Mar

Bunker buster robot will be like an underground missile

Devin Coldewey on March 15th, 2010

Well, there goes Zion. That rave-lovin’ excuse for a remnant of humanity would have been taken out in a trice by these Robotic Underground Munitions. And so it will be once the Robocalypse hits. Why are we doing the machines’ job for them? Here, I’ve got a better name for these bunker-busting subterranean missiles: Drill-based Earth-Asploding Terrifying Horrorbots.

I guess it’s worth nothing that pretty much every missile fired is at this point a robot, what with the GPS navigation, on-board cameras and all that. But somehow when they’re in the air they aren’t quite as scary. Under the ground, though — remember Tremors? And Screamers? And Gremlins? Well, that last one not so much, but still worth thinking about.

Note: the above illustration is not an accurate representation of this nightmare technology. It is Drill Man.

[via Ares and Gizmodo]

Bunker buster robot will be like an underground missile

General, Headline, military, robocalypse No comments »

Mar

Next-gen GigaPan system sports new features, better frame

Dave Freeman on March 15th, 2010

It’s no secret, we think that GigaPan’s products are pretty darn cool. The first generation only supported P&S cameras, the second generation worked with SLRs, but not the big boys. The Epic Pro however, not only supports a full size SLR with a heavy lens, it’s significantly more powerful then the ones that have come before.

So the GigaPan Epic Pro really expands on the capabilities of the Epic. First off, the Pro will support up to 10 pounds of camera (and lens), whereas the Epic 100 would only support up to 3 pounds of gear. This is because the Pro has a magnesium chassis. The Pro will also take up to 20 images per position, vs. the 10 supported by the Epic 100. This will allow you not only to produce the typical GigaPan images, but also HDR images within the GigaPan. The Pro also comes with a rechargeable battery pack, remote trigger port, and adjustments for exposure compensation, aspect ratio, and picture overlap.

Of course, there’s a cost for this level of performance, and the Epic Pro is going to set you back $895 when it’s released next month. Considering how awesome the pictures were from the first version, I’m thinking it’s worth it.

[via Gizmodo]