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HIRO, the realistic 'torso bot' for researchers and fans of El DeBarge
Are you a serious scientific researcher / evil genius looking for a robot for serious scientific research / "evil genius" research? Do you need something whose movements more closely approximates those of the humans who you might wish to help / destroy? Kawada Industries and General Robotix in Japan (GRX) have teamed up to develop a little something called HIRO, or "Human Interactive Robot." Designed to move in a more lifelike fashion that any robot on the market these days, this bad boy has fifteen degrees of freedom (including two in the neck, six in each arm and one in the lower back). It can also carry an object weighing up to 2kg in each arm, and its finger tip features an operating force of up to 10kgf. If that weren't enough, it also includes a head-mounted double-lens stereo vision camera, two robot hands, two hand cameras, a control PC, and a PC for information processing. For the OS, this device uses that perennial favorite of evil genuises everywhere (Windows XP) while it uses something called QNX for control systems. Available for delivery to academic research institutes and mad scientist's hideouts sometime this fall for a price of ¥7.4 million (just about $77,000) -- or, if you're on a tight budget, the basic package (which excludes the head-mounted camera, the two robot hands, and includes a simplified neck) is priced at ¥5.4 million (roughly $57,000). One more pic after the break.
Masi Oka of Heroes signs up as OLPC ambassador
What's better than being the nerdy guy on a nerdy hit TV show? Being a nerd in real life, of course. Masi Oka -- you probably know him as Hiro from NBC's Heroes -- has it all going on, and has now signed up to be OLPC's "ambassador" to really flesh out his resume. The guy majored in Math and Comp Sci at Brown University, and did odd acting gigs while working at ILM programming special effects, so he's no pretender to this nerd throne. Masi's role as global ambassador pretty much means he'll be doing some TV spots to "promote the importance of empowering children with learning tools and Internet connectivity," but we're sure he can put some of those time-bending powers to good use to erase all that "$100 dollar laptop" nonsense of yesteryear.
Today's most Hero(es)ic game video: Heavenly Sword on NBC's 'Heroes'
Tonight's episode of Heroes on NBC opens with Micah and Niki/Jessica playing Heavenly Sword on the PlayStation 3. Apparently one of Micah's other tech-based powers is the ability to play unreleased video games. That would actually be a pretty sweet ability to have. Of course, talk about getting no work done as a result. Like us rushing to get this post to you before the show even airs. We read your minds, a la Matt Parkman, and knew you'd want to see this early.Is there also some sort of a hint or clue buried in the game title? Hiro is desperately trying to get his hands on that special samurai sword that he thinks will let him access his powers once again. Of course in the game Heavenly Sword, the title weapon is the game. According to an IGN interview with the developer Ninja Theory, "The story revolves around an ancient sword, the Heavenly Sword, which belonged to a deity and can never be wielded by a mortal without destroying them ... but as the sword is not meant for her, it sucks away her life force. So you begin the game with only a few hours left to live and have to fulfill this one last mission before the sword finally takes your life. But until that day arrives, Nariko's fighting skills rock."Also, Gollum/King Kong/Nikola Tesla's assistant Andy Serkis will be playing villainous King Botan in this game. Is there any sort of connection here? We'd love to see Serkis on heroes. His power would be to make you feel slightly uncormfortable. Very interesting, NBC. Verrrrrrrrry interesting.
Masi Oka loves his PSP
Time traveling Hiro Nakamura is a fan-favorite character in NBC's superhero drama, Heroes. Masi Oka recently spoke about his undying love for the PSP system, saving him from the more boring aspects of being an actor, like the constant waiting and traveling he must do. "That's all I do on planes, is whip out my PSP and just stay focused on it the whole ride through. I won't even get food. I'm not a big fan of flying, so the PSP system helps me."Oka takes advantage of all of PSP's capabilities, from games, to music to UMD movies. He's incredibly excited for the advanced Remote Play functionality with the PS3: "With PS3, I'm sure you'll be able to use the PSP system to play games down the line," said Oka. "It'd be cool to play Madden that way. I can't remember all of the plays, and when I'm playing against someone, I don't like the plays to be shown on the screen, but with a PSP, you could select plays for the PS3 Madden and not show anyone what you're thinking."The full interview is available at PlayStation.com. You can catch Hiro, being a hero, on Heroes on NBC. It returns next Monday at 9PM.
