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This video will make you miss the heyday of animatronic puppets
Sure, CGI has come a long way. But there's still something magical about practical special effects in films. At Engadget Expand, we got a close look at some of the most intriguing work from animatronics expert Mark Setrakian. You've probably seen his stuff: He created the tiny, head-mounted alien that delivered some crucial plot information to Will Smith in Men in Black. He specializes in creating complex animatronics that appear surreally lifelike. (He particularly enjoys building terrifying robotic hands.)
Here's what happened at Engadget Expand 2014
If you didn't get to come out to the Javits Center in New York City for this year's Engadget Expand, but still wanted to see what all the fuss was about, we've got you covered. The entire two-day celebration of tech and talks has been whittled down into a megamix of sorts, giving you a sample of the sights, sounds and people that make Expand so great. Care to hear DARPA's director talk about the future of neurotechnology, glimpse Google's modular Ara smartphones, gawk at dancing robots or even see Engadget editors go head to head in a toy car race? It's all right there in the video below. Hope to see you next year!
Congratulations to our Insert Coin winners: Poursteady and Noke
The votes have been tallied; the judges deliberated; and we have our winners for this year's Insert Coin. The judges tossed their support behind Poursteady, a robot that makes five pour-over cups of coffee and handed the company $10,000 to help get off the ground. Noke took home the $15,000 readers choice prize. While we've seen plenty of smartlocks before, this is the first time we've seen Bluetooth crammed into the padlock form factor. You can relive the entire competition, from the initial presentations by the 10 semi-finalists, to the grilling by the judges, and finally the prizes being awarded after the break.
Making music in a Kinect-powered sandbox (video)
Tucked away under a tent at Expand 2014 was perhaps the coolest exhibition on the show floor: Sand Noise Device, a literal interactive sandbox experience. No, this isn't a new Grand Theft Auto; it's powered by hacked gaming tech, though, including an Xbox 360 Kinect sensor and a PlayStation Eye camera. Watching it in action immediately brought memories of Xbox 360 classic Geometry Wars to mind, actually. A ring radiates out from a center origin point, and when it hits the glowing, multicolored pucks (that are tracked for position by the PS Eye), a series of particles start shooting outward.
Watch these adorable robots dance better than you
We're used to seeing robots like MIT's Cheetah that are absolutely terrifying, so starting day two of Expand New York with an android dance party was a welcome change of pace. It came, of course, by way of the folks at Aldebaran Robotics who brought a trio of their fifth-generation Nao bi-peds to bust a groove. The outfit's James Dietrich said that while there are over 10,000 of the friendly little 'bots in use in some 70 countries, there are a more than a few things holding us back from having Rosie from The Jetsons in our homes. Namely, the price needs to come down: Developers can get one for $6,000 and a consumer model is a whopping $8,000.
The future of food, starring crickets and home hydroponics
Humanity currently numbers in the 7 billion range. By 2050, the United Nations expects Earth to house just shy of 10 billion human beings. Sounds like a lot, right? It is, but arthropods ("insects, spiders and other arachnids, crustaceans and myriapods") reading along know better: Our tiny companions outnumber us (and all other mammals) by a staggering margin of over 300:1. Though most of the world is already on board with munching insects, much of Western Europe and North America view the concept as madness. Exo, a Brooklyn-based protein bar maker, is trying to change that. For every $3 bar you eat, the protein you consume is "mostly" from (powderized) crickets, to the tune of approximately 40 crickets per bar. I tried one and can confirm: They definitely taste like protein bars, crickets or not. For Exo co-founder Greg Sewitz, the secret to getting people comfortable with eating bugs is disguising it in foods they're already comfortable with.
Using Lego to either save or destroy Manhattan
There was plenty of fun stuff going on at Expand, but certainly one of the highlights was a competition put on by Lego. The toy giant challenged participants to create a machine that either saved or destroyed Manhattan. (Poor Manhattan is always in the crosshairs...) Six participants got up and demoed their creations, which ranged from remote controlled street sweepers, to soothing music-playing robots and a violent bot that smashed anyone or anything violating its personal space. Ultimately though, winners had to be selected (this is a competition after all).
3D printing is venturing beyond plastic and into your home
When you think of what 3D printing can do, you probably imagine simple plastic models and parts -- clever, but not exactly revolutionary. If you ask Dovetailed's Vaiva Kalnikaite and Make's Anna Kaziunas France, however, they'll tell you that 3D printers can accomplish much, much more. Dovetailed's 3D-printed fruit is just the start of what you can do with food, for example. Kalnikaite told Engadget Expand guests that 3D printing offers not just extra creativity with how you present meals, but a way to change the meals themselves. Do you like the taste of bananas, but not their texture? You could print food that offers everything you like, and nothing you don't. This could be particularly helpful if you have a food allergy, since you could enjoy food that was previously off-limits.
Limitations drive hip-hop producer RJD2's creativity
"Basically, I'm here to make records." For a musician who has access to any piece of kit under the sun, producer RJD2 prefers limits to keep him on task musically. Anything else -- restoring old synthesizers or building new ones -- is just a distraction from his actual job. With hard rules in place for what you can or cannot do, ingenuity comes easier. "There's something to be said for an idea that's well discussed in jazz... oftentimes, for me, creativity exists in a threshold you pass where you stop thinking about what you're doing and you just start doing," he said in a fireside chat at Expand New York. "When you work in an environment with limitations, you can reach that creativity faster."
Adafruit's Becky Stern knows why we don't have stylish wearables yet
Becky Stern is probably the world's foremost expert in do-it-yourself wearable technology, which is why we felt compelled to pick her brain at Expand. Adafruit's director of wearables believes that the different languages that technology and fashion companies explains why we've yet to see a truly stylish wearable. She didn't have many kind things to say about the Moto 360, either, since she carries the disassembled hardware in a Ziploc bag around with her. It's not all doom and gloom, however, since the smartphone revolution has made high-end technology cheap enough for everyone to use. That's part of Stern's mission to teach everyone how to build their own GPS trackers, light-up hats and, most famously of all, TV-deactivating jackets. On that subject, it's the infamous TV-B-Gone hardware that she'd most like to see appear in a next-generation smartwatch so she's got a way to discreetly turn off barroom TVs without attracting attention. If you'd like to be inspired to build yourself some cool technology, you can watch the full video, and keep your eyes pointed toward Engadget for even more cool interviews over the next few days.
Watch RJD2 perform live at Expand right here on Engadget
Couldn't make it down to New York this weekend for Engadget Expand? No worries, we won't hold it against you. Well, maybe a little. But, to show you that we don't bear a grudge, we've been streaming it for you right here on the site. This means we're not only feeding you a bunch if interesting talks and panels, but we're about to help you get your weekend started too. How? By streaming hip-hop producer RJD2's live performance right into your ears. He'll be kicking at 4pm ET, so make sure to un-mute your browser, and plug in your speakers for that. We just wish you could have joined us in person.
60 seconds with a giant, rollable display for your mobile devices
At some point, you've probably wished that your smartphone had a much larger screen to watch a movie or get work done... but you can't always lug a desktop display or tablet around, can you? If Insert Coin finalist RollRR has its way, you won't have to. It's developing rollable displays that would give your mobile devices a lot more visual real estate without consuming much space in your bag. The prototype on the Engadget Expand show floor is a 10.7-inch roll of e-paper attached to a giant tube, but the ultimate goal is to fit a 21-inch or larger screen (ideally, full color plastic OLED) into a gadget the size of a small umbrella. It's also considering touch technology like 3M's silver nanowires, so RollRR could expand your input area, too -- you could edit a large image on your phone just by unrolling the sheet on a table.
60 seconds with a modular drone that packs a pro camera
We're entering a golden age of UAVs, with models ranging from hobbyist drones like the Parrot AR Drone 2.0 all the way up to DJI's DSLR-packing Spreading Wings S900 Hexacopter. So what could our Insert Coin semi-finalist drone possibly bring to the party? Ivan Stamatovski said he created the EasyDrone for one simple reason: portability. Unlike most commercial drones, the EasyDrone can be broken down into a relatively compact case and easily assembled without having to connect any wires. At the same time, it comes with all the capability of a high-end drone: video streaming, a built-in gimbal, the ability to carry heavier cameras like Sony's NEX models and a high-end navigation system from 3D Robotics.
Five questions for the woman running the Pentagon's mad science research agency
DARPA. It's an acronym that comes loaded with certain expectations -- a governmental research organization from which emerges some of the most advanced military technology the world has ever seen. While there's truth to that description, it fails to encapsulate all the work DARPA does. Yes, the research agency is developing robots, tactical drones and futuristic weaponry, but it also has its hands in biotechnology, big data analysis and telecommunications research, among other projects, too. And managing all of that fast-paced, groundbreaking work is Dr. Arati Prabhakar, DARPA's director. She's joining us this Saturday, November 8th, onstage at Expand in New York to share (some of) her agency's secrets, but you can read on to get a sneak peek into the United States' most renowned governmental skunkworks, right now.
10 reasons to join us at Engadget #ExpandNY!
It's what you've all been waiting for! Engadget Expand is the place this week. We're taking over the Javits Center in Manhattan on November 7th and 8th. We're pretty damn excited for what's on tap this year, and we think you should be too. But, in case you need convincing read on for 10 reasons to get pumped.
Engadget Expand is all about you. And us. But really, you.
Engadget Expand is our annual event that's all about you -- our fans. It's not your typical tech conference that's priced for people fortunate to have an expense account. We make the event completely FREE thanks to our generous sponsors, giving you the chance to experience the future -- right now. And while you're at it, you get to meet your favorite Engadget editors. When you join us at the Javits Center North in New York City next week on November 7-8, you'll be set loose on our show floor. You can check out some of our exhibitors and get your hands on gadgets that people can't buy yet (or in some cases, build your own in our workshops), head to our Expand stage and hear from some smart and inspiring people and so much more.
What's up with Engadget Expand?
We're just two weeks away from our free Engadget Expand event, taking place at New York City's Javits Center on November 7th and 8th and there's still so much to tell you about. If you can't join us in person, don't worry -- we'll keep you updated throughout the weekend with dispatches from the show floor and our livestream here on Engadget.
Engadget and JetBlue will beam you to Expand!
We're sending one lucky Engadget reader (and a guest of choice) to Engadget Expand in New York City on November 7-8, thanks to our friends at JetBlue Airways and our sponsors. What's more, if you're one of the 10 runners-up, Suitable Technologies will give you a block of time to mosey around the Expand floor remotely with its BeamPro device.
Here's what you need to know about Engadget Expand, so far
We've talked a lot about Engadget Expand so far (you know, that free event we're holding at the Javits Center in NYC on November 7th and 8th). It's time we got you caught up on who's speaking (and when), who's exhibiting on the show floor, what's up with Insert Coin and finally, the winner of our 'In The City' sweepstakes. Let's get started.
Enter our 'In The City' sweepstakes and we'll fly you to NYC for Expand!
So there's this free Engadget Expand shindig happening November 7-8 at the Javits Center in New York City that you've probably heard about. We've announced a bunch of exciting speakers, including RJD2 and Arati Prabhakar (who heads up DARPA), and plenty more will be added soon. You're super pumped and can't wait to experience the future of technology, but don't live anywhere near NYC. What's someone like yourself to do?
