The cat cam doesn't lie.
(Credit: Mr. Whiskers)In September, I, or should I say my cat, was an unknowing participant in a project put together by Nestle Purina PetCare's Friskies brand of cat food. The company doled out 50 little digital cameras that slip onto a cat's collar and then the cameras were set to take a shot once every 15 minutes. The 10 best photos were then uploaded to Flickr at the end of every day. (You can check out the Flickr group and see the results for yourself.)
The project ran for about a week and once it was over, I didn't really hear anything much about it again. Until Thursday. A reporter with the Associated Press put together a story about what cats do during the day based on statistics garnered from the cat focus group. The key stat: 22 percent of the cats' time was spent looking out of windows. (Of course, the percentages listed in the story are, you know, based on a group of 50 cats with only the best, most interesting photos used.)
That's all well and good, but I figured you might be more interested in how the camera performed. It's basically a toy and I wasn't expecting stellar quality. And, well, the results look like they were taken with a toy camera, which if you're into lomography can be pretty cool. Once you've grown tired of seeing the photos your pets shoot, you can always clip the camera to whatever else you want. What's nice is you can set the camera to take shots every minute, 5 minutes, or 15 minutes, and that the camera is rugged enough to take quite a bit of abuse.
The biggest downside is that the memory stores up to only 40 photos at 640x480-pixel resolution. Plus, if you're not fast about offloading the photos and the battery dies, you lose everything.
If you want to run your own focus group, the camera sells for about $50.
"Paint" adorable cats onto any iPhone photo with CatPaint.
How many times have you looked at a snapshot in your Camera Roll and thought, "You know what would make this better? Cats!" (I know: too many to count.)
Enter CatPaint, a 99-cent app that lets you "paint" cats onto your photos, thereby adding that much-needed feline touch to your vacation shots of the Vatican, your kid on the soccer field, or whatever.
It's also an ideal tool for generating your own Lolcats images. (I can has iPhone appz?)
All you do is choose a photo from your Camera Roll or other library, select one of the app's eight different cat "brushes," then tap to place it on the picture. Not happy with the placement? Shake to undo.
When you're done with your "cats-terpiece" (I made that up!), you can save it and/or e-mail it to friends. (I, for one, plan to send lots of cat-ified photos to my buds. They'll love 'em!)
CatPaint is one of those apps that's so entertaining, it's just silly. I wouldn't mind more brush choices (eight may be enough for Dick Van Patten, but not for me), but I guess the developers have gotta save something for CatPaint 2.
The Humunga Stache will turn even the most bashful bulldog into the most popular pooch at the park. Click on the photo for more pet gadgets.
(Credit: Firebox.com)The days of cats amusing themselves with bits of string and dogs spending hours playing with their own, er, equipment are long gone. Sophisticated modern pets demand the latest high-tech gadgets to keep them stimulated, satisfied, and in 24-hour digital contact with their owners. We reveal what today's plugged-in pets are barking for.
Read more of "The best pet gadgets ever made" at Crave UK.
Teletubbies? No, real research at Georgia Tech. The cat is supposedly displaying the following "emotions," from left: anger, happiness, disgust, and fear.
(Credit: Georgia Tech)If you can't determine the emotional states expressed by this virtual robot, chances are you might be an older adult, according to a study by Georgia Tech.
You might also have trouble serving our future robot overlords. But I digress.
In a rather strange study, researchers in the school's Human Factors and Aging Laboratory tested people's ability to gauge the emotional state of a robot by presenting them with a virtual feline displaying seven emotional states at various levels of intensity: happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, disgust, and neutrality.
Graduate student Jenay Beer tested adults' ability to read a robot's expressions.
(Credit: Georgia Tech)The groups consisted of adults between the ages of 65 and 75 and teens and adults between the ages of 18 and 27. The researchers found that the older cohorts had more difficulty recognizing anger, fear, and happiness in the robot cat, confusing happiness with its neutral state.
But problems with programming the robot to express an accurate representation of emotion might be the cause of the discrepancy between age groups. We may indeed be able to read robot "emotions," but only if they simulate our own feelings well enough.
While you might wonder why anyone would be studying robot emotions in the first place--especially when the robocat makes such simplistic expressions--the researchers believe that if robots are going to become commonplace in our society, we must be able to read their faces well to get along with them.
The iCat character is a virtual version of the iCat robot developed by Philips Research as an intelligent agent.
Awwww, so cute! The animals are the stars of these calendar apps, which, unfortunately, have little practical value.
If you're the kind of person who melts at the sight of kittens, puppies, and other furry friends, check out iPhoneCalendars.com. The site is home to two dozen animal-themed calendars for iPhone and iPod Touch.
Specifically, these are like small-screen replacements for those month-at-a-glance calendars people traditionally hang on the wall.
Consequently, they're best suited to people who dock their devices at their desks, where the calendar can stay visible throughout the day.
The selections include cats, kittens, puppies, and over a dozen individual dog breeds (from Beagle to Yorkshire Terrier). Coming soon: nonanimal calendars like flowers, beaches, nature, and, um, Obama.
Each calendar costs 99 cents. Unfortunately, they're really nothing more than image collections; they don't tie into your regular calendar at all. The sole interaction you have with the app is swiping between months (or tapping the superfluous, photo-obscuring Back/Next buttons).
Of course, serious animal-lovers won't care. If you want to save a tree this year and relegate your cute-critter calendar to your iPhone, now you can.
We take a walk on the virtual side in today's Gadgettes. Virtual reality museums, robotic kittens, and fusion in your pocket!
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EPISODE 145 |
Household gadgets we’d like to see
Canon launches virtual-reality dinosaur exhibit in Japan
Robo-Kitty: Sega Toys unveils the Dream Cat Venus
Handheld fusion reactor on the way?
A propos (of) nothing
Vroom: Surf the Web with a Ford GT
It's About Time
Eris Planetary Sphere watch goes anywhere but the wrist
Pink Watch
Juicy Couture goes geeky
Tool Time
Ript Fusion body-shaping undershirt (thanks, Sam!)
Reverse Gender Gap
Ostrich three in one chair for sunbathing bookworms
BlingRX
Russel Hobbs RHG2TSW crystal encrusted bling toaster (thanks, Colleen!)
Kill Me
Fantasy coach bed for the budding superiority complex
Sadly, the video won't embed. Click on the image above or the link in the story below to see the contraption in action.
(Credit: Screenshot by Matt Hickey)While some of you might think of the "Blender Defender" as mean, I don't. Animals kept as pets need to learn the rules. Cats and dogs, though, are notorious for deciding the rules don't apply when we, the owners, are away.
That is why one clever soul rigged up a blender filled with water to a motion-activated wireless Webcam aimed at the house plants his cat liked to nibble. When the cat would enter the frame, a networked upstairs computer would activate the water-filled blender--and a strobe light next to it--via an X10 wireless home automation module. The cat (not mine, let me stress!) would then scramble off the counter, terrified. Ta-da!
It's not just enough that the genius concocted the two-part scaredy-cat machine. No, this genius put a video on the Internet so we can all share his cat's terror and, in the future hopefully, the bitter revenge scheme that's sure to follow.
(Credit:
Maplin)
Cats may be really funny at times, but when all you want to do is get a good night's rest, some stray specimens can be downright annoying with all the noise they make. In such situations, the Mega-Sonic ScatterCat Pest Repeller could be your solution.
This battery-operated "gun" actually fires an invisible high-frequency sound that's inaudible to humans but scares the felines--and other creatures--away. It even has a laser sight so you know you've pointed it at the right target. It can target animals more than 65 feet away.
Such products aren't new, but this one hits the spot by looking like a cheap prop from a tacky science fiction TV show, which makes it perfect for homeowners who love the occasional geek motif in their home decor. It's available from online store Maplin for 10 pounds (about $15).
(Source: Crave Asia via Red Ferret Journal)
Treat your pets right this Mother's Day! We spend equal time talking about gifts for mom and for fluffy. Go figure.
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EPISODE 136 |
Petairways.com–for the pet who loves to travel (Thanks Sheala!)
Honda unveils dog-friendly car
The Tweeting Cat Door (Thanks Nathan!)
New worm-like floor-cleaning robot threatens Roomba’s dominance
Special Edition Mother’s Day Gender Gap
Danielle Steel Limited Edition Reader Digital Book is More of the Same just in Red (No! Don’t do it! Get a Kindle instead!)
Mother’s Day shirt for the geeky mom-to-be
A propos (of) nothing
Lego sunglasses let you build your own fashion
What a concept
Portable toaster
Why didn’t I think of that?
PermaFLOW Self Cleaning Drain System
Pretty
Gorgeous iphone cases (thanks fernando!)
Good Vibrations (Thanks Fred!)
DIY Steam punk vibrators
Today's gaggle of gadgets are all extremely inappropriate. Only one of them is inappropriate in "that" way.
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EPISODE 130 |
A Bus Stop Ad that Displays Your Weight
Electric Cigarettes, with liquid nicotine, catching on in the U.S.
The reason cats act like they hate us
This belly button ring is not an alien appendage (thanks Peter!)
EMO jacket lets you feel what’s happening in movies
Tool Time
Scratchophone Breathes New Life
What the hell?!
Cole Cleaner for lazy drinkers
Apropos (of) nothing
Amphibious Lounger
Pink Watch (bling Rx edition)
Would you like some bling with your Acer Aspire One?
E-MAIL
HELLO ladies … oh and jason,
i was browsing the interwebs when i came across this: My Little Pony doll things that were transformed into movie characters. now i know its not to tech related but you know damn well you cant pass up a my little pony chewbacca.
Cordially,
phatemokid
