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This remote-controlled helicopter has the unique ability to be flown by voice command.
Japan’s Taiyo Toy makes these unusual toy helicopters that come with a voice control mode. Just speak into the included microphone, and you can direct the helicopter up and down, and turn the engines off and on.
Of course, it doesn’t quite understand English, so the commands…
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June 25th, 2009
stumble it! digg it!
author: technabob
filed under: cool toys strange + wonderful
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Remember the BowLingual? Released in the early 2000’s, the device claimed that it could translate your dog’s barks into phrases and emotions that told you what your dog was thinking, or how it was feeling. Now the BowLingual has gotten a 2009 upgrade, which actually gives your dog a human voice.
Just place the bark-sensor collar around your pup’s neck,…
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June 20th, 2009
stumble it! digg it!
author: technabob
filed under: gadgets strange + wonderful technology
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Do you swear like a truck driver? Yeah, me too. Now you can clear any room by dropping the old F-Bomb, literally.
Just toss this plush softball-sized cartoon “bomb” into any room and as soon as it hits the floor, it’ll shout out your favorite four-letter word. Toss a dozen of these into your company’s next shareholder meeting to keep…
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December 24th, 2008
stumble it! digg it!
author: technabob
filed under: just plain fun strange + wonderful
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Are you a lonely geek who thinks your only companion is your computer? Is your closest friend merely a text link on twitter? That’s okay. Because now, your mouse can now provide you with daily affirmation that you are truly loved.
That’s right. Leave it to the wacky Japanese to come up with this heart-shaped USB computer mouse that does…
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September 21st, 2008
stumble it! digg it!
author: technabob
filed under: gadgets strange + wonderful
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With the new Clone Wars animated film hitting theaters next week, why not show up to the premiere in style? This new helmet not only makes you look like a Clone Trooper, it lets you sound like one too.
Just slip the helmet over your head, switch it on, and it makes your voice sound like that static-y radio chatter…
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August 8th, 2008
stumble it! digg it!
author: technabob
filed under: just plain fun
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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…
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February 28th, 2008
stumble it! digg it!
author: technabob
filed under: gadgets just plain fun
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Ever feel like telling one of those stupid voice-recognition phone systems exactly where it can stick option number 2?
Carnegie Mellon alumnus, humorist and robotics author Daniel H. Wilson stars in this humorous video clip of what happened when he got a little too snarky with Diane, the voice behind an Automated Voice Response (AVR) system.
Be sure to check…
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February 1st, 2008
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author: technabob
filed under: just plain fun robotics
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Back in the early 1980s, long before the Xbox 360, Wii and PS3 dominated the “next-gen” video game market, a little known console lived on the cutting-edge of gaming technology. The RDI Halcyon was a LaserDisc-based gaming system which was designed to bring the first full-motion video gaming experience to your living room. Now one of these rare gaming systems…
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January 26th, 2008
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author: technabob
filed under: retro video games
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Plug this beefy-looking plastic thug into your USB port, and it’s supposed to scare those who approach it away from your computer.
While it’s called the USB Terminator, it looks more like the bouncer who’d tell you to hit the road because you can’t come into the trendy new nightclub dressed like Andy Sipowicz.
The gadget claims to ward off…
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October 15th, 2007
stumble it! digg it!
author: technabob
filed under: cool toys gadgets just plain fun
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The engineers over at VoiceSignal have put together a prototype voice recognition application for the iPhone that makes it capable what I’ve been dreaming that Apple would add to its iPods for years. The demo application, called “VTunes” shows off voice-based selection of songs.
I’ve always thought that voice-driven song selection would be perfect for those times when you just…
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August 23rd, 2007
stumble it! digg it!
author: technabob
filed under: media players mobile tech
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Here’s a pretty impressive demonstration of a complex new speech recognition technology. The robot in this video clip is able to listen to three people speaking at the same exact moment, understand exactly what they each said, then process the data dynamically.
Be sure to have your speakers turned on for this video clip or you’ll miss how it works.…
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July 28th, 2007
stumble it! digg it!
author: technabob
filed under: future tech robotics
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AT&T and Apple today revealed what it will cost monthly to use your shiny new iPhone. The good news is that all of the calling and data plans include unlimited data, Visual Voicemail and mobile-to-mobile calling.
Plans start at $59.99 per month, depending on how many voice minutes you want. Also bundled in are 200 SMS text messages per month.…
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June 26th, 2007
stumble it! digg it!
author: technabob
filed under: media players mobile tech
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Soon you’ll be able to speak to your Nintendo Wii. Heck, you’ll be able to sing to it too. Speech recognition middleware maker Fonix today announced the availability of their VoiceIn voice software for the Wii.
The software will enable developers to add voice command capabilities to games with little impact on CPU or memory usage. In addition, their a…
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June 25th, 2007
stumble it! digg it!
author: technabob
filed under: video games
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The editors over at Fortune magazine were kind enough to dissect the Nintendo Wii controller recently, revealing an interesting tidbit.
In addition to all of the well known features of the controller, the Wii-mote appears to have a special chip on board which is designed for voice processing applications. According to Fortune, the so-called “Audio Translator” chip is designed to…
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May 31st, 2007
stumble it! digg it!
author: technabob
filed under: video games
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Think you’re the next American Idol? If that’s the case, you might want to pick up one of these MP3 players
The Digital Cowboy CA-K7 media player features the unique ability to remove vocals and a built-in microphone to sing along to your favorite tunes. The player can handle MP3, WMA, OGG audio formats and also has an FM radio…
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May 25th, 2007
stumble it! digg it!
author: technabob
filed under: gadgets media players
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