Sphero – 100% Summer Compatible Video

From the beach to the bonfire, Sphero is 100% summer compatible. As the world’s first app-controlled robotic ball, Sphero is ready for any adventure. Race Sphero down the boardwalk, battle against augmented reality zombies with friends, play handheld and multiplayer games around the campfire, compete in a game of TAG at the park, or take Sphero for a swim in the pool. This summer, take your gaming experience outside with Sphero. Video Link: http://youtu.be/C5q1iw5Oszg

Sphero – Ways To Play

Find out all of the great things you can do with Sphero! From driving to multiplayer games to swimming, Sphero does it all – and with 20 free apps there is something for everyone.

Comment By David Carnoy

Judging from the split reaction my colleagues had to Sphero 2.0 as I took it for a stroll around the office using my iPhone as a steering wheel, that love-it-or-leave-it sentiment remains the same — and so does the exterior design of the ball itself. But the new, second-generation Sphero, due to hit stores on 2013, is twice as fast and glows three times as brightly. Its software has also been upgraded, so it seems a bit more responsive.

The ball connects via Bluetooth and works with both iOS and Android devices. Standard Bluetooth has a range of 10 meters (33 feet) but the Sphero 2.0’s range is 30 meters, which gives you some room to drive it around. It’s easy to set up and get going, though it takes a lot of practice to become a truly adept Sphero driver who’s able negotiate Formula-1-style indoor circuits.

Because it’s hard to control at first, the Sphero 2.0 doesn’t reach its new top speed out of the box. You actually have to level up to top speed by driving it around for a few hours, gaining experience and your Sphero driver’s license so to speak.

The Sphero is completely waterproof and more durable than it looks. It also makes an endearing little chirping sound that gives it a bit of personality, and you can change its color. As for battery life, it gets about an hour of drive time before you have to charge it using the included induction charger and stand (it takes about 3 hours to fully charge).

The Sphero moves along at a good clip. With the increased speed, when you open up the throttle it becomes very difficult to control in tighter spaces. However, if it gets stuck somewhere, the power boost does help you get the ball out of jams.

The novelty of driving the Sphero around does wear off somewhat quickly, which is why Orbotix has included a set of ramps in the box (they’re actually integrated into the packaging, which is pretty ingenious) to pull off miniature Evel Knievel-style jumps.

Orbotix has also developed a variety of free apps to challenge your driving skills and allow you to use the Sphero in various games, including some multiplayer and augmented-reality games. A growing number of third-party apps are also available (some of those aren’t free) and some apps have you hold the Sphero in your hand to control something on your phone or tablet screen.

It’s worth noting that the Sphero does swim, by which I mean it floats. However, to make it move better in water, you need to buy an optional accessory called a Nubby cover that’s a silicone rubber case with bumps on it that provides traction in fluids and on off-road terrain. That cover comes in a few different colors.

As I said in my initial musings on the first Sphero, it’s something of a technological feat to remotely put a ball in motion, and the software upgrade and performance boost make the user experience a little more thrilling. But ultimately, you’ll either look at Sphero in action and think, “Wow, that’s cool,” or you’ll just see a ball rolling around and wonder what all the fuss is about.

As noted, the Sphero 2.0 ships on 2013. The Sphero 2.0 Revealed, a special version for Apple Stores, arrives on September 4.

Links:

http://reviews.cnet.com/robots-and-robot-kits/sphero-2/4505-3510_7-35826410.html

http://www.gosphero.com/

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Together, the innovators invented and built the volocopter in a process that took over 2 years.  e-volo is the winner of the 2012 Lindbergh Prize for Innovation

Erik Lindbergh, grandson of Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, announced the 2012 winner of the Lindbergh Prize. The Lindbergh Foundation’s aviation prizes are designed to recognize and stimulate innovation, and promote meaningful advancements in green aviation.

“We believe that the development of the Volocopter holds significant promise to radically change short distance transportation,” said Erik Lindbergh. “It has a long development path ahead, but if this innovative design reaches the commercial market it will dramatically change the way we move about the planet.”

What is a Volocopter?

The Volocopter by e-volo is a completely novel, vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) manned aircraft, which cannot be classified in any known category. The fact that it was conceived of as a purely electrically powered aircraft sets it apart from conventional aircraft.

Through the use of its many propellers, the Volocopter can take off and land vertically like a helicopter. A considerable advantage, apart from the simple construction without complex mechanics, is the redundancy of drives. This enables the safe landing of the volocopter even if some drives fail.

How Does the Volocopter Work?

The controls work according to the fly-by-wire principle very easily by means of a joystick. As opposed to any other aircraft, the operation is child’s play. It takes off and lands vertically and the pilot pays little or no attention to the flight path angle, minimum speed, stall, mixture control, pitch adjustment and many other things which make conventional aviation so demanding.

The propellers generate the entire ascending force, and by means of a selective change in rotary speed they simultaneously take care of the steering. Furthermore, as opposed to helicopters, no mechanical pitch control of the propellers is necessary whatsoever.

The automatic position control and the directional control take place by means of several independent and mutually monitoring airborne computers which control the rotation speed of each drive separately.

An optional, additional pusher propeller enables an even faster flight.

How Does the Volocopter Work?

The controls work according to the fly-by-wire principle very easily by means of a joystick. As opposed to any other aircraft, the operation is child’s play. It takes off and lands vertically and the pilot pays little or no attention to the flight path angle, minimum speed, stall, mixture control, pitch adjustment and many other things which make conventional aviation so demanding.

The propellers generate the entire ascending force, and by means of a selective change in rotary speed they simultaneously take care of the steering. Furthermore, as opposed to helicopters, no mechanical pitch control of the propellers is necessary whatsoever.

The automatic position control and the directional control take place by means of several independent and mutually monitoring airborne computers which control the rotation speed of each drive separately.

How Long Can The Volocopter Fly?

Currently, the limiting factor is the energy capacity of available batteries. However, a considerable advancement in battery technology is conceivable during the next few years, so that a multiplication of the energy capacity will occur within a short period of time. At present a battery flight time of 20 minutes is possible, but in the near future this will be extended to one hour or more.

To enable a flight time of several hours right from the start, our two-seater Volocopter is being developed as a serial hybrid electrical aircraft with a range extender.

A range extender is an additional aggregate in an electrical vehicle which extends the range of the vehicle considerably. The most commonly used range extenders are combustion motors which power a generator that supplies the batteries and electrical engines with electricity. Range extenders run at a constant rotation speed with optimal efficiency.

Concept Video VC007 (E-Volo)

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Video Link:

http://youtu.be/2Ysb-Oko3Bg

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Honda Motor Co. unveiled the new UNI-CUB personal mobility device, designed for harmony with people. Featuring a compact design and comfortable saddle, UNI-CUB offers the same freedom of movement in all directions that a person enjoys while walking.

Representing the evolution of the U3-X personal mobility device that Honda announced in 2009, UNI-CUB features Honda’s proprietary balance control technology and the world’s first omni-directional driving wheel system (Honda Omni Traction Drive System). These technologies allow the rider to control speed, move in any direction, turn and stop, all simply by shifting his or her weight. Since the rider can freely move forward, backward, side-to-side and diagonally, he or she can quickly and easily maneuver among other people.

Moreover, UNI-CUB’s compact saddle-style packaging makes it easy for the rider’s legs to reach the ground and maintains eye-level height with other pedestrians. This configuration promotes harmony between the rider and others, letting the rider travel freely and comfortably inside facilities and among moving people.

Starting in June 2012, Honda will jointly conduct demonstration testing of UNI-CUB with Japan’s National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation.

Links

Youtube Link: youtu.be/_Me1P0JljVk

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The Solowheel from Inventist, Inc. is simultaneously an advanced form of low-energy, zero-emission, ultra-portable transportation and a modern version of Thor’s prehistoric wheel from “B.C.” Not that self-balancing people movers are anything new, even in modern times.

The best known product in this category is the Segway. The main difference between a Segway and a Solowheel is size. The Segway has two wheels and a long handle for the “driver” to hang on to. By contrast, the Solowheel is just what it sounds like – a single wheel, but one with a small handle on top so that when you’ve finished using it for transportation, you can pick it up and carry it with you.

If you’re a student and you use it to get to class, you don’t even need a parking space. You can just park it next to your desk. Or if you’re a commuter and you use it to catch the bus, you don’t have to attach it to the bike rack. You just carry it on with you. It’s like a 25-lb. round suitcase with an electric motor and two small platforms on the sides to put your feet on.

Just don’t expect to use it for long commutes without a bus or a train to help out. In its present incarnation the Solowheel has a top speed of about 12 miles per hour and runs on a battery that has a life, coincidentally, of about one hour at top speed travel. If you try to make a round trip of more than 12 miles, you could find yourself carrying the Solowheel home. So while it may have some practical uses, like making quick trips to the convenience store, the Solowheel is as much a toy as it is a commuter vehicle. It’s perfect for rolling across the park on lazy weekends or just circling around the block, but not so perfect for long distance travel.

Reinventing the Wheel

The people at Inventist, Inc., like to say that they’ve “reinvented the wheel,” which isn’t entirely true. Like every wheel ever made, the Solowheel is round and it rotates, allowing it to roll. There’s nothing new about that. What Inventist has done differently is more in the way that the wheel is used than in the way it works. The Solowheel has a 1,000-watt electric motor that rotates the wheel, a lithium-ion battery that powers theelectric motor and a gyroscope that helps the user stay balanced while moving. It also uses a power regeneration system that can recharge the battery using the kinetic energy of braking or gliding. This doesn’t turn it into a perpetual motion machine, capable of recharging itself fully while it moves, but it can extend the life of the battery if you spend a lot of time riding it downhill or stopping at lights.

The Solowheel doesn’t have much in the way of controls. In fact, it doesn’t really have any at all. You start it by putting your feet on the small platforms extending to each side of the wheel, standing up, and leaning forward. You brake it by leaning backward. And you steer it by leaning sideways in the direction that you want to go. That’s about as simple as walking and you barely have to move your legs (though Solowheel users say that balancing on it and steering for an hour can still give you an exhausting workout). When you’re done with it, you can fold the foot platforms into the case surrounding the upper portion of the wheel and grab the handle on top to pick it up. The Solowheel recharges off normal current and a full charge takes about 45 minutes, so if you want to ride it the full 12 miles to work in the morning, you can have it charged and ready by afternoon to take you home again.

Is it easy to use? The people at Inventist say it is and they have videos of people happily gliding along on a Solowheel without falling down and breaking any delicate body parts. But the reviewers at Engadget say they had a little trouble getting balanced on it in the first place and have videos that show them not quite managing to get on board. Apparently, balancing on a wheel is a skill that takes time and practice to master, though the result could be worth it if you need a quick way to catch your commuter train. It’s also fairly inexpensive, if not the cheapest form of transportation on the block — that would be your feet, followed by a bicycle. And, it’s convenient, cheap to run, easy to store and will get you lots of curious looks from bystanders.

External Links

http://solowheel.com

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/other-gadgets/solowheel1.htm

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Vagabond Works sure have some interesting home-made robots, and the Land Crawler eXtreme will line up as one of their coolest. It is a twelve-legged metallic bot that moves a lot like an insect of some sort (a centipede?) and is designed to carry a human that weighs up to 170 pounds. There is no complicated mechanism involved in this process, you simply step on top of its platform, and allow it to carry you around. Mind you, it doesn’t look like the safest of choices, as there is no real harness or any way to maintain your balance once on top the robot. Some surfing skills may be required to keep you from falling, but the guy in the video looks to be keeping his balance pretty well.

This robot was originally designed as a request from the creator’s son, which probably explains its simplicity. It is also very practical, and shows off its impressive movements in the beginning of the video (see the end of this post), especially when it doesn’t have a human to carry. Besides the before-mentioned scurrying of its legs, it doesn’t have any features designed to look like an insect, yet its biological-like gait is more than enough to give it a life-like spontaneity.

The Land Crawler eXtreme is operated by a simple battery-powered motor in its center, which is also where it receives the signals from the wireless joystick that commands it. It’s not exactly going to make headline news, but imagine the same robot ten times as big, carrying huge building blocks, or a helicopter on its back, and you’ll see the not-so distant future before your eyes. Sometimes size does matter, and may be the difference between a “toy” like the Land Crawler, and a true machine of the future.

http://youtu.be/U5dpGAw4cOU

Cajun Crawler Exhibition 08

The following video is a documentary of sorts. The video shows the Cajun Crawler. It was a project that was completed for the Fall 08 semester at the University of Louisiana. The scooter was inspired by Theo Jansen’s leg mechanism. Throughout our research, we found no application where Jansen’s leg mechanism was used as a weight-bearing application or vehicle. The legs are made of standard 5052 Aluminum. The joints all contain deep-groove ball bearings. If you have any questions regarding it, please feel free to contact us.

 http://youtu.be/JCPlczI3k-c

Theo Jansen Mechanism

http://youtu.be/vUS0TspJDmY

Theo Jansen Mechanism Drawing

Here you can understand how the system works.

http://youtu.be/TkZa4JhJ5Bw

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