softexpose.com

Filed under: Transportation

We’ve seen a lot of all-electric cars come and go, but scant few from the major automotive manufacturers — aside from the EV1, of course — so Nissan’s Mixim concept caught our eye with more than just its swoopy lines . The baby hatchback weighs just 2100 pounds and clocks in at a tiny 145 inches end-to-end — but inside that diminutive shell you’ll find seats for three, a lithium-ion battery pack and two Nissan “Super Motors” that provide the Mixim with all-wheel-drive. Since it’s a concept, it’s got to have a crazy interior, and and the central driving position and video game-influenced controls don’t disappoint — welcome to Blade Runner, kids. The Mixim is just a concept, but here’s hoping the next all-electric car from a major manufacturer we hear about will be ready for the street.

[Via GizMag]

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Originally by Nilay Patel from Engadget on August 30, 2007, 7:11pm

Filed under: Displays

Researchers at USC have taken another step towards that holiest of sci-fi dreams: the 3D holographic display. Using a spinning mirror covered with a “holographic diffuser,” a special DVI implementation, and a high-speed projector, the team’s device can project a three-dimensional image that can be viewed from 360 degrees — regardless of the viewer’s height and distance. That’s impressive, but that spinning mirror looks pretty dangerous. Check a video of the system in action after the break.

[Via Core77]

Continue reading Researchers develop a 360-degree holographic display

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Originally by Nilay Patel from Engadget on August 31, 2007, 2:59am

Filed under: Robots

Apparently looking to show off the dexterity of its “Airic’s_arm,” automation firm Festo recently put together a slick promotional video that appears to show the robot arm writing “HELLO” on a touchscreen monitor. It seems that the arm may have had ideas of its own, however, as the writing appears to spell out “HELP” as much as it does “HELLO.” Exactly what sort of distress the arm had to endure to cause it to issue this potentially non-existent plea, we’re not sure. but we’d recommend that the folks at Festo not turn their back on the thing unless they want some robot arms of their own. Hit up the read link below for the complete video.

[Thanks, Chad]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Originally by Donald Melanson from Engadget on August 30, 2007, 12:03pm

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

The only thing better than watching HD is learning how it actually works. So we took a trip down to WFTS in Tampa Florida to get schooled on what it took for them to upgrade their daily newscast to HD. And yes, we took lots of pics.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Originally by Ben Drawbaugh from Engadget on August 30, 2007, 10:21am

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Transportation

It looks like those not satisfied with the current security measures on their vehicle will soon have another option at their disposal for some added peace of mind, with ATRD’s new M10 device set to offer some fingerprint scanning as a means of last resort. The system can apparently be retrofitted into just about any vehicle, with a variety of different modules available to integrate it with various alarm and immobilization systems. With the device installed, you’ll have to first put the key in your vehicle to start the electronics, and then place your finger on the scanner in order to start the ignition. For those sharing a vehicle, you’ll be able store up to ten different prints, and there’s also a “valet mode” that’ll let others drive the vehicle. No word on a price or release date, but we’re sure some of you can whip up your own solution with some off-the-shelf gear — if you haven’t already.

[Via Autoblog]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Originally by Donald Melanson from Engadget on August 24, 2007, 2:40pm

Filed under: Robots

Yeah, we’ve seen some pretty fancy robotic arm work already this year, but Festo is out to show ‘em all up with its fluidic muscle-packin’ Airic’s_arm. This robotic prosthesis sports a “bone structure” which mimics that found on a real live human, and can be moved via the 30 “muscles” built within. Essentially, Festo’s approach to movement relies on “an elastomer tube reinforced by aramid fibers, which contract quickly and exert a pulling force when they’re filled with a blast of compressed air or liquid.” Of course, you’ll notice it doesn’t offer quite the same range as less bionic alternatives, but this thing’s pretty accurate, indeed. Check it out for yourself, the video’s right down there.

[Via DesignNews]
Read - Festo’s Airic’s_arm
Read - Video of Airic’s_arm in action

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Originally by Darren Murph from Engadget on August 24, 2007, 8:29am

Filed under: Robots

We’re told this type of battle is indeed legal in certain corners of the universe, but we honestly never thought we’d see the day when a gallinaceous bird came to the human’s side to fend off the impending robotic takeover.

Ryan: “That sound? Seth Green and Adult Swim filing suit over the Robot Chicken trademark.”
Thomas: “Quit your cock blocking and fight!”
Darren: “These wooden posts are such lame excuses for adequate prostheses.”
Paul: “Look, I know you’re scared. We’re all scared. But if robots and robo-chickens can’t learn to live in harmony, we might as well just let the humans have the earth all to themselves.”
Evan: “Not surprisingly, the martial arts sequel to Howard the Duck tanked at the box office.”
Don: “2019: Despite repeated protests from People for the Ethical Treatment of Robots, the title bout between Robo Chicken and BD “Boxy Hands” 209 went on as planned.”
Josh: “I love you!” — “It’ll never work!”

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Originally by Darren Murph from Engadget on August 24, 2007, 11:23am

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

As the wave of recalls continue to flow in, a pair of backpack blowers from Shindaiwa look to be claiming next. Reportedly, the “muffler’s outer shell can melt, allowing exhaust gas to exit from the bottom or back side of the muffler.” Consequently, the “exhaust gas may cause damage to the fuel tank creating a possible fire hazard for the user.” To date, the outfit is only aware of a single incident where “a small muffler fire was involved,” but no humans were maimed and no property was marred. Still, if you’re the owner of an EB630 or EB630RT, we’d recommend getting set up with a free muffler replacement before firing that bad boy back up again.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Originally by Darren Murph from Engadget on August 24, 2007, 11:44am

Filed under: Gaming

We’re going to have to go on record and claim that the Pong wristwatch still looks to be the smallest iteration of Pong that we’ve seen to date, but we’ll let Ronald Dekker shakily hold the record for the smallest version that’s easily channeled to a TV set. Nevertheless, the &microPONG creation is indeed quite diminutive, using just “an eight-pin PIC processor along with two potentiometers for the bat controls, just as the original.” Per usual, the circuity knowledge used to actually assemble this thing is a hair beyond our realm of expertise, but judging by the extensive lineup of graphs and figures shown in the read link, those even partially in the know may be able to pull something similar off themselves.

[Via MAKE]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Originally by Darren Murph from Engadget on August 24, 2007, 6:01am

Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment

That boring piece of kit can be from none other than Sanyo. Too bad, ’cause this pig can hunt. The LP-Z2000 1080p projector loads what appears to be the same trio of Epson-made 0.74-inch LCDs as Mitsubishi’s LVP-HC6000 which offers the same 10-bit color reproduction and hushed 19dB operational noise level. The Sanyo betters its peer however, with a reported 15,000:1 contrast ratio, 2x zoom, and blinding 1200 lumens off a 165W UHP lamp. They’ve even tossed in a couple of component connections on top of a pair of HDMI 1.3a terminals. All this for a tad more at ¥378,000 (about $3,255) if you’re living in Japan where this baby hits on November 1st. Paper bag for that mug, extra.

[Via Impress]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Originally by Thomas Ricker from Engadget on August 24, 2007, 4:34am