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Isles of Eventide invites you to live as an animal
Playing as a Human or Elf has been done to death, so why not switch over to the animal kingdom? That's the premise of the fledgling Isles of Eventide (no relation to Rubies of Eventide), which is currently seeking funds on Kickstarter. Isles of Eventide will invite players to inhabit the role of a canine, feline, or equine living on one of many islands in a magical archipelago. Survival against the elements, predators, and hunger will be one of the major themes of the game, although there will be less stressful features such as crafting and companions as well. Between adventures, players will get to travel to their own personal island, which can be customized with decorations and utilities. The team is seeking $50,000 CAD to get development going, although it certainly welcomes more. One of the stretch goals, at the $100,000 CAD tier, promises to add offspring that can be raised from birth.
NSK developing Kinect-laced robotic guide dog for the blind (video)
Have you ever looked at a robotic dog, scratched your head and thought, "Why?" Well, NSK has just responded with a pretty valid "Because." Turns out, the Japanese manufacturer is working on a new mechanized canine that could one day serve as a guide dog for the blind. The company's latest prototype builds on the work of the University of Electro-Communications (UEC), which unveiled its first model, the NR001, in 2005, followed by an updated version (NR002) in 2007. With this third iteration, unveiled late last month, NSK and UEC have added a Microsoft Kinect sensor, which allows it to more easily identify and navigate obstacles or stairs. The quadrupedal beast can also scamper up and down steps with more grace than its predecessors, which moved more like arthropods than actual dogs. The bot's paws have also been equipped with obstacle-avoiding bumper sensors, and researchers are working on incorporating voice commands, as well. NSK says its guide dog could eventually feature GPS capabilities to provide more accurate directions for the blind and visually impaired, though it'll probably be a while before it hits the pavement; the company hopes to commercialize the dogbot by 2020. Trot past the break to see the pup in action, in a pair of demo videos.
Lost Pages of Taborea: Chapter 3 character background tie-ins
The lore in Runes of Magic can sometimes be frustrating. There's an incomplete -- and vague -- history that sparks questions of who did what and when. Sometimes, there are references to reoccurring incidents without anyone knowing anything of who was involved or when it happened. As new chapters are released, some of those questions are answered and story-holes are filled, but new questions get added as well. We are veering off the beaten track in this week's Lost Pages of Taborea to dive into some lore. There's a growing amount of story for lore-hungry players to discuss and I wanted to revisit some Chapter 3 lore that helps us to understand a little more about the history and present-day in the world of Taborea. The following article is written for those players who may already know about the game's lore, but want to know even more. Given the overall amount of story and the way it's spread out through levels, zones and time-frames, I almost didn't feel the need to put any spoiler warnings on this post. Instead, I left out details learned from going inside the various dungeons.
Dog-e-Minder keeps tabs on your dog's vitals so you don't have to (video)
You're already weighing down the massive head of your Frenchton with some sort of bark collar and GPS-enabled location tracker, so what's another pendant around the neck, anyway? Dog-e-Minder, which is cleverly being marketed to the "As Seen On TV!" crowd, is a battery-powered device that records the last time your pup (or cat, or iguana, or anything else that rocks a leash) ate, walked or took his / her medications. Essentially, owners simply mash the corresponding button after an event has occurred, and an internal timer keeps track of how long it has been since said event has happened. It also doubles as a dog identification tag (displaying the owner's contact information and the pet's name) whenever it's idle, and it's even available in a foursome of hues to match your canine's personality. The pain? $19.95, and the second one is thrown in absolutely free. Obligatory TV spot is after the break, and remember, "If you own a dog, this product will change your life." Change your life. P.S. - There's also the Accuwalker for those of you who have no clue when the last time your pet was walked. Shame on you.
So who is the greatest gaming canine ever?
The results to one of the most interesting questions we've heard in quite awhile has come in and gaming's greatest canine is apparently Parappa from the Parappa the Rapper games. While we'll cross the divide that separates Nintendo and Sony handheld fanboys and admit that the Parappa games are great, we're a tad bit upset.As you may recall from our original post on this topic of discussion, we were heavily in favor of K.K. Slider. We also considered the dog from Duck Hunt. But, Parappa? Eh, we don't agree. What about you all?[Via Joystiq]
Is AIBO returning from the dead?
You heard that right, folks. Supposedly, AIBO is back... with a vengeance. According to rumors, the feisty-but-killed robo-dog from Sony is making a comeback with a new paintjob and whole slew of fresh features. First and foremost, the re-upped model will be tailored to interface wirelessly with your PSP and PS3, will have a built in headcam which utilizes a motion sensor and facial recognition, and can stream its POV video over WiFi to your system. In addition, you'll apparently get to remotely trigger the bot with your handheld and control its movements, plus you can set it to "guard" your house (though we're pretty sure most enterprising burglars will just turn the little dude on its side if provoked). Of course, right now this is speculation -- Stuff Magazine's piece on the subject (above) gives the rumored bot a 53-percent chance of becoming a reality -- but there certainly seems to be some meat behind these murmurs. C'mon Sony -- the pup deserves a second chance.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Austrian researchers train dogs to use computers
Yeah, teaching a canine how to operate a computer may sound pretty complex, but considering that one such animal was actually trained to sniff out and snag cellphones for its dubious owner, we guess it's not too difficult to conceive after all. In a recent study published in Animal Cognition, researchers from the University of Vienna in Austria taught four dogs to use computer automated touch-screens in order to carry out classification tests, theoretically eliminating any "potential human influence." In experiments that sought to see if dogs could indeed visually categorize pictures and transfer learning to new scenarios, the four subjects "were shown landscape and dog photographs and expected to make a selection on a computer touchscreen." Eventually, the authors concluded that using computers in animal testing could open up new windows of opportunity in testing cognitive abilities, but c'mon, you know those pups were just clicking around to see if their testing station would in fact play Doom.[Via TheInquirer, image courtesy of Itchmo]
KTF's surveillance canine beams snapshots via HSDPA
It just makes sense that the same Korean provider that offered up a pet translator service would attempt to give back to the owners, as KTF has launched a robotic puppy that just melts the hearts of gizmo-lovin' gals abroad. Specifically, it garners a crowd of individuals wherever it's at, and then pulls double duty as an undercover surveillance agent, snapping mobile images and channeling them straight to your cellphone via HSDPA. For the paranoid 'rents in the crowd, this here ought to be a perfect way to monitor what really goes down in the house while you're away for the weekend, and while it's no guard dog per se, the evidence this bad boy captures could indeed be quite frightening. [Warning: Read link requires subscription]
Cats and dogs totally dig Macs
Christopher Phin over at his wildly optimistically named blog, Receding Hairline, has brought my attention to a brilliant Flickr group called "Cats love Macs." As the name implies, the photos all feature two elements: a cat and a Mac. With over 230 members, it's pretty clear that cats really do like Macs. There's plenty of space for canines in the similar group called "Dogs love Macs too!" Some highlights from the cat group include Mac owner's pets lounging on toasty iBooks and pawing at new MacBooks or even jumping on top of eMacs. Fortunately for the owners, no poo is involved at this point. Now, how about a "Humans love Macs" Flickr group?
