Skip to Content

Get the latest on Wrath of the Lich King on WoW Insider!
Holidash Blog
AOL Tech

Posts with tag project

Engadget

Australian Researchers Developing Shape-Shifting Robots?


There's no shame in admitting that shape-shifting creatures are a touch frightening, but we'll go ahead and warn you -- those spooked by petite bots will be utterly terrified by this. The SkinForm Project has arisen from the University of Technology Sydney, and while there aren't any elaborate details available just yet, it's described as an "intelligent pneumatic structure that transforms dynamically in response to socio-physical context." In other words, it's some sort of shape-shifting, chameleon-like robo-creature.

Additionally, it seems to utilize a plethora of sensors and rely on a good bit of software programing in order to become the transforming architecture that it is. If all goes as planned, the initiative will be completed on June 12th, but you can take a look at a number of in-progress videos right down there in the read link below.

This Plant Sends You Messages When it Needs Water

DIY Twittering Plant Lets You Know When to Water it
Those of us with not blessed with a green thumb (some of us at Switched could kill a cactus) wish plants would tell you us they needed and when. A company called Botanicalls has cooked up an admittedly complicated DIY (Do It Yourself) project that lets your plants to send messages via the micro-blogging service Twitter to let you know when it needs to be watered. It even thanks you for feeding it.

The project uses a tiny networked computer, a circuit you must wire up yourself, and simple moisture probes made of nails to detect water levels and trigger Twitter messages when the plant needs water, when moisture levels are critically low, to thank you for watering it, to let you know that you've watered it, but not enough, or that you've over-saturated the soil.

The concept is pretty cool, but not for the faint of heart. Check it out here if you want to give the project a shot.

From Digg and Botanicalls

Related links:

    Switched Video

     



    Featured Galleries

    AOL Tech Network


    Latest Reviews from CNET.com

    CNET provides the latest tech news, unbiased reviews, videos, podcasts, software, and downloads, making tech products easy to find, understand and use.

    Top Product Reviews

    AOL News

    Other Weblogs Inc. Network blogs you might be interested in: