The rig allows users to manipulate objects with a lot more dexterity, and it’s pretty easy to operate. The rig mimics your arms’ movements, so it’s quite intuitive. It could help during rescue operations, and it can also be controlled remotely so that it can operate in hazardous conditions.

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I wonder when these prototypes will see the light of day in production. Hopefully pretty soon, because I kind of like the idea of robots with giant arms roaming the streets someday.

[KSL Utah via Geekologie and DVice]

The phone has a lot of unusually sharp angles and comes from China, so there are no guarantees. It could definitely be a fake (especially considering it’s got the cryptic word ‘PROCEEDING’ engraved on the top).

The phone was even disassembled to check out what makes it tick, but I’m still a bit doubtful about its authenticity.

It’s definitely a departure from what BlackBerry smartphones are known for. It’s true that this could simply be a fake, or another device transplanted into a new case (though that looks unlikely from the interior photos).

Amidst all of the hoopla of RIM’s financial problems, I wonder if this phone will even sell. Especially if you can choose between the upcoming iPhone 5 and this one. Only time will tell.

[via Ubergizmo]

This camera is really cool and goes a few steps further in customization than just letting you choose lenses. The camera has an interchangeable grip and LCD as well. The weirdest of the devices is a concept called the Nikon Multiball. There aren’t any real details and the thing looks like some sort of 3D panoramic camera to me.

The next prototype camera looks like tablet with handles on each side. The thing has a 6-inch screen and an adjustable lever. Presumably the camera is on front and the big screen would let you see your photos and video more comfortably.

The Nikon i-Ball is anther concept with no description, but from its looks, I would bet it’s a webcam of some sort.

What do you think of these cameras?

[via Nikonrumors]

From this chair, you can be the Space Invaders king! It’s too bad that these are just prototypes of a chair that only some day be made by the design collective Dorothy. 

I hope that these guys decide to manufacture this chair, although I have trouble seeing where you’d rest your arms. I guess like the Iron Throne from Game of Thrones on HBO, not all thrones are comfortable.

[via GeekAlerts]

The McCar allows you to bypass walking or public transport and just zoom to your destination using the electric scooter that rolls out of the trunk. While this sounds pretty cool, the fact is that you could probably get the same result by using a Toyota Prius or Nissan Leaf and jamming a Segway inside.

The McCar will be available as a fully electric model, with a range of 93 miles, or a hybrid. The scooter can go 18 miles on a charge. Another option would be simply allowing to easily store a wheelchair or traditional electric scooter for people with limited mobility. A prototype of the McCar is currently on display at the Shanghai Motor Show.

For those of you who don’t already know, Geely is the Chinese company that now owns Volvo. I wonder what McDonald’s is going to say about the McCar?

[Born Rich via DVice]

The game is filled with odd glitches, new music, and sprite changes. These kinds of prototypes are very rare and usually don’t find their way out to the public. The prototype images are on the left while the real Zelda scans are on the right. There are less enemies in the prototype, and money is easier to come by.

You can check out the full details of the game over at The Cutting Room Floor. You can also download the ROM here .

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[via Lost Levels]

The Paris-based Sculpteo lets you upload 3D files in OBJ, 3DS, STL, SKP and other formats. They’ve also got a growing library of 3D models in their online gallery that you can choose from and have them reprint for you. They can even handle forms with moving parts.

Objects can range in size from 2-inches to 10-inches, and you can choose from either a durable white plastic or a full-color version suitable for display, but not for jointed or thin objects due to their plaster-like consistency. Prices vary depending on the size and volume of the materials used, and the Sculpteo site automagically calculates the price in real time.

So what are you waiting for? Customize and render your first 3D printed possession now over at Sculpteo now.

X313Xkillax has a video of a HP Slate prototype up on YouTube. He boots it up with Windows 7, but ultimately, it’s possible that another OS will have to be used, since Win7 isn’t really well optimized for finger operation (there’s some basic multi-touch support, but it’s pretty weak compared to dedicated mobile OSes.)

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It’s an interesting looking tablet, but will it really be able to tackle the iPad? I doubt it, but we’ll see. It’s got two cameras, making it already better equipped than the iPad from that perspective, but the Windows-based OS and apps will need major refinement for it to be a viable competitor.

Installed in the stand of Asetek’s prototype is a high performance radiator coupled with a low profile fan. The coolant is distributed to cold plates attached to the GPU and CPU via a pump. Also, Asetek would like us to know that these parts are all high performance or low profile or both, as explained by Thermal Engineer Todd:

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Ah, the old lab coat-wearing expert; why won’t you go away? No word yet on when the PC will be finalized, but I’m pretty sure this one won’t be cheap. That, and the fact that some PC enthusiasts actually enjoy customizing their rig means that this will have a limited appeal, but it’ll still find a home with well-moneyed folks, savvy graphics people, and hardcore gamers who don’t care about constantly upgrading their systems.

[via DVICE]

Engadget has revealed that the device, whatever the hell it is, has a front facing camera, 80GB of storage, and is dead. As in it’s not booting up. That’s what you get for boozing up, mysterious device.

The 4th picture may not be showing the exact same device shown in Engadget’s other pics, and if so, that only gives weight to them being legit. What do you think guys? Could these be the real deal?

[via Engadget]

On the other hand, arcade shmups like the Time Crisis and House of the Dead series have managed to incorporate multiple weapons, reload and a cover system using only a light gun and a pedal, so maybe XCM can still find a way to sexify this ugly mutant.

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Although the video above demonstrated the light gun’s sensor’s capabilities, in the gameplay video below the demonstrator uses the controller in the exact same way as you would a normal PS3 controller, i.e. using the two analog sticks, which kinda makes the point of a light gun moot.

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I’m not a fan of FPS games so I’m not too excited about this accessory, and I don’t think that its current form is comfortable enough to use for long periods of time. What do you guys think?

[via Maxconsole]

But wait, there’s more! With your iPhone’s Bluetooth you can connect to the wheels sensors with an iPhone app. The App will tell you your speed, direction, and distance traveled and will pull data from the Internet to inform you of traffic conditions, and even the smog levels around you. That’s a big plus if your already an avid biker and like to keep track of your daily trips.

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The Copenhagen Wheel is currently expected to be available some time next year with an estimated price range of $500 and $1,000 (USD).

[via Cnet]

As TechCrunch‘s Jason Kincaid said, you’ll only need three things to run the OS in your system. First you’ll need a Google Account ID, e.g. a Gmail account. Second, you’ll need the disk image itself, which you can either download via torrent (clicking that link will download the torrent file) or at gadget site gdgt. Finally, you’ll need VirtualBox, a free cross-platform virtualization program, although I see no reason why commercial alternatives like VMWare Fusion wouldn’t work.

If you’ve tried creating virtual machines before, the steps for installing Chrome OS are pretty straightforward. Just select Linux as the operating system and Ubuntu as the version, then choose “use existing hard disk” when asked which boot hard disk to use, next, next, next… and voila! You just installed the Chrome browser the hard way. Check out the full article at TechCrunch if you want a more detailed walkthrough.

Created by Japan’s PROTOTYPE design team, iPod Cluster Media is an early proof-of-concept that stitches multiple independent iPod Touches into a hive-mind display wall. Each iPod Touch knows what the other one is up to, letting touch signals on one display influence all of the others. There’s even a remote-control iPod that can be used to send information to the display wall. Check out the video below to see some of the cool multi-multi-touch action:

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The system can even send control information to an external interface (notice the synchronized LED base in the video). PROTOTYPE envisions that their creation will one day be used for interactive digital signage for tradeshows and other exhibitions. While the first version of the iPod Cluster display is formed from a grid of 20 individual iPod Touches, but from the looks of this image, these guys have much, much bigger plans up their sleeves:

I really hope there’s an App for that some day real soon.

[via Mongoose Studios]

Each Notepod is a pad of 100 pages of paper with a simulated iPhone screen on the front, and a handy grid of graph paper on the back. While a Notepod pad is a bit thicker than a real iPhone, it eventually gets super thin as you use up sheets.

They’re also perfect for going completely old school and cut out all technology from your life. Heck, you can even draw yourself a couple of paper fart apps if you want.

Notepods come in sets of 3 pads for $17.95 (USD) each, and are shipped from Australia – so they may take some time to get to you, depending on where you live. You can order a set here.

(P.S.: Notepods work great when combined with Design Commissions’ metal iPhone UI template).

[via swiss miss via Make:]

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.

Created by Mexico City industrial designer Alberico J. Camacho, the ROCK dons a tiny Nissan logo, and looks something like an oversize bowling ball on wheels. Or maybe the Dark Helmet that Rick Moranis wore in Spaceballs.

Yanko thinks ROCK might be some kind of interactive music player, something like the Sony Rolly. I’d rather dream big. I say it’s the first generation of vehicles for felines. I bet there are electrodes in there that plug directly into your cat’s tiny brain, which let your orange tabby become a yellow cabbie (see what I did there?). Go, Toonces!

Of course, my all my hopes and dreams of kitty traffic jams were shattered when I stumbled onto Alberico’s portfolio over on Coroflot. Turns out the ROCK isn’t a miniature car at all, but a scale model prototype for a concept car that Camacho worked up for Nissan.

Apparently, the car is designed for the Guitar Hero/Rock Band crowd, and comes complete with a trunk that appears to hold nothing but a guitar.

It’s still a pretty cool design, and I like it much better than those squared off “Cube” cars that are rolling off the assembly lines these days. But damn, what will my cat do to get around now?

The F1 is Bluetooth- and Wi-Fi-enabled. It also has GPS capabilities, an FM Tuner and a 5 megapixel camera with auto-focus.

I wish we had hi-res pictures that would do justice to the F1′s 3.8 inch touchscreen, but we’ll have to be content with these shots for now. I also wish that Google would polish up their translator, because I’m pretty sure that ePrice didn’t mean to say that the F1′s “biggest selling point is a 1 GHz processor, doubling the speed while not really, but to ensure faster. ”

Here we see the buttons in front of the phone. I’m not sure if that’s three or four buttons; the ePrice article probably mentions it but again the answer got lost in translation.

That’s the camera right there, along with the LED flash. The vents on the lower left are speakers, and the tiny dent on the upper left of the F1 is actually its stylus.

You can check out more details regarding the F1 at ePrice (Google Mangled Translated version). For our readers who can read Chinese, click here for the original article. And please tell us if we missed any juicy bits.

[via Akihabara News]

That’s just an Aquos LCD TV, not a picture of the LCD display in question. Sorry. But what I can share with you is that the new “Multi-Primary-Color Technology” is able to display 99% of the “real surface colors” thanks to two other color filters: cyan and yellow. Normally, more color filters also means larger power consumption, but Sharp claims that the 5-color setup compensates for that because it’s able to use the display’s backlight more efficiently.

It will take some time before the technology finds its way down to consumer products, but the 60.5-in, 1920 x 1080 full HD prototype is already on display at the ongoing Society for Information Display (SID) 2009. I bet it’s showing footage of roses cruising on a sea using brass plated boats.

[via Gadget Venue]

The Scarpar runs on two tracks and is powered by a four stroke engine. The board that you see above and in the video below is a prototype, so expect the design to change when – and if – the product is released. Braking and acceleration are controlled by hand. I’m no engineer but I think that’s where things might go horribly wrong. Skis, surfboards and skateboards are more or less directly controlled by our bodies; for a board that can go as fast as 35 mph (60 kph), a controller malfunction – or mistakenly activating accelerate instead of brake – will probably lead to some serious injuries. Unless of course the controls are intuitive; like grip the controller tight to accelerate and relax to brake.

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Scarpar Pty Ltd originally planned on releasing their board this year, but due to financial constraints – in their words:”Blame Wall Street!” – they had to move the release date to 2010. While I’m content with watching other people perform extreme sports, I think the efforts of the people behind Scarpar will lead to more user-friendly all-terrain pedestrian transports. So to all inventors and engineers out there: these guys are onto something! Forget the Segway, work on the Scarpar!

[via Gadget Grid]