Jay Garrett’s Gadget News

Yup - me reviewing a book!
I was as amazed as the rest of you when Liz from publishers Dorling Kindersley sent me this particular tome to read and review for this site!
But once I got it in my hands all became clear.
Cool Stuff Exploded sounds a tad dangerous and pretty much bad news for the [...]

It’s finally been announced that Sony’s cute dancing MP3 player, aka Rolly, has been given the nod for its European launch!.
It’s said that it will go on sale in October but there’s no price info yet - In the States the gadget costs around the $400 mark so if all things were equal it should [...]

AI Professor, Noel Sharkey from Sheffield University (that’s in South Yorkshire folks!) has announced his findings after spending two months looking at trends and the evolution of robotics around the world.
At the centre of his predictions is the vast amounts of data that robots could store on-board and their ability to access databases containing all [...]

ZMP, the Tokyo based “world’s first venture company focusing on robot technology” is selling the source code (Japanese site) for nuvo, one of its best-selling robots.
nuvo was unveiled in 2004 and ZMP says it’s the first robot for home use.
The company are aiming to establish a research community focused on the findings from research with [...]

Remember back in January I reported about Tri-bot and Rovio?
Well it looks like Rovio is available for pre-order from Red5! :0)
Just to remind you lot why you should get this bot - you can control it from anywhere in the world and keep an eye on your home via streaming video and audio through a built-in [...]

If you know about Orb Swarm and was kinda freaked out by it - hold onto your shorts because those spheres are even more clever and gone all autonomous!
They are now capable of navigating within a pre-defined GPS course. Besides navigation, these orbs feature an embedded processor, accelerometer and ZigBee wireless communication all of which [...]

All together now.
AHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…………how cute!?!
Sega Toys will start selling this range of robotic hamsters from August 8th.
The company plans to produce no less than 100,000 units per year and shockingly their main target group is not the kids, but females between 20 and 40 years old.
Named Yume Hamusutaa (Dream Hamster), the robot will start moving when you take it into the palm of your hand.
Three versions [...]

Tomy have released a transparent radio-controlled R2-D2.
The mini light saber, which is also transparent, doubles as a remote control.
As well as contolling R2D2 around the place the remote also lets you rotate his dome as he rolls, beep and whistle, and illuminate his photoreceptor “eye”.
The transparent plastic lets you see the inner working of the [...]

Well, thankfully, it seems my job as a bass player is safe, for now.
Techdirt are waving the human flag.
There has been a study of how people’s brains reacted to music that was played by human musicians vs. computers.
The upshot is that our brains respond more to the music from musicians. FOR THE WIN!!! [...]

Looking like the result of a love-triangle between a Segway, Rolly and a Miuro this is the new A.M.P. (Automated Music Personality or Ampbot) from Sega-Hasbro.
Ampbot stands 2.4-feet tall and features an MP3 player / iPod cradle on its back, stereo speakers, and the ability to follow, chase and interact with its owner.
Sound comes out via a 5-inch mid-range speaker in the chest and a pair [...]

Awwwwwwwwwww…………….the iDog is on it’s third generation.
Hang on? Third? Was generation two no good? Don’t we get to speak of him/her round the dinner table at family gatherings? Did they go off the rails and hang around with the wrong crowd? Is the bad dawg in the pound?
I digress.
The new dogbot will move its ears, wag its tail and tap its plastic paws [...]

If you want to build your own robot there are a few kits out there but I’m liking the look of this one.
The ROBO Builder set does exactly what it says on the box and it allows you to build 3 different bots named DINO, HUNO and DOGY.
Each new ROBO buddy can be programmed to [...]

Kokoro Dreams, you know- they made the Actroid Der 2 Fembot, are back with another droid.
She’s called ’Phorone’, stands 175 cms tall and is a secretary.
Granted, a secretary on an anime show aired on Nippon network.
Phorone is powered by pressurised air and is able to deliver human like expressions and can even talk!
Unfortunately, as with the Actroid, there are [...]

Sony is going to release a black Rolly music player into the wild.
Their big surprise was usurped by the FCC just last week. 
You’ll also be able to customise your Rolly with a selection of colourful end-caps at a cost of ¥1,500 (about £8) per set.
If you’re still confused about the need for a roving speaker, then the Japanese release date of April [...]

Honeywell is hoping that their new drones will soon be employed by the Miami-Dade police department.
The plan is to use them in ”urban areas with an eye toward full-fledged employment in crime fighting.”
Apparently the department is going to use it in “tactical situations as an extra set of eyes.”
So, next time you go for a stroll along [...]

If you’re in the market for a gadget learning help-bot then Toshiba in Japan may have the very thing for you.
They’re in the process of putting together a talking bot that can be used as a voice-activated universal remote.
The android, called ApriPoko, stands at just under a foot tall and is capable of learning how [...]

New Launches - Star Trek for real
There’s a rather fabby article (click the link above) about the Star Trek technology that has actually happened.
Most Trekkies/Trekers know how the series has predicted future tech.  So, have a gander at these little beauties :0) 

Communicator
Medical Tricorder
Translator
QUIDS
GPS
Engineering Tricorder
Ultrasound Surgery
Transparent Armour (force field)
Military Phasr
Life Detectors - “but not as we [...]

If you love Alienware’s iconic cases then prepare to require new under-garments after seeing the new Asus gaming desktop - the ARES CG6150.
This evil robotic head looks like it’ll start barking orders at you at any moment - and you will comply!
It’s brain is a liquid cooled Core 2 Extreme processor, up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM, [...]

Although it looks like the stuff of techno-nightmares this baby bot, called iCub, is to be taught to communicate with humans by scientists in Devon.
The big baby which stands 1 metre tall is the centre of a 4-year project which is to look into how parents teach their babies to talk.
The staff at the University [...]

Engadget have spotted these things looming in the distance!
They are a couple of Toshiba 815T PB on Softbank, developed to coincide with a new show featuring (you guessed it) robo-phones called Ketai Sousakan 7.
Kinda makes the QVGA, 3G and 3.2 megapixel camera redundant when they can turn into robots!!