The Geek Church

Hot Wheels, those classic cars that we pushed around on hardwood floors, have now become remote controlled. The iNitro Kit is designed to work with an iPhone, and it becomes the remote control unit.

The iNitro uses an infrared signal, and the user needs to use the included Dongle to plug onto their iPhone. As you might have guessed, there is an app for controlling the car.

The application has several ways to control the car. One of them is the traditional dual stick interface that you see on most RC cars. There is also an accelerometer function in case you want to tilt and shift controls. There is even a “Slide” function that allows the user to drag one’s finger across the interface to control the car in pre-determined patterns.

Yes, this sounds like something that I definitely want to take for a spin. You can see from my Source how there was apparent test run, but I don’t see any word on price or availability.

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I think that we all know how much Siri has changed the way we look at voice controlled technology. If it hasn’t, then I can understand that too.

If you are interested in some kind of voice controlled technology for your alarm clock, then you might look into the Digit, ivee’s first implementation of a digital alarm clock with 35 voice-activated commands.

Digit is a 3-inch LCD digital alarm clock that allow the user to voice activate three sleeps sounds, three alarm sounds, a nine-minute snooze, and a timer that comes with a USB AC adapter.

I got a chance to try it out at CES, and it really is as simple as walking up to the unit and saying “hello ivee”. You can then just set the alarm via vocal controls, which really makes things easier. After all, who hasn’t had some doubt when it comes to setting their alarm clock.

You can also get the Digit and the Flex with a 5 inch LED display and more sleep sounds for $59.99. The Digit has a 3-inch display for about $49.99 at this site.

In today’s culture, we continue to see the development of devices designed to be modern conveniences for our everyday life. Some examples include GPS technology for easy road navigation, Bluetooth headsets for hands-free phone calls and voice-controlled car stereos for convenient access to your music playlist. But now a robotic duo has been developed by Norris Labs to serve you cold drinks in the home.

Steve Norris from Norris Labs created two robots called Baxter the ButlerBot and RoboFridge and he named the pair, the Beverage Delivery System. Basically, this dynamic duo was designed to bring you a cold, canned beverage while you sit comfortably on your chair or couch. Furthermore, these robots work together to get the job done since they are a pair. Baxter operates as a delivery boy to bring you the drink while RoboFridge functions like a non-coin op vending machine to dispense the drinks for Baxter to deliver. In order to use the Beverage Delivery System, you make a drink request via remote control and the route to and from RoboFridge is given to Baxter through a wireless link. Routes for Baxter then come in the form of instructions for navigation such as ‘go to beacon,’ ‘follow line,’ and ‘turn right 90 degrees.

Currently, this Beverage Delivery System known as Baxter the ButlerBot and RoboFridge is only effective when they’re used on the same floor of a building. Nevertheless, Steve Norris intends for Baxter to have the capability for multiple routes in different locations eventually. He went on to say that Baxter can handle carrying a canned drink just as well as an actual person would. He plans to improve the robotic duo’s bartendering skills for his home office as well. Thus, the day of robot servants in the home may finally be upon us. This new modern convenience may be embraced by the consumer if it becomes a mainstream product but it could come with some repercussions. Films of science fiction have taught us that machines tend to turn against the humans who use them. Nonetheless, an actual problem in reality might be obesity and poor health due to a lifetime of modern conveniences.

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Development of military technology has recently taken an unexpected turn in the creation of new combat hardware. Apparently, remote-controlled robot drones are a frontier of great interest for researchers in Israel. They have actually created a small robot that finds and neutralizes explosives and enemy targets hiding on the battlefield.

Israeli scientists in the field of robotics developed a machine they call the Pincher. The purpose of this robot drone is to counteract the threat of hidden improvised, explosive devices (IEDs) by detonating them before they can be triggered by unsuspecting soldiers or civilians. The Pincher uses a small, eight-inch rocket called a pyrophoric arrow, which will embed itself into an explosive and burn it up after being fired. Of course, the idea behind this robot is to give military personnel the ability to go into hostile territory and flush out unexpected threats without risking the lives of one’s own troops.

However, the Pincher is only fifty square inches in size, so it’s small enough to be considered a children’s toy. Nevertheless, such a device could open new possibilities for attack and defense capabilities on the battlefield and preserving the lives of soldiers despite its size. After all, one should never underestimate the little guy in the art of warfare.

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When it comes to cleaning carpets in the home or on the job, vacuum cleaners are usually the weapon of choice for doing such a task. Of course, well-known companies such as Hoover, Eureka, and Oreck all claim that they have the best to offer in terms of vacuum cleaner technology. However, I wonder if any of them has ever tried or even thought of creating an automatic, self-operating vacuum cleaner with a camera for capturing live footage of your carpet while in use.

Well, Chinavasion has already built this carpet-cleaning innovation. They call the G182. It is actually a smart robot designed to function as a vacuum cleaner. It comes with a recharging base that it can dock with automatically. It also has a wireless IR virtual fence that prevents it from going into places that the user considers undesirable. Another feature of the G182 is a tilt IR-equipped web camera that can be operated by remote control and a net connection. The camera can be linked to your home Wi-Fi network to give you live footage and audio capability when the robot is in active use.

You can have this new smart vacuum for only $500 if you like spending that much on home cleaning appliances. But before you pull out your wallet or checkbook, dear reader, be aware that this innovation has a significant flaw. Due to the webcam mounted on the top, the robot unit will not fit under most couches, so you’d still have to move the couch yourself to get at the dirt underneath. This fact certainly does not add credibility to such a new innovation that’s supposed to give great convenience to the consumer.

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What you see right there is the Loop from Hillcrest. It is an “air-mouse” that uses motion controls to shift the cursor around on your PC, and it is also compatible with gaming systems like the Xbox 360 and PS3.

I had a chance to try it out, and found that my computer recognized it instantly. It is a pretty good product if you like to use air mice, and its shape is as practical as it is lovely. It costs about $99, and if you want to know more information, then you can read my full review here.

So what are we looking at in this picture? This is Harry Potter after the Epilogue of the last book. As you can see, Harry has found a steady job and has long since given up a life of adventure so he can afford to send his kids to Hogwarts. His couch potato boring life makes him long for Voldemort to be resurrected yet again.

Just kidding. This is the Kymera wand, which allows the user to wave up and down to change the channels. A clockwise or counter-clockwise motion changes the volume. It is available for pre-order at this site in October for about $84.

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