Oh MIT, do the wonders that come from your halls ever cease? Yet another remarkable development is emerging from the fabled institution, and this time it's an autonomous wheelchair that can remember important places in a given building (read: the hospital ward, your house, the local arcade, etc.) and then take you there on command. In other words, the voice recognizing chair could understand phrases of direction, such as "head to the kitchen," and it would take on the burden of navigating the halls while letting the rider chill. The researchers are implementing a system that can learn and adapt to the individual user, and in the future, they'd like to add in a collision-avoidance system and mechanical arms to help patients lift and move objects. Say, can regular joes / janes buy these? We're totally feeling this over the Segway.

[Via medGadget]

There's nothing we love more (okay, that's an exaggeration -- but barely) than blatant overkill, and this here prototype from PS Audio fits that description to a T. Granted, we fully expect audiophiles to blindly stand up for this thing -- even though no one outside of the company has a clue just how incredible (or not) the innards actually are -- but here's the skinny. This not-yet-named CD transport reportedly transfers audio tracks from standard CDs onto internal memory for as long as the disc remains inside; apparently, this design "nullifies any jitter" and "other possible audio degradation." Theoretically sound as this logic may be, we can think of quite a few other ways to listen to music stored on flash memory (or similar) without spending $2,000. Who knows though, maybe that wood is incomprehensibly exotic.

Garmin has unloaded some big GPS guns in your direction -- taking the form of the nüvi 750, 760, and 770 -- and life as we know it will never be the same. According to those "in the know," the new units feature settings which allow you to store up to ten commonly (or uncommonly) used routes, plus the little 4.3-inch-widescreen-havin' guys will also sort routes for multiple destinations -- a feature which has been lacking in past models. The 700-series also gets upgraded here-and-there by way of added information like speed limits for highways and interstates, and a unique feature which helps you find your car in mall parking lots by marking the spot in which the nüvi was removed from the car. All three of the new units provide an FM transmitter for broadcasting voices and music to your stereo, and the 760 and 770 models include Bluetooth support, so you can rock extra-safe, hands-free driving when you're making your next big excursion. The nüvi 750, 760 and 770 will be available in the 4th quarter of 2007 for $642.85, $857.13, and $1071.42, respectively.

[Via GPS Tracklog]

Toyota has unveiled two new collision detection systems slated to make its way into new Lexus LS models shortly: first, an NEC built IMAPCAR chip which constantly monitors the rear of vehicle and will warn the driver if the car behind them is about to hit them by flashing the car's hazard lights, and will then automatically move the headrest forward to protect the driver's neck, reducing the likelihood of whiplash. We can't imagine that the hazard light warning is really worth it, since giving drivers 0.5 seconds to jam on the gas isn't exactly a practical solution to the problem of rear shunts (and what about false positives?), especially when accelerating could cause another collision, or end up provoking the second collision detection system: Toyota's new, forward facing collision detection system. Aided by a stereo camera, the new front system is capable of picking out child sized objects, an improvement over previous systems that could only detect something car sized. When an object is detected, the car will warn the driver by tightening the seat belt, and then slowing the car automatically if the driver does not respond, possibly invoking the rear collision detection system, again. You see our point? If you'd feel uncomfortable handing complete control of your car over to a computer, imagine for a second what it would be like to decide between your own instincts and that of the car's in the crucial moments before a potential accident.

If having your own personal life sized Gundam model just isn't glamorous for you, we're thinking the Land Walker may just fit the bill. Last year we caught wind of Sakakibara Kikai's terrorizing mobile robot, but figured it was just another fantastic use of scrap metal and spare time. Apparently Masaaki Nagumo, the machine's inventor, thought otherwise -- the 3.4 meter tall robotic transporter is reportedly now on sale (made-to-order, of course) in Japan for about 36 million yen. For us Americans pondering this investment, that's over $300,000, and it's highly unlikely this 1 ton beast would get through customs even if the company were offering shipment outside of Japan. Although it's not likely to catch any robotic villains (nor bicyclists, actually) at 1.5 km/h, there's always the dueling guns that are locked and loaded with squishy pellets to show them you mean business. Outrageous though this bot may be, we're sure a few of you are still thinking over a purchase, so maybe this five minute demonstration can help you pull the trigger.