The Dice-o-Matic is basically a seven-foot-tall vertical conveyor belt, which rolls and cycles its dice by carrying them to the top of the assemblage on little shelves, then sending them tumbling down to the bottom to repeat the whole process again. The results of the rolls are recorded by a camera, which is triggered each time a scoop passes by, and processed by a laptop with custom-built die-reading software.

If that sounds familiar, it's because the same site—GamesByEmail.com—built a much smaller rolling machine out of Legos back in 2005. Since then, they've outgrown its 80,000-a-day rolling rate, which the new mega-roller can pull off in about an hour and a half.

The machine's designer goes into more technical detail on this project page, but it takes a video to really do this system justice. [GamesByEmail via Reddit]

Of course, the actual Roomba-Fukitorimushi chronology is totally different: despite its Palaeozaic sensibilities, the Fukitorimushi ("wipe-up bug") is brand new. Designed by Panasonic, the little robot is wrapped in a sticky nanocloth sleeve, which collects dust and debris as the robot crawls, worm-style, across the floor.

Its also got sensors to seek out dirt, so it takes a slightly different approach to floor cleaning than the Roomba, focusing on problem areas rather than just attacking the whole room. There's no word yet on price, availability, or any practical specs, but if robo-swiffing is your thing, Panasonic's artsy press materials and this mesmerizing video of the Fukitorimushi in action should hold you over for a while. [PinkTentacle]

The company behind the main software, Home Automated Living, named their product HAL (yawn yawn yawn). And with this software, Electronic House says you could say something along the lines of "open music, open Led Zeppelin, play Black Dog," and just like that, you get Black Dog. HAL also works with the Leviton lighting system, the GE security system and the HAI thermostat—all over voice.

If you need a bit more futurism in the house, the HAL system will even speak the name and number of a caller when the phone rings, iPod shuffle style. Electronic House didn't go into the pricing of a system like this, but it's probably such a demoralizing figure that we're all better off not knowing. [Electronic House]

Listening Test: It's music tech week at Gizmodo.

The rig was created and programmed by Sarah Angliss. It plays many tunes, but in this video we are hearing a rendition of Troika, from Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kije (duh).

Sarah's provided some technical details:

The bells are being played by wooden balls, spring-mounted on servo-controlled beaters, running off a LynxMotion SSC-32 board, receiving serial signals from a Max/MSP patch (which is interpreting a midi file). These bells have been recycled from Swinging London, my 2006 installation for the Overture Weekend at the South Bank, London. Here they've been mounted on a stainless steel shop fitting, reclaimed from the back yard of Moore's of Dunstable.

And all that is powered by a Mac laptop (MacBook? Pro? She doesn't say). [YouTube — Thanks, Sarah!]

Of the apps by Crestron, Lifeware, Z-Wave and Control4 we've seen here at CEDIA, Crestron's seems to be farthest along (pictured above). It can control multiple rooms in multiple houses all via Wi-Fi or AT&T data, and is a free download and add-on. Z-Wave, probably the most accessible system that you don't have to have a Cribs-worthy home to run, will sadly charge you $10 a month for the privilege of freaking out your pets while you're on vacation or locking your doors from bed. Lifeware's app is still in its nascent stages, but it will pack more Media Center integrations (in case you're running the baddest Media Center in the world).
Control4's app (above) is the least impressive—the first version will only work in your home on the same Wi-Fi network as your system, which is puzzling. And it'll cost you a "license" that will likely be "over $100 and less than $500," to make up for lost touchscreen remote revenue.

All the apps are currently getting finishing touches, but each will be available before year-end. For now, check out iViewer.

DENVER – Philips Electronics marks the 10-year anniversary of its industry-setting Pronto home control line with the launch of its newest touch screen panel, Philips TSU9800, at this year’s CEDIA Expo in Denver, Colorado.

Philips TSU9800 Pronto Control Panel merges functionality and design, featuring a stunning 6.4-inch VGA color screen and a premium docking station that offers ambient lighting, and the option to completely hide all cables when used in a board-room setting, or coupled with the optional wall mounting plate. The high resolution display is the largest in Philips Pronto line, providing exceptional readability and a control panel designed for maximum comfort, efficiency and ease of use.

With a vibrant display, extended control and personalized performance, Philips TSU9800 builds upon Philips award-winning innovation in home controls. It can control audio/video servers, provides feedback information such as album/DVD art and song information and allows for intuitive and convenient content browsing with a rotary wheel.

“As Philips continues to expand the Pronto line, we add features that simplify user interaction with the system,” said Glenn McImail, Vice President, Philips Peripherals and Accessories. “Philips TSU9800 gives customers a faster and smarter home control system with new features geared to make central home control an easier and more pleasant experience.”

Besides the rotary wheel, Philips TSU9800 comes with just the right amount of hard buttons and cursors for the most used functions such as volume and channel switching. With the added benefit of a reliable one-touch control system for your home, it offers the latest in technology through its advanced infrared learning and sending circuitry, which has the ability to learn and send virtually any infrared code in the AV market.

Also new from Philips is ProntoEdit Professional 2.0. With this advanced PC-editor, custom installers can promptly create any customized form of configuration and/or user interface. This latest version includes many new features including:
• Flat user interface with full drag and drop functions,
• Single-page view allowing easy access to various building blocks,
• Quick start wizard that allows any installer to set up a project with three easy steps
• Revamped page view that incorporates the latest graphical tools to simplify transitioning from portrait to landscape and from QVGA to VGA.

With the added feature of ProntoScript, Philips TSU9800 gives users the option to realize full two-way communication via RS-232 and/or WiFi/IP with third party equipment and selected ProntoScript Partners. Philips TSU9800 is also fully compatible with extenders RFX9400 and RFX9600.

Available in September of 2008, Philips TSU9800 will retail for $2,399 and is available through authorized custom installation distributors across the country and at authorized Pronto dealers and retailers. Philips’ line of award-winning Pronto control panels starts at $499.

[Philips]

As we already knew, everything in this restaurant in Nuremberg is completely automated, from the ordering process—using a touchscreen which also allows you to surf the web or email while waiting for our order—to the delivery of the food to your color-coded seat. Only the cooking is manual, which is done by some Elzar apprentices, 70% human-30% iron chefs, somewhere in the building.

The creator of the technology behind 's Baggers thinks there's a big market for these kinds of restaurant, which are convenient, fun, and save costs to the owners and the clients. The BBC seems to agree. Their verdict: fun, delicious, fast, and no tips. Makes a good case to eradicate that awful, ingrate job of waitressing all throughout the planet. Sad, I know. But don't despair, my friends: there's always blogging.

Go to the BBC page to get their full impressions. ['s Baggers via BBC News]

The $111,100 contraption comes loaded with a database of where the tank is located on cars, allowing it to open the tank door, unscrew the cap and then gingerly insert the nozzle without scratching up the paint. It'll allow you to keep the stink of gasoline off your hands and will let you stay in your toasty car when the weather is lousy, which is good, although I can't really imagine too many gas stations willing to drop six figures on such a device. We'll see! [Reuters]

Considering the price, we're not sure that it's worth it just to have a cheap-looking picture of your room around to remember which switch turns off what. Unless you're setting this up for grandma, in which case it may be worth it just to avoid the midnight tech support calls when she can't figure out how to turn everything off to go to bed. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Simply Automate via Automated Home via Slashgear]

Setting the remote up is easy, using their walkthrough which lets you name rooms, devise "scenarios", and come up with stuff you want to control. There's web connectivity as well, allowing you to update the software and the remote.

Not only is the AVL300 a breeze to set up, the IlluminEssence Lighting Modules worked from corner to corner of a 2,500 sqft house using RF to control all lighting throughout. Controlling the entertainment system using IR worked flawlessly as well, with 19 out of 20 tries being successful (the last was blamed on user error).

It's a bit pricey—$549 on Amazon—but if you're into home automation then the AVL300 is a good way to go. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Amazon via RemoteShoppe]

Most people catch on pretty quickly. Just a month after the Hearst Tower opened, some Hearst executives said they were forgetting to push buttons in old-fashioned elevators. "My problem has become that I keep forgetting to press buttons in the elevator in my apartment building, so as I tap tap tap on my BlackBerry, I realize minutes later that the elevator hasn't moved," says Atoosa Rubenstein, the departing editor in chief of Hearst's Seventeen magazine.

Besides being confusing to old people, the elevators cut wait time from 60 to 90 seconds down to 20 to 25 seconds in a busy hotel. – Jason Chen

Buttonless elevators have their ups and downs [NWFdailyNews via Boing Boing]

There's a screen and various options to route music to different rooms. And just like iPods, they're available in both white and black models. – Jason Chen

Product Page [SpeakerCraft via Automated Home via Slashgear]

The TPMC-8X Isys i/O WiFi Touchpanel is the higher end of the two remotes. This large, tablet-esque touchpanel remote has an 8.4-inch display. It operates on an 802.11 a/b/g proprietary WiFi network. This giant remote also has embedded Windows XP and can do web browsing, Skype, and more. The remote itself will set you back $3.800 on top of the cost of having a Crestron home automation system.

The TPMC-4X is a handheld version of the 8X mentioned above. It isn't quite as complex and fits in the hand a little bit easier, but it is still pretty bulky. It operates on an 802.11b WiFI network and has a 3.5-inch touchscreen. It is a bit cheaper (but not much) at $2,000 and will be shipping in a couple of weeks.