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Willow Garage PR2 robot learns to sort socks for $10k prize (video)
We've been following the evolution of the Willow Garage PR2 robot for a little over a year now, watching as it learned to mooch electricity and hustle pool sharks. That, as it turns out, was only the beginning. The robots are now up for general pre-order should anyone want one (priced well into the "if you have to ask" range, surely), and to celebrate that Willow Garage founder Scott Hassan put up $10k to sponsor a video contest of the PR2 robot doing some impressive things. The winner is a video called "Sockification" from a crew at UC Berkeley in which the PR2 shows some... enthusiastic sock sorting skills. You can see that one embedded below, along with our personal favorite: an ode to StrongBad and his lightswitch rave.
FaderTouch creates custom trippy visuals for your own private club, opium den (video)
A night of trance insanity just isn't the same without some screen somewhere projecting bizarre and nonsensical but thoroughly trippy visuals -- but what if you host your own basement raves and all you have is basic cable with C-SPAN? What you need is the faderTouch, a road case-based "visual performance" device created by VJ Fader that allows you to play virtual instruments by dragging fingers across the screen, instruments like one seemingly based on Pong and another that spawns and destroys pixels and notes using Conway's Game of Life (the cellular one, not the one with the spinny wheel and the peg families). It's a fun toy, but it seems somewhat... overengineered to us. A simple laptop with a touchscreen could manage the same thing without the finnicky rear-projection system, but then that wouldn't look quite so road worthy, right? Video after the break.
DJ Mouse eliminates 'the science of mixing music' with a jog wheel
Looking for a way to liven up those house parties of yours? Winamp playlist feeling a little passe? iTunes "Genius" feature not really so smart? A company called DJ-Tech has got the answer, and it's the DJ Mouse. What separates an input device for turntablists from one for the unwashed masses, you ask? Is it the "high-definition jog wheel," the one that integrates with the Deckadance software to "let you spin platters intuitively?" Why, yes, it is! But it's also so much more. Don't forget the Scratch button, without which there would be no "direct scratch mode." As the ad says, you too can "become a DJ in one minute, without the science of mixing music." Available for $79 -- but make sure you don't go anywhere before you peep the truly amazing commercial after the break. And take that, Grandmaster Flash! [Via OhGizmo!]
Powerful lasers damage eyesight of some Russian ravers
Here's one straight from the bizarro chapters. Dozens of individuals that attended an all night dance party near Moscow have been "partially blinded after a laser light show burned their retinas," according to Russian health officials. Apparently someone responsible for erecting the equipment decided to aim a few lights powerful enough to brighten the night sky down at the crowd (after rain necessitated a makeshift roof, we're told), with some of those who stared too long losing up to "80%" of their vision. We're not exactly sure what will happen to the promoters of the event, but at least now you have a valid excuse to rock those face-engulfing sunglasses (or a welding mask, if you're really paranoid) in every night club you waltz into.[Via Switched, image courtesy of iGouGo]
Montclair State mandates use of GPS-enabled phones
Nearly six months after Slippery Rock University introduced a RFID payment system for mobiles at its campus, we've learned that Montclair State University is requiring that all full-time undergraduates carry a school-issued mobile for their own safety. The handsets, which cost some $210 per semester, are already being carried by about 6,000 students, and feature a GPS function that can be activated to ensure campus police are alerted of their location if something goes awry. Aside from being able to send a request for help immediately, the phone will also call for assistance should the feature remain on for longer than a preset length of time. As it stands, the university has yet to see the Rave Guardian technology used in situations other than false alarms, but a 32-member police force is kept on staff in case any future calls prove legitimate.[Image courtesy of WCBSTV]
Party Timer clock tells you how rockin' your rave actually is
Make no mistake, adorning your party with gadgetry that not only amps up the atmosphere but simultaneously exalts your geekness is no new trend, but the Party Timer clock / informative display takes ubiquitous party monitoring to a new dimension. The LED-packed device sports a fairly attractive enclosure and simply displays the time whenever work has got you down, but if any of the internal ambient noise sensors start recognizing sustained levels of increasing sound, it can switch into its own zoot suit and give your guests the skinny. While in Party Mode, the clock morphs into an informative display that shows No Party when there's no sustained noise above ten decibels, but for eight additional ranges, the device flips through Romantic Party (11 to 20 db), Talking Party (21 to 50 db), Lite Party (52 to 70 db), Music Party (71 to 90 db), Dance Party (91 to 100 db), Club Party (101 to 120 db), Mega Party (a dangerous 121 to 160 db), and if you're still alive to notice, Atom Party shows up when things get pegged above 161 db. Click on through for a few closeups of this rave must-have.[Via Gearlog]
Attend a 74-second rave
Greets to all my fellow sufferers out there nostrils-deep in finals. This brief video should lighten the mood some, what with Scooter's uplifting lyrics reminding us of a time when "life was so wonderful, a miracle, oh it was beautiful, Magical." Let life be beautiful and magical again, at least for 74 seconds. Then back to the books. [Thanks, Mazzocchi]
Queen HD concert celebrates 30 years of "Bo Rhap"
Just think, when Queen hit the charts with "Bohemian Rhapsody" thirty years ago, black and white televisions were still lingering around. HDTV back then? That was still being researched by NHK until it hit Japan in the early '80s. No, it was a simple time back then and if you plan ahead, you can relive it somewhat, this Friday night in high-definition. RAVE-HD, one of the VOOM channels, is premiering an HD recording of Queen's 2005 concert from Sheffield. This your chance to see the band with Paul Rodgers standing in for the irreplaceable Freddie Mercury, before they head across the pond for their US tour starting on March 3rd. The 1080i presentation kicks off at 9 p.m. while there will be encore performances throughout the weekend of "Bo Rhap" and other fan faves."Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in transition, must escape from SDTV...."
