These droids or robot guards are basically designed to man and watch the corridors of the prison and monitor the conditions inside the cells.  Sudden motion or unusual activity such as violent or abnormal behavior inside the center will be detected by these robot guards which will then alert human guards. Cool! Also, during emergency, these robots serve as communication channel between inmates and human guards.

As an advantage, workload of jail officers can be reduced particularly at night.  And for the prisoners, these robots are not terminators, they are helpers.  Moreover, the project team is trying to make these robots look more humane and friendly to the prisoners.

Someday ASIMO might help with important tasks like assisting the elderly or a person confined to a bed or a wheelchair. ASIMO might also perform certain tasks that are dangerous to humans, such as fighting fires or cleaning up toxic spills.

As development continues on ASIMO, now weighs about 105 pounds; with “strengthened legs” and expanded range of leg movement, it can walk, run, run backward, and hop on one or two legs, as well as walk on an uneven surface. ASIMO can now run at about 5.5 miles per hour.

Honda says that Asimos’s enhanced “intelligence” makes it possible for the robot to track a conversation between different people, distinguishing the faces and voices of everyone involved (even when several people speak concurrently).

According to Honda, the robot “is now capable of predicting the direction a person will walk within the next few seconds based on information from pre-set space sensors and quickly determining to take an alternate path to avoid a collision with the person if the estimated locations of the person and the ASIMO intersect.”

Here’s the new Asimo.

Four visible light cameras which serve as Robonaut’s eyes turned on in the gold-colored head, as did the infrared camera, located in the robot’s mouth and needed for depth perception. “Sure wish I could move my head and look around,” Robonaut said in one of Robonaut’s tweets.

Robonaut is the first humanoid robot in space being tested as a possible astronaut’s helper. The main computers inside Robonaut’s stomach kicked on as well as with the more than 30 processors embedded in the arms for controlling the joints.

Deputy Project Manager Nicolaus Radford said that Robonaut behaved himself and got definitely got an ‘A.’ On Sept. 1, controllers will command Robonaut to move its fingers, hands and arms. The robot has been asleep for about a year.  In the same manner with a crew member, the robot has to learn how it needs to move in weightlessness.

Meantime, Robonaut exists from the waist up. It measures 3 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 330 pounds. Each arm is 2 feet 8 inches long. A pair of legs is currently being designed and should be launched in 2013.

NASA’s @AstroRobonaut twitter feed keeps followers up-to-date on the on the progress of the Space Station’s bionic passenger.

Made of very soft material and rubber, RIBA-II is soft to touch and it moves around on wheels which also responds and reacts to voice commands. Built with rubber sensors, springs and improved joints at its base, it crouches and lifts a patient off a Japanese futon, a traditional mat placed on the floor or even lifts a patient from a hospital bed onto a wheelchair.

This innovative project was funded by the Japanese government and Tokai. And it is expected to eventually commercialize the robot in time when a lot of resources are needed to cope with the aging populations around the world.

RIBA 2  could be of great help for nurses! oh yea! =)

To sum it up, Cideko Air Keyboard Chatting is usable especially when talking to friends and family while having fun in a home theater or PC, or perhaps even from another room if you want to. This cool device if used constantly boasts up to 10 hours of battery life and is good for a working distance of 30 meters. It’s very light and your hands won’t cramp up while you retain excellent control and functionality.

Moving the keyboard in the air activates its 3D motion-sensing mouse. While clicking the right and left mouse buttons that are integrated on the case works as that of what a regular mouse does. Also included is a set of earbuds with mute functionality. The LED indicators on it show off the mute status of keyboard and microphone.

Another good thing about this cool device is its compatibility with Windows 98 all the way to Windows 7, Mac OS 10.2 or later and Linux operating systems.

So, would you go wireless? Why not? The cost? It’s only $80. Cheap!

And to formally launch the information portal, today Pope Benedict XVI uses an iPad to send his first tweet.

His message read: “Dear Friends, I just launched News.va Praised be our Lord Jesus Christ! With my prayers and blessings, Benedictus XVI.”

On this day the Pope is also celebrating 60th anniversary of his ordination as a priest. You can follow the vatican’s news tweeter account: @news_va_en

Here’s a Youtube video:

Holy Tweet!!
the Pope is on Twitter! Cool Dude huh!

This wrist band contains a printed QR (quick response) code which is recognized by a program, such as a smartphone application and is linked to start an action. When an image of a QR code is captured by a quick-response scanner or mobile phone camera,
it opens a webpage containing the user’s information. That simple!

Through Skanz.com, you can create your profile and add which information you would like to share with people via the QR code. The Skanz site keeps your entire digital life. One good thing is that these QR Codes Wrist Bands come in different colors which the company hopes to become a fashion thingy. Moreso, Skanz aims to launch QR Codes on smartphone covers for those who don’t want to wear the bands yet can still exchange digital information and get the same benefit.

There is an iPhone QR Code reader app featured in Taragis.Com (visit here)

So, you wanna know more about me? Uhhh, read my wrist!

While on their way home Larry Chen and Joe Ayala found themselves stranded over night in Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) as their flights home were canceled.

The unexpected opportunity led them to use their photography talents enabling to shoot humorous video of their adventures in an empty terminal.

So, curious enough on how did they do that? read their explanations here! =)

This futuristic bike weighs more than 240 pounds and has an experimental airspeed of 172 miles per hour.  Theoretically, it could fly as high as 10,000 feet and uses regular unleaded fuel with a 7.9-gallon tank.

The proposed hoverbike would be operated by a pilot sitting between twin dual-blade propellers using motorcycle-like controls. And in case of an emergency, parachutes would be attached to the frame.

While the vehicle has not yet reached production phase, its actual price has not been firmed up. Needless to say, it would be expensive though, but still cheaper to own a chopper or an airplane.

Woo, they need two testers, would anyone dare to sit beside me? =)

lels is a filipino slang of lols (laughing out loud) started by Pinoy blogger Jason de Guzman (www.jezonhamster.com). There’s no definitive meaning of lels, pronouncing lels brings a little more fun and exercise in your tongue. try it now! ^^ LELS!!