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Platypus airboats have a Nexus S for a brain, we go eyes-on (video)
Here's another extremely cool offshoot of the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute. Platypus LLC build autonomous robotic airboats that can be deployed for a wide range of usages including environmental data and monitoring hard-to-reach spots after natural disasters like flooding. The hull of the boat looks a good deal like a boogie board, built from polyurethane. On top, you'll find a propulsion fan assembly, just behind a hard plastic electronics compartment that houses internals like the Arduino board. That microcontroller communicates via Bluetooth with a smartphone that sits in the front of of the boat, safely cocooned inside an Otterbox case. The models we saw this week were carrying Nexus S handsets -- relatively cheap solutions bought second-hand off of eBay. Just about any Android phone should do the trick, but in the case of this project, where phones can get wrenched loose or just outright pilfered, cheaper is certainly better. Platypus' proprietary app helps control the boat autonomously, using the handset's camera to provide situational awareness. Sensors mounted on the boat, meanwhile, offer up information on oxygen and PH levels, temperature and more.%Gallery-169017%
Vice City's watery playground
It's common knowledge that you'll now be able to play in the water in the PSP's Vice City Stories. Although swimming was introduced in the PS2's San Andreas, this handheld iteration of the popular series will feature the most complex water-based gameplay in the franchise's history, according to IGN. Each vehicle in the game will respond to the game's new water physics model: they'll bob in the water, be affected by currents and be slowed down by drag. (It's like you're buying GTA and getting Wave Race for free.) Using the jet-ski, you'll be able to do drive-by shootings on the water, terrifying rich boat owners. The APV sounds exciting, as you'll be able to drive it around and enter the water when you really need to make a dramatic getaway.With speedboats, yachts, sailboats, zodiacs, airboats, and more, Vice City Stories "might have the largest collection of sea-based vehicles in gaming history," which is especially impressive when you consider the platform's diminuitive size. By making the waterways important to gameplay, gamers can expect tons of mini-games: swimming events, boat and jet ski races. Heck, if you feel like being a good guy and wash your hands of all the sin you're committing, there's no better way than to partake in a water rescue mission. Is anyone else concerned that this game might feature too much content?Vice City Stories hits stores at the end of this month.
