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The robot also uses video cameras and sensors in his frame to interact with the audience and “understand” them by analyzing facial expressions and gestures. This differs from real human pianists, who interact with their audience based on how full their tip jar is.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[via Daily Mail via Walyou]

To me, it looks like the Prince rolled his Katamari around a designer furniture store to create this lamp. About the only thing it’s missing for it to be complete is some little flailing people and the occasional pig or cow stuck to its outside. Maybe it’s just not big enough, and it can’t pick those up yet.

Given the fact that the tiny furniture replicas ost hundreds of dollars each, I can only guess that each of these lamp cost over $25,000 to make. Now that’s an expensive Katamari.

[via My Modern Metropolis]

Judge Oscar Magi (awesome last name btw) laid down the rule of the law on Google’s Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer David Drummond, along with former CFO George Reyes, and Global Privacy Counsel Peter Fleischer. Although none of them were involved in the uploading or production of the controversial video, the prosecutors claimed that Google should have noticed it and taken it down sooner because it quickly became one of the most popular videos at the time.

Google will of course appeal the decision, stating that it is a threat to “the principles of freedom on which the Internet was built.” My only question is, does Google even have the technology or manpower necessary to really screen the tens of thousands of videos uploaded to YouTube daily? I mean, do we even have the means to censor the massive content on the Web if we wanted to?

[via The Observer via Chip Chick]

Designed by Denis Guidone, and produced by Italy’s NAVA Design, the Ora Unica does away with conventional hands, and replaces them with a big squiggly line. The modern, minimal watch is made from stainless steel, and features a mineral glass crystal and a black leather band.

At first glance, you might be confused as to how to tell time on the Ora Unica, but it’s actually quite simple. Just look at the position of the inner end of the squiggle for the current hour, and the outer end for minutes. Simple, elegant, and truly unique. Bravo, Ora Unico!

Want one of these for your own wrist? Head on over to Speranza Design, where they sell for $135 to $150 (USD), depending on size.

[photos via: Funshop Korea]

I can’t read Italian, and the Google-translated version of the announcement on Wired Italy’s website is barely understandable, but it seems that – this is so damn strange, I can’t believe I’m writing this – in the unlikely event that the Internet wins the award, inventors Larry Roberts, Vinton Cerf and Tim Berners-Lee will be the ones to accept the Nobel Peace Prize in its behalf – the Internet has no hands, you see. What do you guys think?

Does our means of work, education, communication and entertainment deserve a Nobel Peace Prize? Why didn’t Wired Italy nominate Roberts, Cerf and Berners-Lee directly? Won’t it feel wrong to search for porn via a Nobel Peace Prize winner?

[via Forbes and Wired Italy]

Aside from collecting garbage, the Dustbot can also analyze the quality of the surrounding air. Its sensors can measure the amount of pollutants like sulfur oxide, benzene, ozone, and nitrogen oxide.

The touch screen monitor seems to be a way for users to tell Dustbot the type of garbage that they’re going to give to him – Vetro is Italian for glass, Carta means paper, etc. – so presumably it will have a way of marking or tagging the garbage bags that it collects. Inhabitat also adds that the Dustbot can be “summoned” via text messaging, and that it will be able to “remember” residents using some form of ID.

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Right now Dustbot isn’t nimble enough to navigate crowded streets, but that’s not my primary concern. I kinda wish that Dustbot would have a Taser, or at least a bottle of pepper spray, because sooner or later a bunch of bored kids or perhaps even thieves will mess with the poor ‘bot.  You can visit dustbot.org for more videos, pics and details.

The ZERO from Italy’s Tazzari Electric is getting set to hit U.S. shores by early 2010, and now there’s a chance for you to be the tooling around in this cute subcompact car before anyone else gets one.

The eco-friendly ZERO runs on lithium batteries, and is made from 100% recyclable aluminum. The ZERO is designed to handle like a sports car – assuming your definition of sports car tops out at 55 mph. At least it can accelerate from 0 to 30 in under 5 seconds. The real wheel drive ZERO features a wide wheelbase, a centrally-located engine, 15-inch wheels, and a low center of gravity in order to keep things feeling sporty.

Driving range is 140km (appx. 87 miles) per charge, and an innovative superfast charging system lets you recharge the car’s batteries to 80% capacity in just 50 minutes – although a full charge takes 9 hours, so an overnight juice-up is best.

Opening bid for the first ZERO is a cool $25,000, and you’ll need to pre-qualify to bid. In addition to the vinyl-skinned green ZERO pictured above, the winner will be flown to New York city to receive their car along with some other special perks. The auction ends on Wednesday, June 3rd, so if you want to bet the first, you’ll need to get over to eBay and get your bids in soon.

[Tazzari ZERO via i drive green]

BrionVega’s RR227 is a modern-day update of Marco Zanuso and Richard Sapper’s classic RR127 radio, which they created over 44 years ago. The updated model comes with AM and FM radio tuners, and the ability to play MP3 or WMA digital audio files. Just drop an SD card into the slot and connect your computer via USB to load it up with your tunes. There’s also an AUX jack for connecting your iPod or other media player too.

The RR227 features a unique design that lets you place it either horizontally or vertically and still make sense out of the tuning dial. The radio comes in white, black or red ABS plastic, making it both lightweight and sturdy. Sound is provided by a 3-watt amp, and there’s a headphone jack for listening to the radio in seclusion. While the radio comes with an AC power pack that probably won’t work in the U.S. without an adapter, you’ll be happy to know it runs on batteries too.

While I first found the RR227 over at French retailer Singulier for €199 (appx. $262 USD), you can also find them over on eBay Italy for around €150 (appx. $196 USD) with a little digging.

Inventor Claudio Torghele (not sure if he’s the guy in the pic) says that he got the idea ten years ago while he was working in – drum roll please – the United States, in California to be precise: “At food courts I saw a trend toward vending machines.” I’m wondering why he didn’t choose to put up the machines in the US rather than earning the ire of his countrymen.

Let’s Pizza offers four kinds of toppings: tomato and cheese, vegetables, ham, and bacon. After a topping is selected, the machine mixes flour and water into a drum. The drum spins to form a lump of dough that is then pressed to form a 12-inch disk. A squirt of tomato here, a sprinkle of cheese there, some… other stuff, and then it’s baked in an infrared oven. The finished product is then placed into a cardboard tray.

Pino Morelli, head of the Association of Italian Pizzerias, is insulted that such a device will soon co-exist with local pizzerias:  “It might be alright for McDonalds and other fast-food chains or for foreign markets like the US, China and India but anyone wanting to eat a real pizza has to go to a traditional pizzeria.” He’s not pissed off because there’s a new competitor in town – and I also think that fast food has a long way to go before it can be as delicious as restaurant/homemade food – he’s concerned that the machine might give pizza and Italy a bad name: “The pizza is the symbol of the ‘Made in Italy’ brand and we should let it live and prosper in peace.”

Would you buy instant pizza? Or will you let pizzas live and prosper in peace? Before reading this article were you aware that pizzas are alive?

[via Times Online and Slice]

The phone was seized in a raid of the Naples-based mafia group Camorra. According to BBC, the ugly outdated monochromatic phone gun can shoot up to four .22-caliber bullets out of its antenna ”in quick succession”. Look at that abomination. In a world filled with iPhones and Blackberrys, how the hell is that a disguise? What’s next? Pager Grenades?

[via BBC]

The undulating twists and turns of Kundalini’s Abyss table lamp may look a bit like your intestinal tract, but there’s something about the bendy organic form that I find mesmerizing.

The Abyss can be adjusted into a variety of shapes, thanks to its flexible segmented construction. Hiding beneath its opalescent polycarbonate skin are a number of bright white LEDs which provide clean, green illumination.

Can’t get the image of my lower intestine out of your mind? Perhaps you’d prefer to think about the lamp as something a little less slimy – maybe a snake or an earthworm.

You can find the Abyss Lamp from Y Lighting for about $500.

Created by Italian architect/designer Denis Guidone, these watches work their magic thanks to their minimal modern design. From a stark planet-like orbital design to a set of super-skinny hairline hands radiating from the center of another, all three of his newest designs are really quite stunning.

Adding to the effect is the dramatic contrast between the pure white hands floating effortlessly over a pitch black backdrop. Each watch is then finished off with a simple black leather band.

There’s no word at this point on if or when these watches will be produced for the masses, but I wouldn’t complain if the artist decided to make up a few functional prototypes and send them my way.

[via Design Milk via NOTCOT]

Nope, there’s nothing even remotely reminiscent of Pac-Man going on in QAYOT’s Pouf-Man designer seating collection. It’s just a strange coincidence that it has a similar name, that’s all.

I mean really, Pac-Man gobbled power pills and munched on ROUND dots. Nowhere in the original game do I remember any power squares or chewy cubes, do you? And Pac-Man was yellow, not black, white, brown or red, no?

As long as you’re not with the Namco legal division, head on over to the QAYOT website and check out the entire collection.

[Hometone via CribCandy via Inspire me, now!]

Designed by Iliara Marelli for Nemo Italianaluce, the Chain Lamp is a real thing of beauty. Made from case aluminum and lit by 4 bright white (1-watt) LEDs, its articulating body folds flat to form an accent light when you’re not using it for task illumination. When completely closed, it measures just 2.75″ tall (and looks like a high tech stapler). Open it up, and it can reach up to almost 22″ in height.

Of course, all this elegance comes at a cost. With an MSRP of $595 USD (and a street price around $450), the lamp sure isn’t cheap. But it should look damn fine sitting on your desk along that brand new 24-inch aluminum iMac you just dropped a couple of grand on, right? Ready to plunk down your hard earned cash? Head on over to CSN Lighting and place your order now.

While the Koffski No. 1 wallet set will definitely be a deterrent for would-be thieves, don’t be surprised when the police stop you and ask you to get down on your knees and lock your ankles together.

The holster wallet is actually comprised of three pieces, a wallet, a small bag, and a “V” connector, which happen to form something that looks suspiciously like a shoulder carry case for a gun. Made from fine Rugato calfskin, tanned in Tuscany, Italy, this isn’t some cheapie throwaway either.

Be prepared to walk around without any money in your wallet after the purchase, since it will set you back the tidy sum of €349 (appx. $543 USD). Of course, you could always save yourself the $500 bucks and just not carry the cash with you in the first place. But if you really have to look like a bad-ass, you can grab the complete set from design3000.

[via Random Good Stuff]

Italy’s Nacsound has created a line of speakers which look like something you’d find in a contemporary art museum (or at least a high-end furniture store). From the tabletop Omni (shown above), to the ceiling-to-floor suspended Kayak (shown below), Nacsound isn’t kidding around when it comes to their daring modern aesthetic.

Nacsound’s crafts the svelte speaker enclosures from materials such as clay or aluminum, then covers them with bold finishes including reflective copper, shiny platinum, blue/gold patina, matte graphite and black. The speakers themselves are made from innovative materials such as ceramics, aluminum and silk to produce room-filling omnidirectional sound.

Another speaker in the line is the elegant, minimal Zemi ceramic orb speaker which can be either hung from a ceiling cable or placed on a tabletop in a matching base. Luscious.

Of course, this kind of style never comes cheap. Nacsound speakers range from about $1,000 to $4,500 each. If your Italian isn’t particularly molto bene, North American distributor Sonance has English language  product information up on their website.

[via Tendance High Tech]

Created by Italian street artist Enrico Bertorelli — better known as Pixel Pancho — the Boot I series is a limited-edition ceramic art piece that’s a great addition any robot junkie’s collection. Only 29 each of the yellow and green robots have been made, so they’ll be a real collector’s item if you manage to get your hands on one.

I haven’t been able to find out how to purchase these little guys yet, but there is an Online Shop link over on the Superego website.

[via designboom]

Designed and handcrafted by Italy’s Toy Me Milano, the Sterling Silver rings are the perfect complement to your Pac-Man rings and Atari Joystick necklace.

While I couldn’t find a retailer who carries these, a little bird told me that design shop A+R carries the line, so they might be able to order ‘em for you.

[via geeksugar]

Until you turn on the Multibook, it looks a lot like an ordinary book. But with a digital clock and calendar embedded in its spine, along with bright illumination along the sides, it’s much more than bedside reading material. In addition to the red 7-segment LEDs which power the clock/calendar, another 74 individual LEDs provide ample illumination for a bedside table or as an accent lamp.

Once you flip open the book’s cover, you’ll be able to plug in three power adapters for your mobile electronics, keeping them out of sight when the cover is shut.

The Multibook comes in four colors: black, white, lacquer red and blue, and is available from Questo Design for €152.25 (appx. $217.53 USD). Unfortunately, it’s only available in a 220-volt configuration at present, so if you live outside of Europe, you’re out of luck for now.

[via acquire]

While the illuminated globes are absolutely stunning by night, they’re equally as interesting when turned off during the daylight hours.

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The installation, entitled Massimo Silenzio (Maximum Silence) is currently in place at the Circo Massimo in Rome, Italy, and will continue to be on exhibition through September 11th. If you happen to be in Rome for any reason, you should definitely check it out.

I’m hoping the Google Maps satellites manage to snap a shot of these before the exhibition ends.

[via NOTCOT]