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DIY Lego foosball table advances to Nerd Cup semi-finals (video)
Expert Lego builder Sariel managed to impress us a few months ago with his fully-articulated robotic arm , and he’s now back with a particularly well-timed project: a foosball table built entirely out of Lego. While it’s not fully automated (and therefore ineligible for the Robo Cup ), it does use some WeDo motion sensors to automatically keep track of the score and announce goals on a laptop connected to the table (not to mention on some sliding Lego bricks above each goal), and it even packs a built-in ball return mechanism to help speed up play. Head on past the break to check it out in action.
NASA successfully tests autonomous lunar lander navigation system, codename GENIE (video)
Robonaut2 may have fantastic biceps , but raw muscle won’t put a man humanoid on the moon — that takes rockets. Rockets like the one in this RR-1 prototype lander, recently outfitted with a Guidance Embedded Navigator Integration Environment (GENIE) system to let the craft safely descend to the lunar surface. On June 23rd, NASA and partner Armadillo Aerospace put the system to the test, hoping it could figure out the complex algorithms necessary to process volumes of data from the laser altimeter, GPS and inertial sensors, and quickly enough to steer the rocket engine accordingly..
Firefox 1.1 hits Maemo in final form, featuring Add-ons, Save to PDF and more
Two months after an impressive beta , Mozilla’s finalized its first full mobile browser for Maemo — beating iPhone , Android and most assuredly Windows Mobile versions to the punch.
NZXT’s Sentry LXE touchscreen fan controller turns you into Storm, minus the cheese
We know, you’re probably scoffing at those mortals still using “fans” to “cool their gaming rigs,” but unless you’ve thrown down the cheddar on a swank liquid cooling solution, you’ll probably find yourself at least mildly interested here. NZXT has taken a break from the mice and keyboard routine to break out a rather unique piece of kit in the Sentry LXE. This touchscreen fan controller connects to one’s desktop via PCIe, and from there provides finger control of up to five internal fans.
Terrafugia Transition flying car gets a little closer to reality with FAA approval
If you’re a little heavier than your spouse would like, you have two choices: get a new diet, or get a new spouse. However, if you’re the Terrafugia Transition flying car and you’re a little heavier than the FAA would like, you have a third option: get an exemption
Early Windows 8 features to include startup performance boost, visual login, and improved graphics (Update: Windows Store app store, too?)
Sure, Microsoft might be selling seven copies of Windows 7 a second , but that doesn’t mean Redmond isn’t planning for the future: the software giant is purportedly beginning to prep ODMs on Windows 8, if these leaked slides are to be believed. It doesn’t look like anything is nailed down just yet, but some interesting larger themes are being discussed, like improving startup and and wake-from-sleep times to be nearly instantaneous, the addition of higher-speed interconnects like USB 3.0 and Bluetooth 3.0, hard drive encryption, ambient light sensitivity, and facial recognition login / out.
