I just ran across possibly the most awesome Star Wars item ever. Nikko America has a special edition remote controlR2-D2 home theater audio/video projector that does just about everything. It has a ton of features, including being able to project on the ceiling (not sure I’d ever use that), official sounds, and a ton of inputs including an iPod dock. The tech specs are pretty good, but I’m sure you can build your own home theater that is better with less than the $2900 price tag. It won’t have the massive geek factor that R2-D2 has though. Be sure to check out the video to see it in action.
2 thoughts on “R2-D2 Limited Edition Home Theater Projector by Nikko”
Oh, wow, and I thought the alarm clock was super cool. This is amazing!
Odd, looks like the website is down. It was a pretty good concept, but I think it was more of a gimmick than anything else. I vaguely remember that it was very expensive.
Everyone knows (or should!) that Honda has tipped their hat to Isaac Asimov by naming their robot line Asimo. For those that have been living in caves for the past 50 years, he inadvertently invented the word ‘robotics’ in his story Runaround. He assumed it already was a word, but he is attributed for the first use of it in a publication. I remember seeing a YouTube video of these little robots a few years ago which caught my eye. This commercial tries to show the ‘human’ side of robots. I highly doubt that all of the actions in the commercial were autonomous, but I can’t see why it won’t be possible in the near future. Considering I am just a few days away from finishing my huge book project in Asimov’s Robot & Foundation Universe I was pleasantly surprised to stumble across this.
A quick look to related videos on YouTube showcased a technical demo of some new abilities in the new Asimo robot version. I’m very impressed to see the progress that has been made. Many of the tasks they show are fairly simple, but I think if they can make the robots use power efficiently they will be useful. It’s amazing that probably within 100 years of Asimov’s robot stories there might be a working model similar to his creations. Of course we are a bit behind robot production, since US Robotics and Mechanical Men had positronic robots in production in the 1990s.
Of course there are several videos of failed demonstrations with the Asimo prototypes taking spills while trying to do something as simple as walking up and down stairs. I’m confident that Honda will work out the bugs with the programming and balancing servos sooner or later. I know I will be keeping an eye on development in robotics.
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Wow, looks like I’ve had quite a few hits from StumbleUpon. Hopefully I can get some interesting feedback with this nice spike in visitors.
So, do any of you think that Robots can or will ever become self aware? If so, how soon do you think it could happen given the rapid development of technology? Would humans revolt and ban such machines? Asimov covers that last question in his science fiction, which is one of my favorite themes. Are there any authors you might recommend that focus on human/robot relations?
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Today marks the release of Blade Runner – The Final Cut, directed by Ridley Scott. Blade Runner is loosely based on the novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” by Phillip K. Dick. Blade Runner has been one of my favorite Sci-Fi movies since I saw the original Director’s Cut at a friend’s house while in high school. He and his brother insisted that it was the only version worth watching. Consequently, I have never seen the original theatrical release with the happy ending and Deckard’s voiceover narration. From what I’ve read, the studio executives were the main influence for those changes.
To commemorate the release of The Final Cut, which I hope to review sometime soon, I will share my thoughts on the Director’s Cut DVD released back in 1997. I had only seen Blade Runner on VHS back in 1995, and was anxious to see it in the higher resolution and sound quality that DVD had to offer. The video is of poor resolution and visibly shakes slightly, which is annoying. The soundtrack is in just 2 channels, failing to utilize the 5.1 Dolby Digital that DVD offered. I’ve watched it several times over on DVD, and again this weekend, and every time the poor transfer sticks out like a sore thumb. This was one of the first DVD releases, so was barebones with no extra features other than a chapter selection. (more…)
I have been interested nanotechnology, or nanoscience as this video refers to it, for a very long time. If you have heard about nanotech, but haven’t seen any visuals, I highly recommend this video. It touches on properties at the nano scale both in nature and how we are developing our own new materials. They also touch on the development of nano machines. What worries me is for nanotech to become useful, they will probably have to develop self-replicating machines.
In one of my reviews a few years ago for The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson, he writes about Matter Compilers, usually referred to as an M.C. for short. That’s great right? We can just make whatever we want, any time we want! There are also little battles between autonomous nanobots called mites that break out. If I remember correctly, these massive battles on the nano scale result in a type of dust that pollutes the air and causes respiratory problems. That’s no good! There is a little excerpt on Google books that doesn’t really have any spoilers. It begins on the end of page 59 through page 61. Click through this link for the full text.
I can certainly see something like what Stephenson describes happening within our lifetimes. What do you think?
Oh, wow, and I thought the alarm clock was super cool. This is amazing!
Odd, looks like the website is down. It was a pretty good concept, but I think it was more of a gimmick than anything else. I vaguely remember that it was very expensive.