For everything from family to computers…
We’ve been sitting on the same kind of crapper for centuries. Sure, the plumbing has gotten more tucked away and seats are now fashioned out of all sorts of materials and styles (including plush vinyl embroidered with cats), but as far as the toilets themselves go, hundreds of years after they were invented, they’re still largely porcelain. More »
from Gizmodo
This boxy guy is called Kuratas, otherwise known as Vaudeville, and he stands 12 feet 5 inches tall. He weighs about 4.5 tons and is diesel-powered. Do not smile at him. He will shoot that grin right off your face.
Kuratas is a real-life mech from (where else?) Japan, and it’s an art project designed by Suidobashi Heavy Industry. Iron worker/artist Kogoro Kurata, at right in the photo above, built his namesake robot and debuted it at something called Wonder Fest 2012, which took place over the weekend.
It has a ride-in cockpit, a master-slave joystick and a touchscreen interface, and its arms can be controlled via Kinect, so it could be trained as a champion boxer. Its twin BB Gatling guns can fire up to 6,000 BBs per minute, according to Plastic Pals. And it fires when a small camera inside the robot detects when you smile. This is just for fun, however – Kurata says he would never want his creation to harm anyone. But it could be used for robot competitions, he said.
You could pretend-order one of your own, via a slick website Kurata and his colleagues at Suidobashi designed. The mecha come in various color schemes and customizable weapons. But the base model starts at $1,353,500, so better start saving.
from Popular Science – New Technology, Science News, The Future Now
Greenery may fulfill a superficial need to improve the landscape aesthetic, but plants play a much more critical role in regular life function, converting carbon dioxide to oxygen through a process called photosynthesis. Panasonic is among the companies attempting to replicate this natural procedure through artificial means, and it looks like the Japanese electronics maker is well on its way towards a viable solution. Presenting at the International Conference on the Conversion and Storage of Solar Energy this week, Panasonic announced the development of an Artificial Photosynthesis System, which uses a nitride semiconductor to convert water and carbon dioxide — a byproduct of factories and power plants — into an organic material called formic acid, which is used in the manufacturing of dyes and fragrances. Covering the planet in formic acid wouldn’t necessarily represent progress, but assuming demand isn’t exceeded, it certainly beats CO2. Best yet, Panasonic claims that the system converts the substances at plant-like efficiency rates, or 0.2 percent. Hit up the PR after the break for a more granular look at the company’s creation.
from Engadget
Suidobashi Heavy Industries has put the finishing touches to its latest project, the 4.4-ton Kuratas. Mobile suit obsessives around the world can thank artist Kogoro Kurata and robotics expert Wataru Yoshizaki for the robot frame, which has space to house a pilot inside. The mech’s touchscreen UI even includes a Kinect-based movement interface and the shudder-inducing “smile-activated” twin BB gatling guns. You can customize your own diesel-powered beast in the dystopian gang colors of your choosing, but be advised: the $1.35 million price tag doesn’t include further customization options like a faux leather interior, cup holder or phone cubby. The Kuratas does, however, come with the ability to make phone calls direct from the cockpit, so you can tell your enemies that you’re coming for them.
from Engadget
Computers have come a ridiculously long way. We actually had an old Radio Shack computer back in the day that used cassette tapes for programs. I remember sitting for hours watching the thing draw random lines. The one thing that hasn’t changed all that much is the mouse. Sure, they have specialty ones for gamers and the like, but nothing really amazing… a mouse was pretty much a mouse, important, but shouldn’t it be able to do more?
Check out LG’s brand new Scanner Mouse. What could be easier than clicking the scan button right on your mouse and swiping it in any direction in order to scan almost any document and then have it digitized and sent to a file on your computer? Now you can scan, edit , save and share all your documents quickly and easily with a simple drag of the mouse. Think of it… e-mails, mobile messages and SNS’s Facebook and Twitter all at your fingertips.
The Mouse Scanner also has text recognition, so rather than having to retype everything you might want to edit, you can simply convert your scanned text to an editable Word document and, you can also just drag and drop your scans into a wide variety of different applications. You can scan almost any size up to A3 or you can just select certain areas on larger documents or papers.
The LG Mouse Scanner is the first of it’s kind, I wonder why it took so long? It seems a successful marriage between scanner and mouse that makes perfect sense. The Scanner Mouse has a 1,200 dpi laser sensor, requires only a USB port and Mac OS or Windows XP/Vista or 7 and you can get yours for only 99 bucks at amazon.com.
from Coolest Gadgets
Some happy news for the many who’ve already plunked down their hard earned cash on OUYA — the Android-based gaming console will be getting streaming gaming courtesy of the folks at OnLive. The prospective console maker broke the news on its Kickstarter page, noting that the experience will also include 30 minute free demos of “nearly every game” in its library, including Ravaged and Darksiders II. Also, some news for those wondering if the other side of the console’s controller was a radical departure [see above]. Check out a press release detailing the OnLive partnership after the break. Oh, and for those of you keeping track: the Kickstarter page is currently at a whopping $5.5 million pledged, with a dozen days left.
from Engadget
