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Sony's smart lock is yet another crowdfunding experiment
It's probably fair to say that the Sony we once knew and loved is going away as the mega-corporation tries to reinvent itself. Part of that strategy is to go all-in on PlayStation, and another, it seems, is just to get members of the public to do its product testing for it. The company hid its name when crowdfunding an e-paper watch to see how people felt about it, and now it's going back to Makuake, Japan's equivalent to Kickstarter, for another hardware experiment.
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]
QRIO befriended by toddlers in study
Remember that study which placed a bubbly QRIO in the middle of rambunctious 18- to 24-month old kids in order to better analyze human-robot interactions? We know, it's probably coming back ever so slowly, but regardless, the findings of the five month trial have finally been published, and the results are less than shocking. Essentially, researchers noticed that children learned to treat the QRIO as if it were another human; the Earthlings eventually felt comfortable touching its hands, covering it with a blanket when it laid down and helping it back up if it toppled over. Notably, kiddos even went so far as to shun the poor bot when it was programmed to dance nonstop, but they forgave the bizarre antics and continued to play nice once the jig was up. The crew involved with the research is now focusing on the development of autonomous bots for the toddler classroom, and while much more testing will likely be done before any conclusions are definitively drawn, results from this go 'round sure hinted at just how susceptible we are to robotic takeover, er, playing nice with harmless androids. Oh, and be sure and check the video after the break![Via Slashdot]
Qrio intros G4, G7 portable media players
Qrio (the company, not the robot) recently rolled out a pair of new portable media players for the Korean market, offering some pint-sized viewing with its G4 device and some added gaming capabilities with its G7 unit. Opting for the G4 will give you a 2.4-inch screen with 4GB of storage, along with support for MP3, WMA, and WAV audio, as well as XviD video. The G7, on the other hand, packs a 2.5-inch screen and is available in both 2GB and 4GB versions (in either black or white), with the usual array PMP functions, as well as an added FM radio, e-book capabilities, and, of course, those built-in gaming options. Exactly what sort isn't clear, although we're guessing that, like other similar PMPs, it'll take advantage of some of the many readily (if not legally) available games that now seem to be able to run on just about anything. There doesn't appear to be any word on a price for the G7, but it looks like the G4 will set you back the won equivalent of $116.Read - AVING, Qrio G4Read - AVING, Qrio G7
QRIO's turn as Kindergarten Cop
Remember how Sony sent one of their QRIO humanoid robots on a publicity stunt goodwill mission to a US preschool last year? Well it seems that their intentions were less than completely altruistic, because while the children -- ages two-and-under -- joyfully danced and played with the now-deceased bot, researchers from Sony and the University of California at San Diego's Machine Perception Laboratory were secretly videotaping and analyzing their every interaction. According to the study's recently-released results, QRIO's spy work revealed that, unsurprisingly, the toddlers developed an attachment to their artificial playmate, preferring to dance with the bot rather than alone, and eventually helping it up if it happened to topple over. Unfortunately this story is not all smiles and sunshine, however, as word of QRIO's double-life got back to the preschoolers, who reportedly overpowered their other robot companion, RUBI, and interrogated the hell out of it using a car battery and welding torch.[Via Robot Gossip]
Engadget Podcast 066 - 01.31.06
We may have lost the QRIO and the AIBO last week, but when one gadget company shuts a door, another opens a window: Nintendo announced the DS Lite, a smaller, um, lighter version of the DS. Microsoft also announced CableCARD 2.0 support for Vista (for a price, anyway), and one of their own, Ford Davidson, took a few to sit down with us and discuss Windows Mobile in the marketplace. And, of course, our usual dose of next-gen optical discussions continues, with a pinch of listener voicemail and a touch of gadgety democracy thrown in for good measure. Get the podcast [iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3). [RSS] Add the Engadget Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically (MP3). [MP3] Download the show (MP3). [AAC] Download the show (enhanced AAC). [OGG] Download the show (OGG). [Vote] Vote for us on Podcast Alley! Hosts Peter Rojas and Ryan Block Producer Randall Bennett Music J J J - 'Suits' in Japan Format 1:10:20, 32.1MB, MP3 Program 01:17 - Nintendo announces DS Lite 05:39 - Sony killed AIBO and QRIO 10:38 - Study finds robot pets as good as live ones 14:02 - Netflix to support HD DVD and Blu-ray 16:28 - Samsung SH-B022 Blu-ray burner reviewed 18:27 - Culprit uncovered in Core Duo battery drain: Microsoft driver 21:44 - CableCARD on Vista to require CableLabs certification 26:00 - TiVo undelete forthcoming! 28:31 - Interview with Ford Davidson of Microsoft's Mobile division 52:01 - Listener voicemail! 48:19 - Engadget Awards ending soon, and we're up for two Bloggies! LISTEN (MP3) LISTEN (AAC) LISTEN (OGG) Call up the Podcast at: 1-888-ENGADGET
Sony upgrades QRIO with new camera and improved arms
The robot wars have begun. Not even a week after Honda upgraded their Asimo humanoid, Sony is right back at them with a software upgrade for the QRIO. The little bot can now enjoy all sorts of box related activities, such as carry, stacking, and recognizing dropped or fallen boxes, thanks to better articulated arms and a new "third eye" that keeps track of stuff. QRIO can also now keep track of colors, faces and other objects, bringing him closer to Asimo in that regard, who could already recognize and track faces. Based on this round of humanoid updates, it looks like while Asimo is gearing up for the workforce, QRIO is gearing up for preschool, but that ain't necessarily a bad thing. [Image via Cnet]
Qrio makes a guest appearance on Jeopardy!
So it looks like Qrio made yet another guest appearance last night, this time on Jeopardy! to pantomime some answers that needed questions. We'd like to think Sir Stringer probably twitched at Qrio being called "Sony's very impressive corporate ambassador" (aw shucks, Trebek only said that because, um, Sony Pictures owns the show), but apparently Qrio did a decent job at acting out Tai Chi, Salsa dancing, and baseball pitching-in other words, motions we've seen Qrio go through time and time again. [Thanks, yem]
Caption contest: Walking the dog
Ah, what the heck, it's time for a caption contest. We'll get ya started: Barb: "Our robotic overlords caught in a rare moment of carefree domestic life." Peter: "I know I'm not a QRIO, but just work with me, ok?"
QRIO gets chummy with some babies
Maybe Sony was a bit afraid a couple of rambunctious little scants would clobber their cute QRIO's luxury-car priced face in, but in an apparent (and adorable) PR stunt, it looks like it's been getting along just fine with some 2-year old toddlers at nursery school in Cali. Perhaps they just felt like we haven't heard enough about QRIO recently (well, it's true!), so a little face-time with some kids who've have been dancing with QRIO and even helping it up when it falls is just the kind of lovability they were looking for. We're just hoping this has all been captured on film so that we might later show our future ruthless evil robot overlords that we really do love and cherish robot-kind afterall. P.S. - Anyone else wonder if while they were at it they made QRIO wear a "sympathy diaper"?
