DIY Robot
Lego’s next-generation robot-making kit is warmer and fuzzier than the original. The Mindstorms NXT Robotics Toolset will be available in August for $250. Toys created with it can sense and respond to movement, touch and sound. They may also be controlled remotely from a cell phone or other handheld via Bluetooth. The kit contains 519 styles of Legos for making robots that resemble humans, machines and animals.
Bouncy Camera
Make like a Surrealist and create art by playing with chance. Danish industrial designers Eschel Jacobsen and Mads Ny Larsen have created a concept camera that’s part rubber ball. The Satugo automatically snaps a photo when it hits a surface, or its timer and flash can be set so the camera shoots from high in the air. It also can be used as a Webcam and for mobile data storage. To view pictures or charge the battery, the user connects the camera to a computer via a USB port. The 3-megapixel camera won’t be damaged by bouncing and is waterproof. The pair estimate that the Satugo, if produced, would retail for about $70.
Got Game
Philips’ Entertaible melds video games with traditional board games. The digital game board consists of an LCD touch screen that can simultaneously sense dozens of objects, such as fingers and dice. The company said it hopes to encourage social interaction among friends and families. Philips demonstrated the board, which is still in development, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week.