The first phone call made from a mobile device took place back in 1973, when Dr. Martin Cooper, inventor of the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X tested his prototype in the streets of New York. Ten years later, in 1983, the first ever mobile phone was available to everybody. The weight and size of the phone (0.8 kilograms and 25.4 centimeters) made it close to impossible to carry the phone around, so it was mainly used in cars.
What do you need to remote-control one of those cool robots that you see nowadays in the shops?! Well you can use the remote that usually comes with them, or you can use your voice and a Wii remote!
All you need is a Robosapiens robot and the Robodance software. Here you can see a video of what the basic principle is, what you have to do is talk & use the Wii remote to control the movement of the robot. You can use drag and drop scripts and other interesting stuff given the fact that the Robodance software is open source and actually a SourceForge project. More insight you can get watching the video but I find it cool as a idea that you can control the little robot using your voice and the Wii controller that I happen to love!
Regarding that, there will be some interesting stuff regarding remote-controlled robots later on when you will see how you can keep an eye on your dog back home when you’re still at the office.
Isn’t it cute? Now, let me tell you a few things about it. First of all, it’s not real, or at least not yet. The “Nokia Open” would be a cell phone that opens like a fan with a “scrollable touch screen,” which seems to be an essential-yet-nonexistent item that would need to be invented in order for this to work. Quite of a paradox, ain’t it?
With the push of the button, the phone would open up allowing you to navigate and use its functions. This really is futuristic, but not really that far away as flexible displays via e-paper will be implemented in the next decade among the electronic equipments.
With the approaching release of Apple’s iPhone, rumours regarding its looks have not been few. Every artist has tried to represent his version of the iPhone, either by combining the iPod with well-known phone models, such as the Nokia E73, or the Motorola V3, or by using his imagination to create a different-looking model. Here are 50 models of the Apple iPhone, and the iPhone released by Cisco. Which do you think will be closest to reality? There’s plenty to choose from, so go ahead: (more…)
What would a computer be without a keyboard? I’m one of those people who like to personalize the stuff they’re using everyday, where this could be possible. I think your keyboard would be a good start. Here’s a compilation of the coolest gadgeteering 10 keyboards ever made. I hope you’ll like it. Also check the links in the titles for a complete description of the gadgets as well as for better and more photos.
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While browsing around today, I found this presentation of a gadget called The Couch Guard. It’s presented as a life-saving innovation, like in those teleshopping channels, even though it is, as I’ve said, more than useless, it’s down-right annoying. The whole idea behind the invention is something similar to a mat which goes on top of the couch. When your pet steps on that mat, some sensors detect it and a 105 decibel alarm goes off. Okay, the concept might work, this I have to say. But what happens when you forget that the rug is there and you sit on it? Or what happens when, in the middle of the night, your cat decides to change her sleeping arrangements and sets off the alarm, waking you up? What’s more, pets don’t need sofisticated gadgets to be trained, because they’re not that dumb to begin with (and I’m talking as a person who’s owned almost everything from fish, hamsters and parakees to cats and dogs). They just follow different rules than us. So, if I were you, I’d take the 30 or so Euros (the cost of the Couch Guard) and, instead of buying a ‘state of the art piece of equippment’ buy some treats for my pet and train him myself, even if it takes time, because, after all, isn’t that what pets are for?
I have to admit that the idea for this post came from this article by kNox. I knew that there’s a really wide range of devices that can use USB but I wanted to find out just how crazy can they get, so here goes:
I know you’re going to hate me because this article is going to be all pictures and no text but you HAVE to see for yourself in order to believe. First we’ll talk about USB drives for they are the most common Usb device that people tend to enhance.
Take for example this ‘Barbie’, all you have to do is pop her head off and there you go, instant USB drive.
Or the iDuck from Solid Alliance:
