Gizmodo Australia » slime

MIT Professor Studies Snail Slime to Create Go-Anywhere, Anytime Robots of the Future

Gizmodo US Edition — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 21:00:00 +0000

Forget legs or treads or wheels, everyone, because tomorrow’s robots will traverse the earth on a thin film of slime, just like the humble snail. At least, that’s MIT associate professor Anette Hosoi’s vision of our robot future, and she has the “Robosnail” prototype to prove it. Since 2003, Hosoi and a revolving cadre of students have studied her terrarium full of more than 200 snails in an attempt to recreate their slimy way of locomotion in a robot. They’ve since got a working model together that can climb tree bark, walls, and–coming soon–perform invasive surgery procedures near you!

The Robosnail moves along various surfaces using moveable segments that ripple along a synthetic slime. Because the slime allows the robot to traverse vertical surfaces and even ceilings, Hosoi hopes to be able to deploy similar robots to adverse environments in the near future. It would be kind of like the slowest bomb sniffing or exploratory robot of all time, that can go anywhere, eventually.

Now, this sounds cool and you can call me shallow all you want, folks, but I don’t Tricia Helfer would be *quite* as hot slithering around the universe on a trail of slime instead of those long legs of hers. Just an opinion. [CNN]

Shocking Sick Puppy is ‘Operation’ for a New Generation

Gizmodo US Edition — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 08:55:00 +0000

Japanese game manufacturer Mega House has come up with a winner. Biri Biri Kaze Hiki Wanko (which, translated, means Shocking Sick Puppy) is a cross between seminal kids’ game Operation, where you had to remove various parts of a patient’s anatomy with a pair of wired-up tweezers, without ~~letting on to your parents that you’d swallowed the best part of a bottle of bourbon the night before~~ touching the sides, and that equally seminal ’70s plaything, Slime. A fearsome mess of green snot and drool emerges from the dog’s mouth and nose, and you have to pick out plastic “germs” embedded in the ectoplasm. Trouble is, if the metal tweezers touch the slime, you get an electric shock. Out in Japan this August, Shocking Sick Puppy needs a worldwide release if it is to realise its full genius potential. [Trends in Japan]

Slime Turns Into Sex Toy, Childhood Memories Shattered Forever

Gizmodo US Edition — Sun, 25 May 2008 20:00:00 +0000

Remember that classic “toy” slime that came in a little garbage can? Ever use it to have sex? Yeah, um… me neither. Anyway, it turned 30 years old this month. To celebrate, Japan’s Mega Store is releasing an updated line of products called Adult Slime. Nostalgic Generation Xer’s will be happy to know the line has expanded to include four new scents that “appeal to adult sensitivities,” including hot, relax, love and the ironically named elegance. Bedroom? Meet Slimer. Wet Naps not included. [Trends in Japan]