WallE
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ICYMI: Robots want us to rely on them for daily tasks
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-2").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: The latest servant robot to join the Pepper and Buddy crew is Big-I, a Kickstarter bot that uses 3D vision, motion tracking and facial recognition to help out the humans in their household. We say it looks like a rolling trashcan with a disturbingly large eye, but for those looking for an IoT hub that's more mobile than Alexa, it could certainly work.
ICYMI: Channel your Wall-E future with self-driving tech
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Nissan created smart chairs that autonomously move themselves while people are seated in them, modeled off of the car maker's ProPILOT driving system. The chairs are being used in Japan to keep people neatly in line outside of restaurants and when one chair has been vacated, it will move itself to the end of the row, while everyone else is bumped up.
Papercraft Wall-E checks email, dances a jig when new message arrives
We've seen our fair share of Wall-E mods over the months, and yes, we've also seen an impressive papercraft creation or two. But frankly, we've never, ever seen a papercraft Wall-E, let alone a papercraft Wall-E that serves a purpose. TotoroYamada took the time to concoct what he describes as his own personal Mail-E, a servo-equipped paper robot that's programed to check his inbox every few seconds and bust a move when a new message arrives. Cuteness overload is in full effect -- just peek the videos after the break if you've any doubts.
Wall-E case mod is chock full of adorableness, win
Just look into those cute, bubbly eyes and tell us that you'd still rather keep your plain-jane tower if offered this instead. We know, you can't. While we've seen a number of Wall-E mods over the months, we've never seen anything close to this in terms of sheer incredibleness. So far as we can tell, this robotic PC even opens up his own optical drive, and he can also send out love letters to one "Eeeevvvaaaaa" without human intervention. A thing of beauty, no? [Thanks, Doug]
Disney battles with piracy on affiliate website
We hate to laugh at a situation like this, but it's just too easy. While Disney (and everyone else) fights to keep fraudulent Blu-ray Discs out of the Chinese market, said studio is also fighting another outlet of piracy: a website in which it holds a stake. In an admittedly bizarre twist of fate, Disney has discovered that several full-length, high-quality bootlegs of Wall-E were posted up at 56.com, a site which Disney's venture-capital affiliate, Steamboat Ventures, invested in just two years ago. We always heard that expecting someone to play by the rules when the only rule was lawlessness was a touch insane -- case in point, no?
Apple helps Pixar out with WALL???E
I'm a big fan of almost everything Pixar does (Cars wasn't their best effort, though it was enjoyable), so it is a happy day when a story that links Pixar to my favorite computer company comes along.It would seem that the good folks at Pixar really wanted to play up the differences between the titular hero of Wall*E and a new robot that appears (Eve, pictured to the right). They wanted it to look very cool, and very high tech. Luckily for Pixar, they know a guy pretty high up in Apple who was able to get Jonathan Ive, Apple's famed product designer, to help out with Eve's look.I wonder if Eve's battery is user replaceable.
THQ plans games based on Pixar's WALL???E, nobody surprised
With THQ still riding the wave of financial fortitude created by its adaptations of Disney Pixar's Cars and Ratatouille animated features, the company has unsurprisingly confirmed plans to give the film studio's next feature, WALL•E, similar treatment. Versions of the movie-made-game, which centers on a story of a robot named WALL•E (short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) and his journey of self discovery, should begin to populate store shelves for every platform under the sun in time for the film's summer release. This game is the second title, following last year's Ratatouille, to stem from a new four game deal between THQ and Pixar, meaning that we expect these two will remain in bed together over the next couple of years at the very least. THQ hasn't shed many details on how the WALL•E games will play out, though given previous releases, we expect a handful of levels lifted from the film, partnered with mind numbing icon collecting and actors delivering lines with all of the enthusiasm of a cheese sandwich. Excited yet?
