segway

How do you make sniper target practice more helpful and more fun? By shooting at Segway robots, of course.

To train its snipers in realistic conditions, the Australian Department of Defence enlisted the help of Marathon Robotics of Sydney, Australia, to set up a course populated by Segways with plastic, 3D, human-size dummies onboard.

The Segways are programmed to wander around a small village aimlessly, with the robots leaning forward to accelerate and backward to stop, making them harder to hit. When a sniper does pick one of them off, the system provides instant visual feedback by stopping and dropping the mannequin. The robots then all scatter automatically.

The Rover system (PDF) uses GPS and a scanning laser rangefinder for navigation, positioning, and obstacle detection and avoidance.

It's all pretty clever and awesome, really, and it makes me want to become a sniper just so I can do this, which feels like a real-life video game. But I won't, because they are practicing so they can get good at shooting real people in the head. I guess I'll just stick with the video games. See a video of the Rover system in action after the jump.

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Segway has been bought by British millionaire Jimi Heselden, an investor in the company's U.K. dealership.

Heselden is chairman of Hesco Bastion, a company that makes "Concertainer" units for flood and blast protection, as used by the military and humanitarian agencies. Segway, which makes high-tech scooters, made the deal public in a blog post Thursday, although it said it took place on Christmas Eve.

The blog post describes Segway's buyer as "a company that is based in the United Kingdom" and said the company is backed by Heseldon, although it is not clear … Read more

Researchers in Japan are developing robotic roller skates as a new form of personal mobility.

Toshinobu Takei of Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) demonstrated his "Unit-type Micro-Mobility" device at the 2009 International Robot Exhibition (iRex) in Tokyo this week.

We haven't seen too many gadgets like these, but what with the plethora of prototype personal vehicles like Honda's U3-X unicycle in Japan lately, they aren't surprising.

The prototype skates are actually mechatronic versions of "takeuma," which are old-school bamboo stilts that kids used to play with in … Read more

Twitter trades hype for a huge cash infusion, Windows 7 attempts to create hype with a spectacularly awfsome video, and we cover all the hype falling out of the Demo conference. Speaking of falling, Honda's new Segway-style unicycle looks amazingly easy to fall off of.

Report: No Palm Pre for Verizon Wireless http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-10361144-266.html

Twitter Appears Set to Raise $100 Million, Valuing It at $1 Billion http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/25/technology/internet/25twitter.html … Read more

Buzzing around the floor of the 2009 New York auto show, is the PUMA--the result of a collaboration between Segway and GM. We had a chance to ride in the vehicle, an electric-powered two seater. PUMA stands for Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility, and works on similar principles as the Segway Personal Transporter. Where on the Personal Transporter, you lean forward to make it go, the PUMA's steering column has to be pushed, which causes the entire cab to slide to the front and move weight forward, making the PUMA go.

The driver of the PUMA cautioned us to … Read more

The DS has a new add-on that includes a pedometer to help you measure your walking. We don't know if it will slim down the Mii that got fat ignoring Wii Fit. Australia is going on an all-fiber diet for their Internet needs, and the AP wants everyone to stop linking to them. OK! Careful what you wish for?

Healthcare records: Google gets pharmacies, MS hospitals http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10213205-92.html http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2009/04/healthcare-records-google-gets-pharmacies-ms-hospitals.ars

Australia to build a fiber network for all http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/08/technology/internet/08broadband.html?partner=rss&emc=rss… Read more

First, a confession: I am not much of a car aficionado. I truly appreciate the beauty of sports and luxury cars of different vintages, but when it comes to buying, I think about practicality.

So when I received a media alert on Friday that GM was going to unveil a "revolutionary vehicle to help people move through crowded cities" and solve other urban driving ills, I got excited.

The actual news was a bit of a letdown. GM and Segway showed off a two-wheel prototype vehicle based on Segway's scooter platform that lets two people tool around … Read more

General Motors and Segway plan to take a two-wheel concept vehicle for a spin around New York City on Tuesday.

The prototype vehicle, called Project PUMA (Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility), is designed to ease congestion and pollution problems in cities. It is based on the Segway Personal Transporter but holds two people, instead of one, and lets them sit, instead of stand.

A PUMA runs on lithium ion batteries, can reach 35 miles per hour, and can travel up to 35 miles between charges.

It includes some high-tech touches, including GM's wireless OnStar communications technology that lets a … Read more

Veronica Belmont of Revision3's Tekzillaand PlayStation's Qore rubs the sleep out of her eyes and joins us on today's show all the way from San Francisco. We chew up a little East Cost/West Coast beef, address Justin and Veronica's fleeting encounter at CES 2009, and jump right into our Valentine's Day plans. The three of us discuss our lonely and pathetic V-Day schedules, but we're all floored when Veronica reveals her top-secret wild and crazy plans. I'm not even sure where she rented a crane and a trailer full of Capuchin … Read more