Technabob » bird

Robot Bird Perches on a Human Hand

Conner Flynn — Fri, 18 May 2012 17:00:05 +0000

If a bird in hand is worth two in the bush, what is a robot bird in the hand worth? I have no idea, but this is a robotic bird that is not only capable of flight, but it can also land on a human hand. I guess falconry has just come into the 21st century.

This robot was developed by a team at the University of Illinois Aerospace Robotics and Control Laboratory. It is based on an articulated-wing-based concept for an agile robotic aircraft that is modeled after actual birds. The ability to perch on a hand is important because – as the team behind this bird point out, “…of all maneuvers executed by flapping wing aircraft in a gliding phase, a perched landing is arguably the most challenging.”

So now we have a robot bird that can perch on a hand. Are we in for a future full of Kings and Lords who practice falconry with robot versions as they laugh and proclaim it all to be jolly good? Well, not really. The ultimate goal for these robot birds is for surveillance.

[via Ubergizmo]

Wrenz Portable Bird Speaker is All Tweeter, No Woofer

Technabob — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 19:30:08 +0000

Birdwatchers looking for rare species definitely won’t recognize this flightless bird. But that doesn’t mean they won’t want one to land on their desktops. That’s because the bird-shaped Wrenz is one of the cooler looking portable speakers to come along in a while.

Made by Gavio, the avian-inspired Wrenz is a compact speaker that can plug into your smartphone. Each Wrenz speaker is wrapped in a mirrored finish, and conceals its audio and USB charging connections behind its tail feathers.

While it’s not going to blow any eardrums with its 2 watts of power, 32mm speaker driver, and 180Hz to 20KHz frequency response, it’ll definitely sing a sweet song at higher frequencies. The speaker is powered by a built-in Lithium-Ion battery which should give you about 9 hours on a charge.

The Wrenz sells for $89.90 Singapore Dollars (~$71 USD) over at Gavio, so it’s not exactly cheep (typo intended), but I still love the way it looks.

[via iPhone Savior]

Bird Man Video Maker Admits It Was Fake

Shane McGlaun — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 22:30:47 +0000

I want to get this off my chest off the top: You bird man, you bastard you! Now that that is out of the way, Dutch filmmaker and animator Floris Kaayk has admitted that video that went viral earlier this week of a man claiming to fly with bird-like wings was a fake. The man doesn’t call it a lie or fake but rather “a media art project” and he worked on it with a media production company called Revolver.

The filmmakers came clean on the Dutch TV show called Wereld Draait Door. The video was very well made and the video makers even set up social networking background for the fake wing builder, Jarno Smeets. The fakers set up Facebook, twitter, and LinkedIn accounts for Smeets – all in an attempt to lend more credibility to the video, and it worked very well.

I can’t say that I’m surprised the video was fake. After all, the segment in which he was flying in the air looked pretty unreal. I can’t say that I’m not disappointed it’s fake though. I really wanted it to be possible. What do you think about videos like this that go to extremes to convince people they are real, only to come back later and say “haha, fooled you?” Fun and games, or lying bastards?

[via Fox News]

How Could You Be Angry in This Giant Birds’ Nest Bed?

Hazel Chua — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 14:00:52 +0000

I was staring outside my window, being bored and all kinds of lazy, when I noticed a soon-to-be-mama bird in the middle of building her nest. There was just something about how carefully she aligned the bits of leaves and twigs that got me thinking about what it might feel like to sleep in one. (Weird thoughts, I know, but yes, I was that bored.)

Apparently, I don’t have to wonder too much anymore because someone out there just made a giant-sized nest bed that’s lined with all sorts of comfortable and cushy materials. This obviously doesn’t feel like a real bird’s nest would, but I’d pick this version any day.

These giant bird’s nest beds were made by the O*GE Creative Group as a prototype for a new and inspiring socializing space. I think they succeeded in doing just that with this project. You might take a nap instead of socializing from the way these look, though.

You’re in luck if you want to get one for yourself, because O*GE is producing them on demand in three different sizes. You can check out their site for more details and contact information.

[via Fancy via Gizmodo]

Angry Red Bird for Taiwan Presidential Candidate: Only in Asia

Range — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 01:00:19 +0000

There’s no doubt in my mind that the Taiwanese love Angry Birds as much as everyone else, but check out this art installation of the red Angry Bird that was made for the Taiwanese presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen.

The installation itself features the head of the red Angry Bird. The bird is made of crimson-tinted piggy banks that have been arranged in a latticework to flesh out the bird. He must sure love playing Angry Birds if that’s the installation that’s featured outside his campaign office.

I wonder what his opponents will think of next. Probably a bunch of green piggies made from cans, or something along those lines.

[via DesignYouTrust]

Egg Machine Puts Live Chickens in Vending Machine

Shane McGlaun — Mon, 09 May 2011 19:29:00 +0000

We have seen some very strange vending machines around the world over the years. You have your cool and understandable machines like the bread maker and the pizza maker. Then we get really weird machines like the one in China that dispenses live crab. The German version of PETA, called NOAH, has put a vending machine on display that you can’t actually buy from.

The machine is packed with live hens. The point was to show people the conditions that some chicken farmers force their birds to live in. Rather than dispensing eggs or chicken legs, this machine handed out coins with eggs on them. The numbers on the coins went along with the sort of conditions the chickens were in.

The main thing was that only 0 (Ökohaltung) and 1 (free range) are ok to buy. The coins with eggs on them having 2 (bottom position) and 3 (cage) are not to be purchased according to NOAH. If anyone knows what that word with number 0 means let us know in the comments.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[via NOAH]

Monsta and Waddler iPhone 4 Cases Set You Strangely Apart

Range — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 13:14:20 +0000

While I don’t think that these would go well with a business suit, these cases from Case-Mate are quite unique. These iPhone 4 cases will set your phone apart from all of the rest, and that can be good or bad. Both of these cases, the Waddler and the Monsta, are available in a variety of colors.

You’ve probably guessed it already, but the Waddler makes your iPhone look like a waddling penguin while the Monsta is just plain silliness. They come in whimsical designs, but also include the practical addition of textured silicon for a better grip and a distinctive tactile element.

These cases also come for the iPod Touch and are part of Case-Mate’s ‘Creatures’ cases collection. Case-Mate sells both the Waddler and Monsta cases for $24.99 (USD) each.

[via GeekAlerts]

Festo SmartBird Flaps its Wings into the Sky

Shane McGlaun — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 17:00:59 +0000

Man has been flying for a very long time and early in the development of aircraft, we tired designs that mimicked birds with flapping wings and things never worked out well. The cool part about birds and insects that we still can’t fully recreate in man-made aircraft is the amount of lift and propulsion they can generate with small surface area wings.

A company called Festo has unveiled a cool automated flying machine called the SmartBird. This bird can start, fly, and land without intervention from a person. The cool thing about it is the special wings it has that provide both lift and thrust for it to fly.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The wings use a special hinge that allows them to move up and down while moving forward and backwards as well. The bird is modeled on a herring gull, but it is much larger than the real thing. It’s very cool to see how the SmartBird moves its wings and head for thrust and control in the video above, it almost looks like a real bird.

Remote-Controlled Bald Eagle Has a 9-1/2 Foot Wingspan

Technabob — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 19:41:19 +0000

Next time you see a giant bird flying through the skies, you might want to double-check that it’s the real deal. You could be looking a remote-controlled fake.

This crazy looking thing is a remote-controlled eagle, complete with a 9-1/2 foot wingspan and a carbon-fiber skeletal structure. The product description says it’s “powered by a gimbal-mounted engine and propeller that provides nimble, multi-directional vector movement which replicates the bird of prey’s agile turns and dives.” Last I checked, real eagles don’t have engines or propellers, so I’m not sure exactly how faithful its flight really is. Still, it looks pretty cool from this video clip:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

In addition to soaring, you should be able to pull off loops once you’ve mastered the controls. The R/C eagle can be operated from up to 100 feet away from the RF transmitter, and flight time is up to 8 minutes on a 20 minute charge.

It’s available over at Hammacher Schlemmer for a pricey $499.95 (USD), so even though the Bald Eagle is no longer on the endangered list, the cash in your wallet may soon be.

[Press Release]

Poopocalypse : Best Game Name of the Year

Technabob — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 02:39:50 +0000

While it certainly wouldn’t be the first game I’ve heard of where pooping is a central element (yeah, I can’t believe it either), but Poopocalypse definitely has the best name of the genre.

From what I can tell, Wolpertinger Games‘ Xbox Live Indie game is all about pooping pidgeons. I don’t know if you play as a pooping pidgeon, or if you’re a person avoiding bird poo. Either way, it’s definitely weirder than your average Xbox 360 title.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[via Destructoid]

The 2.1 Million Dollar Robot Hummingbird That Will Save Your Life, Say What?

Range — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:03:31 +0000

This is actually serious. This is a teeny, tiny, flying robot that looks like a hummingbird. It naturally comes from Japan and wants to save your life, and a whole other bunch of stuff as well.

Did I mention that this tiny thing cost $2.1 million dollars? This ‘bot can flap its wings 30 times per second, just like a real hummingbird. It’s supposed to save lives by searching for survivors in accident sites and other dangerous spots that are usually not accessible by humans.

The $2.1M cost is actually associated with all of the the robot’s development, so I guess that’s not as bad as it sounds. Japanese researchers at Chiba University near Tokyo want to create a sort of robot that will hover, just like this bird. It’s controlled by infrared sensors. The researchers mentioned that if they are able to fit a tiny camera on the robot, it could be used to “help rescue people trapped in destroyed buildings, search for criminals or even operate as a probe vehicle on Mars.”

That sounds pretty amazing to me. The robot weighs less than an ounce. For now, its flight movements are limited, but hovering is supposed to be possible in 2011, and they hope to put a miniature camera in by then too.

[via Engadget]

USB Gadget Charger Looks Like a Penguin – Why? I have No Idea.

Technabob — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:00:41 +0000

Sure, you can charge your USB gadgets with that boring old A/C adapter that the factory shipped with your electronics, but why would you want to do that if you could have one that looks like this?

These goofy looking Penguin chargers juice up any gadget that can plug into a USB connector.

You can also cram the battery from most cell phones into the head of the penguin, but I’m not sure that the wonky looking “universal” contacts are exactly something I’d place against the terminals on my battery. I think I might blow something up. At least pengy would look adorable while he esplodes.

Penguin fans, take your happy feet over to ChinaGrabber and grab one for $2.99 (USD) now.

Oshaberi Oumu Puts a Virtual Parrot Inside Your Nintendo Ds: Polly Wanna Silicon Cracker?

Technabob — Fri, 08 May 2009 12:20:40 +0000

There’s one thing you can always rely on Japanese game companies for, and that’s weird games. Lots and lots of weird games.

Oshaberi Oumu for the Nintendo DS continues that tradition by putting the fate of a digital bird in your hands. It’s your job to care for and nurture your avian plaything – feeding it, giving it toys to play with, caressing it and so forth. Developed by Tokyo’s Star Fish games, there are definitely no starfish in the game, just our fine-feathered friends. And as far as I can tell from these game screenshots, there is no evidence of a hungry cat mode either. Damn.

Here’s a little video clip of the game to give you a better idea of what you can expect should you pick up a copy:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Ah, there’s nothing quite like a video game that makes you change the filthy newspapers at the bottom of a bird cage – all while listening to elevator music. Sign me up! Of course, knowing how short my attention span is when it comes to virtual pets, I’d probably end up with something more like this within the first couple of days:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Now that’s what I call a dead parrot.

The good news is that you don’t have to make your way to Japan if you want to get your hands on this strange little game. The guys over at Play-Asia are taking worldwide orders for the game now for $48.90 (USD) – newspaper and bird seed not included.

Wireless Bird Doorbells Sure to Get Your Cat’S Attention

Technabob — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 12:45:39 +0000

Personally, I’ve got no problem with the traditional “ding-dong” when solicitors come to my front door (it’s the solicitors themselves that I have an issue with). But you nature-lovers out there might like something a little more organic when the doorbell rings.

These avian doorbells from China not only look like birds, they let out a variety of dissonant chirpy and tweety noises when a visitor arrives on your stoop.

While some might find the bird sounds soothing, I think I’d pull every last hair out of my head if I had to listen to one of these every time someone was at the door. My orange tabby cat, on the other hand, has already plunked down his credit card to order a dozen.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

For all you bird watchers (and felines) out there, they’re available in both the brown sparrow and green lark designs for $10 to $11 bucks a bird.

Ann P Smith’s Robot Sculptures: Upcylcled Wonders

Technabob — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 12:18:16 +0000

Got a bunch of old electronic parts lying around? While they might end up in the trash heap for many of us, artist Ann P. Smith sees new life in old junk.

Smith takes broken down electronics and machine parts to create her amazing menagerie of animal and insect sculptures.

While they aren’t mechanical works themselves, many of her “robots” do feature posable joints, which she’s used to produce stop-motion animation of her critters.

Ann’s works are sold in galleries and shops around the US, and have been featured as illustrations in a number of magazines and other publications.

Find out more about Ann and her art over on her website burrowburrow. And when you’re ready to buy one of her pieces for your very own, be sure to check out her Etsy shop. Prices range from as little as $22 for simple insects, all the way up to $2500+ for her most intricate creations.

[via The Presurfer via designboom]

Rubber Duckie Gets Remote Control

Technabob — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 22:21:11 +0000

Who says you can’t take your electronic gadgets in the bathtub with you? The latest in rubber duckie technology lets you steer your fine feathered friend around the tub from afar.

Using a wireless RF transmitter, you can make the yellow aquatic bird tool around as you splish-splash in your bath. A pair of motorized propellers moves the little guy through the water, and let you steer duckie to the left, right, forwards or backwards. A quick 5-minute charge will give you about 15-minutes of bathtime fun. And yes, both the duck and controller are waterproof, so there’s no worries about electrocuting yourself.

The R/C Rubber Duck is available from I Want One of Those for £14.99 (appx. $26.98 USD). Quack.

USB Parrot: Polly Wanna Laptop?

Technabob — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 04:03:03 +0000

Can’t get enough of the sound of your own voice? This desktop bird plugs into your PC and parrots back what it hears.

The electronic parrot offers up an array of random phrases, plucked from the words it overhears, all the while gesticulating its mechanical wings. Just plug Polly into your computer’s USB port, and your fine feathered friend will get to yackin’ and flappin’ toot sweet. You can grab these birds from Thumbs Up UK for £19.99 (appx. $39 USD).

I’d love to get my hands on a bunch of these to recreate Disney’s Tiki Room in my cubicle.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Damn, now I can’t get that song out of my head.

Lets Talk About Chicks, Man.

Technabob — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 18:42:50 +0000

If cute is your thing, you’re in luck. These baby robot chickens from Japan are so sugary sweet, you might go into a diabetic coma.

SegaToys’ Dream Chicks are lifelike baby birds that respond to real world stimuli. Petting and interacting with the tiny chick makes the diminutive avian chirp and flap its little wings once in a while. From the looks of this video clip, he’d need to flap his wings a whole heck of a lot faster than that if he doesn’t want the be dinner for the neighborhood hawk.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Available in Japan for a few months, they’re now available in North America from importer NCSX for $25 each.

They’ve Got the iPod, We’Ve Got the Ibird

Technabob — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 02:24:25 +0000

Your fancy new iPod might have a touchscreen and Wi-fi, but I’m pretty sure it can’t do this. Not only does the iBird-1000 MP3 Player look like a bowtied penguin wearing headphones (I couldn’t make this stuff up), it can move its mouth and “sing” along with your music.

In addition to flapping its yellow beak, the bird has blinking light-up eyeballs and an OLED belly that displays track and lyric information. If that’s not enough, the plastic avian also has an FM tuner, voice recorder and a built-in speaker. Too bad its little birdbrain only can hold 1GB of songs.

Importer ChinaGrabber sells these wingless birds for $32.99 each (in wholesale lots of 10+ only).

USB Penguin Flash Drives Not Just for Linux Users

Technabob — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 13:25:55 +0000

While the flightless, aquatic avian may have come to symbolize the Linux operating system, Windows and Mac users don’t have to feel left out thanks to these fun penguin USB flash memory drives.

Just like real penguins, they wear tiny striped scarves, and their heads flip open to reveal a USB connector (at least that’s what I thought I heard during my marine biology class). Each little bird holds up to 1GB of files, which isn’t a lot in computer terms, but probably more than a real penguin could hold in its tiny pea-sized brain.

They retail for ¥3980 each (about $34 USD), and come in blue, grey and black variants (again, just like real penguins). If you need to get your penguin fix, you’ll have to see if you can get Japanese retailer to Joshin ship you one.

[via tfts]