You might recall a while back that we featured robots TUM-James and TUM-Rosie cooking up some breakfast sausages and baguettes. Now, the robotic duo from the Technical University in Munich are back, with snack foods and lunch on the menu this time. James cooks his popcorn on the stovetop using a pot and hot cooking oil, and inspired by this xkcd comic, Rosie does her best to compose a salami and cheese sandwich on toast (with mayo.) Not that he quite gets how to use a toaster. Here’s a video clip showing of the ‘bots prepping some grub for onlookers:

You’ll notice that video was sped up by a 10x factor, as it apparently takes the robots a bit more time to perform their cooking tasks than we humans have the patience to watch. That said, here’s a version at normal speed which explains a bit more about what James and Rosie are up to in the kitchen:

Wow, there sure is a lot for those robots to think about. Makes our puny human brains seem so much more impressive. I love how Rosie has to stab the cheese and bread with a fork to make her sammie. If I had my own robot servant, I think I’d just have him put a bag of Orville Redenbacher’s in the microwave and press the “Popcorn” button, then send him out to Subway for sandwiches.

[via Tasteologie]

Instead of the nasty MREs that the military currently serves, this sandwich has meat, cheese, and lettuce inside of bread. It’s a lot like a Hot Pocket. Supposedly, it even tastes good. For food to rot, you need oxygen and water. This two year sandwich uses preservation techniques to keep the H2O in check.

Take jam for instance. It has a high water content and stays fresh because the sugar locks in the moisture and the container is air-tight. They’ve done the same thing here. The two-year sandwich has sugar and a packet of iron fillings in its vacuum-sealed wrapping. The iron draws in excess moisture, converts it into rust, and traps it. So you have a sandwich that stays fresh. This means that we can feed soldiers a better meal in the field, even if it’s been sitting around for years.

[BBC via Popsci via Geek]

Students from the University of Tokyo and Technische Universität München programmed this PR2 to take the simple request “Please bring me a sandwich,” and figure out exactly what it needs to do. Armed with a digital map of its environment, and leveraging semantic search information, the robot is able to determine not only what foodstuffs constitute a sandwich, but also what sort of locations are most likely to have sandwiches, such as a fridge or a Subway sandwich store. Watch as PR2 works his sandwichcraft in this video:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

I love how the robot looks in the fridge first, and realizes there are no sammies present, so he then has to head out to forage for sandwiches in the wild. And what’s with the guy just handing over a bag of five-dollar-footlongs without the robot giving the clerk any cash? Is PR2 wielding a gun in his other claw? Or does Subway just have a rule in Japan that all robots eat free?

[via IEEE Spectrum via PopSci]

I have covered weapons and survival tools a lot, but I neglected the foodstuffs you will need. Zombies aren’t good eatin’ afterall. Right next to my trusty Crovel in my zombie survival kit will be the Tactical Sammich over at ThinkGeek. I could really just say this and be done – It’s a damned hot pocket with a 2-year shelf life. Most zombie fighters will just agree that I had them at “hot pocket” and move on, even if the Sammich not actually hot.

I know that some of you frou-frou zombie fighters will want to know more. It’s going to be important to keep fit when fighting zombie hoards, you don’t want to get winded after all or pull a hammy running away. The Tactical Sammich only has 300 calories, perfect for staying in fighting shape. The Sammich comes in Pepperoni and Honey BBQ flavors. The only downside is the Sammich costs $5.99 each making it a costly addition to your kit.

The Chicken Burger USB Hub definitely wins the prize for the best and most descriptive product name of the week. Yep, it looks like a chicken sandwich, but don’t try and take a bite out of it, or you’ll be in for a rude awakening. Your teeth and stomach will not be happy when you chomp down on a bunch of USB connectors and memory sticks.

Want one of these awesomely weird things? Head on over to our friends at Brando, where you can have one for the low, low price of $19 (USD). Me, I’m headed to KFC for a Double Down instead.

It’s the Pac-Manwich! And that’s not just a clever name (though it is oh-so-clever); this baby actually is a Manwich. Or rather, it’s stuffed with Manwich, and it looks like it would definitely eat like a meal.

A messy meal, too. But when has anyone ever been able to eat a Sloppy Joe-style sandwich with any dignity?

But back to the sandwich! Great idea. Greater name. The raisins? I appreciate the artistry, but the idea of a raisin on my Manwich is a little barf-worthy, though I’m not sure what could have replaced them in order to keep the effect. Cutting bits of cheese sounds like too much work.

Salami, kielbasa, cheese, bread–there’s all sorts of goodness in this cubewich! It’s got everything but real puzzle factor, because I’m sure if you tried to turn it, the whole thing would just fall apart, and that would be a waste. Guess you’d just have to eat it instead.

I’ve been trying to think of other foods you could do this with besides fatty and processed meats and cheeses, and I’m drawing a blank. I guess you could cube come chicken, but would it be the same?

[via ForeverGeek]

It all started when I saw this phone that looked like a sandwich, or rather, that looked like a phone horribly smooshed into a sandwich. This led me to the Fun Home Products Custom Phone site and let me tell you, they have lot of very bizarre phones. For example, this phone disguised in a fruit basket. Perfect if you happen to be Carmen Miranda.

Maybe you’re just a one-fruit type of guy. In that case, I’m really feeling this pineapple phone. Of course, the cord is kind of ruining it in all cases. Couldn’t they use cordless phones for that true trompe l’oeil fruit-phone illusion?

It should also be noted that if food’s not your thing, you can get such innovative designs as this phone made from a real brick- although, I’m guessing you wouldn’t want to talk too long if you had to hold a brick up to your ear.

See all of the crazy phone choices and commission one of your own designs here.

[sandwich phone via ShinyShiny]

Today’s special: these Freshly Baked USB Drives, featuring enough carbs to make Dr. Atkins turn over in his grave. Coming soon from Vavolo, the drives will come in hamburger, french bread, pizza, hot dog, sandwich and even challah raisin bread varieties.

[via Chip Chick]