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Butlers, lunar rovers, snakes and airboats: the best of Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute
How was your week? We got to spend a couple of days trekking around the Carnegie Mellon campus in Pittsburgh, PA to check out some of the latest projects from the school's world renowned Robotics Institute -- a trip that culminated with the bi-annual induction ceremony from the CMU-sponsored Robot Hall of Fame. Given all the craziness of the past seven days, you might have missed some of the awesomeness, but fear not, we've got it all for you here in one handy place -- plus a couple of videos from the trip that we haven't shown you yet. Join us after the break to catch up.
Can Pals help kids get their voices heard (video)
Message from Me isn't the only way Carnegie Mellon's CREATE Labis helping kids communicate. The lab's Hear Me team has come up with Can Pals, a clever twist on the tin can phone that helps students share their stories with the world. Kids record their non-fictional tales on computers or via mics brought in by the Hear Me team, who will edit and upload them to the site and transfer them onto the electronic cans. Afterwards, kids can draw a picture or add some text to a label, which is adhered to the outside. The Hear Me team then brings them to another school, where the stories are shared with other students, who can pull off the labels and respond to the speakers. The group has also designed CanEX displays that are already at some businesses around town, letting customers catch a glimpse into the lives of local children. CREATE calls it an "empowerment tool for advocacy" -- we can't help but refer to it as This American Life or The Moth for kids. Either way, pretty cool.
Modder turns candy canisters into gaming console, retro Pong paddles (video)
This is the second time this week we've covered a modder getting an old-school game to run with the help of some unexpected hardware. And arguably, it's the simpler of the two tales. A fellow named John Graham-Cumming fashioned a game console out of little more than a pair of metal canisters, an Arduino Pro board, and a potentiometer -- all so he could play Pong on his TV. The rig (cutely dubbed the Cansole) actually consists of two controllers, with the secondary one housing just a potentiometer. The first has one, too, but also houses the Arduino Pro, along with a battery, A/V controls, and a button for selecting and firing in the game. Et voilà! 1970s arcade-style tennis for two. For a 90-second nostalgia break, head on past the break to see these vintage-looking paddles in action.
Acoustic Research doles out ARNC01 noise-canceling earbuds
Audiovox's extravaganza is closing up with the introduction of the Acoustic Research ARNC01 ($59.99) earbuds, which promise to use whiz-bang active processing to reduce noise for airline addicts and those with a crib full of rambunctious youngsters. The circuitry is housed in an in-line module with an On / Off button and a compartment for a single AAAA (yes, AAAA) battery, which should last you around 50 hours. You know, plenty of time to head off to Akihabara and back for a few new Japanese exclusives.
Can-cooling soccer ball conceals your secret stash
While it might not as, um, USB-powered as another snazzy can cooler, this soccer ball chiller keeps a six "holiday five pack" on ice without anyone knowing what contents reside within the sphere. Joining the growing array of cooling apparatuses designed to keep the heat out of our lives (and chairs), this silver and white conversation piece stands vigilant as your average "soccer ball on a stand" table decoration -- that is, until someone pops the top pentagon down and releases the lid from the base. The insulated ball can hold up to five canned beverages, plugs straight into your AC outlet, and even works in the car via a cigarette lighter adapter. Moreover, now would be a pretty good time to pick one up for next year's Super Bowl bash, especially consider the significantly discounted ¥8,980 ($74) pricetag.[Via TokyoMango]
Nintendo takes to the streets
Why limit all your retro gaming to the living room when you can do it in the car as well? Nintendo wants to bring a sort of Virtual Console to your trunk, a game server that can download new content and games that can be enjoyed from any passenger seat in the vehicle. In filing for the patent, Nintendo refers to the systems already in place in hotels (and elsewhere), LodgeNet, the systems with the cheap, clunky controllers. Here's hoping Nintendo slims those down a bit for this idea, but there's nothing like playing a few rounds of your favorite old school games when on the go. And it's not like we can't do this already; after all, it's not that complicated to install a game system in a vehicle, or there's always the trusty DS. But Nintendo wants to make it easy. Why worry about collecting games and passing them around? Just get in, buckle up, and pick up your controller.The documents also make specific mention that the 'car area network' can pipe into the vehicle's stereo system, just in case you have the urge to bump the Zelda theme at stoplights. And they want to bring in movies and music. Nintendo playing nice with other media? The future is upon us.[Via Joystiq]
