00:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …ChargePoint lets you reserve electric charging stations, cuts down on alternative fueling fistfights
April 25, 2011 No Comment
One day in the future, we’ll all drive around in electric cars and gas pumps will be replaced by clean charging stations. Also, free ice cream. Until then, get it line — or better yet, reserve a spot online courtesy of ChargePoint ‘s online database of alternative fueling stations. The Coulomb Technologies-run site displays charging stations on a Google Map , with a colored pin letting you know in real-time whether someone is currently topping off their Tesla. If you’re the type with foresight — you did buy an electric car, after all — you can schedule some quality time with an outlet on the site using your ChargePass card. The cost of charging is determined by the station’s manager, and appointments can be cancelled up to 24 hours in advance. The site has some serious competition on the EV charging map, courtesy of the newly launched GeoEVSE , a collaboration between US Department of Energy, Google, and 80 other companies. Maybe the new reservations feature will help ChargePoint win the race to your heart. Continue reading ChargePoint lets you reserve electric charging stations, cuts down on alternative fueling fistfights ChargePoint lets you reserve electric charging stations, cuts down on alternative fueling fistfights originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Apr 2011 21:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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According to entertainment website The Wrap , Google’s YouTube has finally locked up all the studio deals to get itself fully into the online movie rental game. The report indicates it could launch as soon as this week with movies from majors including Sony, Warner and Universal, as well as smaller entities like Lionsgate, Kino Lorber and other independents. This doesn’t appear to be a challenge to (now bigger than Comcast , but still smaller than HBO) Netflix, with the unnamed studio exec quoted in the article saying how happy they are to see a new entrant renting (and eventually selling) movies that’s not using a subscription model . Apple currently leads the online VOD market after jumping in with iTunes back in 2008 , so obviously that’s a main target but without any information on pricing, picture quality and exactly what content will be available it’s hard to see how much of a challenger this could be. Rumors of movie rental plans have swirled around YouTube for quite some time and it started rolling out $3.99 rentals of indie movies a little over a year ago, here’s hoping they go the whole way and offer nothing less than 3D and 4K streaming to start. YouTube ready to start renting video on-demand movies from major studios? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Apr 2011 22:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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