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Here comes the Robo-Fridge!

As long as I’ve been meddling in hobby robotics, the holy grail of the field has been to build a robot that can go to the fridge to fetch beer. This turns out to be a lot harder than it might at first appear. Thinking “outside the bot,” as it were, a couple of University of Florida students came up with a novel idea: bring the entire fridge to your lazy ass on the couch.

Coolio is a mini-fridge on a mission: to bring sodas and snacks (yeah, right) to the students and profs of Benton Hall. Enter a request via Coolio’s Web page and he finds his way to your room, using IR and ultrasonic range-finding and vision processing. Besides the idea of bringing the mountain to Mohammad, Coolio sports some other nifty features, such as an LCD screen for a face that allows him to have expressions and his ability to self-charge. We’re sorry guys, but as cool as Coolio is, the dreadlocks and tam hat have GOT to go. Seriously.

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Phones that grow Sunflowers — Literally

If it was anywhere near the first of April, we’d think this is a joke, but it’s not. A materials company, Pvaxx Research & Development, and the University of Warwick in the UK have developed a biodegradable polymer and used it in a prototype cellphone case. The cover of the case has an actual sunflower seed embedded in it. Theoretically, when you’re trading up to a new phone, you plant the cover of the case and it provides nutrients to the seed as the gigantic sunflower grows up in the center of your neighbors’ front lawn (their fussy Lawn Doctored expanse o’ pristine green REALLY needed a whole lot o’ somethin’). Of course, the rest of your phone goes to a landfill on the southside of town where it leaches out heavy metals into the municipal water supply while the “green” cover is grabbing all the media attention on CNN.

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Cult of the Pod

The popularity of the iPod and the iTunes/iPod ads as cultural icons is truly impressive. This guy, an artist named Tomi, created a LEGO-like figure carrying an iPod. His limited edition of 300 figs sold out immediately. He’s making more (at least until Apple and LEGO’s IP police come a-knockin’).

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Staying on top of WiMAX

If you’re interested in keeping developments related to WiMAX technology on your radar, bookmark The WiMAX Weblog.

For those who might not be familiar, WiMAX is a developing wireless network standard that has been described as “WiFi on steroids.” If adopted, it would allow for broadband wireless network access over large areas, up to an alleged (but still unproven) 30 miles, around each deployed WiMAX base station (without need for line of sight). WiMAX would connect to existing WiFi “hotspots,” and offer wireless extensions to cable and DSL services. WiMAX promises the creation of MANs (Metropolitan-Area Networks), with base stations providing coverage to entire cities, offering anytime, anywhere broadband access to the Internet. Unfortunately, WiMAX may be more vaporware than hardware. There likely won’t be any WiMAX devices until the end of the year and it could be a year after that before WiMAX finds its way into mobile gear.

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TiVoToGo Priority Request

Most TiVo-equipped Street Techies probably know this already, but besides the ability to run the HME apps, the new TiVo OS, 7.1, includes the much-anticipated TiVoToGo service. This allows you to send TiVo recordings for viewing on other computers on your home network.

When this service was first proposed, it was thought that it was going to be fee-based (or at last part of the then $99 Home Media Option) and there was talk of goofy USB dongles with digital rights software required on each machine to enable playback. But TiVoTo Go is free. To be able to burn DVDs so you can take shows mobile, you do need to buy the MyDVD program.

One big annoyance is that the new TiVo Desktop, Ver 2.0, required on your PC to transfer and play back shows, only runs on Windows XP.

TiVo is rolling out the software upgrades piecemeal. If you want to get higher on the priority list, you can go to their site and enter your TiVo’s service number.

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TiVo Home Media Engine

When I wrote my TiVo book last year, I lamented the lack of cool third-party/open source apps for Series 2 TiVos, relative to Series 1. Soon that will all change, thanks to the release of the TiVo Home Media Engine (HME), a software developer’s kit (SDK) for creating apps for networked S2 TiVos.

This is a really smart move on TiVo’s part — opening up the TiVo platform to hackers for the creation of awesome apps that’ll help keep TiVo up and running in an increasingly competitive DVR marketplace. Unfortunately, you need the 7.1 TiVo OS on your TiVo, which most of us don’t have yet (they’re slowy upgrading the network). But after this happens, and with widespread distribution of the SDK, it’ll be fun to see all of the apps that people dream up. Already there’s a Weather app (see image), an RSS feeder, and a game (Skull and Bones). The latter sure beats the Tic-Tac-Toe game that comes with JavaHMO.

The industrious devils over at PVRBlog have created a Sourceforge-like project page to track development of HME apps, to discuss the SDK kit, etc.

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Remote Control Phreak

If your idea of true universal remote CONTROL is the power to turn off the television, ANYBODY’S television, then you’ll want to check out TV-B-Gone, a remote that has one button, Off, and can turn off nearly any model of TV from up to 50 feet away. How much fun would it be to take a stroll around the neighborhood, turning off everybody’s set as you go?

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Attack of the Vinyl Robots

If you don’t have the bug for collecting Asian vinyl toys, you might after visiting Kid Robot. Actually, these types of “action” figures are far more interesting in person. The colors and paint jobs are amazing, the characters are often based on obscure comics or underground folk heroes, and the packaging is often as compelling as what’s inside — in other words, typical Japanese pop cult products. As you might imagine, these figures also make perfect monitor pets. I got a couple of the Ken Fowler Monsterisms years ago, and I still love to mess with ’em when I’m bored.

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Redneck Rucksacks?

I don’t know what the designers of this site were smoking (moldy barn-hay, apparently), but this is one of the weirdest and most wonderful virtual storefronts I’ve seen in awhile. I’m not really sure what the connection is between hillbillies and high-tech gadget bags, but who cares? There’s even “tasteful” nudity, as a woman models one of the laptop bags in the buff. Maybe she’s a-fixin’ to check her Yahoo! account on the way down to the crick for some skinny dippin’ Again, who cares? All in good fun. Oh, did we mention what the product was? It’s easy to forget. Crumpler sells a very cool-looking line of laptop, messenger, and gadget bags, all made out of something they call “ChickenTex.” Maybe we’ll try to get some products for review.