WowWee, makers of fine programmable robotic toys, is stepping back a bit with the “Alive” series of animatronic beasts sporting realistic skeletons that move according to how much attention they’re given. You can’t load custom Java code onto this White Tiger Cub though, so if that’s your thing, stick with the RoboSapiens or, perhaps, an equally cuddly Pleo, which has its own upcoming SDK. The cub does have plenty of movements in its repertoire though, and it’s kind of creepy to watch.
Faithful readers will know I am not even close to finished exploiting my painful job experiences at the Chuck E. Cheese in the Bergen Mall for Gizmodo fodder. God I hate that place. When I was growing up, the cooler place to be with way better pizza and far better games was ShowBiz Pizza. ShowBiz also had another advantage: this terrifying but captivating animitronic musical band called Rocka-fire Explosion, which is the subject of this documentary. I am watching it, and lighting a candle in remembrance. And Fuck Chuck E. Cheese. [Youtube via BoingBoing's David P.]
newVideoPlayer("hddvddead_giz.flv", 475, 376,"");As if 1080p video, full-resolution audio, net connectivity and multi-tuner signal decoding wasn’t enough, Toshiba’s HD DVD team had even cooked up a system of embedded animatronic control before the format was put out of its misery. In this video left over from CES 2008, this little mechanical jazz band playing the Duke Ellington classic “Take the A Train” is controlled by, that’s right, an HD DVD disc. Here’s how:
This animatronic head is sold as a kit so you can learn the fun of building a fully robotic nut that can “turn left and right,” has moving eyes, eyelids and a mouth that “changes expressions”—though presumably not into a sexy pout, sorry robo-sex fans. BotBrain even has sensors that let it react to its environment, and its luscious eyelids make it a far cuter robot head than some we’ve covered. This educational robo-curio is available for $US449, and frankly we’d expect much better “human-robot interactions” for that price. [Scientifics online via Red Ferret]
Problem: the clothes we buy off store mannequins never properly demonstrate our in-motion sexy strut. Solution: the Moving Mannequin runs in place, simulating being late to work or really needing to use the bathroom. (Hit the jump for more along with a glorious animated gif.)
