mech suit
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Video: Power Loader has giant freaking robot arms!
We've seen our fair share of useful but ugly and pretty but pointless robotic concoctions, but nothing quite like this. The Power Loader suit, which was directly inspired by the mech outfits in Aliens, is in our humble opinion an exoskeleton done right. With two massive protruding arms, capable of lifting 220 pounds without a sweat, direct force feedback for intuitive control, and even powered legs, we're inclined to believe what we're seeing here is a tiny glimpse of the awesome mech-dominated future we've been waiting so long for. Also known as the Dual-Arm Power Amplification Robot, this is produced by Activelink, a Panasonic subsidiary, and you might be shocked to discover that there are plans afoot to commercialize it by 2015. Entrancing video after the break.
Tabula Rasa adds mech suits in final weeks of operation
The most important element to MMO development and maintenance is also an integral component for comedic exploits -- timing. Here's a sterling example of bad timing: Noted spaceman Richard Garriott/Lord British's overwhelmingly unpopular Tabula Rasa, which has about two weeks left before its servers shut down, just released a patch adding "mech suits" which are available for all classes. It sounds like a neat feature -- one that might have attracted some much-needed attention to the game before it nestled soundly into its death bed.If you've been intrigued by Tabula Rasa, but couldn't be hassled to, you know, purchase it, it's free to play now. Just don't get too attached -- the game's servers are going down on February 28, at which point Garriott's final project with NCSoft will have an ironic, though extremely appropriate moniker.[Via EuroGamer]
Make's coverage of RoboGames 2006
Having already blown our entire travel budget attending CES, E3, and various other important events in sunny locations, we weren't able to scrape together the funds to hit up this year's annual RoboGames festival in San Francisco, but luckily Make magazine/blog has filled in the void by providing some excellent coverage. Formerly known as the ROBOlympics, the event has grown to over 20 categories and demonstrations, covering some of the same territory we saw at the Eastern Canadian Robot Games -- such as sumo wrestling, fire-fighting, and line-following -- but also throwing in a little RoboCup-style soccer football, a new 3-on-3 hockey tournament, and even a trio of so called Tetsujin events in which otherwise unathletic individuals sport hydraulic mech suits which enable them to perform amazing feats of speed, strength, and dexterity. Besides sponsoring a display table among the likes of Lego and NASA, Make also has its Media Maker Bre Pettis filing daily videocasts and flickr photosets from the scene, featuring such Engadget faves as Vstone's Robovie-M, Kondo's KHR-1, and HiTec's Robonova as well as several other non-competitive models like Mark Sherman's snakebot and a rig that can play and seemingly defeat children at Connect Four. You can follow the links below to get a feel for all the action, and stay tuned to Make because Day 3 coverage is only starting to trickle in.Read- RoboGames siteRead- Make @ RoboGamesRead- RoboGames Day 1Read- RoboGames Day 2
