This small owl is freaking awesome. If it sees an opponent, it’ll spread its swing making itself “puffy”. It even gives an eerie “death stare” with its big, brown, round eyes. The owl can also go skinny (almost shrinking), which is an amazing sight on its own. I don’t understand Japanese, so I don’t know why the owl does these tricks.
Enjoy the vid.
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Via: TV in Japan
Some people just can’t afford a high-tech home security system. Enter the Secure Dog, a barking dog alarm. Using microwave technology, the Secure Dog is able to detect presence through thick walls and doors. Once a person reaches within 20 feet, the Secure Dog will emit a realistic barking sound reminiscence of a German Shepard. The closer the intruder gets, the louder the bark. The further away they get, the Secure Dog will “bark” less frequent and more quieter. You can, of course, easily change the distance sensitivity.
However, if you wish to turn off the barking sound, you may do so with the press of a button. It’ll go from barking sounds to more ‘tranquil’ sounds of a rain forest in a flash. The Secure Dog measures 7.5 x 5 x 5.5 inches and provides 24 hour “protection”. Just make sure it stays connected to a 110V outlet. $79.95 via Milestone Saftey Products.
Don’t forget to place your “Beware of Dog” signs outside your house.
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Via: Spy Review
I’m pretty sure some of you have several iPods, because we all know how good Apple is enticing consumers into buying their latest and greatest. So, those of you with several iPods, don’t you wish you could charge and sync all of them simultaneously? Now you can with the iPod Charging and Synchronization Dock from PARAT Solutions. The device comes in a 15 or 30 unit model. The picture above is the 15-unit model.
Pricing and availability details unknown. Product page here.
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Via: Wired - Gadget Lab
Wishing for a more portable speaker attachment for your iPod? Look no further than the iPod Rotating Speakers Case. The stereo Speakers Case attaches to the rear of the iPod and features two speakers that can rotate to any configuration you desire. It includes a stereo mini-jack and input plug; it should give about 8 hours of continuous play. Maximum power output is 2 x 770mW, enough to turn your iPod into a mini boombox.
The iPod Rotating Speakers Case is compatible with the iPod Classic (80/160) and the fifth generation (30/60/80GB). It is available in either white or black. It begins shipping on March 31 from GeekStuff4U.
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Via: Akihabara News
Some dude from Fort Collins, Colorado, decided to take a Subaru Outback and turn it into the Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters. It took two weeks and hundreds of trips to Home Depot for the construction to complete. The car comes decked with the Ghostbuster decals, flashing lights, and even the siren sound from the original Ectomobile. The decals cost them about $200, with the light bars running $430 each. Unfortunately, the original Ecto-1 mod, which was a 1998 Subaru Outback, was rear ended by a semi. Thankfully, his insurance and donations from the community helped bring back the Ecto-1, but this time in the form of a 2003 Outback.
Video of a drive-by:
Read the rest of the story at this thread in the NASIOC forum.
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Via: OhGizmo!
Futronic’s FS88 fingerprint reader has been given the FBI’s stamp of approval. Specifically, the FS88 meets US Federal Information Processing Standard 201 (FIPS 201) for Personal Identification Verification of Federal Employees and Contractors. What’s the big deal you ask? Well, this fingerprint scanner can detect whether or not the finger being scanned is alive or not. It’ll reject any dead fingers, so you can forget about the crap you’ve seen in movies where a chopped off finger is used to bypass fingerprint scanners. The FS88 also features a 14 mm thick scanning glass that resists scratches and other abuse. The entire device is rather small: 66 x 66 x 29 mm and weighs 150 grams (0.33 pounds).
Press release here.
Tech Specs:
- Fingerprint scanning window size is 16.26 x 24.38mm
- Image resolution is 480×320 pixel, 500 DPI
- Raw fingerprint image file size is 150K byte
- With Live Finger Detection (LFD) feature
- USB 2.0 compatible interface, plug and play device
- Unique serial number programmed to USB Device Descriptor
- With 16K Byte memory for application-specific data storage
- With a 2M standard USB cable
- Small size, 66 x 66 x 29 mm
- Light weight, 150 gram
- Operation temperature: -10 to +55 Degree Celsius
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Via: PCDistrict
The Single Person Cooker is a portable all-in-one kitchen, complete with bowls, eating utensils, cutting board, and even a heat range. If you didn’t notice, the lid is the cutting board! It is compact, so it is perfect for those living in tiny studio apartments, especially the dorm room college student. The Single Cooker also has a Wi-Fi enabled screen to download recipes off the net.
The Single Person Cooker was entered into the Ideal Home Show Concept Products competition.
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Introducing the Kyosho MANOI AT01 robot. Modified by Dr. GIY of Japan, the ATO1 robot is modified to compete in the 5 meter dash of the Kyosho Athlete Humanoid Cup competition. The original version of the robot was too limited, allowing only 17 degrees of movement in the legs. The exact modifications Dr. GIY did remains unknown, but it is speculated that the modified version borrows legs from other robot models, providing much better movement and support. He may have also upgraded the robot with an R/C receiver/transmitter for better control.
I’m sure there’s a gyroscope somewhere in the ATO1. How does it maintain its balance?
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Via: ROBOTS DREAMS
