Monday, April 5, 2004
Control a Robot Dinosaur with your Pocket PC!
Posted by Pat Logsdon in "OFF-TOPIC" @ 02:15 PM
Click for hi-res photo!
I don't know about you, but I was thinking to myself just last week, "Self, why are there no robot dinosaurs that I can control with my Pocket PC?" Sensing the desperate need in the market for such a product, Sanyo has updated their "Banryu" guard robot with just this functionality! As an added bonus, it can tell you what the stars fortell as well! I can see it now: "Gemini - Your cat will be menaced by a robot today". :mrgreen:
Dottocomu reports that "the latest version is an independent Sanyo project, with modifications including switching from Windows to a proprietary realtime OS and revamping the beast's legs, in cooperation with Waseda University, to get it walking less like an old man. The new version also adopts a more diplodocus-like form and takes a step away from the original crime prevention concept, offering crowd-pleasing features like better speech recognition and the ability to give quizzes and forecast horoscopes.
Weighing 36 kg and measuring 68 x 80 x 94 cm, the latest Banryu can handle steps up to 10 cm in height, and features a variety of sound, object and temperature sensors. It can also be controlled, like everything else recently, via an NTT DoCoMo FOMA phone or using a wireless LAN-equipped PDA." There's no word yet on when Pocket PC drivers will be available.
Alas, you can't buy one of these neo-Jurassic beauties: "The latest Banryu will apparently be available to rent in Japan from April 9. One day's rental is Y239,400." That's roughly $2,300 for one day. 8O
