Here’s an interesting kit for tinkerers: Canadian startup EZ-Robot has started offering a kit that’ll let you build your own robot. Actually, the kit just includes a wireless controller, an ultrasonic distance sensor, wireless tracking camera, three servos, two rotating servos, battery pack and software – all of which make up the guts of your potential robo-creation. But the fun part is in what you can turn into a robot… basically anything you can fit the parts into: stuffed animals, your sister’s doll, existing non-smart robot toys, and in this best example, DJ Sures’ homemade Wall-E shown in the video above.
Neato Robotics has just introduced a new home robot vacuum cleaner called the VX-11 that features a laser and a jet engine. Unfortunately, it’s not as cool as it sounds, since it uses the laser to move around and the “jet engine” to clean–instead of the other way around, which would have been awesome). It’s actually built with a laser tracker and a vacuum system based on a “jet engine design” which lessens the hype, but it does promise to do a better, smarter job of keeping the floor clean with less human intervention.
