Video: Orb Swarm gets a brain, going autonomous at Burning Man
Remember Orb Swarm, that merry band of rolling semi-autonomous spheres? Well, they've seen the open-source wizard and came back with a brain. In other words, they've gone autonomous, or mostly so as they are now capable of navigating within a pre-defined GPS course. Besides navigation, these orbs feature an embedded processor, accelerometer and ZigBee wireless communication all of which allow the rolling spheres to "flock , flirt, dance and interact," say their creators. They're set for release en masse onto the Burning Man playa at the end of this month where they're sure to punish chemically-influenced revelers with a sense of panic suitable to the uprising. Check the video after the break for a taste if participating in pagan festivals celebrating experimental living is a bit beyond your sense of sheltered sensibility.
[Via Hack A Day and BotJunkie]
[Via Hack A Day and BotJunkie]
Filed under: Robots
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Zephyr @ Aug 6th 2008 6:09AM
Hidden Mickey!
Muhammed @ Aug 6th 2008 6:14AM
Kewl!
Blackstar @ Aug 6th 2008 8:09AM
He's invented a remote controlled cheese grating hamster ball?
Tonicboy @ Aug 6th 2008 7:13AM
I saw these at Yuri's Night, they're pretty cool. I think it would be fun to have them race. A thousand of these racing down Market street in San Francisco would be very neat, and not at all strange in SF.
Ekauq @ Aug 6th 2008 7:24AM
great, just what the robot overlords need...tumbleweeds of doom
Smileypanda @ Aug 6th 2008 5:58PM
I, for one, welcome our rolling, tumbling masters
dochmbi123 @ Aug 6th 2008 7:38AM
Rollermines!
Rick @ Aug 6th 2008 7:43AM
B.F.D. Who cares? Can it get bring me a cold brew or Dr. Pepper at Burning Man? What good is it then?
Lowest Ranked @ Aug 6th 2008 12:17PM
Most of all the gadgets reviewed on this site can't do that, so you are defnitely in the wrong place.
G @ Aug 6th 2008 12:44PM
props for the Dr Pepper reference, the king of all soft drinks!
Jim @ Aug 6th 2008 7:47AM
Holy shee-it! Why do I feel like I'm in a mortuary with a tall man and some creepy dwarves chasing after me? Which one has the blade and the brain-sucking vacuum on it?!?
rwebbart @ Aug 6th 2008 9:21AM
Glad to know I am not the only one who was thinking Phantasm....
Dan Wesnor @ Aug 6th 2008 8:14AM
It's a big ball that rolls back and forth. Yay!!!
bob sakamano @ Aug 6th 2008 8:53AM
i live my life, like a burning man!
Jimmie @ Aug 6th 2008 12:08PM
"...if a hippie walks it its way, it runs over the hippie."
Ruh roh.
Erin P. @ Aug 6th 2008 12:37PM
can it light a water bong or bake brownies?
ryan @ Aug 6th 2008 12:41PM
Whoa! It ate his finger!!!!!
lentiman @ Aug 6th 2008 12:47PM
I AM NOT A NUMBER!
ShadowKain @ Aug 6th 2008 1:01PM
"flock , flirt, dance and interact,"
And mate? XD
Eric @ Aug 6th 2008 1:29PM
From what I've heard about burning man (my co-worker goes every year), these things won't even be noticed as something unusual.
SOOPERGOOMAN @ Aug 6th 2008 4:22PM
They've ruined Burning Man. It used to be an anti technology festival. FOR SHAME!!!
caleb @ Aug 7th 2008 2:34PM
Fire itself is technology.
Anti-Technology is not one of the principals of Burning Man. However Radical Inclusion is.