Triceratops
Latest
The Queue: I am not going to write about dinosaurs (I totally am)
Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Matthew Rossi will be your host today. I know you all just want World of Warcraft questions and answers, and so, I won't talk about dinosaurs again. I'll just get right to your questions. Iskande(@IskandeGamer) asks: Q for the Q: when will you be writing an entire book on paleontology, rather than chapters of books? You're killing me here, Iskande. To be honest, my interest in paleontology is strictly amateur. I've considered writing a kind of paleontological guide to World of Warcraft covering the real life versions of critters we see in game like the diemetradon from Un'Goro, but I seriously suspect there wouldn't be all that much interest. I love paleontology, believe me, but there's not much call for it around here. Above me you see the new Direhorn model that will be introduced in patch 5.2, for instance. It's based on Triceratops, one of the most famous of the ceratopsians. However, while its horn arrangement is very suggestive of Triceratops, the large spikes on its frill is suggestive of Styracosaurus, a related ceratopsian that lacked Triceratops' impressive triple horns.
Chinese robotic triceratops skeleton packs Linux, no horns
FROG (Four-legged Robot for Optimal Gait) has a ways to go before it can become a real dinosaur. The camouflaged robot is a prototype of a triceratops skeleton designed by Dr. Wei Wang and a number of PhD students at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Automation, and is downright timid compared to, say, Boston Dynamics' horn-wielding BigDog robot. It has joint angle sensors, acceleration sensors, a pan-tilt camera, and a number of other sensing devices. The robot has a Linux system inside and communicates wirelessly with a host computer -- though it still requires a plug for power. Dr. Wang hopes that the 'bot will show up in museums or other dinosaur exhibits when it's a bit more complete. He balks at comparisons to our beloved BigDog, however, since it has DC Motors and isn't hydraulic, so don't expect this herbivorous reptile to carry your luggage over rocky terrain any time soon.
Kota the Triceratops ships from the land before time to your home
Playskool's Kota the Triceratops is a robot dinosaur that uses 11 sensors to respond to touch and sound by wiggling its horns, wagging its tail and turning its head. It also plays a few "adventure themed songs." Best of all, it can't stampede or impale anyone; like the animatronic Triceratops in Jurassic Park, Kota can't get up and move around. That won't stop kids from adoring it though. Like Pleo before it, Kota's cuteness overpowers all. Don't believe us? Shipments have begun, so you can buy the cuddly robot and see for yourself. All you need is 300 bucks. Or you could just check out the video beyond the cut.
