DIY Motorized Omnidirectional Robot Couch: I’d Buy That for a Dollar!

Posted on 07/09/2014 by Lambert Varias

We’ve seen a couch on wheels before, but this one made by Engineering students in University of New South Wales (UNSW) Australia can drive in any direction and has a Raspberry Pi for a brain.

Led by Steph McArthur and Will Andrew, the UNSW students built a custom steel chassis equipped with four independently controlled Mecanum wheels, which use multiple rollers instead of a single tire to achieve omnidirectional movement. The wheels are powered by electric scooter motors. The students use a gamepad (UNSW states that its an Xbox gamepad, but I’m pretty sure it’s from Logitech) to steer the couch while they chill on it.

There’s a slightly longer video of the couch in action at the UNSW Faculty of Engineering’s Facebook page. The students are constantly working on the couch, especially on its wheels. Andrew said that right now, “[i]f there’s different types of terrain under each wheel, or there’s more load on one wheel than the others, then the couch doesn’t drive as you intend it to.” They also want to add sensors and make the couch move autonomously. Now that would be a rockin’ chair.

[via UNSW via Ubergizmo]

Honda’s UNI-CUB mobility device is the butt of ASIMO’s jokes

Posted on 15/05/2012 by James Trew

Our humanoid friend ASIMO had better start counting his blessings. If fate had dealt him another hand, he could have ended up as the behind-wearing UNI-CUB. Honda's latest personal mobility device appears to be a robotic stool with an omnidirectional wheel (dubbed the Honda Omni Traction Drive System, no less). You control speed and direction of the UBI-CUB by shifting your weight in the saddle, and the unit is designed to keep you at eye-level with non chair-riding pedestrians. Obviously this is no all-terrain vehicle, but it does claim to be able to handle gradients, has a top speed of six km/h and a range just under four miles. Which should be plenty for the National Museum of Engineering in Japan where these butt-supporting bots will be demonstrated in June.

Continue reading Honda's UNI-CUB mobility device is the butt of ASIMO's jokes

Honda's UNI-CUB mobility device is the butt of ASIMO's jokes originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 May 2012 16:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jawbone unleashes Big Jambox, beefs up its Bluetooth ‘smartspeaker’ lineup

Posted on 01/05/2012 by Joe Pollicino

We've had a shimmer in our eye for Jawbone's $200 Jambox, the itty bitty Bluetooth 'smartspeaker,' ever since it was released back in late 2010. So, imagine our delight now that the company has just stepped things up to a larger level with its new $300 Big Jambox. Measuring in at well over double the size of the original, the 2.7-pound speaker is still very similar in design and features the familiar perforated metal grill designs by Yves Behar -- starting May 15th, you can pick one up in your choice of Red Dot, Graphite Hex and White Wave. The larger footprint helps it to be more functionally capable than its sibling, yet it's still small enough to carry in one hand. On top, the unit sports playback controls in addition to the requisite volume and talk buttons, while on the side you'll find a USB connection (for software updates), power input 3.5mm jack, Bluetooth-pairing button and a power button.

To pump out the jams, the Big Jambox features an airtight enclosure loaded with a duo of active neodymium drivers and opposing dual-passive bass radiators to handle all the wub wub you can throw at it. A 2,600mAh rechargeable battery will get you roughly 15 hours of totally wireless listening time (500 on standby), but -- as is the case with the original -- you still can't share that juice with your gadgets. Positively, Android users can take advantage of the Big Jambox's exclusive Companion app, which allows the unit to do tricks such like sync up with your G-cal to inform you about your appointments. Lastly, like the Jambox, the Big Jambox features MyTalk voice prompts / app compatibility, along with Live Audio DSP to give your sounds an immersive "3D" feel. Curious to find out more? We spent a full weekend with the new gizmo, and you can catch our full review by clicking here. Full press release after the break.

Gallery: Jawbone Big Jambox (press images)

Continue reading Jawbone unleashes Big Jambox, beefs up its Bluetooth 'smartspeaker' lineup

Jawbone unleashes Big Jambox, beefs up its Bluetooth 'smartspeaker' lineup originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 May 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jawbone Big Jambox review

Posted on 01/05/2012 by Joe Pollicino

It was back in February when we first caught wind a beefier version of Jawbone's Jambox, thanks to some less-than-stealthy ninjas at the FCC. Today it's officially here. Dubbed Big Jambox, this $300 Bluetooth speakerphone and "smartspeaker" is unsurprisingly a supersized -- yet still portable -- version of the new-age micro-boombox that the won us over back in 2010. Naturally, there have been some tweaks to go along with the bigger footprint, but all the core features including Jawbone's MyTalk apps and noise-cancelling know-how are in tow. Now that we've used it extensively for a few days, we're ready to answer some questions you might have. Does it follow the old adage that bigger is better? How will it fit into your lifestyle compared to the Jambox? And most importantly, is it worth the asking price?

Gallery: Jawbone Big Jambox review