Gizmodo: arms

Bionic Penguins to Destroy Humans from Water and Air

Jesus Diaz — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:40:09 EDT

Bionic penguins that travel underwater independently. Bionic flying penguins. Robotic arms made of fiberglass rods with free will. Molecubes that assemble into infinite-growing robots. All for real, as this video shows. I'm leaving the planet.

Sure, it's an infomercial about this company called Festo, but it's impressive nonetheless. Like other tech companies, they are getting its inspiration from nature to create new robotic concepts, working relentlessly to create the robots that will kill us all one day. Good. [Geeks Are Sexy]

This is How You Explain Malware To Your Grandparents

Jason Chen — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 20:20:00 EST

Show them this. Explain that opening all those damn attachments is the equivalent of letting a bunch of dudes with hairy arms reach through the internet, into their homes. Watch their reaction.

The image is taken from Sophos' 2009 security threat report, which says 37% of malware comes from inside the US, 27% comes from China, and 9.1% from Russia. China's actually down from their previous position of being responsible for more than half of worldwide malware in 2007. USA! USA! USA! [DigitalTrends]

FMG-9 Flashlight Converts to Machine Gun in a Second

AddyDugdale — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 05:58:51 EDT

"Gits Nasty? Git down to business," beams the SHOT Show booth boy after showing off the FMG-9, a concept weapon that can switch from a simple flashlight to a Glock-style submachine gun in one easy flick of the wrist. Designed by Magpul, the FMG-9 is currently in prototype phase, and there's no guarantee whether it will be released or not, but I guess it's one for the personal protection peeps. And nervous dog-walkers. [Defense Tech]

Robot Arm Mimics Muscle, Bone Structure To Write Hello

Jason Chen — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 16:20:03 EDT

Although this robotic arm probably won't make anybody cry, it is pretty darn amazing. The components, which look anime-like in its cords and pipes and metal structure, are designed to mimic your muscle and skeletal structure. It's good enough right now to actually write semi-legibly and lift a small weight up without passing out—two tasks I have a lot of trouble with. [Festo via Core77 via Boing Boing]

Monkeys Test Robot Arms, Make Jax From Mortal Kombat a Reality

Jason Chen — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 15:00:56 EST

We described how scientists at the University of Pittsburgh were conducting experiments with monkeys controlling robot arms with their brains exactly two years ago, so it feels like the right time to show you the video.

If these test work—which they look like they do, the monkeys are feeding themselves successfully—you too can lop off your own arm, stroll into the emergency room, and feel confident that they'll replace your missing appendage with the robotic equivalent. No wait! We mean in a couple of years! – Jason Chen

MOnkey Controls Robotic Arm With Mind [Random Good Stuff]