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RoboRoach surgery kit comes to Kickstarter: a remote control for real cockroaches
What DARPA does with animal test subjects behind closed doors is one thing, but here we have something else entirely: mad-scientist kits that allow anyone at home to control the movement of a real-life cockroach. Backyard Brains, the crew behind Twitter Roach, have been selling RoboRoach sets for creating cyborg insects for some time. But today, after getting as far as they can on their own, they're seeking Kickstarter funding to improve their design and develop "educational materials" to go with it. The project will go live in the next 30 minutes or so, and pledges of $100 or more will get you a surgery kit consisting of a PCB "backpack," battery and three sets of electrodes. The PCB pairs with mobile devices via the Bluetooth LE profile and a companion app delivers commands to the 'roach, allowing you to steer the creature by swiping across your screen. Cough up $150 or more and they'll send you a dozen 'roaches to get you started. The electrodes we mention need to be implanted into the cockroach's antennae so directional triggers can be sent to the nerves within -- effectively fooling the creature into thinking it's hit an obstacle and needs to change course. This is where it starts to get uncomfortable. Backyard Brains are touting the RoboRoach as an educational tool, specifically stating that "this product is not a toy." Something that's glossed over on the Kickstarter page, however, is the allegedly painless surgery step: how you attach the electrodes to the insect. People can make their own minds up regarding the ethics of the campaign, and can start by heading to the Kickstarter source link once it goes live at 9am ET. We've also embedded an old tutorial video below we found on the company's site, which demonstrates the surgery process. Be warned: there's antenna-clipping and other mutilations involved, which make our skin crawl even more than the thought of handling the cockroaches in the first place.
Google AirShow streams Google I/O live from several RC blimps (hands-on video)
Yes, there's a fleet of camera-equipped, remote-controlled blimps live-streaming a bird's-eye view of Google I/O on YouTube, right now. It's called Google AirShow and it's taken over the airspace within Moscone Center. We briefly chatted with Chris Miller, a software engineer with AKQA (the company that put the dirigibles together for Google), about the technology used in each aircraft. It all begins with an off-the-shelf model airship that's flown manually via standard a 2.4GHz radio. Each blimp is outfitted with a servo-controlled USB camera and 5GHz USB WiFi dongle which are both connected to a Raspberry Pi board running Debian, VLC and Python. A custom-designed Li-polymer battery system powers the on-board electronics. The webcam encodes video as motion-JPEG (720p, 30fps) and VLC generates a YouTube-compatible RTSP stream that's broadcast over WiFi. Python's used to pan the servo-controlled camera via the Raspberry Pi's PWM output. The result is pretty awesome. But don't just take our word for it -- check out the gallery and source link below, then watch our hands-on video after the break. %Gallery-188534%
OPTiM's Optia Android screensharing and remote control app hands-on
For anybody who has had to support a friend or loved one through an emotional cellphone crisis, rejoice: your savior in the form of OPTiM's Optia smartphone-to-smartphone remote control has arrived. The premise here is that using a friend based system with invites, users can add contacts to the app -- think parents, grandparents -- on their Android handset then simply ask for help or offer to help that friend. The recipient clicks yes, and the remote control session begins. OPTiM's man at the booth, Taiga, took us through the entire process from adding somebody to your set then connecting and finally controlling the phone. The entire ordeal was fairly quick and smooth considering the congestion of the halls here at Mobile World Congress. We'd bet over WiFi or even LTE the experience would be nothing but smoother. Control of the session gives the helper completes access including home button, back, settings and so forth. Scrolling across screens and apps works exactly as it would on your own device, albeit slower -- but even on a poor cellular connection performance is very good. This is a must-have app for anybody that regularly helps others or needs help themselves. The best bit? It's currently completely $free on the Play store. Video tour of it all in action is just below the break.
Sky gives remote control powers to its Sky+ Android app (update: new iOS app version, too)
It's tradition, or an old charter, or something, that no self-respecting geek would ever surrender their TV zapper or their smartphone. Fortunately for Sky customers, those two things are now one and the same. The company has tweaked its Sky+ Android app to offer the same remote control functions found on the iOS version, letting users change channels, play, pause and rewind the picture. The update meanders out from today, and will work so long as your Sky+HD box is connected to the same WiFi network as your phone or tablet. Update: The Sky+ iOS app has also received an update. More channels are available in the Catch Up section, and recently added TV box sets are now highlighted in the On Demand category. iPad users will also find more additional content for popular shows through the Discover More feature, and can post what they are watching straight to their Facebook feed.
Romo gen 3 gains Lightning connector, we go hands-on (video)
Remember Romo, the adorable iPhone-faced track-equipped robot? We met up with Romotive in Vegas at CES 2013 to play with the 3rd generation model that was recently launched on Kickstarter. The company also gave us an exclusive first look at a 3rd generation prototype with Lightning connector. We sat down with CEO Keller Rinaudo to discuss the new robot and catch up on what the team's achieved over the past year. As a refresher, we first encountered Romo when we covered it for our Insert Coin feature in October 2011. Back then, the robot used rudimentary analog electronics and plugged into the iPhone's headphone jack. After a successful initial Kickstarter campaign, Romotive moved from Seattle to Las Vegas where we caught up with the team on our stage during CES 2012. The 2nd generation model was available both pre-assembled and it kit form with support for iOS, Android and Windows Phone. It was upgraded to digital electronics but still used the audio interface to control its tracks and featured hacker-friendly auxiliary ports. Hit the break for more.
Griffin MOTO TC Monster truck offers Bluetooth control, so-so software
When Steve assigned me the Griffin MOTO TC Monster truck (US$49.99) to review, I basically assumed this was going to be the best review assignment ever. Sadly, it was not. This Bluetooth-managed truck offers solid hardware features, but its software is just not up to the task. The hardware consists of a standard RC truck that's well-built as these things go -- we buy a lot of RC trucks and helicopters in our household. The MOTO TC Monster truck was reasonably put together and stood up to use by excitable boys both indoors and out, with the most fun occurring when running it across roads, driveways and sidewalks. It pulls power off of a rechargeable battery that's quite easy to install and remove, although you do need a Phillips screwdriver. It takes about an hour to pull in enough charge for a good session of driving. Where the product really broke down was on the iOS side of things. Although easy to pair with Bluetooth (you do need a long flat probe to get to the pairing button), the software itself was poorly implemented. It felt like a total afterthought. The MOTO TC Monster truck offers several driving modes: A nearly impossible-to-use two-handed wheel-and-shifter shown at the top of this post (imagine if you will, trying to hold your phone, watch the car, and use both hands to steer). A tilt-to-drive mode that kept flipping during use because the dev forgot to disable autorotation. A drag-to-move mode that was merely meh (and that had the same flipping-screen issues). A pre-programmed figure-8 and serpentine mode that actually was the most successful of the four. The built-in help screens were particularly frustrating because they looked exactly like the screens they were intended to explain (albeit slightly darker), but blocked all user touches until dismissed. In the end, this unit received a big old score of "meh" from both myself and my junior testing squad. We wanted it to be a lot of fun and it really wasn't. That being said, we have a "virgin" Griffin MOTO TC Monster truck that hasn't experienced the rigors of testing available for one fun-loving TUAW reader to win. Here are the rules for the giveaway: Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older. To enter, fill out the form below completely and click or tap the Submit button. The entry must be made before January 6, 2013 11:59PM Eastern Standard Time. You may enter only once. One winner will be selected and will receive a Griffin MOTO TC Monster truck valued at $49.99. Click Here for complete Official Rules. Loading...
Twitter Roach takes guidance from tweets, ushers in a terrifying 2013 (video)
We've already seen cockroaches turned into unwitting puppets for human overlords, but never have we seen dominance quite so casual as with Brittany Ransom's recent Twitter Roach art project. While part of the exhibition, one of the insects wore a modified RoboRoach backpack with an Arduino add-on that took commands from Twitter: mentions including specific hashtags steered the roach left or right by stimulating its nerves. Yes, that meant the poor roach rarely had the dignity of seeing its master face to face, although there's some consolation in knowing that it wore the backpack for limited periods and had a required 30-second pause between instructions. As to why Twitter Roach came to be? Ransom tells CNET she imagined the currently dormant project as a reflection of the "overstimulation" us humans encounter in a digital world. We can certainly sympathize given our livelihoods, although its existence makes us nervous about 2013. If we're fighting off remote-controlled insect armies a year from now, we'll have to admit we had fair warning.
Transforming RC robot reaches production form packing heat and a WiFi camera (video)
If you're like us, seeing that transforming RC robot in the spring was a mild form of torture without any clues as to when (and if) we could try it for ourselves. Kenji Ishida has clearly been busy assuaging our fears since then, as he just took the wraps from what should be the finished version of his brainchild. The now Brave Robotics-branded machine is more polished, with a 3D-printed shell, but it's the technical upgrades that will have more of us scrambling for the product page: the production model is toting a missile launcher in each arm as well as a WiFi camera to follow its exploits in both car and robot modes. Anyone who wants the robot as quickly as possible will have to contact Ishida-san, if it's not too late; there are just 10 units in the initial batch, and pricing is only available on request. A one-month wait for shipping will scuttle any hopes of getting one as a timely gift, too. That said, we can only imagine that any robotics fan would be ecstatic to get an IOU under the tree for Brave Robotics' project.
Sky+ app update brings remote control features to iPhone, iPod touch
It's been a few months since UK TV operator Sky added remote control features to its iPad app, and now there's a similar refresh for the iPhone and iPod touch. The v4.2 update gives users brings remote control with support for gestures, DVR scheduling and management, a new guide as well as revamped navigation and search on the smaller screens, as long as they're connected to the same WiFi network as the box. The Android app is still without the new features, however they're promised to arrive there "in the coming months." As usual the update app is available at no charge via iTunes, hit the link below to check it out, or check out the press after the break for more details along with a demo video of the iPad version.
Triggertrap Mobile update adds WiFi control for device-laden shutterbugs
Triggertrap's automatic shutter release kit has come a long way since its humble Kickstarter debut, and today, yet another feature is being added to its iOS and Android apps -- wireless mode. The good news is that you can now control all of those advanced trigger settings from a phone or tablet over WiFi, but the bad news is, you'll need two of them. One remains bound to the camera by cable and dongle, acting as a slave device that carries out orders given from a second, master device. You don't actually need a real WiFi network to make use of the new feature, though, as connecting the slave to a wireless hotspot running on the master will work the same. If you happen to have all the necessary gear and some ideas for testing it out, the Triggertrap Mobile updates are available now at the relevant app stores.
ESA, NASA test interplanetary internet by remote controlling a Lego robot from the ISS
NASA (and the ESA) have long been working on a multi-planet internet that can link up spaceships, probes and rovers, but they've at last brought the experimentation from the broad scale to smaller dimensions. Lego bricks, to be exact. International Space Station expedition lead Sunita Williams recently steered a Lego Mindstorms robot at an ESA facility in Darmstadt while she orbited overhead, proving that future space explorers could directly control a vehicle on a planetary surface while staying out of harm's way. As in the past, the key to the latest dry run was a Disruption-Tolerant Networking (DTN) system; the focus was more on reliably getting packets through to the brick-based vehicle than on pure speed. As tame as that Earth-bound test drive might sound relative to an in-the-field use on a less familiar world, it demonstrates that the DTN approach can work when it really counts. We just wouldn't hold our breath for any Martian RC car races.
Rdio posts Android beta app with new sidebar UI, unified playback and remote control
Rdio has spent a large part of 2012 revamping its mobile app, and a new beta shows that it's still full of ideas with two months left to go. The 2.3 test version makes the ubiquitous hidden sidebar even more unavoidable than we've seen before, but those not irked by UI homogeneity will be happy to see Rdio gain some multi-device harmony: along with syncing whatever's being played from desktop to mobile and back, the beta introduces a remote control that lets Android gear either serve as the remote or as a target for other devices. A play-later queue persists across devices, too. Although we haven't been given a timeframe for the finished version pushing out through Google Play, there's nothing stopping avid subscribers from taking a slight risk with the beta and getting a taste of their musical future.
Romo's return: the cute little smartphone robot wants to steal your heart again
The first time we saw Romo, it was a fledgling Kickstarter that received our Insert Coin treatment. It went on to achieve its funding and even landed on our stage at CES. Now, the team behind it are back with a new updated version. The latest iteration boasts an all new circuit board, plus updated software and hardware -- along with the promise of an API for developers. If that sounds cool, that's because it is, but there are even loftier plans afoot if they secure a second round of funding. Remote 2-way telepresence, Roomba-esque navigation learning skills, facial recognition and Computer vision to name a few. So if you're an iOS-owning (no Android at this time) robot fan, you'd better scoot on over to the source and be lured in by its cutsie little grin (again).
Alcatel-Lucent flies Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 over 3,280 feet using LTE: reach out and buzz someone (video)
The Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 is many good things, but "long-ranged" isn't what comes to mind with a 165-foot maximum distance between pilot and quadrocopter. Not to be daunted, Alcatel-Lucent has conducted a test with an ad hoc LTE network, a USB modem and a smartphone to see just how far the remote-controlled aircraft could go on 4G. In practice, quite far: thanks in part to the inherently wide coverage of the 800MHz band in France, the team flew the AR.Drone more than 3,280 feet (one kilometer), all while streaming 720p video of the farmland below. Besides giving us ideas for a North by Northwest remake, the flight emphasized the possibilities that come when we have access to a long-distance wireless link with high bandwidth, such as monitoring crops or some very literal field journalism. The challenge will be convincing Alcatel-Lucent to share its trick and let us pester our not-so-next-door neighbors. [Thanks, Vincent]
Lockitron launches iPhone-controlled keyless lock that pings you when someone knocks (video)
Lockitron has just outed a new cellphone-controlled keyless entry system, sporting a raft of new bells and wireless whistles. The WiFi-connected product mounts over your existing deadbolt "in seconds," according to the company, and lets you or those you trust control your lock from anywhere in the world by SMS or the internet. You can also unlock your door in person without lifting a finger if you have an iPhone 4S or 5, as the Lockitron will sense your approach using Bluetooth 4.0 -- a feature that may extend to NFC and Android devices in the future, too. To top it off, the system can notify you when a friend or relative returns home, and it has a knock sensor to let you know if someone's come by to visit. Lockitron exceeded its self-imposed minimum order limit by 250 percent in less than a day, so if you'd like to pre-order one at the current $149 price and get it for March 2013, hit the source.
Netflix for iOS has second screen remote control for PS3
There's a sweet feature that's hidden in Netflix's mobile apps for iOS and Android, in the form of a remote for Netflix on Sony's PlayStation 3, Engadget reports. When you use the iPad or iPhone app to play a video while on the same network as a PlayStation 3 (also running Netflix), you'll see an option to watch on your device or the PlayStation. Opt for the latter, and you can control the PS3 playback with your iOS device. It's a very cool feature that must have been implemented only recently (which is probably why it's poorly documented). Unfortunately, this trick seems to be limited to the PS3. As long as Netflix can see which devices you're logged in on, however, it should be able to control them as well. We can expect to see more of this cross-device app action in the future, especially as cloud apps and services like this become more and more prevalent.
Netflix iOS and Android apps have a remote control easter egg for PS3 owners
Now that the revamped Netflix interface has hit phones and tablets for both Apple and Android powered hardware, the service has quietly enabled something else: second screen remote control. Currently the feature is only known to work on the PlayStation 3 with a mobile device on the same local network, once the two apps are running you can browse as normal on your phone or tablet and when you go to play a movie or TV show it asks you to choose where it will play. While the video is playing you can stop, pause or seek through it to a certain point, change the audio or subtitles, choose a different episode or even browse for something entirely different without stopping the action. The YouTube app on PS3 works in a similar fashion after its most recent update. We've got a few screens of the mobile apps at work in the gallery, check after the break for a quick video of it working.
LG announces infrared-equipped Optimus Vu II and universal remote app
LG just outed the Optimus Vu II for the Korean market, designed around a remote control app, QRemote. The company's translated PR claims (erroneously) that the new device will be "the world's first smartphone using infrared," letting it operate gear like set-top boxes and home appliances, including other companies' products. The device is scheduled to launch next month in the maker's home country, around the time the Tegra 3-powered Optimus Vu will go on sale in the US as Verizon's LG Intuition. The company hasn't released any technical details for the phone -- in fact, other than the remote functions, we don't even know if there are any changes from the current pen-capable model. In any case, it might give pause to another Korean maker about to announce an awfully similar product.
Tencent and TCL unveil Ice Screen: a 26-inch Android-based smart TV
Chinese web titan Tencent and TCL Multimedia have torn the wraps off the Ice Screen, a jointly developed 26-inch smart TV with a 1,366 x 768 display that allows users to browse the web, access videos, music and games through QQ services. Under the hood, the Android-powered television houses a dual-core Cortex A9 1GHz processor, a Mali 400 GPU, 4GB of RAM and support for a memory card of up to 32GB in size. An IR remote and an app for devices sporting version 2.2 or higher of Google's OS can be used to control the tube, which can sit horizontally or vertically in its stand. On the connectivity front, the panel packs Wi-Fi, a pair of USB ports, HDMI and a 3.5mm headphone jack. You can plunk down ¥1,999 (roughly $315) for an online pre-order before its September 3rd launch. More details await in the press release after the jump.
Ceton's Media Center Companion apps for mobiles hit RC status, add new features (video)
Fans of Windows Media Center will have a new remote control option soon, as Ceton has pushed out some release candidates of its mobile device Companion apps. Beta testers should be seeing some new features including an updated program guide with infinite scrolling, plus universal search through the guide, movies, recorded TV, TV series and channels, as well as series recording management and overall speed improvements. Currently only the Windows Phone and iOS clients are considered at RC level with the Android version not quite there and lacking the guide search feature. Those in the test group can hit the source links to make sure they've got the latest versions of the apps and services for their HTPC, while those of us on the outside looking in can get a quick preview from the demo video embedded after the break and pics in the gallery. %Gallery-162800%
