The good citizens of Croydon in London have received new trash bins that feature microprocessors and sensors that may be able to tell how much trash the bins contain. Throw away too much garbage, and a resident could get a knock on his door from the local authorities, who will lecture him on how to produce less garbage (by dumping it the neighbor's bin, for example).
Researchers and students at Viktoria Institute in Gotenberg, Sweden, have modified the arcade classic, PacMan, by making it wireless and multiplayer for Pocket PC devices. They call it "Pac-Man Must Die!" Here comes the video!
LG Electronics plans to introduce in July what it calls a push-to-view mobile phone for multi-user videoconferencing. The company claims you will be able to send live video of your face to several people at once. (props to Picturephoning)
Rise of the Machines: Armed Robot to Leave College, Join Marines
Carnegie Mellon University has won a $26 million contract to develop six heavily armed robot vehicles for the U.S. Marine Corps. Called Gladiator Tactical Unmanned Ground Vehicles the four-wheel terminators are supposed to be delivered in about two and a half years. The robots will look like mini tanks, and will be controlled by a Marine in another vehicle via remote control. The robots will be able to avoid obstacles like potholes and furry animals by itself.
All Children In California Town Tagged Like Sea Turtles
All grade school students at Brittan Elementary School in the town of Sutter, California, are required to wear RFID badges so their migrations can be tracked wirelessly. Teachers carry PDAs that automatically list the kids in the class. Soon they'll install readers in locker rooms and bathrooms, ostensibly to prevent vandalism. What's more likely is a new brand of bullying whereby kids will steal RFID badges instead of milk money, carry them into the bathroom, vandalize it, then return the badges.
A scorpion-like robot invented by University of Bremen researcher Frank Kirchner is currently being evaluated by NASA for use on Mars and other planets during future missions. This is the kind of crazy sh*t we once thought Martians would send here to defeat the human race and take over the Earth! Better them than us, I guess. Here comes the video.
University Entering TWO Robotic Hummers In Desert Race
Carnegie Mellon's self-navigating Hummer last year crashed and burned in the California desert. So this year, the University announced today, they're entering two tricked out robot Hummers in the U.S. Government's DARPA Grand Challenge.
You can get massive quantities of weather information on the Internet, including wind chill, barometric pressure, cloud cover, etc., but most of the time, who cares? You just need to know whether you need to wear a jacket. A new site tells you. Enter your city, and it will tell you yes or no on the jacket question. The site is called -- what else? -- www.doineedajacket.ccom! (props to the Red Ferret Journal)
Future Palm OS Device Features Flexible Fold-Out Screen
The company that makes the Treo and other Palm OS devices has won a patent for a unique "clamshell" design with a flexible, folding screen. Closed, it's a skinny phone. Opened, it's a giant-screen PDA.
Proof You Can Buy Anything On The Web: Diamond-Encrusted Mobile Phone
A diamond-encrusted and gold cell phone is currently on sale on an auction web site in South Korea. The phone sports more than 240 diamonds and features a screen cover made out of sapphire crystal glass. Meanwhile, in North Korea, cell phones are illegal and people are eating bark.
Students at Berlin University of the Arts have created a robot "thing" that responds to touch by recoiling or moving around. It also reacts to light and motion and seems to act curious. Here comes the video. (props to Engadget)
Amazon.com is selling an Apple PowerBook Notebook with a 17-inch display for the low, low price of just $99,999.99. Fortunately, according to the page, "this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping." The page even has the chutzpah to ask: "Did you find this item priced lower than $99,999.99 somewhere else? Let us know!"
