Having watched Caddy Shack countless times, I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t want to hire one of the caddies at their local golf course, what with all their hilarious misadventures. But if you’re the type who takes their game seriously while not carrying your own clubs, you’ll be happy to know you can finally hire a wisecrack-free robot to do it. The Shadow Caddy can carry your clubs, balls and even beverages and automatically follows you around the course thanks to a wireless transmitter you wear clipped to your belt. And in order to avoid obstacles like other golfers, sand traps or water hazards, it uses a sophisticated object detection system. Apparently the Shadow Caddy will only be sold to golf courses instead of individuals, but they should start appearing on links around the world sometime this year.
Side Note: I love how that product shot makes it look like the Shadow Caddy is hiding in the tall grasses, waiting for the perfect opportunity to take down a golfer that’s been singled out from the herd.
We’ve admired Festo’s bio-inspired robots in the past, including the AirJelly and the AirRay. They’ve just come out with two new species: aquatic penguins, and flying penguins:
I’ve already written about my love for Kronoform robot watches a few years ago, which is why I’m finding this eBay auction for a 1983 model that’s still in the original packaging very tempting. Unfortunately, the $250 starting bid is a little too rich for my blood, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying and reminiscing over the watch’s original packaging. In fact I’m amazed at how many different transformation modes there are based around the robot standing on its head. Battle Station, Solar Cannon, Caterpillar Launcher? They really didn’t give us kids as much credit as we deserved.
I’m of two minds when I ponder exactly what will bring about the destruction of mankind. The way I see it, it’s going to either be zombies or robots that take us down. It’s just a matter of which one gets there first. Today it would seem that the robot camp has taken a leap forward in the race to destroy mankind. After all, even zombies would would shake with fear (provided that they can actually fear something) at the sight of a 23-foot tall fire-breathing aluminum baby robot.
Apparently artist Kenji Yanobe thought it would be great fun to add this to an art project which turned an entire neighborhood into an alien robot-themed wonderland for a weekend. Oh great, you’re giving them an entire neighborhood. Sure, that sounds safe.
The Ultimate Matrix Collection managed to set a new standard in DVD over-packaging by including a 2-foot detailed model of the Nebuchadnezzar, but the T2 Complete Collector’s Set still manages to one-up it in my eyes. Not only because Terminator 2 didn’t suck, but also because the Complete Collector’s Set comes with a 14-inch T-800 Endoskull with light-up eyes and sound effects from the movie.
It also includes the Skynet Edition Blu-ray copy of the movie, the Extreme and Ultimate Editions on DVD (yep, that’s a lot of editions) and digital copies that are compatible with Windows Media and iTunes. So why settle for just the $29.99 Blu-ray Skynet Edition when you can get the T2 Complete Collector’s Set for just $145 more?
T4 is just around the corner, and since robots have resulted in some of the best toys of all time, you better believe that stores will be saturated with Terminator Salvation tie-ins this Spring. And continuing in the recent trend of novelty hand replacements like the Hulk Smash Hands comes these totally awesome T-600 Terminator fist toys. The details are a big vague right now because of the language barrier, but they’ll apparently feature a fist punching or launching action, and a steep price tag of about $75. And if you’re curious as to what other Terminator Salvation toys will be filling your cubicle in a couple of months, head on over to TOYSREVIL’s I LIKE TOYS blog for a big collection of figures and other T4 tie-ins.
The thing I like most about these silver plated Transformers cufflinks is the bipartisan approach they take. Let’s face it, the war over Cybertron isn’t going to stop until both sides, the Autobots and the Decepticons, come to some peaceful agreement. And seeing people walk around with just a single logo on their hoodie or t-shirt, showing support for one side over the other, does not help the healing process. These cufflinks however feature the logos of both factions, and tell the world that you’re tired of all the fighting and action-packed battle sequences, and just want to see both sides start working together… to take down those G.I. Joe jerks!!
Sure, many considered Transformers to be the worst film of 2007 (including yours truly) but robots that transform into cars can transcend even the most terrible of scripts. And even I’ll admit the movie spawned some pretty well-designed toys, which is what LEGO fan ‘Gyuta K.‘ based his Barricade Transformer off of. And not just the overall design of the toy either, but how it transforms from a police cruiser to a robot as well. I’ve included a video of him transforming his LEGO version of Barricade, and while it needs a special support frame while in robot mode (he appears to be a bit frail) it’s no less impressive because of it.
BotJunkie reported last week that iRobot was planning on releasing a new product at CES this year. We speculated that it might be something related to the Create, the ConnectR, or even possibly a lawn mower. But we were totally, completely wrong: it’s the second generation Looj, an updated and improved version of the Looj gutter cleaning robot. We got ourselves a video demo at the CES Pepcom event tonight, and it does look like it works better than the original (with fake leaves, anyway):
Now, this is not simply a Looj with a bigger battery and a fresh coat of paint. To their credit, iRobot paid a lot of attention to their customers, and made a whole bunch of changes and improvements to the Looj based on user feedback. The augur has been redesigned, the antenna is now internal, the battery is easier to remove, and the Looj moves slower, making it more efficient and gutter cleaning.
The second generation Looj goes on sale this spring starting at $129.99.
For the record, after seeing the Looj demo, I asked iRobot about three things: the future of the Create, when we’re going to see a robotic lawn mower, and what’s going on with the ConnectR. iRobot said that they are generally happy with how the Create is going, that it’s a good educational tool, and they have no immediate plans for hardware updates any time soon. They wouldn’t speculate on a lawn mower, but we know they’re working on it.
As for the ConnectR, based on feedback that they got from their beta testing, iRobot has decided that the ConnectR basically needs a total hardware and software redesign, and will likely reemerge on a non-Roomba based platform. It’s also been more or less shelved for the time being, primarily because iRobot wants to make something that operates like the Roomba or Looj: you push one button, and it just works. The ConnectR was too complicated, and they need to rethink it, but iRobot also said that they feel telepresence is going to be big, and they’re still planning on making something happen with that… They’re just not sure yet what it’s going to be.
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