It must be a relief for the ISS crew to hear that their malfunctioning toilet will get some urgently-needed repairs next week, now that Discovery will be whizzing a new pump aloft. The dodgy loo has been unable to deal with liquid waste, and repair attempts failed. So NASA has cleared Discovery to fly on Saturday with a 13kg replacement pump, even though it means leaving other stuff behind. “Having a working toilet is a priority for us,” said Scott HigginbothamHigginbottom, in charge of shuttle payloads. The Russian-made pump was even give special treatment: it was flown in a diplomatic pouch from Russia. Clearly when spacemen need to go, they need to go… [New Scientist]
We liked the big Wall-E toy, but with the InterAction Wall-E, it looks like he’s even more “real”— reacting when you talk to him with lights, moving head and arms, speech and sound effects. InterAction Eve is similar, with added whooshes and laser firing when you whirl her in the air. But best of all: the two interact with each other, and if this illustration is anything to go by, it looks like a bit of robo-flirting is possible. How far they get it on is hazy: but I’m wondering how many parents are going to have to modify the “birds and the bees talk” with a new angle. Due Summer, no info on price. [Toyology]
According to Australian IT, Austar’s next DVR box will not only feature an ethernet port, but it will let you use it for downloading IP video onto the unit. The box, which is due out later this year, will also feature a USB port and HD tuners.
Foxtel’s new iQ2 box also features an ethernet port, although they refuse to actually say anything about how it will be used when the box is released in June.
CEO of Austar, John Porter, was quoted as saying: “We’re agnostic when it comes to content. Our vision is to be the consumer interface for digital content, no matter which pipe it comes through, be it digital terrestrial TV, satellite or the web. It’s about our box morphing into being a media centre for the TV set.”
ImprovEverywhere has just released the photos and video from their latest event, The Camera Flash Experiment. To celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge, they sent 700 people all along it with cameras. When they all fired their flashes off in the same direction, it allowed them to make a “wave” of light across the bridge. Some pretty amazing pictures and video resulted. (That Digg badge is for ImprovEverywhere’s Digg, not ours.)
Alongside the Blu-ray recorder and new TV range that Panasonic unveiled the other day were a couple of prototype TVs that showcase the upcoming technologies in their future plasma screens.
The first example was their “World’s Thinnest” plasma, a 50-inch monster which measured in at 24.7mm thick and weighed just 22kg. Although we’re pretty sure the title of world’s thinnest actually goes to Pioneer, having a TV measure in at less than half the thickness of the current range – and at a fraction of the weight – will give consumers a whole new range of mounting options.
Here’s a video of the hologram technology Telstra showed off the other day. While Dr Hugh Bradlow doesn’t have the same kind of appeal as say a Prince Charles, Richard Branson or a Bill Gates, it’s still fairly convincing to watch.
There’s a fair amount of fluff in there, but stick with it until the 1:58 minute mark where you’ll see the Emperor Sol using the hologram tech to announce his battlestation is fully operational tell us Telstra’s goals in showcasing the new technology.
Maybe it’s just me, but I do think a black hoodie would suit him…
According to Pocket-Lint, Sony Ericsson has signed a deal with GestureTek to utilise a software engine which uses a mobile phone camera as a motion sensor. Because the software is currently used in the PS2 EyeToy, it will be used to launch a new range of Sony Ericsson motion sensitive games. And apparently, Super Monkey Ball and Crash Bandicoot are in the works (see photo).
AreoVironment is building the world’s smallest UAV, called the Nano Air Vehicle, that has moving wings instead of a propeller or engine. DARPA has given the company US$636,000 and six months to demonstrate an ultra-small UAV that will be under 7.5cm long and under 10 grams.
Lacie has updated its external d2 Blu-ray burner to write at 4x speeds, twice as fast as its predecessor. The BD drive supports 25 or 50 GB BD-R and BD-RE discs, as well as multiple DVD and CD formats. In addition, the aluminium alloy case has been redesigned by Neil Poulton, giving it a more simple and appealing look. The d2 has both Firewire 400 and USB 2.0 connections, and is available now for as low as US$650. [Lacie via Gizmag]
newVideoPlayer("battlebotslowmo_giz.flv", 506, 423,""); Our friend Robert Woodhead is at it again: He took his battlin’ bot Totally Offensive—and his trusty Casio Exilim EX-F1—to Carolina Combat Robots for some “test procedures” in preparation for the RoboGames in San Francisco June 13-15. End result: Mayhem ensuing at 300 frames per second, with some sparks flying, some parts flying and some fax machines and other stand-in electronics getting shizammed to oblivion. Grab a sandwich and press play, cuz you’ll probably watch this four-minute fest of cyberviolence a few times. And remember, this was only a test! Thanks again, Robert! [Robert Woodhead]
